Arrived in Luxor, probably the biggest open air museum in the world. Here was also a driver waiting for me. I arrived quite late in a beautiful hotel with a pool looking over the Nile, sadly enough I did not hve the time to enjoy that pool. I went down for a meal at 8pm and was there all by myself. A bit of a shame, tourism is really low in Egypt right now and its up to you to change that. I forgot the exact time I had to wake up the next morning but I know it was early so I went direct to sleep after eating.
Pretty tired I was sitting in the hotel lobby where I meet two dutch people who also booked with Kingfisher Tours. We jumped into a minibus where they drove us to the Nile, still in darkness we were put on a boat with other tourists and offered tea and a short briefing on what was about to happen. After crossing the Nile we were put into other mini busses and I got a glimps on massive Egyptian statues. Excitement! A short drive later I saw the hot air balloons being lighted up by the fires, such a spectacular view in the dark and the best had yet to come. You read it, I was going to get my first hot air balloon flight. Jumped in the balloon and off we go. Such a wonderful view and feeling lifting up over the other balloons and see the fire shows from above. Perfect timing since the morning light i coming thru and I get a spectacular view over the valley of the kings, many tempels and statues, a great view over Luxor and the green zone the Nile creates in a desert. A little later the sunrise started which made the experience even more magical. I think we were in the sky for about an hour and the getting down part was an experience on itself. All young guys running thru the fields to catch our balloon and create a soft, perfect landing. Not a bad way to start your morning!
Breakfast was arrenged by the hotel and brought to a local bar next to the Colossos of Memnon which is not a bad view for breakfast. Sadly enough all other parts except a few other statues (one recently discovered) from the deathtemple of Amenhotep III were destroyed by an earthquake. My private guide and driver were waiting and give me a short explanation of the history, which the private guides do everywhere but I wont mention all the time. Next stop: Valley of the Kings. There are three tombs free of choice included in your ticket, only for a few and if you want to visit extra tombs you need to buy more tickets. I first walked into the tomb of Ramses II. What I experienced there was out of this world. I can't explain in words how it looks or feels. I'm not the biggest art or museum fan but this is without a doubt the most beautiful, biggest artform I have ever seen. Its like walking into another dimension, the colors, the details, the beauty,.. You'll have to go see this with your own eyes. I visited the tombs of Merneptah and Ramesses IV which were both from the same level. Its forbidden to take pictures or even bring a camera on the site, thats about the only downpart I can tell about this place. It might be possible to pay the guards but out of respect for the colors and the place I didn't even try. I also bought a ticket to the Tutankhamun tomb, the guide told me its not worth it but it was up to me. I couldn't have left without it. Its much less impressive as the other tombs but when I walked in I got to meet his mummy, which was amazing, knowing that the other tombs didn't have mummies.
Time to leave to the temple of Hatshepsut but not before a quick stop at a local craftsmans shop. The story goes that these people used to live on top of the tombs of their forefathers and they didn't want to move for excavations. After years of trying they finally got moved if they got build a new village nearby with the exact same neighboors etc, and the promise that they could use the real stones like their forefathers did. They should be the only ones allowed to use them. To be honest, the introdution to the shop and how they made it looked so unrealistic that it became funny. Don't get me wrong, the shop is full of beautiful statues in every shape and special stones and made by hand but definiatly not by the guys sitting at the entrance. I did buy something small because I felt stupid I didn't bring a colored stone from Petra. Now on to the temple of Hatshepsut part, this is a massive temple who used to be even bigger. Its renovated but looks very impressive and they say its the hottest place in Egypt. I walked towards it and was once again stunned by the beauty of the colors, the beauty and size of the statues. Its like I said before, walking back in time, just another wonderful experience added to the list. I feel a bit ashamed now but I also visited another beautiful temple but I can't remember the name or the place from it but know this, there are a lot and I mean a lot of other temples and things to see in this area. You probably wont have enough with a week.
Hard to believe but only half a day has passed and I need to get my bag from the hotel and check in into my cruiseship. Its luxerious like the Titanic. I get a beautiful room, time to eat something and relax a bit before I meet Miriam, the woman form Kingfisher Tour who came to meet me and talk for about an hour. Interesting to meet the person who created this perfect Egypt experience with me. She drove me to her husband who was waiting next to the Nile for my private Felucca tour on the Nile, a free offer from Kingfisher Tours. Wonderful experience again, floating over the Nile, seeing how much life and boats there are. Floating around the fiels, looking at children playing and swimming along the coast. A perfect end of the day relaxing, chilling on the Nile after a long, hot day of exploring. They dropped me off at the cruiseship where I went for a swim in the pool on the roof and close the day with a nice meal.
