Five things I adore about Cairo

Cairo is a dirty, hot and crowded city, and how I love to whinge about it! but I should make it very clear that it's my choice to live here and there are a lot of things I absolutely adore about the place... It's not all bad.
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Things I adore about Cairo:

The city never sleeps
It really doesn't. I know its a cliche, used to describe most capitals in the world, but here in Cairo its 100% true. I can get what ever I need any time, night or day.
The Egyptians are night people (they have to be, as its too damn hot to achieve much during the day) they live by night and rise late in the day. Especially so during Ramadan. This suits me just fine, it means if I want to get my hair or nails done at 11pm its no problem. If I decide I want to fill the fridge at 2am, no problem. If I run out of shampoo at 4am?? You guessed it, no problem.
Shops and restaurants are open almost all night long, most of them also offering home delivery so I don't even have to leave the comfort of my own home. It's possible to take a felucca in the early hours of the morning and if I felt like drinking a beer after my ride I could just stop by at the Odean palace which is open 24 hours. If I decide to partake in the smoking of a shisha I can pick from one of the hundreds of street cafes that are open until dawn.
This is perfect for me, as I am by nature a late person. The only thing stopping me from becoming a full time vampire is my job, which requires me to be there at 8 am (horrifying early by Cairo standards, but run by Germans, what shall I say?). Right now it's the school holidays so I am in vampire mode and I am dreading adjusting myself back to "normal" when school begins next week.

Home delivery 
I touched on this one above but I have to mention it again, the Egyptians have taken home delivery to the next level. You can get everything and I mean everything delivered to your door.
Feeling sick? Call the pharmacy. Thirsty? The juice stand is just a phone call away. Hungry? Take your choice from a seemingly endless list of restaurants. No more credit on your phone? Out of eggs? Call the local shop.... it goes on and on and its great for lazy days off. Just make sure you dress appropriately to answer the door. We are in Egypt remember.

The Metro
The metro is cheap, one journey  in any direction costs 1le. They have a special carriage reserved for the womenfolk and it runs regularly (every 10 minutes or so). There is nothing more I can say, its fantastic! We can't manage a service like that in the UK and Germany is not much better. All hail the Cairo Metro.
"Mubarak's gift to the people" ;)

Baladi bars
These are cheap and cheerful places, found scattered around Cairo's downtown area. The toilets normally resemble the one featured in "Trainspotting". Aside from that they offer a great atmosphere, wonderful company and cheap, sometimes cold beer.
A few weeks ago I was in one of these places with some friends and yes the toilet was super, super yucky but the highlight of the night was a cucumber eating cat. The thing must have waffled down about three cucumbers. Crazy

Juice stands
To anyone who hasn't tried Egyptian juice: COME TO CAIRO RIGHT NOW AND TRY SOME!!!
I have never seen such an array of different juices in my life, these people will squeeze juice out of anything, and its wonderful. Date juice, prune juice, kiwi, rocket, mango, lemon, orange, watermelon, pear, peach , mulberry, apple, you name it, they juice it. You can either stand and drink it from a big pint glass, or you can have it brought to you in your car. When you have finished the juice, just reach out of the window and place the glass on top of your car to signal you are done and want to pay. If you want a take away they will put it in a plastic bag for you and stick in a straw.
Just make sure you pick a stand that is fairly busy though, then there is more chance of it being fresh.