On the morning of the 27th April, I awoke to the sweet sounds of Michael Buble on my alarm and was set to face the day. After showering I sorted my pack (again) and Meg and I headed to breakfast. The breakfast looked pretty normal, they call waffles 'pancakes' (nom) and their yoghurt is quite stiff and has an unusual flavour, and a layer of whey on it upon opening. After getting what I felt was enough of a fill we joined the rest of the crew and boarded the Egyptian Lady tour bus and headed to Giza.
I assumed that the pyramids would be some distance away, but they quickly came into view within a few minutes of departing our hotel. How insane to think that people drive past these monstrosities of history each and every day. All that I could do was stare with wonder!
We were given our ticket passes for the day and piled out of the bus into the heat.... A nice heat in some ways as it is a dry heat- although it still makes you sweat. I felt pretty OK for the most part, having stocked up on lightweight cotton shirts from Primark before leaving London.
With my ticket in hand (which cost 60 Egyptian Pounds, about £6 or $13NZD) We firstly walked around the perimeter of the Great Pyramid. What a feat of construction! We had been warned about the beggars and gypsies and told to avoid buying trinkets as most are fake. A couple of those on the tour didn't seem to hear that message. I walked around with Meg and we took photos and stared in awe at the monstrous pyramid before us! We were busy taking photos of a smaller pyramid in the distance and were approached by a man in a white uniform covered in badges, a Police officer. He asked where we were from and if he could help with photos. I asked how much. He said 'Nothing, nothing...', I said; 'Nothing?! Really nothing?' He replied; 'Yes.' So we handed over the cameras and he took some great photos of us individually and together. We even got a photo of him and Meg. When we started walking away he asked my name, I said Sarah and he told me it was an Egyptian name. He then said '5 pound- I take good photos for you' and I surprised myself by automatically saying 'I asked you at the start and you said nothing- all our money is with our tour guide. La Shakran" (sorry) and then we walked off. He was grumpy but my white lie was completely believable. It just goes to show though- you can't even trust Policeman in Egypt.
Our last pyramid stop was to Imhotep and Saqqara Pyramids. Again it was a 60 Egyptian Pound entrance fee. Imhotep is the oldest and first constructed pyramid in Egypt and is 4600 years old. It was built as 'benches' one on top of another, as it was easier at the time to construct it that way, and so ended up resembling steps. Random fact of the day.
Our final stop was to see the Sphinx. It was smaller than I had expected but looked like I knew it would. Amazing. Sad the nose is gone. Allegedly Napoleon blew it off? Not sure about this story. We climbed up to get some better photos and I was called Shakira. Again. And I was also offered 2 million camels... Which I turned down and then stood mighty close to one of the guys on the tour, who quickly got the message and put his arm around me. I got very tired of being harassed and I was dressed conservatively. Grrr. Meg was wearing shorts- never again haha. We were up getting some better shots of the sphinx and sitting on a wall and the next thing we noticed was some Egyptian boys who were filming us and taking our photos. Next thing they were up on the wall next to us having photos taken. Then they started with the touching. Hands on shoulders, touching my back. I was done! I hopped down off the wall with Meg and we tried to get away but they were following us. Even when we draped ourselves on other guys on our tour they didn't seem deterred and were asking the guys 'how much for your wife?'. Things like this are reasons why some would never come to Egypt. The harassment of tourists is particularly bad at the moment because there have been no tourists for three months and even now, when it is starting high season and supposed to be busy, there are hardly any people here. It's bizarre. Its a ghost town. How politics has ruined tourism.
I guess today I realised just how poor and third-world Egypt is. The rubbish that lines every street, motorway and river is appalling. It is really, really depressing. I think with 23 million people just in Cairo, and many not being able to get jobs- surely the Government could pay something to clean up the streets? It is so very sad to see all these dilapidated areas... I imagine once upon a time it was a truly beautiful place. The roofs of houses are incomplete, because if you don't finish building a house then you don't have to pay tax on it. Obviously the government haven't cottoned onto this and changed the law to get around this. People also appear to turn their roof-tops into rubbish tips. There is old furniture, rubbish bags etc atop so many buildings. And many buildings have no windows.
There are people everywhere... Although I guess there are 23 million in Cairo alone. That is so hard to comprehend coming from NZ! There seem to be a lot of
people living on the streets, and once again lots of gypsies- one gypsy lady I saw was begging for money at car windows whilst pushing a small sick looking child in a wheelchair. On the motorway. Unbelievable. We passed a school at one point which looked like it had nothing.... the playground was also quite sad looking.
