EGYPT TRAVEL VLOG | Exploring Cairo & the Great Pyramid of Giza with my Subscribers! Ep 1
Welcome to Cairo, the heart of Egypt, where history and modern life collide in the most captivating way. I'm thrilled to be here hosting my third group trip, an unforgettable journey with an amazing group of you guys. My subscribers, get ready to dive into the vibrant streets, explore ancient wonders, and experience the magic of Cairo together. Hey everyone, it's Kritika.
Welcome back to my channel. I am in Egypt right now. Woke up to this amazing view. You can see the Cairo Tower in the back there. So got here yesterday and I'm actually hosting a group trip over here. So if you've been following my channel, I've done a couple of group trips before.
One was to Bali and then I did another one to the Maldives earlier this year. So this is my third group trip and it's my first time in Egypt. So I'm super excited because this has honestly been one of my bucket list destinations ever since I was a kid because I'm such a huge history lover and I'm just so happy to be here. So we got here yesterday. Hello. Had a bit of a briefing session with our guide. Had a welcome dinner with some amazing Egyptian food. I'll tell you more about it later. Today is officially day one of our trip,
and we have such an exciting day ahead of us because we're going to go see the pyramids. So after a very interesting drive down Giza, we have finally made it to the great pyramids of Giza. I can't believe I'm standing here. Honestly, this has been like a bucket list destination for so many years, and in case you didn't know, this is one of the only existing ancient wonder of the world.
So it's really cool to be here. And because we're here in September, it is very hot. It is bearable though. But yeah, the crowds aren't too much like you can see. I mean, there are a lot of people, but it's still not as bad. So we're kind of lucky in that sense.
I honestly thought I will be a bit underwhelmed when I saw them, just because I've seen so many pictures of them. But when you see it in real, it is very, very overwhelming and surreal and it actually looks much bigger than I imagined. So Egypt has a total of 118 pyramids.
Today I think we're going to be seeing about nine of them. This complex here has three pyramids. This one is the great pyramid of Gier, which is the famous one. Still can't believe I'm actually here.
So on our drive here, we actually noticed so many buildings which looked incomplete, and our guide Hoda was telling us that's because if the buildings are complete, the people living there have to pay a higher tax. So even though the houses are complete from inside, they haven't actually finished the buildings from outside, which I thought was very fascinating. She also gave us so many facts about these pyramids. The great pyramid of Giza held the record as the tallest manmade structure for nearly 4,000 years. Imagine that standing tall through centuries made from millions of stone blocks, some as heavy as elephants. These pyramids aren't just random.
They're perfectly aligned with the stars of Orion's belt even after all these years. No one's completely sure how these massive structures were built. The pyramids used to be covered in smooth, shiny limestone that reflected sunlight. They must have looked like giant glowing beacons in the desert.
Some people even think they were visible from space. This particular pyramid is the main one over here. It's the biggest one, and it's the tomb of Kofu.
And this is set to date back to 2,500 bcs. So it's like 4,500 years old, which is insane. It blows my mind. So you need to buy an entry ticket to get here, which is about 300, 3 50 Egyptian pounds. And if you want to go inside the main pyramid,
that's another 600 pounds. You can also go inside the smaller pyramids, which is cheaper, but I feel like if you're in Giza, you need to go inside the big pyramid. I've heard it's not that great to be honest from inside, but you just need the bragging rights that you've been inside these pyramids. So right opposite the great pyramid, there are these three mini pyramids here, which are apparently the tombs of the queens, much smaller in size. Not sure how I feel about that, but anyway, we're going to go inside and check out the great pyramid. This is where you enter the pyramids from.
Oh my God, I can't believe we're inside the Great Pyramid, and it's actually much cooler here inside. So some sections of this pyramid are quite claustrophobic, and you really have to bend and crawl your way in. Sorry. Thank you. Oh my God, we're sweating so much. It's quite a climb to get on top and it is very hot. So it's quite an adventure to get inside the pyramid. Honestly,
the reviews I read online said it's not worth doing because you don't actually see anything inside. There are no carvings or hiogly in the wall, but I feel like it is worth doing because the walk through the pyramid itself is quite adventurous. You have to crawl in some parts, and I quite enjoyed it. It was a bit strenuous. If you're claustrophobic, I did not recommend it. So anyway, we've come to this viewpoint right now. You can actually see all the pyramids from here. Looks quite spectacular. And for those interested, they can do a camel right here.
So it's actually included in our package. I wasn't sure if I want to do a camel ride because honestly, I feel like it's kind of cruel to the animals. Our guide said that the company we partner with treat their animals well. So I don't know. I'm still contemplating whether or not to do it, but yeah,
you can see tonnes of camels here. Look at our one. What is this camel's name? Charlie. Charlie. Can I say hello to him? Hi, Charlie, that's Charlie. How old is Charlie? Seven years. Seven. So he is a baby. Can I touch? Touch? Will it bite? No. Look, have kiss, don't why? Oh, I have a special camel here. I take care for the came. I touch him.
