Of course, you know I can't do that without some sort of commentary...
Ashraf hooked me up with his buddy Farang (I met him the night before during tea), and Farang put together a camel ride around the main pyramids and then to another set of pyramids further away. Ashraf asked me multiple times if I really wanted to do this trip via camel -- he said that could be really tiring. Like usual, I was up for the challenge (or just plain dumb -- he suggested I take a horse instead, but I refused -- camel it is or no trip!).
So, it was agreed -- I would take the camel and a guide would accompany me. That's it -- no tour bus or anything like that. Let's get it going....We departed from the tea shop...
There she is -- for the next 4 hours (yeah - I said it -- 4 hours on a camel) she was my steed. The guide told me her Egyptian name and then laughed and said it was "Micheal Jackson" in English. W.T.F??
What struck me about her initially was her height. She was taller than the elephant I rode outside Bangkok (and, unfortunately, far less sturdy). To mount her, I had to jump on while she was kneeling, then she did a crazy standing pose that nearly launched me each time she did it. She would arch her hind legs first -- throwing me forward, and then she would raise her front, throwing me backwards. The tour guide would leap onto her after she was standing fully erect.
I was literally the only white person in the area, and we got a TON of stares as we ambled through the town towards the pyramids. The guide, Mohammad (I did not make up the name), was concerned about me not wearing a hat (I don't desecrate these locks with hats), so he rigged one for me.
It was probably 90 degrees (but it was a dry heat ;p -- actually, it felt amazingly pleasant outside).
As far as Micheal Jackson's disposition, she wasn't the happiest camel. I think this had something to do with Mohammad whipping the shit out of her with his stick. She would froth at the mouth and growl at us. Otherwise, she was a lovely animal ;p
Mohammad had her moving pretty quickly -- he said that when she really ran, she could beat most horses. The times that he let her loose, we were flying. The ride was not all that comfortable though. For the most part, we moved at a nice pace, but not fast enough to prevent me from bouncing up and down like a jack-in-the-box that had already erupted from the box.
Anyway, we made it through the town and ascended the Sahara towards the pyramids. The views were incredible. I never thought a desert would look so majestic.
And -- what? What was that -- pyramids?? Oh yeah, they were there, too...
This is sorta embarrassing, but it was so stinking bright out there, that I wasn't always exactly sure what I had just captured because the sunlight was washing out my screen. Looking at some of the pics, I've chopped off the tops of the pyramids, took off-centered pics, have a finger in the way, etc. This is the long winded way of saying the next pics may not be the greatest, but you'll get the point. Bottom-line -- it was unreal being there.
Fun fact -- I didn't know this, but all around the pyramids lied tombs for the workers who died while building the pyramids.
The first two pyramids allowed visitors to enter the pyramids (for a small fee, of course). I asked Mohammad and he said that both are basically identical and I might as well just do the smaller one because it's less expensive.
I journeyed inside the second pyramid thinking I might find treasure, a mummy, Bin Laden, or the reason why George Bush was elected twice...Instead, here's what I found when I descended into the abyss:
Amazing, huh? So..there really wasn't much to see in there...I climbed back out (even at my height, I had to walk severely hunched over) and grabbed Michael Jackson. Let's go, girl -- down to the Spinx!
I don't by any stretch of the imagination condone animal cruelty (or midget cruelty, for that matter), but I wanted to capture this. This is a bit cringe worthy. Here's why MJ (yes, we're on "using initials" terms now) was so constantly pissed.
Ok -- back to the happy stuff (ignorance is bliss, n'est-ce pas?). Yeah! Spinx!
If facing the Spinx, to the left, a tomb-like area rose from the desert. This was where we entered. Damn tourists were everywhere. I tried to cut out as many as possible, but there was probably close to 300 milling around.
And now, to my favorite part. Ok, here's the scene -- the Spinx was dramatically smaller than I thought it would be. It wasn't quite Alamo small, but still smaller than I expected. I figured it would be larger than life; instead, it was more like someone's fat uncle after a bout at a pizza buffet -- just large.
There I was, just trying to snap some nice photos of the Spinx, and these little Egyptian shits kept harassing me for money. Several kept f$cking with my headdress; trying to adjust it, and then asking for a tip. I wished I had a machete on me to hack through these annoying vines. One little girl grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go. I dragged her about 10 yards before I raised my arm and threw her off. I felt like all this pandering really detracted from the magical experience of seeing the Spinx in person, and that was somewhat disappointing.
Nonetheless...
I have lots and lots of these pics, but I figured that I'd share the highlights.
Once we were done here, it was time to hop on the busiest street around (naturally) and head towards the other pyramids at Sakkara...
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