Off Again! To Crazy Cairo and the Pyramids..

Trip Start Jan 12, 2008

151

Trip End Mar 19, 2009

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Where I stayed

Hotel Vienna

(Cairo hotels)

Flag of Egypt Cairo, Egypt
Sunday, August 24, 2008

OK. So we have been a bit clack now with updating the blog but lets face it, by the time we had left Central American Shores, things became a lot pricier and a lot more comfortable so we for got. Our pledge for the avid readers of our blog and for ourselves is to keep things up to date from now on (Egypt) and head back and update things as we can.

After a fabulous and stressful (visas of course) couple of weeks in the UK we have finally departed. Sad to go of course but happy to be on the way again. We jumped on the tube after a final weatherspoons lunch (Gammon for me and Sunday Roast For Bill) at Leister Square. We forgot how long that one was but headed to Terminal 5 (all good and yes it is working now..) checked in and waited for our flight. BA were marvelous and it was soooo comfortable and we could never afford to fly with them if it wasn't for the RTW ticket!

Arrive, Cairo. Damn it is hot there! We got off the flight at 2am so we did not expect too much. Having prebooked accommodation and a transfer for this time in the morning was a blessing though. Visa paid for we were stamped in and the fun began. We found our guy and rushed pass the hoards to our ride. We arrived at our hotel, basic with air-con and slept the rest of the morning.

We got up the next day and immediately cancelled the idea of heading to Luxor. There was just no time and plenty to do in Cairo anyway.

Best luch view ever...

Having only half a day, we just headed out and about into the kaos. We walked about the streets in the direction of the Nile (or so we thought) got lost in the place and just took it all in. Warly evening we headed for a meal and headed back to our hotel.

The next day we got up as early as we could and headed out to the Egyptian Museum. They say that is an important thing to see in Cairo and it did not dissapoint! There were many artifacts from many Egyptian eras. A special favourite was the mummy room (which cost extra) but was so worth it. Rather than seeing them all wrapped in bandages you got to see the heads, arms and feet all unwrapped. It's amazing how well preserved that they were. I must say though that it is a certain creepiness about it all and we are definitely all for cremation... The other exciting thing to see at the museum is Tutankhamen's treasures and was something not to be missed. Following the museums we decided to walk to the Islamic district of Cairo which was extremely colourful and even more chaotic than most places so far. Some of the detailing in the mosques was amazing... Tired, we ate and rested for the night.

The next day we got up as early as we could for the PYRAMIDS!! We headed to the main roundabout down from us to get the bus out there. After standing there for about and hour trying to decipher the bloody Arabic lettering on the buses, we decided it may be safer to grab a cab (which was only $3 to be fare). If Bill had of shared that information earlier we would not have stood there that long. When you arrive at the Pyramids, it is an awesome site! They are massive and just in your face. We spent a few hours at the site and truly explored the area (though Leonie did spend alot of the time in the shade-did we mention the heat?). The last sight was The Sphinx on the way out. Just an awesome place!

There are a few things we need to clear up about Cairo. Yes, its hot. If you go, don't take a tourist bus. The tourists get ferried around to all the main sites ad miss the cultural exchange that is Cairo. We were also of the opinion from all the horror stories that we would be hassled all the time but except for at the pyramids we were left alone bar the occasional interruption (perhaps because we weren't on a tourist bus. Yes, its a frustrating place, but worth the effort... For females they will find it harder as the men (and also women) do stare (which is uncomfortable) and its a very testosterone filled culture-you just learn to avoid eye contact. Smoking is prevalent here-there are no no smoking laws.

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