My partner Beth and I love going on vacations to places that we've never been, and this year we decided to go somewhere that would be totally new to both of us, and that was Egypt for New Years, from December 28th to January 6th, just one day shy of my birthday. We knew to expect the unexpected, but we weren't prepared for how amazing the historical landmarks were, or how different the culture was.
We arrived in Cairo at night, close to midnight. The process for gaining entrance to Egypt was a confusing and stressful one. First we had to wait in line at a bank (the sole nearby ATM was out of cash), and then head over to another line at another counter in order to get a Visa, and then finally wait in line at customs for getting our passports stamped. Once all of that was done we then had to face the crowds of taxis drivers standing at the entrance trying to get a ride from us. Luckily the low-budget hotel in Giza that we booked had arranged for someone to pick us up.
Right out of the gate (no pun intended) we were told by the driver that seat belts are not required in Egypt, and sure enough there were none in the backseat. Only the driver had one. He also said that there are "no rules" in Egypt. We exchanged nervous glances but didn't know what else to do in terms of a ride so we didn't voice any concerns. The driver gave us a verbal tour of the different parts of Cairo and pointed out the "old city" and "new city". It was obvious which was old and which was new. It also appears that lane markings on the road are also not required to be followed, with cars driving all over the place.
We arrived at the hotel in Giza, which was really just a single floor at the top of a building, and entered through a muddy back alley. The room we had booked with a pyramid view wasn't available, so they stuck us in a windowless room. Things were not looking good so far.
The Great Pyramids of Giza
The next morning we ate breakfast on the rooftop terrace, which did have views of the pyramids, and they looked amazing. They still seemed so far away but here we were staring at them in person. Afterwards we walked to the Giza plateau since it was within less than a mile of where we were staying. The route to get there was sketchy: we walked under highways, through construction zones, and along local streets. The entrance to the plateau was hectic, with lots of line-cutting (must be the norm in Egypt), but finally we emerged.
And there they were, the most infamous ancient wonders in the world: the Great Pyramids of Giza. Pictures don't do it justice, these things were huge! Not only that, but we were able to walk through the ruins of other structures around the pyramids as well.
I love being able to walk up to, and touch, history. We were able to freely explore the entire area, and see all of the pyramids of close and personal, from all angles. We walked up to and around all three large pyramids, and then went to the Sphinx. What an amazing experience this all is! Definitely a huge wow factor. But the best part was coming up: going into the Great Pyramid itself.
The entrance into the Great Pyramid was from grave robbers who had tunneled in long, long ago. Once we got through their tunnels, we finally entered the corridors built by the ancient Egyptians. These corridors were very tight and cramped. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the ancient workers who had to go up and down these all day long. The Kings Chamber was our destination, and it was just like the pictures from our history books: plain and empty. But that doesn't matter, because we're standing inside of the great pyramid!
But now it was time to leave. We had seen it all, and now needed to make a decision on where we were staying tonight.
The Marriott
The hotel in Giza was a distaster, and we didn't feel safe staying there another night. Nor did we need to. The only reason we had booked it was to have a view of the pyramids at night while we explored Cairo during the day. But given how far of a drive it was from Cairo to Giza, and the fact that our room wasn't the one we had reserved, we decided to book a room in a Marriott in downtown Cairo: it was a 5 star hotel in what used to be a royal palace.
We had a hard to time getting a refund from the Giza hotel owners, but eventually they gave us a 75% refund (considering we had already stayed one night) in cash. I felt nervous carrying so much money on me. Our Uber ride from Giza to the new hotel was charotic: the driver got lost a couple of times, but we finally made it.
This place was a dream! We should have booked this the first time around. It was on an island, so it already felt nicer and safer, plus the surrounding buildings and area were very upscale, or at least upscale compared to where we just were. It had a guarded private entrance, and felt like a true and proper hotel on the inside.
We got an executive room that came with private access to a lounge where food and drinks were practically unlimited. We had most of our meals and daytime snacks up there, along with all the wine we could handle. There was a brunch area on the first floor, as well as an outdoor hookah area. It was amazing, and worth the inflated New Years Eve price! Plus our room had a great view of Cairo Tower where we were told the fireworks for NYE would be going off.
Saqqarra and Memphis
The next day we booked a guided tour to Saqqarra where we visited the Bent, and Stepped, pyramids up close. It was so cool to see the evolution of the pyramids, and in the distance we could see the ruins of a handful of other pyramids that just didn't work. Our guide also provided us with a good amount of background knowledge about the history of these pyramids, and of ancient Egypt. We wish we had this kind of experience at the Great Pyramids yesterday.
At the Stepped pyramid complex our guide got us free access to a tour of the tombs and we saw our first heiroglyphics in person. It was a short tour, but it was amazing nonetheless.
While our guide was informative about lots of things, we feel like we missed out on seeing more, like going underneath the Stepped pyramid and exploring the tunnels within. They said it wasn't that great so it was better to skip it. We later assumed they were just doing the bare minimum in order to get their pay day.
Afterwards our guide sort of kind of forced us to to a papyrus-making gift shop, and the later to a perfume gift shop. We felt watched the entire time we were there by the employees, who were practically begging for a sale. But it was neat to see how papryus was made using the ancient technique.
We returned to our palace on the island and relaxed in the lounge and lower hookah areas for the rest of the day.
The Renowned Bazaar of Cairo, and The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization was huge when compared to the previous one. It was also much more modern, with plenty of well-thought-out space for everything. The exhibits were also arranged in chronological order so that you could take a journey through Egyptian history from the time before the Pharoahs and pyramids, to the modern age.
