2018 Africa Trip: Day 5 - Cairo & GIza

Day 5 – The Entrée of Egypt

Continuing the theme set out by calling Saqqara the appetizer, today was the day for the Main Course in Giza. However, I made myself wait a bit, choosing to do the great pyramids in the afternoon – when crowds are less, and also when the normal early morning haze disappears leaving a clearer view of the pyramids. Both are large positives in my mind, which made it a rather natural decision.

In the morning, I decided to check out two museums that highlighted Cairo’s current religious view – instead of its ancient civilization and religion that led to the building of the pyramids in the first place. The first stop was the Museum of Islamic Art, deep within the heart of the muslim area that housed the Khan El-Khalili market that I visited yesterday. The museum is medium sized – about 25 rooms well laid out with all form of Muslim art, from sculpture to painted tiles, to paintings, to columns, to windows, to ceramics, to all the rest. It was presented really well, even if I couldn’t understand a discernable theme for each room.

The building itself was well kept, the layout being far more traditional museum than was the Egyptian Museum – and while I exalted in the high-volume approach the Egyptian Museum took on, the more traditional approach was more welcome. Some of my favorites parts of the museum were the frescoes (re-put-together indoors) and the Arabic Rugs, always a nice treat. The museum presented countless photo opportunities, but like most places in Egypt, taking photos inside requires paying an additional 50 Egyptian Pounds (~$3), not a hard choice.

The next stop on this religions experience was heading back to the Coptic area – much more lively at 11am than it was at 5pm on Sunday, with the Coptic Museum being the target. I entered right after a big group of school-kids, which was nice to see a familiar sight (school field trip) but proved annoying when the wait became about 10 minutes at the ticket counter.

The Coptic Museum is built inside what seemed to be a monastery, and told the story of the Coptic Christians, a long-standing ethnic & religious minority in Egypt. Some of the artwork and pieces felt familiar as a Catholic, but there were slight differences, like lighter colors, more ceramic and wood-work, generally an interesting mix between Chrstian & Islamic art. I had a strict scheduled to make it to the Pyramids by around 2pm, so I was a bit more hurried than I normally would have been, but I got the sense of the heritage throughout the museum.

The track down to the pyramids was carefully laid out directionally, moving in one continuous direction towards Giza, on the Southwest corner of Cairo. The final stop before the main event was for lunch, where I went to Zooba’s other location in the Maadi neighborhood. Zooba was the same style but a nbit more upmarket than its Zamalek sister – this time with many tables adjoining the community table in the middle. Theee more interesting aspect was the Maadi neighborhood itself, a very upmarket, green, neighborhood that reminded me of some of the nicer neighborhoods in Santiago that I visited in January. While it felt a bit uninspired to go back to Zooba for a second straight day, getting a view of Maadi was worth it.

Finally around 1pm, I got into my Uber to head to the pyramids. Cairo traffic isn’t too bad, even when considering there is only one real roadway that leads to the pyramids. About ¾ of the way there, the imposing triangles become visible, looming between and behind apartment buildings. The last ten minutes or so of the drive the pyramids are now fully visible, seemingly an easy straight shot to them, but at this point the confusion only begins.

I was told by someone looking fairly official that my uber couldn’t get past the car entrance and drive up to the base of pyramids – seemed fairly true. I was then sold to take a horse-drawn carriage up, wih the overall cost being so that it included the cost of the entrance fees to the various pyramids, both inside and out. After doing the math, it seemed like basically a 40% mark-up on just paying for the individual tickets and walking to and from each one – seemingly a good deal. After it ended, I have no idea if it was a good deal or not. All I know is that I should have done more preparation for the day, and probably gotten a pre-set guide (people who seemingly have the ability to drive to the pyramids). Instead, I got a very eager to please horse & carriage driver who kept reassuring me that he works for the government, not the mafia, and that there was no need to be alarmed. In the end, again I saw all the main requisite places – probably missed on some of the actual history of each place. That’s what some future family trip years from now is for.

The ride from the town up to the base of the first pyramid (Khofu) where the sheer size and regality of these buildings start to hit. You forget about the horse that’s being whipped that is driving you up there. You forget about the people that will be hawking some ware at you when you get off (though I found this a bit overstated). Instead, you just look up, look at the only surviving Great Wonder of the Ancient World.

The first two pyramids (Khofu and Khafre) are close to each other, the second having a lighter limestone cap. The third (Meunakre) a little further away. The first pyramid has the shaft open to the middle, having to go up to it instead of down like the Red Pyramid yesterday. It was similarly claustrophobic, and you have to use your imagination on what would have been inside, but it is still quite a feeling to be climbing to the heart of one of the Great Pyramids.

The views from up near the pyramids are all quite stunning, with sand-swept beach in most directions with a little bit of the town in the background as well. The Sphinx was the final stop on the tour, with its best feature being lined up nicely in front of the two larger of the three pyramids, creating just endless picture opportunities. The entire experience is incredible really. Sure, if it was in a first world country, it would have been slightly cleaner in the town, they may not have the horse & carriage scheme (or it would be seen as a luxury instead of a shady fallback), but having this historical marvel in Egypt is truly incredible.

