I was getting a cab to the pyramids from Giza train station, and the cabbie spoke no English, which is fine because I learned, or so I thought, how to say the pyramids in Arabic (al-ahram). Not surprisingly, he did not understand my Arabic. So, I ended up drawing a picture of three pyramids for him and he finally understood. He charged me 20EP (Egyptian Pounds) which is really good considering my guidebook said expect 30EP. About 20 minutes into the trip (the pyramids are 8km away from the train station, but due to traffic, it takes about 40 minutes to get there), a guy jumps into the cab. This is not unexpected, since hitching a ride is not uncommon in most countries. The guy starts talking to me about how he works at the pyramids and then starts talking to the driver in Arab. The driver looks irritated by this man, and keeps waving his finger at me.
The guy starts telling me that I need a camel or horse to get into the pyramids and that he will cut me a good deal. I don't know what was said between him and the driver, but the driver ended up taking me to this guy's "stable". I use the term "stable" very loosely, as it was just 4 camels and 3 horses tied to 2 trees outside an office with a couple of coaches and a TV in it. The driver knows I don't want to be there, and gestures that he will wait for me until this other guy finishes his con. This guy explains to me that it's US$120 to get a 4 hour tour of the pyramids by camel or horse and that you CANNOT enter the pyramids without a horse of camel. He became aggressive and I finally had to tell him to fuck off.
I jump back into my cab and the drive gives me a "told you so, don't trust motherfuckers" look, and then start driving to the main entrance. In about 3 minutes, another guy jumps in, and makes the same schpeel. This guy, though, says "I'm the police, and I'm telling you that you cannot walk around the pyramids". REALLY DUDE?!?! You're the police??? That is what you decided to come up with??? Right...
I tell him to fuck off with a nice "khalas" in Arabic, meaning "enough". He keeps asking me "why don't you want a camel?" proceeds to smack me on the back of the head and runs away before I can do anything. The drivers takes me to the main entrance and I gave him a little more than 20EP for not abandoning me and feeding me to the other 2 assholes. Thank god for good taxi drivers.
If you like riding animals, take a camel. I feel the experience is overrated. They smell REALLY bad and are not exactly comfortable to ride. The other reason I will not ride is camel or horse or anything for that matter is that they treat these animals completely inhumanely. It's disgusting and I do not condone animal cruelty. Let's just say at the end of the day I saw a dead horse laying right outside of the pyramids with no one to move it or dispose of it.
The problem with the pyramids, minus the animal cruelty, everyone bothering inside and out for camel and horse rides, the amount of animal poop all over the pyramids, and the cops that want baksheesh (tips) is that you are nickle and dimed for everything. Here a quick breakdown of costs:
1) Admission fee: 60EP
2) Entering the actual pyramids: 100EP for Cheops, 50EP for the lesser 2
3) Solar Barque museum: 60EP
The price is half off with an international student ID, which I do not have nor know what it is. What you CAN do, is show your drivers license, hope they don't read English, and say "am'ma taliban" (i'm a student) in Arabic and hope they buy it. It has worked 4 times for me. The rest... they read English and immediately knew it was a drivers license.
And everything has it's own ticket office. Can't you just offer me one price for everything? Not to say that it was not a great life experience, but I could have done without the 20 people asking me for camel rides or asking me to buy stuff. Of all the things though, the solar barque museum is worth the visit. The barque is massive (100+meters) and took 18 years to reconstruct.
I didn't enter the Pyramids, since the guidebook says it's not really worth it. The trip out to Giza is absolutely worth it. The pyramids are HUGE and the sphinx is anti-climatically small, though still impressive. It is a stressful journey to and through the pyramids, mainly because of the people, but well worth it. I found one quiet little space for about 20 minutes and just sat there admiring the work and it is truly awe inspiring. Then the crowds and sellers came back...
The guy starts telling me that I need a camel or horse to get into the pyramids and that he will cut me a good deal. I don't know what was said between him and the driver, but the driver ended up taking me to this guy's "stable". I use the term "stable" very loosely, as it was just 4 camels and 3 horses tied to 2 trees outside an office with a couple of coaches and a TV in it. The driver knows I don't want to be there, and gestures that he will wait for me until this other guy finishes his con. This guy explains to me that it's US$120 to get a 4 hour tour of the pyramids by camel or horse and that you CANNOT enter the pyramids without a horse of camel. He became aggressive and I finally had to tell him to fuck off.
I jump back into my cab and the drive gives me a "told you so, don't trust motherfuckers" look, and then start driving to the main entrance. In about 3 minutes, another guy jumps in, and makes the same schpeel. This guy, though, says "I'm the police, and I'm telling you that you cannot walk around the pyramids". REALLY DUDE?!?! You're the police??? That is what you decided to come up with??? Right...
I tell him to fuck off with a nice "khalas" in Arabic, meaning "enough". He keeps asking me "why don't you want a camel?" proceeds to smack me on the back of the head and runs away before I can do anything. The drivers takes me to the main entrance and I gave him a little more than 20EP for not abandoning me and feeding me to the other 2 assholes. Thank god for good taxi drivers.
If you like riding animals, take a camel. I feel the experience is overrated. They smell REALLY bad and are not exactly comfortable to ride. The other reason I will not ride is camel or horse or anything for that matter is that they treat these animals completely inhumanely. It's disgusting and I do not condone animal cruelty. Let's just say at the end of the day I saw a dead horse laying right outside of the pyramids with no one to move it or dispose of it.
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| Amazing. Still standing after 5000 years |
The problem with the pyramids, minus the animal cruelty, everyone bothering inside and out for camel and horse rides, the amount of animal poop all over the pyramids, and the cops that want baksheesh (tips) is that you are nickle and dimed for everything. Here a quick breakdown of costs:
1) Admission fee: 60EP
2) Entering the actual pyramids: 100EP for Cheops, 50EP for the lesser 2
3) Solar Barque museum: 60EP
The price is half off with an international student ID, which I do not have nor know what it is. What you CAN do, is show your drivers license, hope they don't read English, and say "am'ma taliban" (i'm a student) in Arabic and hope they buy it. It has worked 4 times for me. The rest... they read English and immediately knew it was a drivers license.
And everything has it's own ticket office. Can't you just offer me one price for everything? Not to say that it was not a great life experience, but I could have done without the 20 people asking me for camel rides or asking me to buy stuff. Of all the things though, the solar barque museum is worth the visit. The barque is massive (100+meters) and took 18 years to reconstruct.
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| Pretty impressive |
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