ShutterBug Tales: Asian Adventure

The day did NOT get off to a good start. We saw the remnants of a very bad traffic accident on teh road to Memphis this morning. One man was lying on the pavement on his side with an empty and bleeding eye socket while another lay on his back with a makeshift neck brace amidst a pool of blood. Our driver, seeing OUR concern over this situation, reduced his speed to 110 kmh from his previous 140kmh. Mercy.

At an intersection we stopped and a woman wearing blue jeans and several shades of green (including turquoise) eyeshadow got into the car and introduced herself to us as Marva, our guide for the day. She took us first to Memphis where saw the statue of Ramses II.

Next we went to Sakkara to see Imohtep's step pyramid and where some archeological digs are under way. Very surreal to be here.

We wandered around in complete disbelief that we were actually there, touching the stones and seeing the landscape. A man asked me to take his picture and ride his camel so that I'd never forget him and maybe one day come back and marry him. Right. I'll add that on my to-do list.

Next we drove to Giza to the last pyramid which is perhaps the most famous because of the fact that it is so intricate. We drove for a panoramic view first - and these obviously cheesy tourist pictures. Marva then suggested we take a camel ride out into the desert. We figured that since we were here we might as well try it. It was definitely an experience but NOT the most comfortable ride I've ever been on.

After that we headed to the base of Giza to look around and see the Sphinx (hence more touristy pictures) before calling it a day and heading back. A very mean security guard took my camera in the pretense of taking Katie and my picture and then held it for ransom until we paid him $10 Egyptian pounds. Karma dude. All I have to say is karma.

We finished off the day in a Lebanese restaurant that we'd tried on our first night here in Cairo. We decided to smoke a seeshah and picked apple. It's filtered water that you suck through on a pipe and there's tobacco in there at some point. It's sort of luck sucking on steam & smoke. Again, like the camel, glad I tried it but not for me.

Tomorrow we head for Sharm El Sheikh! The hotel staff here have arranged a tour for us once we get there - since this is typically a beach town, we're packing sunscreen!