I headed back for my normal R&R at 5pm, but then went back out at 6:30pm to Opia Lounge & Bar, on the 36^th floor of the Ramses Hilton Hotel, with a perfect view of the Nile below it. The river from that height looked stunning through sunset and then at night when tons of boats and shore-side restaurants and buildings light up.

Dinner was Abou El Said, a truly authentic Egyptian restaurant in Zamalek. The interior was perfectly manicured to look like an old Colonial Egyptian home, fit with furniture and wall pieces in that style. It was slightly smokey as there were multiple tables enjoying hookah (fairly unavoidable), but luckily my table was not near any of those.

The food was very good, with a lamb & pecan meatball starter (interesting combo, but it absolutely worked) and a grilled lamb with saffron sauch and rice as a main. The portions were healthy, the sauces were good, the whole experience was really nice. Even their custard-based dessert hit the spot.

Following dinner I walked across the street to Deals Bar, which had a really nice atmosphere and décor, but was a little more empty (about 50% full) than I was expecting. The bartender explained to me that it is not yet peak tourist season, so after 10pm or so it quiets down a bit. Either way, it afforded me the wifi needed to write this piece and browse the web. The draft beer was cold (Stella is the beer – not the same as Stella Artois, though sadly not much more creative either).

Cairo is not a place I would recommend for a great nightlife scene – helps anyway when a lot of the tourist activity starts early. They have their lounges & clubs, but most have strict reservation or ‘must come in groups/couples’ policies. The bars are all fairly good, but not too creative with their drinks. I’m sure you can still have a great time, but it is purely as an additive to whatever fun is experienced during the waking hours – which to Cairo’s credit is a lot.

My Cairo part of the trip ends with this, aside from dinner tomorrow prior to my flight to Luxor, and overall I found Cairo to be more or less what I expected. The historical sights are fascinating, and well maintained (especially when compared to India). The museums I went to were all high quality. The traffic far better than I was led to believe (it’s really only bad during post-work rush hour – 5-7pm). The food was good and affordable. I can forgive a city for not having te best late-night scene – particularly a muslim country. There were some warts, but when you have the underlay of such significant history, the wondrous Nile, it makes up for it.

2018 Africa Trip: Day 4 - Saqqara & Cairo

Day 4: The Appetizer

It is a bit reductive to define Egypt by its pyramids. Certainly, there is a lot more to like about the country outside of them. But then again, that is why millions each year travel to a bustling metropolis deep inside a desert to witness them. Like I do in most things, I’m saving the best for last, with the Great Pyramids being kept for my final day in Cairo (Alexandria is the destination the final day before the flight to Luxor). The temples near Saqqara served as the appetizer. Like in many meals in many restaurants, the appetizer may turn out to be better than the main course, and the Great Pyramids will have to fully earn the label ‘great’ to have it exceed the sereness and astounding history of the temples/pyramids/tombs of Saqqara.

Saqqara isn’t an unknown location, but the nicely sparse crowds there (admittedly, I came late) definitely gave the impression it was somewhat under covers. The drive to Saqqara was lengthy (about an hour to go what would normally take 30 min), but it is well worth it to see more rural Egypt, which reminds me a lot of a cleaner Goa (the drive was mostly around the Nile so still somewhat lush). When your turn off into the entrance to the Saqqara pyramids complex, that quickly turns into beautiful arid desert, if there was such a thing.

The first stop after a really complex ticket buying experience (there are like ten different things to buy tickets for that are all separate, with little clear explanation for your humble English speaker – in the end, definitely didn’t buy enough of the options) is the Imhotep Museum. Named after the architect of the famous ‘Step’ Pyramid (aka the Pyramid of Djoser), the museum is well preserved with a select number of artifacts that were excavated from the various pyramids and tombs in the complex. Of course, to take photos inside, you have to pay 300 Egyptian Pounds (~$16), which is a better deal than it seems as it covers the museum and a few of the tomb sites.

After the museum was the drive up to the Pyramid of Djoser complex, with the Pyramids and Tombs of King Unas there as well – along with a lot of the ten things that were offered, off which again I definitely bought too few. The Step Pyramid is not imposing, but really beautiful in both how well put together it is and how old it is. That was the general theme of the entire complex, be it the column entrance, the multiple tomb shafts (all 30+ metres deep), or even the carvings and wall paintings, even if I’m sure a lot of them were a lot touched up.

Unlike the Egyptian Museum the day before, I got a guide this time, as apart from the key sites (the pyramids of Djoser and Unas) I would have hd little knowledge of anything else, despite having a guidebook (first time in a long time I’m actively using a Lonely Planet book on a trip). The guide was good, if a little hard to understand, but he was at least humorous, kept to time, and actively told me not to buy the camel rides which are sold throughout. It was a tad expensive when converting to Egyptian Pounds per Minute, but these guides are invaluable to getting the full experience.

After taking in the Djoser area, we went off about 20 minutes further south to the Red and Bent Pyramids, built during the time of King Senefro – the first King in Dynasty IV, the same Dynasty who’s final king would build the first of the three Great Pyramids. These pyramids are larger, more imposing; the red pyramid named so for obvious reasons, and the Bent pyramid for even more obvious reasons (the top half having a lesser incline up to the apex point). The Red Pyramid had a cool feature where you could traverse down to the three tombs (now emptied) down the shaft, which is basically a literaly mine-shaft where you have to duck and walk backwards to effectively go down.

