Author Topic: felix rex moves to Cairo (Read 322466 times)

EuroCat · « **Reply #150 on:** July 04, 2012, 02:44:51 AM »

Quote from: Cire on July 03, 2012, 09:58:20 PM

what do they drink?

Tea

felix rex · « **Reply #151 on:** July 04, 2012, 04:29:56 PM »

I tried to video a cab ride today. Didn't go well. We passed the Israeli embassy (which is surrounded by Egyptian tanks curiously bearing stickers depicting soldiers holding babies) and the cabbie freaked out. Also, the Saudi embassy looks like a vegas casino but with more money and less desperate slots people.

I ate at a restaurant called Taboula today. It sounds really touristy to say, but it was the best Arabic food I've ever had. Holy crap. I was already snobby about Arabic food (Lebanese Tavera? More like Lebanese McDonalds) but the first two legit restaurants I ate at here completely ruined DC places like Tabaq, Neyla's, and even the greasier places in Adams Morgan. Really looking forward to bringing this up when I come back. It's rare to get an authentic talking point that unlikeable. Oh, and this place serves hard liquor and is two blocks from work, making it a great candidate for the King Tut.

Also, I saw a 6-yr old girl beating the crap out of a 4-yr old boy (ages estimated) on the Ring Road today. Driver half-shrugged and explained "they may be related." For getting to know post-revolution Cairo, cabbies are great. Don't discuss politics or history, just let them point crap out that got burned down during the protests (National Party building along the Nile, still covered in ash and surrounded by burned out cars) or was used as a hospital (the Hardees in Tahrir square), etc.

I also got an impromptu tutorial on discretely taking pics of graffiti from one of our engineers and what to do if you attract attention (either from police or civilians).

michigancat · « **Reply #152 on:** July 04, 2012, 10:47:51 PM »

felix rex · « **Reply #153 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:19:04 PM »

Water-related digestion issues I have had while traveling abroad:

1) Bangkok/Chiang Mai: Locals called it "the rainy season". Incredibly dehydrating and "stormy". Came quickly, passed quicker. Basically a strident version of the runs made worse by the horrible toilet facilities they have there.
2) Mexico/CENTAM: Montezuma's Revenge. Explosive diarrhea but overall nothing to write home about. Some stomach cramps.
3) Santiago, Chile: Chilinitis. Severe stomach cramps that rough ridin' drop you where you stand. Two members of our group spent in a night in the hospital, but it was unnecessary (drama queens). It comes (and "goes") in a fury.
4) Cairo, Egypt: Mummy tummy. Not painful, but dangerous since you blow all liquid out on a pretty regular basis. Ineffably dehydrating coupled with the sandy, dry heat. Largely incapacitating since it severely limits your range of mobility.

EllToPay · « **Reply #154 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:21:21 PM »

Quote from: felix rex on July 05, 2012, 04:19:04 PM

Water-related digestion issues I have had while traveling abroad:

1) Bangkok/Chiang Mai: Locals called it "the rainy season". Incredibly dehydrating and "stormy". Came quickly, passed quicker. Basically a strident version of the runs made worse by the horrible toilet facilities they have there.
2) Mexico/CENTAM: Montezuma's Revenge. Explosive diarrhea but overall nothing to write home about. Some stomach cramps.
3) Santiago, Chile: Chilinitis. Severe stomach cramps that rough ridin' drop you where you stand. Two members of our group spent in a night in the hospital, but it was unnecessary (drama queens). It comes (and "goes") in a fury.
4) Cairo, Egypt: Mummy tummy. Not painful, but dangerous since you blow all liquid out on a pretty regular basis. Ineffably dehydrating coupled with the sandy, dry heat. Largely incapacitating since it severely limits your range of mobility.

Trim · « **Reply #155 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:22:32 PM »

I'm eliminating all those places from my Pocket Planes routes.

felix rex · « **Reply #156 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:24:26 PM »

And thank Allah that I finally start my training in Egyptian colloquial next week. My current half-assed blend of fushat and levantine has not been exceptionally useful. I'm either speaking to people in a dialect they hear like patois or in a high-brow dialect akin to asking directions in Shakespearean english. This first week was exhausting. My cabbie today was very annoyed with me (as were the other two people he'd picked up along the way. I assume I will never know why.

slobber · « **Reply #157 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:26:07 PM »

Quote from: felix rex on July 05, 2012, 04:19:04 PM

Water-related digestion issues I have had while traveling abroad:

