This week, we're mapping some of the world's greatest train trips.

Desk jockeys may find the route traveled by the Pride of Africa to be prohibitively long, not to mention impractical: The classic Cape to Cairo track may have been an innovation back in the days of "Doctor Livingstone, I presume?"

But on a continent known for being unknowable, the Pride of Africa, making tracks through Zimbabwe and Tanzania aboard the self-described "World's Most Luxurious Train," this route attracts because, even with its airplane attachments, it's the kind of journey no one takes any more.

Between the classic train cars (some dating from the 19-teens) to the built-in balconies, there's only one word for it: audacious. We can't help picturing some kind of adventure along the lines of "Strangers on a Train" meets "The Constant Gardener," or a dry "African Queen," that envelops everyone on board.

Related Stories:
· Cape to Cairo [Rovos Rail]
· Cape to Cairo, Mostly by Train [Bootsnall.com]
· A Bunch of South Africans Who Took the Trip in 2007 [Our Cape to Cairo]
· Transsiberian Is An Ice-Cold Thriller [Jaunted]

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Halt all pyramid production! Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities announced on December 25 that it plans to pass a law requiring royalties be paid to the Egyptian government when exact duplications of the country's pyramids or sphinx structures are produced. What prompted the decision? Las Vegas.

According to an AFP report, the director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, made the pyramid law announcement shortly after the Egyptian newspaper Al-Wafd published an article demanding that Las Vegas' Luxor Hotel give its Egyptian namesake a portion of its profits. Their reasoning: 35 million tourists visit Las Vegas each year, and only six million visit Luxor.

What remains unclear is how the Egyptian government will stop shape counterfeiters. Even Luxor's town council leader has his doubts:

We can't forbid people from using the name of Luxor and copying monuments from (the) city, which is the world's richest city for monuments...Tourists going to Las Vegas doesn't affect our city's business.

Related Links:
· Egypt to Copyright Pyramids [AFP, via Google]
· Egypt Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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