Mick's toilet tour of Aswan... and some temples, camels and cruising on the Nile

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After a surprisingly comfortable night on the overnight train we arrived in Aswan. Mick’s stomach was starting a revolt but he soldiered on as we dropped our stuff at the hotel and went for a look at the massive high dam. The original dam built in Aswan is dwarfed by the dam built in 1971 after a lot of controversy and some help from the soviets. The result is Lake Nasser which flooded half of Nubia, forcing the locals to move and some massive projects to save some of the ancient relics and temples, but also saving Egypt from the devastation faced by other African nations due to drought. After the dam we caught a ferry over to the Temple of Isis which was moved from it’s original island to the current spot. Mick didn’t see much of the temple though as he sat in agony after discovering the toilets were “out of order”. In the afternoon we sailed down the Nile eating a traditional Nubian lunch and stopping off for a swim (Mick was the only one in our group to brave it though). We then went for a camel ride across the edge of the desert before spending some time with a local family.

The next morning we were up very early to catch the 4am tourist convoy to the temple of Abu Simbel. The police make everyone travel together with police escort which is a pain as it means everyone arrives at the same time. It was a 3 hour journey but worth it as the temple is an amazing sight. The sunrise over the desert was also pretty amazing. This temple had also been moved as it’s original location was flooded by the high dam. They were a bit out though, as originally the sun entered the temple on King Ramses birthday and coronation day but after the move it is now a day later, whoops! The second temple is for Queen Nefertiti, who was one of Ramses 34 or so wives but his favourite and the only one to get a temple! After our big morning we had a quiet afternoon with lunch at the fancy “Old Cataract” hotel and a visit to the markets that night. Mick was still "too scared to fart" for fear of "pooing my pants" so popped a couple of immodium and hoped for the best for tomorrow on the cruise (with no on board toilet). Luckily it did the trick.

The next morning we wandered down to the Nile for a day of relaxation, sailing leisurely down the Nile on a felucca (sailing boat). It was basically just a deck with mattresses and we all lazed about, read, chatted and watched the world go by. Our crew made us delicious meals for lunch and dinner and we moored at the edge of the Nile overnight, singing some local songs. It was a nice change of pace and a good rest in the middle of our trip.

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Photos

On our way to Philae temple
Mick already looking uncomfortable...