Our campsite at night

The night before our camping trip to the White Desert I had nightmares. I was scared about having to go to the bathroom in the desert as we just spent an entire day not being able to move due to our Indian Jones adventures inside the pyramids. Our legs were as stiff as metal poles, changing positions, getting out of bed, walking, using stairs and sitting on toilets were quite the ordeal. Spent the entire day hiding in our hotel room and watching movies, wondering if we would make it to our White Desert camping trip the next day. But, low and behold, our human bodys are indeed miracle machines and after a night of nightmares I was able to get out of bed easier and with excitement to truly experience the desert!

Our middle of no where stop

We didn’t know much about the tour other than it being a 1 night camping trip in the White desert with all food, water, and supplies included. We awoke early and had our included breakfast, which is nothing to brag about; Tea, non-toasted hot dog buns, jam, and cream cheese. But what else can you expect in Cairo for a free breakfast at a budget saving hotel? Then soon enough the hotel driver was taking us to the bus station. Our bus was a public bus that made frequent stops all the way for passengers and parcels to the small oasis town where we would be picked up by our desert guide. It was about a 5-hour drive, a drive that took us very far into the desert. So far that the midway rest point was literally in the middle of no-where! You could not see a single thing for miles except sand and the small building with a washroom and some snacks for sale.

Black Desert Sunset

After some typical confusion upon arriving to our pick up point we were finally off in a 4×4 Jeep with our desert guide Iman, and a security officer who carried a gun under his shirt. Iman told us it was protocol for private camping tours, both for his and our safety. Was a little strange at first as the thoughts ran through our head. The deeper we drove in the desert national park the more and more security check-points we passed… Where are we going??? But soon enough the strangeness passed as we relaxed and just enjoyed the sights going by. The sun was setting and the desert at this time of day is a beautiful glowing sight.

Black Mountain

We had to travel through the Black desert to reach the white. The Black desert is yellow sand that is covered with black soot from volcanic cones that erupted many years ago. We quickly stopped at Black Mountain for some shots and were back in the Jeep, whipping through the sand and sliding on all the turns. We were driving fast enough to frighten me but I had to remind myself Iman drives this everyday, so just trust him and enjoy the ride! Insert adrenalin smile here.

We arrived to the White Desert shortly after sunset. The ominous glow of the sun mixed with the white and purple hues from the rocks made the terrain we were exploring look like and alien wasteland. It was quite surreal and almost dreamlike. Where in the world are we? I never knew such a place of alien beauty existed on this planet, and to think it’s located in the middle of a giant dessert. A place usually associated with nothingness.

We arrived to our campsite, located just behind a large white caulk rock formation and our guide set up camp while we enjoyed our surroundings. The sand was so soft and deep and the surrounding rock formations were something we’ve never seen before.

Camping Food is always so good!

Soon enough, dinner was being cooked over the fire and then served to us. It was the best food we had in Egypt. Amazing! Funny how camp food is always better then regular food. We don’t even really know what we ate… it was so good we barely had a chance to examine it.

After dinner Iman disappeared for a bit and came back with a shisha pipe. Both Scott and I have never smoked out of one before, only heard about them. But this seemed like the perfect time to break our shisha cherries. The flavor was apple and it was the perfect match for sitting by a fire and enjoying the stars. The desert was so quiet that we could hear our ears ringing and the stars lit up the sky, almost to the point it seemed like we could touch them.

We are actually awake for sunrise!

White Desert Sunrise

Soon enough the heat of the day got to us all and it was time for bed. Mats and sleeping bags were pulled out and we were presented with a bed under the stars. Iman insisted we take a huge pile of blankets, we almost didn’t but were glad we listened to him, as it got really cold later in the night. This time I fell asleep dreaming of the sunrise and hoping we would wake up to see it. Low and behold, we both woke up as we felt the heat start to rise, the sun must be rising and we had the best seat in the house to watch it! It was a breathtaking moment watching the sun rise over the lime stone formations and made us think of the Sunday morning sunrise we always stay up for at Shambhala each year.

Our campsite during the day

Our time in the desert was a remarkable experience. The desert is a vast playground of nothingness that is also filled with some of the world’s most beautiful things.

Chicken and the Tree, White Desert

Chasing Beetles

It just keeps going!

I thought it couldn’t get any hotter than outside. The weather around 10:00 was somewhere near 40 degrees outside the Pyramid in Dashur, and climbing 200 feet up the side was exhausting in the heat. But once I set foot inside the pyramid, there’s wasn’t even a breeze to cool the air. And now with every step down into the center the air got hotter, but with a stale smell to it. The passageway was hundreds of feet long and only about 4 feet high, causing me to crouch with sweat dripping into my eyes. By the time we made it down into the center of the structure, it had to be another 10 degrees hotter than outside. It felt like I was melting, my legs were on fire and I was getting dizzy with heat exhaustion. I loved every minute of it.