The hard thing is to remember not to act too shocked when on a tour such as this, being the driver, tourist policeman and tour-guide all live here and it would be terrible if we offended them. There was a heated moment on the 21 seater bus yesterday. We've all known each other since Turkey, so have been together a week now. Some of the Australian's make really awful jokes about how run down etc Egypt is- which may be said in jest, but also may be taken as an offense. It's like some of the people on this tour don't know when enough is enough. Anyway, a joke was made about the rubbish problem, and another Australian guy turned around (who had not said much on the tour) and reminded the younger Australian's that they are not in Australia anymore and to have some respect. This started some tension- the bus went deadly quiet. But a number of us were in agreement that some of what these people were saying was really offensive and not a joke at all. It is interesting to see what happens when you lump 21 people together who don't know each other. Much like a new classroom gelling in the first few weeks of a term!
We had just one and a half hours to chill out at the hotel before driving to the train station and leaving Cairo, headed for Aswan. I had paid my £54 and upgraded to the sleeper train from the seater one which I was pleased about, as had heard some horror stories about the seater train. I was to share with Meg again which worked out perfectly.
The train approached the platform and I almost felt as if it were a joke... It looked like it could fall to pieces at any moment. We boarded and ended up in hysterics at the sight of our room... It was just arm-widths wide, had three seats and bunk beds inside the wall. It was well below NZ standard but by Egyptian standards, apparently 'quite nice'. Clearly I am not Egyptian and have far higher expectations!
Or not.
I'm not sure what the meats were- Meg had what looked like lumpy diarrhea and mine was supposed to be fish (I think), the vegetables were wrinkly peas and carrots- vegeyuckables from childhood haha... And there were other miscellaneous items. Meg had what looked like Xmas shortbread cookies. Probably left over from Christmas no doubt.
After taking some photographic evidence of what we wouldn't eat, we pushed it all aside, and continued on with a healthy meal of champions; Pringles, skittles and chocolate bars. Me and my stupid over-sensitive stomach... It has *not* been a happy tummy since leaving London. I think perhaps I really should get a food intolerance test. Feeling this bad for days on end really is no fun.
The train was quite rocky, and literally felt like it could derail at any moment. We decided bed was a good idea- but I didn't sleep. I was terrified as the train literally felt as if it could fall off the tracks. There seemed to be a lot of sudden braking too, which was scary as Meg was on the top bunk and there was no barrier. I was worried she was going to fall out. I started feeling really, really anxious about this ride. Too scared to sleep I started thinking. Perhaps not a great a great idea.
My first thought was comparing this trip to the Jews on their way to a prison camp... With the rockiness of the train... But I also thought they had it far worse of course, with how cramped they were with a bucket to go to the bathroom in and no beds. Clearly I was sleeping in luxury. My other thought was all those movies or news stories I've seen where trains derail. It happens. This was not a great thought. I felt like I was on a roller-coaster and waiting for the next unexpected turn and my stomach was in knots. You may be reading this thinking I'm overreacting or being dramatic... But it really was bad. Meg said this morning that she feels like we're being taken somewhere to be sold.
I text my brother, Chris, (it was his birthday!) about how terrifying the train ride was and he replied saying "Wow! What an adventure!" It was an adventure alright! By midnight I was tired of all the scary sounds of the train so plugged in my headphones and put Buble on shuffle. Something about his voice is calming. I didn't manage to sleep as such, but rested. Buble. I love you.
I woke in the morning to an outstanding view of dust on the window - though if I looked really carefully I could just make out people working in fields. This is a 12 hour train ride, and we still have an hour to go. Our next stop is a 5* hotel (Egyptian 5*) followed by three hours of seeing the Mighty High Dam, which is the worlds largest artificial lake. "Damn it was good." (c) Natasha Jarrott 2011.
So, I thankfully survived this dreadful train ride so the will I emailed to Mum before coming on holiday is not yet required. But wasn't I forward thinking? I guess you just never know!
Until more adventures are to be told,
Cheery bye :)
I assumed that the pyramids would be some distance away, but they quickly came into view within a few minutes of departing our hotel. How insane to think that people drive past these monstrosities of history each and every day. All that I could do was stare with wonder!
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| View of the pyramids from the motorway - so close!! |
We had an Egyptian tourist Police officer on board all day, complete with his own gun, in order to guarantee our safety. I was expecting a few hundred people to be there, but we were one of about three tours there. It was quite strange being pretty much the only people there.
We were given our ticket passes for the day and piled out of the bus into the heat.... A nice heat in some ways as it is a dry heat- although it still makes you sweat. I felt pretty OK for the most part, having stocked up on lightweight cotton shirts from Primark before leaving London.
