Matt had to use up some vacation hours at work...so without making a plan he scheduled them for the last two weeks in September. Naturally, I bid the last two weeks of September off too...if he's not at work it doesn't seem fair that I should be! As the middle of September neared we would have fleeting conversations on where we could go and what we could do with our time off. We talked about lots of places we'd like to see that dotted all over this lovely world of ours but never pinned it down to where we would be those last two weeks in September. Then the time came and Matt's vacation time had started and we found ourselves sitting at home watching TV. That didn't seem right so this time we had a few serious conversations on where we should go and what we should see. We decided on Cairo and that was THAT.
We checked out a Lonely Planet Egypt (a must when you travel abroad) book from our library, pulled an all-nighter packing our back-packs full of everything Egypt worthy (not really everything...it is a back-pack after all so I pack super light! I don't want to carry more than 10 pounds...I'm no dummy.) Once the sun was about to peek over the mountains we woke up our good friends Mike and Rainy and left Drama at their house to be fed and watered and played fetch with while we were away and then we b-lined it to the SLC airport barely in time to board a plane to New York! Our plan was to study our book on the flights...That didn't happen! We we exhausted. And that was ok. Whenever we take big trips we pull all-nighters so we can adjust to the time change and sleep on the plane rides there. But forget about any ounce of productivity left in the body after this! To be quite honest, we are lucky we made it to the airport safely!
We spent the better part of the day in the JFK airport waiting for our Cairo flight to board and bribing the guy in the electronic store to charge my iPhone for us (we were in such a rush that we forgot it) and people watching. At about midnight we got on the plane got comfy in our business class seats...
And so we went to Egypt...
We both slept all through the flight and awoke just in time to eat a veggie pizza and watch the jumbo jet land in the desert. We bought our visas and got our passports stamped as we cleared customs and found the sign that said "Invitation Hotel Matthew" (this was the only pre-arrangement we made prior to boarding our plane for this foreign land). Our driver took us to our hotel and we both stared out the windows and took in the scenery the whole way there. Every once in a while Matt would try to ask our driver a question but that went over like a lead kite. No Hablo.
Here is a glimpse at what we saw while we were there...and since I am no good at blogging, it is in no particular order.
Here is Matt in the crouched position heading down inside the tombs. An unforgettable experience.
We went camping in the desert with Achmed and an adorable honeymooner Chinese couple.
We loved our trip to Egypt! We got to see and do so many things and meet some great people along the way. It was our first trip to a Muslim country and it was so I was so intrigued by it all! Before we went to Cairo our hopes weren't too high due to things that we had heard and read about it but our opinion couldn't be any different from that! We both thought it was a great place to visit and we found Egyptians to be rather friendly and VERY helpful!
We checked out a Lonely Planet Egypt (a must when you travel abroad) book from our library, pulled an all-nighter packing our back-packs full of everything Egypt worthy (not really everything...it is a back-pack after all so I pack super light! I don't want to carry more than 10 pounds...I'm no dummy.) Once the sun was about to peek over the mountains we woke up our good friends Mike and Rainy and left Drama at their house to be fed and watered and played fetch with while we were away and then we b-lined it to the SLC airport barely in time to board a plane to New York! Our plan was to study our book on the flights...That didn't happen! We we exhausted. And that was ok. Whenever we take big trips we pull all-nighters so we can adjust to the time change and sleep on the plane rides there. But forget about any ounce of productivity left in the body after this! To be quite honest, we are lucky we made it to the airport safely!
We spent the better part of the day in the JFK airport waiting for our Cairo flight to board and bribing the guy in the electronic store to charge my iPhone for us (we were in such a rush that we forgot it) and people watching. At about midnight we got on the plane got comfy in our business class seats...
And so we went to Egypt...
We both slept all through the flight and awoke just in time to eat a veggie pizza and watch the jumbo jet land in the desert. We bought our visas and got our passports stamped as we cleared customs and found the sign that said "Invitation Hotel Matthew" (this was the only pre-arrangement we made prior to boarding our plane for this foreign land). Our driver took us to our hotel and we both stared out the windows and took in the scenery the whole way there. Every once in a while Matt would try to ask our driver a question but that went over like a lead kite. No Hablo.
