Now….after a long day of bargaining, we needed sleep…lots of sleep. It is seriously tiring…trying to speak to people who really don’t know you’re language, bargaining with them (walking away all the time) and carrying a bunch of goodies from place to place, it’s a work out and a half, not to mention that I also got some kind of stomach bug since the first couple of days, and I haven’t been the same since (know what I mean?).....

So we slept a lot…then went off to the museum. Okay…here’s where it gets a little weird. So, you’re thining, Mike P., this is great, you’re getting some real good site seeing done, mosques, good food (sorry about your stomach), great friends, and now, the Egyptian Musuem, this should be great right?

WRONG!!!

First of all, they scanned our bags before we entered the premises. Oh, and who is they? Just the Egyptian National Guards who are stationed everywhere is Cairo…not bad right? Wrong again. It seems that I misplaced my swiss army knife in my backpack and had to be searched three times for it. Well that was Gr-rrrrr-reat!

Passed the first check point. BOOM!! No cameras or video equipment inside the museum. What? Okay…maybe it’s to preserve the mummies and old artifacts. Check in my stuff…wait, how am I supposed to remember all this good stuff I wanted to learn about?

We enter the museum? Second check point…another scanner…as if they didn’t think I would hand over my cameras. I did. I’m not going to toy around with another country’s laws or rules. I submit..my cameras that is.

We enter inside the museum…oh thanks, no air conditioner, except for certain rooms. This is fantastic! Ron S., you really would’ve appreciated my humor throughout this. We travel around the museum…no descriptions…just numbers. So we are forced to get a guide and pay him to teach us about all the artifacts. Forget it. I’m fed up. We take a quick walk thru and get on with our things.

Now, I don’t want to hate on the museum entirely. The artifacts were excellent, and so tasteful. I loved seeing everything and reading about the 5% of artifacts that DID have a description…a whole 3 sentences…thanks!

We walk on…sweating…not taking any memories along with us, and go straight to the mummies room. Second BOOM! You gotta pay another fee to see the mummies…thanks!

So we did, and I’d say it was worth it. The mummies were preserved excellently, with hair, teeth and nails, bandages included for half the price…what a deal! Just kidding.

After this, we needed a break…all this walking in hot stuffy rooms, with a bunch of other foreigners who may have not taken showers (yes, it smelled in there) made me sick and I wanted to get some fresh pollution…I mean some fresh air.

We did, then got something to eat, drank some tea, smoked some hookah (of course) and hung out until it was too late too hang out anymore.

See you all tomorrow…I’m tired and sticky.