Welcome to Cairo Len

Trip Start Aug 09, 2008
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Trip End Sep 16, 2008


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Friday, September 5, 2008

Surprisingly, I wasn't hung over this morning. I woke up with enough time to get myself together, have breakfast, and still get back to the airport by noon to check in for my flight to Cairo. Athens hasn't changed, which is not surprise considering it's the second time I'd been there in a week.

The flight was uneventful; it only took one hour and forty minutes. Once in the terminal, a rep from the Travel agency meets me. He helps me through immigration and has my visa all sorted and paid for already. That took five minutes. It was another forty minutes before I got my bags. I have no idea why it took so long. Even the rep was saying it's ridiculous.

Finally, I'm taken outside to meet my guide in Cairo, Rames. I think that's how you spell his name. As we head to the hotel, he gives me a run down of my itinerary, and a heads up about Ramadan, some local customs, and of course tipping.

Some noteworthy information I learned. Cairo has 20 million inhabitants. They like their nightlife, and so it's going 24x7. Most of the housing in Cairo looks incomplete Sunset over Giza
Sunset over Giza
 . To do so would mean paying a building tax, so they are never completed on the outside, just on the inside. There are a lot of donkeys, horses, and people changing tyres on the road.

It takes about an hour to get to the hotel from the airport. The hotel is situated at Giza where the Sphinx and the pyramids are. They look very impressive indeed.

After I settle in, I'm picked up to go and watch the light and sound show at the Pyramids, which is a night show. The English version started at 9:30pm and lasts about fifty minutes. It was a great history lesson, and is narrated by Omar Shariff. I must admit that my close up first sight of the last of the ancient seven wonders was awe-inspiring, especially when it is lit up with colours. For me, this show was a must. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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