Travel: 7 days in Egypt

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I always assumed that a seven-day trip to Egypt would be like a prolonged history lesson — a multitude of complicated names, a mess of dates and gory tales of warriors and beautiful women. I wasn’t wrong about the technical jargon, but being in a land so soaked with ancient splendour, you can’t but feel terrible about all those classes at school you slept through.

Our first stop predictably was the house of the Pyramids, Giza (20 km from Cairo). Hoping to find warmth in a flimsy pashmina, I quite readily agree to go for the late-night Sound and Light show — an initiative by the Egyptian government, where you can experience the pyramids by moonlight with some fantastic laser lights and a bit of history. At $30 a ticket, the show would have been worth every cent in summer. However, at 2 degrees, even the fabulous talking sphinx fell at deaf ears. Daylight brought in some warmth and a camel ride to the plateau.

The pyramids of Khufu, Kafre and Menkaure are as large and intimidating as they look in glossy catalogues. Paying no heed to my good-natured guide, I paid 100 Egyptian pounds (around Rs 800) for a glimpse inside the pyramid, and after a back-breaking one-hour walk, down narrow, dimly-lit passages, (where you need to bend, as they are not much higher than three feet), I was greeted by a large, dark, empty room.

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