Well, Egypt does feel like a long time ago now. I've returned and been away again. Had Easter and been out and about catching up with People that I’d missed from my Birthday. I feel like my birthday has lasted a month. Lol! Never a bad thing when people are buying you prezzies or giving you cards! Lol! Bring it on I say! Lol. The big 4-0! I always had planned to do something a bit special on my birthday. I mean it is a bit of landmark figure I guess. Egypt sounded the perfect option. Nice time of year to go and it tied up a bit with my mate being 40 this year too. So, Egypt it was. Just a week away at an all inclusive resort, blue seas and just leave the wallet locked up in the room safe. The flight from where I am was 5 hours so that made it not overly long and we'd managed to sort a flight from my local airport rather than having to get to somewhere like Manchester or Heathrow. With the time difference got to the hotel resort around 8ish. It took us a little longer to get out the airport due to having to get Visa's for a later trip to Cairo and the people that were s'pose to meet us where not there. Got that sorted in the end and the holiday rep got us in a taxi bus. Checked in and dumped the cases. We'd been informed that there was a "Brit" night on at one of the restaurants. So, we piled in there and it was bliss. Beef Wellington and just about everything else you could wish for. Lol. It's the first time I’d ever been to an all inclusive hotel before having always been one to sort myself out. Food was top notch and the drink was free too. Just go up and top up when you where ready. Gave the ole red vino' some hammer that night. Lol. It was same around the pool where they had bars. Just go up and get a beer or whatever and help yaself. The restaurants where open and had a buffet service and so you just helped yourself. It was a case of having 3 massive meals a day. I did pig a little I must admit. Great! Lol! There were a lot of Italians and Russians at the hotel and every one got on. The hotel was massive...like a village in its own right. Had shops, 5 restaurants, 4 bars a gym, 5 swimming pools and its own private beach. On the Beach was a private Pier that stretched out to the edge of the Coral reef. You were not allowed to walk out in the sea to the reef. You had to use the pier to get to it. From there you could Snorkel and I gotta say I’d never seen such wonderful colourful fish like it. It was like floating in an Aquarium. I even saw Nemo! Lol! The parrot fish were just amazing. It really was a very relaxing break. I'd taken me MP3 player with me and Dan Brown latest book and spent most days laid out just chilling out with a drink. Did get out of the complex twice, once to Cairo and the other to do a star gazing night in the desert at a Bedouin camp. Cairo was a very very long day to be honest and I did come back from there utterly knackered. Was up at 4am and where picked up just after 4.30am. We had two choices to get to Cairo~one by bus and the other was to fly from Sharm el Sheikh. The bus trip to Cairo would of taken 6 hours....and then that would be 6 hours back too. So, you'd spend half a day on a bloody bus. The flight to Cairo was 45mins. So, it was a no brainer really. It cost is a little bit but it would be so worth it to go and see the great Pyramids. We were on a guided tour and I’m glad we took the touristy route rather than just getting a flight on our own and then finding our way around Cairo on our own. What a city..Blimey. I've been to Bangkok and I thought that was a bloody nutter of a city. Even London does my head in after a few days but Cairo.....god...you have never seen anything like it. It's just a city that never been finished. All the buildings are roofless. Yes...you read right. There are hardly any rooftops on the buildings. The guide said that the law in Egypt is that if a "house" has a roof on then you pay tax on the building. So, they get around paying tax by building the house..And then build walls up on the next floor and leave it like that. Hence...there is no roof and no need to pay tax. Lol. It did make the city look very ugly. I'm sure there are some very very beautiful parts of the city but it just looked like a building site. The houses all packed in and it looked like a lot of the living conditions were very poor. I guess a city with a population pushing 20 million people it's going to look that way. The contrasts where amazing. Driving down the road you'd see massive state military barracks and academies for the police and such. You'd have someone driving in a massive BMW and next to him at the traffic lights would be a donkey and cart. Parts of Cairo really where almost like shanty towns. Even the area around Giza, the pyramids and the Sphinx was a rundown area. You'd be looking right up into the face of the Sphinx and yet turn 180 degree's and a 100 yards behind you'd see a KFC and Pizza hut. Lol! The Pyramids are amazing. Just jaw dropping. The size of them and then you try and get your head around that they are near on 4000 years old. Four-thousand-years old! Didn't manage to get inside one of the big main ones. They were closed and tend to rotate the times you can get in them. I did get in one of the smaller ones and I think there is a picture of me sat on a wall outside it. There was nothing inside apart from the chamber that was used for burial. Still awesome to think that I’m stood in a place that at one time would of been for the only very very important (I know millions have no doubt gone before me now) but I found it amazing. Smiles. Everyone that is around the Pyramids is on the make, they all want a share of what is in your wallet. From Camel and Donkey rides to them offering to take your photo. Even the flamin' police where on the make too. I did have a bit of a row with one bloke who tried to make out he was some sort of guide (all dressed in a uniform). I only asked him where the entrance to the little pyramid was and he was going on and on about giving him money for a tour. I said no and he started tooting some bloody whistle in my face. I did ask him if he would like to toot that where the sun don't shine (not so polite has that..And I’m not sure he understood me). Lol. You soon toughen up to it all and in the end you just walk by and ignore the advances. Before being taken to the Giza plateau we were taken to The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. What an awesome place. We only had the morning there and had a tour with our guide using little radio transmitters. Our group was called Rameses and I can still hear the guide calling "Rameses....Rameses~ I am here...oh-ohhh-oh-ohhhh...Rameses"! Some of the stuff within the museum was just beautiful and the age thing again...I could not quite get my head around at times. The best thing was seeing the golden mask of tutankhamun and his coffin. The mask is solid gold and priceless. It's an image you see and then to be stood right in front of it, only feet away. Amazing (sorry- using that word a lot). We did come away from the Museum and was taken for lunch before moving to a papyrus workshop. From there we were driven up thru' the slum area towards the pyramids. Right eye opener that was...they had water ways in the middle of the street. You would not believe the crap that was in there. We even spotted a dead camel bloated and floating in it. Lmao. I think you can gather that I’d not be in any rush to return to Cairo. I mean it's a city you have to experience. The Museum and Pyramids are just a must see BUT I feel that right...I’ve been there now and brought the t-shirt~ etc. And I might be totally wrong but you don't get the feeling that with being from outside that you could not wander about on your own with safety. Again, I know there are good and bad parts in any city in the world but with having Military or police outposts on every corner, does make you feel a little un-nerved. I'd definitely go back to Sharm El Sheihk though. Loads of things that I didn’t' really get to do there or had the time to do. I'm glad I did the star gazing night out with the Bedouins. The sky was just clear and so beautiful. So peaceful and quiet too. I do have to come back to the thing of being a little un-nerved coz on the bus out there we had to have an armed guard on the bus. On the positive side I will say that the people are so very friendly (apart from some prick around the pyramids~lol) and that will live with me for a very long time. My kinda people that you can laugh and joke with. OMG..Look at all that lot I’ve wrote! Lol. WAKE UP! I do have more pics..and if you want me to bore you some more…just gimmie a shout……..
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