JamieBrown

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel sake. The great affair is to move. (Robert Louis Stevenson.) After four nights in Luxor the place is becoming a little too familiar. For most people this would be good but I am getting itchy feet. The path we have chosen may not have been the right decision but procrastination does not sleep well with travel. Destination; The Libyan Desert. Now don’t get to excited it isn’t in Libya but also in Egypt. Driving west from Luxor passing banana plantations, fields of wheat and lucerne, sugarcane, potatoes and onions. Children walking to school and the general buzz of life. It soon comes to a halt where the reach of the Nile ends. It is literally a line drawn in ... read more

Goooood Morning Luxor. The heat off the flame is keeping me warm as we all huddle together. Now is probably a good time to take up that last favour from Mary McKillop, I think she may be sick of hearing from me but I will try to squeeze one last favour from her. Several men are holding grimly onto the basket, murmuring comforting words to us with encouraging smiles on their faces, all in Arabic of course. One last burst of flame and we are off. Slowly we ascend into the sky, not a sound except the occasional burst from the burner. Looking down it feels like you are floating in the air like a Autumn leaf, where you go is in the lap of the wind. Underneath passes Hatshepsut Temple with the stark, orange cliffs ... read more

Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order to smite. The sounding furrow; for my purpose holds. To sail beyond the sunset and the batts of all the western stars, until I die. (Alfred Lord Tennyson.) Ulysses. If Cairo is frenetic Aswan is tranquil. Nestled below the gigantic Lake Nasser it is charming and scenic. Aswan the main town on one side of the river and a Nubian village, where we are staying, on the other. The two are a contrast, one coloured brown the other painted shades of blue. The cultures are also different, with the aggressive Arabs versus the relaxed Nubians. Our house is a small eight roomed establishment with a view to die for (Beit Al-Kerem): to the front of us is the ... read more

Cairo is exhausting. 25 million people, driving 14 million cars all beeping their horns at once. So as you can imagine, this makes for some very interesting traffic. A visit to the RTA is not necessary to register your car. Every car is either missing a door, a backlight or a bumper. I never quite understood the meaning of bumper to bumper until now. Officially there is 3 lanes, but it appears that the locals think there is actually 6. Picking us up from the airport, our driver Siaid immediately runs into the back of another car, and then nonchantly proceeds to tell us “it is no problem.” The local buses are all old, dingy Volkswagens missing doors. No wonder! Within the first ten minutes in the city, we witness a collision between two of them ... read more

1) Always have a supply of alcohol on hand (NOTE: rule only applies if you have alcoholic parents). 2) Betty is a bimbo (GPS). Road signs are few, when driving you have to follow your nose. Directions are given but rarely understood... (leading to lesson number 3) 3) LEARN SOME FRENCH (and if possible, some Arabic and Berber, or at least ‘shokrum’ and ‘salam’) 4) Don’t underestimate the weather (the Sahara is NOT always warm), skimpy clothes NOT optional, dress warmly 5) If you meet a friendly local THEY WANT MONEY... (leading to lesson number 6) 6) Don’t expect change! (any extra cash you hand over will be considered a tip) Always carry little change. However, locals are honest, they won’t steal. 7) Toilets are surprisingly clean and usually supply toilet paper. Way beyond Asian standards. ... read more