Somehow I thought Egyptians would be the last people on earth who’d be punctual. I spent some time with my Cairo hotel manager booking the closest thing I’ve ever had to a ‘tour’ – a pile of Post-Its with the hotel names, departure times, and guide’s phone numbers that let me travel independently without the hassle of queueing at ticket windows. Yet despite this scrappy paper trail, there’s been the right person/ vehicle /event waiting for me at every stop, right on time, every time. All for something I paid in cash and have no receipts for. It’s great being a tourist in the low season.