Our House...It's in the middle of the Desert (Sinia)

To get to Nuweiba, our buddy Mina hooked us up yet again. He arranged for us to have a driver pick us up from the hotel and take us to the train. Again we had to be up fairly early to make sure that we made the train on time. The train was uneventful and we made it to Luxor when we were supposed to. This is where our original plans were about to change.


When we arrived in Luxor Mina's groping EX friend Abraham was to pick us up from the train station and drive us the rest of the way to Rhuhgada but when we got there he was no where to be found. We called Mina and he said that Abraham was to show up soon. After about 15 minutes of having to dissuade other taxis that we were not interested, Abraham arrived. He seemed like he was a bit frazzled. I guess that was probably because he had arranged other work for the day before he would drive us. He tried to persuade us that it would be nice for us to have a one hour rest at his house while he went and picked up his other group. That would have been okay had it not been 11:00 am and we would have to kill 2 hours with all of our gear.


We called Mina back and he said he would figure it out. Abraham dropped us off for something to eat and promised to be back in 30 minutes to take us because we told him we did not want to wait until the early afternoon. However, after 30 minutes he was not there and we called Mina back. Within two minutes Mina called back and said that he will talk to Abraham and deal with our problem. Abraham informed Mina that he had arranged other work and would be able to take us three hours later. So Mina made another phone call and had another driver pick us up within five minutes. We were also very happy because Abraham had arranged for a travel permission for us and was attempting to charge us 120 pounds...the new driver explained to us that this was free. In the end, after realizing that Mina wished no longer to work with Abraham, we decided it would be good to inform Mina of Abraham's unprofessional actions...bum grabbing. Mina said that he was glad that we had told him and never again would he work with Abraham.


It turned out for the better because our new driver was great and when we arrived in Rhuhgada he helped us to get our tickets, took us to find a clinic to get a vaccination (didn't work out...Katie was so happy!) and helped us to get a hotel. Because we only had about 5 hours to stay in Rhugada we opted for a cheesy and cheap hotel to catch a few zzz's and maybe watch a few movies. To our surprise we turned on the tv to find hardcore American porn!! We flipped through the channels to find that there was only three channels in total (news in Arabic, the movie channel and porn) and they cycled from channel 1 to 150.


So after we decided that the movie did not look good we headed out to check out the town. Our quick little walk turned into three hours of shopping and finding out all about the Russian love affairs that are born here. It turns out that this is the one place in Egypt where the Russian people love to come for holidays, especially the women ;).


We finally managed to get to sleep around 11:45 pm, three hours before we had to wake for the ferry. When the alarm went off Katie accidentally turned it off. She reset the alarm (the phone) so as not to fall back asleep and dragged it into bed with her. Despite being a little sleepy we managed to get all of our gear and get to the ferry. Like most things in Egypt the ferry boarding station was poorly organized and it was hard to decipher where we should go. After three or four people rambled something to us we managed to find our way but realized that we no longer had a cell phone...it was in the bed!


We met a nice man named Sameh who let me borrow his phone and call the hotel. Being that it was three thirty in the morning the hotel reception was a little slow going and didn't seem to want to look for our phone. I asked him to call it when he was in the room and he said that he would see what he could do. In all honesty I don't even think he left his seat and just said he looked because we knew it was there. But all we could do was think of how we were possibly going to get Mostafa's phone number so we could call him when we got to Nuweiba as planned.


With the help of Sameh (translation) we were able to get a taxi in Sharm el Sheik that would take us to get a new phone and then take us to the bus. Because it was still so early we had to drive around forever to find a shop that was open. Luckily we were able to find one and purchased a new phone. Step 1 phone – complete, step 2 – Mustafa's phone number ???.


We decided it would be worth calling the hotel back and see if our phone had been found. The person I spoke to on the phone spoke little english in compariosn to the man I had first talked to in the morning. Despite this he was able to go to the room and find our phone. However, I could not explain to him that I needed the numbers inside the phone. So we called up our savior Mina and he was able to explain the situation and get the numbers we needed and also said he would arrange to get our phone back (how we did not know but we knew he could anything).


The bus ride was uneventful with the exception of about three police stops where, after the first we were short about 20% of the original passengers. It was hard to know why the people were told to leave the bus but from what we could gather it was because they didn't have a valid permit to travel to Sinai and so they were told to go home. We also met a new friend on the bus, Ohad, and he decided that he might as well share a taxi with us because he really had no plans of his own.


We were expecting to see Mostafa waiting for us in Nuweiba but upon our arrival he was nowhere to be seen. Our driver had been waiting for an hour ( not sure why because when he called we told him the exact time we would arrive) and so he did not want to waste anymore time. We had tried calling Mustafa but for some reason his phone was off. We managed to buy just enough time to look around the bus depot and a nearby restaurant before the taxi driver would leave us.


On the drive to Shanty lodges we continued to call Mostafa with no luck. The taxi driver told us that the bus from Cairo should come in at 3:00 pm so we should not be worried. However, we were because Mustafa did not know our new phone number and we were sure he had arrived on the early morning bus.


It was difficult to enjoy the beautiful beach and the great food we had been served upon arriving at Shanty because we still had not been able to reach our friend. What made the situation worse was that when we checked our email we found one from Mustafa that said “Where are you? I have been in Nuweiba for five hours and I think I am going to cry”. We were now in ultra panic trying everything we could, from calling cyber cafes in town to calling the bus stop. This was no good because we had to get the lodge owner to do all the talking because we could not explain ourselves properly in the wrong language. As a last resort Katie called the hotel (where we had left our phone) to see if we had any messages on our phone but we did not. However, as Katie was talking to the hotel reception, Mustafa called and so finally after three hours of panic we had found him. Mustafa was happy to see us when he arrived at the beach and I am sure the rest of the lodge staff were happy too because now “those annoying Canadians could fianlly shut up. Mostafa explained to us that the reason we could not reach him was because the night before he had lost his phone...what a coincidence.


We spent the rest of the evening swimming, chatting and enjoying the absolute peace and quiet of the area. There was no constant electricity but at nights they ran a generator to power some mood lights scattered all around the property and in the grass huts. I also learnt Shesh Besh (in Arabic ??? - backgammon in english) from two of the workers. They had to put up with my slow play and I figured I was boring them but when we finished our fourth game Sleman (lodge owner 1) translated to me that Hassan (lodge owner 2) thought I was a quick learner.


We also learnt that night that Sinai is like mini Israel because all of the Israeli people come here on there holidays (it is half and hour to the border). This was definitely the case because all of the Bedouin people in Sinai could speak perfect Hebrew. Not like I could tell but it was sure easy for Ohad to converse with any of the workers although we couldn't.


We set up our Mosquito net in our tiny little hut on the beach but it was difficult because the roof was just out of reach (we truly are small) and our small mattress was on the floor. It didn't really matter because we were pretty exhausted and fell asleep pretty easily. We knew the Egyptian's love to stay out late but we hadn't seen it first hand, until we were in Rhugada for when we woke to take the ferry at three am all of the same stores were still open and the people still hanging outside. Despite this Mustafa was obviously tired and feel alseep an hour before me (but not before Katie – haha).

