Speeding Bump

Seems like it's a self-fulfilling prophesy. Upon looking back at the posts in this blog that included bumps I noticed that the last couple of bumps happened at the 'corners' of a month or at its middle, that is near the 30th or 15th of the month! Today I had a new bump, and hey, today is the 29th of the month!

Okay, this time the bump was really my mistake. I'm even ashamed to disclose completely what happened. But let's just say I was driving in the middle lane and wanted to turn right. I signaled right to move to the right lane first before the right turn came. There was a car in the right lane from behind which did not want me to move to the right lane and kept honking. So I let that car move ahead of me then moved to the right lane behind it. I speeded ahead to catch up with it, and yes that was my mistake, I admit it with a bit of shame. The right turn approached and I did not know if that care in front of me was turning right or going straight, I guess he signaled right but I can't remember now. Anyway, when I got right next to the right turn I discovered he was not turning right and he was going straight. Now here was my real mistake: I speeded ahead turning right yet something I was not expected happened, the car in front of me which did not turn right and was moving straight ahead stopped! That car stopped I guess due to traffic in front of it. I was honking all my way behind that car even before the right turn. I honked, moved forward and turned right bumping the car from its right side rear and my car from its front left side! It was my first time (and hopefully last) to bump my car from the front left side. Now I have my car bumped and scratched from the four corners (funny, but true).

Lesson: Never speed behind a car no matter how much it honked or annoyed you. This is childish behavior. I repeat, this is childish behavior and could cause your car to be scratched or worse yet might result in a serous accident. Don't go crazy when driving. Safety first.

Night Bump while Turning

Yesternight I bumped the car, lightly thank God, while relatively slowly turning right. I bumped into a parked car. It was a considerably soundy bump. It's been a long time (two months exactly) since I last bumped my car.

I'm writing this now so it can be a lesson learnt for me. I was moving off in a side street and about to turn right. I car was coming from the opposite direction. The two mistakes I did were:

1. Turning my lights off!
2. Focusing too much attention on the opposite car approaching while giving less attention to the parked car on my right side.

I thus heard a soundy bumping sound upon my turning to the right. I was unable to notice the car parked at the corner of the road due to my putting the lights off (courtesy to the opposite car approaching) and focusing too much on that approaching car.

Lesson: When turning to the right side always pay attention to any cars parked at the corner of the street. Always keep the lights on at night even if a car is approaching from the opposite direction.

i10 Takes a Bath

In Dire Need of Cleaning

Ever since I bought my i10 I have not cleaned it from inside. After making a few trips: one to Ain Sokhna another to Kalyoub for my first 1000 km maintenance and a third to El Khatatba to visit a farm there after these three trips the car was in bad need of cleaning from inside.

Shining at Last

Today I finally went to Caltex for a car wash from inside and outside. After around one hour of deep cleaning the light blue i10 was shiny from outside and pleasingly clean from inside. I paid only 20 Egyptian pounds and tipped the guy who did all the work with an extra 3 Egyptian pounds. Was a pleasant experience all in all except for the long wait before and during the cleaning process. Perhaps next time I'll do an engine cleaning as well. I've also asked if they had waxing but it turned out that they did not. Perhaps I'll by my own wax and do it myself back home. We'll see how things turn out regarding this.

Charity Errand Again

Phone Ringing

My phone rang around noon today, I thought it was someone congratulating me for Eid yet it turned out to be a phone call from Resala. It was the employee responsible for the charity errand at the Nasr City branch of Resala once again. She first thanked me for my efforts the day before then asked me if I was free today. I replied confirming I was free. She asked me if I could participate in the charity errand today as well. I told her that I would love to. I asked her when they needed me, she said "now". I told her I'll be there within an hour, which I did (perhaps I was just a few minutes late).

Two Rounds

Today was similar to yesterday. Again two Resala representatives (employees) accompanied me in the car and we visited around 4 places in Nasr City where donors donated meat and calf skin. We went back to Resala with the donations, emptied the car trunk then two other employees came with me for a second round after a few minutes. We finished our round, brought the meat and stuff back to Resala and off I went back home.

Tilt Wheel

Having entertained the idea of tilting my steering wheel, since the option is present in the i10, for quite a while, today I did take the 'brave' step of actually tilting it. I tilted it down a bit and locked it at the middle. I then adjusted my chair and later the mirrors to go with the change in steering wheel height. Contrary to my expectations, the change in steering wheel height did make a real difference in driving comfort. I am glad I finally made that change today!

i10 Doing Charity

Resala Charity Errand

Yesterday was Eid and my i10 made its first charity errand at Resala. After the Friday prayers I headed to the Nasr City branch of Resala to check up what was going on there. Just by chance I found the employee responsible for the charity errand at Resala, or actually she found me, right upon parking in front of the Resala building. Having registered my name with her earlier after getting my driving license, she asked me if I was free to do some charity errands. I welcomed the opportunity.

