Back to Cairo. The Pyramids Light Show

On Wednesday, we fly back to Cairo. At Luxor Airport, we once again experience “kindness” in the Egyptian style. The food options in the departure area are limited to a tiny café offering only sandwiches and popcorn. After finishing our sandwiches and sitting on the benches, we’re asked whether we’d like some free popcorn that remained after the machine was emptied. We agree. Once we’ve eaten it, the man comes back and asks if we would please write a positive review on Facebook—in exchange for the popcorn. He says it in such a way that refusing doesn’t really feel like an option. When I say I can’t find the page on Facebook, he still doesn’t give up and searches for it himself on my phone. I post a positive review, but since the café is actually quite disappointing, I delete the review later when we’re back in Cairo.

In Cairo, we take an Uber from the airport to the same hotel near the pyramids where we stayed before. Booking hotels in Egypt is very easy—the selection on accommodation websites is huge—and 1–2 days in advance, promotional prices can even be cheaper than booking far ahead.

In the evening, I go to see the Giza Pyramids sound and light show. It’s impressive but a bit outdated—if you watch the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, the visual effects are similar and the audio is exactly the same as in the movie. In that sense, the show itself is a historical experience.