Change of plan: Egypt

Unfortunately we couldn't find time (or a ticket) to go to Africa on our trip around the world. A real shame, but we'll have to go again some other time.


To make up for it we decided to go to Egypt on holiday - to see the pyramids, temples tombs and Nile. We organised our own trip as usual (no tours or guides or anything like that), and arranged to stay for about 5 days in Cairo followed by a few days in Luxor. When I looked around for hotels on the internet I realised we could get brilliant 5 star ones for less than £50 a night, so why not? We'll be roughing it next year! What I didn't realise was that the hotel I'd found in Cairo offered suites only, each one approximately 5 times the size of my Cambridge flat (2 bedrooms, 1 study, 1 lounge/dinning room, 1 kitchen, and 4 bathrooms!!!!!). Oh, and the one in Luxor was very nice too...

In Cairo we spent time wandering around town - much more than we originally intended. Cairo is impossible to navigate - I doubt it even has any totally accurate maps. You can drift from the relatively organised down-town areas and regions next to the Nile to chaotic backstreets where they keep goats and sheep in the streets in about 20m. Well, at least we learnt to navigate by sense of direction, the Nile, and the sun! Saying that, by wandering around and refusing the frequent calls of 'You want taxi? You know how much?' I think we saw a lot more of Cairo. But by the end of the holiday we calculated we had 'wandered' 101km!


Things to see in Cairo, well, the obvious but impressively old pyramids of Giza of course were the highlight. Unfortunately they are a good 15km out of town (beyond even our wanderings) and so we had to catch a taxi, bargain with the driver to get a reasonable fare (about 1/2 the original asking price), and then get rid of the tout who jumped into the car beside the driver half way there and tried to sell us 'official government camel rides' to enter the site. Everything is that much more difficult than it should be! But at least to reward our effort we saw the 3 great pyramids and the sphinx. All huge, and exuding oldness. Very difficult to describe - see pictures instead!


We wandered around the site for a few hours - its a large site due to the scale of the pyramids, and also includes the neighbouring dessert which you can walk over for an impressive view (or be bussed over if your on a tour). If you look to the south when you're on the dunes above the pyramids you can see many more pyramids in the distance. We also went inside the 2nd pyramid to the burial chamber - interesting, but I couldn't recommend it to anyone with claustrophobia.


We travelled to Luxor by sleeper train (just because it sounded fun - and was kind of, but a bit wobbly to sleep properly), and spent our time there wandering around temples like Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. The highlight of the trip was probably our walk back from the Valley of the Kings - its situated high in at the edge of the desert mountains that boarder the lush Nile valley. Walking up and over the mountain edge gives the strangest views I've ever seen, where the desert just stops to produce fertile farming land near the river, and then starts again! Weird. Also during this walk was probably the only time we weren't hassled by the ever present touts - this time for 'feluccas' (boats) or horse and carts - 'you know how much?'! Worse in Luxor than Cairo.


All in all it was a fun trip, we certainly saw things I haven't before, but Egypt isn't the easiest place to travel independently without hassle. Saying that, I can't think of anything I'd hate more than being herded like sheep - as we saw most tourists were into buses and around sites. That would take the joy out of seeing some really remarkable sites. But I swear the next person who says to be 'You know how much? Very cheap today!' will get throttled!