My experience with the Pyramids of Giza is somewhat different than most first-time travelers to Cairo. I never even entered the Pyramids, and I also got scammed, badly. I visited both at sunset and during the day, and loved it both times. I realize it's hardly off the beaten track, but it's popular for good reason. I was lucky enough to be almost alone for both visits, as the summer is low season for Egypt.

I arrived in Cairo at 1:30am and only had a few hours of sleep before I set off on my day. My first day would be a short one, as I had a train to catch for Aswan at 10pm. I intended to go to the bank, walk around for a while, then hit the Egyptian Museum when it got too hot.

While I was waiting to cross the street, a man my age started talking to me. First he told me (unsolicited) how to find the Egyptian Museum. Thinking to get him off my tail, I said, "No thanks, I'm going to the bank." First mistake. He offered to lead me to an ATM, since he had to get money too. After he saw me getting out a large amount of Egyptian pounds (and no matter how close I stood to the machine, he would have known), he offered to take me out for a drink. Okay, so it was my first day, and I'd read so much about Middle Eastern hospitality, so I agreed.

At the coffeeshop, Amir asked me if I wanted juice, tea, or a beer. I figured, what the hell... "A beer." He looked shocked but recovered quickly and said they did not serve beer at this establishment, so he would buy my juice and then I could buy him a beer. Second mistake.

We spent all day at a rooftop bar, during which he continued ordering more and more beers I didn't want, and I was stuck with half a bill I didn't agree to paying. I wasted my day essentially, missed the museum, so when he suggested we go to the Pyramids for a sunset horseride, I agreed. Obviously, third mistake.

Next, we stopped at his "cousin's" perfume shop. It's possible they really were related, but it's hard to believe EVERYONE in Egypt could be cousins. My fourth mistake was not jumping ship here, despite my misgivings—I would have been lost earlier trying to escape from the bar, but the perfume shop was on the same block as my hotel.

Aladdin, my sweet horse guide

He paid for the taxi to his "favorite" stable in Giza. The owner told me it cost 240EP for a 3-hour ride. I exploded. I was so angry at Amir for the ridiculous day I'd had with him, wasting my time at the perfume shop, trying to scam me. Even though it was technically the owner trying to overcharge me, I knew it was somehow Amir's fault.

Both of them tried to guilt me by telling me that I came all this way to see the Pyramids and if tourists are stingy they can't help it. The lowest the owner would go was 180EP. I KNEW that was bullshit, but since it was my first day, I hadn't planned on going to the Pyramids yet and hadn't read my guidebook, so I didn't know how off it was. Amir, seeing my obvious anger, offered to pay for it. My fifth mistake was not trying to force him to pay—why not? Feminism be damned, he was trying to scam me!

Horses nuzzling at the romantic sunset

Other riders in the desert

In the end, I agreed to the 180EP because it was getting late, I did want to take the ride, and I could either return to Cairo to wait for my train and realize I'd wasted my day or just suck it up and take the ride. In case you're wondering, they were essentially charging me $30 for something that should have cost 30EP. Quite a mark-up, no?.

It was absolutely stunning, although I can't say it was "worth every penny," of course. But my anger melted away when I met my sweet horse guide, Aladdin. He was totally accommodating to my fear of riding (yes, horses freak me out, but I still occasionally get on them) and was a knowledgeable guide. We viewed the Pyramids from many different angles, occasionally bumped into other riders (no tourists), and watched the sun go down. It was a beautiful night.

For my 180EP, I was also supposed to ride the horse to a good vantage point to see the Sound and Light show for free—a nightly event so delightfully cheesy that I was dying to see it but certainly not to shell out 45EP. Unfortunately, I was running late for my train, so I had to head back. Once back in the stables, I ran out on Amir, my anger returning, and took a cab into the seething traffic of Cairo. I barely took my seat on the train before it left the station.

Sunset on the Giza plateau

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