Day 17 - Alexandria (Nov 21 Fri)

We took a late-morning train to Alexandria with Alice and Martin. It only took about 2 and a quarter hours, then we got a cab to our hotel, the Union Hotel. Alice and Martin were starving, so they ran to get a bite, and G and I stayed and admired the fifth-floor view of the harbour from our hotel lobby. We had been hoping to take a dip in the Mediterranean, but it was too cold (about 70F). Instead, we hung out and had a beer each from the hotel. When I paid, I gave her a 20LE note, and she gave me 10LE back (which would lead one to believe they were 5 each). But when Martin went to buy one later, they were 10LE each. When they realized the mistake that the receptionist had made earlier, they kept insisting that we pay an additional 10LE- even at the point when we were checking out two days later, which was ridiculous, considering the amount of beers we had later that night. But I digress.

While sitting in the lobby, a South African-born, but New Zealand raised guy named Eddie was trying to check in, but now the prices were much higher for him (120LE) than they were for us (70LE for a double). Martin and Alice offered to put an additional bed in their room for him, which was only about 20LE. He accepted.

The five of us decided to wander around, but within three minutes, we were convinced to take a horse and carriage ride. The price was right (10LE an hour, same as Luxor), so we went for it. It ended up being a great idea, and we got to see a lot of the city over the next hour and a half. Our driver, Mimi aka Jimmy, of course had us stop at a few places to buy things, including a liquor store and antique-y sort of store. We split a bottle of vodka for 105LE (later to realize we got ripped off, as it should've been about 70LE. EGYPT!). He took us by Mohammed Aly square, tomb of the unknown soldier, mosques, the citadel, and around some back streets. We parted ways with him at the citadel, hoping to find a good and reasonably-priced seafood restaurant on the way home, but no such luck. Most of them wanted something like 120LE for one kilo of unpeeled shrimp (over $20USD). We passed, and ended up finding a smaller fast-foodish looking joint, where we all had Egyptian pizza (a puff pastry in a circle shape filled with meat or veggies).

Back at the hotel, we played cards, drank vodka, and eventually beer (paying 10LE each), then on a mission for the restroom, I found a cozy room in the back with a billiards table. The boys rented the billiards balls till 1am (10LE again), and we hung out for a couple hours.

At one point, we heard some knocking, but each time we opened the door, there was no one there. This went on for about 10 minutes before the boys heard Eddie yelling through the window in the center of the building. He got stuck in the bathroom (Alice and I had also been stuck, but sorted it out), so decided to take his 6'5" semi-pro rugby playing self and squeeze through a tiny window high above the toilet. It was so ridiculous and funny, and of course we snapped a few pics of him before he had to figure out how to get down. He climbed up another level, then came down some stairs into the kitchen. The hotel staff were not amused, and shortly after, they set some beds up for the staff in that room, and we had to move out. Eddie went to bed, and Alice and I waited in the lobby while G and Martin went on a McDonald's adventure. They came back, we all pigged out, then passed out.