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Joshua and I woke up at 4:30 this morning for our balloon ride. We were all layered up and waiting as our shuttle drove up. We drove around to a few hotels to pick up more passengers and then we were dropped off at the pier about 5 minutes down a side street from our hotel. Later on in the day Joshua was not impressed that we had to get up so early and drive around only to find that we could have slept in and walked over ourselves. Anyhow, we are given a safety talk once all passengers have been picked up and then we walk down to get on to the shuttle boat. We are offered coffee and snacks as we apparently have to await the arrival of other people before our shuttle takes off. Even though we were the first group there by the time the others that are sharing the boat with us arrive, we are the last to leave. It is a short trip across the Nile and then we are driven to the Valley of the Kings area where we can already see balloons being inflated. We were a little disappointed as the sun seemed
to be rising and we had thought to be in the air to actually watch the sunrise but one of our fellow passengers, who had done this before, said that this was the best time for flying and the best light. They arranged us all into the basket and then made us practice the safety procedures again. The captain was great, his English very good and before we knew it we were taking off. It was actually the goodbyes of the crew that told us we were off. Many of the balloons were well above us by now so it was a very colourful sky as you looked up. Our captain pointed our various points of interest and gave us information about the workings of the balloon and flying in general. Slowly but surely we rose as did the sun and it was spectacular. We had a group with a good sense of humour so balloon crash questions were openly discussed. We were asked what kind of landing we wanted—Egyptian, English or American. Egyptian was soft, English a little bumpy and American very bumpy! While he couldn't control the direction of the balloon our captain did his best to turn
the balloon so that everyone was able to see all the points of interest. The captain laughingly told us to stop helping gravity when some people got a little enthusiastic and were moving around within the basket for photos. The other balloons had begun their descent but we kept going up. Finally the captain told us that we had reached the maximum altitude allowed without having a special permit. We watched the balloons below land and begin to be deflated. I was surprised that we kept flying when so many balloons had landed already. At last we had to come down. We were told to brace ourselves as taught. I kept the camera rolling and was not in complete crouch position, much to Joshua's horror. He was very concerned that I wasn't where I should be and according to him we didn't have an Egyptian landing at all—more American. Of course when we got back he “told on me” and said I didn't follow the rules and I wasn't in landing position. When we were out of the basket they had a little music session where they played drums and had us dance. Joshua was pulled into the middle to
his dismay. We then made our donation for the ground crew and tried to avoid all the boys that had arrived with donkeys for picture taking. We were finally all driven back to the dock and shuttled back to the east side of the Nile. Dropped off at our hotel at around 9 am we made it just in time to join Benjamin and Grahame for breakfast!
After breakfast, we made our way to one last location in Luxor, the Mummification Museum. Unlike the Egyptian museum, this one is very modern and reasonably well labeled. Diagrams outline the mummification process and the tools (including one for literally picking the brain) and substances of the trade our laid out. Along with the expected human mummies, there were mummified cats, birds, and even a crocodile.
We made a brief detour to the strip of tourist shops before lunch and picked up a few souvenirs, though it is always a real hassle here as there is enormous pressure from the sales people. After lunch we packed for the evening bus ride.
When we got to the bus office, we had a bit of a wait as we were quite early. The
East Delta bus company bus was not too bad - certainly better than Cambodian buses. A bus boy loads on your luggage and then asks for payment. Fortunately I was ready for this and had some small bills ready. The bus was only partially full when we left at about 4:30 pm and there seemed to be a number of other tourists aboard. Passing the tourist police office with a machine gun toting guard on the fire escape, you get reminded just how security conscious this country is.
We left Luxor with Egyptian pop music blasting and the orange bus curtains swinging with each bend in the road. Once again, we are leaving a place that started off strange and foreign to us and now feels relatively comfortable and familiar. We passed over a spot where the Avenue of the Sphinx, which used to run from Luxor temple to Karnac temple, is being excavated.
Luxor is relatively compact and after one or two bridges, we found ourselves back out in the countryside. This bus turned out to make a number of stops, so it is obviously not direct. By about 10:30 at night we were at the Red
Sea resort town of Hurghada. This area looked quite prosperous with fancy car dealerships and big hotels.
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