First Round

I drove the i10 around Nasr City. Two employees from Resala accompanied me. They had a number of addresses with them of people who wanted to donate meat, during the first day of Eid, to Resala. After collecting the meat and cow skin from a number of donors we went back to Resala to unpack the car. The 'trunk' of the i10 was too small to carry a lot of things, so we skipped passing by a donor who was donating a large part of calf.

Second Round

After arriving at Resala and unloading the i10 trunk, I found the employee responsible for the charity errands once again standing in front of the Resala building. She came to me once again and asked if I could go for a second round with two other employees. I welcomed the opportunity once again. We took our round and came back to Resala. By that time I was too tired to go for a third round and I wanted to go back home to have lunch and rest despited some desired inside me for going for a third charity errand round.

Back Home

I went back home satisfied having at last practically joined the charity errand activity at Resala with my new i10, an intention which I had earlier and had planned for before buying the car. I have been through some slumpy roads yesterday that were muddy and had water in them after the early morning relatively heavy rain of yesterday. There were also numerous uneven and high speed bumps on the way which the i10 did not quite enjoy. Yet despite of all that and the fact that my driving yesterday was not optimal, I did in fact feel satisfied doing this. I hope I'll be able to continue participating in the charity errand in the days and months to come. I believe that's the best real insurance for the safety of my car and its passengers.

Keeping Charity a Secret!

Some may shun talking about charity things they are doing in the fear of believing that it could turn into some sort of bragging and to assure themselves that they are doing it only for the sake of doing good and not for getting acceptance or admiration from others. I do believe that one should do some good deeds and keep them to himself or herself without telling others about them. Yet at the same time one should tell others about charity work he or she is doing for it might inspired them to do the same. We cannot leave those taking drugs brag about their harmful and irresponsible abuse of drugs while we keep our good deeds a secret! Showing and spreading the word about charity work is a good thing.

Without Changing Lanes

Was going back home from Resala a few hours ago when I had to make a U-turn in Abbas El Akkad street. I was in the left most lane moving forward in preparation for the U-turn I was about to make a short distance ahead to my left side. I suddenly heard a sharp scratching sound from my right side. I stopped at once just to find a car approaching me from the right side and scratching against the body of my dear i10. I car coming from my right side was attempting to overtake me from my right side in order to move to the left most lane in preparation for turning left.

We both stood still for a few moments not wanting to move. The car on my right side was slightly ahead of me. Both of us did not know what to do. We both wanted to prevent any possible further damage to our cars. He then moved slowly away from my car, I can't remember backwards or forwards, probably he moved forward and away from my car towards the right side. He then took to the left lane like he intended from the start. I was in deep worry what the scratch would look like on the right side of my car.

View Larger Map

Although upon analysis of the situation we find that it was his mistake not mine since he is the once who was attempting to change lanes and he got too close to my car while I had nothing but the pavement on my left side and could not move any more to the left, yet I did want to look at it as being my mistake. I guess I could have avoided such a hazard had I looked to my right side before going forward. Yes it is not my problem to look to my right when I am just moving forward and not changing lanes, yet as a defensive driving technique I should have done so. I guess the guy expected me to stop moving forward upon his approaching me and cutting the way ahead of me. Yes his mistake, but once should train for avoiding the mistakes of others. We do not live in a perfect world after all.

Lesson: Even if you are just moving forward and not changing lanes, make sure to keep an eye on cars coming from the lane adjacent to yours just in case any of them wanted to suddenly overtake you and expected you to stop sharply upon their attempt to cut you off.

Three-Point Turn

Yesterday while I was driving nearby my house at some close by street searching for a shop I learned sold plastic containers I figured out I had made the wrong turn and had to reverse my direction in the street so I attempted a 3-point turn.

I turned left at first trying to change direction in one go without reversing (like in a U-turn). back while turning but the street turned out to be too narrow and the parked cars on the other side of the street were in the way so I stopped after turning left then reversed back to straighten out the car a bit in the new direction. As I attempted to go forward once more I noticed a had approached from the opposite direction. Not wanting to keep that other car waiting and having my car not yet fully straightened up I quickly attempted to go forward (since the other car facing me had stopped and was waiting for me to pass). I attempted this action in a haste while I focused all my attention on the car opposite me and to my left side. I noticed that the look in that car's face was a look of unrest while I headed forward making way for that car to pass. While I thought that that look of unrest and slight annoyance in that driver's face was due to being in a hurry and me taking so long to give way to the car I was not aware of the real meaning of that look until I move forward with confidence just to find another car swiftly moving from behind me and overtaking me from the right side while I focused my attention undivided on the car at my left side! It was then and only then that I realized the real meaning of the look in the first driver's face: she was feeling uneasy of my rapid movement forward without taking the slightest notice of the car approaching from behind me and swiftly overtaking me from the right.

