Blogs from Aswan, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 3

Ukrcaj na trajekt za Sudan je jedno od onih iskustava koja dok traju su noćna mora a onda jednog dana davite unuke svojim pričama. Procedura počinje u 8 ujutro kad se u luci počnu skupljati ljudi koji na glavi nose torbe, frižidere, televizore, ormare, veš mašine i sličnu crno bijelu tehniku koje očito fali u Sudanu. Kad se skupi jedno 700.ak ljudi dolazi službenik koji krene sve ručno popisivati. Onda se par sati ne dogodi baš ništa. Negdje oko 14 sati onaj isti Ahmed otvara šalter i nastaje stampedo. U jednom trenutku jednu žena daje veliku šamar činu Ahmedu, on njoj te nastaje opća tučnjava. Tada stiže granična policija i pendreči sudionike, ali i nas promatrače, sve se brzo smiruje i nastavlja po protokolu. Tad se konačno ukazuje naš „pomagač“ i kaže da izađemo iz reda ... read more

After the week-long emotional high of Libya, we were soon brought back to earth by the worst place on earth: the Egyptian border offices at Salloum. Suspicion, arrogance, repeated searches, requests for "tips", and endless bureaucracy was the theme of the day. We were ushered into the dark, grime-smeared corridors of a rotting building to get our passports stamped. Shifty characters loitered about, eyeing us up with what seemed to be a mixture of curiosity and resentment. Finally we were issued through to a dark room with a large desk where three uniformed guys sat. We were introduced to "The General" who with incongruous politeness informed us that we would need to purchase our visa on exit from the country and then waved us away. I had organised a fixer to travel from Cairo to sort ... read more

Well we were out to it almost all night thanks to good earplugs and sleeping tablet each. We were so tired and the sleeper train beds were actually pretty comfy considering what we were expecting from the look of the outside of the train. After eating dinner they came in and converted our cabin to bunks. I feel asleep as you have just read while Ben was writing the blog and then settled in when he woke me up to get ready for bed! I only woke once at 6am to go to the loo which was on sonstant flush stuck somehow and the whole cubicle was flooded which was a lovely experience! Then back to bed and I faintly heard a knock on our door while I was dozing at 8am but ignored it which ... read more

Ahmed joined us again this morning when we met Hussein to arrange the transfer of our luggage to the Mövenpick Hotel on Elephantine Island and advise us that our Cairo hotel has been changed from the Hilton in the city to Le Meridien Pyramids out at Giza. Even before we left Australia we thought that this could happen because the Hilton is very close to Tahrir Square. After seeing just how close the Hilton was to the buildings that were damaged in the revolution of 25 January 2011 when we visited the Egyptian Museum, we thought it even more likely that we might be relocated to the hotel at Giza when we returned to Cairo. Of course our return to Cairo coincides exactly with the second anniversary of the uprising against President Mubarak. With our bags ... read more

The sleeper train was fun, very bumpy I am woken in the morning by a man bringing breakfast to my door. As we are waiting to arrive I spend a little bit of time looking out the window. The Contiki guide tells us about the Nubian houses. They are like a box without a lid. Their lids are leaves. They are designed this way to keep them cool in the summer which can sometimes reach 50 degrees. People out here sometimes die just because of the heat. When people die here they are buried and a rock is put where they have died. No headstone saying who they are or whatever. Just a rock. We arrive in Aswan at 10.30am. I hop off the train and am greeted by another Mohamed who takes me to the ... read more