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Published: December 5th 2012
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BUSABOUT REP
Our awesome little Tour Group We meet Mo and the others with our packed breakfasts outside our hotel . With our 3am wake up call we all take off to meet at the convoy point to head to Abu Simbel. There are heaps of different buses here, also a few people with Guns. Mo tells us it's very safe traveling out there and being there, the reason why we convoy is just in case we break down along the way then we can jump in another bus behind us or whatever, I’m not too convinced, why would they need guns? I know it’s kind of dangerous as its right on the boarder of Syria.
It takes 3 hours and I snooze along the way. We are traveling through the desert. All you see is sand, sand, and more sand. We finally arrive at Abu Simbel. It's now approximately 8am. As we approach Mo tells us bits and pieces about the temples. Abu Simbel was a temple built by King Ramses the Second. It stands with 4 statues of him on the outside reaching 25 meters in height. Next to his temple is his wife's temple he built for her as a surprise. It's Nefertari’s Temple.
Nefertari’s Temple
The Temple she never got to see. King Ramses the Second built this for her as a surprise. Unfortunately she died on the way to it. However once it was completed she unfortunately died on the way to see it.
The temple is surrounded by water from the Nile, it's mesmerizing. So huge, it really packs a statement. We snap some photos, head on inside and check out some hieroglyphics. We then go and see Nefertari’s Temple right next door. It's beautiful and really is great to look at especially because it’s something Nefertari never got to see.
We then head out towards the markets and cafe to catch up with Mo. We pass guards with their casual ‘AK47’ looking Guns. As we are entering the market area we are discussing how annoying the vendors are! I explain I just wish they would leave us alone so we could go and look in the shops at our own pace.. The first stall says to us "I leave you alone" BIG LOL... It's exactly what we want. So we go and have a look and he leaves us alone to some degree. Still annoying though.
The others wander off and I am looking at some key rings in the shop next door. I pick out a key ring with the God of Fertility on
Can you see it?
Casual Machine Gun looking thing... lol it ... Which basically is a man with one arm, one leg and a massive Wang sticking out. I then spot a pretty one of the Queen Nefertiti and one of the Key of Life. I ask the vendor “how much?”. He starts at 270egp’s!!! Wtf they are only f*cking key rings! I try talking him down quite a lot but he doesn't really budge, so I keep asking how much for just one. As I put one down he picks it up again and puts it in my hands. It's so ANNOYING. I end up just getting really frustrated dump them all quickly and run out of the shop. This vendor then chases me holding my arm saying, “Stop Stop, Stop!” At this stage I am quite upset. The first shop vendor guy comes over and he says he's the boss. That he will give me all the key rings for 100 pounds. I just want these people to fu*k off so I agree and head into the first vendors shop again. He then try's selling me a fu*king scarf. For Fu*ks sake. So I tell him NO take the key rings and storm trooper my way out.
Our Floating Matress
Just as we hopped on the Felucca, I had to snap this pic! Our boat had awesome Bob Marley flags all over it. Was a laugh! I've lost the others so I try catching up to them thinking they will be ahead in the markets. I'm dodging all the other vendors, I’m pretty much in ‘fu*k off’ mode. I get to the van and they aren't there. Great. So I head back down around the back way to get back to the cafe. Ahhhh there they are! I explain to my group my horrible experience and show them my purchase. Mo explains it should have been 30egp for the lot. But I mean ya learn, I'm happy just to be away from them.
After coffee we head back to the van and take off back to Aswan. Tilly and I are dropped back to the hotel and we spend the afternoon having lunch, relaxing in front of the pool and chatting away. Our pick up is at 3pm and we head to the Felucca. The representative is lovely but doesn't speak much English, just the basics. We are dropped at the felucca and made sure we are all ok and that our bags are put on board ok.
The felucca is a sail boat with one huge mattress as the deck. We hop in
Our send off
Egyptian Cat saying goodbye as we take off to sail down the nile. an realize immediately that its comfortable as can be. Eventually our guide for the Felucca arrives - Nadeem. His English is very good and he makes us feel comfortable. The crew organize lunch for us and we set sail. The felucca doesn't have an engine or anything; it's all done by the wind of the Nile. It Zig zags across The Nile and this is how the wind carries us down. It's so peaceful and relaxing. We chill out in the sun and as the sun sets we pick a spot to dock for the night.
We dock at the opposite side of Aswan town, on the farming side as it’s quiet and secluded almost. Two other boats join us including one boat with about 20 people on it. It's crazy! So packed! They are touring with Top Deck and are a mix of Kiwis and Aussies. They however are already in their little clicks so don't associate with us. It looks weird, so many people on their boat. Almost too much and our boat only has me and Tilly, we're VIP! As its dark now the crew put up like a long curtain around the Sides of the
Sun Setting
Not guna lie, this photo does not show off the amazing beauty of the sun setting over The Nile. Felucca to stop the wind from coming in. Dinner is made by the crew on board and is absolutely delicious. We have Egyptian bread and other yummy stuff over a lovely candle light.
We spend the evening teaching card games to Nadeem and playing “Who wants to be a Millionaire?”. Tilly and I are addicted and play until our eyes get blurry. We grab out sleeping bags and drift off to sleep very quickly under the stars.
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Noreen Camarena
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Breakfast in a box
HAHAHA Love that breakfast in a box! My 1st trip to Egypt was with Top Deck tours. Our cruise ship prepared a breakfast in a box for our 03:00 am police caravan to Abu Simbel. Great pictures! Brought back fun memories of my trip. :) Our group named ourselves The "Breakfast - In A Box Club" hahaha like the movie Breakfast Club. ...we even have T-Shirts!