I had always wanted to go to Egypt to see the Pyramids, and in 2007 I finally made it there. I stayed at the Oasis hotel out on the desert road not far from the pyramids. From the moment we arrived in Cairo it was blatantly obvious how hot it was going to be. We arrived just after midnight and the heat was amazing even at that late hour. For the majority of the time there it was in the fifties (Celsius) but it was a very different sort of heat to what I've been used to in England - instead of it being humid it was a very dry heat.

Speaking to the locals they were quite surprised to have tourists from Europe there in June/July sort of time as it's usually too hot. We were also quite lucky in that we'd missed a sandstorm by a week.

There's plenty to see in and around Cairo, obviously there's the Pyramids and the Sphinx on the Giza Plateau, but there are also other places to see (especially if you're interested in ancient history) such as the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities where they have the burial mask of Tutankhamun.

It being a third world country you should prepare yourself to expect the conditions that comes with that. You are likely to find yourself constantly being approached by people wanting to show you their business in hope that you will buy something. After a while though the most useful phrase you can use is "La Shukran" (pronounced like lah-show-kran) which means "no thank you". It may seem mean to have to say that so often, but if you go or have been then you'll understand why it is necessary.

There doesn't appear to be any road laws whatsoever, if there are any then they probably don't care much for them. The usual way to cross the road is to walk out in front of the cars and to hope for the best. One phrase to avoid using here is "Somedays you're the windshield, and somedays you're the fly". Despite the driving though I don't think I saw a single accident whilst I was there, and they do manage to avoid pedestrians on the pavement quite well too - probably because they're about a half a metre above the road (I am exaggerating, but not by much).

I recommend taking a dinner cruise down the nile if you have time, it's a great way to see the nile whilst experiencing their food and some of their culture in the form of onboard entertainment.

The only other thing I can think of to mention is do not drink the water. In most places local ice cream is also made from this and should be avoided. I was unfortunate enough to have a fair bit of the local ice cream and found myself ill for months afterwards.