After a rather stormy and tumultuous 'day at sea', we docked at Alexandria. Now, we'd been to Egypt twice before, but Alexandria is a city we had yet to see. And, we still haven't seen it. We found a note in our cabin to say the English-speaking tour was full up and would we like to pick another?
Well, the tour to El Alamein was cancelled, and the Pyramids had an air of 'been there; done that' about them, so we picked the 'Pyramids plus Desert 4WD and Camel Safari' and settled down for a loooong coach ride to Gizeh.
Mind you, the Pyramids and the Sphinx had improved since our previous visit. There were fewer hawkers about, and I believe you now have to go to the stables if you want a camel or horse ride. And, I was able to improve on the pictures I have … although if I was expecting a return visit to the Pyramids, I'd have brought some monochrome film; there was none to be had anywhere we called.
I suppose the Pyramids, like Stonehenge, are a bit of a disappointment to the first-time visitor. They're not in the middle of the desert, as you might think, but the suburb of Gizeh is not far away. They say (although I didn't see it) there's a 'Macdonalds' only a short walk away.
Of note is the toilet … admission was 50c. Egyptian …and I didn't have any Egyptian money. They said, though, that they'd take Euros, and the lowest value coin I had on me was €1 … so that's probably the most expensive pee I've ever had!
(This was first written in 2004. I've paid more to 'use the facilities' since!)
We bussed to Sakkara, where we saw the Pyramid of Zoser, and set off on the 'Desert Safari'. I sat in the front of the LandCruiser and just hung on as we tore across the desert to the tune of 'Cotton-eye Joe' on the CD player … all the time resisting the temptation to say 'Let me drive, and I'll show you some real off-road work!'
Then, we transferred to the camels … and all I have to say about that is an Egyptian camel saddle isn't as comfortable as a Jordanian one! But, it was a nice ride, and an easy one. It's getting on and off that's a problem.
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