The next morning we awoke to the sun shining, with the ocean right outside our door (literally thirty feet and with no obstruction) and of course some back issues. After breakkie (Adam's word) we headed down to the beach and I taught the rest of the gang (now short Ohad) how to play backgammon. Mostafa, who had originally thought it was a hard game, was amazed at how simple it was and we played quite a few games and ended fairly even in score. We spent the rest of the day lounging on the beach and doing nothing, which I think was unusual for our friend from Cairo as he is used to the fast pace back home. I don't think it bothered him at all because part way through the day he passed out face first in the sand (literally – face covered).


After speaking with some of the staff Mostafa reported to us that he was the first ever Egyptian man to come to the Shanty lodge in the ten years it had been opened. Although, we were honored that we could do something like this for him, we were a bit taken back when he further explained that some of the workers couldn't believe that he wasn't trying to take advantage of our hospitality. In fact because some of the staff know knew that he was staying with us, they wouldn't give him 'Egyptian' prices for cigarettes but were giving him triple the true price like the rest of the tourists on the beach. We decided that we should go into town and get some supplies for our Desert Safari the next day. In town Mostafa managed to get a carton of cigarettes for the price of one pack in Canada, we also managed to get dinner, water and a few beer for almost nothing.


Once back at Shanty we met up with our desert Safari guide Lafala who gave us the lowdown. After hearing the price Mostafa was a little taken back and figured that was too much and couldn't accept our offer. After explaining to him that we had known the price when we gave him the invitation, he accepted. Katie decided to hit the sack early that night so Mosafa and I sat out and talked over beers for quite some time, where I learned a lot about our new friend.


The next morning we packed just enough gear to head out into the desert and left the rest behind, after discussing with Sleman that we would be back to stay another night in two days time.


Katie was a little freaked because to get to our camel pick up point we had to drive in the back of the truck. Katie asked him to drive slow but I think that he took that as a joke and might have sped up a little (it sure felt like it around those hairpin corners). Anyways we made it safely to our destination where we were quickly (in Arabic) directed to jump on the camel and get moving. We had ridden camels before but this was Mostafa's first time so we snapped endless pics. We were also lucky enough to be with a group of camels that had a two month year old (Zarka) who was so cute. Just like most kids she was very playful and when she wandered too far, her mother would start to grunt until she could once again see her baby.

I was put on the stubborn camel (Zamarek) and after five minutes was about two kilometers behind. Our guides didn't seem to mind because they made no effort to get my camel to keep up. It was amazing to ride the Camels through the Mountain ranges. It was neat to enter the desert of the mountains and watch the ocean behind us disappear.


The only time I would manage to catch up with the rest of the group was when we stopped to get off the camels and walk through the difficult parts. But once we got back on the camels I was always soon left behind with my camel wandering where ever he wanted. It was good because it allowed me to get some nice pictures of the rest of the group ahead of me, that is until I was so far behind I couldn't even zoom in on them.


My camel was definitely the explorer of the group as he would venture off the beaten path leaping over rocks. At one point I was scared because he ventured so far off the path and was literally running (jogging speed) over rocks. I knew it wasn't safe when Lafala yelled to me to grab his rope and make him stop. But once again when I was back with the rest of the group they left me on my own to get lost.


Katie rode the mother (Aqmar) of the baby while Mustafa rode a camel that had been freshly marked. The camels are marked by making a deep incision on their neck or body which turns to a scar and is used as an identifying mark. Katie was horrified by the sight of the marks on the neck and probed Lafala several times about whether he was going to be okay, which he replied with a simple yes.


The mountains were very nice but by noon it was scorching hot and our guides led us to an oasis where we would rest and eat lunch until it became cooler. Lafala and Musa unloaded the camels and spread out blankets for us to sit on. It is easy to see how at night it was going to be cold because even in the shade it was like a whole new world to being in the direct sunlight. Despite our guides having modest means to cook the food we were treated to English tea with camels milk (our guide tried to convince us that it would make us strong like camel and immune to the sun – which was delicious) and a great tuna and vegetable salad with bread. Katie was shocked to find out that the bread was cooked in the dirt and we would have been unlikely to discover this had we not seen Musa scraping off any dirt from the crust.


After lunch we rested for what seemed like forever and Musa and Lafala disappeared without any indication as to where they were going. All we know is that they grabbed blankets and sleeping gear and headed off down a ravine. After a total of 4 hours in the oasis Musa and Lafala returned and we headed out again.


By the time we left it was much cooler and we didn't venture too far until we found a spot to setup camp. While Lafala was cooking chicken soup, Musa had to go gather the camels. When we had first arrived they had let the camels roam with their two front feet tied together with a short leash. This didn't seem to matter to them and they still managed to venture far enough that it took Musa two hours to fetch them.


While we waited we started playing games like throw the rock at a target. Mostafa made a ridiculous target and we attempted with three turns each to try and hit it without any luck. Out of the blue a rock flew over and hit the target right in the middle. We looked over to see Lafala sitting twice as far as us from the target with a pile of stones. After the first hit and our compliments to his aim he began to throw rock after rock. Although, Kaite, Mostafa and I were taking turns throwing rocks three before the next would throw, Lafala just began looking for stones, throwing one every 5 seconds. It was funnier to watch his enthusiasm with the game rather than playing and when he stopped we were finished.


In between games Katie set up, what she liked to call, Our House, which consisted of three blankets spread over an area of ground that Katie had cleared of all rocks (or so we thought). She then preceded to tell everyone that in Our House, there would be no shoes – haha! She then proceeded to start singing, “Our House...” but instead of using the original lyrics, she created new ones. Before you knew it, we had all started singing her crazy song, “Our House...it's in the middle of the Dessert, Our House...it's in the middle of Mnt Sinia”.

Although, Musa had told Mostafa that we were crazy for not having sleeping bags we had figured we would be okay if we all slept in one area sharing the three blankets we had. After the sun went down we put on all of our clothes as it was starting to get cold. Katie and I were a little more used to it but Mostafa, who had not grown up in Saskatchewan, was a little more concerned and bundled himself up like an Eskimo. Shortly after dinner Lafala and Musa headed to sleep and we were left to fend for ourselves..

That night was the most amazing stars any of us had ever seen. Being that the only major city on Sinai was 300 km away there was no lights to diminish the stars effect. We seen three shooting stars (a first for Mostafa) race all the way across the sky. When we finally decided to try and sleep (like 8 pm) the wind decided it had other plans and began ripping across the open areas near us. Although, Katie and I were cold, it was Mostafa who had to get up an build a fire because I think he honestly feared for his life. The wind was sucking almost all of the heat from his fire but it took me a while to convince him that it would be warmer under the blankets. After I built a wall with camel saddles we all wrapped ourselves in blankets and stayed like that until Katie woke up choking on sand. Katie and I woke late at night (different times) to see the brightest and most brilliant moon directly over our heads, which had hidden almost all of the stars.

