I didn't end up doing all that much today. I woke up very late, to make up for all the sleep I missed out on. After having a bit of a chat with the hostel receptionist, who was Australian, she recommended for me to try out some Stingray. So that was the first thing I went out to do. I found my way to the restaurant, another similar outdoor local place, and ordered myself the Stingray. It was very tasty. Very firm, and easy to eat. You can even eat the bones - they are soft enough to chew on. It started raining when I decided I wanted to visit the Petronas Towers. But at least the rain here goes on and off, and isn't constant. It was close to dark by the time it stopped, ... read more

It was finally time to leave Egypt, and for one last time, I would have to put up with the annoying people at the airport, carrying my luggage for me and demanding a tip afterwards. I just wanted to sit down, relax and wait with my own luggage at the check-in terminal. I seriously couldn't wait to get out of here. My first transfer point was Kuwait. After that it was a seven-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur. I breathed a sigh of relief as I left Egypt for good. Malaysia was going to be far more pleasant. As soon as I cleared customs and immigration, there were no people trying to approach me. It felt amazing. Today I wasn't going to really do that much - I was tired, jet lagged, and needed to get to ... read more

So today was the day to head down as far south as you can go in Egypt. Abu Simbel, an ancient site three hours from Aswan. Trips had to be planned with police convoy, due to the security risk in the area. I greeted my driver once again in the hotel lobby. We set off at around 11am. We passed Philae and the High Dam, and from then onwards it was a proper highway, with nothing but desert for the rest of the way. This made for impressive scenery. This was the Sahara Desert. Three hours later, after not having much going on inside the van, being the only tourist on board, we arrived at Abu Simbel. Once there I was greeted by a tour guide; part of the package already paid for. So I proceeded ... read more

Today I planned to visit Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. I woke up after midday, and did a bit of research on how far away the attractions were. Luxor Temple wasn’t too far, but Karnak was a few kilometres up the road. I decided to ask reception for a transfer. I was driven there by motorbike, which was quite fun. And intense at times; but what was mostly fascinating was the streets and people that I was seeing. It just screamed Africa. My motorcyclist drove me along the Nile bank, past Luxor temple, and spectacular views on both sides of the road. It wasn’t too long before I was at Karnak Temple; I bought myself a ticket, grabbed something to eat then headed to the site. It was astonishing. This has to be the most impressive ... read more

I hoped today was not going to be a repeat of yesterday. I again, arranged things with Tareq, this time to visit the Egyptian Museum. We hoped that the entrance fee was the only thing we were going to have to pay Tareq came to get me from my hostel at midday. We set for a walking journey across the city. The museum was no more than a ten minute walk away, and crossing the streets and dodging the traffic proved to be fun. We got to the entrance of the museum, and prepared ourselves for any suspicious movement. Needless to say, there were indeed people approaching us, offering to be our tour guides. Our tactic; ignore. Simply ignore them. Don’t even say “no”, as that can bring the opportunity for them to harass you. Just ... read more