Oh Cairo

Assalamualaikum. (This post is strictly based on my own opinion and with no intention of hurting anyone)

Cairo, a vibrant city. If you want to have a relaxing and calm holiday, well Cairo's definitely not the place to go. But if you like ADVENTURE, then it's perfect! How should I describe Cairo? Well, it's definitely not dull! Somehow I have found myself in Cairo for winter break. I would like to say a few things about the people in Cairo. They have very interesting characters. For some reason, they seem to be laughing one minute, angry the next and sad after but then happy in the end. This happened while I was in the taxi. The taxi driver was talking on the phone. I find this very interesting. Then, there's this other incident, when the gang and I were waiting for the bus. A fight broke out (something very common in Egypt), there was this guy who was angry, took a broom and was about to hit another man. Other people helped to stop the fight but the man was persistent. He really wanted to hit the other man with the broom. It's funny how adults can also throw tantrums. :) Then, there's this other incident when some man selling oranges threw an orange at me while I was looking for a taxi to go back to the train station. Actually, I was really angry, I would very much indeed like to kick him and use my martial arts moves on him but I dare not cause a scene. Something that I learned so far in Egypt is to hold your anger and remain calm. So I did. Another part of this very interesting trip was when the gang had to split because the taxi driver won't let us all  ride inside the same taxi. So we did split 3:3, Nabila, Umi and I and Yana, Athira and Fatihah. We were really worried about the other team because they got lost. A very unfortunate thing happened. Not only were they lost, they were also being followed by some scary guys. FORTUNATELY, nothing happened to them. They managed to find a safe place where a lot of soldiers were standing, so those scary guys dare not to do anything bad to them. Shifting to our side of the story, well, we were being chased by a kid with a taser FULLSTOP. We. Ran. Like. Hell. In the end, we got reunited. Frankly, I was really glad the time we got reunited. I hate splitting up with my lovely mates :) Oh, did I mention? We also got chased by a dog. A naked dog.

These are only some of the "fun" and interesting stuff that happened to us during our trip. In Cairo, you get to experience all sorts of feelings. From disgust to happiness. From being scared to being brave. Apart from all of that, Cairo made me think. Why did those people did those stuff? Why did that man threw an orange at me, for instance. I truly believe that Education is important. Educated people with conscience will never do those kind of things. Why must they always fight with each other using violence when they can just talk it out?Most of the time, when I see someone fighting in the streets, I really have the urge to strap them on some chair and let them discuss their misunderstandings and solve it calmly. It's weird how I don't completely blame them for being like that. Instead of being angry, actually I feel really sad. As a muslim, I truly do. Why is it that they're acting like that? Aren't they muslims too? Islam teaches us good things yet we do bad things.

The trip to Cairo is a real eye-opener. One day, I would like to change the fate of Islam countries. I hate how people are looking down on Islam. So, to that, I must first improve myself. MUSLIMAH DOCTOR GO GO! :D

Ciao and have a nice day~ <3

All Cairo'd OUT!

Assalamualaikum everyone! Hey how's everyone? Sorry for not updating any news, hehe been busy with exams, exams, and ah wait, more exams.

So the gang and I decided to go straight to Cairo right after the EXAMS (tension2...) Finished Module 1 exam at 10.30 a.m. and rushed home to pack my bag. Yes I love traveling but I hate packing clothes so yeah it was a pretty dramatic and tense scene, stuffing clothes and other stuff into my bag. I was the only one left with the "unpacked" bag so yeah haha. So the train to Cairo leaves at 2.00 pm on the dot! I mean, no joke, the train here's really punctual. It will not even wait a minute for you. Say, if you're late even for 2 minutes, you will not even get to see the train. To add to the dramatic scene, we're supposed to leave the house early at least an hour early but hehe you know, we're still in the process of learning how to travel light so just imagine this. 6 girls, running, dragging their luggage bags across the road, stopped a taxi, stuffed themselves inside. Good thing, the taxi driver was a very nice young man. Usually they will not allow 6 people inside the taxi. But he let us and he even stuffed our bags inside the trunk of the taxi. Memang tak muat, terbukak je but hey, what to do? Dah lambat hehe. 

                                            (See? In the back hehe, tak boleh tutup, bag penuh)

(Actually tengah panic takut tertinggal train but hey, that doesn't mean we can't snap photos now huh hehe)

So the dramatic scene continues. We only have a few minutes left before the train leaves. Rushed to the train station in Alex but still we have to find "our" train. Straight up, asked the man in front of the train, he doesn't speak English so we just showed our tickets. He said something about platforms and numbers. Because of the language barrier, we didn't quite understand what he was saying so we had mistaken our train for another. Went back to the man and he clearly showed us. The train was looong. I mean long, long. Alhamdulillah, we got to buy ourselves 1st class tickets but 1st class means that our carriage was the first carriage which was at the end from where we currently were. So we ran like there's no tomorrow to our carriage! Yeah we did. All this running after ending the exams a couple of hours before is...how should I call it? Refreshing! Haha.

From the pictures above, yes, we safely secured our places. SUCCESS!

After 3 hours, we finally arrived in Cairo! The train station's really beautiful. Mind you, just the inside though.

Yes, we've arrived. Now what? Haha. Next our mission was to find a taxi to go to Umi's friend's place, the place where we'll be staying for the night. Funny stuff. You know how taxi drivers in Cairo like to con people, well, some of them, not all. So here I was, asking whether the taxi has got a meter running and he completely BLOWS UP for some odd reason. Stomped his feet, slammed the door and droved off. I'm talking about the taxi driver. Well, better control that anger of yours Mr. Grumpy Grumps Taxi man. That anger will not get you customers. Luckily we got a taxi and finally found the place. 

During our time in Cairo we went to a few places mostly for SHOPPING. I mean, come on. We're girls. Hehe. It's interesting how even though we live in the same house, the gang and I have different shopping interests. Like how Yana and Nabila like to go to the supermarket, Fatihah and Athira shop till they drop and how Umi and I were just running around the mall, trying to kill time, so most of the time you'll find us eating. Apart from that, we even went to Aktabah and Hussein (sorry I'm bad at spelling the name) Basically, it's a market way where you can shop for all kinds of stuff like souvenirs, clothes and more. Personally I like Hussein more because it's more tourist friendly but here's my advise, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take care of your belongings. There's a lot of pick pockets there. Sorry there's no picture of the place because I'm afraid that my camera will get stolen. :D 

Besides shopping, we went to Cairo to settle some "Bakan" business. We went to Bakan Perak first, Bakan KL, Bakan Selangor and also Bakan Terengganu. It's nice meeting other Malaysians in Cairo. :)

...

We only stayed at Umi's Friend's place for one night. The next day, we had to split, Umi and I stayed at Bakan KL while the others stayed at Perak. Then for the rest of the trip, we stayed at Arma, a Malaysian building in Cairo. It was pretty worth it, considering the fact that  we only payed 3 LE per night. Plus we get to eat Malaysian food like Kueh teow goreng (you don't know how much I've been longing for this), Nasi goreng paprik, Mee Hong Kong, kuih-muih, Nasi lemak, roti canai ( well, I didn't get to eat roti canai as I was too busy settling some stuff at Bakan Selangor...nak buat camne, takde rezeki) and many more! Dapat jugak lepas rindu makan makanan Malaysia sikit hehe.

That's basically the summary of our trip. But wait this is only the cover. There's another side of the story. I'll probably post it next time. THIS IS STRICTLY MY OWN OPINION AND I DO NOT MEAN TO HURT ANYONE OR WHATSOEVER but yeah I'm glad I live in Alexandria :)

Ciao!