We woke very early the next morning (4 am) and got an early start on breakfast...we needed coffee. We then headed out on foot to the coloured canyons. It was a difficult walk, illustrating to us, how bad of shape we were in. After about one hour Katie had to stop to use the bush toilet, which consisted of the only busy we had seen for 3 km. Mostafa and I ventured ahead to give her some privacy...we didn't have to worry about Lafala because by this point he was three quarters of a km ahead. All of a sudden Katie was calling us back...a snake had startled her when she went to go pee. Luckily when she had turned around she had seen the snake out of the corner of her eye and even more luckily the snakes head was burried in the bush and only its tail was near her.

After Katie had finished, we hurried to find Lafala but with no luck. It was as if he had disappeared...isn't your guide supposed to make sure you get there? After aimlessly wandering around and making all sorts of noises to try and alert Lafala that we were lost he finally came back. It took another thirty minutes to get to the coloured canyons but it was worth it. The colored canyons was a crevace in the rocks that was filled with sandstone rocks that were of all colors from green to yellow. It looked like one of those glasses that is filled with colored sand and they use to toothpick to push the different layers of color into neat patterns. We had to climb up small ledges and through very tiny holes in the rocks and had a lot of fun doing it. When we reached the end Mostafa ventured off (to give us some alone time????) which was nice because it gave me some time to use the bush toilet. I have to say that after this trip any prince or princess left in either Katie or I are gone. In all honesty though, Katie and I much preferred using the natural bush toilet to the disgusting squat toilets we have encountered along the way.

We returned to the camp after tying to spot the snake so Lafala could identify it. We had no luck but from our description Lafala figured it was quite poisonous. When we arrived at the camp Musa was gone with the camels but Lafala already anticipated this because we did not stop but walked on for about an hour through the scorching heat to the oasis we had stopped at the previous day.

Again we dined on incredible tuna salad and dirt cooked bread and stayed for what seemed even longer than 4 hours before heading back to our pick up point. All in all it was a great experience even though we were freezing cold the previous night. We truly enjoyed the company of the guides and Mostafa.

After saying our goodbyes to Musa we headed back to Shanty only to find that our huts for the night were now occupied by the thousands of Israeli's that had come for passover holidays. Not only was our lodge full but all of the huts along the beach were full. Either Sleman hadn't understood that we were planning on staying another night or he couldn't refuse the business – but either way, he allowed us to stay under one of the canopies on the beach for the night.

After arriving back from the desert we once again had cell coverage and Mostafa found that he had received many messages from his fiancé and work. Mostafa was able to make some phone calls and from the look on his face things weren't well. It turned out that his fiancé was a bit of a freak case and the employee his boss had found to fill in for him while he was gone did not show up to work. Therefore, Mostafa was now out of work and without a fiancé. We felt pretty bad but he was very calm and had been offered work at one of the lodges along the beach but wasn't sure yet what he was going to do.

After a quick dinner and some more backgammon we robbed some cushions from one of the other canopies and wrapped ourselves in carpets and went to sleep (again it was only 8 pm but we were dead).

Under the canopy was more comfortable than the rock mattress we had slept on the night before and was much warmer but we still could not manage to sleep in and were all awake by four thirty in the morning. We had a relaxing breakfast and arranged for a taxi to pick us all up to take us to the Nuweiba bus depot where we would all catch a ride back to Cairo. However, at the last second Mostafa informed us that he was going to accept the job and would not be coming back with us. We would say our goodbye which was met by tears from our new friend and headed into town to make the long bus back.

Luxor to Aswan...Temples, Temples and More Temples!

On our plane from Cairo to Luxor, Jeremy met a local Egyptian man who had recently applied for permanent citizenship in Canada (he noticed Jeremy's 'Canadian T-Shirt). Ironically enough, he sat right next to us on the plane and Jeremy and Mina swapped information about both Egypt and Canada (I was stone cold sick at the time and made a feeble attempt at sleeping on the plane). Mina was heading to Luxor to meet his new tour group (Mina is a local travel agent) and he ended up being not only our saviour (as he arranged tons of trips to temples and museums at essentially cost), but he is also someone we now consider our good friend. We landed in Luxor and he insisted that his driver take us to the hotel but en-route, he treated us to some local Egyptian food called Koshery (which is a mixture of lentils, rice and noodles with tomato sauce – very delicious). We checked into our hotel, crawled into our beds and slept. We slept so long that we actually did not wake until 11:30am the next day – a solid 12 hours of sleep. Since we had missed out on the continental breakfast, we munched on some old meat and cheese from Cairo (luckily we did not get sick).

We phoned Mina with some questions and he ended up organizing our whole day and even arranged a driver named Abraham to pick us up from the hotel. He suggested we spend day one in Luxor visiting some of the not so 'touristy' monuments and temples (places we had not even heard of). We started at the Madinet HabouTemple – it was a fairly intact and intricate temple and because it was our first, we were very impressed. I hate to admit this, but what impressed me even more was the bit of construction work that was ongoing adjacent to the temple entrance. There was a small construction crew that was hand digging (I can't emphasize enough the word HAND) a trench that was at least 20ft deep. As I stood there, I could not help but notice the lack of hard hats (basically all of the PPE) and the meagre attempt at shoring – danger was written everywhere (and I don't think any of the workers even knew it).

We then visited the Tombs of the Nobles where we we greeted by what we thought was a 'nice' Egyptian man. He steered us in a direction then told us we had to pay him 40 L.E.(~8 bucks) to guide us to the open tombs. We told him, “thanks, but no thanks”. It turned out that the reason we were having so much trouble finding any of the open tombs was because this local man had taken us to the back location where there were no signs. We ended up getting help from a local girl who was really sweet but unfortunately we could not tip her for her efforts as she had disappeared in our last tomb visit.

We checked out the Workman's Village where there were more than 70 houses which were occupied in the Pharonic ages by the workers and their families who created the royal tombs – all we can say it what a HUGE difference from their homes to the Pharaohs TOMBS.

From there we headed to the great Ramsseuum temple built by the great Ramses II which was part of his funerary complex. Unfortunately for him, his work at this temple had not survived the times very well unlike his temples at Karnak and Abu Simbel (or so we were told as they were still on our list of things to see).

We headed back to the East bank and took in the Luxor Museum. As we were entering the museum, we met some locals who informed us that the museum was very short and somewhat disappointing. Two hours later we couldn't have disagreed with them more.

As a side note, we saw very few tourists at any of these monuments but rather locals. And...similar to what we experienced at the Pyramids at Giza, we had all of the locals (from young kids to old men) ask to take our pictures. This got so excessive that at times, we had to refuse as we were on a very tight time line and the pictures were detracting from out temple touring – who would have thought???

After a full 6 hours of sightseeing, Abraham welcomed us to his house for some Koshery and tea. Here we met his mother, aunt, wife and adorable 2 year old son named Martin. There was a huge communication barrier between us and so for the better part of the time we just smiled at each other and laughed at how cute Martin was. At one point, Martin was trying to get his hands in the sugar bowl, his mother came and slapped his hands only to then spoon feed him 2 heaping piles of sugar – Jeremy and I laughed so hard and we could not believe they were actually spoon feeding sugar to their already hyper 2 year old son right before his bedtime.

