Cairo has been the craziest city we have visited thus far with homicidal minibus drivers, six “lane” roads, and no stop lights or crosswalks, however, it was probably calmer than normal since we were there during Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month. We arrived in the morning as we stumbled from our 10 hour overnight train ride to search for our hostel. This adventure included our first experience with the metro system, apparently the only running metro in the whole continent. We tried to hop onto an empty car to discover it was designated for women’s only. We agreed to get off in three stops as Jason made his way to the fuller mixed car. The doors closed and a few seconds later I saw Jason waving outside the door window as he
was unable to squeeze his way on. However, there was no problem and we were reunited once the next train arrived. We spent the rest of the day hiding in our room. Later in the evening we met up with Jon and Brittany, friends from home, for dinner at KFC, because our GI system couldn’t handle anymore Egyptian food.
The next day we visited the Egyptian Museum where artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamen are kept along with much much more. It is said that to view each exhibit for one minute would take you nine months to see everything! We felt most of the museum was set up like an antique
flea market with only a couple of nice exhibits that provided some historical information. However, seeing the sarcophagus and head mask of King Tutankhamen was amazing, with the color and detail still preserved. Perhaps we are just spoiled with the Smithsonian back home. After our “educational” experience we incorporated our Italian travel style and took part in a mid day siesta. Once the temperature got cooler we ventured out along the Nile River to the Cairo Tower for a sky rise view of the city at sunset. You could even make out the vague shapes of the pyramids as the city began to light up and the call to break the fast echoed from the mosques.
We awoke the next morning for the trip to Giza by bus; it was interesting to see the pyramids appear from the desert just outside the city. Of course if you are not part of a tour group you are fresh meat. As we made our way to the pyramids we are told that “the ticket office is this way.” This way however led away from the attraction to horse and donkey stalls. Being wise to this game by now we blow him off and continue our way to the real office. We believe we must look like turkey legs and ham bones as we walk through the entrance gate because we are yet again met by someone who “checks” our tickets and continues to hold them as he informs us to follow him. Realizing this is the same song and dance we demand our tickets back and finally made our way to the real reason we came. It’s a strange feeling when you encounter these sales men, because you know they are trying to make a living in a developing country but at the same time it can be so cut throat and ruthless leaving you with the feelingof being deceived and taken advantage of.
The pyramids were amazing as we walked up to one of the Seven Wonders of the World towering at 455 feet. It is thought that the pyramids were built as tombs for King Khufu in 2560 BC. Based on the history it took only 20 years to complete. While some think aliens did it, the other story involves moving large stones from a nearby quarry. We chose to enter the Khafre pyramid, though smaller than the Great Pyramid, it was cheaper and said to be very similar inside. The entrance is very small, possibly 4 feet tall, as you scrunch down into a funky crab walk and descend to the tomb
chamber. After the pyramid we make our way to the Solar boat while being stalked by camel drivers. The Solar Boat was built to carry the pharaoh to through the afterlife.
As we left the air conditioning sanctuary we broke down and agreed on a price for a camel ride. We didn’t truly get to have an official “camel race” as they sneakily broke us up from Jon and Brittany. However, as we sat on our camel facing a rock, Jon and Brittany made their way down towards the Sphinx, so we deem them the winners of the dare. After our shotty camel excursion we made our way to the Great Sphinx,
which was small compared to what we had envisioned. Later that night we enjoyed dinner at Pizza Hut on the roof top as we watched the sound and light show for free.
The final day was spent at the Khan El-Khalili bazaar in Coptic Cairo. Yes we voluntarily subjected ourselves to a plethora of shop owner’s taunts. If you want to do some shopping this i
s the place where you can find jewelry, curios, and any other Egyptian junk you wish to buy that you hadn’t already been coaxed into purchasing. This is also a good place to practice your bartering skills. General rule we’ve found for price is to divide the stated number in half and then take a little more off. Often times walking away drops the price even more. We said farewell to Jon and Brittany as they continue on through Egypt and got ready for our 1:40am flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.
