I got my coat a little before 1am and was horrified to find Meredith's wallet, keys and phone in my coat pocket. No cabs to be found so I hopped on the 14th Street crosstown bus that rolled up. 90% of the time I find myself on a NYC MTA bus...
Emanuel stepping off the bus and tying on the sea-foam green bandana that signifies the kickoff of his ritualistic paintball preparation proceedures! I'm actually just making that up. The truth is, he actually wears that bandana every day! Ha!
This time around I decided that rather than trying to fight the current so insistent on taking me on a private camel-back tour of the pyramids, that I'd openly embrace it and proactively try to seek out the best private tour company I could find. I ended up striking up a conversation with the guy in front of me in the plaid shirt - and since any local worth his salt in the area is basically an amateur tour guide ready to take you to any number of good places in exchange for some sort of "finder's fee."
After getting off the subway, I decided to forego a taxi (and all the hassle of a driver not taking you to where you ask to be taken) and instead hopped on a local bus that looked like it would get me really close to the pyramids.
I know I mentioned this in an earlier post when I tried to go visit the Giza pyramids the first time, but it bears repeating: I always thought that the pyramids were in the middle of a desert miles away from modern life, but they are literary right on the edge of a densely populated, totally modern suburb of Cairo. One minute, you're sitting on the bus passing strip malls and fast food chains and then suddenly, out of nowhere you're like...
The nine hour bus ride from Dahab to Cairo was loud, bumpy and uneventful. It would've been a tough enough bus ride to endure if I was well rested, but it was particularly gruesome after not sleeping for over 24 hours and climbing up and down a mountain.
I heard all sorts of crazy stories about how Islamic Fundamentalists liked to hijack tourist buses headed to Hurghada from Luxor - but my hotel told me that they'd booked me on a "night bus" filled mostly with Egyptian nationals and that things would "probably be ok." Hahahah. Oooooo-kay!
