YOB: International Adventures 2010 (Part 6) Egypt

By Lara

We got up really early for Egypt. The first part of the tour was a three hour bus ride into Cairo. Our tour guide was interesting. I tried to stay awake for his lecture because he was so excited and knowledgeable. I did not succeed. I don't think I slept through a lot of it, though.

Cairo was interesting. No one in Cairo drives inside the traffic lines... not buses, not sports cars, not 1950's style Fords, nor the donkey carts. They all just weave and honk their way forward.

Our bus managed to weave and honk its way to the Egyptian museum. I was excited about the museum. I grew up watching enough PBS that four thousand year old statues make me tingly with anticipation. Plus, I was going to see the King Tut exhibit on its home continent! That's when our guide mentioned that under no circumstances could we bring a camera inside. My heart grumbled a bit, but I reminded myself that there was a gift shop.

Ok. We braved the exuberant throngs of people to get inside the museum. If Egypt has fire codes, I cannot imagine that we didn't violate about a hundred of them to squeeze into the museum. We didn't get a lot of time to look at the statues. I probably would have lingered over more of them, but I had no desire to be left behind in Egypt... or crushed by a tourist stampede. I did, however, get to see Tutankhamen's underpants.

If left to my own devices in a completely empty Egyptian museum, I would probably not be able to see everything in less than a week. As it was, I got an hour with an antsy tour guide and three snillion other people. We did not have time to see the mummy room... or the gift shop. I purchased a DVD outside for $15. I have not been brave enough to see if there is actual content on it or not.

When we got back on the bus, I got Mandi to take my picture. I plan to put it in the scrapbook. "This is me after seeing some of the most amazing artifacts of my life without a camera." I didn't really look thrilled. Frankly, I look hot and disheartened. I'm over it now. I mean, I DID get to see Tutankhamen's underpants. That's not something that you see everyday on PBS.

From the museum, we rode over the Nile. I tried to really drink in what was happening. I was in AFRICA and we were crossing the NILE. It was murky and reedy and wonderfully mysterious. I didn't see any crocodiles, but they would have been lurking underneath the murk and reeds.

Our bus docked at a terribly tacky riverboat restaurant called "The Pharaohs." It was campy, but I was about to eat lunch while FLOATING on the NILE. Photographs were taken. While we dined, we were treated to a belly dancer and a whirling dervish. It was an interesting show, but I was much more interested in looking out the window. I went to the top deck where Cheryl took my picture. I look slightly overwhelmed and hot. That's not too far from the truth.

When lunch was over, I settled into my bus seat for the long drive to Giza. I calmly watched the scenery flit by as we weaved and honked our way through Cairo. All of a sudden, the main street of Cairo came to a dead end. Boom. The pyramids. That wasn't a long drive. Cairo literally stops about a half mile from the largest pyramid in Egypt. Crazy.

I know that it was hot, and I acknowledge that the merchants were aggressive and rather sketchy, and I spent a lot of time dodging camel poo, but I was standing in the shadow of the PYRAMIDS. The armed guard on our bus offered to take my photo. I thanked him, but Anne had already taken several photos of me jumping and dancing and reveling in the fact that I was standing in the shadow of the PYRAMIDS. Mandi rode a camel. I just wandered around in a daze.

Fortunately, I wandered back to the bus in time to hitch a ride to the SPHINX. People are no longer allowed to walk right up to the sphinx, but I got some quality pictures anyhow. By that time, I was in a PBS geek stupor. Again, I managed to find the bus before it left without me, but I imagine that a small piece of me will haunt Giza for the rest of my life.

A trip to the papyrus center was next. The artwork was lovely. I was almost tempted to buy some, but I was just so tired of people trying to sell me things by that point. I found a lovely painting of a soul meeting eternal judgment that was underneath an air conditioning vent. I spent a lot of time admiring its quality. Most of the rest of my tour group went on to the bazaar to pick up their jewelry. I got back on the bus.

The ride to Alexandria was uneventful. I had rather a romantic notion of Alexandria's famous harbor, and I was looking forward to being there. I knew that the alabaster lighthouse was long gone, but I was still expecting something spectacular. The bus took us on the scenic tour through Alexandria's salt swamps, oil refineries, and bombed out tenement buildings to the industrial harbor. The whole experience reminded me of being in New Jersey.

I know that I must have crawled my sorry rear back onto the cruise ship and eaten dinner, but I don't remember much about it. I think I was mostly interested in falling asleep. It was a busy but incredibly rewarding day. I hope to make it back to Egypt one day when I have more time to explore... and buy postcards.