Lesson: When making a 3-point turn, make sure you look at both sides and to your back for any approaching cars before making the final push forward after having reversed.

Trip to Rehab

It seems that I liked the idea of trip rehearsal so I decided to repeat it once again yet this time the destination was Rehab City.

Planning

My initial idea early on was to take my i10 and follow the Rehab bus from Nasr City (in front of Tiba Mall) till it reaches its final destination inside Al Rehab City. I later dismissed this idea not only because the bus stopped repeatedly during the trip to Rehab but because the path the Rehab bus took turned out to be a longer-than-usual path.

Ever since I thought of trying to drive to Rehab I been repeatedly contemplating this and wondering how come the bus takes so long to reach Rehab City from Nasr City when several others have told me it takes only 20 minutes to reach Rehab by car! I thus concluded that it can't be that those reaching Rehab city in 20 minutes by car were taking the same path as the Rehab bus. Indeed, upon checking Google Earth I discovered a parallel path, yet from the south rather than the north of Rehab City, that goes directly from Nasr City to Rehab City without passing through the many hurdles of the bus path and presumably is less busy.

Taking Off

After making a final revision of the Google Earth map very early today I got dressed and started warming up the car. It was around 5:20 AM which is after Fajr yet before again before sunrise.

The round trip was around 40.5 km door-to-door including entering Rehab City itself (from Gate 9), parking in front of the Office Building inside Rehab City then leaving from Gate 6. It took me around 1 hour 20 minutes to complete the trip 50 minutes of which were spent on my way to Rehab City and only 30 minutes on my way back. Again the reason why I returned faster was that it took me more time to go to Rehab due to taking my time to slow down and read the various signs. On my way back I drove with a higher speed yet still was mostly driving at around 60 km/hour which was anyhow better than the average 40 km/hour I was making on my way to Rehab City.

Impression

I was satisfied to have made the trip. I was especially glad to have entered Rehab City easily from the gates and having parked there. I'm looking forward to making this trip again yet that time not as a rehearsal.

Trip Rehersal

Heliopolis Trip

Having become better in driving I decided yesterday to go to my destination in Helopolis by car. My original trip to Heliopolis was supposed to take place somewhere before noon yet I woke up early in the morning and made the drive to Heliopolis right after sunrise. I arrived to my destination their, did not even park and came back home once again. It was merely a rehearsal for the real thing!

The reason why I went through this early-in-the-day rehearsal was that the streets had very low traffic in the morning, specially on a Friday (which is a holiday in Egypt). I was able to take my time, learn the road well and practice the different maneuvers needed to complete the trip. When the time came later in the day to make the real trip I found myself driving with confidence and ease most of the way despite the slightly heavier traffic that was present around noon.

Lesson: If you are planning to make a new trip that you have not done before it is a good idea to make a rehearsal first by driving all the way to your planned destination and back during a time when the streets have low traffic. This exercise will make you drive more confidently when you make the trip again while the streets are busy.

Mohandeseen Trip

Today I though of making my (much farther) trip to Mohandeseen by car instead of taking the ACT bus. I remembered the successful trip I made the day before to Heliopolis and how rehearsal had played a great role in that so I decided to try and do the same for the Mohandeseen trip. I woke up very early in the morning and headed to Mohandiseen at around 5:30 AM which is before sunrise. Having checked the road through Google Maps and finding that the 6th of October Bridge was a good way to go I took the bridge all the way to there from Nasr City to Mohandeseen.

The round trip was around 33 km. It took me around an hour to reach Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandeseen around 40 minutes to reach my destination and just above 20 minutes on my way back. I kept looking at the signs to know my way as I headed to Mohandeseen which slowed me down while I came with a much higher speed on my way back.

It's really interesting to make such road rehearsals. Perhaps I should try that again with other roads and tips in the future God willing.

Reflecting Triangle and First Aid Kit

I have just bought, at last, the mandatory (effective July 2009) reflective triangle and first aid kits to keep in my car. I've been postponing this (easy) step for quite a while although the headquarters of the Nasr City Traffic Department are at a 10-minutes walking distance from my home and they have kiosks inside that sell that stuff. The issue is that when went to license my car I forgot to buy them from there and remembered only after leaving and kept postponing since then.

