Bus Egypt: Cairo

In Cairo, the ancient clashes with the modern in an extraordinary way. Cows chill out underneath a motorway overpass. The ancient remains in the Egyptian museum are right next to the burnt out ruins from last year's revolution.

The burnt out remains of Mubarak's headquarters behind the museum.

The trip from Cairo to Giza is half an hour through slums that all seem to be a dozen or more storeys high. Between the endless squalid apartment buildings, I spot a marvel of ancient engineering that still has scholars scratching their heads today.

I’m not sure what I expected the parking lot to look like, but I was shocked by how… unremarkable it was. This is the only surviving wonder of the Ancient world, and you just kind of stumble up to it, right next to a main road and opposite modern shops.

But I quickly forget the lack of awe in the introduction when I get closer. There’s more than enough awe in the spectacle of staring at it up close. Apparently there are over two millions bricks, and the ones I can see are all bigger than my first car.

I scramble up the side to the entrance, and creep inside. After climbing for what seems like an age, I reach a tall shaft. Thanks to the wonders of modern lighting, I can see a path running up the centre. As I climb, I’m impressed by the height. Apparently King Khufu wasn’t too happy with the original plan of an underground tomb beneath the temple. He wanted something more grand. I find myself contemplating who exactly he had in mind when he requested such a grand design. Right now it feels like I’m the only person besides his architect who has ever had the opportunity to admire it.

Climbing the great pyramid.

At the top of the shaft is a bedroom sized tomb. It looks austere and simple, but if the treasures I saw this morning in the Egyptian Museum from Tutankhamen’s tomb are anything to go by, it would have been anything but austere when first constructed. I close my eyes and try to imagine the space before the musty smell set in. Piles of handy things for the afterlife. Gaudy colours. The smell of lotus flowers and papyrus. And in the centre of the room, a sarcophagus fit for a king. Layer upon layer of solid gold. Of course, all this disappeared centuries ago when the ancient Egyptians ransacked their own king’s tomb – so modern archaeologists have known only the same space I’m observing now.


About half an hour later, I’m introduced to Alice. Well, actually she wasn’t introduced to me, so I christen her 'Alice' myself. She has golden hair and a very long tongue.

Alice was the last camel to be chosen – everyone else was given away first. I’m a little worried that this might mean she’s the rogue of the pack. When Alice stands up, she lurches forward on such an angle that I feel like I’m about to plummet head-first to the ground. But somehow I survive, and start to feel quite comfy in my new perch a few metres in the air.

We’re connected in chains of two or three, and a little boy leads Alice over the sweltering dunes in the direction of the pyramids. I hand him my camera and he begins taking pictures. Along the way, Alice picks fights with every camel we pass ,snarling and snapping until the little boy tugs her away.

When we’ve been stationary for a few minutes, the little boy yells “Stand up!” as though this is a perfectly natural suggestion for a strange tourist two metres in the air on the back of a possibly-rogue animal. Observing the terror on my face at the mere concept of standing up, he taunts “it’s a camel, not a tiger!”

Not wanting to be outdone by a seven-year-old, I decide to trust Alice with my life and give it a shot. Hey presto!

On the way back, while free from the little boy’s grip, Alice decides to go for a wee gallop. As we gain speed, I lean in tight – afraid that this could be the last anyone sees of me until I perish from starvation somewhere in the Sahara clinging for dear life to the back of a wild camel. But she slows as we approach the camp, and I realise she’s not wild – just competitive.

There’s a moment on every good trip when you realise “this has been worth the time and expense it took me to get here”. Only on the best trips do you reach this point on the first day. As Alice lurches abruptly forward onto her knees to let me off, I realise that Egypt has already proven itself worthwhile.

Find out more about Busabout's 10 Day Egypt trip here. 

I travelled to Egypt with support from Busabout and Flight Centre UK.

Roadtripping Icebergs, Volcanoes and Waterfalls (in Photos)

Remember the icy climax of Die Another Day? James Bond speeds across a frozen lagoon filled with icebergs, fighting off the baddies and saving the world. Welcome to Jökulsárlón, Iceland. A real-life glacial lagoon. You can reach it in about 5 hours from Reykjavik.

I was sold on Jökulsárlón even before hearing about the volcanoes, glaciers and waterfalls on the way!

Words couldn't possibly do Iceland's south coast justice, so instead here are some pictures...

Setting out: my brother Michael and I just outside Reykjavik.

The ring road is like this the entire way around the South Coast. It's like driving through Middle Earth.

Eyjafjallajökull - the volcano that cause continental mayhem a few years back by erupting.