The Bent Pyramid had an easier route to the middle. Having access to these shafts and inner tombs is a real plus – the rest you can only really witness from above. Overall, the pyramid complex’s are incredible primarily in their age. The Dyansty IV was about 2700 – 2500 BC. The layout, aside from the desert aspect, was similar to Machu Picchu, but a good 4,000 years before it. The Egyptians were very advanced for their days (obviously, since we know little from the other civilizations of their days), and it shows here.

The Red & Bent Pyramids were exquisitely set-up as well, giant mountains rising out of flat desert in every direction behind them. We aren’t deep enough into the Sahara to get real sand dunes, but there are a few rolling sandy hills around that all create a somewhat mystical setting, if not a purely mystical feeling. Again, just the idea of being in this spot is pretty crazy. Civilizations that aged in the 2000+ BC are basically Egypt, or parts of the world that may never be truly visitable (e.g. Iraq, aka Mesopotamia). Egypt is different.

My post-pyramid experience was more common to modern day, but still quite interesting. First was a nice 3pm lunch back in Cairo at Zooba, a brilliant idea with good food. Pretending to be an olden ‘street food’ set-up, there is a long table in the middle of the restaurant that serves as a community table, with food served in steel plates and bowls, choosing from a fairly normal menu of Egyptian street food classics (e.g. Shawarma and the like). Both the labneh with pita appetizer and spicy diced sausage salad were really nice. The setting, sitting elbow-to-elbow with what seemed to be a perfect 50/50 split of locals and tourists (met my first Americans on the trip in Egypt), was really nice.

Post lunch and what might be a standard ~5pm R&R session, I headed to the Khal El Khalili bazaar, a giant market woven in a 4x4 block area (all pedestrian only. The drive over there allowed the first experience to get deep into the muslim part of Cairo – enough so that there were a good 2-3 mosques in the immediate vicinity of the Khalili bazaar. That said, like any bazaar, there were a lot of tourists looking to test their bargaining chops against store owners looking to see how much they can get away with.

Looking past the number of shops selling statues and iron-works of the Pyramids, and not even bothering to glance at those selling t-shirts and shawls, I attacked the bazaar with laser focus, eyes aiming to add to my coaster collection, and get a few gifts for family, including spice mixes to use when grilling back home. The coaster hunt was successful in the literal sense that I bought a set of coasters, but less so in the sense that they weren’t as good as I would have hoped. There was really nice alabaster jars and curios, but sadly no alabaster coasters. Many of the stalls sold the same coasters that were nicely painted, but fairly flimsy – the redeeming quality supposedly being the little bits of Mother of Pearl in them. That said, the willingness the store vendors had to drop the price made me seem like they weren’t going to star in my collection.

These types of markets can be quite a hassle and haggle, and this one isn’t necessarily different, but it didn’t seem as hawkerish as others I had been to. There were also a lot of people that outwardly looked like easier targets to sell overpriced t-shirts to (e.g. white men & women) than I did. I also liked the myriad coffee shops and/or hookah bars they had littered throughout. It was certainly a nice experience, if one that didn’t end with me getting the set of coasters I would have wanted.

Dinner was at Sabaya, in the Intercontinental Hotel – a top rated restaurant which somewhat disappointed, but mostly because I went a little too safe in what I ordered (quail – good, but basically smaller chicken). The appetizer of lamb sausages with hummus and really fluffy pita bread was great, as was their ‘welcome drink’ which was a grape based cocktail that I didn’t fully understand the ingredients of when explained. After dinner, I headed back to Zamalek (the main food & beverage area) to Harry’s Pub, a really nice pub setting with live music. The music was good, but too loud, and quickly forced an exit – probably well intentioned as tomorrow as the main course.

2018 Africa Trip: Day 3 - Cairo

Day 3: A Mixed Start with a Great Finish

Egypt is undoubtedly one of the great centers of World History. Every child’s education is incomplete without it. We learn about the Pharaoh’s and the Pyramids, and the long history that intercedes from the Mesopotamians (generally where civilized modern history began) through to Alexander the Great and the Roman Empire. That all is true. What is also true is that Egypt is a 3^rd World Country in Africa. It may have the highest average quality of life of any country in Africa (though that is more about a higher floor rather than a great ceiling like a South Africa or Namibia), but it is still Africa. It is still 3^{rd. The}  world. The confluence of those two facts is in full display in Cairo.

One of the areas that this is not apparent is the airport, which is quite well constructed – far more so than most Indian airports outside of Mumbai. It was also a decent drive into the city, with little true traffic (this was about noon on a Sunday), and the city, while dusty, is not dirty in the relative sense of someone with 12 trips to India under their belt.