I bought the reflecting triangle for 25 Egyptian pounds and the first aid kit for 40 Egyptian pounds. There were cheaper varieties but I found that a total of 65 Egyptian pounds was no big deal and it was like a once-in-a-very-long-time thing to do. There was also another kiosk next to the one I bought from but I did not ask him about the price of his stuff. The guy who sold them to me told me the only difference between the ones I bought and the other cheaper ones was the casing as mine were kept inside plastic boxes while the others were kept in a bag made of cloth (for the first aid kit) and a cardboard box (for the triangle) and that other than that the contents of the two packages was identical. I bought the mandatory stuff, carried them happily to my car and rested them at the back of my car.

Driving License

Yesterday I managed to get my driving licence at long last from the Nasr City Traffic Department which is located in New Cairo. The license coasted all in all under 100 Egyptian pounds.

I've been there the day before yesterday but unfortunately I had accidentally locked my keys inside the car and by the time I was able to get my spare keys it was too late in the day to apply for the license so I went back home without getting it.

Although by the end of the day I was able to grab the licence yet it was no easy process. I faced a lot of hurdles before managing to finally get it.

Keys Locked Inside Car

Driving License

Today was my second time to have my key locked inside the car except that this time the car was not parked in front of my home like the first time, instead, it was parked some 30 km away from home in front of the Nasr City Traffic Office located in New Cairo! I went there today in an attempt to get my driving license.

Spare Key

To make a long story short, I finally reached a friend who was available and ready to help. He went to my home, got the spare key and brought it to me in New Cairo. By then it was too late for me to apply for the driving licence which we were informed is applied for from 9 - 11 AM. We drove back home (me and my cousin who accompanied me during this 'trip') a bit unhappy because I did not get the driving licence nor even take the test or apply for the licence yet I was satisfied that my friend had indeed brought me the key. I'll take that as a big learning lesson.

Rear Light Hit

I've also noticed today a small broken piece of glass at my right rear lights. I don't know when that happened and if it had taken place days before without me observing it. Yet I guess the car was hit while parked because that was the light facing the street while the car was parked during the last few days. Yet the rear lights are elevated and are not low enough for a car to come crashing from behind not to mention that I had been parking it too close to the pavement particularly compared to the car parked behind it which makes it unlikely for another car in the street to bump into it. Probably it was someone carrying something heavy accidentally hitting the right side rear light as we had some neighbors moving from their apartment yesterday and taking their furniture with them. I felt sad to see the small crushed glass at the rear light, yet I quickly recovered since I had already went through car scratches twice before.

Lesson: Never lock the car and forget your keys inside. Always take the keys out and put them in your pocked as soon as you turn the car off. Keep a second spare key in your pocket at all times.

Ain Sokhna

Yesterday we took off with the i10 to Ain Sukhna. The round trip was 305 km. I went with a friend and his cousin.

I drove most of the time or at least a long part of the way. I reached 120 km/hour on the highway yet mostly was on 105 km/hour or below. I really enjoyed the drive. Gave me more experience too. I highway had very low traffic. We left Cairo before 6 AM and returned before noon.

On our way from Cairo, we checked the tire pressure. Was a nice experience since we did it ourselves at the gas station because the guy responsible for it at the station was not present yet at that early time in the morning.

Although we stayed just under an hour at Sukhna, yet we have managed to accomplish the main goals of the trips which were:

1. To increase the car millage towards the first 1000 km in order to make the mandatory maintenance for the first 1000 km of the new car.
2. For me to have extra practice on driving by driving on highways.
3. To enjoy, if just briefly, the atmosphere and scenery at Ain El Sokhna.

Upon arriving to Sokhna, we went to Porto Sokhna which my friend and his cousin (we lives in Canada and was on a trip to Egypt) have marveled at. I did reckon the lush hotel but I actually aimed at something more simple and local. Anyway, we found the restaurants (Chili's and the others) all closed and were told they open up at noon. We stayed for a while then moved on to some sea food restaurant not far from Porto Sokhna which again was closed and we were told it also opens up at noon. We sat for a short while in front of the beach which was really nice, though slightly hot. We then headed back to Cairo because my friend had things to do back there and so had to return early. Was quite a nice experience.

Second Accident

Busy Streets

Today was my fourth day in a 5-day driving course. I've finally managed to go for a longer trip, with my driving trainer, around 1 PM when the streets are fairly busy.

Scratch

Apart from the minor scratches I had caused by the end of our trip back home today, I was driving fairly OK. The problem was that he was on the cell phone at the time of this accident which did not give him a chance to provide me with early warning to avoid bumping into the car on my left side having gotten too close to it.

