Travel Tips

Transcribed from February 94 journal entry...

Right now, I'm hurtling through the desert night at about 130 kph on a bus with only its running lights on. Other vehicles, lighted in exactly the same way, constantly close on collision courses with us. Barely visible, we scream together with a combined speed of nearly 250 kph. That, along with the general road conditions in the northern Sinai desert and the fact that it's Ramadan, and our bus driver may at any moment faint for lack of food today, makes for an interesting and exhilerating ride. Egyptians, I've found drive by sonar at night, honking their horns at random intervals to determine the distance to the next obstacle in front of them. Ahmed, our driver, is no different.

Incidentally, he just ran off the road while passing a car (lights off of course) on a curve, and almost crushed another one. "REDUCE SPEED," the sign said, as we rocketed through the curve like a 20 ton bobsled...