I felt like Indiana Jones going into the unknown. The way these things were built is amazing. Huge stone blocks put together with not even a hairs width of room in-between them. No concrete sticking out, just the weight of a million tons pressing down keeping everything together. Yet there are passageways leading to a Queens tomb and the Kings tomb, and a large gallery that raises up 50 feet into the middle. How the hell did they build these things? Are there more passageways that haven’t been discovered? And inside a huge room where the Kings tomb sat empty, the precious items stolen long ago. Being inside made me feel like a child again. I remember reading about them when I was very young and being amazed, thinking about one day going to explore the ancient wonders of the old world.



If walking the alleys of Rome was “tripping over history”, being amongst the ruins of Egypt is like experiencing the start of civilization. This is where it all started. This is where we evolved from wandering packs of wolves to creating monuments that will outlast us. Walking through the Egypt section of the Louvre is nothing compared to walking through the endless statues, sculptures and Pyramids that are located all around the Nile. I never knew there were over 100 Pyramids dotted throughout the valley, and this was only a portion of what Egypt had to offer. It must have been some sight to see all the Pyramids in the desert, as the sun reflected off of their massive white limestone casings for as far as the eye can see. It truly would have looked like burial chambers of the gods.



After visiting the Step Pyramid, we went to the last remaining Wonder of the Ancient World, the Pyramids of Giza. I couldn’t help but be in awe of the sheer scale of the 3 Pyramids, they are much bigger than I ever imagined. And as we climbed up the side of the second pyramid of the day, the adrenaline of going inside fueled my legs that felt like mush. The thing that striked me the most odd was that there were no hieroglyphics inside the Pyramids. In fact there were no markings of any kind inside that I could tell. I always thought there would be innumerable inscriptions on every solid face inside, but apparently not.



It was always a dream of mine to go see the Pyramids, and I’m glad we were able to make it happen. It only makes me want to go back to Egypt in the future, and further south near the Valley of the Kings. The pyramids are only the tip of the iceberg in the sweltering desert, with more than 80% of the important finds being further south.

Hiding Beauty?

Living in Vancouver, B.C., a major port city in Canada, it’s common to see all walks of life walking the streets. I have seen practicing Muslim women before, covered head to toe no matter what the weather is. Long pants or skirts, long sleeve top, and a head scarf which is called a hijab. Sometimes they even wear a veiled hijab that only shows the eyes. I’ve never really thought about WHY the women choose to dress this way. I’ve always just made assumptions to myself, thinking it’s because the men in their culture don’t respect them and they are forced to hide themselves in public.

So, I entered Cairo with a very non-educated mind about the Muslim religion and soon found out my assumptions were half correct. Instead, the truth of the hijab is women choose to wear them, and dress they way they do to be treated with respect from men and not only thought as of sex objects. They believe that from the way they dress the men actually meet who they truly are and get to know the person inside first. Doesn’t sound so bad now does it ladies? Almost sounds similar to problems in our western society. How men react to you is, as much as we hate to admit it, a direct result as to how our men treat us. Dress like trash and guess who is treated like trash? Dress sexy and guess what thoughts are going through their minds? Etc, etc.

Muslim girls showing a sense of style paired with their hijabs

All of a sudden, how Muslim women choose to dress makes much more sense and many of them still have their own sense of style by pairing their hijabs with their outfits and wearing unique fashion tops or printed tees over their long sleeve clothing. However I have no idea how they can survive wearing that much clothing! It’s bloody hot in Cairo! Do they ever have some sort of internal stamina! Myself, to respect their culture made sure to get myself a pair of pants and a loose long sleeve top to wear while walking around the streets of Cairo. I had to do this shopping in October in Germany, which resulted in not many options to choose from since all the clothes for sale were made out of thick wools! I ended up with a pair of black yoga pants, and a semi see-through long sleeve top with a black tank top underneath, paired with a scarf to cover my chest. This outfit was still almost unbearable at the most of times and I often found myself rolling my sleeves up and loosening the scarf while sweating buckets.

My daily outfit in Cairo, as you can see amongst a heavy tourist site filled with westerners I have resorted to taking off my scarf and rolling up my sleeves the best I can

However, even with this respectful outfit I still felt a huge disrespect from most men in Cairo. They would never talk to me, only Scott, and if I said something it fell on deaf ears. It was always up to Scott to get the touts to go away as my comments like “We need to get back to our hotel to catch our plane” never worked in Cairo. Also, the further from the main core we went, especially while walking through the back lanes of the bazaar, I felt very perverted stares in my direction to the point that Scott could feel them as-well and told me to wrap my head up in my scarf. The moment I did that I instantly felt less stares. I only felt respect from men that worked in the tourist industry; the guides, hotel staff, personal drivers, and security. They would talk to me, make sure I was comfortable, ask my opinions, and I never caught them looking at my chest.

After my experience in Cairo, I feel I have more in common with Muslim women. Men across the world are the same and thus women have to dress in result of that. If you want to be respected you need to dress respectfully, and even though they cover themselves head to toe they are still very conscious about their beauty and style.