Tip #21 ) Egyptians love their sugar. I cant stress this fact to you...they absolutely love it! Egyptian tea is found everywhere from restaurants and hotels to tiny souq shops and train terminals. They offer it to you free of charge (i.e. it is their welcome drink) as it part of their customs. They always ask how many spoonfuls, we laugh and tell them none and they look at us like we are crazy. Abraham was the worst for this as he used 5 heaping spoonfuls for his small glass of tea – hello cavities!

After saying goodbye to the family, we made our way back to our hotel but first, Abraham wanted to stop for some Stella's. I thought this was strange but hey, “When in Rome – right???” Abraham explained to us that this (i.e. drinking while driving) was acceptable in Egypt, we explained that this was definitely not acceptable in Canada – he was very confused. He then proceeded to chuck his empty beer can and his empty pack of cigarettes out the window onto the street – this whole littering thing is still something that Jeremy and I haven't grasped. It could all be prevented if people just cleaned up after themselves.

We said our goodbye's near the hotel and Abraham wanted a picture of us...turned out he only wanted a picture of me and this was his was of getting a 'feel' as he causally put his hand on my butt then squeezed it for as many times as he could before I jumped out of the way. I did not see this coming and was horrified!!!

The next morning, we headed for a hot air balloon ride over the West Bank of Luxor. We owe our thanks again to Mina as he organized the whole thing and had saved us $25 US per person just by booking it himself. We assumed we would be in the balloon by our selves but soon learned otherwise. There were a total of 20 of us split into 4 compartments...a bit squishy but what an amazing view. We were hoping to head over the Valley of the Kings but because of the winds direction, we floated over all of the monuments we had visited the day before – also a very cool experience. As a side note, we could not believe how hot it was in the balloon and at one point, we both had to feel the top of our heads to make sure we still had hair. The landing was also an unforgettable experience – our pilot attempted to land in a farmers field but aborted that plan when the local farmer was running at us screaming at the top of his lungs that he would kill us if we landed on his crops. We settled on the farmers field next to the crazy one – luckily our pilot picked a patch of sugar cane that was already harvested (and luckily, this farmer didn't care).

After the air balloon ride, we aimlessly walked around Luxor looking for a certain restaurant that was recommended to us by our hotel. When we found it, we had great difficulty explaining what we were wanting. The workers ended up letting us come into the kitchen to make our food for a small small price. All they wanted was a picture of me...it was very very creepy but I agreed because I was more creped out about the sanitization of the workers – I mean everybody was coughing into their hands and were handling the already very dirty money (plus, most restaurants do not have toilet paper and soap is considered a luxury item...so you can imagine how unsanitary it can get). We paid 10 L.E. for our lunch which is a little less than $2 – crazy to think!

After lunch we drove the 60km to Dandera where we visited this beautiful and very intact museum. This temple was built at the very end of the Pharonic period and had tons of 'nooks and crannies' to go exploring in (Jeremy and I felt like Indiana Jones). Our favourite part was probably the windy and endless staircase that was covered in hieroglyphics which led us to the top of the temple for an overall spectacular view.

We finished off the day by visiting the Mummification Museum. The art of mummification is very interesting and it seems like the ancient people mastered their technique through what must have only been countless 'trial and error' experiments. In the mummification process, all organs are removed except for the kidneys (which were hard to reach) and the heart (the heart was considered the source of intelligence and not the brain...but the brain was whisked into a liquid which could then be easily drained – yuck!). Then, the body and its separate organs are covered in salt and left out to dry for 40 days, after which they were washed, purified and covered with oils, spices and resins. All where then wrapped in layers of linen. Each internal organ was placed in one of four canopic jars and placed inside the coffin with the mummified body. At the museum, we were able to see a mummified priest, crocodile, cat, tiny fish, monkey and a leg of a goat.

For supper, we met Mina at McDonald's where we treated to him to a McArabia (so good, too bad we don't have them back home) then had a drink with him on his cruise ship. Mina again came to our rescue by phoning our travel agency for our cruise ship and obtained our itinerary (we had phoned them several times but because of the communication barrier, we could never express what exactly we were wanting). They emailed Mina our plan and also informed us that our driver and tour guide would be picking us up at our hotel at 8am the following day (useful information we were glad we had received prior to the morning).

The next day was “CRUISE” day. We were very excited and really looking forward to a bit of relaxation as Egypt has been very very exhausting. Our guide picked us up and we immediately headed over to the West Bank to visit the Valley of the Kings. Now, at some point between when we were picked up and when we arrived at the Valley of Kings we must have done something to horribly offend and/or piss of our guide as he was very very rude to us and rushed us through everything. We informed him that we had student cards (which saves you 50% off of all antiquity prices) and that the savings should be returned to us (as our cruise included all sights en route). He at first did not agree but when we threatened involving the travel agency, he grumbled under his breath and told us we would receive it back at the end of the cruise.

Valley of the Kings was very impressive and we toured inside three tombs (Ramses I, VI and IX). The tombs have suffered great damage from treasure hunters, floods and most recently tourism (in the form of sweat). We then paid the extra entrance fee to tour the famous tomb of King Tutankhamen. As many of you are aware, the tomb of King Tut was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. Interestingly enough, we had learnt that Carter was on his last year of his 5 year permit and although his close colleague had since returned home, he was adamant about locating what he believed was to be the untouched tomb. King Tut's tomb was not as eccentric as the others but this is largely believed to be because it was rushed to completion. King Tut had died unexpectedly and although the cause of his death is unknown, many believe it was from an infection after breaking his leg.

Our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut (also known as Deir al-Bahri) located on the opposite side of the VOK. This temple had an almost modern looking design to it and it blended in beautifully with the massive cliffs that surrounded it. Had there not been a thousand plus tourists, I think we would have found paradise. The temple was heavily vandalized through out the centuries from a combination of: the Queen's stepson, who was jealous of her reign (Tuthnmosis III), and thus removed his stepmothers name and face whenever he could; Akhenaten, who removed all references to the Sun God Amun; and the Christians who turned the temple into a monastery and defaced many of the wall relief's. I had asked our guide if we could walk to the temple instead of waiting for the tram as the view leading up was unbelievable. He rudely told me “NO” (despite the fact that there were many tourists walking). I was pissed but Jeremy calmed me down and told me to forget about it.

From here we headed back to the East Bank but first our guide stopped at what must have only been his friends Alabaster Workshop. We were warned in our travel books to watch out for the tour guides who take you to stores, encourage you to buy what they call 'priceless' souvenirs and then benefit by commission. We did not fall for his trick which was unfortunate because it only angered him all the more.

