A night in the Cairo airport...

unbelievable traffic

Flashback: May 2009

I have just spent three days in Cairo.
It's time to leave.
My flight back home leaves at two in the morning.
I'm waiting for my taxi to take me from the hotel to the airport.
The taxi comes and I get in.
Orange lights in cities are the same all over the world.
We are passing through the warm night and I am observing buildings, cars, the moon... The moon was hazy. Almost full.

We arrive at the airport. The taxi driver is very polite. He insists on carying my back pack but I insist more than him. I take my bag. He's probably a bit intimidated by this small but strong lady in front of him.

I pass the airport check and take my boarding pass. You can still smoke in Cairo airport.
I sit down and smoke and read my book.

It's almost time to go to the gate.
As I approach the gate, I realize I cant' find my boarding pass.
I empty my bag. It's nowhere. I go back to the places I passed. It's nowhere.
No boarding pass.

They call my name. "Passenger so and so is kindly requested to proceed to the gate so and so"

I go to the gate. I tell them I lost my boarding pass. They freak out. I freak out. I really hope they don't think I'm a terrorist or something....

A guy tells me we have to go back to the check in so I can get a new boarding pass. We run!

Airports are really big spaces. So we run. And we have to go through customs again. Only this time backwards. They are all speaking arabic and I don't have a clue if they will let me pass or not.

They let me pass. We keep running!

I get a new boarding pass.
And we start running again! I'm thinking " I don't want to leave this country, that's why this is happening..."
After a lot of running, we go to the gate. And I've got my boarding pass. A whole plane is waiting for me! I am delaying a whole flight....

affection

I am ready to go to the bus, which will take us to the airplane.

A guy stops me again.
The date on my passport is yesterdays date!
They did not change the bloody date after midnight!
I do not believe this!

"I certainly do not want to leave" I'm thinking.

Finally they decided to let me pass with yesterdays' date. I get on the bus and everybody is staring at me. Or so I think. God knows how long they have been waiting in that bus for me.

And this is the end of my little Cairo adventure. I still remember it and laugh. It's when things are not going according to plan that they are more interesting! They add up a little spice to your travelling...