So we finally got some well-deserved sleep last night. The plan for today was basically centered around the pyramids – go to see them early in the morning before it got too hot, and then make a return trip in the night for the laser light show.
We basically did exactly that, and found the experience completely rewarding. Its somewhat of a funny experience seeing the pyramids, as they lie in the middle of a densely populated suburb of Cairo (Giza). Here you are whizzing through the busy streets of Giza, and suddenly there are these huge and ancient monuments – quite an interesting location!
We basically did exactly that, and found the experience completely rewarding. Its somewhat of a funny experience seeing the pyramids, as they lie in the middle of a densely populated suburb of Cairo (Giza). Here you are whizzing through the busy streets of Giza, and suddenly there are these huge and ancient monuments – quite an interesting location!
The pyramids themselves were quite amazing – especially after you put them in the context of the time when they were built. One can keep wondering how these huge structures could have been constructed 5,000 years back…to help me get my arms around what 5,000 years meant, I thought about all the changes that have happened in the last 500-1,000 years: electricity, cars, phones, internet, video, skyscrapers, aviation…imagine rolling time back by 500 years when these were not there… and then imagine rolling it back by 5 times that much amount….that was the time frame when these pyramids were built! And here they stand, to this day… 
Everywhere around the pyramids were touts, guides, camel owners and other people who would constantly follow you, selling you their goods & services.
We kind of expected them, after reading travelers’ reports, and were not bugged too much – although they can be quite persistent. A very common interaction would be:
We came back out, and after some more clicking and posing, went back to the city center, in search of food. By now, we had seen a whole bunch of KFC’s and some Pizza Huts, and we decided to take the easy route and just hit a Pizza Hut instead of experimenting with local food. Besides, we had tried some local food the night before, and had found it to be a bit bland. We searched for about half an hour in scorching sun, and were rewarded with a Pizza Hut that served good pies, garlic breads, and the most delicious Mango Juice that we had ever tasted!!
The mangoes in Egypt are the real deal – identical to the ones back home, and the juices are fresh, pure juice – no sugar, no milk, no nothing – just pure juice that tastes just like eating the lovely mangoes from home. Both of us had the mango juice to our heart’s content
We then came back to our room, rested for a bit, and then went back to the pyramids for the laser show in the night. This was an experience that’s quite difficult to put into words, but let me try:
We so totally loved the experience that we continued for the next show in German as well, relying on the audio translating device that did the job of translation for us. We left about 11:30 in the night, still not wanting to leave at all! After another quick stop at a Pizza Hut, and - yes, you guessed it right - a few more mange juices later, we were back to our hotel in Cairo. The hotel had a beautiful open terrace, where we spent a bit of a time recounting all that we had seen during the day, and then hit the bed, ready for a busy day ahead of us.
Hi! Where are you from…India?
Yes, from India.
Oh…Maharajaah!
(We smile)
And…Amitabh Bachaaaan
(We smile again)
Come, take my camel ride / I’ll guide you through the pyramids / I am an official watchman and can take you to hidden places / …other random solicitations….
So wherever we went, we were greeted with two phrases : Maharajaah and Amitabh Bachaaaan!
We roamed around the area, looking at the various pyramids. There’s the great pyramid, and then there’s a “small” pyramid. Now don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing remotely small about the “small” pyramid. It is about 40 stories high, and is called smaller only because it was built by the pharaoh to be about 10 metres smaller than the “great” pyramid – a gesture of respect to his father who lay buried in the bigger one. Nice touch!
We also went inside the tomb area of the “small” pyramid, through a claustrophobic sloping passage where you had to bend and walk down in a tunnel that was about 3 feet wide and 4 feet high, and sloped at about 30 degrees. The tunnel ended in the central tomb area, where there were high ceilings, a tomb with the mummy excavated (it lies in one of the museums), and a dehumidifier running 24 hours. It was quite a surreal experience to stand there, knowing that you were in the middle of one of the oldest man-made monuments that are still standing, and thousands of years back this place housed one of the most important persons of that time!
Yes, from India.
Oh…Maharajaah!
(We smile)
And…Amitabh Bachaaaan
(We smile again)
Come, take my camel ride / I’ll guide you through the pyramids / I am an official watchman and can take you to hidden places / …other random solicitations….
So wherever we went, we were greeted with two phrases : Maharajaah and Amitabh Bachaaaan!
We roamed around the area, looking at the various pyramids. There’s the great pyramid, and then there’s a “small” pyramid. Now don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing remotely small about the “small” pyramid. It is about 40 stories high, and is called smaller only because it was built by the pharaoh to be about 10 metres smaller than the “great” pyramid – a gesture of respect to his father who lay buried in the bigger one. Nice touch!
We also went inside the tomb area of the “small” pyramid, through a claustrophobic sloping passage where you had to bend and walk down in a tunnel that was about 3 feet wide and 4 feet high, and sloped at about 30 degrees. The tunnel ended in the central tomb area, where there were high ceilings, a tomb with the mummy excavated (it lies in one of the museums), and a dehumidifier running 24 hours. It was quite a surreal experience to stand there, knowing that you were in the middle of one of the oldest man-made monuments that are still standing, and thousands of years back this place housed one of the most important persons of that time!
We came back out, and after some more clicking and posing, went back to the city center, in search of food. By now, we had seen a whole bunch of KFC’s and some Pizza Huts, and we decided to take the easy route and just hit a Pizza Hut instead of experimenting with local food. Besides, we had tried some local food the night before, and had found it to be a bit bland. We searched for about half an hour in scorching sun, and were rewarded with a Pizza Hut that served good pies, garlic breads, and the most delicious Mango Juice that we had ever tasted!!
The mangoes in Egypt are the real deal – identical to the ones back home, and the juices are fresh, pure juice – no sugar, no milk, no nothing – just pure juice that tastes just like eating the lovely mangoes from home. Both of us had the mango juice to our heart’s contentWe then came back to our room, rested for a bit, and then went back to the pyramids for the laser show in the night. This was an experience that’s quite difficult to put into words, but let me try:
One-way ticket to Cairo: $350
Tickets to late night laser show at the pyramids: $30
Watching the pyramids lit-up in the middle of the night, while sipping tea and listening to the story of the pharaohs: PRICELESS
It was one of the most fabulous experiences of our lives…Because this was not peak season, there were hardly 10-15 other people around us, as we sat close to the Sphinx, hearing the story of the pyramids and watching the laser show being cast on the Sphinx and the pyramids.
Tickets to late night laser show at the pyramids: $30
Watching the pyramids lit-up in the middle of the night, while sipping tea and listening to the story of the pharaohs: PRICELESS
It was one of the most fabulous experiences of our lives…Because this was not peak season, there were hardly 10-15 other people around us, as we sat close to the Sphinx, hearing the story of the pyramids and watching the laser show being cast on the Sphinx and the pyramids.
We so totally loved the experience that we continued for the next show in German as well, relying on the audio translating device that did the job of translation for us. We left about 11:30 in the night, still not wanting to leave at all! After another quick stop at a Pizza Hut, and - yes, you guessed it right - a few more mange juices later, we were back to our hotel in Cairo. The hotel had a beautiful open terrace, where we spent a bit of a time recounting all that we had seen during the day, and then hit the bed, ready for a busy day ahead of us.
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Absolutely awesome commentary.. boys you guys make me jealous!
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