Damage

The external bumpers of the car on my left were detached from the car from the right side all the way till the other side except for a part that was hanging from the far left. This caused the bump or friction to make a great sound. I was a bit shocked and wanted to stop on the right side of the road having though I caused the guy on my left great damage. The trainer told me not to stop and that it was the mistake of the one on my left because he came to close to me from the back. I was relieved, yet perhaps not completely convinced, that it was the other drivers mistake and not mine. Perhaps I should learn and practice defensive driving in the future to avoid accidents in such situations.

Trainer

Despite what happened, I believe that this has been the best driving trainer I had ever had and I did have many (maybe 7 or more, at least 5 of which were paid driving trainers). He is highly experienced in both driving and in teaching others how to drive. I have learnt a lot from him and I'm glad I got to know about him and actually took the course. He is a bit more expensive than the other driving schools but he's worth every penny. Just considering that proper driving training could help you avoid some serious accident in the future which would have costed you a lot of money will make you realize the value of investing in such driving lessons.

Lesson

Thank God today's 'accident' was nothing but a minor scratch at the back left side of the car. Perhaps I can take today's incident as a further learning lesson to avoid serious accidents in the future. I should practice more to avoid the mistakes of others and to maintain a distance at all times from cars at my left and at my right sides at the same time. Yes I should have learnt from my first accident, yet I still do believe today was a considerable improvement. I just need to work on it a bit further and be a bit more careful when driving.

My First Accident!

Thank God only minor scratches at the front right-side bumper were the results of this minor bumping accident the day before yesterday.

False Start

I took the car for a short ride early in the morning as usual for driving practice. As usual, I confined myself to the close by streets which are relatively empty in the early morning (around 6 AM). There were a few cars however on that day since students have been back to school.

Right Side Mirror Closed

Oh, sorry, the above paragraph was not correct. It seems my memory has been failing me ever since this minor accident. Now I remember. I went out at noon the other day and was in a big hurry. I forgot to open the side mirrors because of my haste. After starting to move I realized the mirror were closed. I opened the left-side mirror while I was driving. I did not open the right side mirror however as the trip was short (less than 1 km) and I thought I'd never need them so why stop the car and open them when I was already late and in a hurry plus the trip was a short one. I discovered later that I was wrong later on and that I should have indeed opened the right side mirror.

The Accident

Upon turning right and moving for a short distance I found a few cars coming from behind me. I wanted to turn left. Instead of actually continuing my way forward and turning left I decided to play it 'safe' and make room for the cars behind me to bypass me. My plan was to wait until the pool of cars has finished then turn to the left safely having the street all for myself. That was not exactly what took place. While trying to move to the right in order to make way for the cars behind me to overtake me from the left I actually moved way too much to the right side. A few seconds after hearing the car right behind me honking I bumped into one of the cars parked on my right side. I quickly turned left to lessen the impact of the bump. I heard it well and clear. I still hoped that perhaps nothing happened to the car and moved in my way normally. Having reached my destination, which was not far from the place of the accident, I got out of the car still hoping that nothing has happened. I inspected the car from the right to find, to my dismay, a few minor scratches on the front right-side bumper which had taken the thin blue polish away exposing the grayish color beneath. I was horrified. Well, not actually horrified but was very sad, not that the scratches were severe, but it was because the car was new, only two weeks have passed since I bought it.

Learning Lesson

Although I was unhappy yet I instantly thanked God considering I was lucky to have the accident be a minor one with only minor surface scratches and no real harm to the car. It was just a psychological thing since that car was new and I was, I believed, taking extra care not to bump or scratch it. I looked at the positive point however and took it as a strong learning lesson. Now I need to practice and take extra care not to bump my car from the right side (or the left side for that matter). Perhaps that learning lesson would help me avoid a major accident in the future. I tried to think positively to reduce my deep negative feelings.

Right Side Mirror Open

During the week before the accident I did have this problem of getting too close to the cars parked on the right while I was trying to make way for the cars behind me to overtake me from the left. The thing was that I did have my right side mirror open during those times which acted as a sort of early warning system preventing me to bump the car itself onto the parked cars on the right-side as the back of the mirror did the bumping effectively half closing during the first incident and completely closing during the second one. Perhaps I should take care to open the right side mirror before starting to drive in the future. Better yet, I should practice keeping a distance from the parked cars on the right when trying to make room to the left for cars behind me. I have already started to practice this since yesterday.

Mirror Bumping Again!

Today I was trying to park not far away from the bakery to buy some bread in the morning. Finding a school bus coming towards me I kept to my extreme right while moving slowly forward with the i10. The right side mirror bumped (again) against the car parked on my right side almost completely closing the mirror inwards. Seems I still had not learnt the lesson well. Seems I only to consideration for the right side dimension of the car and do not take into consideration the extra space needed for the mirror (when it's open).