We checked in to our fabulous cruise, ate an awesome lunch and headed to the Famous Karnack Temple. Karnack Temple is a complex of temples, sanctuaries and obelisks dedicated to the Theban Gods and the Pharaohs. The site covers over 2 sq km – our biggest site yet. The temple was built, added to, dismantled, restored, enlarged and decorated over a period of 1500 years (and despite all of this, the majority of it is still standing). Karnak was the most important place of worship in Egypt during the New Kingdom. Our guide talked a mile a minute (yes...even faster than I talk) and the only thing I really gathered from him was that the scarab beetles are considered good luck (thank goodness for our brief summaries in our lonely planet guide book). We found a scarab statue and noticed lots of tourists walking around it in circles. We asked the significance and were told, “3 times around brings you good luck, 4 times brings marriage and 5 brings the kids”. We thought about stopping on 4 but we thought what the hell, might as well go the whole way – right?!?

Our last stop for the evening was the Luxor Temple built by both Amenhotep III and the Great Ramses II. The temple is situated in the heart of the town on the East Bank (right next to a McDonald's). The temple was vandalized by both the Christians (who even went as far as plastering and painting over the hieroglyphic walls) and then later by the Muslims who built their houses and a Mosque over the buried temples. When the temple was later discovered and excavated, all houses were torn down except for the Mosque which just sits their looking oddly out of place. A cool thing to mention is that Luxor and Karnack were once connected by a 3km roadway lined with Sphinxes. Majority of the Sphinxes are no longer present but it gives you a nice idea how the temples would have once looked back in ancient times.

Once we were back on our boat and settled in our room, we did not feel like doing any kind of exploring – we were so happy that we had a satellite TV in our room and felt like it was time to catch up on some movies.

The next morning (Day 2) Jeremy helped me take out my braids (very sweet of him) while we watched a couple of movies. After lunch (and after meeting these 2 very cool English couples who were sitting at our food table) we ventured to the top deck for some sun. It was so relaxing cruising down the Nile and the scenery was amazing...I mean on one side of the bank you have the desert...and the other side you have lush greenery. I caught up on some blog writing then made the mistake of looking at some new face book photos of baby Jaxson and my family (and their recent outing to Dim Sum). I started crying (and believe me, I am not a crier let alone a public crier). I must have made an impression on multiple people as the following day I had strangers approach me and inquire if everything was alright. I laughed and explained my situation, they were very kind.

Later on that evening (while our boat was parked near the Esna Locking station) there was out of the blue intense yelling and pandemonium – locals on tiny row boats had surrounded our boat and were throwing souvenirs to people on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and top deck floors – their aim was perfect and it was a spectacle to see. Jeremy was so excited (I mean really excited) and before I knew it, he had ran down to our cabin (as fast as he could) to get some money. He was thrown a Dahibaya and it was like he had won the lottery...he really really wanted it. Although I thought it was hideous (both on him and the garmet itself), who am I to say what he could and could not buy especially when I felt like I had just seen a glimpse of Jeremy as a child on Christmas morning. After the sale was over (and we threw the money back down to the locals in the boat) we continued to watch until all boats had left. We then ran around and talked to all passengers in our vicinity of the events that had just taken place.

On Day 3 we had to be up and ready for 8 am (some kind of holiday huh?!?) but when we went to the lobby, we could not see our guide. It turned out that our guide arranged someone else to pick us up. He did not even have the decency to let us know even though he had our phone number. We continued to have different guides for every temple but we took this as a blessing in disguise as all the guides turned out to be much better than him. This time we visited the Edfu temple which was quite nice and we actually learned something from our guide.

We were back on the boat by 10 am and continued on our sail. We sat in the sun for the better part of the day. This time, Jeremy caught up on some blog writing and our new English friends could not believe we were still writing...but those of you who read this can understand just how much writing (or verbal diarrhoea) we do. In the evening we met a new guide and toured the temple of Komombo. At this point, we really missed our old camera as the night pics at this temple did not turn out.

At supper, we socialized with our English friends and we found out that they are both farmers back home in England. There was bubbly and charismatic Linda and her sports fanatic husband Ant and sweet and quiet Kris and her equally sports fanatic husband John. John and Ant were friends from preschool and they insisted that if we ever head to England, we must stay with them. They had a very cool guide named Hassam and together, they offered us to join their group as they felt bad about the current issues we were facing with our guide. We were tempted to join them on their trip to Abu Simbel as they had a private coach but decided to stick with our program instead. It worked out for the best as their coach (aka mini bus) had broken down the night before and they were unable to go. But...if you are reading this Linda or Chris, we made sure to take extra pictures of Abu Simbel for you (and you were all in our minds...and yes, waking up at 2:30am for the bus really sucked!!!).

On Day 4 in Aswan, we met another new guide at 8am and headed to the high damn. This was very interesting and a highlight of our trip. The damn took 8 years to build and houses 24 turbines which produces a total of 175 MW of electricity. But the most important part of this is that is now controls the Nile and prevents the annual flooding. As a result of this dam, multiple monuments had to be relocated (and keep in mind that these are the monuments that were discovered. I am sure there are many more yet to be uncovered but now remain totally submerged in Lake Nasser). From here we took a motor boat to the temple of Phila which was one of the monuments relocated. This was thus far our most beautiful temple – not because of its architecture but because of its gorgeous natural surroundings. Our last stop was at the Unfinished Obelisk. This proved to be equally exciting to us as the dam. Here we learned how the workers acquired, carved and transported their raw material (unlike blocks used in the construction of a temple, it was imperative that the Obelisk be a free standing piece of granite). It is a very interesting and brilliant process. They first used a very heavy rock (10x heavier than granite) called Diorite to chisel away knobs in the granite block around the perimeter of their desired shape. They would then fill the knobs with wood and then soak the wood. The wood would expand causing stress on the rock and it would crack as a result (a controlled crack). They would do this to all 4 sides with the bottom side being done last. They would then excavate tunnels below the granite rock from the location to the Nile. Once the Nile flooded in the high season, they would push/slide the rock through the tunnels to the Nile with the use of mud. Unfortunately for this obelisk, it had cracked in two different locations and was thus abandoned but had it not, it would have been the largest Obelisk weighing 190 tons (intended for Queen Hatsheput).

In the early afternoon, we meet up with Mina and tagged along on a Felucca ride down the Nile with his tour group. Although the group was from France and only spoke French, we felt very welcomed. One of the drivers of the Felucca was Nubian and sang for us a traditional Nubian song while playing the drums and then after we sang a ton of French songs that we hadn't sang since we were in kindergarten such as 'Fre rejocka'. Soon after we had finished our song a tiny little boat with two children, paddling with their hands, had latched onto our Felucca boat. They were told that the boat had Canadians so they started singing “row, row, row your boat” and once they heard that the boat also had French people on-board they aborted the English songs and gave us another round of the same French songs we had just been singing (French people must be better tipers than English).

We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening socializing with our new English friends and Hassam and consumed very expensive (considering you could buy a 1 L water for 50 cents) beer. It was a great way to end our trip and we wished it could have only lasted longer. I was not feeling great so I had to go to bed but Jeremy joined the english group to a Nubian dance session on the boat and then a nightcap with the english couple.