Don't worry him. Never by touching him. Smell your hand Ollie. Don't worry. So I kind of got on a camel and then decided to get off. Honestly, I just don't feel good about this. But anyway, the rest of the group has gone on a camel. I feel like it could be a fun activity, but this is a great viewpoint because from here you can see all three pyramids, and in the back you can also see a view of the city. So it's such an interesting juxtaposition of the ancient world and the modern world. Oh my God, the locals here are so friendly.
I was just sitting in the shade there waiting for the gang, and a bunch of people were having breakfast, so they offered their food to me, explained what the food was, and we had a nice conversation. I came across a group that's actually having some traditional Egyptian breakfast. And then you eat our meals. Yeah, I'm going to try some food with them. So we've got some bread. So meet Hoda, who is our lovely guide for the trip, and she's already made the trip so amazing with all the information she's shared with us. How are you feeling about our group and this trip? So far, so good. We're a little bit running behind schedule.
Everyone is enjoying it. That's the most important thing. I'm happy being with you and with your lovely group. Just the agent. Yes. Yeah, excited for the rest of this trip. Thank you.
Our next stop is at the famous finks, which you can see behind me. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised at how small it looks from here. Of course, if you go up close, it does look pretty big, but you can see the great pyramid over there. This is actually the smaller pyramid, and the SPX is right over here.
So in case you didn't know, it's the face of a human and the body of a lion. So it was built for a king, and supposedly it said that that king had the wisdom of a human and the might and power of a lion, which hence the spx. Inside this, while more than 100 years ago, we found a beautiful statue. The picture of the statue is shown on the 10 Egyptian bound notes. Why?
Because it's one of the masterpieces of the Egyptian museum. Today has been such an exhausting day and the heat is just so deadly. But anyway, for lunch, we've come to this place that serves Kocher, which is a really popular Egyptian dish. So it's quite an affordable place. I think this plate is for 30 Egyptian pounds, which is very affordable. I'm not really sure what it is, but you kind of add this spicy sauce to it and have it. Let's try it out. Spicy sauce, isro spicy, but I kind of like the flavours.
It's basically like a mix of pasta and I'm not sure what all is in here. Next up, we're inside Cairo Museum. This is supposed to be the oldest museum in Egypt.
I think it's 122 years old and houses a lot of amazing exhibits. So Hora is going to give us a guided tour of this place. Very excited to check this out.
So something interesting that we learned is that if a statue's beard is straight, and if they're in a walking position, it means they were alive when it was built. But if they have a curved beard and if their feet are together, whether they're sitting or standing, then it means it was built when they were dead. That's. S, that's T, that's M, that's MRL. And. So what does it say? It's the names, like.
Words and names. Actually, see your mommy in here. So we're done with the Egyptian museum, and because of Hoda, it was such a nice experience, learned so many things about the history, and I feel like the museum wouldn't have been the same experience without her because towards the end she sort of left us to explore on our own.
And we were done in 15 minutes because I feel like you kind need to know the stories behind the artefacts. So overall, very nice experience and it's been such a long day and a very hot day. So we are at the pool in our hotel right now. I feel like after today this is very much deserved. So I'm going to jump into the pool, the video. This is heaven After today from From.
So a hotel is right by the Nile that there is a hotel, and we've been seeing people go on these boat rides. So we thought it'll be fun to do a boat ride on the Nile done with the boat ride. And honestly, before we did it, I thought it'll be very touristy, but it was actually really nice. We had the whole boat to ourselves. We played music and danced. Oh my God, there are kittens here. Look at this. Oh my god, they're so cute.
Hi. I got distracted by the kittens and completely lost my train of thought. But yeah, that boat ride was a lot of fun. We danced and it was only a half hour ride. Super fun. Glad we did it. But going to go get some dinner now.
So for dinner, we've come to this place called Blue Nile. There are four different restaurants here, and we've come to a Lebanese restaurant because it's a Sunday. Sundays are basically like Mondays here. The weekend is Friday and Saturday. So it is completely empty. We're the only people here,
and we have an amazing view. It's right by the Nile. This is what the place looks like. That was such a nice meal. And when we got to that place, it was so empty, but it's almost 11:00 PM now. And as we were leaving, the place was getting packed. I wasn't expecting Cairo to have such a happening. Nightlife, especially given this is the first working day of the week. But yeah,
very interesting vibe over here. So last evening we actually had a welcome dinner. So we ate somewhere over there in that building and that was really nice as well. We tried some Egyptian food and I did block that, so I'm going to insert that clip over here. So yeah, we've been eating some amazing food on this trip and hopefully that will continue for the rest of this trip. But tomorrow we have an exciting day,
so I'm going to see you tomorrow. Good morning everyone. It's day two in Cairo, and we're starting our day off by exploring Sakara.
