Canada Dry, Never Die!

I've been putting off this post and for that I apologize. Once we came back from Egypt things got very busy very fast!! For anyone who hasn't yet seen, our pictures are up on the web: http://mrshuisjes.spaces.live.com

I will try to re-live our most amazing Egypt trip for you as best I can. Luckily I kept a journal for the first half of our trip, so most of the memories are recorded!

Our adventure started out on Monday evening (April 2) when we left our warm cozy home for the dark streets of London. Actually, more acurately we left our home for the dark and crazy London underground! We opted to take the tube to the airport since it would be our least expensive option (3 pounds as opposed to 30 or more if we took a taxi!). We finally arrived at Heathrow Terminal 2 and headed in for a long night. Even though we arrived just after midnight I was amazed at how many people were already camped out on the chairs. We had a bit of trouble finding a corner, but finally we found a (semi) comfortable spot and tried to catch a few hours of zzz's. We knew that our flight would begin to check in at 4:15 a.m. so we set our alarm for 3:30, thinking that we would get a jump on the crowd. We didn't sleep much, so the alarm was a bit of overkill. When we did finally get moving at about 3:15 there was already a huge line!! We ate a quick breakfast (leftover pizza and oranges) then hopped in line to wait. Our flight was about 40 minutes late leaving London and we had a stop over in Milan. I was worried about changing planes, but it worked out alright. The food on the plane was horrendous!! Meat that couldn't be identified and some fruit that didn't taste like the fruit we thought it was... We arrived in Cairo without a hitch and were met promply by our tour company. A rep helped us through the crazy Cairo airport and whisked us away to our hotel. Once we arrived we got our room, got cleaned up and went out for a dinner cruise. The cruise was fun. The food was good, the entertainment was funny (see Ryan dancing with the belly dancer!) but we couldn't actually SEE much of the Nile since it was dark. We returned to our hotel and went straight to sleep. We both slept really well, but we were awonken by the Muslim call to prayer at 5:30a.m!!

Our first official day began with the "highlight of highlights". The Great Pyramids at Giza. They truly are a sight to behold. When we flew into Cairo we banked over the pyramids and got an awesome view of them (no camera though). Seeing them in the distance was quite intimidating. Made you ask yourslef the question "could you (would you) ever get used to seeing that everyday?" Of course we think the answer would be no, but like anything else it would become something you would begin to take for granted. Needless to say, the pyramids are HUGE!! They tower above everything and are amazing to see. It was especially amazing to be standing up lcose and be able to see the others off in the distance. While we were there, the tour guide warned us to be cautious of the "camel boys" who try to scam you. Now, I understand this is their way of life, but they can be quite intimidating! They start a conversation, talk to you about their camel and about why you are in Egypt, then ask for money. I told myself that I wouldn't get scammed. Boy was I wrong!! Now, understand that this was my first experience with a "real" Egyptian. I thought he was being genuinely friendly and interested. Not the case. I wsa walking up to the pyramid without Ryan (he was hanging back to take the picture) when a guy came over on a camel. Long story short, I ended up sitting on this guys camel and he was asking for LE150 for his "services"!! Good thing we didn't pay because we found out later that we could get an actual camel ride (45 minutes) for only LE30! The guy wasn't too happy with us, but I tried to explain that if he had been honest about what he wanted from the start that I wouldn't have allowed it to go as far as it did. Eventually we gave him LE10 and just walked away. I felt bad though.

Another cool thing we did was go into the second pyramid (named the second pyramid because it is the second largest? I'm not sure...) We climbed down into the tomb. This was not recommended for people with chlostraphobia, or for those with a bad back, and for good reason!! The shaft was more like a crawl space on a pretty steep incline! The first part went down for about 25 m, after which you came to a spot where you could actually stand up straight. But you had to continue on another 11 m or so to the actual tomb. Of course the Egyptians didn't have any form of air circulation back then, so it was super hot and really hard to breathe! We didn't stay in long and I think we may have killed a few braincells from lack of oxygen!!

