On my way to Egypt, I'm not gonna lie, I was a little scared. From everything the media says and the fact that going to Cairo, my travel insurance was nullified due to the fact that the Canadian government had a travel advisory on. Now that I've survived the experience, I can say that the only thing I was scared of was getting ripped off by the various people who wanted my money, (I'm not sure what money they think I had, I'm a teacher!) Honestly though, it was no different than any other tourist area in other areas I've travelled to.

The first few nights of my Egypt travel started off well in a nice hotel located just across the street from the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. It was the most expensive hotel I have stayed in during my travels but I booked it not knowing exactly how safe the country would be and I knew this was fairly far away from Tahrir Square where all the chaos had unfolded. Every morning, I woke up to the site of the pyramids, Sphinx and Ramadan bringing a huge Egyptian breakfast platter consisting of Egyptian bread, beans, and tomatoes and of course tea. I'm not ashamed to admit it…I am officially addicted to tea. I drank more tea in the two weeks in Egypt than I have the rest of my life and I think it just may continue. The same goes for smoking shisha but that's whole other story. By night, I saw the pyramids being lit during their night show.

Other things I saw those first few days were the great pyramids and the sphinx up close. There really aren't words to describe the awe feeling you get of seeing the pyramid up close and realizing just how many stones would have been used in its creation. The two main theories to its creation are that many workers (can't remember the number) built the pyramid using really long ramps from all four directions bringing them up to its position. The other theory is they were built by extra-terrestrials. One common misbelief is that the pyramid was built by slaves but that is not correct as the men were workers for the king. The king convinced them to work for him by offering food, drink and to be with him in the afterlife.

I also got a trip out the other pyramids in the Sakkara desert. I say "the other" pyramids but the fact is that there are pyramids all over Egypt. The most popular one in the Sakkara desert was the step pyramid which was actually the first pyramid to be built in Egypt. The pyramid is a symbol leading to the afterlife and was built for the kings before their death with their tombs either under or inside the pyramid. The step pyramid was literally the building block because it paved the way for the pyramids of Giza to be built knowing what had been learned in its creation.

After three days and two nights admiring the pyramids, it was time for my Best of Egypt tour to begin. Many cool experiences were had and many cool things were seen but the highlight for sure was the people. I had a great group of twelve other travellers and one great tour leader. In Egypt, drinking beer is not a common thing but hanging out at a coffee shop and smoking shisha with a coke or tea. I feel our group fit in quite well especially Dave, Sammy and I. Of the nine nights I spent with my roommate Dave from South Hampton, England, we had shisha probably seven of those days. My lungs will say thanks when I'm older I'm sure.

This right up would be way too long if I wrote something about every little thing we did so here are a list of some of the main things we did; visited the Egyptian museum with all of its thousands and thousands of relics most notably the mask and two of the three golden coffins of Tutankhamen, the ginormous statues at the temple of Abu Simbel, a couple of meals eaten at the houses of locals at Nubian villages, three Ramses' temples at the Valley of the Kings which was something else to see the closest thing you can to what the hieroglyphics would have looked like in their original state and lastly the relaxing ride on a felucca from Aswan to Luxor. It's also important to note the shopping or hassling that we did at the many bazaars in all three cities including the cartouche factory where I bought a cartouche necklace which is a neat souvenir to take home. I was offered drugs on several occasions but elected to stay with my shisha and tea.

Egyptian sellers were constantly in your face trying to sell you stuff but it was nice because I was able to brush up on my Arabic, "Salaam, lay shak run." One of the most annoying things for me was that at some of the touristy sites, there would be locals there who would try to make you tip them before entering inside some of the pyramids. Many of them will lock the entrance and tell you they have the key but will only open it if you pay them. I even had a man in police uniform and a gun show me a spot that I was not supposed to be and then he asked me for money. I wasn't going to say to no to a guy with a gun. Also, once you entered a site, there would be locals who would walk up to you and start giving you information without asking and then if you let them stay too long, they insist on getting paid. Annoying but you do get used to it.

One night, a group of us were sitting around after supper (you probably guessed already that we were having shisha) and a bride and groom sat at a table fairly close to us making quite the hoopla getting pictures done in the alley way. Being the nice and outgoing guy that I am, I asked another local next to me how to say congratulations in Arabic. He responded "Aris". I therefore said "Aris, aris" several times to the happy couple (actually she never smiled once) and we even got invited to take pictures with the couple. In the morning I wanted to show off to Sammy that I had added one more Arabic word to my vocabulary so I said "Aris, aris" only to find out that I had been repeatedly saying "bride and groom, bride and groom."

Here are a few other things I wanted to include but did not know where to fit them in so here is going to be the most random paragraph you will see out of me. After a little hesitation, Dave convinced me to walk up to Tahrir square and we did. There was nothing really crazy going on other than a few tents in the middle of the roundabout and a few peaceful protests. The best card game we played as a group was with spoons but we played with straws instead. It was so amazing to learn about a culture that is so very old and was such a smart and brilliant civilization. I have a new found appreciation for how developed of a society they had without having the computer I am writing with today. We saw many hieroglyphics but most did not have color as the color has faded away. The colors are made of crushed rocks and then egg whites to make it a thick mixture and then honey to make it last forever. Many theories have been tossed around about how the nose of the Sphinx has been damaged but it wasn't until 2012 that they discovered who the culprit was… it was Samer Salib!

Overall, I had a wonderful experience in Egypt. I'm not trying to sell the country to anyone but the food is amazing, the sites are out of this world, the price is right (everything is so cheap), the weather is nice, the people who aren't trying to sell you stuff are very nice and polite, and they have shisha and tea houses everywhere! And last but not least, I've made two really great friends that I'm sure I will see again in my lifetime, (you know who you are!).