A trip to the pyramids

OK, I'm sure I'll have more to say about this later, but for now let me mainly post pictures. I made it out to the pyramids in one piece and the taxi driver was pleasant enough. He spoke no English (which was obviously cool) but he also seemed to be swerving in and out of dementia as quickly as he was traffic (which was not cool). That said, he got me out to Giza in good order, although driving in Cairo has now taken over Boston's place as the craziest urban driving I have ever seen. We drove madly around, often turning completely around in breath-taking u-turns, and then suddenly we were there - and suddenly there were the pyramids, which, amazingly, I could never catch a glimpse of as we tore through town. They were pretty awe-inspiring, although the constant pestering by a million and one Egyptians for their baksheesh (somewhere between a tip and a bribe) did wear on me. Typically, I had an ugly falling out with my "guide" - I didn't want him and he sort of just materialized out of the desert. There is a certain logic to having a guide because it then gives you a force field to keep away the other touts. He wanted a $100 for a tour and I talked him down to 80 ES (Egyptian shillings - around $16 - still way too much). If you don't mind a little bribery you can get access to certain things, such as the picture of me perspiring/expiring in a tomb and the hieroglyphics, but once you get the money out the first time it's over. Unfortunately, I was not able to get into the Great Tomb because they only take a certain small number in the morning - if only my taxi driver this morning had been able to focus a little more cleanly on his fleeting sanity we would have made it there earlier. I did make it into one of the three smaller tombs besides Khufu's tomb (for his mother, wife and sister) and also into the tomb of the Great Pyramid's architect (that's where the picture of me in the tomb was taken). The climb down into the smaller pyramid was pretty tough, especially since it was a small descending shaft with no steps other than boards for traction and people coming up and down next to each other - if you have claustrophobia be sure to not include this one on your itinerary. I didn't get a picture inside that tomb because I didn't feel like paying more baksheesh, but also because there wasn't much to see. I guess the begging/propositioning wasn't any worse than India, but for some reason it felt much less endearing. It was bloody hot and I wore my silly floppy hat from the Gate of India that my great friend John Neelankavil bought for me in Mumbai. It was dorky but really saved me. On the way back the taxi drivers right at the pyramids themselves wanted 50 ES to take me back (I had paid 25 ES to get there), after a little haggling I told them to buzz off and I went in search of another ride. A couple hundred yards down the road - next to a golf course (?) - I hailed another taxi driver and we haggled even though we didn't share any words in common. I gave him my Arabic directions back to the Hotel Longchamps (a valuable thing to pick up at your hotel) and asked how much. He pulled out a 10 ES note and lifted up two fingers (meaning 2 10's) and then smiled and gingerly raised up the third finger. I smiled and flashed him two and a half fingers back and the negotiatons were completed and off we went. Oh, and I included a picture of the Sphinx - I love its Arabic name, Abu al-Hol, the "father of terror" - I'm thinking about a name change!