Lawlessness

It is now apparently an Egyptian thing to have your purse snatched off your shoulder by a passing motorcycle/rickshaw driver. Yup, they just speed past you, extend their arm and WOOSH grab that thing and race off. Also, if you're wearing visible jewelry like a necklace, they will grab it off your neck (as they did to my aunt, who now refuses to ever wear jewelry in public).

I suppose your run-of-the-mill muggings wouldn't work that well here since, if he was on foot, average people would run after the thief and beat him up. So I guess this is the next best thing, considering it's hard to catch a thief that has already sped away. And you can think again if you believe the "police" will be of any help.

Alhamdulillah, it has never happened to me - and I hope my high levels of paranoia will ensure that it never does. I never carry an over-the-shoulder purse when I'm alone. Always one that crosses over my chest. Or if I can afford to, I just put my things in my pockets and forgo carrying a purse at all.

Also, the traffic situation (now that cops are nowhere to be found) is just insane. You'll find 2-3 cars trying to fit into a one lane street. Cars are parked in every possible place. Nobody obeys traffic lights or one-way street signs. I suppose driving has always been pretty bad here, but now it's so much worse, if you can possibly imagine.

Basically, I'm living in chaos. Bye.