Picking up from yesterday –
Okay, so the night before, I’d asked the hotel guy about getting a Covid test to go home. He said they were hard to get in Egypt. (Other people had said this too, so I didn’t think this was just him messing with me.)
And he said we’d work it out in the morning.
So, the other tour guide guy came in the morning, gave me a little money back, and took me to Cairo, and dropped me off at a major intersection, and I walked to the Egyptian museum, where I met a cool Australian tourist who walked around with me. And he kinda thought it was hilarious when I regaled him with my stories of what a mark I’d been these past few days, basically in a very nice way being like “you are awful at this/navigating Egypt hahahaha.”
He was super, super nice about it though, and always putting a positive spin on it, and basically being like, “hey, you learned a lot in this trip. And that hopefully helps you in the future.”
But, while i was in the museum, I felt a little bad, because I spent a fair amount of the time distracted by other stuff going on – which was mainly the Covid stuff.
So, I felt slightly at the mercy of the hotel guy because I didn’t know local places to get Covid tested, and I had to have a negative test to get on the plane/back into America.
So, we were messaging back and forth. And I’m telling him I just need a Rapid test, as that’s what’s required. And he keeps telling me to get a PCR.
(He has made it very clear at this point he barely even believes in Covid, so the PCR is not an extra step for my health. It’s to make more commission off of the money I’d be paying the doctor.)
I reiterate I only want a Rapid.
Then he tries to tell me a “Rapid is part of a PCR.” And I’m like, no it’s not? They’re separate tests?
He asks for a copy of my passport. I give him a photo that’s on my phone (as I left my actual passport at the hotel). And he’s like “the photo isn’t clear enough.” Even though it was clear, as anything else I’d used it for (including registering with the scuba diving people) was fine.
So, then I finally ask like “Can I truly not just get one at a pharmacy? Does it have to be this whole thing with you bringing a doctor in?”
And he’s like “Are you joking?”
And I’m like “I’m not joking. I just don’t understand why everything is always so hard?” So then I say forget it. I’ll figure it out.
And he’s like, “do you honestly think a pharmacy is gonna do a PCR? hahahaha”
And I’m all “I don’t need a PCR! I need a rapid!”
So he’s like “Fine. Do figure it out on your own. Good idea”
And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.