The other repeated mistake I had also done today was parking backwards and not observing the street from behind me during the parking process. I guess I only looked backwards before starting to reverse and park but not during the parking process itself. I was alerted to this mistake (again) upon hearing the slight honking coming from behind.

Although I have repeated those two mistakes today yet I'm still glad since today I drove at the time when school buses and cars were moving around even if I was only confined to the small streets around the house. The second win I had today was buying bread. I almost gave it up not finding a place to park near their and failing to park at a rather small (but not very) space in front of the bakery. Yet at the end and after several 'rounds' I finally decided to park at a place not so far from the bakery. I came back home with a plastic bag with six loafs of bread in it.

Ghabbour Called Me

I just received a phone call from Ghabbour, Hyundai agent in Egypt, moments ago. I had bought my Hyundai i10 from one of the Ghabbour distributors. During the phone call, she asked me if I had any issues with my new i10. I informed her about the steering locking that had taken place the other day. She listened attentively then asked me if I had informed the service engineer about that issue when I did the car maintenance. I informed her that I had not done my first month/1000 km service check yet (included in the warranty). She told me that when I go do my first service check I will sit down with the service engineer and that I should tell him all the issues I have faced with my car.

She then proceeded to ask me about my buying experience. She was evaluating the particular distributor I had bought the car from. She asked me whether I had received the car on time or not and if I had faced any problems other than the issues in the car (which the service maintenance should be dealing with). She also asked me to rate the distributor as well as the car and giving each a score from 1 to 10. I thought for a moment, then told her I give the distributor 8 out of 10 and the car ... 9 out of 10.

Such checking up on customers, regardless of it enhancing your product usage experience or not, makes one feel cared for. It makes you feel they are doing their homework and that you are not left alone. I felt an increased sense of relief and comfort having had this call from Ghabbour Auto.

Going Uphill from a Standstill

I've been practicing going uphill from a standstill during the past few days after last Friday's incident of having the car stopping in front of a growing, and continually honking, pool of cars. The day before yesterday and the day before that I practiced moving forward uphill from a standstill and became better at it yet had not perfected it still. I was not using the hand brake while attempting to press the gas to move forward.

Today I tried going up hill again but used a different technique. I pulled up the hand brake a little (two clicks or so out a maximum of seven) then started releasing the clutch till the catch point then and only then have I released the hand brake and continued the release the clutch. I then pressed the gas gently. The care moved forward and uphill with relative ease.

I also tried the previous procedure but attempted to press the gas before completely releasing the clutch. I tried this method several times but the car always stopped (the engine died) and it proved unsuccessful. The successful process I found was the one I have mentioned above.

As a side note, I noticed that as I pressed the brakes, no matter how gently, on my way uphill, I heard a bit louder-than-usual sound of the brakes engaging down the car. I am not sure if that is normal when in an uphill position. I hope this is not a result of my earlier mistake of driving with the hand brakes on for a few kilometers.

Moving Uphill from Rest

1. Pull up the hand brake for 3 or 4 clicks.
2. Release the clutch till the catch point.
3. Release the hand brake.
4. Continue releasing the clutch (after the catch point).
5. Press the gas.

Perpendicular Parking

Sure it was not my first time to perpendicular park my car today, but day marked my first perpendicular parking bump. Having found my parking place taken, I scanned the sidewalks quickly with my eyes for an empty space without success. Upon a deeper look, I found a single perpendicular slot empty not far away. It was a bit narrow but thanks to the small size of the i10 I was able to delve into it very slowly and smoothly. Yet it seems I just went forward too much that I hit the pavement with the bottom tip of the car front. I heard its sound scratching against the pavement. I backed a little and everything was okay. I came out of the car to have a look and no real damage took place, I guess.

Let me take this as one additional learning lesson: Never move forward too much when parking perpendicular to the pavement, specially when the pavement is high enough to scratch against the front of your car.

Spare Key

I'd like to announce that today was my first time to forget the car key inside the car with all the car doors locked! Thank God this happened as I parked in front of my home wherein my spare key was. Seems I was perplexed with so many things as I got out of the car, having parked in a different location than my usual (finding someone unexpectedly parking in my place) and having scratched the bottom of the cars front against the pavement. I always take great care to make sure I do not lock the car while the key is inside and to take the key with me before locking it. I guess this could be a learning lesson to make me avoid such incident happening again.

Parking Lessons

Car from Behind

Yesterday I was attempting parallel park behind a parked car. I did the drill of looking in the mirror to see if any car was coming from behind, finding the road to be clear I started backing slowly. I reversed very slowly and I guess paused a while in the middle before backing again when I was suddenly alerted by sharp honks coming from a car behind me or actually at my side!

