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Published: April 19th 2009
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After 10 months living and working in London, we are now on the move again! I've been pretty slack on the blog front, but can assure you that we have managed to pack every spare weekend with trips away. With the Euro growing stronger, we tended to head to UK destinations, but have still managed to acquire a few new stamps in the passport. The camera is also loaded with thousands of photos, of which there are too many to post here. So I may as well start afresh - from Cairo
The pyramids at Giza were one of Ben's "big tick" places to see, after Westminster Abbey, Harlech Castle in Wales, and Franco Manca's pizzeria in the Brixton markets. The pyramids didn't disappoint. Sitting on a sandstone plateau, they seem immense and tower over the city that stretches right to the edge of the complex. In one direction is suburbia, in another a large golf course, but the rest of the site is surrounded by desert and camel touts. The sand around each pyramid is ominously covered in huge slabs of rock which seem to have fallen off the sides of the pyramids, but they are not in bad
shape after so long standing.
I seemed to be the prime tourist attraction for the roving bands of Egyptian girls who wore their headscarves with attitude together with ipods and Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. When I tried a few Arabic phrases on them, they fawned over me, clutching my arm and marching me around like their new best friend. We also found that while lining up for our tourist photos, locals would take photos of us too. Never mind the 4000 year old things in the background.
The Egyptian museum was another interesting experience. The place is packed to the brim with all manner of antiquities. Every single ledge has something sitting on it, every wall has something leaning against it, and where they appear to have run out of space, the priceless objects have been piled up in the corner. The poor mummies are stacked in glass containers 6 high (bringing new meaning to the phrase "6-under"). The highlight is to have a look at King Tut's burial mask, but we found ourselves fascinated by other oddities:
- 4000 year old loaves of bread and buscuits - how come ours go mouldy in a few days?
-
boomerangs - I wonder if the Egyptians went to ozzie for a holiday or just developed them separately?
- mummified geese, cats, lizards, crocodiles and even a snake. This mummification business wasn't just for the Pharaohs.
Ben chose our departure from Cairo as the perfect opportunity to develop a dodgy stomach. He suffered a little on the overnight train to Aswan, and even more so in the heat up near the Sudan border.
One of the highlights so far was an overnight trip on a Felucca boat. Our two captains were fans of Bob Marley and as soon as the sails were up, they proferred a huge joint to the surprised looking crowd of travellers. (Most quite clearly recall the sign posted at Cairo Immigration that states that drug taking is not only illegal in Egypt but punishable by being hung to death).
We passed the afternoon doing lazy tacks down the Nile. The captains didn't seem in any particular hurry and neither were we, so we mostly just floated by watching other boats and the activities on shore. (I've heard that if you do a 2 or a 3 night trip, you just do more zig
zags and still end up at the same place). By the evening our captains were quite seriously stoned and were in hysterics trying to put dinner together. However, the meal was tasty and we settled down to sleep under the stars.
We washed up near Kom Ombo and took a crazed van ride down to Luxor via a few more temples. Here it is hard to avoid the "hassle". There is huge competition for the tourist dollar and so everyone is vying for your custom. If you walk down the street it goes something like this:
-
you want taxi ride?
- no
- where you from?
- New Zealand
- you want felucca ride?
- just had one
- want another, maybe later?
- no
- You want Careche ride (horse carriage)
- no thanks
- 'tis egyptian rolls royce
- cheers, but no, really...
- I give you good price
This exchange invariably ends with Ben being declared a "lucky man" and the tout making an attempt to buy me for several camels.
We are now set up in Dahab, on the Sinai peninsula, and thankfully it is a bit cooler down on the coast and we are enjoying it immensely.
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zizo99
ahmed salih
peeb peeb
welcome to egypt if u need any help keep in touch take care :P