Monty on Tour 5...

Well, it's been a week since I returned from Cairo and I'm only now getting to post about it. What can I say...chaotic, dirty, crazy, fun, fascinating, amazing, all of the above!!! It was HOT, in fact, it felt like Townsville, my home town, in weather terms anyway...hot and dusty. But that's where the similarities ended.

The drivers are INSANE!!! Seriously! The lane markings on the road...merely a suggestion. Road rules? Seemingly non-existent! And there were no seatbelts in the little tin claptraps they call taxis! You are driving along at 50+ miles per hour, on a congested freeway, with your driver pointing out to you interesting sights, while weaving his way maniacally through the traffic! I managed to maintain an outward calm, but inside I knew I was going to die! Thankfully, my lovely friend Englishman in Budapest was along for the ride and so we took turns travelling in the front seat!

I did have a great time there...the markets are crazy, the vendors enthusiastic and quite insistent on selling you something. And then upselling or cross-selling you more! And for the first time in my life, I had to haggle! And after a couple of times, I quite got into it! Was kinda fun!

We had traditional Turkish coffee in a great little cafe which is a Cairo institution...just can't think of the name at the moment. Even in the cafes, the vendors of leather wallets or dodgy Rolex watches harass you! But it was all fun! But thank goodness each night I got to go home to a nice hotel room and shower! Blissssss!

When our last day in Cairo dawned, there was these strange booming noises happening - we were close to the airport and so I thought it may be some kind of sonic boom from the air force jets or something. But no, it was thunder! Yes, woke up to pouring rain! What the...??? I didn't know it rained in Cairo! And not on my last morning there...the morning we had scheduled to go to the pyramids!!! But undaunted, we grabbed a taxi from a very friendly gentleman, and made our way to the pyramids! They are quite amazing...and live up to the hype! It's incredible how these things were built so many thousands of years ago, with so little technology! And survive!!! It was a lightning tour of the pyramids for us, under gray and threatening skies, but thankfully, the rain held off while we were there. But I got some great pics of the pyramids under these dark clouds...quite dramatic...and the early morning rain also had the effect of clearing the air as well.

But for me, the highlight of the trip was of course spending time with EIB! It's been a year since we met in Budapest, when I got completely infactuated with him, and we've been through a lot together (over the phone). We've managed to take the first tentative steps of acqaintenceship back then, and build it into a solid and fulfilling friendship. He's been there nearly every Sunday night as I've spilled my guts on my week's happenings, he's lived through my slutty summer, my few brief relationships, my doubts and fears, my joys and tears, and connecting with him in the flesh again in Cairo was just incredible!!! Long conversations, lots of laughs, some more intimate details revealed - I felt like we've really bonded as friends! And he's in turn revealed more of himself to me, despite his reserved English nature. He's a wonderful friend, and I'm damn lucky to have found him!

So, Cairo was a smashing success for me!

And the week since then, I've spent catching up with more friends, bloggers etc here in London. I was back Thursday and one of Mark's Sydney friends, Carter, was here on holidays. So we met up and did Kew Gardens! Magnificent in autumn...and it was a glorious autumn day too! Friday, I met up with my hunky masseur who moved here from Sydney back in July, and we climbed the 38,627 steps (or so it seemed) to the top of St Paul's Cathederal...fabulous views across London and inside the cathedral was quite magnificent too! Saturday, we hit the shops in Chelsea! And after THAT night, on Sunday, I had an easy day relaxing. I'd actually been chatting to a guy on Gaydar for a couple of days prior and so ended up meeting up with him Sunday afternoon for coffee. A charming gent indeed...in fact, I was having such a good time chatting, we had a second coffee. And then the shop chucked us out as they were closing. So we went for this big long walk around random London streets, talking and talking. We ended up back in Soho and so we dropped into The Village and had ourselves a drink and kept chatting! Lovely guy, very cute, very short! But I suspect, very cuddly! We went our separate ways, however I have invited him over for dinner on Friday night (as Mark and Simon are flying to Berlin for Carter's birthday), so who knows what will happen!!! Watch this space!

This week, it's been more of the same. Yesterday, I met up with one of my oldest friends Marie. We grew up together in Townsville and started hanging out as friends from about age 15 or so. She moved over here about 4 years ago and I saw here last year as well. So it was great to see her again, and this time, I was able to come out to her too! I hadn't told her last year as I really wanted to tell my family first. She was fine with it...suspected all along...the usual. We had a great day going through Kensington Palace and gardens, followed by a brief stint of shopping on Kensington High Street.

And today, I met Soul Seared Dreamer! What a great guy! We did Madam Toussads, which was interesting...highlight was a picture of me with Kylie!!! And then the London Eye! Perfect day for it...gloriously sunny, clear skies and you could see for miles! I will have a bucket of pics to download once I get home and will post the best!

So it's been a full few weeks I have to say! I can't believe how many people I've met, caught up with etc! It's been the most social of holidays I've had and I'm loving it!!!