Blogs from Egypt, Africa - page 294

Hi We took the tour bus up to Alexandria which is right on the Mediterranean. It was not as warm as farther south, so there was no way any of us were going swimming, which is too bad, as the beaches were nice. Our hotel was right on the waterfront and my room had a huge balcony that overlooked the sea, it was an incredible view, just stunning. As soon as we arrived we went to the museum, which was great, it actually used to be a royal palace so the museum was really beautiful, the winding staircases and the rooms itself were amazing. We then went to the catacombs. There are 3 levels in the catacombs, but the lowest level is flooded. It had started as a burial tomb for just one family but then ... read more

Hi all We were up quite early to take the 3 hour bus trip to Abu Simbel. This also meant leaving the ship behind, which was quite sad. To get to Abu Simbel, the tourist buses all go in a convoy with a police escort. The police escort is because of the proximity to the Sudan border, and the military checks all vehicles all along the route, so if you are in the convoy, the trip is much faster and the military do not constantly stop the buses the check the passengers etc. On the way there, on the side of the road, we saw an old tourist bus just covered in bullet holes.. hmm, I was glad for the police escort. The only problem is, when you arrive at Abu Simbel, it seems like every ... read more

Hello all Our cruise down the Nile was spectacular. You would see all the lush vegatation on the banks of the river and then, just beyond the trees, you could see the desert. In some places it seemed to come almost to the banks of the Nile, and in others the vegatation was so think and full you could barely see the sand. The sunsets on the boat were incredible as well, and well there was the bar.. haha We would cruise down the Nile, stop for the evening and then go sightseeing the following morning. We would check out the temple, look around the town a bit and then head back to the boat in time for lunch and some serious sunbathing. The first temple was the temple of Edfu, which is a little newer ... read more

Well, our last day in Egypt! Finally we were going to see the Great Pyramids... the only standing ancient wonder of the world. Pretty wild stuff. Incidently, I have discovered a term that is used for Shane's and my style of travelling. I always thought that we were "moderate budget backpackers." Nope, the actual term is Flashpackers. Yes, flashpackers. Backpackers with a little bit of money. It's quite a growing phenomenon. Here's the article in the Sunday Times: http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,10296-1339393,00.html. Fits me to a tee. We got up early and went down for breakfast. We then headed to the Pyramids of Giza at around 7:45 AM. There is a barricade down Pyramid Road, which leads down to - you guess it - the Great Pyramids. The guards let the tourists through at 8:00 AM. Since we were ... read more

Hi We arrived in Luxor quite early and went to the Temple of Luxor first thing in the morning. It was amazing. It must cover at least 3 city blocks, it is massive, it is right in the middle of the city, and about 100 meters from the Nile. It was just fantastic. The amount of the temple that is left is specatular. You can see the ancient hieroglyphics on the columns and the walls and the entrance has massive huge pictures of the Pharaoh on them.. I was in awe wandering all over the grounds. There is a street all lined with small sphinxes that I believe must have been the main entrance at one time. It was just a such a huge site. It was amazing. Then we took horses and carriages to Karnak ... read more