Lost in Zamalek

After my big pyramids adventure I took it pretty easy tonight (plus I have a a series of meetings tomorrow at the American University in Cairo and I have a little prep work to do). So, I went for a long walk around the neighborhood, Zamalek, where the Hotel Longchamps is located. Well, it wasn't supposed to be a long walk but it turned into one when I got lost. As usual, I was pretty certain that I knew was I was headed - and Zamalek is a very safe, unscale neighborhood - so I didn't have much to worry about. It reminds me of Bandra, the neighborhood where my apartment was when I taught at our campus in Mumbai. I took one wrong turn, however, and immediately got lost - and then, instead of simply turning around with my tail between my legs and retracing my steps - I "figured out" where to go and got much more lost . . . until I turned around with my tail between my legs, retraced my steps, and found my way back to the hotel. It was actually a very nice walk and I know a lot more about the neighborhood. Along the way I passed the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cafe (I've seen them in Dubai - in fact, they have one on the campus at our GM partner Zayed University) and went in to check out their frappocino prices - they were 19 Egyptian shillings, which is about 4-5 US dollars. The place was packed, which certainly speaks to greater overall prosperity but also the rise of an increasingly consumer society. I took a flyer on the frappocino and instead dropped by the local McDonald's for a chocolate milkshake (tasted exactly the same). So, if you're staying at the Longchamps and get a craving for American fast food, just walk out the front and take a left on Ismail Mohamed and follow it to the river - along the way you'll pass a Hardee's - and there you will find a Pizza Hut right next to the McDonald's.