With my ticket in hand (which cost 60 Egyptian Pounds, about £6 or $13NZD) We firstly walked around the perimeter of the Great Pyramid. What a feat of construction! We had been warned about the beggars and gypsies and told to avoid buying trinkets as most are fake. A couple of those on the tour didn't seem to hear that message. I walked around with Meg and we took photos and stared in awe at the monstrous pyramid before us! We were busy taking photos of a smaller pyramid in the distance and were approached by a man in a white uniform covered in badges, a Police officer. He asked where we were from and if he could help with photos. I asked how much. He said 'Nothing, nothing...', I said; 'Nothing?! Really nothing?' He replied; 'Yes.' So we handed over the cameras and he took some great photos of us individually and together. We even got a photo of him and Meg. When we started walking away he asked my name, I said Sarah and he told me it was an Egyptian name. He then said '5 pound- I take good photos for you' and I surprised myself by automatically saying 'I asked you at the start and you said nothing- all our money is with our tour guide. La Shakran" (sorry) and then we walked off. He was grumpy but my white lie was completely believable. It just goes to show though- you can't even trust Policeman in Egypt.
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| AMAZING! |
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| Tee Hee Hee |
After we left the grounds to the Great Pyramid we ventured to the next pyramid location about five minutes drive away. This pyramid we were going inside but paid only half the amount entrance fee do so! 30 Egyptian Pounds, about £3 or $7NZD. Our tour guide didn't join us inside, having been in hundreds of times before. It was cool being able to go inside a Menkaure's pyramid and then right below ground level. This pyramid has only been open for 6 months according to our guide and had recently had everything inside stolen by grave robbers. There seemed to be a little bit of graffiti inside, which is sad especially being it has only been open for six months! There was also absolutely no information about the pyramid printed anywhere to read about it, so we had no idea what the different rooms were used for. I found this disappointing and a little pointless but am hoping I can Google the pyramid later to actually learn about it. We found that everywhere we went there was never any information or signs or anything. I guess I assumed this was their tourist area and there would be information boards to read. Our tour guide has been great but wasn't always nearby to tell us about what we were looking at. At this location I was told I looked like a Spice Girl and Shakira- and a fat, old Egyptian man started rubbing his ring finger and asking if I would marry him. 200 camels was not enough. Turns out wearing wedding/engagement ring doesn't always seem to make a difference.
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| So heavy!!! Haha |
Our last pyramid stop was to Imhotep and Saqqara Pyramids. Again it was a 60 Egyptian Pound entrance fee. Imhotep is the oldest and first constructed pyramid in Egypt and is 4600 years old. It was built as 'benches' one on top of another, as it was easier at the time to construct it that way, and so ended up resembling steps. Random fact of the day.
Our final stop was to see the Sphinx. It was smaller than I had expected but looked like I knew it would. Amazing. Sad the nose is gone. Allegedly Napoleon blew it off? Not sure about this story. We climbed up to get some better photos and I was called Shakira. Again. And I was also offered 2 million camels... Which I turned down and then stood mighty close to one of the guys on the tour, who quickly got the message and put his arm around me. I got very tired of being harassed and I was dressed conservatively. Grrr. Meg was wearing shorts- never again haha. We were up getting some better shots of the sphinx and sitting on a wall and the next thing we noticed was some Egyptian boys who were filming us and taking our photos. Next thing they were up on the wall next to us having photos taken. Then they started with the touching. Hands on shoulders, touching my back. I was done! I hopped down off the wall with Meg and we tried to get away but they were following us. Even when we draped ourselves on other guys on our tour they didn't seem deterred and were asking the guys 'how much for your wife?'. Things like this are reasons why some would never come to Egypt. The harassment of tourists is particularly bad at the moment because there have been no tourists for three months and even now, when it is starting high season and supposed to be busy, there are hardly any people here. It's bizarre. Its a ghost town. How politics has ruined tourism.
 |
| OMG! Look! Mum! I'm riding a camel!!! |
I guess today I realised just how poor and third-world Egypt is. The rubbish that lines every street, motorway and river is appalling. It is really, really depressing. I think with 23 million people just in Cairo, and many not being able to get jobs- surely the Government could pay something to clean up the streets? It is so very sad to see all these dilapidated areas... I imagine once upon a time it was a truly beautiful place. The roofs of houses are incomplete, because if you don't finish building a house then you don't have to pay tax on it. Obviously the government haven't cottoned onto this and changed the law to get around this. People also appear to turn their roof-tops into rubbish tips. There is old furniture, rubbish bags etc atop so many buildings. And many buildings have no windows.
There are people everywhere... Although I guess there are 23 million in Cairo alone. That is so hard to comprehend coming from NZ! There seem to be a lot of
people living on the streets, and once again lots of gypsies- one gypsy lady I saw was begging for money at car windows whilst pushing a small sick looking child in a wheelchair. On the motorway. Unbelievable. We passed a school at one point which looked like it had nothing.... the playground was also quite sad looking.