We then went to an amazing lookout spot. It was a real "Kodak moment" - if you could get a spot without the crowd in your picture!! If there was one thing about Egypt that I wasn't expecting, it was the people. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! And not just Egyptians (although there were plenty of them too) but there were hundreds and hundreds of tourists at every single place we went! After we got our pictures we headed down the road a bit to the Sphynx. I didn't realize we were so close because it is hidden behind the pyramids and in a little valley type area. Once we got those pictures done we were tired, hungry, and REALLY HOT!! We headed back to the comfort of the air conditioned bus!

Next we stopped at a papyrus gallery where they showed us how to make papyrus and we had a chance to buy some. We got an awesome scenery painting and another smaller one of the great pyrammids. We probably spent too much, but those Egyptians have a way of convincing (hence how I ended up on a camel!!) We love the painingts though. We can't wait to get home and find somewhere to hang them! We also stopped at the step pyramid on the first day. There was so much to see!! It was a lot of sights in a short time, but like Ryan said, if we went home today and that was all that we saw, we'd be happy. Lucky for us, we only just started!

We ate dinner at the hotel and then boarded the train to Luxor. Just as a quick side note, you should probably know that traffic is absolutely insane in Cairo!! Unlike anything I have ever seen in my life! There are no real rules for drivers, no traffic lights, and nothing but CHAOS!! Everyone honks at everyone else but no one seems to get anywhere. A few of our "traffic hightlights": we saw a man SLEEPING on top of a load of newspapers on a flat bed truck. Another good one - our driver had to get out of the bus to push a car out of the way to make a corner (there was no one in the car at the time...) We accumulated a line up of cars in the meantime waiting to pass by, all of whom felt it was necessary to honk!! Like that was going to make the process go faster?!?

Our train ride to Luxor was nice, save for the horrible group of people we were sitting with. They were loud and drunk and who knows what else! Now, understand that we were not unreasonable. We didn't board the train until after 10pm. The seats were designed so that you could flip two around and have four seats facing each other. The couple behind us wanted to do that. I kindly pointed out that if they did it would mean that neither one of us could lean our chairs back to sleep. They promised it would only be for an hour or so. Many many hours later they finally decided it was bedtime. They had to wake us both up so that we could put our chairs bolt upright and help them move their chairs around. I don't even know what time that was!! I didn't have any sympathy for them when a man came around in the morning asking where everyone was getting off. He must have woken them 4 or 5 times to ask the same question! They were cheesed, but we thought it was pretty funny!

Luxor was beautiful. We saw two temples, and went for a leisurly fellucca ride. When I saw leisurely, believe me, it was slow!! There was no wind, so we didn't sail. The one guy had to jump out and tow us along the bank of the nile! It was a nice time though. We went to Banana island and indulged in some fresh produce.

A few days past and we boarded the bus once again for the Red Sea. 18 hours later we arrived in Dahab. A beautiful resort town largely untouched by many modernizations, it was the perfect place to rest for the last few days of our adventure. We spent some time sleeping, reading, relaxing, and of course, shopping!! As per the name of this blog, nearly every shop keeper we met asked us where we were from. Without fail, when we said Canada they would respond with "Canada Dry, never die!" I don't know where the saying came from, but it made me laugh every time, which made them laugh. It was very friendly!

We also got to snorkel in the Red Sea. Dahab is famous for it's "Blue Hole" which has some incredible reefs and loads of fish. We even saw a couple baracuda!! It was hard to stay in the water though because the hole was so deep it was also incredibley cold!!

Another highlight was the camel ride. Not because camels are perticularly fun to ride, in fact, quite the opposite is true! It was certainly an experience, and not one we will soon forget. Not to mention it rained!! It almost never rains in Egypt, but it rained on us! Not a lot, but enough!

We arrived home safe and sound and have been busy with school ever since. I deeply apologize for the tardiness of this blog. I promise you that it won't always be this crazy!! We love you all, and thanks for taking the time to read all the way to the bottom! Til next blog...