19th Nov - Market Stop & Bye Bye Cairo

My flight to London was due to leave in the afternoon, so a few of us visited the main markets in Cairo in the morning. What an adventure that place is. I did some hard bargaining & scooped up a few bargains before heading back to the hotel.

On the way to the airport we got stuck in a traffic jam. There were about 7 of us on the same flight. I forgot to go to the loo before I'd left the hotel & I was absolutely busting half way there. As soon as we pulled up at the airport, I leaped out of the minivan & ran for dear life to the toilet. Thank God it was just in time. Security wasn't a problem, & after a quick bite of airport food, I was heading back to good ole London.

18th Nov - Back to Cairo

We hopped on yet another bus in the wee hours of the morning & headed back to Cairo. This time at least we got to see some of the desert. When we arrived back in Cairo we were tired, but the city was rocking. You see, they were in the World Cup football playoffs that eve. A few of us went for a walk down the street & bought some Egypt scarves along the way. The locals loved that we were barracking for their team & many took pics on their mobiles of this strange phenomena - foreigners wearing the Egyptian colours.

Overnight Train Trip - Cairo to Aswan

After waiting a full hour at the train station, we boarded the sleeper train at about 9pm. Lucky me again as I scored a cabin of my own which allowed me to really spread & & relax into my little space. While the seats weren’t the comfiest, the bed was actually quite nice. I said no to the complimentary dinner offered - couldn’t fit another thing in after the big I’d had beforehand. And by 10:30pm I was out like a light.
I woke up at about 8am after sleeping quite well, even though it was a rocky ride. On going for my morning toilet stop, I noted a whole lot of huge red spots on my face & right arm. There must have been something in the pillow I slept on - possibly bed bugs it was suggested. Yuk! But I did feel refreshed & ready to take on the day.
I happened to find a pearl, probably from an earring, in my cabin. Thinking it was of little value to me, I gave it to the steward who was very pleased. At breakfast my wheat-free diet was forever thrown to the wind here in Egypt. The meal consisted of a croissant, white bread, white bread roll, biscuit, jam, butter & a cup of tea. I ate only the croissant with jam & butter, followed by a cuppa tea.

Resort Rest Stop

The day of touring had taken a huge amount of energy out of me, & I wasn’t really looking forward to the overnight train trip we’d begin later that evening. At the end of the afternoon, the bus pulled up to a resort rest stop & we were able to sit by a pool sipping drinks & playing uno. Mo had arranged a dinner also & it was an enormous feast - best food on the tour so far. Yummy babajanoush, hommous, & barbequed meat & chicken.

Sphinx

The sphinx is right in front of the pyramids. It’s believed by some Egyptian historians that there were originally 2 sphinx guarding the entrance to the pyramids. As yet they’ve found no evidence for a second. Just near the sphinx is a mummification chamber. This is where the deceased body is brought in order for the 4 organs to be removed - only the heart & kidneys remain, seemingly cause they don’t go off or something. The brain is pulled out through the nose - gross! The chamber consists of a large slab, tilted slightly at one end to allow the blood & organs to drain away.
The Sphinx wasn’t as large as I had assumed it would be. But it is impressive. Tourists are kept well away from the sphinx so as not to damage it. It looked as though some restoration work had been carried out on the rear of the statue.
As we were taking some photos, there were these east European girls, probably not older than 18, who were flaunting their bodies for all to see in mini skirts, tiny shorts & skimpy tops. Our group of women was shocked at the disrespect they were showing the culture. I vowed that at one point on the tour, I would approach someone who was so inappropriately dressed & ask them why they were doing it. But I just didn't get another chance.

