El Andalous - Getting Sorted

El Andalous Beach

The day I arrived back was also the day when our free bus runs to Senzo Mall. It’s good timing for me as I can then get my internet sim and my phone sim on the day I arrive without having to do a detour with the taxi on my way back from the airport. Having said that, you can actually get sim cards now at the airport, but I’m not sure the deals are available.

This time, I was in any case going to re-use my last internet sim card that I’d given to Nicole when I last left so that she could use the remaining credit while I was away. Even if the credit had expired, reusing the sim might save me the expense of getting a new card. I popped round to Nicole’s to collect it, we had a brief catch up (but I was itching to go to the beach), and we agreed that I’d get the maximum possible credit on the sim and then she’d pay me for it and she’d use the excess again once I’d left.

It’s not always easy to know what deals are available. However, the guy at the etisalat kiosk knows me now (as does the guy at the KFC) and he always gives me good service. However, the systems are fairly slow; it can take up to 30 minutes, if not more, to get the contract, get the card activated, have your passport photocopied, and wait for the computer system to accept all the details and spit out the receipt. The delay mostly seems to be with the computer systems, which is perhaps not a good advertisement. Added to that, there is also almost always a queue.

It was no different this time. I’m pretty sure I ended up with a new sim card after all that, but to my delight, I got a two-for-one offer meaning that I got 150GB of data lasting over 6 months. When there’s so much data as credit, it’s almost like having broadband, because I really don’t need to worry each month about whether my usage limit is almost up.

I use the internet to stream UK TV, so it’s always difficult to ascertain just how many gigabytes I need each month. Anything I watch on YouTube also adds up (I go through phases where I incessantly watch swimming videos). If you’ve only ever used broadband, you have no idea how lucky you are to be able to use the internet without a second thought.

Purchasing my internet was a bit fraught because, as usual, we got so far in the process of purchasing the internet sim only for him to inform me that I needed to come back in 30 minutes because the system would take that long to do it. This is OK if you have unlimited time, but I only have 90 minutes at the mall as the bus leaves again at 9pm sharp, and my first 30 minutes is usually spent in the KFC (which takes priority).

For some reason, I always get my phone sim at Vodafone rather than etisalat, and this time Vodafone was surprisingly empty, so I dashed in, thinking it wouldn’t take too long and it would be a good way to spend those 30 minutes. However, it seemed to take for ages.

First of all, the guy servicing me was helping the colleague to his left who was having problems sorting things out for her customer. Then his colleague on the other side had a customer shouting at him, so my guy just stopped and listened in.

After that, it was my turn to take up everyone’s attention as my customer service guy couldn’t locate the visa in my passport. I panicked.  I’d noticed that the passport control officer had stamped my new visa right under my last 6-month visa and I was a bit concerned that maybe he’d merely stamped a re-entry by mistake (which would be invalid) rather than stamping the new visa that I'd required. However, after consultation with his colleagues, the vodafone guy found the visa and he decided it passed muster. Phew. Eventually, I was equipped with a new sim in my phone.

I was now left with little time. I went back to get my internet sim, but my chappie was no longer there!! His colleague assured me he would be back soon and then I spotted him on his way back. Again it all seemed to be taking up so much time. I explained I had to get the bus at 9pm and I was getting in a bit of a panic; to clarify I waved my hands in the air and said “panic, panic, panic!” and we both laughed and he told me there was plenty of time. There’s always plenty of time in Egypt.

At the end, as last time, the guy serving me wrote down his name and phone number, asking me to phone him if there’s a problem. I’m always a bit worried that he might deliberately fix the sim not to work just so that I'll phone, but I’m doing him a complete injustice, as to date it always has worked just fine. This time, he even said that he’d give me an even better deal next time I was back. I smiled and thanked him for being so kind. I have never used the number….