In the lower levels they had a nice dark area with a bunch of mummies from various points of history of ancient Egypt. It was also very well maintained, and respectful. They asked for silence on the way in, and everyone in there actually respected the rules for a change.
After the museum we decided to take an Uber to an infamos Bazaar in Cairo, one that had been in continuous operation for hundreds of years. The taxi/Uber ride to the bazaar was hectic. The driver, for some reason, decided to drive through the streets of the bazaar itself. We got so many angry looks from the locals.
The market itself was very crowded, and kind of confusing. We got lost a couple of times, and were worried we wouldn't be able to make it out to the way we had come in. There was also a lof of creepy looks from the shop owners, and no one let us walk by in peace.
Needless to say, this was a bad experience, and not something I would recommend.
The Egyptian Museum
Egypt was currently in the process of building a brand new museum on the Giza plateau, but it wasn't ready yet when we where there, so we went to the "old" museum of Egypt called The Egyptian Museum. They had said lots of things would be missing because they were being moved to the new museum, but there was still tons to see. It was obvious though that they needed a new and much larger museum becaue the current one was stuffed to the brim with artifacts.
There were tons of coffins, statues both big and small, and funerary things to see. But the coolest part was seeing Tuts coffin and burial mask. It was huge, and so bright with all of that gold. Such an amazing sight.
We toured the rest of the museum for close to 2 hours before deciding we had had enough and wanted to retire to our hotel and relax for the rest of the day, enjoying that private lounge bonus. On the way out we each got souveniors from the museum gift shop.
Fireworks and NYE
Later that night was New Years Eve, and we had a very large meal at a restaurant on the main level, and bought a series of small cakes to take back up to the room with us. We set up camp on our balcony in order to watch the fireworks, and as I said before we had a great view. They even lit up the tower with the countdown. What a magical experience to be able to experience NYE in a foriegn land.
Luxor, Luxor Temple, and Karnak
On January 2nd we checked out of our luxury hotel and flew to Luxor. It was a short flight, but it was better than taking the train or the bus. The city is a much less crowded place than Cairo, and less hectic, but still the same behavior from shop owners and locals, begging for money or harassing us to see if we wanted to go on a camel ride.
The place we booked here was supposedly a 4 star hotel, but really it was a 3 star hotel. It was alongside the riverwalk near the Luxor Temple, and within walking distanceo of Karnak, so it suited us well. But the bed was terribly uncomfortable, and there was smoking everywhere inside the hotel. The only restaurant in the joint had a terrible selection for dinner. But there was a buffet-style breakfast and lunch on the second floor, and those weren't that bad!
The next day we checked out Luxor Temple, which was really cool to be standing at the base of these humungous columns and satues. We spotted Greek writing mixed in with ancient Egyptian which checks out with what the guide from the other day told us about Alexandar the Greats conquering of Egypt and introduction of the helenistic culture(s).
We then walked down the lonely Avenue of Sphinxes towards the Karnak temple complex. No one else was on the avenue, so we had it all to ourselves, and we much preferred walking along that then walking along the busy streets.
Luxor was amazing, but Karnak was huge! This temple complex was amazing. It was big, tall, and the paintings on the walls were still in great condition. There were so many things to see here. We spent a long time around around and checking everything out.
After a long walk back to the hotel we decided to book a guided tour for the next day to the Valley of the Kings, and Queens. We didn't dare try to go it alone give how hectic the pyramids were.
Valley of the Kings, Queens, and Habu Temple
This guide was a little better than our previous one, but still weird: he admitted to marrying his cousins. Yes, plural. We stopped by the Colossi of Memnon on the way to the valleys, and snapped some selfies. Cool to see, but not overly wowing.
The Valley of the Kings was really cool, so many tombs to see. The guide got us in, and helped pay for things by cutting the line, and then let us go do our own thing once inside. We saw lots of cool tombs, including the tomb of king Tut himself. These tomb chambers were so complex, and artfully decorated.
Queens Valley was less crowded so we got more time to walk around and see what we wanted. There was only one tomb where you had to pay to enter, and we skipped it, but the rest were still equally as amazing.
Habu Temple, the last one, takes the cake though. It was the most amazing temple that I had seen on this trip, and it was in amazing condition. The artworks and paintings were still pristine, and our guide got us amazing behind-the-scenes access, and told us a ton of not-so-commonly known facts about the place, and its historical purpose.
A sunrise balloon ride over Luxor
This was the highlight of our time in Egypt, and Luxor. On January 4th we were picked up from our hotel at 4am, along with a bunch of others, and shuttled to a balloon ride launching area. We waited in the cold dark early hours of the morning for our time to fly.
The all-clear signl was given to the balloon ride companies, and their teams of workers ran out to the balloons eager to be the first in the air. It was an amazing sight watching these huge things go from the flames burning within them.
Our time came and we were shuffled into the basket of our balloon with the most charistmatic captian one could hope for on an outing such as this. He gave us a rundown of do's and dont's, and then we were off and ascending into the air.
The captian had a little jingle he kept singing: "Everything I do, I do for you." It made us smile and laugh, and kept things cheery. The ride over the Valley of the Kings and Queens below us was amazing. The sunrise, the views, it was the perfect ending to this vacation.
Returning to Cairo and leaving Egypt behind
It was time to return to Cairo for our flight home the next day. We stayed at a different 5 star hotel, but this one wasn't as nice as the Marriott. But the room did have great sunset views from the balcony.
We left at around 6:00 am the next day to begin our journey home, and we were glad to leave.
Egypt is an amazing place if you only consider the historical things. The way the locals treat foriegners leaves something to be desired. If we ever came back we would definitely do it through a service that would plan everything for us, and rely on tour guides for everything.
This trip though was unique, and probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we enjoyed a lot of it.