So we're in the midst of the Sahara Desert, which is crazy. Yesterday's pyramids, Giza. Were also in the Sahara, but I feel like it was so close to the city that you didn't really get the desert vibes. But anyway, the main attraction over here is that pyramid that you see behind me.
It's called the Zoar step pyramid, and it's the oldest pyramid to exist older than the pyramids that we saw yesterday. So let's go inside and I'll give you more details about this place. So we're inside the pyramid complex now, and I love how empty it is. Not many tourists here, and the history behind this place is just so fascinating. So this is supposed to be, like I mentioned, the oldest pyramid. It was built by saucer who was a Pharaoh in the Third Dynasty, and that's when the concept of building pyramids sort of started. So this, as you can see, is sort of like a step pyramid, funny story.
So the reason I think I'm so obsessed with Egypt and the history here is because of the movie Mummy and Mummy returns. I used to watch that so much as a kid and was absolutely fascinated by it. So if you watch the movie, you know the character I Mote, who's actually the mummy. So he is the architect of this pyramid, the first pyramid to exist. But yeah, if you watch the movie,
just to give you some context, this is Sosa's Pyramid and IMO Tap the villain from the Mummy is actually the architect. So unlike the Pyramid of Giza, when you go inside here, there's actually a lot to see. There's a separate entry ticket to go inside. I think the entrance for the main place is around 300 Egyptian pounds. This is like one 50 ish. So yeah,
we're going to go inside and learn some more about this place. Let's hope he doesn't come back today. So there's a statue of Zoa that we saw at the Egyptian museum yesterday.
It was actually discovered quite recently over here. They have a replica of that statue here, and you can see there are two eye holes on the wall. So the statue is facing that, and in a way it was designed so that the statue could look into the city. To be honest, I'm kind of liking these pyramids more than the Giza pyramids maybe because it's not as crowded. They're obviously older than the Giza pyramids as well. So it's very, very fascinating. I mean, just look at this,
the complex is massive and literally in the middle of the Sahara deserts, this whole place feels like you're walking through a real life history lesson. This is just insane. Next, we're going to be going inside that pyramid, which kind of looks like a pile of mud. Crawls inside. Touch, touch French. It's cold. Yes. Oh, this is alabaster. Alabaster as one. Ah.
Okay. Okay. This is limestone. Oh, the colour is different. Wow. Limestone.
Royal family like sons, the royal daughters, the royal sons, they had their tombs, but their tombs were not permit. They were must. So the tomb that we will visit now, that's the Saba tomb. So all of this is supposedly 1000 years older than the value of the teens, which we'll be visiting later. But I'm just amazed at how well it's preserved, even the colour and all of this. So after a short 10 minute drive from Sakara, we've made it to our next stop, which is Memphis. So Memphis was supposedly the first capital of Egypt, and we're going to be learning more about it right now.
But basically it's like an outdoor museum. So there's this complex, lots of sculptures you see here. There's also another space over here. There's another statue of Ramseys over here in the back. So Hoda was telling us that Memphis hasn't actually been excavated too much because lots of people have built houses over here. So it's crazy to think that if you actually excavate over here, there might be a whole city underneath. And a lot of the sculptures and statues that were found, people have actually used those materials to build their buildings.
So if you go to the church here or the mosque, you can actually see some parts of ancient trus, which I thought was interesting. But yeah, I think this was definitely worth checking out. So on our way back to the hotel, we've come to this papyrus store. Basically all the artwork that you see here is made on papyrus, and it's a very popular sauv veer here in Egypt. And supposedly a lot of times there are scams where they sell these paintings on banana leaves. This place is very authentic. So they're actually going to show us how papyrus is made as well, which is very fascinating. See.
The starch, we have to soak it in the water for one week to bud the slices one by one in vertical, in horizontal lines, and we keep everything under a press machine from wheat, more under press, which displayed. So we just got done with the tour. That guy was very entertaining and it was interesting to see how papyrus is made. We also saw some paintings which were glow in the dark, which was really cool. So I think some of us are going to pick up some of these Proprie paintings to take back home. I'm still deciding if I want to get one.
So we all actually ended up buying these paintings. It's such a nice sauv. Usually I don't even end up buying Sauv because I'm travelling all the time. So I think I'll put it in my room. It's basically a painting, but it's a painting of ne and Isis, the goddess of love, and my name next to it, which is kind of like a self-obsessed thing. I think we paid around 15, $20 for our paintings. So very happy with this.
We've had such an incredible start to our Egyptian adventure. We've seen so much in Cairo already. It's only been a day and a half, but we've done so much. And as you can tell right now,
I'm at the train station here in Cairo. We are going to be taking a first class Liko train from Cairo to Aswan, and you're going to see more of that in the next blog. So hope you enjoyed this video and I'll see you next time. Bye.
2025-03-04 18:21
