Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Positives

I have not been enjoying Egypt.

So far it has been lonely and boring traveling through this country, the ultimate combination of pain.

Things can change quickly though.  After finding Kino at Karnak, I had the good fortune of meeting the lovely Pinar and Nader at Luxor Temple.  It was a true pleasure that I was able to spend the new few days in Egypt in the company of these fantastic people.
I had been left wanting by Egypt, but it is always amazing how good company can improve any location.  We laughed and we joked and we shared the bizarre experiences that we had all had during our travels.  Even the ridiculous attempts by the touts and the tourism workers seemed more humourous and less offensive when we experienced it together.  The yelling and the harassment we received became jokes that were shared and my entire mood lightened.
I was also able to share what had been the best meal of the entire trip with Pinar and Nader, at the highly rated Sofra Restaurant.  It was a beautifully quiet and refined evening.  The food was all Egyptian, but it was prepared to a far higher standard than anything I had previously experienced, and presented in a setting that was more the Egypt that I had imagined and hoped for.  Even the thought of going to that lovely restaurant hadn't crossed my mind, so I was incredibly lucky to have had been dragged there by Pinar.
I have written about it previously.  The finest part of traveling is the not the things that you see, but it is the people that you meet.  Egypt may not have captured my imagination, but it had certainly introduced me to some wonderful people.

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