Where the first bit of 3^rd world hit was in the walk to lunch, that would go by the Egyptian Museum and Tahrir Square – the site of the infamous Arab Spring uprising in 2013 that kicked out President Morsi. It was hot, it was dusty, there were some middle-income (for Egypt) people sitting on plastic chairs overlooking the Nile smoking hookah. The walk to Falfela was about 30 minutes, and the first half of it on the Nile, and while there was a certain ‘Holy Shit’ feeling of walking on the banks of the Nile River (a staple of those History classes), it wasn’t as grand as I was expecting. It actually reminded me a bit of the river bank running through Belgrade. No big issue there, but you would think if Egypt could fulfill what it could be, it would be nicer.

Anyway, lunch at Felfela was really nice. It was a well reputed restaurant (seen by the sheer number of Westerners) that had a classic Egyptian menu. The setting was nice as well, as it was indoor, but with a canopy with real vines made it seem quasi-outdoor. The food was good, having the Foul with (beef) pastrami for starters, and a lamb shank with yogurt, saffron rice, mint and pita for main. I was hungry, having eaten sporadically with airplane food taking up four of five meals to date. I was also tired – which probably plays a part in my opinions of Cairo as well, so I got two espressos; effect unclear.

After lunch, I walked to the Egyptian Museum, probably the crown jewel of Cairo proper (excluding the pyramids, as Giza is a suburb). On Sunday, the museum is open until 9pm (usually closes at 4). Of course, I realized when I got there that the reason they do this is a special ‘Museum at Night’ that they hold from 5:30 to 9, so there was an extra hour to play with. For the hour, the destination became the Christian area of town, where the Coptic Christians set-up shop with multiple churches and the Coptic Museum, which was already closed. The Christian area is well protected after a 2014 terrorist attack on Coptic Egyptians on Christmas Day, and well maintained. The churches were open, and actually felt quite grand, even if the outside area is still very third world. Egypt can clean itself up when needed – a crucial difference, sadly, between Egypt and India.

The churches were small, but really well maintained, with nice ornate sculptures and paintaings and a few little touches that seemed quite questionable, but locationally interesting (e.g., a Well where the claim was the ‘Holy Family drank from here’). Depending on how the rest of my Cairo portion of the trip plays out, the Coptic Museum itself may be a destination worth coming back to. Certainly, it is an interesting part of Cairo, and behind gated wells you could tell it was quite well maintained.

After finishing and heading back to museum around six, ‘Museum at Night’ was squarely underway. They don’t do anything different at night, but the time you visit is irrelevant, what is inside that fairly standard building is what matters, and it was amazing.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been to many of the World’s best museums. I went to one of the most voluminous (with a few Egyptian pieces as well) just last Saturday at the V&A Museum in London. The Egyptian Museum is not the best, but it might be the most overwhelming. It showcases Egyptian history. That is it. Of course, that history spans 4,000 years taking you up to the Roman Empire in the early ADs. The Museum lacked a few elements that are so over-present in other areas, like placards for every piece (the museum was a pure 50%). Instead, it was a total volume-play, packing piece after ancient, historic, piece in as little space as possible. I’ve never seen a combination of singular focus of subject and breadth of artifacts in one building. I spent two hours just soaking it in, taking picture after picture, and I already feel like going back and getting a guide (after some vetting/gambling on choice of guide) to explain much of it to me.

The museum is really well laid out, going in clockwise direction from the entrance from the earliest period of Egyptian history (around 5000BC) up to the earliest period of ancient history (~300AD), with some special exhibits on the second floor (like theme rooms, and then whole exhibits on King Tut), and then putting a collection of the most stunning pieces in the central atrium, including two towering statues. The amount of pieces that they fill in each room seem to belay the logical approach, but the overwhelming, unending, piece after piece effect is startlingly effective in its immersive power.

My favorite sections were the oldest areas, with an astounding number of hieroglyphs on cut out pieces of wall or tablets, and old stone statues of pharaohs and princes and priests. The more ‘modern’ sections were more colorful, but when you see the clear legibility of some of the ancient writing from 6,000 years ago, it is just staggering.

There is a certain earned cache for it being at the real home of where all these pieces laid so many years ago. Both the V&A Musuem and the British Museum in London have impressive Egyptian collections, but those are somewhat symbols for Britain’s unadulterated pillaging and raping of the world. In Cairo, it represents what was left over, or reclaimed, and it being more earnest adds a large intrinsic value to what you are seeing. Also, the unorganized approach (again aside from being in chronological order) adds to that feeling. It was as if Egypt was saying ‘just see it all’, throwing piece after piece at you. I took about 40 pictures in the first (admittedly large) room, and realized quickly I had to meter my pace.

I left after 90 minutes or so fully satisfied, but also somewhat committed to coming back getting a guide and getting a better understanding of the real history that lies within or written and draw on each piece. From everything I’ve read, there’s nothing in Cairo proper that comes close to this, and in this case, that is not exactly a negative about the city. Even when expanding out to overall archealogical sites/museums I’ve visited (so throwing things like Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu into the mix), the Egyptian Museum will hold a special place.

