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Published: January 4th 2011
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So Christmas morning arrived and what did Santa bring us? A glorious day and only a short delay before we were boarding our Nile cruise! We must acknowledge the excellent service given by
Luxor for Tourism, (Tel: 097/302616), and especially the wonderful Raia who gave us a receipt without even being asked (!), came to our hotel on Christmas Eve to explain things for us and sorted out our collection and transfer from the hotel to the boat.
On board the
MS Orchestra we were soon settling in to life in our cabin and enjoying a buffet lunch. The view from our room wasn't bad considering it was quite low down and Trish was able to get some bird watching done in comfort. Just after lunch we set sail for a journey that was going to take 2 days to travel the distance the train covers in 3 hours!
We spent the afternoon up on the sun deck watching the world drift by until the breeze got just a bit too chilly for us. Afternoon tea was served and then as dusk fell
we approached the temple of Kom Ombo. Although there were crowds aplenty we enjoyed wandering around the ruins. There were an awful lot of hieroglyphics and inscriptions. On one wall apparently there are pictures of medical instruments demonstrating how hi-tech Egyptian society was. We didn't see any mummified crocodiles though which is what the area is famous for. The Crocodile Museum was closed too, and maybe that's where they were hiding.
Nightlife on the boat was almost non existent. Maybe the bizarre blend of German and Chinese tourists boogied on down late into the night but if they did, we had long since gone to bed! The dinner buffet was good but it's easy to see how you could pile on the pounds on a cruise!
The following morning we woke to find ourselves docked alongside many other ships at Edfu. There we had to negotiate a caleche (horse and carriage) ride to the nearby temple. It was a bit cold as we waited for the sun to rise completely. The temple didn't open until 0700 and we got there 15 minutes before. The crowd was enormous but we were near the front when the gates opened. We
only had half an hour to look around as we had to get back to the boat. It's probably better to visit the temple on a day trip from Luxor so that you get more time. It was a great place just to wander with dark passageways and hidden rooms, plus a replica
barque designed to carry the soul off into the afterlife. Our claech delivered us back to our boat where breakfast awaited.
Another day was then spent up on the sun deck watching the world drift slowly by again. This time we had the entertainment of the Esna lock where the water level drops a few metres. As we were inside the lock gates local traders were throwing their wares on board for inspection although I'm not sure they got many sales!
The secret to cruising seems to be finding a quiet spot and having a good book. Presumably when you go on an ocean cruise there's rather more entertainment available to you. Two nights was enough for us, especially as we both became ill on the final night.
Our cruise docked near Luxor for the night and in the morning we checked out and
disembarked. That's when we found out just how far away from Luxor we were! It was about 6km, but some boats seem to dock much closer to the city. Maybe they are the more expensive ones!!! Wehad a nice relaxing time though, and it made for a memorable Chrstmas.
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Inde Tourisme
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Merry Christmas
Cruising is really a delightful experience. The scenes you captured in your camera are fabulous http://www.indetourisme.com/