Farewell Egypt, Hello Kenya

 Wednesday 5th June

Today we made a return trip to the pyramids as we felt there was quite a bit we didn't see when we went with the tour.  We booked an Uber for the 40 minute drive to Giza at a cost of around $8 - bargain.  Trace decided to leave her SLR camera at the hotel, because it seemed there would be a substantial extra cost for it.  She enjoyed the freedom of not carrying it and it's bag around too.

We went in a different entrance to when we were on the tour, which threw us briefly, coming in near the Sphinx.  Fortunately the pyramids stand out a little and we soon worked out exactly where we were. As we walked around the precinct we were asked constantly if we wanted a camel or buggy ride.  We always said no, mostly because we prefer to walk but also because we don't like how they treat their animals.  We never once saw any water troughs for the horses for instance.  I did find it amusing how quickly the price dropped when you said no (or La in Arabic).  Usually starting at 300 EGP (sometimes as high as 500) the price often came down to 150.

We spent around 2.5 hours walking the plateau and visiting two pyramids we didn't get to last week. { Pyramid of Khafre and Pyramid of Mekaure).  The Khafre pyramid still has some cladding at the top, giving a good idea of what they all would have looked like originally. We also chose to go inside the Great Pyramid (Khufu's pyramid) this time. By this time it was around 40 degrees and we thought (hoped) it would be cooler inside.  Well, it wasn't.  After entering the pyramid you went through a short tunnel, then the climb began.  We had a climb of around 100 metres up a ramp angled around 45 degrees.  The ramp was in a tunnel about 4 and a half feet high, so as well as the climbing angle we were hunched over.  This also meant my backpack wouldn't stay on my shoulder so I had to carry that, my hat and my phone.  After the initial climb it opened up a bit and while the next 200 metres was still at 45 degrees you could at least stand up.  Another very short tunnel at the top opened out to a large room containing a sarcophogus.  There were no visible hieroglyphics and the room felt like it was around 50 degrees.  There was a guard stationed up there and I don't now how he did it - he was at least sweating and wiping his brow pretty constantly.  Back down the tunnels and out into the fresh(?) air.  It was 2:00pm by now so we headed out and across the road to Pizza Hut, enjoying further pyramid views, and returning to the hotel by another Uber.

For dinner we decided to walk some of the nearby streets, using Google Maps to find some food.  We ended up in a nice little street with several options, choosing the one with the most people outside. The menu was in Arabic but fortunately Google Translate worked. Plastic tables and chairs but we had a very nice - and cheap - dinner.

Thursday 6th June
Our last day in Egypt and we could have done a back streets of Cairo tour, but we were a bit over the heat.  So instead we had a lazy morning and checked out at 12:30.  We then caught the free hotel shuttle bus to City Center Almaza, a local shopping centre.  We had three hours to kill before being picked up again, so wandered around two floors of shops.  I had been looking for a pair of all purpose, relatively weather proof shoes for work for quite a while and hadn't been able to find anything Melbourne, but I did find some here.  Prices were nothing to rave about and I only got these as they were half price, around $90 AUD.  Trace was looking for a new notepad for her diary but was unable to find anything.  The food court consisted of around 20 shops, but there were probably 10 burger places, 5 pizza places, a few Chinese and a salad bar.  We chose Chinese and it was ok.
We were back at the hotel not long after 4:00, with still 5 hours until our pickup - and flight at 00:40 Friday morning!  We had been sitting around for about half an hour when Trace saw a couple from our tour who had just returned from the Red Sea. We ended up spending most of those 5 hours with them, including dinner, and the time went quickly.
Security is quite over the top here.  We had to pass through X-Rays before entering the airport, then again after immigration and again at the gate.  Each time we were also frisked and twice we had to take shoes off.  Good to be secure but it gets tedious quickly.
The flight took off on time, but wasn't one of the better ones.  We were given complimentary headphones, the type with a two prong jack on it.  Shame really because the entertainment system had a single headphone jack.  Fortunately we were planning on sleeping and not watching a movie.  The plug for the USB charger was quite loose so didn't actually charge my phone and to top it off I probably got an hours sleep.

Friday 7th June
Arrived in Kenya on time and got through customs relatively quickly.  We decided to go into a cafe and have a proper breakfast of bacon and eggs.  Caught a taxi to the train station and then security started all over again.  We had to put our bags on a low bench so that sniffer dogs could walk past them, then go through X Ray and metal detector and get frisked (again).  The XRay and metal detector happened twice more before we got to the platform.  We had First Class seats and they were quite comfortable with a fairly large tray table and a power point. The train was very smooth and topped out at around  120kph.  No wi-fi but I could charge our phones.
We got off at Emali station and were meant to be met by a driver from our camp, Tulia Amboseli.  Unfortunately no-one was there and while I was walking around trying to find him I was stopped at a security point. I explained to the guard that I couldn't find our driver and he offered to ring the camp. While I went back to get the number a different driver started talking to the guard. Anyway long story short, the driver from our camp had forgotten us and this other driver offered to take us most of the way. Through many phone calls he agreed a price with the camp, and meeting point and off we went. Turns out he was heading to Nairobi,  5 hours away in the opposite direction but took us 100km to the meeting point. To say we were grateful is an understatement and we gave him - hopefully - a very good tip.

The drive to the camp though was a mini safari drive as we saw Giraffe, Baboons and Zebra as well as some Antelope. Our room is a glamping tent with plunge pool and overlooks a watering hole. After lunch we were sitting on the deck when we spotted 4 giraffe in the trees about 100metres away.  Not long after an elephant came to the watering hole - which is about 80metres away - and stayed for about 20 minutes. He drank and splashed mud on himself before ambling away. Was a great welcome for us after the problems earlier.
At 5:30 we went on a walking safari and saw a Thompsons Gazelle fairly close up, a Wilderbeest not far away and a herd of Zebra off in the distance.  Our Maasai guide also pointed out different hoof/foot prints, poo and plants.  The walk went for a little over an hour and was very interesting.

Only downside so far is that internet is very patchy, coming on for 2-3 minutes before disappearing for an hour.  Will make blog and Instagram/Facebook a bit awkward.