Cranky World Travelers, Racing Through the Desert and the Missing Sun

Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Abu Simbel
February 22nd 2016

Published: February 25th 2016

Our return from the White Desert found us at the train station in Giza, which is on the west side of the Nile from Cairo. This was good, bad and good. Good in that it made the drive back from the White Desert a little shorter, bad in that we arrived some five hours before our train was scheduled to leave, and good in that Mohamed realized that without his guidance, we most likely would have missed... Read Full Entry

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Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

D MJ Binkley

Photographers, divers, writers, foodies, chefs and music enthusiasts. Travelers' Century Club Members: 12/2023. MJ 107 and Dave 104. We appreciate your feedback and if you like our stories we would appreciate it if you follow our blog. We live on North Hutchinson Island, Florida. If you are in Florida please send us a private message as we would love to meet you. Two retired nurses who are passionate about traveling the world. Our love of travel, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures will hopefully take us to wonderful plac... full info

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25th February 2016

Snowhawg
Bob Kribs

Cranky!
As exciting as this trip is, travel can get you bushed at times.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Cranky
Yep the older we get the more sleep we need!

25th February 2016

Marsha
non-member comment

Cranky travelers
Hilarious! Guess the rest of your trip is bound to go the only way left---up and perfect!

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Cranky travelers
Up and perfect is what we are hoping for....thanks for following.

25th February 2016

matt lyle
non-member comment

Oh the Giza train station.
We are enjoying your blogs and remembering our great travels in Egypt. We remember the difficulty in the Giza train station, but we made our train and onto the wonderful Luxor. Keep up the great writing and great pics.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Giza train station
It is a rather strange train station. Thanks for commenting and we are happy to provide you some memories. We are enjoying Egypt.

26th February 2016

RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew

Sleepless in Egypt
When I read about the overnight train right after the night in the desert I felt for you, but then as I read about the next night travelling in a van - it made me seriously tired on your behalf. I can totally understand the cranky muttering among two of the foot soldiers (how was Dave not tired and cranky too???) :) Hope you had a restful night when you got to Luxor.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Sleepless in Egypt
Oh..Dave was just as tired but couldn't get a word in with Brendan and I doing the whining. He just kept thinking...what the heck...and such. He finally agreed with us but we had said everything that needed to be said. I won't go three days without a shower again.

26th February 2016

taracloud
Tara Cloud

Bad experiences make great stories!
Cold, stinky, sleep-deprived whiners--yes! You have earned the title of intrepid travelers! What an incredible amount of discomfort you endured to see these three marvels. You get there and hope to see the miracle--on a small TV (why not stay in your hotel room and watch it?). I was in Cusco, Peru, for its most famous festival, but the crowds drove me home to see it comfortably on TV--it's a thing. On the other hand, the carvings are so miraculously preserved and beautiful, you are potentially famous in Egypt and China, and how great to find mac and cheese as street food.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Bad experiences make great stories
After it was all over we could laugh. Sometimes it is a crazy ride but as you say gives us a great story. The temples were amazing and would not have wanted to miss them. They are incredible.

26th February 2016

Sonja Massey
non-member comment

Aswan
What an adventure......I can't wait for the sequel!! Beautiful photos.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Aswan
An adventure indeed.....the sequel is a bit calmer and we are back on track. Amazing what a shower and some sleep can do for a person. I won't go three days without a shower again.

26th February 2016

Tulika
non-member comment

2 long days
That looks like 2 long days of travel, no sleep, no shower and lots of crowd. I would say you are really experiencing the place :)

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

2 long days
We've got a friend who says you can sleep when you are dead. We are following that philosophy and enjoying off the beaten path.

26th February 2016

Mumtraveller
Lynne Brown

Disappointing sunrise
Well I think you were perfectly entitled to be whining and cranky. I would've been screaming ! Waiting for trains , waiting in the dark and cold is sometimes part of the travel experience ... One always hopes that this will be worth it in the end. Let's hope by now you have had a good nights sleep and showers and continue to enjoy the rest of the travels. And

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Disappointing sunrise
Always worth it in the end and frankly it made us feel better to whine a bit. Oh we are happy and sleeping in beds again!

26th February 2016

Shelley and Scott
Michele Hutchinson and Scott Maberley

"with a breakfast consisting of bread, bread and more bread product."
Getting tired of flat bread yet?? I am so over flat bread that I am starting to develop a fear of anything circular. The story of waiting for the sun gave me a great laugh, it is amazing how later on you can laugh about situations that had you so mad. Stay safe.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Bread, bread and bread
Yes, sometimes you just have to get over it and laugh. It makes life on the road interesting. Besides it might get boring if everything went as expected. The God Ra had a good laugh I'm sure.

26th February 2016

Sheila Ball
non-member comment

Roughing It
I laughed at this post. Intrepid travelers indeed!

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Roughing It
Hey my friend, I'm glad you are getting a good laugh from our adventures. Little bumps make the world go around.

26th February 2016

bvchef
Brendan Vermillion

The Sun Did Finally Come Out
I will say that it did turn out to be a good day with some great sights. It was worth a bit of crankiness on all of our parts. Glad we were able to commiserate together.

26th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

The sun did come out
Finally the God Ra shined on us....always glad to have a friend to share the bumps.

27th February 2016

nancic123
Nanci and David Curry

Trains and TV stars...
Your story brought back memories of our similar overnight train trip from Cairo to Aswan. I think we swore off train travel for quite some time after. Our van ride to Abu Simbel never went below 100 mph (or so it seemed). Congratulations on being "discovered" by worldwide TV. You guys and Brendan make a great team and we are glad to be following along!

27th February 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Trains and TV stars
Sounds like your experience was very similar. Dave didn't want to tell me while in the van how fast we had been going. Certainly I thought it was too fast but he didn't want to confirm it. Brendan is a great travel partner.

2nd March 2016

denidax
Deni, Dax and Ella

No wonder you were cranky!
No sleep, no shower and thousands of people around you... at least now you can tell a good story about it! I am living one of my travel dreams through you guys, so thanks! :)

3rd March 2016

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Cranky travelers
We had hit the wall with lack of sleep but the excitement continued so we hung in there. Sometimes travelers just keep going and living the moment. Hope you get to make this trip soon.

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