On Day 5 we checked out of our mini paradise and, thanks again to Mina, were picked up from the hotel and headed to the Kalapsha Temple. The thing we loved best about this ordinary temple was that their were maybe 5 tourists on the island at the time of viewing. We did not have to fight with others to get a clear/free shot of any parts of the temple. We were asked by one of the guards if we wanted to go to the top of temple to get some pictures. We knew there would be baksheesh involved but we thought it would be neat and worth it. It was a great view from up top. We took many pics and then organized our money to see how much we had for baksheesh. We were able to put together five Egyptian pounds or so we thought. It turned out that some of our coins were Kenyan and the workers, after looking through our offering, unabashedly told us that the coins were not Egyptian and asked us for more. Unfortunately, we did not have any small change but after apologizing for our error they just asked if they could keep the Kenyan Shillings as a souvenir.

Our next stop was the Nubian museum which opened our eyes to a new side of Egyptian history but at the same time thoroughly confused us. There is so much history here that the little tid bits they give you in the museum are hard to categorize with everything else you learn. We will need to read a good book when we get home to sort out all of the confusion...either that or just ask Sophie Mills.


The afternoon consisted of a nice meal at a Nubian restaurant followed by a motor boat ride on the Nile to a Nubian village where we hopped on Camels and were escorted to centre of the village. The camel ride was nice but I feared that I was going to fall of the entire time or at least lose my sandals. When the camel tips to sit down it is as if you are riding a bucking bronco. At the village we were offered more food (home-made Nubian bread with liver, molasses and egg over cheese for dipping). On top of that our guide was told to bring Kosheri along for us to eat. We had to turn down a lot of food but accepted some Hibiscus tea which Jeremy was a fan of and drank three glasses while I got some Henna done. After Jeremy had figured he had asked our Nubian guide Hamada enough questions we decided that it was time that we leave and see some more sights. We thanked our host who was a cheerful and beautiful Nubian mother of three. We then toured around an old Locking Station (Dad...you would have loved seeing this) and then cruised up and down the Nile. It was nice to just sit on the top deck and watch all of the scenery as well as the locals just playing around in the water. We headed to another beach where we could go for a swim. We were a bit leary about swimming in the Nile as much of the Nile in Cairo and Luxor was absolutely disgusting with garbage everywhere. Hamada told us that the people here drink from the Nile because it is not polluted by the downstream city centers and is fast moving. We accepted and while being watched by a group of people trying to sell us more Souvenirs (there are people everywhere, I mean everywhere, trying to sell stuff to tourists) we stripped down to our bathing suites and went for a swim. Had the sun still been up it would have been great but without the sun to warm us up we didn't last more than one dive into the water. On the return trip we got to watch the sunset from the top of the Felucca.


That evening we had hoped in all earnest to watch movie after movie in our room but we kept getting horrible cartoon movie after cartoon movie. We just prepared to sleep for the next morning's journey which was scheduled to begin at 2:30 am to take us to Abu Simbel.


2:30 am came early. Mina had told us to take our hotel pillows which was a saviour. Although, I tried to inform someone else in the hotel to take their pillow they did not and we were the only ones who seemed able to sleep on the three hour drive through the desert in the dark. At around 7:30 am we arrived at Abu Simbel to be greeted by what seemed like a million other tourists. After entering the site we didn't care because the temple was incredible. Abu Simbel made the pyramids look like a cakewalk in terms of construction. The statues of Ramses II towered over the entrance and it was something to marvel at as we entered the temple. In the first section of the temple another set of incredibly large statues loomed over us. The hieroglyphics on the wall were in incredibly good shape although it was difficult to stop and enjoy them for any extended period of time because there was too many tourists.

We were given two hours to look around the temple before our police escorted convoy was to head back to Aswan. This was the perfect amount of time to visit the massive mountain temple of Ramses II and the smaller but also very enthralling temple of Hathor. From a birds eye view it was awe inspiring as these would have made for good James Bond hideouts because from above they would have appeared as regular mountains but were in fact very intricately carved temples. What is more amazing is that because of the construction of the High Dam in Aswan they had to relocate the temple to higher locations so they would not become submerged under Lake Nasser.


Jeremy managed to sleep on the way back to Aswan while I began typing up our blog (i.e. this one you are reading now). We had gotten very behind over the last couple of months which is why there has been such an uploading as of recently. After we arrived back in Aswan we painfully made our way to the post office to send Mustafa enough money so he could buy his bus ticket to Sinai where we were planning to do our desert Safari. He was so thankful when he received our payment that he went immediately to the bus station and purchased his ticket.

We killed some time before our evening carriage ride around Aswan. Our trip was guided but it was definitely not needed because he didn't really explain anything he just sat across from us facing us for the entire trip (can you say awkward???). It was nice to have him in the mosque where he explained some of the traditions and showed Jeremy how the Muslim people wash before the worship. By the time Jeremy had finished washing himself, he was soaked from head to toe. After our guide did the usual and took us to his cousins shop where Jeremy tried to buy a Sheesha (but after calling Mustafa to inquire about the price) he came to his senses and decided not to buy it. I bailed out early and headed back to the hotel for a conference call with my new nephew Jaxson, Amanda and Nadia while Jeremy joined Ahmed for Sheesha at the café where he later told me he was taught the rules of football. Another successful Mina tour arrangement (despite the guide on our 'romantic'carriage ride – oh well).

Cairo...Traffic, People and Filth!!!

It was difficult to sit on the plane without feeling a little restless after what had just happened in Nairobi. I think at this point we were both upset and our only thoughts were of going home. Not only did we have to try and plan out the upcoming month of our trip, we had to quickly try and figure out how or where we were going to find another camera and how to adjust to a new set of customs and 'tricks' in Egypt (we had no idea how hard this was going to be).
After reading the Lonely Planet description of what customs to expect in Egypt I had been kind of curious about whether or not it would really be taboo to wear shorts. The steward I asked was extremely kind and said that it would not be a problem at all and if I were to look hard enough I would find almost anything in Egypt...even some topless babes.

I mentioned to him that I was going to have to buy a new camera and he kindly suggested that I head to Carre Four because the prices would be right. We spoke for a while and after explaining why I wanted to buy a camera in Egypt rather than at home he offered that if we could wait for an extra day or two he would be free and would gladly drive us there (seriously?? but just the beginning of Egyptian hospitality).

After landing we realized that our Lonely Planet Guide book was in the bag that had gone missing. So we did not have a clue as to what we should do. We asked the information desk if they could find the number of a hotel for us by the name of Pensione Roma (we figured that was close to the name and it was). Due to the difference in accent and the fact that here written English taken from Arabic is only a transliteration (essentially the best meaning from the Arabic language is attempted) we wound up with a number to a place we weren't sure we wanted to be. We wandered around the airport (back and forth), which gave gave the taxi drivers a good chuckle and attempted to take a luggage cart down the escalator. As we we neared the bottom we could tell that something was wrong as four security officers came heading toward the escalator. No...we were not in trouble but they had anticipated that the cart and the escalator trip were not going to end on a good note. Needles to say they were right and the cart tumbled as it hit the flat section at the bottom. They were courteous and just laughed at us but truthfully this is how you transported a luggage cart from floor to floor in South Africa. After endlessly and aimlessly wandering around the airport we decided to call home.

