I have wanted to visit Egypt and the Pyramids for so many years – only to be disappointed with the reality versus the hype of Giza.

Why?
The pyramids are not as big as expected, easily scalable (as one young man did start to try, leaping up and across the breaks even though he clearly didn’t realise this was illegal until called back by his party) and certainly not too big to be ‘alien’ rather than humanly built – even if that means it was hardship and achievement, given the Nile’s changes and height over the thousands of years and its use in transporting such large rocks and granite.

Like many of the key sites – why did they do it is never answered.

Secondly, the pyramids are not actual the tombs also pictured together so nothing in them. On me, I did let the private guide from EMO tours (via Viator who I will never use again) talk me into not waiting to do the biggest pyramid of Khufu – but went into the very low and tight smaller one of his grandson. (Also his sons was the second and built on higher ground to appear the same size as dads but not allowed apparently!). I was told by others on our boat that I didn’t miss much – but a long way to go to miss it. This also due to my sister not wanting or able to go in them and bored with it really, struggling too.

I didn’t have time to wander as my companions wanted to rush it and I let them.

Private tour by EMO via Viator

A private car with guide and driver, who suited my sisters needs to be picked up wherever we were and when called and it was nice in the cold (not heat as expected!) and the walking distances past camels and drivers, many cars around, but little time to wander the temple ruins too. All a little ‘prepared’ for my taste.

Also the communication with the tour people being an hour late at wrong hotel (a common thing as newly named Sofitel Cairo Downtown Nile hotel from the Conrad Cairo none of the taxis new etc) but couldn’t get the number provided and ended up paying £11 in phone fees to get through to Viator who also couldn’t get them.

And the lunch was a cheap local place that locals people eat at, given a ‘choice of local or nicer place’ – so the experience was good and the food interesting, as the Egyptian dish of Koshary (mixture of rice, macaroni, chickpeas, and lentils, served with onions and a red tomato-garlic hot sauce) which was OK but not what most people might expect.

They also encouraged us to visit the new GEM – latest, fancy and expensive museum that sister wanted to see but then didn’t want to go to the Cairo Museum I had wated to visit especially. I should have gone on my own! One day maybe with more artifacts and information including Tutankhamen’s death mask etc. that will soon, along the boat from Giza, be at the new one.