Pyramids of Giza

The pyramids are in the centre of Cairo & really dominate the skyline. There are 3 of them at Giza, the largest being for Cheops, a slightly smaller one called Khafre, & another even smaller one called Menkaure We actually got to go inside the 2nd largest one. Entering from the side, we climbed down these stairs, then along a corridor, then up some more steep stairs, then in to a final chamber. It felt as if the air had all but disappeared in the small space with all the tourists huffing & puffing their way along the route. When I got to the chamber I almost immediately had to turn around again cause I just couldn’t suck in the air I needed. But it was well worth the little claustrophobic adventure.
After a while, the wind started to really pick up & there were mini dust storms happening around us, even the swirling baby tornados you often see in the movies of the desert. It felt like you were unable to protect yourself from the dust - now I can see why they wear those head scarves - an absolute necessity in the desert.
Every so often we’d see the tourist police chasing off some dodgy salesman selling dodgy goods to tourists. But just as quickly, they’d be back selling their wares again. A few people on the tour opted for a camel ride, organised by the tourist police which they said was well worth the money paid for it.

8th Nov - Day Two - The Oldest Pyramid

The next day we had put our bags in the lobby by 7:30, grab a quick breakfast, & be in the bus by 10:00. We were. Our first stop was the oldest pyramid in all of Egypt called the Step Pyramid based at Saqqara. I bought some ‘professional’ postcards for 5EP as recommended by our guide, Big Mo (Mohammed), which were anything but professional. Think the shots may have been taken back in the 1970s too. We were warned by Mo that there would be scams in operation there. A typical one being someone wrapping a scarf around your head, getting a photo & then asking money from you. And they were there, trapping unsuspecting travellers who fell for it time & again.
The actual pyramid itself was on its last legs, as would be expected for a pyramid that’s been around since the 27th century BC. And, strangely, they were doing some kind of renovation work on the exterior, which looked completely fake & out of place. The king built this pyramid as he didn’t believe royals should be buried alongside ordinary folk, which had been happening to this point in time. So he had this step pyramid built, adding steps on until he was finally satisfied with having 6 of them in place. Aside from the pyramid, there were several other bits & pieces floating around - broken statues, like house temples, etc. Good place for a first stop on Egyptian history.

Yet Another Night with Little Sleep

For some reason, perhaps over-tiredness, I couldn’t get to sleep. I hadn’t had any alcohol & I was completely exhausted. But when I went to bed at 22:20, my heart was racing & I just couldn’t sleep. And this was even though I was sleeping alone - i.e. didn’t have a room mate. I did manage to get perhaps 2 hours sleep in before the next full day of touring, but I had dark circles under my eyes & again felt like crap.

Pretty Good Italian Lasagne

After the light show, I was absolutely exhausted. I nodded off a few times in the van coming back, much to the detriment of my neck as my head was rolling around all over the place. A group of us had kind of started an early bonding process, & when we arrived back at the hotel we headed straight for the bar for a drink & food. In the group were Kirsten, Kristen (Kris), Kym (her man), Kylie, Amy, Kath, & I - all Aussies. It was weird hanging out with a group of Aussies after so long away from home, but comforting too. About 80% of the tour group of about 45 people were Aussies or Kiwis. We got into this in-depth conversation about an argument Kristen had with her (now ex) best friend over their wedding venue. Kym just tuned out - a man in a sea of women. I’d ordered the lasagne, based on Kristen’s recommendation, & it was really quite good for an Egyptian lasagne.

Pyramid Light Show

I was completely convinced that I should go see this light show, but I thought that it would be a shame if I missed it & it ended up being really good. So, I paid the 175 EP & went along with several of the other group members. I should have gone with my gut instinct - it was crap! Felt like something out of the 1970’s with Orson Welles doing the voice over & this overly-dramatic background music. These lights partially lit up the pyramids & a laser show attempted to convey some of the more factual information about how them. Luckily it only went for 50 mins cause I was itching to get out of there.

