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Published: March 10th 2005
Money shot of the Sphynx
The Sphynx is actually quite small in comparison to the Pyraminds, but pictures like this one make it seem much bigger.I finally got myself out of Thailand... It was really hard to leave that place. I changed my flight. Twice. The last time, was really interesting - I got all the way to the check-in counter, and changed my mind.
I am not getting on that plane. I declared to no one in particular...
Anyway, because I changed my flight so many times, I only ended up with two days in Egypt. I definitely did not spend nearly enough time there.
My first day there was exhausting. I took a red-eye flight from Bangkok to arrive at 5:30 AM local time. I should have known that I was a bit tired when I had a lot of difficulty sorting out the Visa situation. All I had to do was stand in line at a Bank counter, and pay $15. This took me almost an hour to figure out...
I wasn't actually sure if the hostel would send someone to pick me up, given how early my flight was. To my surprise, Abraham, my awesome driver was waiting there to pick me up.
After taking a much needed one hour nap, I was off to the pyramids.
We made a slight detour to stop in a shop selling papyrus paintings. I walked out ($100 lighter) the proud owner of a scene about the "Judgement". It is certified for 5000 years. I said that if it only lasted 4000 years, that I wanted my money back.
My next stop was at a tour company, where I arranged a camel guide for $50. This was more than I had in Egyptian Pounds, so I had to pay in pounds, dollars, and even some Thai Baht. But camel riding I went.
Just a future note for would-be travelers to Egypt. Don't try to buy expensive things when you have had no sleep! I totally forgot to bargain on both of these items. You are supposed to bargain for pretty much EVERYTHING. O well, I had a good time regardless of how much I might have been overcharged.
After my trip to the pyramids, I came back to the hostel and arranged a cruise down the Nile river for dinner. It was really fun. Good dinner, with a female belly-dancer, and a male dancer that twirled this really big, multi-colored carpet thing (about 10ft in diameter) for what
Pseudo Egyptian
Ok, Ok, so this picture was actually taken in Bangkok. I randomly found an Egyptian restaurant in Bangkok. Don't worry mom - that is flavored tobacco that we are smoking (not drugs). I think ours was grape flavored. seemed like 3 hours. It was impressive.
The hostel sent one of their guys to come with me for dinner, so that I didn't get lost. I forget his name, but he was a cool kid. He taught me to count to 10 in Arabic. And the words for 100, water, and "good". All very similar (Maya, Mia, Maya Maya).
I had yet another debate on the merrits of America with a pair of fun Canadians the next night. I met a whole mess of guys that met me on the street, and wanted to chat with me to "practice their English". They would invite me for a cup of tea. The tea was good, but the "English practicing" usually involved trying to sell me either papyrus paintings (much much cheaper than the one that I bought, but at least I had the 5000 year guarantee) or perfumes.
The Egyptian musuem in Cairo is simply amazing. I think there are something like 100,000 artifcats lying about. The ancient Egyptians were quite the crafty people.
I will say that all of the Egyptians that I met were extremely friendly. Even when I didn't want to buy something
from a merhcant, they would (usually) give me a big smile and say that new friends were more important than business.
All and all, I would say that I need to give Egypt another shot. For my entire stay there, I was either exhausted to the point of insanity, or spending my time missing Thailand.
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