Better than ciaro at first

7am - wake up and turn off alarm clock.
8am - get up and go downstairs for breakfast buffet.  I have to skip the first half of options since I can't tell what they are or even pronounce the name.  Did you know they make chicken sausage, it isn't bad.
8:45am - go up to room and decide sleeping a little more is a good option.
noon - wake up and go outside to find a taxi.

After rejecting 5 guys cause i didn't want to pay 500 egyptian pounds for a two way trip, I start walking down the sidewalk to check out some nearby stores.  One guy kept asking to drive me and almost covered an entire block, lowering the price every couple of steps.  I decided that the Vally of the Kings was the one thing i wanted to see so I had him drive me there for well under the 500 the other guys offered.  I feel good about the haggling process for the first time.  Its only about 5 miles away as the crow flies, but since we had to drive down to a bridge, it took 20 miles to get there.  We stopped at the Colossi on the way which are two giant statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.  There are monuments everywhere and throughout the day people were pointing out Pharaoh this and Queen that.  I can't say I care much about any of them and don't remember a single name I was told.  In fact, while going into a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, I asked the door guard/ticket collector guy to let me view it in silence after he started pointing out people.  Otherwise he would have kept talking the entire time like the guy in another tomb I visited.  There are a crap load of tombs in the Valley of Kings, only a few of which are open to the public right now.  It was very cool at the heart of the tomb, very quite.  Once I got to the burial chamber of the first tomb I visited, someone else showed up and the door guy took off to check their tickets.  It was about 40 or so yards walking at a downward slope and after the chatty cathy took off, it was incredibly silent.  It was also nice because I was able to take a few pictures.  Technically no one is allowed to take any pictures within the whole valley.  Its a stupid rule, so I broke it.


After I walked around a bit and was satisfied, I found my driver waiting outside and we stopped by an alabaster artist shop.  They still make a lot by hand and I was given a demonstration.  While I doubt it took seven days to carve the glass that I bought like they said, it was a very time consuming process.  It was all done by hand with some pretty basic tools.  I got a whiskey sipping glass, gonna have a varied collection when I get home.


I then had my driver take me to a market near my hotel where I got some gifts for family and friends.   Back at the hotel I transitioned into relax mode.  I got some nice evening pics of the Nile and enjoyed some drinks on the balcony while reading.  Finishing my blog

Greener than i expected.

So I made a quick last minute trip back to Jordan and down to Egypt this last week and it was interesting in a few ways.  I was safe in Cairo, at least safe from a mob.  Never thought driving could get worse than Kuwait, but those Egyptians must have a different view on life and priorities.

I started the day after working a regular 12 hour shift.  I quickly showered, changed and found a taxi to take me to the airport.  I landed in Cairo around 3 pm after two business class flights.  It was awesome.  Orange juice after sitting down, hot towel after takeoff.  Cheese omelet and a screwdriver for breakfast.  The stewardess was a little worried that I wanted vodka with my breakfast.  I hung out in the business class lounge for a couple of hours in Amman, Jordan.  All the tvs in the lounge sucked, but there was a decent breakfast buffet so that was nice.

Kuwaitis are morons on the road.  The only thing saving lots and lots of Egyptians is that its so crowded that they rarely have the chance to drive fast enough to do a whole lot of damage.  Drive down any major road in Kuwait for at least 30 miles and you will see at least two new wrecks a week, thats a minimum.  I drove 70 or so miles each way when I worked at Buehring and saw new wrecks every other day.

 My trip to try and see the Giza pyramids has now failed for the second time.  Well, not completely failed, but didn't work out like planned.  After the airport and finding a taxi, I had to endure the crazy drive through Cairo.  I made it to the entrance about 20 minutes after they closed.  I didn't do as much research as usual, but surprised i never read anything about a closing time.  There is a light show so I figured the pyramids would be open till after dark.   I was talked into taking the "alternate view" which entailed riding a carriage on the back roads next to the pyramids.  The guy knew someone who let me go up to the third story roof and take some ok pics of the pyramids and sphinx. I'm a sucked and got talked into watching a papyrus making demonstration that was interesting, but not why i came to Egypt.  I'm an even bigger idiot because I got talked into paying too much for a papyrus painting of a boat.  Its a cool painting, I like it but it was still a stupid decision.

Driving back to the airport was the worst part since my driver thought I wanted to go see some other monument and once I realized we weren't going straight back to the airport, he had already gone off the highway onto so smaller roads.  We had to go through this one area where 4 roads merge into one within a one mile stretch and it took us a little over an hour to get through that one mile.  It sucked.

I was able to make it to the airport in time and safely arrived in Luxor that night.  I'm in a cool hotel on the Nile.