Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity not only in real life but also in the online world for me . I honestly never though one picture could get so much attention ! We started the day by loading my hockey gear in the car so we wouldn't have to come back later to grab it for our ice time and then we hit the road over to Giza . We didn't exactly take the tourist route as we passed through a very poor area with roads that I wouldn't even really call roads as they were filled with holes , animals feasting on garbage and even on other dead animals . Yeah I'm not stopping round here but in the distance I can see the Pyramids and I am in serious disbelief that my lifelong dream of seeing all this is coming true .
Lots of security when we got closer and we were asked to remove my bag from the trunk of the car for further inspection . Ahmed carried on in the car and proceeded through gates while myself and Ayman carried my bag up with so many people gazing upon this massive thing . When we got to the security desk the bag wouldn't fit into the scanner so security took me back outside away from everyone and they brought a dog out to search my bag for illegal substances . The dog seemed to like my bag as it began chewing on it and I was kinda nervous that it found something when in fact it was just goofing around . Phew ! Not that I am rolling with anything illegal or anything :) we headed back to the entrance and I was asked over and over if anything was sharp in the bag .... I said no , never sharpen my skates hahaha . We made it in safely and put my bag in the car again and began our tour . We know that taking this pic would need special permission and we figured if we get kicked out it's best to see the sites first .
Upon arrival one of the local tour guides approached us and just wouldn't leave us alone . Ayman told him kindly in Egyptian that we didn't ask for a tour guide and we aren't paying for one either , the man would not leave us alone and said he didn't want money . We climbed into a tomb of one of the wives of the pharaoh which was really small and we were told to go down backwards and then found out that this was made purposely like this so that every time someone goes down there they would be bowing to the pharaoh , pretty cool eh ? When we got out our impromptu tour guide was still there and at this point I figured to just embrace it as it is kinda annoying . Next thing you know I'm on a camel !!!
I thought I was gonna sit and get a pic while it was sitting but next thing you know the camel stood up and I damn near shit myself lol ! We strolled around for a bit and got a gear view of the pyramids and then paid 50£ Egyptian .... yes I didn't ask for this it just happens and it's not much cash but I'm not excited about paying
for things that I didn't ask for .... it won't happen again and I'm not spending another dime on stuff I didn't plan to do . After the ride we checked out a few more spots then said bye to our guide who we didn't pay but that camel I have no doubt belonged to the guide so he made something . We headed to the car and repositioned it so I could get my goalie gear on with little notice .... I stood in the sand and threw gear on as fast as I possibly could and Ahmed took some photos . We got a bunch and then security approached us wagging his finger at us we stopped what we were doing and it seemed the guard knew I was wearing hockey gear ? Much more knowledgeable then security at airport who thought it was golf or rugby equipment lol .
The guard told us that they don't like it when the pyramids are used for advertising and yes it seems that it has created some advertising hasn't it ? He said they don't like using other country flags in front of it also and as he was saying this I undressed and grabbed my stick bag covered in flags and asked if I could have one more with a big smile .... he turned around and pretended he didn't see me and I got one last pic .
Ahmed took all the photos for me almost as if he were a professional hahaha ! We then headed to the Sphinx and started taking photos when this guy took Ahmed's phone and took photos for me .... weird . I embraced it then the guy asked for money and I turned sour . He wanted 150 £ Egyptian and I flat out said no ! He then continued to tell me he is a professional photographer and I started getting angry . There is no way I'm gonna pay some bum anything to take a photo with my own camera ! A professional photographer would probably have his own camera instead of just having a rock in his pocket to take this picture below . This guy is a leech and I'm sure there are tons of these guys around . Him and his buddy circled the car almost getting aggressive and I think they knew we were ready to throw down when they finally backed off . We then drove off unscathed .... if you ever plan on visiting don't let this happen to you !
When I left I posted the cover photo to this blog online and it went bonkers online . Messages coming from every continent asking about who , why and what I was lol ! I am not gonna say I don't want the attention but instead I would like to deflect the attention on me towards Egyptian Ice Hockey and their dreams of having a national team . As the day went on this picture got more and more attention and at the end of it I hope it helps out my friends over here . I gotta cut this one short as I have some tourist stuff to do today but will try squeezing in a write up about the second ice rink I played on yesterday in Genena Mall . Have a great day everyone . Stay tuned :)
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