After returning to the hotel for a bit of R&R after a busy day made more draining due to fighting off jet-lag/lack of sleep, it quickly got to time to head out for drinks and dinner (wanting to sleep somewhat early switched the normal order of events for me). The bar I intended to go to was Pub 28, on Gezira Island, but it was a bit too smokey and a bit too ‘pub’-y for my liking, so I ventured a couple blocks north to The Cairo Celler, which was basically the same but slightly fancier, slightly more airy and less smokey, and ice cold Heineken on draft (can’t be too picky in Egypt). The Cairo Celler was fine, there were a lot of Westerners (as far as I could tell) there, enjoying their various libations. I liked the underground aspect as it made me pretend to be in some olden days where drinking was an underground affair in Egypt.

Dinner was at Sequioa, a restaurant at the very tip of Gezira island, with a great view of the Nile in the background. I had to go with 10:30 to get a table, partially due to the popularity of the place, and partiaully due to Egypt’s late-night routine. The view, and the cool Nile breeze, was exceptional, and even outranked the food which itself was good – the best dish being an appetizer called Hawawshi, kebab-cuts of lamb baked in a crust – it was amazing. The night ended close to 12, finally getting a chance to try to become accustom to these waking hours which I’ll deal with the nice 13 days.

2018 Africa Trip: Day 1-2 - Flying & Jo-Burg

Five years ago, I embarked on a 105-day journey traipsing across Africa and Asia and Australia. It was a trip of a lifetime, in length, complexity and limited grandeur of which particular combination I won't ever enjoy again. That trip was meticulously documented here. That trip diary started by accident, with me having to wait for a table at some fancy V&A Waterfront restaurant being too tired to try anything else. I sat at the bar, and pulled out a shitty old Samsung Netbook, a computer that does not exist today, and barely worked in its existence in 2013. South Africa itself was an 'accidental' destination, having switched to it about a month before that trip began, feeling a bit too nervous around the commotion and risks of Egypt - my initial initial destination.

Five years later, I'm combining them both. Finally going to Egypt, and planning to go to Cape Town for a third time a second time (after an aborted trip last year that ended with me in tears at the JFK Airport counter). Five years ago, that trip started with one of my favorite ever flight experience, a 14hour 30minute haul to Johannesburg, on South African Airway's A340-600, as beautiful a plane as has ever been created. I had two seats to myself (many had three). It was amazing, not only because it was the inception of that trip. Five years later, I took that flight again, and that's where this trip diary will start.

Let's get a few things out of the way, the flight was better the first time. Firstly, this was a full flight and I didn't have two seats to myself. Secondly, when I took it last, their touch screen and 50+  movie options seemed novel. Through my later long-haul flights on that trip, and many more in the years to come, this has become standard, and while SAA still had the touch screens and the movie choices, it has been matched nad passed by most. That said, the plane is still beautiful, the food was really good, with a nice braised beef main with rice and beans, and all the normal stuff (bread, crackers, butter, jam, cheese, etc.). Even the breakfast was better than most airline breakfasts, and they had a selection of admittedly average sandwhiches available for self serve all flight.

It might not have been the somewhat magical experience the last flight was, but it wasn't too different. Certainly, I've had my fair share of 14+ hour flights since then (at that point, I had taken two, JFK-Abu Dhabi and JFK-Seoul), and SAA is quite good. It's a strange flight timing wise, where it takes of at 11am in New York, and lands at 8am the next morning, but they create a weird atmosphere requiring everyone close their window shades 30min into the flight, creating a night-time atmosphere for a good eleven hours.

I landed in Johannesburg with about 10 hours to play with before my flight out that night to Dubai (which would lead to a shorter flight to Cairo, where my trip will really start). I spent about 1.5 days in Jo-burg in Jan. 2016, so as I had seen a few things, I definitely missed on some key sights. I looked out for a Soweto tour, but they either started too early or ended too late. Instead, I went to the Lion & Safari Park, which is a good 45-min from the airport, but had flexible timings. While it isn't a replacement for Kruger (or any non-South African safari's) it was a fairly wonderful time.

We were driven around in a well caged open van, with enough holes in the cages to get nice photos when needed. The guide was jovial, and overall it was a nice 100 minute journey. They start off with a bang, with a group of Wildebeests, Zebras and a solitary beautiful Giraffe around a tree. That was a pure appetizer for the carnivores to come. The tour included stops where we saw various hyena, leopards, wild dogs, cheetahs, and of course lions. While they hvae thees other animals, the park is really about the Lions, and there are a ton of them. Our tour coincided with feeding time, so about three or four vans and myriad cars got in a circle, the lions walking around and between them to the middle of the circle, where the feeder came and tossed out pieces of meat. There were regal male lions, ferocious females, and adorable cubs. It was a whole family affair.

The park is not a replacement for a safari, but I can't think of a non-safari type location when you can be in a situation where lions are roaming freely next to your car. Literally right up to it. All the animals do, but most of hte other carnivores were living their best life and sleeping during the day. The lions though were alive and about and hungry and made it all worthwhile.

From the lion park, I took an uber back towards main Johannesburg to Rockets in Bryanston for lunch. Rockets was a really well maintained multi-level club/restaurant that is more restaurant during the day, but very obviously more club at night. I was there squarely during the day, and their calamari and pork belly were nice, if a little too mainstream and not African enough for me. That all said, the real African meals are being saved for Cape Town, not for my impromptu walk through JoBurg.

After lunch, I went to the Mabenong district and artsy "hipster" downtown neighborhood that has seen tremendous investment and growth to where it is fairly safe (during the day, at least). There were tons of small crafts and arts stores, great coffeeshops (to which your tired writer patronized), and a few food stalls that I mostly looked and at tasted in a light sense. It was a great finish to my limited time in JoBurg, as I had to head back to the airport to check-in around 5:30pm for the 7:10 flight to Dubai.

The flight to Dubai, like most Emirates flights to anywhere, was on an A380-800. The flight had some good aspects that Emirates is always good for - more recline than you normally get on an economy seat, great movie selection, but also some of the negative aspects I've seen on Emirates - parimiarly the painfully slow food service. I've had this on every Emirates flight I've taken. On 7-9 hour sectors like this one and my New York - Milan experience it wasn't as bad, but for a 7:45 flight, it took a good 2hours for them to serve and clear dinner and put the cabin lights off. Truly unacceptable, regardless how many passengers were on the flight. I did finally get to sleep though, with the background noise of the old Marvel movies - watching the original Iron Man was a hoot, given the sprawling phenomenon Marvel is now. It was a nice way to end the transit portion of hte trip before Cairo anoints the trip proper tomorrow.

On Serena

Before I delve into the many layers my thoughts have flirted with around Serena Williams, Carlos Ramos, Naomi Osaka, and all the rest, I should probably share what my immediate reaction was: Carlos Ramos will never ref a significant women's match that Serena Williams takes part in again. This wouldn't be the first such case. Rafael Nadal has made it publicly known he requested Carlos Bernardes does not ref him again after Bernardes made Nadal stay on court to change his pants that Rafa mistakenly put on back to front. This is more significant, in both directions. But that is a very reductive way to look at things.

I should start parsing out what we definitely know is true about the entire situation: Carlos Ramos was right to penalize her a game, in that by the rule, it was her third violation. Serena Williams is absolutely right that many male players could have said the exact same stuff and probably not got a code violation. Many commenters are right that Ramos should have given Serena a soft warning that he was noticing her coach was coaching her (here's another chance to remember just how stupid that is, that a 'coach' cannot 'coach'), like most do to so many other players. All of these things are right. There is a double standard. Ramos did what he probably felt was right. The bias was unconscious, but it was there.

There's a lot of emotion in the arguments each side has taken in defending or criticizing Serena. Of course, there's emotions with Serena too. She was playing badly, close to losing. She felt she got the first violation unfairly. People are emotional at these times - whether it be her, or Federer in 2009 when he told an ump to shut up and swore at him. It was a very emotionally charged time, and we would expect a more emotional response than normal

The argument that makes the most sense to me is the one that acknowledges by the rules, Serena was at fault, but the time to actually give a code violation for abuse of official was not 4-3 in the second set, a game that luckily just kept Osaka up her break (imagine the outcry if it was 3-4 with Serena to serve to try to level it and she lost that chance!). We hear this line in every sport, that officials ‘swallow their whistle’ late in games. In tennis, with black and white rules, that is not a thing, but in the case of giving out code violations (or adhering strictly to the 25 second clock) it is. And Ramos was wrong.

The tough part to parse is Serena’s play that she was standing up for female players. I admit men do get away with more outrage directed towards chair umpires, but I don’t think it is too the level of Serena’s statements. Certainly, the people that have been held up recently as skating by despite many outbursts, like McEnroe or Connors or Roddick, got their fair share of point penalties. Serena smashing her racket got a code violation just like any male player would had they done the same.

The biggest piece of evidence she probably has is around coaching (and that Ramos was too sensitive to give a verbal abuse penalty). Nadal gets coached all the time by Uncle Toni. Djokovic has done the same. Everyone has done it. Usually there is a soft warning from the ump and they essentially stop before it becomes an issue. I honestly don’t remember the last time I saw a code violation given for coaching.

Ultimately, no one comes out looking good, most especially the USTA and Carlos Ramos. While all players should be treated fairly, it often seems Serena, despite her stature (truly someone who you can argue is ‘bigger than the game’, like Federer/Nadal are on the men’s side) is often given shorter shrift. There definitely needs to be some coaching of the umpires to give more warnings, to raise the bar for what crosses ‘abusive actions’ late in matches, and to not so quickly bang the gavel. In the end, this situation unearthed strange rules, overshadoewed a truly great story in Naomi Osaka – who was well on the way to beating Serena anyway, and added another dark mark on her sterling resume; even if this one is far more gray than what came before it.

NFL 2018: Week 2 Power Rankings & The Rest

Ranking the 0-1 Teams

The "Holy Fuck" Uno

17.) Buffalo Bills  (0-1  =  3-47)

Yeah, that was ridiculously bad. The Ravens can do that to a team (see Week 1 last year), but it isn't good when the QB that goes 6/15 with a pick is by far the better of the two QB performances. The offense is a disaster. The defense should be better. I hope Bills fans' savored last year's wild card appearance a lot. It may be a while before it happens again.


The "They just aren't that good" Trio

16.) Tennessee Titans  (0-1  =  20-27)
15.) New York Giants  (0-1  =  15-20) 
14.) Cleveland Brown (0-0-1  =  21-21)

Again, I find this year to be more competitive than most top-to-bottom. I see few real bottom feeders (and admittedly, didn't realize the Bills were going to be so bad). These three I all had ranked pretty bad, and while none got blown-out (there were precious few actual blowouts yesterday). The Titans ranking is based on some of the injuries they received, and a general slopiness that does not surprise me with my continuing skepticism of Matt Vrabel as a head coach. The Giants I guess look better than expected on offense, but I still have massive skepticism of Eli Manning and that OL. The Browns didn't lose, but they also barely tied a game they won the turnover margin in by 5. I honestly think they should play Mayfield immediately.


The "Disappointing, but let's not overreact too much" Quatro

13.) Arizona Cardinals  (0-1  =  6-24) 
12.) Oakland Raiders  (0-1  =  13-33)
11.) Houston Texans  (0-1  =  20-27)
10.) Dallas Cowboys  (0-1  =  8-16)

All four were disappointing in Week 1, maybe none more so than Arizona - the team that, admittedly has the least expectations. Arizona was awful in that game on offense - then too I think should start Rosen sooner rather than later at this point. The Raiders started strong and consistently moved the ball well. Carr can't be so skittish though. Sadly, that defense looks as bad as advertised. The Texans defense played fairly well despite not getting much pressure, but Watson was awful. The Cowboys are basically the Texans, with a decent defensive performance negated by terrible offense. The more interesting case with Dallas is how they'll adjust to not being able to grind teams out on the ground for once. That said, I think these are the four teams we may most easily overreact to. The Cardinals still have a good defense. The Texans should get a better Watson and Watt here on out. The Cowboys had a particularly tough matchup against Carolina. The Raiders looked bad, but maybe the Rams are just really good and the Raiders strengths may play up more in the softer AFC.


The "Maybe the young QB isn't going to necessarily get better" Duo

9.) Chicago Bears  (0-1  =  23-24)
8.) San Francisco 49ers  (0-1  =  16-24)

Before the season, I thought four teams were being overhyped because people were assuming good things from their young QBs. Kansas City proved my skepticism wrong, and I covered Houston already. For the Bears and 49ers, I saw exactly what I thought may happen. Honestly, I don't get the Trubisky hype. I realize John Fox's 1970s schemes held him back, but yesterday we saw a QB still way too inaccurate and, at times, skittish. With Garroppolo, I saw the same, though the Vikings defense is special. Both teams are talented enough on defense to still make them good wild card contenders (DeForest Buckner was great), but these QBs aren't necessarily going to improve just because we want them too.


The "Maybe the older great QB isn't going to solve every problem" Quatro

7.) Detroit Lions  (0-1  =  17-48)
6.) Indianapolis Colts  (0-1  =  23-34)
5.) Los Angeles Chargers  (0-1  =  28-38)
4.) Seattle Seahawks  (0-1  =  24-27)


Unlike the Bears and 49ers, we know the QBs here will keep their teams competitive, but what we saw in Week 1 may be a real indication that the rest of the team is still not good enough. Stafford was one of the main problems for the Lions, but can't see him continuing to play that badly - anyway it seems the Jets had some keys down that the Lions should fix. The bigger issue is their overall slopiness. I have to assume that was the worst we'll see of them. Andrew Luck's first game was mostly a success, and if not for the Doyle fumble, I think the Colts were in good position to steal it. The offense was far more controlled and impressive under Reich than it was at any point in the post-Arians Pagano years. The Chargers probably should have won the game if they had any answer for Tyreek Hill. If their defensive week 1 performance is an anomaly, they can be a great team. The Seahawks are really at this point Wilson, Thomas and little else, but Wilson is still great.



The "Yeah, they're still good" Trio

3.) Atlanta Falcons  (0-1  =  12-18)
2.) Pittsburgh Steelers  (0-0-1  =  21-21)
1.) New Orleans Saints  (0-1  =  40-48) 

Sometimes, you loose week 1 and it doesn't really matter. The Falcons looked good outside of the red zone, and while that is a continuing problem that may not have a solution, their problems are more fixable, or less glaring, than those I ranked below them. The defense continues to look very good. The Steelers had their annual game from hell and didn't lose. Now, they need to get the Bell situation resolved asap, but the defense looked good and continued its recent trend of creating tremendous amounts of pressure. The Saints defense, let's remember, got uber-torched in Week 1 last year as well and fixed themsleves. I don't know if they will this time, but I'm willing to see if they can fix what happened.

The "They won but I don't care" Uno

15.) Miami Dolphins  (1-0  =  27-20)

I still don't think they are good, but Ryan Tannehill looked better than I was expecting. It was a bit jarring to see them being competent at that position. I still don't think long-term they are a good team, but they may not be a bad one.


The "They won but maybe I do care" Duo

14.) Denver Broncos  (1-0  =  27-24)
13.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (1-0  =  48-40)

The Broncos started 3-1 last year with great defense and competent offense. They started 1-0 with the same, with Von Miller still being brilliant, with Case Keenum being good. It will be interesting to see if they can continue that level. Keenum seems like a ticking time bomb to fall apart, but maybe their calculated gamble here worked. For the Bucs, that game was a reminder of the talent on hand on offense, but also how badly coached their defense is. You have to expect the offense scoring 48 is a far more significant outlier than the defense giving up 40.