We think this was a once in a lifetime visit, but if you chose to explore Egypt on your own pack an open mind, keep your guard up, and have a huge sense of humor cause you’ll need it!
Cairo has been the craziest city we have visited thus far with homicidal minibus drivers, six “lane” roads, and no stop lights or crosswalks, however, it was probably calmer than normal since we were there during Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month. We arrived in the morning as we stumbled from our 10 hour overnight train ride to search for our hostel. This adventure included our first experience with the metro system, apparently the only running metro in the whole continent. We tried to hop onto an empty car to discover it was designated for women’s only. We agreed to get off in three stops as Jason made his way to the fuller mixed car. The doors closed and a few seconds later I saw Jason waving outside the door window as he 
was unable to squeeze his way on. However, there was no problem and we were reunited once the next train arrived. We spent the rest of the day hiding in our room. Later in the evening we met up with Jon and Brittany, friends from home, for dinner at KFC, because our GI system couldn’t handle anymore Egyptian food.
flea market with only a couple of nice exhibits that provided some historical information. However, seeing the sarcophagus and head mask of King Tutankhamen was amazing, with the color and detail still preserved. Perhaps we are just spoiled with the Smithsonian back home. After our “educational” experience we incorporated our Italian travel style and took part in a mid day siesta. Once the temperature got cooler we ventured out along the Nile River to the Cairo Tower for a sky rise view of the city at sunset. You could even make out the vague shapes of the pyramids as the city began to light up and the call to break the fast echoed from the mosques.
We awoke the next morning for the trip to Giza by bus; it was interesting to see the pyramids appear from the desert just outside the city. Of course if you are not part of a tour group you are fresh meat. As we made our way to the pyramids we are told that “the ticket office is this way.” This way however led away from the attraction to horse and donkey stalls. Being wise to this game by now we blow him off and continue our way to the real office. We believe we must look like turkey legs and ham bones as we walk through the entrance gate because we are yet again met by someone who “checks” our tickets and continues to hold them as he informs us to follow him. Realizing this is the same song and dance we demand our tickets back and finally made our way to the real reason we came. It’s a strange feeling when you encounter these sales men, because you know they are trying to make a living in a developing country but at the same time it can be so cut throat and ruthless leaving you with the feelingof being deceived and taken advantage of.
The pyramids were amazing as we walked up to one of the Seven Wonders of the World towering at 455 feet. It is thought that the pyramids were built as tombs for King Khufu in 2560 BC. Based on the history it took only 20 years to complete. While some think aliens did it, the other story involves moving large stones from a nearby quarry. We chose to enter the Khafre pyramid, though smaller than the Great Pyramid, it was cheaper and said to be very similar inside. The entrance is very small, possibly 4 feet tall, as you scrunch down into a funky crab walk and descend to the tomb 
chamber. After the pyramid we make our way to the Solar boat while being stalked by camel drivers. The Solar Boat was built to carry the pharaoh to through the afterlife.
which was small compared to what we had envisioned. Later that night we enjoyed dinner at Pizza Hut on the roof top as we watched the sound and light show for free.
s the place where you can find jewelry, curios, and any other Egyptian junk you wish to buy that you hadn’t already been coaxed into purchasing. This is also a good place to practice your bartering skills. General rule we’ve found for price is to divide the stated number in half and then take a little more off. Often times walking away drops the price even more. We said farewell to Jon and Brittany as they continue on through Egypt and got ready for our 1:40am flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.
We decided to overland by local bus to Luxor, which took about 5 hours. About half way there we began to regret sampling the street falafels and food from the bean cart in Hurghada. A quote from the Bucketlist came to mind, and that is “Never trust a fart.” So true Jack Nicholson, so true. Though we did enjoy the sugar cane juice and hibiscus tea. While on the bus we discovered we had lost our hostel information, including the name, but 
recalled the two we had considered. We arrived in Luxor, which looked like a verdant oasis set along the Nile River especially after the hot journey through the desert. We found a taxi and negotiated the price with a "this is all we have" technique and pulled into Oasis Hostel. We choose the wrong hostel, but looking back are happy we did. The owner arranged VERY cheap prices for tours and there was a beautiful room top bar that served a sunset tea every evening.