Katie was in tears within about two seconds of being on the phone. But after just having becoming an Auntie, so obviously feeling homesick, and getting our bag stolen who can blame her. After describing the horrific details to both our families and being reassured that everything would be ok, we decided it was time to leave the airport.

Just like the book had mentioned, we were going to have to really fight off the pressure for taxis in Cairo and not more than two feet out the door did we have three men fighting over who would take us to a hotel. After a painful forty five minutes through traffic we arrived at our quaint little hotel. After asking the hotel a million questions about where we should buy a computer or a laptop, we were convinced not to head to Carre Four because it was too far and to just look nearby in the down town core.

We headed out to the street and realized that there was a million shops to choose from. However, we had no idea how to even cross the street. Traffic was not only hectic it was chaotic. It was hard to determine which side of the road people were driving on. There were robots (traffic lights) all over the place but in all of our time here I have never once seen them operate. The traffic officers seem more like ornaments because we could never figure out what exactly they were doing. People just cross the street, pausing to wait for two vehicles to pass while they non nonchalantly sucked in their belly so as not to lose it. We temped to play chicken with the vehicles but decided that it was a perilous and probably suicidal task and would only cross the road when we had the locals to follow (aka protect us).

After asking many people as to where we could find a shop selling Canon, we were approached by a man carrying a weird plastic trophy who asked us if we could use any help. After reading the lonely planet we were both a little concerned if this was going to be a con or if we were just going to be expected to pay a big baksheesh (the word used for tip in Arabic but not sure about the correct spelling). Although, I was a little less worried than Katie, or maybe just a little more naïve, I asked him what his generosity was going to cost us because he was being so kind to us. He assured us that he was just doing his duty as a good Egyptian and helping out a lost tourist. Despite his reassurance it was somewhat strange to be led around to get documents photocopied, passport pictures taken (for our student card) and to look for a camera and oh ya not to mention the most typical request to take us for tea. We were still a little unused to this kind of hospitality (without a cost). After an hour of his undivided help, we had asked him to give us some 'alone' time. We said we were going to get a cab and head to Carre Four - we jumped into a cab and said goodbye...but after saying goodbye and telling the cabbie where we wanted to go, he jumped in the front seat and told the cabbie something we didn't understand. This shocked us a bit but about a block further he jumped out and said goodbye. It took us a long time to realize that this is just typical behaviour here.

The steward on the plane was right Carre Four was the place to go...it is essentially an Egyptian Super Walmart. After exploring millions of options and toying with hundreds of ideas we managed to replace our computer and some other things we had lost. The computer was actually the same price as back home, the internet usb stick was 20 US (much cheaper than we had paid anywhere else). The camera was a different story. For the same camera we had back home it was nearly double the price and was extremely hard to find. We had found our camera in downtown Cairo and decided that even though it was twice the price it was what we wanted. However, after speaking with the store they actually didn't have it???

In the mall I had befriended a nice boy (not really a boy as he is 21) named Mustafa, who had helped us with all of our other purchases. I had just purchased a pair of pants and was a little anxious at the cost of them because they were surely going to be wrecked after our stay in Egypt and Morocco. The reasoning for this was because I didn't feel all that comfortable wearing shorts when no one else but tourists did. I decided that pants for the next two weeks would be necessary. Only having one pair of hiking pants I had decided to buy more which is why I had looked for pants. I had quite liked his pants and inquired about where I could find them...low and behold in the store. Without a moments hesitation he herded me to the pants department where I picked out two nice pair of pants for a total of ~$24 US. I tried to tip him but he would not accept it and just laughed at me (guess the book doesn't always explain how this baksheesh thing is supposed to work).

After shopping for way too long we were tired and tried painstakingly to find a metered taxi. Unfortunately, the taxis were reluctant to use them on the way home from the mall and it was quite a fight to get a price similar to what we had paid on the way there...not possible.

That night we ransacked our room like we normally do and settled in to relax. After setting up the computer I went to the common room and met a nice older gentleman that reminded me of my grandfather Arnold, to a tee...well almost. We talked for quite a while in which I discovered that he was an Egyptian who had moved to Germany when he was quite young but still came back once in a while to visit. He was very nice but had an abrupt way to him that made me laugh. He informed me of a man at the hotel that would take us around to the pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, and Dashur for a fairly modest price and would spend the entire day with us as our driver. We still hadn't settled our camera issue and didn't want to head to the sights without one. So we decided that we would give it one more day to try and find one.

We decided that because we were still both sick (I was just finishing and Katie was starting) that we should sleep in and that we did. It wasn't exactly the restful sleep I had been hoping for and woke in the middle of the night in a dream like state thinking that I was being attacked by mosquitoes. I literally slept walked to my bag, applied After Bite to the top of my hands and sprayed myself with insect repellent. In the morning I asked Katie if she had been bothered and she said that I was on drugs because there were no mosquitoes. However, she was worried that we had been attacked by bed bugs because she and I both had little red bumps all over our faces and all over Katie's arms. I asked the front desk what could have been the issue and was told that my dreamlike fantasies had been correct. It had been mosquitoes and he confirmed it by pointing out all of the little bites on his head.

After having our room doused with some type of insecticide we headed out to buy a camera. We ran into an Egypt Air office and managed to book ourselves a flight to Luxor while trying to call every company in the lonely planet to arrange a Nile Cruise. After no luck with the Nile cruise we headed out to search for a duty free shop. On our way we went into a travel agency to see if they arranged Nile Cruises. Of course like everyone they did and after convincing them the prices they were seeking were out of our budget we finally haggled a price that we felt was within reason (still a little doubtful of prices).

After leaving the store we began to search again for the duty free shop and while on the way ran into another Egyptian man who offered to help us out. He was a Bedouin (or desert man) who had moved to the US but was back on holidays. Similar to the other man he just ditched his plans and starting leading us around. He was a little more curt than our first non paid guide and was at times a bit rude but was kind??? enough to tour us around to many shops. He finally convinced/forced us to have coffee with him at his expense which included a nice Sheesha (Egyptian bong like device to smoke flavoured tobacco or herbs) session. He was hard to get rid of because when we attempted to go on our way he almost seemed upset. He liked to interrupt us by saying 'excuse me, excuse me' about a hundred times until he had stopped us from talking. But finally we convinced him that it was getting late and we just needed to go to Carre Four and get a camera...we were getting very sick of walking from store to store and not finding what we were hoping for. Similar to everyone else he told us that after we should come to his 'families' coffee shop for Egyptian tea and Sheesha.

#20 (maybe 19 not sure any more) Everyone here has a 'cousin' who has a store that they can take us to 'if we would like to buy something'. They will take you there and just wait out front while you shop. Even though you get harassed by about a million other people on the way, they act as if they are on a mission and do not stop but rather signal to some of the more persistent shop (Souk or Bazaar) owners that you are taken care of. At these shops, like many others, we are offered a welcome drink which is the classic Egyptian yellow or El Arosa tea. It is very delicious and most days you may have to turn down numerous offers as you walk by any type of shop or meet someone on the street. Once you show what you are interested in they will more than likely try and make you a ridiculous offer despite telling you that they are close with the person that brought you and would not want to sell you something over priced. Even though you may be able to haggle down the price you are more than likely not going to get as good as a price as if you were Egyptian or get an Egyptian friend to buy it for you.



