By day 2 of my all inclusive week-long trip to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, I was going stir crazy. I couldn’t wait to get out of the resort and explore. First stop, the Pyramids of Giza.
I discovered on a trip to Egypt with some friends, that all-inclusive holidays aren’t for me. I was desperate to get out of the resort and explore. But with little time on our hands we had to choose our excursions wisely. We booked trips to The Great Pyramids of Giza, The Sphinx and a Sunset Quad-Biking tour of the desert.
The Pyramid Complex – Getting There
We arrived in Cairo after a short flight from Sharm el Sheikh where a bus was waiting to transport us through the crowded streets to the Libyan Desert in Giza.
The bus journey lasted about an hour. As it slowly manoeuvred its way through the city I got my first glimpse of the Pyramids from a distance.
Disappointingly, the journey to the Pyramids is paved with a litter-filled canal on one side and fast food outlets on the other. This somewhat diminished the romantic notion I had built up in my head of the road to Giza. The disappointment didn’t last long though.
The Pyramids of Giza
The Pyramids themselves truly are a sight to behold.
Even the relentless, unwanted and aggressive touting of souvenirs, camel rides, and general tat, didn’t take away from my sense of awe at seeing the last remaining ancient wonder of the world with my own eyes.
There are three main Pyramids: The Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure. We ventured inside the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three. It’s free to enter and once inside, we were told, all the Pyramids look the same.
Walkerssk / Pixabay
Entering (and exiting) the Pyramid was a nauseating experience and not one I would recommend for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia. We entered (and exited) on all fours through a tunnel with a very steep decline/incline. Inside it was hot, stuffy and the air was thin. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the one and only entrance/exit route became blocked. With that in mind, ten minutes inside the Pyramid was enough for me.
But being inside an ancient pyramid was a pretty damn cool experience.
The Great Sphinx of Giza
A short walk from the Pyramids, sits The Great Sphinx of Giza. After spending some time at the Pyramids, we were reasonably well prepared to be harassed by touts as we reached the instantly recognizable site. Seeing the Sphinx, bordered by the Great Pyramid really did take my breath away. And being able to walk around the site freely made me feel like I was starring in my very own Indiana Jones movie.
Quad-Biking in the Desert
A short taxi-ride from our resort in Sharm el Sheikh took us into the Egyptian desert. We set off in late afternoon and after a very quick lesson in quad-biking, we lined up on our bikes and set off further into the desert.
After about half an hour we stopped in a valley in the middle of enormous desert sand-dunes. We each took a turn to shout out a one syllable word and listened as the word echoed through the desert, four, five, six times. That really demonstrated the sheer vastness of the Desert, and although we were still probably reasonably near civilization, it sure felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.
Soon, 
the sun started to set and we soaked up the intensely beautiful desert sunset whilst navigating our bikes over the rough, bumpy, sandy terrain. It didn’t take long to get dark. We had lights on the front of our quad bikes, but to either side I could see nothing but pure black night. It was truly exhilarating, not to mention great fun, riding our bikes into the great unknown.
After a quick pit-stop for some drinks and optional camel rides (I politely declined the camel ride), we were off again. With more confidence and slightly more speed, we rode our way back to the edge of the desert and returned to our resort.
All in all the trip lasted about 3 hours and was jolly good fun.