1) Bangkok/Chiang Mai: Locals called it "the rainy season". Incredibly dehydrating and "stormy". Came quickly, passed quicker. Basically a strident version of the runs made worse by the horrible toilet facilities they have there.
2) Mexico/CENTAM: Montezuma's Revenge. Explosive diarrhea but overall nothing to write home about. Some stomach cramps.
3) Santiago, Chile: Chilinitis. Severe stomach cramps that rough ridin' drop you where you stand. Two members of our group spent in a night in the hospital, but it was unnecessary (drama queens). It comes (and "goes") in a fury.
4) Cairo, Egypt: Mummy tummy. Not painful, but dangerous since you blow all liquid out on a pretty regular basis. Ineffably dehydrating coupled with the sandy, dry heat. Largely incapacitating since it severely limits your range of mobility.

Hey ohhhhhhhhhhhh!
My Mexico experience was horrible. Two days. Crazy stomach cramps. Both ends.
India wasn't too bad, but lasted three days. The worst thing was the plane ride home. Fifteen hours, on a plane, having to use the toilet several times (8 or 9?), worrying about toilet availability. I don't know that I heard a name for it India.

felix rex · « **Reply #158 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:32:03 PM »

Quote from: dobber on July 05, 2012, 04:26:07 PM

Quote from: felix rex on July 05, 2012, 04:19:04 PM
Water-related digestion issues I have had while traveling abroad:

1) Bangkok/Chiang Mai: Locals called it "the rainy season". Incredibly dehydrating and "stormy". Came quickly, passed quicker. Basically a strident version of the runs made worse by the horrible toilet facilities they have there.
2) Mexico/CENTAM: Montezuma's Revenge. Explosive diarrhea but overall nothing to write home about. Some stomach cramps.
3) Santiago, Chile: Chilinitis. Severe stomach cramps that rough ridin' drop you where you stand. Two members of our group spent in a night in the hospital, but it was unnecessary (drama queens). It comes (and "goes") in a fury.
4) Cairo, Egypt: Mummy tummy. Not painful, but dangerous since you blow all liquid out on a pretty regular basis. Ineffably dehydrating coupled with the sandy, dry heat. Largely incapacitating since it severely limits your range of mobility.

Hey ohhhhhhhhhhhh!
My Mexico experience was horrible. Two days. Crazy stomach cramps. Both ends.
India wasn't too bad, but lasted three days. The worst thing was the plane ride home. Fifteen hours, on a plane, having to use the toilet several times (8 or 9?), worrying about toilet availability. I don't know that I heard a name for it India.

Dehli belly.

Oh, and at one point I was concerned that my melange of useless dialects would be unhelpful in locating a bathroom, but it turns out that look on your face is more or less universal rough ridin' sign language.

slobber · « **Reply #159 on:** July 05, 2012, 04:36:14 PM »

Quote from: felix rex on July 05, 2012, 04:32:03 PM

Quote from: dobber on July 05, 2012, 04:26:07 PM
Quote from: felix rex on July 05, 2012, 04:19:04 PM
Water-related digestion issues I have had while traveling abroad:

1) Bangkok/Chiang Mai: Locals called it "the rainy season". Incredibly dehydrating and "stormy". Came quickly, passed quicker. Basically a strident version of the runs made worse by the horrible toilet facilities they have there.
2) Mexico/CENTAM: Montezuma's Revenge. Explosive diarrhea but overall nothing to write home about. Some stomach cramps.
3) Santiago, Chile: Chilinitis. Severe stomach cramps that rough ridin' drop you where you stand. Two members of our group spent in a night in the hospital, but it was unnecessary (drama queens). It comes (and "goes") in a fury.
4) Cairo, Egypt: Mummy tummy. Not painful, but dangerous since you blow all liquid out on a pretty regular basis. Ineffably dehydrating coupled with the sandy, dry heat. Largely incapacitating since it severely limits your range of mobility.

Hey ohhhhhhhhhhhh!
My Mexico experience was horrible. Two days. Crazy stomach cramps. Both ends.
India wasn't too bad, but lasted three days. The worst thing was the plane ride home. Fifteen hours, on a plane, having to use the toilet several times (8 or 9?), worrying about toilet availability. I don't know that I heard a name for it India.

Dehli belly.

Oh, and at one point I was concerned that my melange of useless dialects would be unhelpful in locating a bathroom, but it turns out that look on your face is more or less universal rough ridin' sign language.

That's right, I did here that.

