Blogs from Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa - page 72

My four day three night cruise ended a couple of days ago. I was picked up by the travel agent representative, and we were taken sightseeing immediately. When I initially signed up for this cruise I didn't realy know what to expect, and I didn't realize that the entire time we would be on a fully guided tour. I usually avoid fully guided tours, and it's my first that lasts several days. My guide was very knowledgeable, but he did speak a little too much, too quickly. I don't think he knows how much information he tells me and how little I can absorb at one time. In fact, I had to review what he said each evening by reading my guidebook. We started our trip by staying yet another day in Aswan. Once I saw ... read more

I got the title for this blog entry from Lawrence of Arabia. And yes, it's hot, hotter, hottest here. Today, according to the hotel thermometer by the pool is was 48 degrees Celcius. That's 118 degrees Fahrenheit. But it's an incredibly dry heat, it's so unlike any weather I have every experienced before. It's as if I were standing in front of a fire, well two fires, one behind and one in front. And when the wind blows, it blows hot air, not a cooling breeze. The hotel is of course air conditioned, and there is a pool, both of which I've taken advantage of. I don't know if there is a trick to staying cool here. I drink water as often as I breath. I wear long trousers, wear a hat with side flaps and ... read more

After visiting the Valley of the Kings we boarded our Nile Cruise Boat for the eagerly awaited 3 day cruise up the Nile from Luxor to Aswan. Our boat was actually a 4 star vessel called the Rosetta. It carried 90 passengers and according to the information sheet it had been renovated "at least once" (so twice??) since its maiden voyage in 1989. Nevertheless she was a beauty and with a pool deck complete with sun longers and a swimming pool we couldn't have been happier. Beside our group of 10, the rest of the passengers on the boat were Polish and some interesting cultural differences quickly became apparent. First of all, like most European men, Polish men shun boardshorts for tight Speedo togs, while those without their togs wear their undies. Gross gross gross. One ... read more

Firstly, we've uploaded Cairo piccies so you can go back and have a look. We took the overnight train to Luxor (approx 9 hrs in a Business Class style seat - service far from Bus Class though!). Our tour guide said that Luxor traffic is very structured and not crazy like Cairo. Well, it may be better but we've still seen one accident and many crazy drivers ignoring traffic lights. We went to Luxor Temple which was totally amazing. It was only a short walk from our hotel - Tutotel - via the banks of the Nile and about a thousand touts saying G'day mate and offering us Felluca rides. The temple is in really good condition. In the afternoon, took a horse and carriage ride to the Karnak Temple which was built for the sun ... read more

Thursday July 20, 2006 - Got up this morning and sailed to Kom Ombo, a whopping 30 minutes away. Got off where we had a taxi arranged to take us to the temple. We walked around and met up with a girl from the Check Republic who had been on the boat with all the obnoxious Australians from two nights back. She said there was room on their minibus to Luxor and maybe the tour guide would allow us to ride with them. That eased my mind a bit as I was getting worried we would never find a way to Luxor. All the other tourists did it in a convoy. So after we walked the temple we asked the guide and he asked the group and they agreed, so we got a free ride to ... read more