Homeward bound

It's been a while since my last update. It is amazingly difficult to find Internet access whilst traveling. But we have now left Egypt and are on the homeward journey via Hong Kong. We had a lay over in London for about six hours, so decided we would pay Lizzy a quick visit at home at Windsor Castle. Lovely Lady but very small !
What can I say about Egypt, apart from being very happy to be leaving. It is an incredibly amazing country in terms of antiquities and history, but the best is definitely behind them. The poverty is extreme in much of the rural areas, particularly the West Bank where no one wants to live. We spent the morning yesterday in Cairo Museum and saw King Tuts amazing treasures. It really does rival the crown jewels in London in terms of beauty and opulence. The museum was literally filled with sarcophagus's and artifacts.
We were lucky to find a nice little Lebanese cafe around the corner from the hotel. We ordered three small dishes and didn't get through what we ordered, but the table next to us, with an Arab man and woman, ordered so many dishes they didn't have the room to fit them all on the table. Amazingly, 80% of what was ordered was untouched. The waste was astounding and we couldn't work out why someone would order so much food with the intention of leaving most of it. But of course it was all for show- this person could afford to buy things and then not use it. It is a country of extremes. So much poverty but so much waste.
The cultural differences proved to be a real challenge. By the last night, Tom had requested I actually cover myself in a veil, in an attempt to stop the constant leering. It was incredibly invasive of personal space and freedom. I have a renewed respect for why the women wear such concealing clothing. I would too if I had to put up with that sort of treatment on a daily basis.

The constant requirement to tip is something that we simply couldn't get used to. The final straw was having to give the traffic police £5 so they would stop the traffic so we could cross the road to our hotel. The passing of cash was constant- to drivers, porters, waiters, door men, bag handlers, toilet attendants, police, guards, everyone. It was a relief to see other Australians were just as frustrated as we were.

Anyway, we've had a lovely day in transit in London (we love London!!) and are now heading off to Hong Kong. No idea where we are going and how we are getting there, but I'm sure we will work something out.

See you all soon.