The land of Pharaohs

The land I've dreamt of seeing since the time I learnt about the civilizations in history. 7th or was it in 8th standard? The day had finally arrived when I would be standing in front of the only monument that has the distinction of being a wonder of both the ancient and modern world.

Driving on the 12km long 6th of Oct Bridge in Cairo for some vague reason reminded me of New Delhi. The roads are also comparable to the Delhi ones, as is the traffic. Crossing the road is an experience. The traffic doesn't bother to stop, signal or not, and you just have to manoeuvre your way through it. Hello, I am from India, but even I can't handle that level!

So on our first day, we were to go around with an English Couple (Why o Why an English?) and a proud Egyptian guide whose name is Shady but who (thankfully) calls himself Shieko! Shieko gave us a few tips on how to handle the localites we would encounter. Of course, we knew all that, after all, aren't we the generation of 'lonely planet reading', 'net-researching' travellers! Furthermore, Shieko promised to take us to 'govt run' places to buy original papyrus, perfumes and any other Egyptian specialities we might be interested in shopping for. All geared up and visibly impressed with Shieko's knowledge and his sensitive & courteous manners we were geared up for our first day at Cairo.

Our first stop - Pyramids at Giza. So, did it live up to all the high expectations I had from it. Yes and No. I mean yes, it is certainly impressive. But I always have the problem of over expectation! Anyway, am not suggesting it is not worth it. You can't find it anywhere else, can you? Inside the pyramid, there is nothing, we were forewarned! But then one would still want to see what is that nothing! So we went in, almost crawling. Once there, I wasn't sure if I was going to survive to tell the tale, as claustrophobia happens to be one of the many phobias I nurture! And oh btw it is hot as Hell! We rounded off the Giza visit with the routine jazz - sphinx and all that.

I think I asked Shieko one two many questions, so he decided to lead us straight into the first of the many traps he had set up for us - the perfume factory and papyrus museum! Unless you really enjoy being fooled out of your wits, you would do well to avoid any one trying to talk you into one of these things. As for us, I think it would suffice to say that by midday on our first day at Cairo we were left with a rather huge hole in our brains and wallets! The full impact hadn't hit us until later that night, though.

Our penultimate stop for the day was the Egyptian Museum. I, not being a very 'museum person', don't have much to say about it. But hey if you think Indians are stupid to give away the Kohinoor to English, what do you have to say to the Egyptians? The only non-original piece in the whole of museum is the Rosetta stone - and no points for guessing where the original is! But, how do the British do it, really?! The highlight of the museum of course is the Tutankhamen coffin and Jewel section! Again the all famous Golden Mask of the juvenile Pharaoh is currently in London O2, temporarily.

We then made our way to the maddeningly refreshing Khan-El-Khallili Souq. Yes, it's the same world famous bazaar where everyone tries their hand at bargaining; where one sits down and enjoys (or not) the Shisha and Turkish coffee in one of the most famous and extremely touristy Ahwa house! We were in every single shop, greeted as 'hey Indian', and the names of Amitabh Bacchan and Shah Rukh Khan were on every one's lips. Some men tried their hand at flirting, mostly the harmless kind of course. After several failed attempts to buy a scarf for 5E£, I settled for a 10E£ one. This was to get into the Hussein mosque, which though not much renowned for its beauty, is known to be one of the important mosques of Islamic Cairo. Oh, by the way, Lonely planet informs me that non Muslims are not allowed inside. I think it is not possible to look at an Indian and guess what religion they practise, if they do at all!

We then headed to Giza station to catch the overnight train to Aswan. Our next encounter was with a group of Indians. When 2 Indians or groups of Indians meet anywhere outside their country, the encounter is worth a mention. The words flow out so measuredly! You talk and yet you don't. You want to ask them things and yet not. It's funny. Anyway after some small talk mostly revolving around where from, where to and the likes, we kept to ourselves. We were going to run into them the next 2 days in Aswan anyway. We finally settled in our seats and eagerly waited for Aswan ....