First there was the scary Indonesian stalker... next came the nice American stalker...

Before my trip I'd gotten some good advice from Andy at Hobotraveler.com... (who coincidently, just mentioned me on his site!..) so when someone emailed me, wanting info on long-term travel, felt obliged to keep the good traveler rapport goin' & helped.

He kept asking to join me... when I found I'd be in Cairo a month, finally acquiesced. The guy bought his ticket that day & arrived 3 days later!

And then we met... sterotypical tourist... water bottle on one shoulder, camera on the other & a big hat... & the travel he'd told me he done... thru tour groups & churches! Screaming tourist... not a traveler. Scared one at that... wouldn't go anywhere by himself, not the sites, not even to eat! And didn't like Egyptians... among his various complaints, they laughed & kidded around too much!

Previously explained my ritual of hanging with locals by day & Westerners at night... so didn't spend that much time with him... & he was a nice person... don't get me wrong... & ok, not really a stalker... but not someone I could relate to.

Let my guard down. I can spot scammers & visa seeking missiles a mile away. But a guy from the Midwest, just assumed the best. I know not every American is the kind of person I want to hang with, but I enjoy most people... & the majority that'll leave the US are at least somewhat interesting.

He's now gone... & stopped talking about long-term travel.