At Mimi's in Observatory Cape Town you will get hummingbird cake and coffee for R20 which is a good deal when you consider the picture window'out of which to watch Observatory be its strange self.

Four nights earlier, JP and I were playing dominos on Aswan's main drag. My white cotton draw-string pants had got caught in an exposed screw head on the chair and I could feel the cool steel against my flesh. I needed the distraction though. Dominos must be the most mind-numbing of games but the backgammon or sheshbesh as they call it in Egypt was already in use. I was enjoying the hookah pipe and the Coke out of the bottle and after having my hair cut for the equivalent of R30 and my ear hairs plucked with a thread of cotton held taught between his teeth and left hand, I was feeling local.

Egypt is a good deal. Our package cost R11K a piece but included flights, four nights cruising on the fabulous Presidential Nile Cruiser and 5-star accommodation in Cairo. There will be much more to tell you but for now I suggest the hummingbird cake. I've now had my second slice. Think carrot cake with a cinnamon and cheese topping. Fab.