I realized that it was not enough to check the street behind when one starts to park but that the street behind should be checked constantly during backing up while parking, specially when the parking is done slowly which gives time for new cars to emerge from behind.

Extreme Cornering

Another lesson I learnt also yesterday still related to parking was not to back until the wheels almost touch the sidewalk. While attempting to park parallel in front of my house I went backwards too close the the sidewalk that the wheels skweeked touching the sidewalk. After getting out of the car, I found my i10 extremely close to the sidewalk. The left hind wheel also had some marks on it from its forceful touching of the sidewalk.

Steering Wheel Locking

Steering Locking Up

Yesterday as I came back home with my i10 I parked it parallel in front of my house. After getting out of the car, I found that my parking was not perfect. I entered the car once again and I made the parking right. As I went out of the car once again after switching it off I found that the front wheels were tilted to the left. I wanted to straighten them up so they can be pointed in the right direction when I move the car once again. I did not start the car again but just moved the steering wheel while the car was turned off, the power steering was thus not assisting me in moving the wheels. Moving the steering wheel was thus not as easy as usual and that was OK for me. What was not OK was that after turning the steering to the right I reached a point where the steering wheel locked up and did not want to turn any more to the right although the wheels were not even straight yet!

Anti Theft

Although I found this to be strange, yet in my mind I thought maybe the hyundai i10 was designed to lock up the steering wheel when it was turned manually while the car was turned off in order to avoid car theft. (Yet upon rethinking about this again now, I find the idea to be absurd as how would locking the steering wheel help avoid theft when the thief is unable to start the car in the first place!)

Key Jamming!

Until then, I was not alarmed. It was not until today morning that I was really alarmed. As I entered the car and tried to turn the key in to start the car the key simply did not want to turn even the first turn! I tried to push harder yet not too hard as I was afraid it could break inside. The key still did not want to move an inch. The train of thoughts which rushed in my mind was that there was something really wrong with the steering system of my i10. I realized, unhappily, that I had to bring it to the agent to check this issue. Now the car will be parked for a couple of days without moving I started to think.

I tried to turn the key a bit harder, yet still afraid to press too hard and break the key inside. The key finally turned in and a big relief downed upon me. The steering wheel locking disappeared instantly as the power steering engaged. I then shed the worrying out of my mind and drove peacefully.

Faulty Steering?

It was not until later in the day as I check the Internet for "hyundai i10" "steering locking" that I started to worry once again. I found reviews and comments mentioning that the i10 had problems with its power steering system which sometimes caused locking while the car was in motion! This post about hyundai i10 steering locking is what really caused me to get worried again. I still puzzled a bit and not sure if that was the same case as mine as in my case the locking took place while the car was at a stand still and turned off. I'll try to follow up on this carefully to see where it goes. Perhaps I should mention this issue to the agency as they service my car after the first 1000 miles (or first month of driving it).

Update: After describing the problem on an Arabic cars forum I learned that nothing was wrong with my i10. The steering locking was normal since I tried to move the steering too much while the car was turned off. As for the key not turning in with ease, the reason was that I must have moved the steering slightly after inserting the key and before turning the key. This is the method used for turning the key whenever the steering has locked. Man, I just love those forums and i LOVE the Internet.

Persistent Flashers

Signaling Left

Yesterday I had a funny thing happen to me. After arriving at my destination with my i10, I parked and attempted to get out of it. I then discovered that the the left turn signal was still flashing on. I realized that I had signaled left but have not actually turned left so I move the turn signals handle down. Surprisingly, the flashers kept flashing! I then tried to turn the turn signal to the right and then back again but they persisted on flashing. I was in kind of a hurry, so I decided to turn the car off and deal with the issue after I came back. But guess what, even after turning the car completely off and even taking the key out, the flashing lights still kept going on and on.

Solution?

I went out of the car and looked at the left side of the car, the flashing lights were flashing from the front and from the back. For a moment I thought of just leaving the car and trying to deal with the situation when I came back. The thought of something being wrong with my new car's lighting system was strongly haunting my mind by then. Suddenly, a half-crazy thought occurred to me. Why not just start the car again, move forward and turn left then go round and come back to my parking place once again. The reasoning behind my rather weired thought was that this could help the 'stuck' turn signals return to their normal condition. I decided to do exactly this. I started the car and turned left. But guess what? The flashing lights just kept flashing on!

Hazard Flashers

It was not until I moved a bit forward after turning left that I realized it was the hazard flashers that were actually flickering. I had turned them on as I started to park and forgot all about them after I did the 'successful' park. Well, thank God I realized at the end what was going on. I was relieved to finally realize there was nothing wrong with the car. It was me again who was ignorant. Well, not bad for a beginner. At least now I know where to press when the 'turn signals' (emergency flashers) are on!

