Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Brenton Kovacs's Travels
- Blog
-
Location Date Europe 1460847600 North America 1433890800 Asia 1429225200 Africa 
1420156800 South America 1359072000 Oceania 1291766400 -
Location Date Sat, 25 December 2010 1293255300 Fri, 24 December 2010
1293200820
25/12/2010
The flight from Luxor to Cairo went without any problems. The problem we did have was the hotel we were staying at was meant to send a driver out to collect us. Seems they forgot. After a few attempts to contact the hotel, we grabbed a cab. Cannot believe the check of one of the airport staff. He was an employee of the airport, and he was kind enough to ring the hotel for me. He then ask me to give him money for helping us. It seems all Egyptians are out to get your money.
The hotel is located in Zamalik, a so called middle to upper class suburb which is meant to be a quiet area of Cairo. Not so, the traffic noise is very loud, and the drivers drive with the horn continually sounding!
Caught a taxi, which is a real hassle, as all the cabbies want to do is rip you off. So we got a ride to the Pyramids. I was very concerned as we were driving there as the car was not fitted with seat belts, and their driving habits are shocking. Anyway we made the 20k ride ok. The air pollution is so bad in Cairo, that i thought we were driving through low clouds or fog. Visibility was down to a few hundred meters. Thought this may be bad as we wont be able to see the Pyramids. Luckily the pollution lifted, well sort of.
The Sphinx and the Pyramids were worth the effort. lots of walking as the area is very large. The only thing that spoiled it was the none stop hassling by the locals. They even had the nerve to try and get you to hold what they were selling, once you held it , they considered it sold. They were very aggressive.
Anyway after 4 hours we headed back to the hotel, which again was another headache with the cabbies. One guy wanted 80 pounds, so i started to walk away, he then started dropping his price. He went form 80 to 60 to 40 to 20. It certainly can be entertaining.
The flight from Luxor to Cairo went without any problems. The problem we did have was the hotel we were staying at was meant to send a driver out to collect us. Seems they forgot. After a few attempts to contact the hotel, we grabbed a cab. Cannot believe the check of one of the airport staff. He was an employee of the airport, and he was kind enough to ring the hotel for me. He then ask me to give him money for helping us. It seems all Egyptians are out to get your money.
The hotel is located in Zamalik, a so called middle to upper class suburb which is meant to be a quiet area of Cairo. Not so, the traffic noise is very loud, and the drivers drive with the horn continually sounding!
Caught a taxi, which is a real hassle, as all the cabbies want to do is rip you off. So we got a ride to the Pyramids. I was very concerned as we were driving there as the car was not fitted with seat belts, and their driving habits are shocking. Anyway we made the 20k ride ok. The air pollution is so bad in Cairo, that i thought we were driving through low clouds or fog. Visibility was down to a few hundred meters. Thought this may be bad as we wont be able to see the Pyramids. Luckily the pollution lifted, well sort of.
The Sphinx and the Pyramids were worth the effort. lots of walking as the area is very large. The only thing that spoiled it was the none stop hassling by the locals. They even had the nerve to try and get you to hold what they were selling, once you held it , they considered it sold. They were very aggressive.
Anyway after 4 hours we headed back to the hotel, which again was another headache with the cabbies. One guy wanted 80 pounds, so i started to walk away, he then started dropping his price. He went form 80 to 60 to 40 to 20. It certainly can be entertaining.
- comments
Adrya Kovarch HI Alan in front of the Sphinx with the Cheops Pyriamid in the background - nice shot Brenton! It must have been an amazing place in its time - would be interesting to time travel back to that period. The lost Sphinx nose is due to the French invaders using it as rifle practice - plebs!
Adrya Kovarch sorry i might have commented on this photo but was interupted. yes Cairo is badly polluted - looks like it is worse in the 30 years i was there. The cars and the No lanes driving is extraordinary - and quite scary if you are not use to that level of traffic. It was near impossible to cross the main roundabout in Cairo Central - where the Hilton and Museum and situated, I remember i didn't know how to do it. One of my American friends more experienced with this type of traffic than a quiet Adelaide girl grabbed my arm and we dodged the traffic. I don't think i blinked once. They sound their horns all the time and i finally found out why. Apparently it is to let the cars around them know where they are situated, without lanes the horn keeps them all and their passengers alive!
Adrya Kovarch There were no peddlers when i was there. That could be because a group of us foreigners got up before dawn and in those days you could still climb the pyriamds. Most of the party climbed Cheops (the big one) but a few of us climbed the small or third pyriamid and watched the sun rise over the other 2. It was so beautiful pollution and all - mostly sort of gun smoke purples. The second pyriamid still has the remaining marble at the top left over when it was scavenged to build the big Mosque in Cairo - which was not as beautiful or stunning as some of the buildings you have seen. The pyriamid covered in white marble must have been so striking!
Adrya Kovarch wow it is so modern with so many people and so polluted. You can see the third pyriamid - this is the one I climbed. Each perfectly cut block was at least a metre high. Many women wearing burquas. You did not see this when i was there. The then prime minister whose name escapes me was very progressive a friend of USA so they had a lot of respect for white people and the women i met were very educated and beautiful and all the men and women dressed in western clothes. Everything changed when the Prime Minister was assaninated. An Egyptian archaeologist, and [we met the cream of society when I was there thanks to an American woman 10 years my senior (we still email each other) that i travelled with - she saved my life too], he sent me a letter containing a marriage proposal when i was in NZ, but the thought of living in Egypt and being a Muslim didn't really agree with me and i was not in love with him.
Adrya Kovarch Hey - the third Pyramid. It is so touristy - still they have to cope with all the travellers these days. Did you ride on the camels or horses? Well if you don't like people trying to get foreign currency from you asking constantly "Baksheesh" you would of hated India - makes the Arabs look very unprofessional at their game! In Calcutta David was acosted by about 6 kids in filthy rags that jumped all over him - around his neck his arms and waist and legs, he tried to keep walking and we didn't make a fuss because all the adults also in filthy rags watched us intensely - they abuse their children terribly but they will not tolerate foreigners doing it. David reckons that doesn't happen anymore and he was there about 2 years ago meeting a supplier.
Adrya Kovarch An entrance? there was no entrance 30 years ago, didn't have to pay for anything in those days. Still so many people must come to the pyramids and they have to manage them better, such as not allowing people to climb on them. How much did it cost you to get in?