Mall Rats

Now separated from our tour, we caught an overnight train back to Cairo and booked a 1:30am flight to Khartoum the next day where we'll wait for our group. That leaves us 15 hours to hang out in City Stars, the swankiest mall in all of Egypt. Seriously. It's financed by some Dubai (I think) capital funding group who maintains offices in a hi-rise buried within. The mall is complete with luxury apartments, offices, a big glass pyramid and a Hotel Intercontinental who was kind enough to store our bags all day.Life in the mall is good fun. Mary caught a needed haircut and shampoo from a Parisian-trained Lebanese stylist who fit the Rodeo Drive sterotype perfectly. Nice work for $20. Top that off with a morning cappuccino and snacks and a viewing of "The Departed", we're having a good morning. It's pretty crazy to watch such a profane and violent movie uncensored in a Muslim country. They loved it, with plenty of applause at the end. I thought it was pretty good, too.Needless to say, our couple days were infinitely better than the stories we heard from our friends who did make the ferry. Also better than the other Americans who stuck with their moron "leader". But I'll spare you that story.