Back in Luxor, we had arrived back at the hotel after the longest day of sightseeing ever. But we had no rooms! I desperately needed a nap, but there was nowhere to have it! This was because we were all travelling overnight to Cairo that evening. Most people were going by coach - ouch. Luckily our friend Noelin who had done this tour before, recommended us to upgrade to sleeper cabins on an overnight train instead, which we did. We would be getting dinner, breakfast and a proper bed to sleep on. But we were still five hours away from catching our train... So the males of the group passed the last rays of daylight by having a very tiring game of water polo. The temperature drops like a stone once the sun starts to set ... read more

I was immediately annoyed at Egypt and Egyptian workers and I had not even been in the country an hour. First my debit card wouldn't let me withdraw any cash, and then I changed my remaining Euros for Egyptian Pounds at the bureau de change where I asked the smug, arrogant looking teller how much a tourist visa was. He tells me that it is 85EGP (£1 = 9EGP). I then queue for 10 minutes only to be told by the immigration officer that I need to purchase a tourist visa from...the bureau de change. So I return to the same teller to buy a tourist visa. Why didn't he tell me I needed to buy a visa from him the first time? A cleaner then demands £2 for using the airport toilet, which I am ... read more

CRASH!! CREEEEEEAK! BANG! CREEEAKK! THUD!! CRACK!! Our boat was being thrashed around the Aegean Sea, as if we were in a giant washing machine. Every joint and every wall on-board was creaking, as the Viking Star groaned in pain. Closed doors swung open, only to slam back shut, as if by an angry ghost. The fact I was completely knackered from the swimming, quad-biking, drinking and partying on Santorini was the only reason I was drifting in and out of conciousness, rather than lying with my eyes wide open like just about everyone else on-board. It was still horrible though. The violent swaying of the boat almost threw me off my bed the times I was semi-concious, and the whole night felt like a terrible dream - as if in purgatory, unable to fall asleep yet ... read more

As Del woke him up, Gkee looked at his watch. It was 4.30am - there was still another hour-and-a-half til they were meant to all get up - what was Del playing at? He of all people would never wake up this early - they all needed as much sleep as they could. This was when he realised that Del and Sags had actually just got back from wherever they were partying. An hour and a half later, Gkee had real trouble getting the other two up. "Yeah, I'm awake" mumbled Sags, before immediately settling back into a snore. Del, who he'd managed to coax out of bed, then had a go. "I'm coming" grumbled Sags. Waiting outside the dorm door for Sags, Gkee and Del cracked up as soon as Sags emerged. "What? Have I ... read more

It was another scenic bus ride from Rethymno to Chania, again following the northern coast of Crete and providing some awesome cliff-side views. Other observations included mountain goats and miniature Orthodox churches that appear on the roadside. Common sense would tell you that they are memorials for people who have perished on those very spots on the road, but I'm not so sure. They have them in people's houses as well, almost as a substitute for going to an actual church. Standing outside Chania's rather chaotic bus station, I look at my map attempting to establish my location and a route to my accommodation. The Greek Cyrillic on the street signs and the Roman alphabet on my printed Google map don't help, so I resort to asking a local woman where I am on the map. ... read more