[Rain Man]

Okay, I'm in. When are we going?



In Egypt, the stuff I'd recommend (in order) is as follows.

Note that I went in May of 2001 when it was merely dangerous. Nowadays you might want to check and see if you need armed guards. Even back then there were places where you had to check in and be accompanied by soldiers.

Also note that any Egyptian offering you anything to buy on the street is planning to rip you off. No exceptions. It's the culture there. They want to rip you off. In the restaurants and stores we actually didn't have a problem with that.

Third note. This is much better than typical third-world travel. They have a strong tourism infrastructure, so it's not a bad place to travel.


Must-see stuff.

Giza. Duh. If you get there early, they let 100 people a day into the Great Pyramid. Make every effort to be among those 100 people. I don't know if it's first-come, first-serve or random. In Cairo, it may be a good idea to hire a guide, which is cheap and can be valuable. Our guide knew how to get us into the pyramid and we otherwise would never have known. The boat museum there is really neat, too.

Saqqara. It's a little ways outside Cairo, but not that far. An absolute must-see. It's not really near anything, so it may be another reason to hire a guide. I think it was as cool as Giza was. The oldest pyramid is there, and it's like discovering an alien civilization. As a bonus, you get to see "real" Egypt driving to and from it.

Valley of the Kings. This is in Luxor, and you have to fly there. Maybe there's a train too, but outside the tourist areas there tend to be people who don't like westerners. People with guns and stuff, so flying is good. Another must-see place. You wander around in a rocky valley and enter the various tombs where you can see how the styles changed over the years. Tut is the big draw, but his tomb is rather plain. Other pharoah tombs are much more elaborate and interesting. You can also wander around the city of Luxor as well, which was the royal seat of power when they switched religions (King Tut's father). The main compound is fantastic, with a big temple complex where every pharoah would add their own unique touch.

Abu Simbel. It's down on the Sudan border, and there's nothing near it. I'm talking nothing. You fly down, take a bus there, and then fly out. But it's worth it. It's the giant warning statues that the Egyptians used to scare the heck out of the Nubians, and it would work. Good upclose Nile River experience too. When they built the Aswan dam, Abu Simbel was going to be underwater, so they moved the whole thing up the hill and it's right on the shore now.

Cool stuff, but not must-see.

Bazaars. Wander around the big bazaar in Cairo and get lost, but it's cool to do. There are smaller ones in other cities.

Egyptian Museum. In any other country it'd be great, but why not walk outside and see even more spectacular stuff? However, Tut's mask and tomb are here, so it might rise to must-see status.

Colossi. I can't remember if they're in Luxor or Cairo. It's two ginormous statues that were originally the entrance to a temple that must've been astounding. Everyone carted away the temple rocks to build their homes, but the Colossi were too big to steal. They're cool.

Temple of Hatshepsut. In any other country it'd be great, but it's pedestrian compared to the must-sees.

Aswan. Our guide recommended that we go there, but I'm not sure why. It was nice, but nothing spectacular. It's more of a resort town than anything.

Boat rides. I can't remember what those little boats with the triangular sails are called, but you can hire one out and do a picnic. Kind of cool. It cost us $10 for half a day in 2001.

City of the Dead. We went here in Cairo. It's basically a big ghetto that's built on a cemetery. If you have a guide they can probably point out some interesting stuff, but on your own it would only scare you.

Stuff I didn't see

There's some valley somewhere that's full of fossilized whale bones that would've been neat to see, I think. It's from back when the area was underwater.

It'd be neat to see one of the western oases, but I'm not sure how safe that is now.

It seemed like we should go to Alexandria, but our guide said it's not that interesting.

There's some resort on the Red Sea that's popular.

They used to have Nile River cruises, but had to stop them because militant peasants would shoot their blunderbusses at the boats. Don't know if they have them again or not, but it doesn't seem like much fun.