okay ghana. i get it.

a word to the wise... get your ghana visas sorted out in your country of origin well before you go to ghana. the country doesn't take well to spontaneity.

im still in cairo.. i think and hope beyond all else i will be on ethiopians flight out of here tonight. but at the rate ive been going, it will likely be another uneventful trip to cairo airport in the middle of the night.

ive now spent an unplanned week in egypt which, despite the frustration, has been pretty good. i wandered around cairo for a few days, checking out some mosques, old areas and sufi dances. this city is an entirely different world that blends the chaos of major african cities with KFC, caesar's pizza and 4+ laned roads (which im a pro at crossing now).

my first trip here a few weeks ago, i wasn't totally sold on the place. it didn't come off as very walkable and egyptians seemed to be constantly ripping me off. on second look though, living in the centre of downtown, its come off entirely differently. ive spent too much time wandering around a lot of twisted alleys and missing apparently all of the big tourist attractions. ah well.

after a few days, when i realized i wasnt getting anywhere until at least today, i took off to aswan and luxor with some australian guys i met. down there, we saw some seriously big and old temples (pictures on facebook). we also spent a good chunk of time zig zagging down the nile in a felucca... it may be the budget option of seeing the nile but i think its about a million times cooler than the cruise ships.. even if its a bit slow and windy.

i did an overnight train to cairo last night, under the impression that id be flying out at 230am. the ghana embassy seems to have changed their mind one more time though.. some man from the embassy is coming to the airport with me tonight to try and get me on the flight. hopefully im not deported when i get there.

this whole week has certainly made a strong case for planning in advance.. but on the flip side, i never would have made it down to abu simbel without it so, im probably not going to become a planner anytime soon.