An Egyptian Odyssey..... Cairo to Aswan

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James back again...

Well, after the delicious roast chicken with spaghetti bolognaise etc. (That's what you call fusion cooking...?!), we left for the train ride to Aswan. Before we even got out of the street our hotel was on, our bus was blocked in by a car that had been left in the middle of the road, contents: a couple of unsupervised kids. Our bus driver, not wanting to make us late for the train, decided to get in the car and relocate it for the owner, with the kids still sutting in the back seat...., just as the driver returned from their "quick stop in". At the time our fearless leader Ahmed had been giving our briefing for the day/night ahead. Not one for time wasting he did what any self respecting tour leader does when he loses everyones attention: threw a tantrum. After a few words of reassurance that he now had our full (if not involuntary) attention, he finished the briefing and then sulked in the front seat for the rest of the ride to the train station.

Before catching the train, we were warned that the Egyptian train network runs on Egyptian time... meaning that the train may or may not come within 4 or five hours of the scheduled time. Which was why we were slightly surprised when the train came in on time. That was to be our last happy thoughts of the train network for a while!

The ride itself was uneventful, with the only issues being an airconditioning system that was either on or off, and no happy medium would ever be found. Then of course the man calling "tickets please" every hour or so, and the tea trolley coming by at 3 am. "Tea or coffee sir?" Why of course, thats just what I was looking for at three in the morning...?! Do you have any under-cooked chicken to go with that...?

It was not until we found out how late out train was that things turned ugly. First we were an hour late. On a 12 hour train ride, this didn't seem so bad. Then this estimation stretched to 2 hours. Once again, we had been warned, so we sat quietly. Actual trip time: A shade over 16 hours. We could have flown 2 hours past Singapore on the way back to australia in the time it took us to go from Cairo to Aswan!

Not to worry, with that part of the trip over, it was a short treck in 45 degree heat (Back packs and all) to our hotel, then it was time for a much needed shower, then sightseeing.

Later that evening, as the sun crept down towards the horizon in a spectacular display of reds and oranges (Yes, very poetic I know...), we sailed aboard a feluca boat, enjoying the relaxing cruise along the banks of the Nile, before berthing at a restaurant for a well deserved meal, then back to the hotel to catch a couple of hours sleep. Tomorrow, a 2.45 a/m (yes, a/m as in morning time) wake up call for our trip out to Abu Simbel. Over to Tania for that one.

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