Funkengroovin - Passport Trip 2

Over the course of the last week, VB has drafted five Funkengroovin posts, and remained undecided, until this morning, regarding which one she wanted to publish. Rather than go back into that long weekend, which did not have any VWs, she decided to hop over to last Thursday morning. That's when VB decided to return to the American Embassy to pick up her new passport. The embassy closes the last Tuesday of each month. But, in February, they decided to close "for administrative duties" on Thursday, as well. VB forgot to take note of this, when she visited their website. So, of course, her whole trip was a waste of time. The driver exclaimed, "A three day weekend!" VB said, "Yeah, and believe me when I tell you, that things in the USA are just as messed up as they are in Egypt." That's when VB decided to go into the story of Number One Son's passport experience two years ago, as expressed here, here, and here. The driver, well, of course he thought it was hysterical.

So, for the record, the only Funkengroovin photo VB could capture was one along the Nile Corniche (below.)


When VB got home, she immediately scheduled a driver for a Monday morning return to the Embassy. Before getting out of Maadi, at the KIMO grocery store roundabout, an officer pulled us over. It was the same thing we experienced two weeks earlier. The driver said, the police are checking all duty free cars. Most duty free autos are owned by western companies, and provided to the employees, and / or are a part of the pool of cars available to visitors. This time, VB was not in her own car, but one from the pool.

How does one tell if he / she has a duty free car? Apparently, it's written on the license plate.

From last year:
Plates of orange and sky blue

"The Ministry of Interior is putting an end to the existing incongruent car plates of varying colours and sizes and instead will regulate them throughout the country starting in August."

"Various colours have been assigned to differentiate between cars. Orange car plates are for taxis, sky blue for private cars, dark blue for police cars, brown for rentals, red for trucks and pickups and green for diplomats."

A sampling of Egyptian License Plates


Below): Is that cauliflower?


(Below): Yes, indeedy!


(Below 2 photos): The Mokkatam connection ramp.



(Below): VB has never taken this route before. This is a tunnel that goes underneath The Khan.


(Below): Finally! Downtown Cairo.



Egyptian Driving Related Posts / News:

Interesting video:
Dangerous driving in Cairo

From dr. cam's cairo commentary:

"Driving in the USA, even in crazy busy traffic, is still tame by Buenos Aires standards. After spending 6 months in Buenos Aires, a city that has crazy busy traffic with mere traffic suggestions as opposed to traffic laws, I thought I was ready for anything... and then I saw Cairo traffic."

from Arab Media Shack:

"Word is that Blackstar has a long rantpost about traffic deficiencies in Lebanon on the way so let me take this occasion to announce “Traffic Week” at MediaShack. Each day I will be tell a different story about life behind the wheels in Egypt."

More here:

"In most Western cities for example, you would never see a taxi driver passing a cigarette to another taxi driver while they’re both rolling next to each other at 50 km/hour on a busy motorway. And until I had witnessed that from the backseat of the cigarette-soliciting taxi in Cairo, I had never even wondered whether this was legal or not."

Cairo Taxis

From Konradprojectsblog: Walk like an Egyptian:

"It really seems as if there is no law enforcement here with regards to traffic regulation. You can drive at night with no headlights, pedestrians routinely walk in the street instead of the sidewalk, EVERYONE honks their horns ALL THE TIME, and it's not completely uncommon to see a car going the wrong way down a one way street."

A conference where the new traffic laws will be discussed is coming to Cairo soon.
The Euromoney Egypt Insurance Conference 2009
Under the auspices of
HE Dr Ahmed Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt
“Mobilising Egypt’s Insurance Market”
31 March 2009, The FourSeasons Nile Plaza, Cairo

"Keynote Address: HE Mr Mohamed Mansour, Minister of Transport *
Panel IV: Roads, Transportation & the New Traffic Law
• How have roads and transportation developed in the past few years?
• Have these developments reduced the claims related to insurance?
• Pooling arrangements
• The development of the traffic law
• The importance of law no. 72 and the new government fund
• How to reduce accidents and manage risks
• Development of a database linked with the Ministry of Interior and the insurance companies
• What is the feasibility of establishing the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety?"

Traffic Culture and Corruption: A Few More Thoughts:

"Why does traffic behave differently in different places? Why does driving in Cairo set the nerves on edge, while in Munich people stoically wait for crossing signals, even at minor intersections?"

VW NEWS:

My First Car: '58 Volkswagen Beetle, John Gregg, 70, Largo

Libya diary: day four - Brother Gaddafi's Beetle

"The minders took us to Tripoli's museum, a mix of fantastic Roman art and Brother Gaddafi memorabilia. Pride of place was the Volkswagen Beetle that the Leader had driven in the early days of the revolution. Upstairs were walls covered with photos of....you guessed it, Brother Gaddafi. In his day he really was the coolest-looking young rebel in the Arab world. "

(No photo, but you can view Gaddafi's Beetle here.)

An auto fix so simple even a caveman could do it

OSU fanatic seeks same to buy a van

"Wanted: Buckeye fanatic to carry on tailgating tradition in 1970 VW pop-top camper van. Only scarlet-and-gray nuts need apply.
Buckeye Bob Bulen is one such nut. From 1975 until early last fall, the former Franklin County Municipal Court chief bailiff went to every Ohio State University football game, home and away, including the day he got married.

But Bulen's now retired, from his court job and his 401-game streak, and he's looking to pass the torch -- his tailgating van -- to a similarly passionate fan.

He's reluctant to part with the van and its memories, Bulen said in a telephone interview from Arizona. "But if I can find a really good Buckeye fan who'll take care of it, I won't have any problem.""

We Hail Hybrids' Hundredth Birthday, But Were They Really Born in Belgium ?!?!?

"History tells us differently, though. The first hybrid in the world is widely acknowledged to be the Lohner-Porsche of 1902, created by none other than 27-year-old Ferndinand Porsche, who would go on to be celebrated as the namesake of today's undeniably successful Porsche AG, not to mention the creator of the German "People's Car" later known as the Volkswagen Beetle."

Wheels: The Ford Capri as an Artist’s Muse

"The German artist Martin Kippenberger was obsessed with the Ford Capri and turned the car into art. He is the subject of a show that opened at the Museum of Modern Art on Sunday, and the exhibition includes two of his Capri pieces."

"Built in Cologne, Germany, the Capri was even imported into the United States and sold at Mercury dealers, first simply under the Capri name and later as the Mercury Capri. It was a market counterpart to the Ford Mustang. (Later, Mercury called another small, sporty car the Capri; that one was imported from Australia.)"

(Video available at the link)
Wheels: Work Halted on Dubai Formula One Park

"Dubai continues to suffer from the global economic crisis. The latest casualty is a Formula One theme park, which halted construction on Thursday."

VB was pretty disappointed in her passport trip. Not only did she not get to ride in the family car (which always has extremely clean windows for picture taking), the car she was in smelled weird, and the windows were full of schmutz. Plus, she then had to wait over an hour just to do something that took less than five minutes. Oh, and her new passport sucks, too. At least the old one said it was issued in Abu Dhabi. The new one looks like a standard State Department issued passport, with no notation of where it was released. It's all stiff, just like a new pair of shoes.

On the return trip from Garden City, where the embassy is located, we drove along the Nile Corniche. As we were just getting ready to cross the bridge over the Metro tracks, we were stopped once again, by the traffic police. Same thing. They were checking all duty free cars. They jot down some information on a form, and then wave us off. If they would just issue a window sticker, after the car had been checked once, they wouldn't have duplicate car checks, nor would they have drivers and passengers that were fed up after going through multiple check-points, in what seems to be an exercise in futility.

No music today. This is VB's favorite video right now. If you like this, you will like the Vanity Fair interview:
Louis C.K.: “Starvation Can Be Character Building”, where he is asked: "When the time comes to trade in our gas-guzzling cars for donkeys and clanking cans, will you be the first to volunteer?" As someone who constantly sees donkeys and carts, where cars and trucks usually drive, it's a bit hard to imagine Americans riding along on an ass, just because they can't afford a car anymore. It's also what's so damned frustrating about the new traffic laws. As well intentioned as they are, they do not account for the dichotomy of life in Egypt: the rural vs. the metropolitan, and how entwined they are. And, in order to put a sticker on a car, to verify that it has been through a traffic check, you don't need no stinking technology either.



Everything is amazing, nobody is happy...



BTW, Vanity Fair has a Gay Car blog, called Stick Shift. You might want to check it out.

Funkengroovin - Passport Trip

Last week VB went to the American Embassy to get her passport renewed. The trip from Maadi to Garden City, didn't take that long, but the wait at the Embassy takes awhile, even when you get there early. Strange at it may seem, VB never set foot in the Embassy in Abu Dhabi. She visited the embassy in Baku once, to have pages added to her passport. Next week she returns to pick up her passport. After that, she needs a visa, and then she's seriously thinking about getting an Egyptian driver's license. She doesn't drive here, but you never know when you just might have to, and with the new traffic laws, she would be better off having one in her possession. Besides that, it is another form of I.D.


(Below 3 photos): A couple of vans along the way.







(Below): Tire rims and hubcap shop. Some cars have rims on them that cost more the their car did originally. You will often see taxis, trucks, cars all banged up with the flashiest rims they could find.


(Below): VB tried to get a shot of a yellow VW Bus, but this bus driver sped his way into the photo. You can barely make out the VW Bus in the background.


(Below): Beetle on the street, ahead of us.


(Below): Closer to home, on the streets of Maadi, a bright yellow Beetle.


(Below): A nice cabriolet. Sometime in the future, VB hopes to get some better pics.


(Below): Another drive by close-up.


(Below): Partially covered MG Midget.


(Below): The owner of this blue Beetle is well aware of the new law. Notice the slow moving vehicle sticker on the rear. On the other hand, that does break the law: "Sticking posters, or writing, or drawing or adding any other kind of information on the vehicle body or any of its parts or its plate."

NEWS:

Wheels: What Did Maxwell Smart Drive?

"Unlike Auto Egoista, Joann Cohen, Maxwell Smart owned more than one car. He drove a Sunbeam Tiger, VW Karmann Ghia and others in the opening credits of the 1960s spy-spoof sitcom "Get Smart.""

VB wishes she had known about this sooner, as she would have made a trip to The Mena House to check out all the old cars. Anyone who has seen Peking to Paris 2007 on the Travel Channel will relate. They will be doing the Peking to Paris trip again in 2010, and we hope they will return to Egypt, as well.
DRIVERS, REV UP YOUR (CLASSIC) ENGINES

"After enduring several grueling days in the dusty, dry Sahara desert, a team of European drivers arrived in Cairo’s luxurious Mena House Oberoi hotel under the shadow of the Pyramids. But this is no Formula One race and these cars are not equipped with electronics, aerodynamics, or revved up engines.

These devoted drivers like their cars classic.

The 15-day competition called The Nile Trial was organized by the Britain-based Endurance Rally Association, which organizes rallies for classical cars. The journey is putting these vintage cars to the test in the merciless heat of the Tunisian, Libyan and Egyptian deserts."

More information here: The Nile-Trial


BIG BLUE'S ONLINE CARBURETOR: "AN ONLINE VW ADVENTURE"

NASA retiree makes his own electric car out of rusted VW Beetle

"He asked a neighbor if he knew of any VWs for sale. That’s how he learned of another neighbor’s rusted 1972 Beetle that hadn’t been used in over five years. Hendrickson bought it and parked it in his garage.
“It wasn’t much to look at,” he said. “It was full of snakes and fire ants. We had to cut small trees that were growing up through it, and drag it out of the woods.”
The car had no fenders or wiring and the body needed a complete overhaul."

Every week, VB sees mention of a showing for Yishai Orian's movie The Beetle. When it was showing in the USA, and near VB's home, it was usually when she was not in town. It's traveling around now, to small film festivals. VB asks: When will the rest of us get to see this movie!? Another related movie, Automorphosis, by Harrod Blank, has recently been on tour around the US, as well. The artcar blogspot has amazing photos of all sorts of vehicles transformed with a variety of "artistic" techniques, which is the subject of the movie. VW specific pages can be found here.

This was published after last week's Funkengroovin.
Valentine's Day Cars For Lovers by Drivin' Ivan

"Of course besides camping the VW is also perfect for a rustic, romantic getaway. This brings me to my second fond memory revolving around the VW Bus. Actually it is about the two best bumper stickers I've ever seen and they were both on a Volkswagen Camper. One read, "if this van's a rockin' don't come a knockin'". This to me was very funny especially because it was on a beat up VW Bus that looked as though it might have followed the Grateful Dead on a few tours back in the day. The other bumper sticker outfitted to a similar looking VW read, "Don't laugh your daughter might be in here"."

Camper Van Doormat

From Jalopnik:
DOTS-O-Rama Sunday, San Francisco Edition: Rover 105S, With Bonus Gulf Oil Beetle

Funny VW Ad Mixes Hyenas With Basset Hounds

Finally, a link VB loaded previously and had all but forgotten. Yes, it's a bit late for New Year greetings, but for those of us looking forward to spring and summer, this might help with some sunny thoughts.
Happy New Year - here's a planter made from a discarded Volkswagen


The Band - When I Paint My Masterpiece

Talkin' Traffic - Word On The Street, Now Word In The News

(Below): Everyone wants to turn at the same time. We just want to go straight. (If you enlarge the photo, you can make out another car, behind to the red one, also attempting a turn.)


Word on the street says the police are serious about enforcing the new traffic laws. We reviewed these laws earlier. Word has it, an Egyptian man was arrested, jailed for seven hours, released after consultation with an attorney, and an agreement to pay the stated fine. What was his crime? Driving the wrong way down a one way street! Truly, who hasn't seen someone drive the wrong way down a one way street in Cairo? Who hasn't done this?! Yes, even VB and The Boss Man have committed this atrocious crime, since, at times, it's the only way out!

(Below): Like this?

A very recent article in The Daily News Egypt states that, no, this is actually not one of those rumors streaming through the expat community, but a fact:

"This is where the popular Egyptian saying 'the law is on vacation' derives its validity and endurance. For example, how ironic it is that, on one hand, nobody has been held accountable for the death of the some 1,000 passengers who were aboard the Salam 98 ferry that drowned in the Red Sea three years ago, but, on the other, hundreds of drivers were, in the blink of an eye, arrested and sent to court for violating traffic laws?"

Also: NEW TRAFFIC LAW SENDS 144 DRIVERS TO COURT

"CAIRO: Cairo's motorists are starting to feel the pinch of the new traffic law: 144 drivers were recently arrested for driving on the wrong side of the road, reported state-run Al-Ahram.

Cairo's Investigation Department ordered their detainment for four days and referred them to court.

Earlier this week, Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud referred 58 people to criminal prosecution for violating traffic laws, for which they can receive jail sentences.

Mahmoud emphasized the importance of taking legal action against drivers who violate traffic laws, especially driving on the wrong side of the road, driving without a license or motorcycle drivers not wearing helmets."

Saturday (Valentine's Day), at the intersection of Road 216, Zahraa, and Laselky Street, in Maadi, was harass white expats day. Anyone white, driving an S.U.V. (usually an expat with a company car) was pulled over for a check, including The Boss Man. Vehicle I.D. and driver's license required. As usual, the street was partially blocked by metal barricades, forcing drivers to merge into one lane. A man dressed in street clothes, with a walkie-talkie, would point out cars as they approached the merge, and the police would pull them over for a check. Not sure if anyone was caught breaking the law, but it was coincidental, as VB had just been discussing the licensing procedure with The Boss Man. (VB only has an International License.) What's interesting is when VB first moved to Cairo, she was told by another expat wife, not to bother with the local license. The expat wife said it was, "Bullshit! They never check."

Perhaps this contempt, or superiority complex, is too well ingrained amongst us white expats, so much so, that we flaunt it a bit too much, and we are now considered a part of the problem. Well, it's certainly part of the new law, and VB suggests you not drive without a license: "Driving without a driver’s license or without the vehicle license," comes to a fine of "100-1000" LE, "Or jail for a period not more than 6 months."

Since VB is pretty shocked about the possibility of jail time. Traffic violations are a common occurrence around here. Let's look at some of the other, possibly more dangerous traffic transgressions going on, that are totally ignored by the authorities. Some of these laws apply to more than one of the photos below.

(Laws are in bold and quoted verbatim.)

"Using the vehicles in purposes other than what is stated in the license."

(Below): See this? No it's not a riot by American hating protesters blocking the road.


(Below): It's two trucks, overloaded with men and women (obviously transported separately). Just imagine if one or both of these trucks were in an accident. As The Boss Man says, "there would be assholes splattered everywhere!" The biggest ass being the individual who came up this ingenious idea of transporting people in the back of an open truck.

"Polluting the streets by throwing leftovers, or construction wastes or any other stuff"

(Below): Fresh orange juice?



(Below): Even though every single restaurant in Cairo delivers, many retailers of appliances do not. Or, perhaps, this is the delivery method, via taxi.


(Below): Would you like Bebsi with that hole in your windshield? (No, they are not tied down.)


(Below): Let's discuss what happens when you get egged - or maybe let's not.

"Driving a vehicle where substances are flying out of it, or with inflammable or harming substances leaking out of it, or substances that could affect the competency of the road in a way that could nail the road safety or forming any kind of danger for the road users"

(Below): Garbage! Just a bit over the top.


(Below): Here the poor guy watching the trash, leans inward to say, "Dude, the garbage bags are flying all over the place!" How does VB know this? One flew under her car, was dragged, until it split open, and blew all over the street.

"Violations made by the truck drivers in terms of weight, height, width, or length that are permitted and in relation to the approved cargo"

(Below): Yes, that's right. In addition to the overloaded truck, there's a bicycle on the highway (look to the right,) and people dashing back and forth, to catch buses.

"Non-adherence to the right sight of the road as assigned for driving for both directions"

(Below): A common question drivers in Cairo ask themselves: Do we drive on the line, or between it?

"If the vehicle driver did not follow the instructions and traffic signs as well as the traffic officers instruction related to organizing the traffic flow"

(Below): Not only do public buses come way too close for comfort, they often cut you off.

"Non providing the vehicle with the reflecting triangle"

(Below): The bread delivery man is obviously not using the "slow moving vehicle" symbol triangle, as specified by law. Plus, it's questionable as to whether he can actually see where he's going, with all that bread piled in front.

"Delaying or obstructing the traffic flow in any way"

(Below): Broke down and doing work right on the road. Okay, let's face it - there's no AAA here, so what's a person to do?

"Non using of the protecting helmets while driving the motorcycles"

(Below): Obviously flaunting their disregard for the law, neither of these riders is sporting a helmet. No a hijab is not a helmet! And, on top of that, she is wearing a frilly skirt (with a leather / pleather hem?), riding side saddle.

"Driving a vehicle that produces a thick smoke or non-environmental exhaust and/or bad smell"

"Anyone who allows persons under the age of 18 to drive a vehicle in case a death, or injury or any form of damage occurs to others"

"Driving of a vehicle with a speed that is less than the minimum speed, in case it causes obstruct of traffic in the street"

(Below): One: He's going the wrong way. Two: Can this guy even control that horse? Three: He's cutting us off! Damn it! That happens all the time. We're always getting cut off, and now, by a horse!


(Below): Bicycle deliverymen usually get through traffic faster than anyone else.


(Below): VB thinks we should thank our stars that the foam goods are draped over the back windshield, and not the front. Well, VB didn't actually see the front, and it does look like the driver was just cut off by a taxi.

More:

SAD STATISTIC: TOURISTS’ TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN 2008

"Majority of the accidents happened in Ukraine (11), then in Egypt (10), Russia (9), Turkey (7) and Austria (5). Most of the injured tourists were in Egypt (192 people), China (99), and Turkey (97). Egypt also took the first place in a general death-roll – 40 dead, second is Turkey with 25 dead. After the tragedy near Israeli Eilat (24 managers from Russian tour agencies died when a bus driver lost control of the vehicle), the country takes the third place in the sad statistic."

Sirens of Failure

"There is a real need for efficient and effective emergency response services in this country. An Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) study reported that in 2006, Egypt had one of the highest death rates in car accidents in the world, with 156.3 deaths for every 100,000 vehicles. To compare, Switzerland had 8.7 deaths and the US 18.9 deaths. Egypt even beat India, which had 125.7 deaths per 100,000 vehicles. In 2007, 6,700 people died in car crashes in Egypt and more than 30,000 were injured."

INSIDE THE SUBCULTURE OF EGYPT’S TAXI DRIVERS

"The taxi driver subculture has also developed its own traditions, separate from religion, with more mysterious and superstitious elements. Some of these may be rooted in rituals that were practiced in the drivers’ home town or village.

“When we buy a new taxi, we like to offer a sacrifice to ensure that we will always have good luck,” said Eid. “Sometimes drivers would slaughter a rabbit or small animal and spread the blood on the car with their hands.”"

TRUCK DRIVERS STAND AGAINST NEW TRAFFIC LAW

"Last month, the Ministry of Interior rejected a request by several MPs to amend the two contentious articles.

Opposition MP Sabry Amer said that even if the new law makes sense technically, it cannot be implemented for economic reasons. Coupled with the current economic situation, the law would threaten the only source of income for a large number of Egyptian taxi drivers.

In addition, the article regarding trailers will mean a loss of around LE 120,000 for truck drivers, which is the approximate cost of each trailer, according to Amer."

Accidents the norm

"Deficiencies in national transport were again in the spotlight. In the governorate of Matrouh 44 people were killed and 35 injured after a truck pushed waiting traffic into the path of a speeding train. A further 13 people were killed and 24 injured when a bus and truck collided head-on south of Cairo in October. More than 60 people were killed and 10 injured when their bus plunged into a canal south of Cairo at the end of the Eid Al-Adha celebrations last month. It was the deadliest road accident in Egypt since 1987.

More than 6,000 people are killed and 26,000 injured every year on Egypt's roads according to the World Health Organisation. Yet last August's new traffic law, despite official assurances it "will be scrupulously enforced to improve the traffic situation" -- Major-General Sherif Gomaa, assistant to the interior minister -- has yet to improve the situation."

going green with cabs in cairo

"Many Egyptians are less optimistic that the rule of law will govern on the streets of Cairo:

"It won't work for sure," says Adil Abdel Rahman, 48, a driver of a Soviet-era Lada. The police, he said, would likely target only the poor for fines, allowing the rich to dodge responsibility."Everyone plays with the law here," he said."

Lastly, a not so dangerous law, that's so ambiguous, anyone with the smallest sticker on their vehicle could be charged (that would be everyone in Egypt). This could likely be applied to all those cars with "For Sale" signs stuck to the windows, as well. It's silly, to say the least.

"Sticking posters, or writing, or drawing or adding any other kind of information on the vehicle body or any of its parts or its plate"

(Below 2 Photos): Very popular sticker - The Black Eyes.