Our flight out of Luxor was delayed so we only landed in Cairo around 12:45 in the morning. Our booked driver was waiting enthusiastically, and I must say here that all the drivers/pickups I booked for this tour were fantastic, keeping in touch via WhatsApp and asking for pics for easy identification. Very good service.

The drive to Giza was fairly uneventful, not like two years ago, and fairly soon we arrived in some dusty side street in Giza. In our “room compromise”, I had agreed to take the 5 rooms available, and I would go somewhere else and come and fetch the team in the morning. That said, I refused to leave for my night’s accommodation without sending several group members to check they would be happy staying here, i.e. the rooms were of an acceptable standard. The rooms passed muster, and I then left to go back to our hotel from the beginning of the week. I must admit to having raised my voice a couple of times during this whole episode and refused to pay until I had a postmortem report from the rest of the gang about their night’s rest. I finally got to sleep at 5am.

Up early for breakfast with that magnificent view of the Giza Plateau. Despite all the shenanigans of the previous night, I would stay here again. Because of our late arrival I had swapped our last two days around, we were headed for the Grand Egyptian Museum today and a late start wouldn’t really affect us. I went down to reception to give them a hard time (in a friendly joking way) and wait for our guide. Upon his arrival, we left to fetch the rest of the gang, who all looked none the worse for the night’s upheaval. The only real complaint was about noise, but we resolved that quite quickly later in the day.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, the GEM, really lives up to its name; it is immense. Having got our tickets, we made our way past the eateries where I was advised to book a lunch spot for later. Booked set meals for all and paid 50% upfront, which seemed a sensible way of doing things. Finally we were in the main atrium with its colossal statue of Rameses the Great, the same 81-ton statue that used to stand outside Rameses railway station. Next the Grand Staircase.

I have seen many pictures and videos of this amazing feature, but standing on it really brings home just how big it is. The staircase is divided into 4 sections of display, starting with the Royal Image,, featuring magnificent statues of kings and queens. Next up, literally, is the Divine Houses, showcasing spectacular architectural elements of Egyptian temples. Further up is a collection of Gods and Kings, highlighting the divinity of kingship. The final section just before the fantastic panoramic window overlooking the Giza Plateau is dedicated to the Journey to Eternity. Death is only the beginning, and indeed it is, as this is where one enters the main galleries.

After our guided tour up the staircase, we elected to hit the travelator and go and find lunch. Yes, the staircase took us that long, so much to see and listen to. The restaurant that we had booked was busy but our table was there for us. The food arrived and was delicious. I had expected food to be at a premium cost as we were inside the museum, but it wasn’t. Very good value. I would go there again.

Lunch done we zipped up the staircase via the travelator. What a good idea! I was also pleased to see there are wheelchair specific lifts to each section of the Grand Staircase. Now for the main galleries.

First impressions of the museum galleries are that it is incredible. I feel that you would need to spend days here to do it all. The displays are well laid out, lit well, and the information cards are extensive. I would suggest that it would help visitors if the directional signage on the walls was a little more explanatory; it doesn’t help me if I know Gallery 4 is to the left and Gallery 6 is to the right if I don’t know what is in each gallery. Good to see that there are benches all over for that 5-minute break. I would suggest if you are planning on going, that you decide what you want to see before you go.

I will certainly go back; however I would like to do a couple of days there on my own just to get some idea of what is what. I would also like to find out more about the interactive displays, and then of course there is the Khufu Solar Boat and let’s not forget the entire Tutankhamun collection. Brilliant!

Back to the hotel and hopefully some food. There was a big party/music event happening at the Pyramids that evening, which I feel was part of the accommodation issue. As a result of this all the local restaurants were full. We went up to the rooftop “restaurant” and eventually ordered food. And waited, and waited. We eventually worked out that they didn’t actually have a kitchen but had ordered from somewhere else and were waiting for that delivery. On the plus side, the food when it arrived was delicious and the evening was spent doing a lot of laughing. I do love it here.