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| Quackles does Egypt. |
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| Wow. It is smaller than I thought, but cool too see it 'in the real' all the same! |
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| Sherbert does Egypt. |
The hard thing is to remember not to act too shocked when on a tour such as this, being the driver, tourist policeman and tour-guide all live here and it would be terrible if we offended them. There was a heated moment on the 21 seater bus yesterday. We've all known each other since Turkey, so have been together a week now. Some of the Australian's make really awful jokes about how run down etc Egypt is- which may be said in jest, but also may be taken as an offense. It's like some of the people on this tour don't know when enough is enough. Anyway, a joke was made about the rubbish problem, and another Australian guy turned around (who had not said much on the tour) and reminded the younger Australian's that they are not in Australia anymore and to have some respect. This started some tension- the bus went deadly quiet. But a number of us were in agreement that some of what these people were saying was really offensive and not a joke at all. It is interesting to see what happens when you lump 21 people together who don't know each other. Much like a new classroom gelling in the first few weeks of a term!
We had just one and a half hours to chill out at the hotel before driving to the train station and leaving Cairo, headed for Aswan. I had paid my £54 and upgraded to the sleeper train from the seater one which I was pleased about, as had heard some horror stories about the seater train. I was to share with Meg again which worked out perfectly.
The train approached the platform and I almost felt as if it were a joke... It looked like it could fall to pieces at any moment. We boarded and ended up in hysterics at the sight of our room... It was just arm-widths wide, had three seats and bunk beds inside the wall. It was well below NZ standard but by Egyptian standards, apparently 'quite nice'. Clearly I am not Egyptian and have far higher expectations!
 |
| The most luxurious train in the world. Ever. Think Slumdog Millionaire! |
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| Welcome to the Palace. LOL. |
Although the bedlinen *looked* clean, I wasn't convinced, so I put one of my singlets on my pillowcase haha! We were told there was food, so even though we had bought some snacks earlier we figured we should at least try the food on offer.
Or not.
I'm not sure what the meats were- Meg had what looked like lumpy diarrhea and mine was supposed to be fish (I think), the vegetables were wrinkly peas and carrots- vegeyuckables from childhood haha... And there were other miscellaneous items. Meg had what looked like Xmas shortbread cookies. Probably left over from Christmas no doubt.
After taking some photographic evidence of what we wouldn't eat, we pushed it all aside, and continued on with a healthy meal of champions; Pringles, skittles and chocolate bars. Me and my stupid over-sensitive stomach... It has *not* been a happy tummy since leaving London. I think perhaps I really should get a food intolerance test. Feeling this bad for days on end really is no fun.
The train was quite rocky, and literally felt like it could derail at any moment. We decided bed was a good idea- but I didn't sleep. I was terrified as the train literally felt as if it could fall off the tracks. There seemed to be a lot of sudden braking too, which was scary as Meg was on the top bunk and there was no barrier. I was worried she was going to fall out. I started feeling really, really anxious about this ride. Too scared to sleep I started thinking. Perhaps not a great a great idea.
My first thought was comparing this trip to the Jews on their way to a prison camp... With the rockiness of the train... But I also thought they had it far worse of course, with how cramped they were with a bucket to go to the bathroom in and no beds. Clearly I was sleeping in luxury. My other thought was all those movies or news stories I've seen where trains derail. It happens. This was not a great thought. I felt like I was on a roller-coaster and waiting for the next unexpected turn and my stomach was in knots. You may be reading this thinking I'm overreacting or being dramatic... But it really was bad. Meg said this morning that she feels like we're being taken somewhere to be sold.
I text my brother, Chris, (it was his birthday!) about how terrifying the train ride was and he replied saying "Wow! What an adventure!" It was an adventure alright! By midnight I was tired of all the scary sounds of the train so plugged in my headphones and put Buble on shuffle. Something about his voice is calming. I didn't manage to sleep as such, but rested. Buble. I love you.
I woke in the morning to an outstanding view of dust on the window - though if I looked really carefully I could just make out people working in fields. This is a 12 hour train ride, and we still have an hour to go. Our next stop is a 5* hotel (Egyptian 5*) followed by three hours of seeing the Mighty High Dam, which is the worlds largest artificial lake. "Damn it was good." (c) Natasha Jarrott 2011.
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| Damn we look amazing. L-R: Kylie, Tash, Myself and Meg :) |
So, I thankfully survived this dreadful train ride so the will I emailed to Mum before coming on holiday is not yet required. But wasn't I forward thinking? I guess you just never know!
Until more adventures are to be told,
Cheery bye :)
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