tsk tsk tut tut in the nice Nile breeze of Cairo
I have had the good fortune to see some wonderful music in Cairo over the past few days. The other day there was an 'oud player named "Musician Mohamed Absel Wahab" and he was very good. Last night I saw a sixteen-piece band led by Dr Amr Abd el-Moneim. So loud my ears hurt. I had to leave at the intermission as I was dead tired and falling asleep but I want to assure anyone who saw me nodding off in the crowd that it was just sleepiness...

Yesterday I saw a little Egyptian kid hawking phony papyrus-scrolls to tourists and I saw he was wearing a fuzzy dot on his forehead. It was not quite a bindi, but more like one of those felt pads you put under furniture so they don't scrape up your nice hardwood floors. I asked the kid what his deal was and he said "I'm Indian person!" and pointed to a tour bus full of Indians that was pulling up. It must be very funny for Indians to go abroad and be attacked by touts and hasslers peddling junk for "best price madam!"...