You can't go to Egypt without a photo of the Pyramids, can you?

Egypt was a complete random choice location to take a trip to, but it was definitely worth it.

I booked late, 2 weeks to departure and on the spur of the moment decided to do it. Probably caused by undue stress from work, and needing to get away on a grand scale.

Due to my late booking, they couldn't get me the flight to join one of the Explore travel groups. I had to go a day earlier.

Egyptian immigration was pretty scary. They detained my passport for 45 mins to check it out thoroughly. The time was almost midnight, and I was getting worried. Luckily they decided to let me pass, obviously not a threat to their country!

The trip was totally amazing, taking me from the bustling streets of Cairo to all the familiar sights of the Pyramids and the Sphinx. The route we took looped from Cairo across over the Suez, around the Sinai and back across the Red Sea to Luxor.

One of the best experiences of my life happened on this trip, and this was the midnight hike up to Mount Sinai to watch the sunrise. Carrying only torches we started on our 4 hour hike from the base at St Catherine's Monastery along a winding track. Eventually we reached a set of roughly marked stairs, more like stones clumped together to look like stairs, which took us the rest of the way to the very peak. 750 craggy steps later, with exhausted legs, we stepped up onto the peak, ready and waiting for the sun to rise.

Indescribable, just awesome!

It will remain in my mind as the most incredible sunrise I have ever seen. Maybe it was the hike which made it special, or perhaps it was because this was where Moses supposedly received the commandments. For whatever reason, it was worth it.

On other days we camped out at Ras Mohammed, the most southerly point on the Sinai peninsula. Swam in the Red Sea observing the many amazing fish. Clambered around the Sinai plateaus where surprisingly we found old dried coral strewn everywhere. This was because at one point in time, a long time ago, this plateau was all under water!

After several days out and about in the Sinai area, we took a catamaran from Sharm el Shiek to Luxor, in what was the roughest ride of most peoples lives. The Red Sea was very choppy that night. Three quarters of the passengers were sick!

So the last part of the journey was spent in Luxor, checking out Karnak Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and the totally amazing Temple of Hetchepsut.

If you haven't been to Egypt, you really should go, it will blow your mind away.

Check out the photos here.