Blogs from Giza, Lower Egypt, Egypt, Africa

Any thought of returning to the Egyptian Museum today was abandoned due to the unrest anticipated in Tahrir Square. The travel agency moved us to Le Meridien Pyramids out at Giza for our safety so it would be foolish to attempt to go into the part of the city where it is very likely there will be demonstrations on the second anniversary of the revolution. Besides, we both have slight head colds/sinus infections so it was decided that today should be set aside for some R&R before we start the third leg of our holiday in Jordan. So, we slept in and then had a leisurely late breakfast. At about 10.15am (7.15pm in Australia) we went to the outdoor bar area where there is a large screen television to see if the semi-final between Murray and ... read more

I've yet to meet a traveler, or vacationer for that matter, who doesn't have a trip to the Pyramids on their 'must see in this lifetime' list. By the time you get there, chances are you've coughed up a serious amount of cash and your parents are worried sick they'll be stuck raising your children. So make the most of it. I'm always a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to traveling. I want no part of the pre-packaged, shrink wrapped, "watch your step and stay with the group" trips. But Egypt humbled me. Egypt is the exception. Jeremy and I took a taxi from our hotel in Cairo to Giza feeling self-assured that our travel savviness would be sufficient. The taxi driver hadn't put the car in park before the vultures descended upon us. The guide that ... read more

OKayyy We are NOT in Kansas, Toto!!! Day 1 - Waking to the soft creamy feel of Egyptian cotton sheets made us want just want to stay there all day but alas, this was a 4 am wake up for a dawn walk into the paws of the Sphinx. Like a dream, silently we floated through the warmth of the Sahara desert feet landing on ancient whispers, exquisite lighting warming the pyramid. Rounding a corner, the Sphinx in full glory - silently sitting, listening to any messages...Horus, Maat, unburdened forgiveness, light as a feather...I thought about you - There were some profound images/insights which I will share with you individually. The camel ride was a complete surprise. I rode on Alibaba who seemed to like to make a lot of noise - not one easily repeatable ... read more

After a 24 hour flight, we finally arrived at our destination. By the time we got here it was already dark. We had a long drive from the airport to our hotel which we both fell asleep. We had a quick meeting with our tour leader and the hotel letting us know what we were getting up to over the next 8 days. In the morning we woke up and went to our breakfast at the hotel. Not saying it was the worst meal we've ever had but it was definitely up there! lol The mixture of food was interesting to say the least. We went for an early morning walk and got the best surprise when we walked out the front door of the hotel and the Pyramids were RIGHT THERE within walking distance. AJ: ... read more

Cairo is exhausting. 25 million people, driving 14 million cars all beeping their horns at once. So as you can imagine, this makes for some very interesting traffic. A visit to the RTA is not necessary to register your car. Every car is either missing a door, a backlight or a bumper. I never quite understood the meaning of bumper to bumper until now. Officially there is 3 lanes, but it appears that the locals think there is actually 6. Picking us up from the airport, our driver Siaid immediately runs into the back of another car, and then nonchantly proceeds to tell us “it is no problem.” The local buses are all old, dingy Volkswagens missing doors. No wonder! Within the first ten minutes in the city, we witness a collision between two of them ... read more

I woke up today later than planned as I hadn't had the best sleep the night before with demonstrations continuing on Tahrir Square well into the night. At breakfast I got talking to a doctor about the same age as me from Alexandria who was down for the Anniversary the day before. However, he said he wasn't there to celebrate, but to ensure that revolution was enforced. His attitude was different to the general atmosphere the day before, but he was certainly representative of what some people felt about the anniversary. I got a bus from near Tahrir out to Giza this time for the Pyramids. As we got close an Egyptian guy helped me to get off at the right spot. I was pretty ignorant to him after the day before, expecting him to try ... read more