The hotel we are staying at is fancier that what we are used to, so the taxi prices are also equally as fancy. Unfortunately there are no cabs that come to this area and most taxi drivers don't know where the hotel is, so we were stuck taking the hotel car. On the upside our driver is excellent and we have a lot of fun with him while he is chauffeuring us around.
Our original plan was to go walk around the pyramids but we were convinced that the trip might be better on the back of a camel and we are very glad that we let ourselves be convinced. We arrived at the camel stable and negotiated the price of our tour around the pyramids and the sphinx. Once we came to a reasonable (cough, cough) agreement we met our camels and swung ourselves on. They instruct you too lean back really far as the camel stands up so that you don't biff it over the front. Camels are much taller than I was expecting so falling off was not something I planned on. I felt huge on the back of mine as we sauntered and bumped towards the pyramid entrance.
The entrance was not the main gate as I had expected. Instead we were ushered with our guide through a side gate and since we never received an official ticket I have a feeling a little baksheesh cleared our way through the gate.
The ride was bumpy, I had expected a smooth swaying action but instead it was a jolting up and down motion 
that had my butt and back aching. Our first stop was an excellent photo opportunity where we climbed off our camels and the guide took some of the best photos that we have gotten on this entire trip. You could tell that he had done this before as he set us up in front of the pyramids in great poses. After admiring the view for a little while we climbed back aboard our camels and headed to the next photo opp.
that had my butt and back aching. Our first stop was an excellent photo opportunity where we climbed off our camels and the guide took some of the best photos that we have gotten on this entire trip. You could tell that he had done this before as he set us up in front of the pyramids in great poses. After admiring the view for a little while we climbed back aboard our camels and headed to the next photo opp.Our camels deserve a description as they had so much personality. Ryan's camel was leading the way and had quite a flatulence problem. My camel was 
so bouncy that I was afraid if I let go for just a moment I would be bounced right off his back. He also peed on his own foot while we were getting our photos taken at our first stop. I asked our guide what their names were and he told me 'Micheal Douglas' and 'MacGyver' which was hilarious and not what I was expecting at all. We decided to rename them for the course of our short journey and 'Farts' and 'Trots' seemed appropriate.
so bouncy that I was afraid if I let go for just a moment I would be bounced right off his back. He also peed on his own foot while we were getting our photos taken at our first stop. I asked our guide what their names were and he told me 'Micheal Douglas' and 'MacGyver' which was hilarious and not what I was expecting at all. We decided to rename them for the course of our short journey and 'Farts' and 'Trots' seemed appropriate.Onward to the next stop where we got a stunning photo of the Pyramid of Khafre as well as some more w
ell placed photos courtesy of our excellent and funny guide. After this stop, our guide asked Ryan if he wanted to drive his own camel. Up till this point Ryan and the guide were on the same camel in front with me on my own camel tied behind to follow. After some quick instruction Ryan was on his own, cruising with a camel and a huge grin on his face.
ell placed photos courtesy of our excellent and funny guide. After this stop, our guide asked Ryan if he wanted to drive his own camel. Up till this point Ryan and the guide were on the same camel in front with me on my own camel tied behind to follow. After some quick instruction Ryan was on his own, cruising with a camel and a huge grin on his face.As we continued touring the pyramids our guide was cracking jokes, pointing out it
ems of interest and giving us really good information about what we were seeing. He told a story about why the sphinx is made up of a lion, an eagle and a women's head as well as talking about the destruction of the nose of the Sphinx which he attributed to Napoleon as most people do but there is also some evidence that Turkish soldiers shot it off.
ems of interest and giving us really good information about what we were seeing. He told a story about why the sphinx is made up of a lion, an eagle and a women's head as well as talking about the destruction of the nose of the Sphinx which he attributed to Napoleon as most people do but there is also some evidence that Turkish soldiers shot it off. The Sphinx was smaller than I expected (at 65 feet high and 250 feet long) but almost anything is small in comparison to the overwhelming size of the pyramids (at 450 feet high) which were the tallest man-made structures in the world for over 3800 years. We were also surprised to learn that it only took 20 years to construct the pyramid. Unfortunately all the slaves who worked on the pyramids were killed after their completion which will leave us all wondering how they were able to construct such an amazing and awe-inspiring wonder of the world.
Thanks for the ideas and information you provide, it really helped me in doing my job.
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