When he flew over the Sinai Peninsula, Zhang Zian's heart was in his throat. It was not until the flight landed safely at the airport that he breathed a sigh of relief. He thanked all the immortals and Buddhas he knew and was glad that a missile did not come from the sky and shoot down the flight. After all, it was not unusual for something to happen in the Middle East. When the news spread to China, people would only say, "Did you see that? You didn't stay at home, but you went to Egypt to seek death! You deserve it! "
Tourism was one of the most important economic pillars of Egypt, so the Egyptian government spared no effort to promote the development of tourism. Of course, they would not ignore the emerging power of China. They implemented landing visas for Chinese tourists because the story of Chinese rich tourists spending money like water had spread around the world.
Unfortunately, rich tourists who loved luxury spending generally did not go to Egypt, because Egypt would not sell mummies and golden coffins, so there was no way to show off their wealth.
After getting off the plane, in addition to applying for a landing visa, Zhang Zian also had to apply for an entry certificate for Fina. Otherwise, it would be easy to bring the cat into Egypt, but difficult to bring it out. In addition, he also had to buy a data card for the Internet and pick up Famous. Famous had been holding back all the way, and as soon as it was taken out of the cage, it could not wait to go to the toilet.
Wei Kang kept taking care of this and that, for fear that someone would get lost or lose their precious equipment. He only felt at ease when all of them got into the hotel taxi.
Logically speaking, the interior of Cairo Airport was still very clean, but as the taxi headed southwest to the city of Cairo, the veil of modern Egypt was slowly lifted.
As the largest city in the Middle East with a population of 20 million, Cairo's urban appearance may not be as good as an ordinary county in China. It was more appropriate to describe it as dirty, messy, and poor.
Regarding the traffic situation in Cairo, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China wrote in the "Instructions for Chinese Citizens Going to Egypt": Cairo's traffic facilities are relatively old, the traffic order is relatively chaotic, and tourists should pay attention to traffic safety when they go out. The main means of transportation in Cairo are taxis, buses, and subways. Buses generally slow down and do not stop when passing a stop sign. Passengers need to climb a flying car to get on and off. It is very unsafe, and tourists are advised not to try it.
Exo me？
Passengers need to climb a flying car to get on and off?
Indeed, this was not a trip to India?
After seeing it with his own eyes, Zhang Zian realized that in order to avoid hurting the great friendship between the Chinese and Egyptian people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been very polite in their wording — there was no f * cking traffic here!
After setting off from the airport, they did not see a single traffic light along the way. Only the traffic police stood in the middle of the intersection to direct the traffic, acting as a human traffic light. The choking exhaust and the incessant honking of horns were annoying. There were so many cars on the road that they looked like dumplings. Each car moved like a snail. It was a three-lane road, but there were often five cars running side by side.
In order to reach their destination as soon as possible, the drivers did everything they could. They didn't slow down at intersections, didn't turn on their turn signals, and overtook cars on the left or right depending on their mood. It made people wonder if one could get a driver's license just by paying money.
There were almost no luxury cars on the road, and there were very few new cars. Many models that could not be seen in China and had been discontinued for many years could be seen everywhere. It was like a museum of classic cars. Egypt did not have a rule on the number of years a vehicle could be scrapped, so everyone drove their cars until they could no longer be driven and were completely scrapped.
Here, Japanese cars such as the new Toyota were already considered luxury cars. Occasionally, a few domestic cars could be seen, and they were popular with the locals because they were cheap and resistant to grass.
Whether it was a new car or an old car, a private car or a taxi, the surface of each car was full of potholes, and there was not even a complete piece of paint. Here, if the car was scratched, it could only be considered bad luck. It was impossible to pay for it.
Because it did not rain all year round, the whole of Cairo was shrouded in a layer of grayish-yellow. Dust and car exhaust gathered near the surface, unable to dissipate. Under the strong sunlight, it produced ripple-like shaking.
When Zhang Zian and the others arrived, it was midsummer. Seeing this scene made the heat even more unbearable.
Zhang Zian took Fina and Famous to the same taxi as Wei Kang. The three men and one woman sat in the other two taxis because they brought too much luggage, so they could only do so.
Fina witnessed the backwardness of modern Egypt, and she was even more worried.
"Huh? Why are there so many unfinished buildings in Egypt? "Wei Kang observed the scenery of Cairo and suddenly asked in confusion.
"Unfinished buildings?" Zhang Zian did not pay attention to this.
Just then, the taxi stopped because the road ahead was blocked again. Wei Kang pointed to a slightly higher position. "Look, these three or four-story buildings don't seem to have a roof. Some of them are still exposed with steel bars. It seems like they were built halfway and then stopped."
With his guidance, Zhang Zian also looked up and found that, as Wei Kang had said, there was a row of small buildings next to them that were in the same situation. But unlike the unfinished buildings in China, these small buildings were obviously occupied, and there were clothes hanging on the rooftop.
Zhang Zian did not know what was going on and guessed, "Is it that they ran out of money?"
Wei Kang asked the taxi driver in English, but the driver's English was really not good enough. He stammered word by word, and there was no grammar at all. However, with his hand gestures, he was able to explain the situation clearly.
It turned out that after building a house in Egypt, taxes had to be paid, but unfinished houses did not need to be paid, so ordinary people's houses would never be completed to legally avoid taxes. Of course, the premise of this was that Egypt's climate was extremely dry, and there was almost no rain. If it was changed to a place where it rained every two or three days, you could row a boat in the house …
Zhang Zian and Wei Kang listened and looked at each other. They could not help but sigh. The wisdom of the working people was really infinite!
But was it really economical to do this? After all, the top floor was half built, and there was no roof. Who would be willing to sleep there? No one would want the top floor, no matter if it was rented or sold, right? Even if it could be rented out, it would probably be very cheap.
The driver explained again that Egypt was completely private land ownership. The land that was bought would always be yours, and you could build as many floors as you wanted on this land. These three or four-story buildings were all families living in them, and they were not rented or sold. The Arab world had a strong sense of clan, and the family had to live neatly together. As the family population increased, they would not separate. Instead, they would build the building layer by layer, and it would never be completed.
Wei Kang had prepared a walkie-talkie for each team member to strengthen communication. He told these things through the walkie-talkie to the other four people, and everyone listened attentively.
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