Saturday, January 23, 2010

Ingenuity in action


The people on the Nile now have created their own niche,  to make money, to survive. Some ferry people across to the various islands on large boats, others hustle for riders on their falucas, charging the unwary tourist rather exorbitant prices for the privilege of riding on their boat. One young man joins the ferries heading off for Philae Island, bringing various things to sell to the now captive audience. Others always have a friend of a friend who has a boat and for a small fee he can take you to them. Then…always there’s the tip – they have many ingenious ways to do a little service for you so that you will give them a tip. It was next to impossible to keep the small coins and bills around to have for the inevitable. Even the bathrooms, on the road or in a big hotel…there’s always a person there whose job is to keep it clean and dispense the toilet paper. Sadly, I’m not certain if they get paid much more than the tips.

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