Aswan is lovely and laid back compared with Cairo. The Nile here is sparking blue and feluccas glide past creating the picture perfect vista. The souk here is just one long street and much less hassle than Cairo. Whenever Kylie, Dan and I walk down the street we hear 'you very lucky man' shouted to Dan, and he's had numerous offers to sell one of his 'wives'! We're now sticking with the story that Kylie is his sister, so as to save confusion and offers of camels! Yesterday we went on a boat ride around the local islands. We stopped for [View Full Entry]

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We have just arrived in Aswan, having got the sleeper train from Cairo. Aside from the radio station on the train only playing Celine Dion, and the lounge car being kitted in brown decor and hazy with cigarette smoke like a 1970s film, it was a relatively comfortable journey. It took 12 hours from Cairo and we slept sporadically in a 2 berth cabin as the train jerked and jolted. The Nile in Aswan is gorgeous - blue and pristine. We're about to head out to explore the town and souk. On Thursday we visited Coptic Cairo, which is much less [View Full Entry]

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My words won't do justice to describing Cairo but I'll at least attempt to sum up what we've experienced today. This is a city of chaos, mayhem, extremes, eclectic architecture, smog, dust and stifling heat. The traffic is manic; I can't perceive any real road rules - even red lights aren't adhered to. We've been in a half dozen taxis and in every one of them we've feared for our lives! After one near-crash, Dan said 'I guess we should be wearing seat belts' to which I replied 'there aren't any'. We arrived in the early hours of the morning after [View Full Entry]

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