Seljalandsfoss - water tumbling 60m over what used to be the Icelandic coastline.

Just 20 minutes up the road, the spray of Skógafoss creates a rainbow in the midday sun.

A glacier snaking down from Vatnajökull, the largest icecap in Europe.

First glimpse of Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon.

The icebergs of Jökulsárlón. The ice is 1,000 years old (and tastes delicious).

50 shades of blue.

We feasted on Arctic char after leaving Jökulsárlón. In the morning we awoke to this glorious sunrise, which took over an hour because of the angle of the Autumn sun.

Sunrise turns the icecaps pink (as seen from our hotel window).

We returned to Jökulsárlón at about 8am, to discover over a dozen seals playing in the lagoon.

One last goodbye to Jökulsárlón - one of the most indescribable and memorable places I've ever been.

The weather packed in on the drive home, but we didn't care. We still stopped to see these traditional Icelandic huts on the way.

First Impressions of Iceland

Flying over Iceland, you could be forgiven for thinking you were looking down on the moon. Vast stretches of the countryside are reclaimed land from some of the largest lava flows in history, and the resultant cratery desolation is as beautiful as it is bizarre.

But any geologist will tell you there’s a lot more to a volcanic landscape than just the bleak lava flow area. And the best thing about these volcanic landscapes is the geothermal activity, something Iceland has a seemingly unlimited supply of. When you arrive at the airport, large signs promote the country’s green image, proudly informing you that Iceland has no need for ‘dirty’ power like coal – they get all the electricity (and most other energy) they need from renewable sources like hydropower and geothermal power.

However when I hear ‘geothermal’, I don’t think ‘renewable energy’. Nope, the child in me shrieks ‘hot pools’! And just 20 minutes after leaving Iceland’s Keflavik airport, we were pulling up at the Blue Lagoon: Iceland’s premiere tourist attraction.

The pale milky blue colour of the water gives the lagoon an otherworldly glow. I felt like I’d inexplicably turned up on Avatar’s planet Pandora. Though, it smelled more like Rotorua.



The milky appearance turns out to be from the silicon in the water, which congeals as a kind of mud around the edges of the pool. It’s meant to be great for your skin; you can buy little pots of it in the gift shop for a small fortune. But while you’re enjoying a quick dip in the 37° lagoon, you’re encouraged to scoop it up from large buckets placed helpfully around the edges of the pool and smother your face with it.

I’m not calling ‘miracle mud’ quite yet, but let’s just say I’ve not had a pimple since.

Upon leaving the lagoon, Reykjavik is an easy 40 minute drive away. It’s the northernmost capital in the world, and compared to other Northern capitals I've visited it’s a little... sleepy. There’s not a huge amount to see or do, but it’s a nice place to spend an afternoon. Here are some of the highlights:

Buy a hot dog from Bill Clinton's favourite hot dog stand. It's the only place in Iceland you'll  see a queue.

Admire the interesting blend of public art and peaceful politics, such as this tree's lovingly knitted outfit.

Eating in one of Reykjavik's many thriving cafés and restaurants is a must while you're in town. Personal recommendations are Laundromat (pictured, at brunch), and Vegamót- both recommended to us by an Icelandic friend.

Visit the modern Lutheran cathedral; Hallgrímskirkja.

The view from the observation deck at Hallgrímskirkja is one to remember!

After exploring Reykjavik, it's time to embark on the traditional circuit around Iceland’s three most popular scenic attractions:

Þingvellir National Park
This is the site where the world’s first democratic parliament was established over a thousand years ago. It’s a great spot for it too – right by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet. And the Autumn colours in this area make the scenic drive through even more worthwhile.

Accidentally hipster while crossing the road at Þingvellir.

Geysir Geyser
This geyser gave its name to all the world’s geysers – the English word is adopted from Icelandic. Geysir itself only blows a few times a year, but nearby Strokkur was spectacular enough for me! It performs about once every five minutes – so we stood around to watch it three times! The water moves as though alive, slowly building up pressure and teasing tourists with cameras into snapping too soon. Eventually, it explodes about 20m into the air, and everyone looks on in awe.

Gullfoss Waterfall
It’s difficult to capture with words the sight of hundreds of cubic metres of water per second vanishing into the earth. In fact, it’s [only] dropping 32m into a crevice, but the abrupt angle makes it impossible to see (or photograph) the bottom of the waterfall without the help of a helicopter. Though not the most captivating waterfall we encountered in Iceland, Gullfoss is pretty special and well worth a visit.

Our first day in Iceland was so epic that we barely even registered the fact that the Northern Lights didn’t make an appearance!

The only traffic you'll see in Iceland.