Aladin

So not long after I finished writing my blog update I go for a walk to try and find my camping mug.

While I'm walking I bump into a young man who introduces himself to me. His name is Aladin. He wants to know where I'm going.
"just for a walk" I tell him. Not really wanting any more marriage proposals from these Egyptian men.

He keeps chatting to me and because I feel like being polite I chat back. He is a Bedouin man, not from Cairo so that is a bit more interesting than the average Cairo man who wants to take me to his perfume shop. He's from somewhere just beyond the White Desert. He is not a guide, tells me he doesn't want my money, he just wants to practice his English.

Eventually I tell him that I need to find a mug because I forgot to bring my mug from home. And he is actually quite helpful and we go to four or five different shops until we find a perfect sized mug made from stainless steal. Perfect for camping. And only costs me 5 egyptian pounds (= about 1 AUD/1USD - love travelling when the dollar is so strong!)

Then of course he wants to have a cup of tea with me. I don't want to though (because tea with egyptian men never turns out to be just tea!) so I make some lame excuse about being very tired and needing to go back to where I'm staying. He wants to meet up again later but I apologise and tell him that maybe when he's in Australia and needs to find a mug I'll help him do that. I escaped successfully and hid in my room for a bit just because I get frustrated with all the men in this country.