mbs. This location was chosen because the mountain peak resembled the Great Pyramid and its location was isolated, though most of the sites have been raided of their treasures. The Valley of the Kings is most notable for King Tutankhamen’s tomb as it was the most intact tomb ever found. He ascended the throne at the young age of eight and ruled for only 10 years after mysteriously dying. Some believe it was foul play while others think he developed gangrene from a broken leg. The British explorer, Howard Carter and his horse, made the discovery in 1922 as the animal’s foot fell through the sand into one of
the chambers. There is much superstition surrounding this expedition as many people on the team died shortly after the excavation began including Carter, leading to a “Curse of the Pharaohs” theory.
ne your fate in the afterlife. If it was lighter than the feather you were deemed to have a pure heart, not weighed down by guilt or sins. If found to have a heavy heart, it would be consumed, and you would therefore not exist in the afterlife. Other organs like the intestines, lungs, liver, and stomach were preserved in jars along with the mummy and the average mummification took seventy days to complete.
is the only woman to be buried in the Valley of the Kings. After her death, her step-son who succeeded as pharaoh attempted to erase Hatshepsut from history by destroying her statues at the temple. This site is also known as the Luxor massacre after fifty eight tourist and four Egyptians were killed by Islamic terrorist in 1997. Today you see guards carrying rifles at all the sites.
The next day we wondered around the east bank and Karnak Temple. In the afternoon we enjoyed a sunset felucca sail out to Banana Island. This was definitely the highlight of Egypt. Later at night we board the overnight train to the capital city, Cairo.
Our first stop in Egypt took us to Hurghada on the Red Sea, which is home to some of the best diving in the world, though we like to call it “Here I rob ya.” Our adventure started at 11pm when we boarded our flight to Cairo. We arrived at 1 am and were “greeted” by a swarm of taxi drivers waiting for their next “agnobi” prey. Just so you know, you are not their friend AND they do have a “special price for you”, 
and it is usually 2-3 times more than you should pay! After many “La Shokrans” (No, thank you in Arabic) we found the domestic departures terminal for our flight to Hurghada, which left at 6 am.
We were not informed of this last part until 1pm (check in time). We managed to get a refund from the online site and found another hotel, which ripped us off too, but after 30+ hours of sleep deprivation we didn’t care. Even the guy at Burger King, BURGER KING, tried to charge us almost twice the price, and things are labeled! We were just about to buy a flight out of Egypt but the next couple days were significantly better. We stayed at the Golden Rose Hotel, which had an extremely helpful and friendly staff who taught us some Arabic.
We’re glad we stuck around because some of the nicest people we have met thus far have been in Egypt. It is a bizarre spectrum the Egyptian people make up from the most hospitable person who would walk you to the ends of the Earth to help you find what you need to the money sucking, rip you off street vendor who could care less. Unfortunately as a foreigner, you seem to encounter the latter more often; however, the others you met defiantly make up for it. We meet a couple other Americans on the boat. One was studying Arabic in Hurghada for a couple of months and helped us around the city, helped us with Arabic, and invited us over to his house for a home cooked meal. We are so thankful we met him, because he gave us a completely different perspective on Egypt.
So about the diving, Deep-Divers.com is a great dive shop. We only did 8 dives in four days because our dive times were 60+ minutes each, with our longest dive being 74minutes. We saw a little bit of everything underwater from nudibranchs to Clown Fish to even a Crocodile Fish. The vast number of marine life kind of makes the Caribbean look like the Wal-mart fish section. Everything was so vibrant and healthy with schools everywhere. We didn’t get to see any dolphins or rays underwater; however, dolphins would 
periodically swim near the boat. Jenny’s favorite part was the cleaning stations, those fish had their work cut out for them! The dive days were long with the boat departing around 9am and returning to port at 5pm, but we already miss the water and will come back to the Red Sea one day. Now we’re off to explore the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnack in Luxor!
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