When we arrived in Carre Four our group of sellers/instant friends from the night before greeted us and helped us with a camera. While looking at one camera, out of the blue another retailer came up and interrupted the man trying to sell us a camera. He started trying to show us why his camera is better. At first we thought they were just having fun but soon we realized that the twenty people inside the booth did not work together but were all trying to sell us a camera from a different line. Our now good friend Mustafa helped to inform us that they were all trying to cut-throat each other and helped us to pick out a nice camera from our list of selections being all held by several different sellers. Mustafa asked for our number because he truly wanted to befriend us and we gladly exchanged with him. We ended up just buying a point and shoot Nikon that was on sale. We tried to buy a second battery which they said they had but after we had purchased the camera there was no battery around. After learning that the camera battery was not available Mustafa said that the next day he could go to the store near the airport and pick one up for us and drop it off (second are you serious???). We just agreed because it seemed like it would never happen as this was not exactly a Canadian custom.

After making it back to the hotel Katie headed to bed to get some rest as she was still reeling from her cold. I took up the offer of Ahmed (older man I met the day before) to join him for some Sheesha just below our hotel. I told Katie that I wouldn't be long and where I was going. Our time at the cafe lasted almost 1.5 hours and was really nice. I learnt a lot from talking with him and really enjoyed his company.

On our way back up to the hotel we seen a couple that had just gone up to check the availability and had no luck because here they were back on the street with all of their bags. Ahmed said that we should help them and went over to them. In his very abrupt manner he asked them if they had found a place. After they said no he offered that they stay in his room with him as there is four extra beds. They were a little taken back by his offer (I think the girl was a little scared even though I was there) and was trying to get us to leave I think. He just laughed and told her not to worry. I tried my best to reassure them that his intentions were good. Rather than offering he pretty much told them that we would take them to another hotel just around the corner. The girl again was trying to get him to forget it but I assured them that it would be ok and I would come with them. So we took them around to another hotel to find that it was also full. He asked if they wanted more help and I offered my phone but the girl was a little timid. Her boyfriend had finally realized that our intentions were good and finally convinced her to use my phone. After feeling safe that we had gotten them a head start for their journey, we headed back to our hotel. After stopping in the middle of the street several times Ahmed shouted that he was hungry. Without much thought to inform Katie of where I was going we headed down the block to get some food.

After we had finished eating Ahmed aimlessly led me through the streets near our place to inform me of the history of certain buildings while explaining his grievances as to what had happened to Cairo and how different the Islamic religion had become since he had last been here. We finally made it back to the hotel (at 1:30am) to find Katie awake and in panic mode as she feared that I was gone missing. Because she had known that I was supposed to be near the hotel she had went as far as going to look for me with another guest...I guess I shouldn't have been such an idiot and told her (as Homer Simpson would say doh).

The next morning we headed on our journey to visit the sights. Our driver, who was a 'relative' to one of the hotel staff, tried to take us to a friends place right in front of the Pyramids where we could rent a camel. We declined the offer and headed inside. When we arrived it was nice and quiet (Friday is a day off) and we ventured around. We were reconsidering our decision not to have a camel as it was quite a distance between the pyramids but soon enough we were approached by a camel driver who offered to take us around. His offer was much lower than outside but after a two minute camel ride we discovered why. He stopped and told us that he could take a picture there and that to continue the ride would be about 150 pounds for us both. After haggling from the top of the camel we agreed to continue. It was a really nice ride and the camel driver was a pro at taking pictures. While stopping to take one picture, an older man on a tiny donkey stopped us and asked us to buy a souvenir. I decided I wanted what he was selling and bought something and he headed on his way. It was hilarious to see this average sized man riding this tiny donkey. Funniest part was that he looked exactly like the man that makes pancakes in Popeye cartoons or maybe it is Tin Tin - ???? We had lucked out with a great camel driver and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. After our ride was over he informed us of all the tricks that people near the pyramids were going to try on us and wished us luck...but his was a trick too right?

Boy, was he ever right...it is amazing what illegals things you can do in a National/historical site for a little extra Baksheesh. For ten pounds they will open all sorts of gates that are not open to the public and let you climb up the pyramids. Ok well not that much. When we actually got right near the pyramids we were shocked to find hundreds or maybe thousands of Egyptians walking around and climbing the pyramids. The guards were shouting at them and waving their sticks but for ten pounds we could have done this...they just realized that the Egyptians were not going to give them ten pounds. What shocked us even more was how many kids wanted pictures of Katie and I. They would just run up to us and shout “English, English” and if we responded they would ask us our name. When we responded they would either ask us to take a picture with them or say good bye. It was obvious that they did not care to have themselves in the picture (well if they could they would) because sometimes they would just take a picture of us with someone else just so they had the picture.

While enjoying the pyramids another man toting a small donkey came over to us. The donkey was laden with all sorts of pop and he pushed us to buy one. I finally agreed, or thought that I had, on a good price and asked for one Fanta. He said ok and then opened a Coke??? I gave him the money but he said it was not enough...so he obviously didn't understand anything Í had said at all. I said I would not give him any more and then he began to plead to us and told Katie that he needed the money because his donkey was blind (I looked over at the donkey, and trust me, the donkey was not blind). Finally he gave up but then kept telling us to hurry and drink the soda because he needed his bottles back. Luckily another possible sale came up and he forgot about us. We finished and gave him an extra couple of pounds and turned his raving into a grin.

The Giza pyramids were amazing and mind blowing because it is even hard to imagine how today they would build something like that without using frames and concrete. And to think that they are still standing thousands of years later. Saqqara and Dashur were also nice and were not nearly as busy. We were actually able to enter the pyramid at Dashur and although it was extremely stuffy it was neat to see how incredibly in good shape the insides were and how perfect the layout was constructed.

After finishing the day we headed back to the hotel to meet Mustafa who had delivered on his offer to find us a battery. We were so overwhelmed that he took the day off from work to help us out. He would not accept any offer for payment for his time so we tried to take him out for a Sheesha and tea. He tricked us by paying for the Sheesha. We tried again for dinner and he again tricked us and paid way before we had time to sneak away and snag the bill. We didn't know how to repay him but were very touched by his hospitality towards us. We had to get rid of a ton of our dried goods and so we offered them to him and he accepted. It was pretty nice to not have to worry about carrying any more of it around so it was a load off of our shoulders. We exchanged all of our info with Mustafa whom was very interested in making it to Canada....we hope so.

Mohammed our driver for the day came back up that evening and took us to the airport for us to start our trek down the Nile. Although, Cairo was nice and we met so many interesting people it was nice to start something new as we were getting sick of the garbage that littered just about every square inch of the streets, building tops and waterways. Little did we know that we would never escape the trash!