Egypt summer 2011, last day and the way back to home

The next and last morning was similar to many others. Waking up, breakfast and to the beach. We had came up with a plan since our flight from Sharm to Cairo was at 9 pm or so. We were supposed to give up our room at noon but we could still hang around by the pool with our luggage. Hanging at the beach I was just wondering the past days and taking last bits of sun while Saija headed to the water to snorkle. There were some fishes just by the shore where the water is only to our ankles. When we were walking from the beach to our hotel one local seller told Saija: "Oh my god you are so white!" ... Yeah well, I wasn't much browner than Saija and we had been wandering around the deserts and Egypt altogether for three weeks!

We had such a great time by the pool. It felt like beeing on some camping trip. There was no one else there and we listened to some great music through youtube from my phone. Madonna - La Isla Bonita and also Kings of Leon - Sex is on fire. We had bought some snacks for the day and also for the next night which we were supposed to spend at the Cairo Airport.

Leaving from Sharm to the airport.

There was this public toilet with showers beside the swimming pool and we were really lucky for that. So when the time was right we went there to take the last showers in Egypt and get ready and to start our journey to home. We left from Sharm around 6 pm to the airport. The sun was setting and while sitting in a taxi we got to see the last sunset on our trip. We were at the airport again way too early! The security guys almost laughed to us since we were there so early. In Finland we've got used to being at the airport around two hours before the departure.. We spent the time by playing cards and polishing our nails :D

At Cairo Airport waiting for our backpacks

The flight didn't take long at all. It was around 40 minutes and it felt like it only took of and then landed. We had to get our backs in Cairo (they didn't tranfer straight) and we had to wait them for a while. While waiting we saw one of our security friends Eslam who recognized us immediatelly and told us to come with him that he would help us to the right terminal since we would have to take some bus to the terminal. While waiting the bus we wondered why he was constantly talking on the phone and when the bus came he didn't want to get in. He said that some car would pick us up. Well, we were a bit suspicious since we didn't know Eslam so well as the other guys. Soon this car came and we saw BakkarBeko driving and smiling to us saying surprise. We put our backpacks in the trunk and got in. We left the airport area and me and Saija were a bit worried at first but then Bakkar started to explain. Before we had left from Cairo they asked to see our plane tickets home and they had noticed that we would have to spend the night at the airport. They had wanted to surprise us and give us a last view to Cairo and it's life at night!

We were so happy. We just smiled. Eslam couldn't come with us since we was working so we said goodbye and thank you to him and left to pick up Mohammed and Rami and then go to Cairo. The boys asked us where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do but we didn't have any idea! It was amazing to see Cairo for the last time, feel the crazy traffic and the athmosphere of the city. We had just talked with Saija that we would have wanted to eat Koshery for the last time but we didn't find the food from Sharm. The boys took us to eat at this very local Koshery place and it tasted magical! Again we weren't allowed to pay anything. 

Then the boys asked us what we wanted to do next. We hadn't visited any shopping malls so we decided it would be nice to see one. We drove to this shopping mall which was medium size and it was called Genena. It felt big even though it was only a medium size. Almost the first thing I could see was ICE RINK! I went totally crazy and the boys just smiled and laughed. I asked if we could go skating and we of course thought that the boys would come also. Well, they only paid for me and Saija to get to skate while they hold our pags. :D I insisted to have "boys" skates and the guy working there looked at me a bit long but finally gave me the skates. Then this young boy also working there came to give me help to get the skates on. I told him that thanks but I really don't need help.. 

We hit the ice and the skates were so unsharp that I barely stayed up. I was a bit disappointed since I couldn't skate with them at all. I had to hold Saija's arm for not fall down. There where many people staring at us and gathering to look at us and we felt like being in some ice skating competition where every one watched us. :D There was this boy working at the ice rink to help the children and other people to stay up and he wanted to skate with us and when he noticed that we could skate he really put up a show and we ended up even doing some pirouettes .. :DD

Saija, Rami, BakkarBeko, Mohammed and me

When we soon got enough of the skating we left the shopping mall and went to have fruit drinks somewhere in Cairo. We sat on the engine bonnet of Bakkar's car and talked about stuff. There was a mosque near and we got to wonder about the noice and the mosque for the last time. Then it was time to get back to the airport. Boys gave us a ride right in front of our terminal which would have been really difficult to find on our own. We hugged them goodbye and for the millionth time said thank you to them! I felt really sad 'cause they really had made our Cairo part of the trip perfect! What a great ending for our the trip! Our flight to Germany left somewhere between 3-4 am.

Tired traveller at the Munich airport

We didn't sleep much on the plane so at the Munich (Munchen) airport we were really tired. The airport was also really big and messy. We had to wait around four hours there and it was hard to find anything from there. We thought that we were really clever to go and sit in this coffee place with soft benches and Saija ordered coffee for us to be allowed to be there. I got sleep for over 30 minutes before some of the workers there came to wake us up.. On the last flight to home we watched all the videos and pictures and read our journal. On the plane we really didn't want to get back to reality! Both of us had to go back to work almost immediately when we were back at home. We didn't even want to think about it.

Again another trip of ours was finished. Three weeks of travelling around Egypt. We found the country full of great local and foreign people full of smiles and joy, the country was recovering from the revolution but it still had so much hope for the new future. All in all, great and eye opening experience with lots of great memories! Shokran to everybody, especially to Saija ♥