The "It can go either way" Quadro

12.) Cincinnati Bengals  (1-0  =  34-23) 
11.) New York Jets  (1-0  =  48-17)
10.) Kansas City Chiefs  (1-0  =  38-28)
9.) Washington Redskins  (1-0  =  24-6)

The Bengals probably should have lost, but overall I saw a lot of good signs. Firstly, the health of Tyler Eifert,, the offense looking strong again. On defense, they are deep, but I do wish they could have generatead a bit more pressure. The Jets were obviously incredible, but let's take a step back. They aren't going to get 14 points in return TDs every week, and a 62-yard rush TD is unrepeatable. The best show was the defense staying good and Darnold overcoming the early pick to hvae a decent game. The Chiefs are probably still a bit overrated in my book - the defense was bad, and special teams heavily swung the game (that said, special teams is more repeatable for them seemingly). Mahomes 4-td game is really a 2-td game, so let's not go too crazy here. With the Redskins, I think that game may have said more about the Redskins being good rather than the Cardinals bad, specifically with Smith leading a safe offense. Turnovers killed the team last year, that shouldn't happen this time around.


The "If only we could combine" Duo

8.) Green Bay Packers  (1-0  =  24-23)
7.) Jacksonville Jaguars  (1-0  =  20-15)

The Packers OL struggles, their defense is about average, their receivers are aging and some of them will invariably get hurt. Of course, they have superman at QB, so it doesn't matter one bit. The Jaguars are good at all those things the Packers struggle at, but they have the opposite at QB. Both teams know exactly what they are, from the Packers reliance on Rodgers and a blitz-happy high variance approach, to the Jaguars incredibly low-variance approach on offense supporting a brilliant defense. Both teams are strong, but their ceilings seem somewhat limited by how great their great aspects can possibly be to outweigh the other side.


The "Thrilling feeling of competency" Trio

6.) Carolina Panthers  (1-0  =  16-8)
5.) Los Angeles Rams  (1-0  =  33-13)
4.) Baltimore Ravens  (1-0  =  47-3)

The Panthers offense through one game is not perfect, but Newton looks energized, he threw the ball really well, McCaffrey was the best version of himself, and Norv looks like a good gain. The defense, of course, is as good as ever, with six more sacks and incredible run play on all but a few carries. For the Rams, I was a bit worried early on when the defense was getting shredded, and I'm still not good they are great, but they have enough impact playmkakers to complement what is still a dynamic offense. The Ravens have done this before and still waltzed back to a 9-7 finish, but the offense looked good. The OL particularly, the return of Marshal Yanda really helping. The Ravens WRs looked good in that offense, and Flacco for once was accurate. Just one game, to be sure, but their ceiling is way higher than I thought.


The "A cut above at the moment' Trio

3.) New England Patriots  (1-0  =  27-20)
2.) Minnesota Vikings  (1-0  =  24-16)
1.) Philadelphia Eagles  (1-0  =  18-12)

The Patriots didn't play great, turned the ball over twice, and still won fairly easily. There will be tougher tasks than a skittish Deshaun Watson (we'll see one this week), but in an AFC that looks worse than ever, it may not come close to mattering. The Vikings look great with Cousins. I wish they were a bit more aggressive in the second half to keep the offense going well after a great start - this is something that has happened too often in the ZImmer era. The Eagles escaped a test, but if they can remain plus-.500 with Foles, it will keep them right in line for when Wentz gets back like a conquering hero.



Looking Ahead to Next Week's Games

16.) Cleveland Browns (0-0-1)  @  New Orleans Saints (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)
15.) Los Angeles Chargers (0-1)  @  Buffalo Bills (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)
14.) Oakland Raiders (0-1)  @  Denver Broncos (1-0)  (4:25 - CBS)
13.) Arizona Cardinals (0-1)  @  Los Angeles Rams (1-0)  (4:05 - FOX)
12.) Detroit Lions (0-1)  @  San Francisco 49ers (0-1)  (4:05 - FOX)
11.) Miami Dolphins (1-0)  @  New York Jets (1-0)  (1:00 - CBS)
10.) Philadelphia Eagles (1-0)  @  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0)  (1:00 - FOX)
9.) Houston Texans (0-1)  @  Tennessee Titans (0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)
8.) New York Giants (0-1)  @  Dallas Cowboys (0-1)  (SNF - NBC)
7.) Indianapolis Colts (0-1)  @  Washington Redskins (1-0)  (1:00 - CBS)
6.) Seattle Seahawks (0-1)  @  Chicago Bears (0-1)  (MNF - ESPN)
5.) Kansas City Chiefs (1-0)  @  Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0-1)  (1:00 - CBS)
4.) Carolina Panthers (1-0)  @  Atlanta Falcons (0-1)  (1:00 - FOX)
3.) New England Patriots (1-0)  @  Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0)  (4:25 - CBS)
2.) Minnesota Vikings (1-0)  @  Green Bay Packers (1-0)  (1:00 - FOX)
1.) Baltimore Ravens (1-0)  @  Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)  (TNF - NFL Network)