Great stuff felix, keep it up!

felix rex · « **Reply #160 on:** July 10, 2012, 04:06:14 PM »

Finallt got the graffiti/street art project approved (tentatively as a series). I'll start posting some stuff here tomorrow afternoon or so and link the final versions to the publication site when they're done. Looking forward to this. There's a lot of smart people involved.

Kat Kid · « **Reply #161 on:** July 10, 2012, 04:09:31 PM »

Quote from: felix rex on July 10, 2012, 04:06:14 PM

Finallt got the graffiti/street art project approved (tentatively as a series). I'll start posting some stuff here tomorrow afternoon or so and link the final versions to the publication site when they're done. Looking forward to this. There's a lot of smart people involved.

CNS · « **Reply #162 on:** July 10, 2012, 04:10:11 PM »

I honestly can't wait. Caught up on this Cairo thread.

SdK · « **Reply #163 on:** July 10, 2012, 04:19:45 PM »

This is my favorite thread!

bakerman · « **Reply #164 on:** July 10, 2012, 05:23:55 PM »

I'm not as good as describing things as Felix Rex, but the Congo sounds pretty similar. Except more of a tropical climate and about a bajillion times more poor.

SkinnyBenny · « **Reply #165 on:** July 10, 2012, 05:50:28 PM »

Quote from: bakerman on July 10, 2012, 05:23:55 PM

I'm not as good as describing things as Felix Rex, but the Congo sounds pretty similar. Except more of a tropical climate and about a bajillion times more poor.

CatMatt???

Dugout DickStone · « **Reply #166 on:** July 10, 2012, 06:13:11 PM »

Goddam FR is one interesting Cat.

bakerman · « **Reply #167 on:** July 11, 2012, 01:13:19 AM »

Quote from: SkinnyBenny on July 10, 2012, 05:50:28 PM

Quote from: bakerman on July 10, 2012, 05:23:55 PM
I'm not as good as describing things as Felix Rex, but the Congo sounds pretty similar. Except more of a tropical climate and about a bajillion times more poor.

CatMatt???

no, denied

steve dave · « **Reply #168 on:** July 11, 2012, 07:19:49 AM »

Felix, congrats on your global diarhea adventures.

pissclams · « **Reply #169 on:** July 11, 2012, 08:30:12 AM »

can't wait for the first King Tut report.

you have complete ownership of the ingredients list b/c i assume they have weird egypt liquor that we don't have here, pro tip- watch what the other dudes are drinking and just use that as a base then tweak it.

be sure and get them all lubed up on King Tuts and report back.

felix rex · « **Reply #170 on:** July 11, 2012, 08:37:20 AM »

Quote from: pissclams on July 11, 2012, 08:30:12 AM

can't wait for the first King Tut report.

you have complete ownership of the ingredients list b/c i assume they have weird egypt liquor that we don't have here, pro tip- watch what the other dudes are drinking and just use that as a base then tweak it.

be sure and get them all lubed up on King Tuts and report back.

I will probably bump the graffiti thing for the King Tut plans for the time being. Will be great for my global diarrhea report.

Trim · « **Reply #171 on:** July 11, 2012, 08:40:25 AM »

Those traveling to Seattle to see the chicken nuggets Cats in December can take in some King Tut action (diarrhea-free) as well.

http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/King-Tut/king-tut-the-exhibition

pissclams · « **Reply #172 on:** July 11, 2012, 08:49:55 AM »

Quote from: Trim on July 11, 2012, 08:40:25 AM

Those traveling to Seattle to see the chicken nuggets Cats in December can take in some King Tut action (diarrhea-free) as well.

http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org/King-Tut/king-tut-the-exhibition

go to seattle, grab some fake doritos and hop into that king tut thing *(casket?), next thing you know you're in cairo PAK'n w/felix rex.

fwiw, cairo has been a great airport for me- perfect distance b/w london and bagdad/tehran *this is for my class 1's only of course

CanConfirm · « **Reply #173 on:** July 12, 2012, 07:58:32 PM »

Hey, gang. Just woke up from my LGA-->FRA-->CAI flight and had some killer jetlag.

You're never going to believe this, but I was walking the streets of Cairo today and I ran into Felix Rex! He didn't recognize me, but I snapped a picture of him as he was going by. The Egyptian police almost confiscated my camera, but I was able to convince them to let me keep this one.

Sure was great to see an Expat EMAW today. FelixRex, give me a ring and let's get a KingTutPAK going.

(SD, I haven't forgotten about you.)

Kat Kid · « **Reply #174 on:** July 12, 2012, 08:09:04 PM »

THREAD DELIVARS!!1