Walk like an Egyptian
Our trip actually did not start in Egypt- we had a quick stop in Amman Jordan first. We flew Royal Jordanian to Amman and waited at the airport to catch our next flight 3 hours later to Cairo. (Also on Royal Jordanian). For someone who has a fear of flying, I would say that I am doing very well so far.
So when we finally landed in Cairo on Monday night our tour guide picked us up from the airport, and took us to the Pharaoh's Hotel. The name of the hotel is kind of misleading- maybe it should be called the Pharaoh's Slave's Hotel- as there is no way a Pharaoh would stay here. Its not terrible- just not so fit for a king. Everyone here has been really nice- starting by telling us which nudnik salesmen to avoid. Staying here is a great start to our trip- we am really learning how to adapt to the backpacking style. (for example- using a 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and learning to deal without running water when the pipes in the hotel break).
Walking around Cairo was really cool. Egypt is currently celebrating the Festival of the lamb. It seems that a lot of kids are out of school, and people fill the downtown streets. We even saw live sheep displayed in the window of the supermarket!
We have all learned about Egyptian history, beliefs and culture at some point in our education. Although present Egypt seems to have changed a lot since the times of tombs and mummification- a lot of the history is still present. We went to the Egyptian museum and saw King Tutankhamen's tombs, and many of the things buried in his 3 chambers. Lots of chachkies that were believed to be for him in the afterlife. Most of it including hieroglyphics and covered in gold. The mummy room was kind of like the Bodies exhibit downtown.
The coolest part of Cairo was the Pyramids. The bricks, the stones, the shape, the height, the colors... all an amazing experience seeing it first hand.
On Friday morning we left The Pharoah's Hotel and flew from Cairo to Luxor. We arrived at Luxor on Friday morning and checked into the Sheraton, thanks to our starwood points! Since our room was not ready yet, we left our bags with the hotel and went out to explore Luxor. Of course, the nudniks here began to harass us! There was one guy who kept following us with his horse and carriage. He kept making the same joke "Come meet my ferrari- one horse power!" When he said he would drive us around for 10 Egyptian pounds we decided this was a great deal, so why not? The horse and carriage ride ended up being amazing. It kicked Central Park's horse and carriage ride's butt! The driver was so nice, and took us shopping in the local market. After riding around for a few hours, we thought this was a great deal until he dropped us off at the hotel and asked for 150 Egyptian pounds for the ride! So annoying, but still worth it!
On Sunday morning we woke up at 5:30 am, which I fear may become a theme on this trip, as many exertions insist on beginning at sunrise! Normally I would complain about getting up this early, but when I get to watch the sunrise from a hot air balloon- I have no problem. It would have been romantic- but we shared the basket with 20 other people! (But it was still romantic because I have never squeezed Joey so tightly!
From over 3,000 feet up, we had a view of Luxor's Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Queen Hatshepsut's temple all while floating directly over the Nile. The hot air balloon ride was awesome- and surprisingly very calm and smooth. Even the landing was smooth- especially since we landed on someone's corn field!
The rest of our Luxor trip included the Karnak Temple, Luxor, Temple, a trip to the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. Seeing the temples from inside was like history lessons coming to life. Everything we learned about hieroglyphics, and ancient Egyptian life was right before our eyes- cool.
Since we decided to make this trip truly about experiences- we decided to take an overnight train back to Cairo- instead of flying. We squeezed into tiny room in the sleeper car that barely fit us and out huge backpacks. The room felt even smaller when the train conductor folded out the table, and the bunk beds. After laughing about it for the first hour- we only had 7 more hours to go!
When we got back to Cairo- we caught the 6am bus to Taba, Egypt where we caught up on our sleep. After the 6 hour bus ride, we were dropped off at our Hotel; Sol Y Mar. We did not realize how nice it would be! At $54 dollars a night, we were totally surprised that it was an all inclusive resort by the beach. I guess it has to be all inclusive when you are secluded in the desert with not much around. We enjoyed sitting by the Red Sea. Something about seeing the mountains meet the ocean is so peaceful.
The next day we Exodus out of Egypt, and walk across the border to Eilat Israel... where we check one country off the list and start our adventure in another.......
