Egypt

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Don't be fooled by this beautiful sunrise we awoke to whilst cruising down the Nile on our felucca; Egypt could be a royal pain in the ass and is rip-off central for the majority of unsuspecting tourists - haggling over the price of a bottle of water every day was a real david hasslehoff and marked a new low in our experience of travelling......lets just say we ain't in any rush to head back!

Anyways, if there's one way to experience Egypt, its got to be via the Nile - its a real cracker. We set sail from Aswan (where our old pal Agathe Christie penned another hit) with our felucca skipper Mo and a ragbag of passengers; two Landaners, a brace of Aussies, a Spaniard, a Canadian and a Jap. There's no room for modesty on a felucca (everybody sleeps cheek-by-jowl on the open deck) so you quickly become intimate with your new pals - the snorer received a couple of 2am kidney dunts on the first night, otherwise there might have been another 'Death on the Nile' - and one soon becomes proficient at emptying one's bowels by the riverside, when in rome.....

Our two day cruise was mega chilled: a spot of reading, some chat, a swim in the Nile and then some texas-hold-em poker with a few stella after dinner, definately the highlight of Egypt. You'll notice that I've been a slave to the factor 20 over the last 8 weeks, just call me persil....

We set foot on terra firma at Kom Obo, home to the Temple of Sobek (falcon-headed sky god) and Haroeris (crocodile god), rather impressive, but not quite up to the 'Champions League' standard of Abu Simbel near the Sudanese border. The temple was carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC - as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari - and the four statues of Ramesses II are 20 metres tall; it was nearly worth the 3am jump and 7 hour return bus journey, torture....

Despite all the horror stories, Cairo was much less stressful than we'd imagined - we're now experts at speedily locating patisseries (eclairs), boulangeries (croissants), newspaper stands (Egyptian Gazette) and gaming opportunities (backgammon), everything we need for a comfortable life - but the traffic was mayhem at rush hour. We even managed to fit in a couple of quality feta salads at the Greek Club, this place would give the Greek Golden Kebab in Battlefield a run for its money.

The Pyramids are the sole remnant (and oldest) of the Seven Wonders of the World - constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC - which served as tombs for pharaohs. It was a little surreal to see them up-close-and-personal after all those primary school projects, but can't quite remember learning about the camel touts who hound you mercilessly from start to finish, gives you the right hump.....

Back to the Champions League, d'you think the owner of this Cairo boutique is trying to suggest that Celtic are a bunch of girl's blouses?! Must be a bluenose.....


Coming soon: Update from Yemen.......unless we get kidnapped!

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Comments

[April]

To Persil
Get some colour on that body!

[Dunk]

six pack
Hey Dougie, you been workin out or is that your ribs poking through from your skinny wee body? The Giardia will do that to you if you insist on drinking the Nile rather than haggling for water.