Bumping and Stopping

Bumping

Today, Friday, I went out with the car around noon. I parked fine. Yet on my way back, there were too many cars getting out at once and I kept bumping the right mirror at the cars parked on my right side! I kept hearing the bumps, it was not until later that I realized the right mirror was half folded inward which brought me a lot of relief knowing that the bump sounds were those of the side mirror, and not the side of my car, touching the cars parked on my right.

Starting Uphill

As I completed this short row of bumps I wanted to turn right at the next street which was a bit of hill climb. I slowed down as there were cars in front of me till I stopped the car completely. I had a very tough time trying to start the car and make it move once more and ascend and turn right. There was a pool of cars behind me honking, and the street was closed from the other side by cars coming in the opposite direction. The pool of cars behind me kept increasing and the cars kept honking, I was practically closing the street up. I kept trying and trying to start the care and move upwards yet I failed each time. Finally the honks from the cars behind were too much they did not realized I had a problem moving the car forward on that hill-like road. I finally got out of the car and pushed it, at least they will realize like that that the I was unable to move the car forward by driving. Three pedestrians instantly joined me and pushed the car safely out of the way. I then started the car once again taking the advice of a fourth pedestrian on how to move it. I was at last able to make the car move forward safely. I guess I need to practice more how to do a hill climb.

The minor mirror bumps and the stopping motionless upon the hill-like road were two great learning lessons today.

Parallel Parking

Early in the morning, around 7 am right after sunrise, I took the i10 for a ride. It took me around 40 minutes to cover the 5 km going around the house. Before returning back attempted to try myself in parallel parking so I selected an empty slot and tried to park behind a parking car. I succeeded to amaze myself as I parked so closely in one trial only! Thank God. This gave me a lot of confidence. Perhaps I'll be doing more parallel parking in the future. I guess the small size of the i10, it's particular dimensions and shape make parking in small areas way easy.

Driving with the Hand Brake ON!

Tonight I drove a couple of kilometers (maybe 3 km or so) with my hand brake on! It's funny the passenger next to me said there was a strong burning smell but I insisted it was from other cars around us. Our windows were open. The signals in the car show that the hand brake was on while we moved but I was absorbed by to many other things around me which made me not notice the warning signal in the dashboard! Altough I felt so bad about that as I finally discovered I was driving with the hand brake on since I did not want to wear out my new car, yet I looked at it as a strong learning lesson. I guess I'd, probably, always remember to put the hand brake down before moving on.

All the way I was wondering why the car was not moving as fast as it should when I was at second and even third gear. Thank God the drive with the hand brake on was not too long.

Thank God

Today, thank God, I finally bought my i10 car. I went with my cousin to take it from the showroom. We then went to license the car. Now I have the car license and the plate numbers are now fixed, thank God.

We've also filled the water tank, bought gasoline and took the car for a short run. I hope to start driving it more in the coming days God willing.

Driving Lesson 3

Today was my third driving lesson at Konooz Kar. Finally we got out the the open streets and drove to Abbaseya from Nasr City. I gained more confidence this time and was driving rather smoothly. I hope I do better and gain more confidence during the following driving sessions.

Final Payment

Today I paid for the i10. It's price was 58,900 LE so I paid 57,900 LE today since I had already paied 1000 LE upon booking it last week.

I've also taken my first refreshment dirving lesson today at Konooz Car.

Lesson 1

Moving from rest. Using the first gear only. Stopping the car. Using the breaks, the hand breaks, the first gear, the moor (neutral gear) and the clutch.

Registering for Driving Lessons

I've just come back from Konouz Car, a driving school close to my house. I've registered for the 5-lesson course on a Maruti car. It costs only 100 LE. Each lesson should last for 1 hour.

To Do

• Take refreshing driving lessons to brush up on my driving skills. (done)
• Go through a driving test and get a driving licence.
• Register and licence the car. (done)
• Read in the i10 car manual. (done)

Booking my i10

Today I paid 1000 LE to book my blue Hyundai i10 from the Abour branch of Ghabour Motors.

Plans

After

1. Join the Charity Errand activity at Resala (Nasr City).
2. Visit my relatives.
3. Go to Resala more often. Visit the Masr El Gedida branch of Resala more frequently.
4. Buy grocery.
5. Deliver more English language private lessons.
6. Deliver training at additional training centers.
7. Deliver HD workshops at companies.
8. Visit farms in Egypt.
9. Participate in the Charity Visits activity at Resala (hospitals).

Before

1. Take driving lessons at EngyCar. (done)
2. Pass a driving test and get a driving license.
3. Withdraw money from the bank. (done)