I enjoyed breakfast again with my new friends. They sat and watched me devour the whole croissant platter without a look of judgement and that's why I like them! I said my final goodbyes to them as today I was desert bound and the excitement was creeping in.
After saying goodbye to the hotel staff I headed towards the pyramids as I just wanted a picture of Nigel in front of them. The road was a lot less busy but still mental by London's standards so I enjoyed a bit of space from the cars, however there were people in force. Where there were only maybe 10 guys outside the pyramids the first time I went, there were now around 50. I knew where I was going and what I was doing so I ignored the first wave of con men. Then one guy grabbed my handlebars, I wanted to smack him but 1 Englishman against 50 Egyptians, even though I look like Chuck Norris I still don't like the odds. I shouted at him and gave him a verbal slapping and carried on towards the ticket office.
I thought it was best that I checked if Nigel could get into the area around the pyramids first, he couldn't, so that was that sorted. I still thought I should go in and see if I could take an award winning photo though. There were so many people at this gate I thought it was best if I tried the other gate and it may be safer to lock Nigel up there. The other gate was a little quieter but I was still pestered by a "government worker." I've been warned about these guys and he doesn't work for the government, he's a liar (so arguably you could say he does work for the government...) All he did was get me a ticket that I could've easily got myself. He then proceeded to follow, annoy and get in my way despite me telling him he wasn't getting anything out my pocket. The really annoying thing is, because I had Nigel locked up outside, if I didn't give this guy anything, the chances of me arriving back to a naked Nigel were considerably higher. I told him If Nigel was still there when I got back I would give him something, he returned that with, "I finish work now, I go home." It was half 11! We played this form of promise-lie-promise-lie tennis for about 5 minutes. Oh for goodness sake its a couple of quid just give him it, I thought in the end. I was too worried about Nigel. I gave him 2 Egyptian pound which is nothing in English money but it was a down payment for him. I walked away then quickly turned back at him. Whether he was winking at another local that had heard the whole debate or wincing because it was only 2 Egyptian pound I don't know for sure. I don't know how far 2 Egyptian pounds goes if you're a local. If you're me, 2 Egyptian pounds buys you a couple of sheets of toilet roll and that's all he should expect for doing absolutely nothing other than putting me in a bad mood.
The pyramid people really tarnished my sphinx and pyramid visit if I'm honest. I was forever worried about Nigel and as I was pretty much the only white person there out of a good couple of thousand I was a massive target for lies, questions, offers and greetings. Replying in Arabic didn't work, and I'm beginning to realise why the animals we associate with southern Africa decided to move away from Egypt. My visit to the museum told me that Cairo once homed the likes of crocodiles and hippos etc. My reckoning is that one day a lying pyramid worker told the Elephant that he would give him a good price on some earrings. The Elephant found out he got ripped off (they weren't real ivory) and an Elephant never forgets so he moved south and took all the other animals with him. This is just my thought anyway.
I blitzed it around the area, managed to baggsy a good picture of a camel without having to pay for it so whether its worth the £10 entry and keep Nigel safe fee I don't know but either way Nigel was fine and I was ready to hit the road. The man I gave money to for looking after Nigel asked if I had enjoyed the pyramids. I told him they were average and my experience was affected slightly by "pyramid men" he replied with, "they are just doing their job" thats very true, and i can appreciate business is not exactly booming in the current crisis but I don't know, maybe I'm crazy but when I realise that someone is getting annoyed and he doesn't believe my lies, I would try lying to somebody else. The kids in this area have unfortunately picked up the bad habits as well. Now you have to ask yourselves, would they be honest if there were no tourists and would they beg if tourists didn't give them money from the start?
P.S the pyramids are amazing and still an amazing "wonder" of the world. I would go back with somebody and do a tour because I'm interested to find out more about them but today, being on my own, pestered and concerned, I couldn't fully enjoy what I was experiencing.
Anyway, I wasn't going to let the pyramid people bring down my special time in Cairo. I headed for the ring road which would normally be a very very busy road. Luckily for me it was only quite busy and the realisation that I was cycling through Africa was soon thrust upon me when I cycled past a dead cow in the road. He was lying on his back with all four legs in the air so I assumed he was dead, either that or there was a massive thunderstorm heading my way! I was heading for Ain Sochna on a toll road that was beautifully tarmacked, I had my own lane and there were hardly any cars. Riding was easy with a lovely breeze and I didn't stop once until I got waved down by a man in a broken down car.
I stopped to give the car a push while one of the guys from the car was having a wee. I pushed it a couple of times and I didn't once hear the engine even turn over, I'm pretty sure he had the thing in reverse as well. The kid said thankyou anyway and when I went to ride off the man that had just finish having a wee seemed to ask for some of my water. I was already on my way off, I would've given him some had I been stationary. After a couple of seconds of riding away I then thought, what a cheeky old man!! I've just stopped from being on a roll to bump start his car whilst he was watering the sand and now he wants some of my drink! He must've produced tango!
Water has increased in value now for me as finding it will be a lot harder. The water in Egypt is heavily chlorinated. I've gone from water with a soily after taste in Turkey to sucking a pair of swimming shorts in Egypt. The bottled water tastes worse than the tap so either way I'm just going to have to deal with weird water.
As I have no set places to stay from now on, I started to look for a good spot when I felt my legs getting tired. I was just looking for a mound of sand big enough that I could hide behind from the road. I spotted a communications tower with a building below. I could easily get shelter from the wind there and if there was just the one person there then that wouldn't be a problem.
I pushed Nigel a good 500m away from the road and up a hill to get to the tower. Next to the tower there was a little hut made from rugs and off cuts from my dads decking. I went to say hello and despite clear signs of life like sandals being outside and a little bed, there was no one to be seen. I hid the tent behind another mound away from the hut, cooked tuna pasta and got my head down. The moon was so bright I didn't even need a torch to cook or even later on in the night when I needed the toilet. The temperature was perfect, sand was soft to sleep on and I managed to get some quality rest.
My first night in the desert was a good one. Cairo has been ticked and now I look forward to more magical experiences that await along the Red Sea and Nile.
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