The cruise would start around 1pm the following day so I used the morning to visit Karnak temple which is a very special place, only a small part of it is open but to give you an idea, they have been building for more then 1000 years on this temple. The size of the hall with columns there makes you feel small, the atmosphere hanging there makes it mysterious and then I didn't even talk about the obelisks and statues and the stories over there. I wont go into detail on those because I could write a book about it but it was as everything, impressive. Since I had some time left I grabbed the chance of visiting Luxor temple along the road. This is another beauty of a temple with amazing statues and decoration but what makes this one interesting is that inside there is also a mosque (still being used), the leftover from a church and how the romans put catholic decoration over the egyptian ones but the most fascinating part of me was the chapel build inside by Alexander the Great who put himself in the same egyptian style of the pharaos in front of the ancient gods.
A good way to leave Luxor behind and start the cruise. Sailing along the Nile is en experience on itself, the beauty of this river and the life it creates in this desert is incredible. Kids swimming in the water, people washing their animals and even cars in it, the fields and farmers who look the same like in ancient times. Along the way there are also the local salesmen, who are an attraction on themselfs. They bind their small boats on the cruiseship like pirates and try to sell things while hanging on the ship, throwing their goods on the roof deck and they stay for hours. Never have I seen anything like this in my life. Too funny for words. Everywhere they see their chance they'll try to sell things. I also got a great view on partyboats decorated with neons by night, cool sight! We sail towards Esna and are already asleep when the ship arrives.
Rise and Shine the next day to visit Edfu temple, for this part I tagged up with an argentinian couple for a kal�che (horse cart) ride to the temple. Its the first time I use animal transport and I feel a bit worried about the condition of the horse but it was a 20 minute ride and had no other options, it was an experience driving thru a quit dirty area on a kal�che towards the temple. This temple was not that special compared to the other I have seen before but had as alsways beautiful decorations. One hour later I was back on the way to the cruiseship for breakfast. We sailed until the afternoon towards Kom Ombo temple. This temple is right next to the Nile which gives a great view when arriving there and easy to access if you pass the local market between the temple and the ship. Its probably the first time I saw a cobra snake in my life, a local guy was playing with one near the entrance. This wasn't a very big temple but after a short visit I entered the crocodile museum! This full place is an honour to the crocodiles, entering that place I looked upon mummified crocodiles. This made my day, super cool! We left when the evening fell and would sail all night while sleeping.
I'm going to be honest with you, I loved this Nilecruise experience but it was also the first time I got to feel lonely. This is a wonderful eperience but made for couples, almost everyone a board was a couple and having a candle light dinner by yourself isn't the best experience. I spend my time relaxing, chilling and enjoying the views but I want to thank my friend Sahar for her support and pushing me in the right direction. My personal advise, don't do this by yourself, go as a couple, you'll have the perfect romantic experience.
The next morning arrived at Aswan, waking up at 3am, getting picked up at 4am for a ride to Abu Simpbel. You can only visit this temple by plane or in convoi by busses or private transport like mine. The way to it is an endless way thru the desert with nothing to see but sand and sometimes a police checkpoint or a factory. The reason for this convoi is not for safity issues but if a car breaks down they aren't stranded by themselfs in the middle of nowhere. After 3-4 long hours (mostly sleeping) I arrived first at the Abu Simbel. Don't as my why but I'm very lucky with everything I do, first at Petra at night, visit Cairo on the first of may which is a holiday and creates less traffic and more easy to move around, the first at the hot air balloons, local people celebrating on the Nile when on my private felucca tour and now my driver arrived first at Abu Simbel. I couldn't see anything since you arrive at the back of the mountain, when walking around it I get a glimpse on both temples and they beat any other temple I visited before, an absolute masterpiece! Its a little bit like Petra but yet completly different. The size of the statues..! chose to visit the temple for Ramesses II his wife first since it would be empty. The beauty inside this one is mysterious and incredible, a temple build for his favourite wife,.. how beautiful! Once again, pictures forbidden in both temples and guards checking mobiles or cameras by any doubt. Time for the big temple. This might look like a masterpiece from ouside but the inside is even more incredible. The hall full of massive statues are the entrance towards a room with 4 statues where only 3 of them light up twice a year by sunlight but the fourth (god who loves darkness) never gets sunlight, imagine.. This was the perfect end for my Egyptian experience and we had a long drive back to Aswan. We did stop at the Unifinshed Obelisk which is a massive obelisk who broke before finishing but I didnt enter the site since I didn't want to pay for a walk on an obelisk. The rest of the day I was extreme tired and slept 13 hours because I knew the next morning I would have to travel for 26 hours to my next destination.
Up to the next adventure!
Before I forget. Egypt needs tourism. Its safe everywhere I went. If youre still unsure, travel with Kingfisher Tours. I would recommend them to everyone! Visit Egypt! ;)
