Scyp's Egyptian Vacation (lots of pictures) - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Scyp's Egyptian Vacation (lots of pictures)

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
scypio
May 07, 2010 10:21:34
(Edit: We are already back. I'm just making daily posts so that it not one massive post. Also, it breaks things up so I don't have to spend one massive block of time writing.)

My wife and I first took a flight from Newark to London. We had an eight hour layover between flights, so we decided to check out Kew Gardens which is supposedly world famous. So we went through customs and navigated the excellent and well signed British rail system. (We had an issue buying tickets since the machine wasn't taking credit, but that was resolved.)

At Key Gardens, there were several greenhouse type buildings with various plantlife from around the world. The grounds were also obviously, very excellent. One famous feature was the Xstrata Treetop Walkway:
Show
#2
modern_iconoclast
May 07, 2010 12:59:52 Simply awesome.
Keep us posted.
#3
The-Mage-King
May 07, 2010 13:02:35 Bring us back some ancient curses!

...What?
#4
scypio
May 07, 2010 14:18:15 So we were to meet up with the tour group the next day at 7 or 8 in the hotel lobby. The meeting was very disorganized and ineffecient (which will be a reoccurring theme). The tour director was very slow seeming and constantly repeated the same stuff. He told us that we were going to see the Giza Necropolis and the Egyptian Musuem today and then have to get up at 2 AM tomorrow. I wasn't sure if he was joking, but since he pretty much cancelled an optional excursion because it'd get in late. It was a river cruise with supposed belly-dancing and whirling dervishes. We wanted to go on it, but the director refused and kept stating how he'd get in (after the cruise) close to midnight then had to get up at 2. We were fine with that, but eventually (after repeating the first part 5-10 times), he said the Nile cruise portion of our trip would pretty much be the same as the dinner cruise so we finally gave up.

Anyway, after a really long and inefficient scheduling of optional excursions, we headed towards Giza. We got off to buy tickets for optionally going inside the middle pyramid (Pyramid of Khafre). They only allow a certain amount of visitors to go into the Great Pyramid (of Khufu) so we were unable to get tickets for that one. So we went to the base of the Great Pyramid and took a bunch of pictures. Its really a massive and marvelous structure. From afar, it doesn't seem THAT huge, but when you compare the size of a block to that of a person, you realize the scale. Almost all of the limestone (?) coat that used to cover the pyramid was gone so it was actually pretty rugged and jagged looking.
Show
The Great Pyramid with the second Pyramid in the background

Its so big!

You can see how jagged it has become. One of those blocks is larger than a person.
#5
scypio
May 07, 2010 15:34:35 Day 3: We had a nice early wakeup call, grabbed a boxed breakfast, and headed for the Cairo airport. We flew to Aswan, which is the Southern region of Egypt.

The first thing we saw was the Aswan Dam. It was the compliment to an earlier dam which made a huge artifical lake and controls the Nile a bit. There was a large hydroelectric plant. It was interesting, but not overly scenic.
Show
#6
Robin_Hoodlum
May 07, 2010 16:06:28 Awesome!
You lucky SOB!
#7
The-Mage-King
May 08, 2010 16:32:57 Hey, what's the desert?
#8
scypio
May 10, 2010 14:32:21 I think its called the Eastern Desert. I'm not sure if its part of a larger desert that has an eastern and western portion or if its just called the Eastern Desert because its on the eastern side of the Nile. But yeah, that's what it's called, I think...

(I'll probably add more updates in a few days. Actually having stuff to do at work and that jazz...)
#9
scypio
May 11, 2010 15:39:57 We went to the airport to fly down to Abu Simbel. The plane was delayed, but eventually we got there in one piece.

Abu Simbel was amazing, although extremely hot. It was a temple created by Ramses II to show his might as a deterent against a warring neighbor. He built massive statues of himself in front of the temple. Apparently, an earthquake in the ancient days knocked the head of one off, but during restorations, the Egyptians decided to leave the head on the ground since it was historical. Our guidebook had a funny comment on Ramses II. It said that even though pharoah's lives were pretty much dedicated to building monuments to themselves, Ramses II was a bit of an egomaniac.
Show
The massive statues of Ramses II at the front of the temple.

I was surprised by how much they came out of the wall.