My First Mosque Visit

Last stop on the tour was a visit to one of the oldest mosques in Cairo. The women in the group had to enter through a separate entrance where we gave in our shoes & were provided with a bright green flowing robe to don prior to entering. We all did as instructed & with the hoods over our heads, not only was it really bloody hot, but we also looked like a group of cultists - very humorous. The other tourists were even taking photos of us! The atmosphere inside the mosque was wonderfully serene - it seemed like a nice place to hang out & reflect. The women’s area is completely cordoned off from the men’s by wooden partitions & is considerably smaller. Seemingly, being able to see the women would be too much of a distraction for the men who may not then be able to concentrate on their prayers.

Kris & I asked several questions about the way Muslims treat women, which was handled quite sensitively by our Muslim male host. Standing in the sun, fully covered, in weather approaching winter & we were all still boiling hot from being covered up to such an extent. I can only imagine what it would be like to do this all day every day, often wearing black clothes. And all the Egyptian women here are covered - I haven’t seen one that isn’t. They probably couldn’t stand the lurid stares of the Egyptian men here either, many of whom oggle at any piece of flesh they can see.

Where Mary Hung Out For a While

Second stop was a Coptic Church. Known as the Hanging Church, it is the biggest & most famous in Egypt. Why? Because the Virgin Mary stayed here when she left Palestine & there have been miracles observed here - seemingly. One such miracle was an apparition of Mary that appeared on a column in the church. It is now covered by plastic to prevent the Christian faithful from wearing it out through their touching it. Nice little church anyway.

Seeing Dead People - Egyptian Museum, Cairo

First stop for the day was the Egyptian Museum which holds much of the treasures of Ancient Egypt. An Egyptologist & OTG tour guide Tamil took us through the key exhibits. Every single piece on display was incredible - you really need at least 2 full days to cover it properly. Crypt, coffins, burial stands, jewellery, mummification slabs, mummies - & all dating back thousands of years. A couple of us - Jenny, Kylie, Kirsten & I - opted to go into the mummies section which cost an extra 100 Egyptian pounds. Two rooms of mummies, including King Ramses II were there to view. And you could see so much detail in these mummies, even the hair, fingernails & eyelashes were preserved with some of them - incredible! We were only in the Museum for around 2 hours, but it was well worth the visit.

7th Nov - Arrival in Cairo

After being one of the first to depart from the plane, I waited in a queue at customs for only 10 mins before being served. Then was promptly turned around again to get my visa stamp from one of the bank windows. When I lined up again, the queue was huge - about 25 people, & the wait was at least a half hour.
Anyway, I got through customs relatively quickly & without fuss. The On-The-Go rep, Shady (as in Slim), was there to greet the 3 of us flying in at that time. He escorted us to the van outside & it took us only 40 mins to reach the Oasis Hotel where we’d be staying the first night.
A 3-hour wait for a room, a great conversation on Middle-East politics with Shady, a quick (5-min) freshen up, & I was ready at 10am for my first optional tour day

6th Nov - Flight to Cairo

I caught the bus from Bath back in to London. The flight on EgyptAir left on time at 22:30 from Heathrow - last plane to leave the airport that eve. I seemed to be the only person who had a window seat with no one next to me - lucky me! However, across from me was Mr El-Creepo who kept giving me these rancid stares which I could only interpret as being ones that said "filthy western woman all alone, you need good Egyptian man to ....." Hmmmm.... thoughts I'd rather not know about really!
After having little sleep at the Bath YMCA the previous eve, I hoped to catch at least a few winks before landing in Cairo. And just as I started drifting off to my little dreamland to the sounds of Diana Krall on my ipod, the stewardess shouted in my ear that dinner was being served - "you want chicken or beef?" I started speaking to her as if she cared that I'd had little sleep - silly me. She clearly didn't care. I asked for the chicken.
I was eating dinner at 2am Cairo time - weird! Nevertheless, I managed only a few winks of sleep, & with Cairo being 2 hours ahead of London, & landing at 5:15am local time, & having only a tiny amount of sleep the night before, I felt crap by the time I got off the airplane.