Once that was done, I sprinted to the Gulf Air ticket window and bought the next flight to Cairo, which was leaving in less than an hour and a half. I had a bit of a hiccup at check in, where I was told my carryon bags were overweight. There was no way I was going to check £15,000 of camera gear, but since it was move stuff around or not fly, I wrapped a camera body as well as I could, stuck it in my checked bag, and held my breath that it would still be thee upon arrival. I sprinted through security, which was actually a bit of a joke compared to the UK or US. Didn't have to take my shoes or belt off, laptop stayed in the bag, all very simple. I even set off the metal detector and they just waved me through.
I settled down at the gate and got talking to a nice businessman on his way to Pakistan, and before I knew it, it was time to board. The plane was a nice new A321, and was spotless inside.
The flight was at most half full, and we took off on time with a very quick taxi out. I was incredibly tired from photographing for the past 5 days, and fell asleep soon after take off. I awoke to see a meal had been placed in front of me. A nice meal with chicken, rice, a fresh salad, warm roll, and a tasty dessert, though I can'r remember what it was. The main dish was served in a real ceramic dish, a nice surprise. But what surprised me the most was that on a mid afternoon flight we got a full meal at all, let alone one that is included in the price of your ticket.
I drifted in and out of sleep, and finally woke up a little bit before landing in Cairo. I forgot that you need to buy a visa upon arrival and got caught without any cash. Of course NatWest decided it would be a good idea to put a block on my card and probably added a good £20 to my mobile bill in order to deal with it. Finally, I had the cash and the visa, and made it quickly though immigration and customs, where my bag (and the camera I stashed earlier) were waiting for me.
I made my way to another terminal to wait for the journalist I was meeting who was flying in from London. Once he arrived and we had all our stuff, we hired a driver to take us to Alexandria, where we would then hire another driver to take us to Salloum, on the Libyan border, with our ultimate destination being Benghazi. (More on that trip in the next TR)
