Saturday, February 6, 2010

Egypt (65) From Cairo to Istanbul

Egypt (1) The Idea to go
Egypt (2) Incheon Airport
Egypt (3) Turkish Airlines
Egypt (4) Breakfast is served and it's raining
Egypt (5) Istanbul: Hello Turkey!
Egypt (6) Istanbul: City Tour begins
Egypt (7) Istanbul: Turkish Islamic Art Museum
Egypt (8) Istanbul: Blue Mosque
Egypt (9) Istanbul: Blue Mosque Beanie Drama
Egypt (10) Istanbul: Lunch
Egypt (11) Istanbul: Hagia Sophia
Egypt (12) Istanbul: Grand Bazaar
Egypt (13) Istanbul: Snow Storm
Egypt (14) Istanbul: Goodbye Turkey!
Egypt (15) Arriving in Cairo
Egypt (16) Meeting mum, breakfast and Dana
Egypt (17) Pyramids and Sphinx

Egypt (18) Perfume Factory
Egypt (19) Jeweler
Egypt (20) Mit Rahina Museum
Egypt (21) Step Pyramid
Egypt (22) Bumpy Car Ride
Egypt (23) Lunch & Shopping
Egypt (37) Mohammad, Airtime & Security Guy
Egypt (38) Dinner & Galabya Party
Egypt (39) Love Story - Photoshopped
Egypt (40) Temple of Horus, Edfu
Egypt (41) Sail to Luxor & Sundeck Shananigans
Egypt (42) Hello, Mr Sailor!
Egypt (43) Luxor TempleEgypt
Egypt (44) My Sundeck Proposal
Egypt (45) West Bank of Luxor & Colossi of Memnon
Egypt (46) Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Egypt (47) Alabaster Factory
Egypt (48) Valley of the Kings
Egypt (49) Avenue of Sphinx
Egypt (50) Falafel Lunch
Egypt (51) Karnak Temple
Egypt (52) Goodbye, Luxor!
Egypt (53) From Luxor to Cairo
Egypt (54) Mum's Last Night in Cairo
Egypt (55) Coptic Cairo
Eygpt (56) Khan el-Khalili Market
Egypt (57) Hotel Gift Shop
Egypt (58) QT with mum
Egypt (59) From airtime to jewelry
Egypt (60) Dinner with mum
Egypt (61) Mum leaves Egypt
Egypt (62) Downtown Cairo on Friday Night
Egypt (63) Goodbye, Cairo!
Egypt (64) Flight's delayed, it's a sign!

 Saturday, January 30 2010

My seat is directly behind the couple. I have an aisle seat and I wait for the other person  before I buckle up.

The girl who's going to be sitting next to me arrives. When I stand up, she squints her eyes, smiles at me and asks me, "Are you Ruby?"

"Excuse me?"
"Are you Ruby?" she repeats.
"No," I reply very confused.

When we're sitting, she tells me her name - Sella. She's from England but teaching in Egypt. She's going to visit her family in Turkey after 19 years - she says.

I ask her again. "Sorry, what did you ask me before?"

"Are you Ruby?" she asks for the third time.
"Who's Ruby?" I ask.
"My sister-in-law" she replies.

I'm even more confused. So since she's not seen her family in 19 years, perhaps she hasn't met this Ruby and simply assumes that I'm her? But - why? How?!

"What made you ask me that?"
"Just a feeling"

All the time she talks, she had her eyes squinted and speaking very hippie-ish.

A male flight attendant comes to ask me if I booked a special meal. While I'm trying to talk to him, I hear Sella saying something like, "Be careful of him"

I turn to her and say ""Excuse me?"
She doesn't reply me.

Soon after, she says something again and I tell her that I don't understand what she's saying.

She says something again.
I say again, "Excuse me?"

I'm not at all expected for what happens next.

She darts me a look and says loudly, "Why do you keep saying, "Excuse me" all the time?"

Shocked, I say, "I'm sorry, but I thought you were talking to me"

"No, I'm not! Just...don't talk to me"
What?! Is she serious?
I need to confirm.
"You don't want me to talk to you?" I ask.

She nods her head.

I look around me. I want someone to see and acknowledge what just happened.

I ignore what she's said and I ask her, "Are you always this rude to people?"
She turns her face away from me.

Why doesn't anyone see this?

A short while passes. She takes out a book and begins to chant something. She places her palms together and raises it above her head.

I figure she's not well. But I'm still a litlle nervous sitting next to her. She keeps looking at me from the corner of her eye. 

She doesn't want me to talk to her, but she's looking at me all the time.
I ask her, "Are you looking at me?"
"I think you're paranoid. Just stop talking to me," she yells.

She starts to apply some make-up. She raises her compact mirror high above her head, and I assume she can see the reflection of the man sitting behind us looking at her. She turns around in her seat to look at him and says quietly, "Dirty old man!"

Can this flight just land already so I can get out?

A flight attendant comes to ask her to put up her tray table. She ignores him. When he repeats himself, she says to him very rudely, "I'll do it."

When we eventually land and queue to leave the aircraft, I try to move far away from the girl as I can!

Egypt (66) Transit in Turkey
 

No comments: