I had always wanted to see the famous sights of Egypt but I could never imagine myself actually booking a holiday there, I guess I was always a little anxious of the place and had heard far too many scary stories.

The Trip

Once everyone had boarded the coach, our Egyptian tour guide gave us a briefing on what we would be doing through out the day. She explained how the Cairo traffic system worked - or to be more precise - how it didn't work. I thought she must have been slightly exaggerating but as the coach pulled out of the airport car park I was soon to witness how bad the traffic in Cairo really was. Our coach was led and followed by armed police, which was quite daunting, however, we were advised this was for our own safety. Driving through Cairo was an event itself. The main roads must have been about 8 lanes wide although cars were constantly honking their horns and switching from lane to lane. The pace of the roads was slow and constant, and every so often I would notice a man with a sweeping brush sweeping lazily in the middle of the highway. The first man I spotted doing this I thought must have perhaps been a little crazy; the idea of sweeping in the middle of a highway with a constant swarm of traffic was surely a suicide attempt. However, after noticing this action every few minutes along the road it seemed to be the norm. We drove alongside small buses, which must have been part of the public transport service. The buses were covered in dust and horribly overcrowded, the tired looking passengers were literally falling out of the broken windows. The poverty was shocking, houses were half built and people were selling rotten looking fruit by the sides of the roads.

We later went on to visit the smaller pyramid and the sphinx. The guide we had was extremely informative and taught us the history before every stop. At each stop we were guided around the site and able to snap happily away with our cameras.

Our next stop was the famous museum. By this time it was the hottest part of the day and I was feeling tired and very uncomfortable from the heat and humidity. We got off the lovely air-conditioned coach and had to wait in the gardens with the sun giving us all a personal battering. Outside the Museum people were scattered about lying under trees or any alternative object that would give the slightest scatter of shade. We were warned in advance that there was no air-conditioning in the museum, however, I personally interpreted that to mean it would be only a smidgen cooler than it was outside. I was incredibly wrong, we entered the museum and I showed a degree of excitement despite my lack of energy. Annoyed with myself because I really did want to take an interest, I found myself far too uncomfortable with the heat and after the first 20 minutes started feeling like I was a bored school child on a compulsory trip.

The part of the day I had been looking forward to the most was The Nile Cruise. We were shown our boat from a distance and conforming into an orderly line we headed towards it. From the welcoming we got you would have thought we were royalty. We embarked the boat along a red carpet and a brass band blew trumpets either side of us as we sweatily sauntered down. I began to feel a little underdressed for the occasion and thought I should have maybe saved up and bought myself a special frock for the entrance alone. Realising, how casually dressed everyone else was I realised I'd look a bit of a twit in an evening gown and boarded the boat with positive reassurance. We were led down a few steps into the restaurant. We were shown to tables by the staff on board. After being seated the waiter asked if we would like a drink. I was feeling in the need of a beer after the sheer exhaustion of the day, and ordered one immediately for my friend and me. The drinks came quickly, a small can of stella although not the type I am usually familiar with. The can was brown and beige, looking just as lethargic as the rest of Cairo I had witnessed. The waiter popped open the can and poured my drink. I sipped it rather apprehensively, wondering if it was just my paranoia or if the beer really did taste dirty. Either way, it soon soothed me and I sat back and started to enjoy what had been the breeziest moment of the day. We were served a three-course meal. The meal was basic, under usual circumstances I would have been disappointed but in Egypt being served a fresh slice of melon as a starter was a blessing - after all who ever died of melon poisoning. The main course was what tasted and looked like chicken on a skewer along with roasted vegetables and dessert was a fruit salad. After our meal we went for a walk outside the boat to soak up the visions of Cairo City. The smell of the Nile was repulsive a mixture of heat, sweat and sewage. My ideal vision of a Nile cruise was glamorous and romantic. As always the gritty reality is somewhat different, in reality it was smelly and sweaty although still enjoyable in a different way than I imagined. We returned to our dinner tables and were provided with entertainment from a French belly dancer. Gosh - the things she could do.

The best advice I can give you is to embrace the whole experience and enjoy.