Amazing Experience, very glad I've been (Egypt)

Member Name: tor0908

Product:	Egypt
Date:	02/07/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing sights

Disadvantages: No facilities at the pyramids, might be difficult with kids

My first stop in Egypt was Sharm El Sheikh to board the Thomson Celebration. As I have reviewed that separately this review will concentrate on the places in Egypt that I have visited.

Since the first scheduled stop was Jordan, the first 'real' Egyptian destination was Cairo where we visited the Pyramids of Giza.

This was one of the main reasons I went on that particular cruise and I couldn't wait for the planned excursion on day 4.

The trip cost £32 for the trip to Cairo which included time at the viewing point, some time at the Pyramids themselves, a trip to the Sphinx and then an afternoon shopping in Cairo.

It was an early start from the ship (7am) and then a two hour drive to Cairo from Port Sokhna where we were docked. After our initial disbelief at the crazy and chaotic driving on entering the city (according to our guide "someone gets hit around once every minute") we crossed the Nile and drove into Cairo.

Suddenly out in the smog and haze of the city you could make out the outline of two huge pyramids. Even though I'd been told by someone who had been to Cairo a few years ago, it's still a bit strange when you realise just how close to the city the Pyramids are.

We drove up to the viewing point to see the magnificent structures from a distance and take pictures. There were lots of other tour buses there, and we were told to stay away from the market stalls as they were all illegal and probably peddling rubbish anyway. After fifteen minutes we were back on the bus and taken down to the actual Pyramids themselves.

It is really quite amazing to stand at the foot of the Pyramids and just look up at them. They truly are massive and it's hard to imagine them being built all those thousands of years ago. The bricks are huge and it's hard to comprehend the engineering that must have gone in to it. You do wonder how they got the final bricks to the top, and many, many men must have died in the process. Unless they were built by aliens of course.

We were hassled by a man on a camel as we walked to have a look at the smallest Pyramid slightly away from the crowd. He wanted my friend to sit and have her photo taken on his camel and then demanded that we give him money or some toys for his children.

It took us a while to get away from him and it was only when the security man started towards us that he finally left us alone. There was a couple who asked us afterwards how much money we gave him to make him go away as they had given him $10. Fortunately we hadn't been intimidated by him and didn't hand over anything. Like the market sellers earlier on, these men are there to hassle the tourists and try and get money out of them. The best thing to do is ignore them and walk away if one tries to catch your attention. There is usually a security man around to move them on.

We finished our visit, and filled up memory cards in the camera, and then moved on the Sphinx. You can't actually get too close but this too is a magnificent structure and you can get some excellent photos of the Sphinx with a Pyramid in the background.

There are actually no facilities at the Pyramids or Sphinx so if you need the toilet you are stuck, basically. We were fortunate as the coach had a loo which we could use.

We were there for around an hour and a half and it was well worth the trip. It was amazing to see one of the wonders of the world right up close and it is something I will remember for a long time to come.

Next up was the shopping part of the trip. We drove quite a distance and travelled past some of the most spectacular looking mosques I have ever seen. The detail and design were incredible and it really gave an indication as to how important religion is to the Egyptian people. We then arrived at the City Stars Complex, which is a huge commercial development between Nasr City and Heliopolis that has a shopping mall, hotels, entertainment centre, a hypermarket which is the largest in Egypt, medical centre and offices.

I would say that it is very 'westernised' in that there are shops from international brands - Levi's, Lacoste, Mango etc - and everyone speaks English, but then there is a traditional Egyptian feel to the place as it was build with an ancient Egyptian theme.

What I did notice while shopping here was that the people were very friendly and helpful. When we asked a security guard about how to find a shop selling Swatch watches that we had seen, a woman came over and said she couldn't help overhearing and gave us directions. This was a general thing among the Egyptian people, mostly everyone was friendly and tried to help you out.

We ate at McDonalds for lunch, deciding to stick to what we knew! The food was extremely cheap and there was massive choice in the food court.

Cairo was a contradictory day, with ancient Egypt in the morning (Pyramids/Sphinx) and this modern, brand new shopping centre in the afternoon. Cairo is an incredible city, and I think 'chaotic' would be the best word to describe it. If you were to visit this city then the City Stars complex would not be a bad place to stay as you do literally have everything you need on your doorstep.

The next destination was Port Safaga, just south of Hurghada. It is a relatively small town, and the port was industrial and deserted. There are a number of hotels here as the reputation for diving is good, but we decided to spend the day at the Solymar Beach Hotel.

The weather was warm and we had a sunlounger for the day, a drinks voucher and use of the pool if we wanted it. As we had just had quite a hectic experience in Cairo the previous day we just wanted to relax. As usual, the people were friendly and we had some lunch as well. Afterwards we decided to sample the hotel's gift shop and bought some souvenirs. The hotels there are always immaculately presented, clean and tidy. Ours had marble floors and lovely comfortable chairs in the reception area. This hotel seemed to be great for relaxing and perhaps learning to snorkel or dive, but there wasn't a lot going on outside the hotel grounds as the town was quite deserted.

Our last destination was our first one, Sharm El Sheikh. We didn't go into the town as we had planned a quad biking trip in the Sinai Desert.

For me this has to be one of the highlights of my time in Egypt, travelling at 40mph through the desert in gorgeous sunshine while seeing camels racing the distance. We stopped at a Bedouin tent for drinks and sampled some of the bedouin tea, which really was piping hot and very sweet. We arrived back covered in dust but having had an unforgettable experience.

I loved my time in Egypt as we got to see some amazing sights, shop for some great bargains, have a bit of an adventure in the desert and meet some friendly people. I would definitely go again.

Summary: Amazing Experience, very glad I've been