http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Egypt , Upper Egypt , Luxor en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 03:22:47 +0000 Sun, 19 May 2013 03:22:47 +0000 Luxor for me was a city of highs and lows. We started out our second day in the city by riding donkeys from the river to the Valley of the Kings. It was a neat way to get from point A to point B. The donkeys were cute and a bit sassy as donkeys tend to be. Mine was fairly well behaved and obedient for the most part. It had a tendency to follow the other donkeys very closely so I had to keep pullin http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-782506.html After the rush of our first couple of days in Egypt we slowed it down a bit and spent some time floating down the Nile on a felucca. The weather was perfect for it Not too hot with a bit of a breeze and bright sunshine in a deep blue sky. We cheated a bit and had a second boat with some facilities meet us as designated spots for lunch and supper. It was a luxury that we all appreciated The boat http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-782372.html We got a 39sleep in39 Expat style today 7am wake up call But we were asleep by 10.30pm last night so had a good solid sleep. We got up changed and headed down to breakie which was good. We both had fruit croissant and an omelette so filled up nicely. We then headed off the boat and we had docked overnight in Edfu. The first thing we noticed it stunk like horse crap And sure enoug http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-782057.html I awake with the sound and movement of the felucca moving off shore and heading towards the other side of the Nile. Ouch why does it feel like my eye is all bung. Awesome I don39t have a mirror so snap some photos of my face. Horrified I see I have itchy bites on my eye and nose. My eye is swallown so much it makes me sick. In complete sadness I put my head under my sleeping bag and nap agai http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-768261.html This morning we had a very early flight south to Luxor which is situated in Upper Egypt. For some reason the idea that Upper Egypt is south from Cairo seems illogical. Unlike most if not all rivers in Europe the Nile flows from South to North rather than North to South. Therefore the part of Egypt that is upstream is Upper Egypt. We had to meet Amal at 6.30am in the foyer of the hotel. Le Merid http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-767875.html Wednesday October 17th On the Nile from Luxor to Edfu Am splitting up this day as entries as visited two different places and there are hundreds of photos of the Nile and sites of the Temples to share between them. There is a videographer on board Peter and we give him a hard time whenever we can. He is very funny. We often feel like we really stick out..tall blonde women travelling on ou http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-753695.html Monday Cairo to Luxor October 15th and 16th Karnak and Luxor Temples We are in the lobby by 5 a.m. and head to the airport for our flight from Cairo to Luxor which is included in our tour package. Our guide is incredible and takes care of everything and helps us through security and check in. An hour flight and we land in Luxor. The area is about a million and a half people as we are told by ou http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-753520.html ltstrong stylemsobidifontweight normalgtLuxor ltstrong stylemsobidifontweight normalgtFriday Oct 19 Remember that ohoh. First the completely bloated feeling at midnight then the pain and murmurs as I tried to sleep and hope this would pass. On our way home from the restaurant I remember momentarily wishing I was one of those people who could vomit at will since I was http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-752393.html HelloSince the last bog we headed back to Cairo by sweaty non ac desert bus to Alexandria then the train to Cairo we then tried to push on to get tickets for the night train south to Luxor Aswan but failed miserably after two hours of queuing an being redirected from no less than 6 windows. We gave up having been on the road for 16 hours we decided to cut and run so with brows gritty and swea http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-751741.html A sunset trip down the Nile on a felucca with friends. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-746902.html Egypt sept 2012 http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-746897.html Our alarm clock went off at 315 in the morning for this. I had bragged to all my friends back home I39m taking a hot air balloon ride over Luxor...how cool am I They39d say Oh that is amazing. You39re so brave. You do the most adventurous things on your trips...Well besides seeming like an adventurous onceinalifetime thing to do I also thought it would help me conquer my fea http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-745259.html Days 3 5 September 3 5thHi I haven39t written in a few days because I39ve been on the run for what feels like the ENTIRE time Ok so day 3 we had to wake up at 330 am so we could meet the shuttle in front of the hotel lobby at 430 am in order to catch a flight from Cairo to Luxor. That sucked Anyway once we got the airport I finally started to feel alive again....sort of. We flew t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-741212.html 16th Oct We had a pretty lazy morning following our big day that we had yesterday. Jodie Mel and I went for breakfast at an outdoor cafe on a square near to our hotel. We had an amazing breakfast of these pancake type things but they were more like pasty filled with jam or chocolate spread. We got a different one each strawberry honey and chocolate. They were all delicious and we all shared th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-739249.html Finally slept in for once and in general had a very relaxing day. My last two places in Luxor were Luxor Temple and the Mummification Museum. The nice thing about both is that they are just down the street from the hotel. Started at Luxor Temple.This is the other great temple in town right after Karnak and while it isn39t as big as Karnak I think it is the more interesting ruin. It39s com http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-730772.html Left bright and early to escape the heat and had a driver arranged through the hotel take me across the Nile to the West Bank. This is the land of the dead and probably the greatest burial ground in Egypt outside of Cairo. During the New Kingdom days nearly 1000 years after the pyramids were built pharoahs typically hid their tombs away in the hills surrounding Luxor or Thebes. All of this w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-730507.html Set off today after a hearty breakfast for the 20 min. walk up the Nile to the famous Karnak Temples. This is one of the absolute largest religious centers in the entire world. To put it into perspective St. Peter39s in Rome and St. Paul39s in London could easily fit side by side and there39s still be plenty of room to spare.In its heyday during the New Kingdom period of Egypt 150010 http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-730284.html Another almost too easy day of travel. Left on a short flight South to Luxor around 1 hour from Cairo at around noon and then at Luxor a driver was waiting and drove me the 15 minutes or so to the hotel the Old Winter Palace. I39m still shocked by this hotel mainly because I wasn39t expecting the sheer opulence of the place.This is an old Victorian gem of a hotel right along the Nile http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-730120.html After an amazing time in Cairo we were very excited to continue our trip through Egypt. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the world39s greatest open air museum as the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite across the River Nile lie the monuments temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis which include the Valley of t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-724486.html Hey heyToday started off with a 4 hour drive to Luxor which was probably the worst trip known to man. Imagine a 450km drive in a small van with no suspension and there are uneven speed humps every 100 metres and pot holes all over the place. Then having to share the tiny road with cars pedestrians an donkeys. lolWe got to the hotel and just chilled for a bit before going to Karnak temple. We act http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-718841.html