Driving in Egypt.

This is a recording of a car ride we had in Egypt, travelling to the Valley of the Kings.  The van looked pretty okay when we hopped in and drove, without strange noises, for about 15 minutes then, after a cracking BANG and a bit of a shake, it started to make some dodgy noises, then full out knocking built up.  We all hopped out and had a look, thinking it was a tyre, or a mudflap, or a lump in a tyre..... but no!  It was just a van ride in Egypt :)

Defining the Rules

 

If only we could all know that the rule is 'do not fire, please' , that would help when you start a job.

I might have had a crack at how you can be washed in the tub, until I saw you would be washed 'into' the tub.  That sounds painful.

Life should be simple when everything is laid out clearly.

Love it!

Thank you for your vigilance.

When French is Better Than English......

Hawkers in Egypt are pretty tough to shake off.  It is not like other countries, where you can say 'no' or put your hand up in a stop gesture and they move away.  In Egypt, they get right in front of you, block your path, grab you, and generally give you such a hard time, you can't escape.

When we were round the Pyramids, a 'sales person' came up and started trying really hard to sell a plastic pyramid.  I shook my head and kept walking, then put up a hand and said 'No' once again moving round the seller.  He then tried to get some interest from Ian, who also stepped round him.  The seller was rabbering on in broken English and had changed the price about 15 times. 

All our polite Kiwi actions were having no success and I was feeling quite intimidated and a little trapped.  Suddenly, I channeled my inner French person, figuring that the hawker had been harrassing us for long enough and because it was all in English, I thought possibly he didn't speak French..

I burst out with an angry "Collants ne sont pas  pantalons" and a flat hand 'stop' gesture, to which the hawker, a little startled, completely melted away.  French people clearly kick arse (and blow up boats in other peoples harbours) but it worked and I was happy.  

Ian caught up with my furious French stomping and asked in a rather bemused way 'what was that?'  to which I replied " its the only French I know and it means.......... tights are not pants"  (because that makes sense????)  He's use to me, he just nodded and moved on........probably also really happy they had backed off!

Thanks Jan for the translation- and reader, you are going to have to go back through this blog to find the time last year in Europe, where 'tights are not pants' was used to ward off scammers.  

I love a universal statement!  Just never thought it would relate to a rather bad fashion statement!