After Mt. Sinai I think we were all pretty exhausted so once we got to the hotel, we slept, or tried to sleep by the pool. The following day we all went snorkelling in the Blue Hole! The Blue Hole is known as after a few metres from shore it drops suddenly to 633ft. It attracts divers and snorkellers alike from all over the world to marvel at its coral and spectaclar geography. From out of the water you can see light blue where the coral starts and then a sudden dark blue which shows where hole just drops away. From [View Full Entry]

---

---

In the afternoon at 4pm went left the town of Huargada and started the long drove to Mt. Sinai. We were in a small mini bus that lept about two feet in the air every time we went over the smallest of bumps. Sleeping was impossible and so when we arrived at Mt. Sinai at 02:20am, most of us were like zombies. Mt. Sinia is where Moses went to get the ten commandments from God for the villagers. It is the highest mountain in Egypt and stands at 2285m. There are two paths you can take, the camel path with is [View Full Entry]

---

---

So we left Luxor at about 5pm and drove five and a half hours to Hurghada. This is where the group split. Some people finished after a week and so stayed on the bus which was heading for Cairo, 10 of us got off for our week on the coast. Into our rooms for 11pm and out on the town to the Hard Rock Cafe for free drinks! And what a sight it was, it was just full of Egyptian men and western women...and a small toddler to add to it just walking around loud thumping music, people smoking and drunkards. [View Full Entry]

---

---

By midday we had reached Luxor and after stocking up on fruit and water I raced to the top floor of where we were staying where the hotel not only boasted magnificant views but also a pool and deck chairs. I became a tourist for the day and lay in the sun, sometimes it is nice to do these things :) Quote from my journal: 17th April 2009 'I feel really happy and content at the moment. From where I am standing on the 7th Floor, the city of Luxor is so beautiful. A huge expanse of life with scattered palm [View Full Entry]

---

---

After Abu Simbel we returned to Aswan and boarded our corresponding boats. Some people opted for the more expensive and all mod-cons cruise, whilst the rest of us chose the more real and of course more fun Felucca. A Felucca is a traditional wooden sailboat used in the protected waters of the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Nile and has either one or two sails. It can typically hold up to ten passengers and three crew members. We sailed up the Nile for the rest of the afternoon, going to and fro from either side of the Nile, catching the wind [View Full Entry]

---

---

No time yet for a decent nights sleep, it was time to pack our bags with a wake up call at 02:20am. We were on our way to Abu Simbel, a three hour drive south (290km), finishing up only 15km away from the Sudan border. I did ask if we could 'just pop over' to the border to get our passports stamped but I retreated with some of the looks they gave me. Anyway, Abu Simbel consists of two archeological sites that were once moved when the Aswan Dam threatened the original sites with total submersion. It is unbelievable to think [View Full Entry]

---

---

After an exhausting day exploring the Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids, the Sphinx AND a Papyrus Paper Shop, we packed and went to the train station to get onto our transport to the south! At last, at about 10:30pm, the train pulled up and we all clambered on board, squeezing through the narrow seat isles with 12kg bags in tow and Egyptian men staring at us. All stuff that highly amuses me because everyone else gets so uncomfortable! After a few minor hitches with other people having to move from the seats (as per usual) we started to settle into our 16 [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today I navigated my way through the underground, trying to find my way to the new hotel. I had forgotten to take the address of the hotel were we were all supposed to be meeting at, so I texted my two brothers in England, Oliver and Freddie. Low and behold 10 mins later Freddie was the first to text back with the address and funnily enough sent me on a wild goose chase across Cairo to a street with the same name as the one with the hotel on...oh well...that is the way to learn! I eventually asked a taxi driver [View Full Entry]

---

---

I had forgotton the stresses of travelling. Walking through the airport at Heathrow and the screen tells me my flight is boarding but no gate number shows itself. No staff members are to be seen and a brief thought flashes through my mind that trouble is starting and I haven't even left the country! My trip to Egypt was last minute, thinking about it on the Monday (the idea came from a travel book), booking on the tuesday and leaving on the Friday. Impulse desicions are the way I like it, it's so much more exciting that way. First contact of [View Full Entry]

---

---

The pictures you have all been waiting for, I promise you will not be disappointed. This was the highlight of my trip, it was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone. I'll start from the beginning! Will and I were picked up from our hotel at 5:55am and taken to the Kappadokia Balloons Office to meet with the rest of the group. After establishing which direction the wind was going and using a test balloon we were loaded into the mini bus and taken to our take-off site. It was so exciting, being up and about in the magical sunrise, [View Full Entry]

---

---