Here is a glimpse at what we saw while we were there...and since I am no good at blogging, it is in no particular order.
Giza Pyramids and our Camels
We saw all the pyramids around Cairo as well as the Sphynx...Truly Amazing.
Me in front of an Oasis. In the distance is Sakkara, the step pyramid. It was the first pyramid ever constructed.
This young Egyptian was showing us how to smoke the sheesha! He's quite the pro at it!!
Everywhere we went old men were smoking sheesha in the shops along the street. It is a fruity flavored water pipe. Smoking sheesha is equivalent to smoking 53 cigarettes! As we were passed people on the streets a lot of them would say "welcome to Egypt" to us or something else to spark up a conversation. While we were passing one shop, a guy smoking sheesha asked us where we were from and we said USA. He then said in a lovely Egyptian accent, "Obama number ONE!! and George Bush...CRaZY!!" We had a good laugh with him.
The circle dance!
We went to this party with a group of friends from our hotel.
We went to this party with a group of friends from our hotel.
These traditional dances were so fun to watch. They would seriously spin in circles non stop for 30 minutes and then stop without even being dizzy!!
Me inside the pyramid...
Matt and I inside the mosque
We went to Citadel Mosque and other city landmarks and points of interest.
Shhhh...We slipped this Egyptian a tip (3 Egyptian pounds) and he let us take pictures inside the pyramid. Supposedly it's off limits but nobody really follows rules over there...
We saw all the wonders inside the Egyptian Museum. You could spend days in there. We only spent a few hours. My favorite thing we saw we had to pay extra for and I am SO glad we did. We saw a mummy exhibit of ACTUAL MUMMIES pulled out of the pyramids. We saw the bodies of pharaohs and it was incredible! Their hair and skin and teeth and nails...we saw it all! They are preserved so well that I had to see it to believe it. If you ever get the chance to see a mummy exhibit, DO IT!!
Cairo is right next to the lovely Nile River.
We took a dinner cruise and a Fluka (Sailboat) out on the Nile.
This is our driver Ruby...He was SO good to us. He introduced us to Egyptian cuisine: Koshari and Falafel. He took us to places that wouldn't rip us off. We paid 2 Egyptian pounds for our meals when we were with Ruby (about 30 cents!!) He warned me not to eat to much Koshari or else it would "make a fat woman." I heeded that counsel...nothing but carbs anyway and a little on the spicy side!
We rode camels around Giza...Definitely not for comfort, just for style!
Ruby kept his Curan on his dash to keep us safe from all the crazy Egyptian drivers!!
I guess it worked...we only hit one guy ;)
This little doll became our best friend on a long and hot (no a/c) 6 hour bus ride from the desert to Cairo. She kept us entertained with games and spewing out Arabic faster than her dad could translate it into English for us to comprehend. At the end of the ride she gifted me with a head band and Matt with a toy cup that she had been drinking water of the whole ride. We gave her my earrings.
The traffic in Cairo is nothing short of insane, but the pedestrians are even crazier! Nobody looks when they cross the road...check out this guy carrying a load twice the size of him across I-15 like traffic!!
Along with all the heavy traffic comes the never ending tune of car horns...oh how they love their horns...even in the wee hours of night!!!
On the Fluka--Sailing the Nile
We watched the sun set and rise and saw more stars than I have seen in a long time! We also made friends with a little desert fox that visited our campsite for our leftovers.
The White Desert is a cross between monument and goblin valley! So beautiful!
We made a few life long friends and many more memories.
We loved our trip to Egypt! We got to see and do so many things and meet some great people along the way. It was our first trip to a Muslim country and it was so I was so intrigued by it all! Before we went to Cairo our hopes weren't too high due to things that we had heard and read about it but our opinion couldn't be any different from that! We both thought it was a great place to visit and we found Egyptians to be rather friendly and VERY helpful!
