Walk like an Egyptian

Well, it's time to talk about the sandy land that I visited on my cruise.

Now, I hate to say I have a Bucket List, as I am not even a quarter of a century old, but I kind of do. And the Pyramids were on there, obviously. Here is the short Bucket List:

1. I want to go to every continent before I die.
2. I want to see all the Wonders of the World (modern AND ancient AND natural AND medieval)

Now, I have been to North America and Europe, but that's it. I find that's very disturbing. I really want to go to more and when I'm rich and famous, I will get this done. As for the Wonders of the World, here they are (modern, natural, medieval and ancient together)

1. Great Pyramid of Giza (check)
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (don't exist anymore)
3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia (I saw the fake one, since the original was destroyed, like, hundreds of years ago)
4. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (check)
5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (ironically, I was in Turkey, but didn't see this)
6. Colossus of Rhodes (doesn't exist anymore)
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (doesn't exist anymore)

1. Stonehenge (check)
2. Colosseum (check)
3. Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (check)
4. Great Wall of China (someday!!! I would love to see this)
5. Porcelain Tower of Nanjing (still need to)
6. Hagia Sophia (man, I missed a lot in Turkey, it seems)
7. Leaning Tower of Pisa (check)

1. Grand Canyon (check)
2. Great Barrier Reef (I would love to swim in it)
3. Harbour of Rio de Janeiro (Rio has ALWAYS been on the top of my list of places to visit)
4. Mount Everest (this isn't even far. I need to get on this)
5. Aurora (this isn't far either. I need to take an Alaska cruise)
6. Parícutin volcano (not sure why this is on there. I've seen a volcano though!)
7. Victoria Falls (something to do while I'm in Africa!)

1. Machu Picchu (something else to see while I'm in South America!)
2. Petra (I don't think I could see this and NOT sing the Indiana Jones song)
3. Taj Mahal (India is high on my list, which might make me a weird person)

The Pyramids were incredible. The stones were as tall as I am and I was amazed. What cracked me up is the tour guide kept insisting

"The Pyramids were NOT built by Jewish slaves. They were built by SKILLED WORKERS."

I'm thinking "Yeah, skilled Jewish workers who couldn't leave at any point during their employment..."

Egypt is a really really poor country. I mean, I knew this from the stats of the country, but I don't think I really understood it until I went there. I could NEVER live in Egypt. Too creepy and trash was everywhere. At one point while we were driving to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, our tour guide said

"And look to your right, because I do NOT want you to look to your left."

No joke. There was trash piled up almost two stories tall. I'm not exaggerating. It was a problem. So if you are ever wondering what you can do with your life, you should start a trash collection company in Egypt. You'd make a killing.

Overall, the Pyramids were incredible. I learned how to make papyrus. I shopped in a bazaar. Good times in Egpyt. Now for the story that makes Christine crack up:

While walking in the bazaar with my parents, a man came running up to us, shouting "5,000 camels!" I had no clue what was going on, but my dad informed me that he was trying to buy me. Which was quite sweet because at this point, I had gained about 7 pounds from all the food that I had eaten on the cruise. And, I don't know the street value of a camel, but I would assume it's more than $100, since dogs can cost that much and you can't use them as transportation. So, as that man is "negotiating" with my dad for me, another man comes running up, telling my father that this man he is talking to has bad camels. That HE, instead, will offer 1,000 GOLD camels. At this point, I know I'm getting a good deal. My dad turns to me and says we should call David and make sure he doesn't want to take this deal.

"That's a good price"

my dad jokes. Luckily, and unfortunately for my dad, I made it back on the boat without a man on my arm.