Egypt

Once is enough.

In fact, 25hrs in Cairo is enough for me.

Going to Egypt felt like travelling back in time. To the 70s or 80s, when houses were still made of plainly stacked bricks, mud-coloured buildings, cars were still of the model of that era, donkeys and camels were still a real mode of transport, and the general feel of the place is so archaic that one could not help but feel sorry for the state of the city.

Great for history buffs.

Such irony when thousands of years ago Cairo was probably one of the most advanced cities on the planet.

The Great Pyramids of Giza have stood the test of time and are indeed a true wonder of the world. But aside from that, everything else generally disappointed. From the non-existent hospitality of the Egyptians, to the state of city, it's drab landscape, supposed 5-star accommodation, and even the Sphinx which was much smaller than we all thought it would be.

Every neighbourhood looked the same, right out of a CNN news report on middle eastern news. Dusty, dirty, backward and brown.

If this was indicative of what most middle eastern cities looked like, then I guess we know why the region with all the wealth oil money can buy still cannot become a world power. Always a developing economy.

Once is enough.