After cleaning the room and showering we made our way downstairs to the lobby to meet out tour leader and other members of the group. Once everyone was present Marwuan introduced us to our guide for the day, Marwuan was our tour leader however he was not an Egyptologist which meant he is not qualified to explain in detail about the history of all the accent sites. Once we were informed of the day activities Marwuan told us that he would be leaving us for the day and we will not be seeing him again until we meet him in the lobby later that evening when it time to take us to the train?
We all boarded onto a bus for our first site the Cairo Museum. It was not far from our hotel the trip on the bus took only 10 minutes. The building was fenced all around with security at each entrance. I walked through the metal detectors and then faced with a big pinkish colour building. We followed our guide inside the museum where she informs us that this museum holds the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts featuring the famous Tutankhamen collection. In each room we enter there were statues and glass cabinets filled with treasures that had been dug up from the land. Lucky we had a guide because the artifacts had little or no information beside them. Some rooms were filled with mummies both children and adults. It is fascinating to realize that there are actual bodies of people who lived thousands of years ago.
The most amazing room was the Tutankhamen collection this was what I was most looking forward to in the museum I had done a project on him at school and ever since then been intrigued by his story. The room was filled with his gold jewels the centerpiece was his beautiful gold mask. I had seen this mask in movies and books before and to see it so close up was overwhelming. The Tutankhamen displays alone justify the visit, but there is much more than that to see. I could have spent all day looking through all the treasures and hearing about all the history but we had to move on to our next destination the Giza Pyramids.
Again back on the bus we made our way to the Great Pyramids along the way we got to see more of Cairo. One thing that I noticed was there were heaps of apartment buildings that were not finished with steel rods sticking out the top yet people were taking resident in the lower floors. We asked the guide about this and she informed us that these houses were for whole families, once the sons would find a wife the family would build up a level and the son and his new wife would live in an apartment above the parents. Some buildings were 5 storeys high. So I'm guessing they had a lot of sons. I could never imagine having all my family living in the same apartment building I needed my space and my mother would drive me crazy. Egyptians are very family orientated I guess you have to rely on each other when money was always an issue. Another reason why some of the buildings look unfinished is that the owners of the building didn't have to pay taxes to the government until the apartment was finished.Why would you ever finish then?
When we reached the pyramids local children flocked to the bus some without even shoes their hand filled with trinkets and postcards to sell to us. I felt sorry for them they should be at school and not out here in the heat selling trinkets. Making our way through the children we collected our tickets and enter into the gates, right in front of us is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Words can't explain how I was feeling. They are truly majestic structures and to know that they were built without any machinery and have stood the test of times for thousands of years is amazing. Mel and I take heaps of photos of us standing, jumping and walking like an Egyptian in front of these magical structures. We both have a smile from ear to ear we had been looking forward to this moment since we booked our ticket to Egypt all those months ago. We had free time to walk around and explore. There was an option to go inside the pyramid but worried that I would feel claustrophobic I did not accept. While we are walking around the pyramids with sun beating down and sand blowing in our face we are getting harassed by more vendors trying to sell us their trinkets it was surprising how well they spoke English considering they did not attend school, men rode up to you on camels asking you if you would like a picture with them or a ride on their camel. Each camel was wearing a coat with its name written on the behind. The names were mostly of famous people and the spelling was always incorrect.
There were two single guys traveling stag in our group, Nick was one of them he is in his late 20's and from England. Nick was the first one of our tour group to get scammed in Egypt. And it happened on the first day at the Pyramids by one of the camel owners. Nick was asked by one of the men riding a camel if he would like to have a photo of him on a camel Nick accepted. Nick's expectation was to hop on the camel have his photo then hop off however the camel owner had a different idea. Once the photo was taken the camel owner would not let Nick off the camel and would not return the camera. Camel owner told Nick that he had to go on a ride as well as the photo opportunity and would not let Nick off the camel until he had paid for both. Nick had no other option and did what the camel owner said. This was the first and last time on tour that Nick went near a camel.
After walking around the pyramids we made our way down the hill to where the Sphinx is located. The sphinx was carved out of one piece of stone and like the pyramids very majestic. Mel and I sat here for a while taking in the atmosphere the surroundings, and take many pictures. It was time to leave and go back to the hotel we made our way back to the bus trying to avoid the flock of children selling their postcards and keyrings.
Back at the hotel that evening we took our bags down to the lobby to meet Marwuan he was taking us to a supermarket close by to buy snacks for the long train ride because he recommended that we didn't eat the food that was available on the train unless we wanted to get sick.
At the train station we made our way to the platform it was a lot cleaner than I expected it to be. At the platform we all put our bags down on the ground and sat in groups talking or playing cards waiting for the train that was supposed to depart at 10pm. Train did not arrive until midnight. There's a saying in Egypt that goes "All in Egyptian time" the reason for this is no one is ever on time. This is one thing that really frustrates me because I am the kind of person that always arrives at a place early to ensure I don't make other wait. The train is an older train the seats are a blue colour some have rips in them and are a little hard on the behind they do recline a little so at least I won't be sitting up right for the next 12 hours. By the time the train departs Cairo it closer to 1am everyone is exhausted.
Sleeping on the train is near impossible not just because the seats are uncomfortable; because its an older train it made a lot of creaky sounds against the track also the other passengers and train employees have no respect for those trying to sleep. I put in my Ipod and place on my eye mask then started to drift off to sleep but an hour later my battery died. Oh no I forgot to put on charge during the day. I took my ear pieces out and lifted my eye mask there are men walking up and down the aisles selling food and hot tea. They are yelling at the top of their lungs "Hummus Hummus" and "Chai Chai" hitting against a tin pot this went on for the whole trip. Sleep was very limited it was a very long night.
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