So it begins

Pyramids!

Published Date : November 22, 2004

I woke up this morning to….rain?  What’s this falling from the sky?  It rains less than 15 days a year in Cairo and of course the day we see the pyramids has to be one of them.  Murphy always has the last laugh.

Our first stop was Saqqara to see the Step Pyramids.  The rain had stopped by the time we got there, so it was nice and sunny but with an ice cold wind and storm clouds threatening in the distance.  The temple complex was most impressive, but I’m not as excited as I thought I would be.  Maybe seeing so many pictures of them over the years desensitized me to them??  I think I’m a bit put out by the commercial nature of it all as well.  We’re not allowed to climb the pyramids or go inside them, but we have to pay for the privilege of walking around them; there are touts everywhere looking to part tourists from their money.  Speaking of the tourists, even in the off season, the crowds are unreal.  I’m also still finding it a bit surreal to actually be in Cairo.  I have to keep reminding myself where I am.

Leaving Saqqara, we moved on to Giza to see the “big three”.  It really is quite bizarre having these giant structures springing up out of the suburbs of Cairo, but land is at a premium here.  Now these three pyramids were suitably imposing.  I spent our entire time there walking around by myself just soaking up the experience.  Here I felt my imagination starting to stir with images of an ancient age and way of life.  All of the local guides we have had along this trip have been very informative and knowledgeable, but sometimes I think I prefer not to know the history and come up with my own stories of a place.

We had an option of doing a camel ride at the great pyramids, and I would have liked to have done it.  I was seriously underdressed in only shorts and a t-shirt in the wind and cold though, so elected to find shelter instead.

Moving on to the nearby Sphinx, I was amazed at how small it was.  It’s tiny.  I mean, I knew it was small, but I wasn’t expecting it to be that small.  Several of the group skipped it entirely in favour of lunch at the KFC across the street.  It was definitely a bit of a let-down, but seriously…KFC??

For the rest of us, lunch was in a perfume shop of all places.  We were given a demonstration and implored to buy more perfume.  I was glad to find that the oil I had purchased in Dahab had actually been a decent price after all.  If that wasn’t enough shopping for the day, our next stop was a papyrus shop for a demonstration and more spending.  Something else I had already purchased in Dahab, but couldn’t resist buying here too.  I ended up getting an Egyptian Calendar done with 24K gold and silver for 200LE, bargained down from 500LE…I love haggling.

Back at the hotel, I elected to spend a quiet night packing and storing souvenirs in luggage storage for our return next week.  I need a break from the group…it’s reaching that stage where the meltdowns start and I can’t afford to start blowing out with people I have to spend the next 2 and a half months with.  As a strong introvert, I can’t socialize just for the sake of it; I prefer conversations that have some meaning or depth to them.  I find it exhausting to be around others for extended periods of time and need time alone to recharge my batteries.  Unfortunately, time to myself is at a premium on this type of trip so I need to grab it wherever I can!

Hurghada

Published Date : November 23, 2004

We were up bright an early this morning, on the bus at 8am for the long trek south.  We followed the Red Sea Coast, so there were some fabulous views, but all in all, it was just a very long day spent on the bus.

Stopping in Hurghada for some dinner/snacks turned out to be a bit of an adventure.  With its luxury sea-side resorts, Hurghada is a fabulous destination for tourists who aren’t on a budget.  I would have loved to explore, but we only had 30 minutes there.  I grabbed some snacks from the nearest shop, as well as some new sunglasses – pair of Ray Ban knock-offs that had real glass lenses for only 100LE.  With a few minutes left to explore, I found myself in a little shop just off the main road.  While I was there, I was given a head massage, a couple of glass perfume bottles, and a handful of postcards, all for free!  Yup, Egyptian men will give you anything if they think they could even possibly stand a chance of scoring!

Apart from a quick break to eat and stretch our legs, the main reason for the short stopover was that we had to join a convoy the rest of the drive to Luxor.  Basically the government considers it too dangerous for tourists to travel along the Nile through Middle Egypt (because of rebels and bandits), so they require all tourist buses to travel in a convoy with an armed military escort.  They only run at certain days/times of the week and if you miss it, you have to wait for the next one.  So, understandably, when Ruth showed up 10 minutes late just because she wanted some McDonald’s, nobody was very impressed.  Luckily for her, the convoy was a few minutes late and we just managed to join in!

Our drive across the dark desert was uneventful and we arrived in Luxor about 9:30pm.  Alas, this time it’s but a stopover.  It’s on to Aswan in the morning, but we’ll be coming back to Luxor in a few days.

Aggressive in Aswan

Published Date : November 24, 2004

It was about midday when we rolled into Aswan, a small-ish city on the banks of the Nile in the Nubian south of Egypt.  My first impressions were not great, but it grew on me.

We started things out with a nice lunch in the hotel.  They have this really great dish in Egypt, but I haven’t been able to find out exactly what it is.  Near as I can tell, it’s a potato dish with some sort of a tomato-based sauce.  Whatever it is, I really enjoy it.

After lunch, we had the afternoon to explore on our own.  Marika and I decided to check out the shops and go for a walk along the river.  The shopkeepers in this city are unbelievably aggressive.  They throw out every line in the book, and don’t take no for an answer.  Basically, they are under the belief that if you can afford to travel to their country, you must be wealthy, so you must buy something from their shop (even if it’s all rubbish) and share your wealth with them.  The best part is the shops that have signs in the window saying “No Hassle” and then the proprietors start to hound you the second you set foot in the shop!

We gave it a good couple of hours, but in the end, it was too much, so Marika and I returned to the shelter of our hotel.