A "don't come here or this will happen to you" warning
#10
The_Silversword
May 12, 2010 5:39:43 Cool stuff, thanx for sharing.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 scypio May 07, 2010 10:21:34	(Edit: We are already back. I'm just making daily posts so that it not one massive post. Also, it breaks things up so I don't have to spend one massive block of time writing.) My wife and I first took a flight from Newark to London. We had an eight hour layover between flights, so we decided to check out Kew Gardens which is supposedly world famous. So we went through customs and navigated the excellent and well signed British rail system. (We had an issue buying tickets since the machine wasn't taking credit, but that was resolved.) At Key Gardens, there were several greenhouse type buildings with various plantlife from around the world. The grounds were also obviously, very excellent. One famous feature was the Xstrata Treetop Walkway: Show
#2 modern_iconoclast May 07, 2010 12:59:52	Simply awesome. Keep us posted.
#3 The-Mage-King May 07, 2010 13:02:35	Bring us back some ancient curses! ...What?
#4 scypio May 07, 2010 14:18:15	So we were to meet up with the tour group the next day at 7 or 8 in the hotel lobby. The meeting was very disorganized and ineffecient (which will be a reoccurring theme). The tour director was very slow seeming and constantly repeated the same stuff. He told us that we were going to see the Giza Necropolis and the Egyptian Musuem today and then have to get up at 2 AM tomorrow. I wasn't sure if he was joking, but since he pretty much cancelled an optional excursion because it'd get in late. It was a river cruise with supposed belly-dancing and whirling dervishes. We wanted to go on it, but the director refused and kept stating how he'd get in (after the cruise) close to midnight then had to get up at 2. We were fine with that, but eventually (after repeating the first part 5-10 times), he said the Nile cruise portion of our trip would pretty much be the same as the dinner cruise so we finally gave up. Anyway, after a really long and inefficient scheduling of optional excursions, we headed towards Giza. We got off to buy tickets for optionally going inside the middle pyramid (Pyramid of Khafre). They only allow a certain amount of visitors to go into the Great Pyramid (of Khufu) so we were unable to get tickets for that one. So we went to the base of the Great Pyramid and took a bunch of pictures. Its really a massive and marvelous structure. From afar, it doesn't seem THAT huge, but when you compare the size of a block to that of a person, you realize the scale. Almost all of the limestone (?) coat that used to cover the pyramid was gone so it was actually pretty rugged and jagged looking. Show The Great Pyramid with the second Pyramid in the background Its so big! You can see how jagged it has become. One of those blocks is larger than a person.
#5 scypio May 07, 2010 15:34:35	Day 3: We had a nice early wakeup call, grabbed a boxed breakfast, and headed for the Cairo airport. We flew to Aswan, which is the Southern region of Egypt. The first thing we saw was the Aswan Dam. It was the compliment to an earlier dam which made a huge artifical lake and controls the Nile a bit. There was a large hydroelectric plant. It was interesting, but not overly scenic. Show
#6 Robin_Hoodlum May 07, 2010 16:06:28	Awesome! You lucky SOB!
#7 The-Mage-King May 08, 2010 16:32:57	Hey, what's the desert?
#8 scypio May 10, 2010 14:32:21	I think its called the Eastern Desert. I'm not sure if its part of a larger desert that has an eastern and western portion or if its just called the Eastern Desert because its on the eastern side of the Nile. But yeah, that's what it's called, I think... (I'll probably add more updates in a few days. Actually having stuff to do at work and that jazz...)
#9 scypio May 11, 2010 15:39:57	We went to the airport to fly down to Abu Simbel. The plane was delayed, but eventually we got there in one piece. Abu Simbel was amazing, although extremely hot. It was a temple created by Ramses II to show his might as a deterent against a warring neighbor. He built massive statues of himself in front of the temple. Apparently, an earthquake in the ancient days knocked the head of one off, but during restorations, the Egyptians decided to leave the head on the ground since it was historical. Our guidebook had a funny comment on Ramses II. It said that even though pharoah's lives were pretty much dedicated to building monuments to themselves, Ramses II was a bit of an egomaniac. Show The massive statues of Ramses II at the front of the temple. I was surprised by how much they came out of the wall. A "don't come here or this will happen to you" warning
#10 The_Silversword May 12, 2010 5:39:43	Cool stuff, thanx for sharing.