Finally some relaxation! Well sort of. After the worlds most frustrating and bladder stretching journey we arrived in Aswan feeling gross. Thankfully Khaled, the best tour leader on the planet (this is a guy who knows people!) had a minivan waiting for us as well as a free lunch of felafel kebabs (mmmmmmm!!!!) and then a lovely shower to wash off all the train yuckness (yes I am inventing new words here). After this we went on a trip to visit to the stunning Temple of Isis at Philae Island. To get there we had to catch not the most seaworthy (well technically river worthy) vessel I had ever been on and listen to one of the most hyperactive guides I have ever encountered. It was beautiful though, especially as we were there kind of on sunset. Hieroglyphs absolutely amaze me; they were so perfect that I couldn’t really believe they were real. I learned how to write my name in them (no I can’t remember how, there are birds and zig zag lines involved somewhere). It was crowded, but not ridiculously so, and it was definitely worth the trip.
After braving the boat to get back to land we made our way back to our hotel then went of to explore the Nubian bazaar - a long and colourful street that snakes through the centre of town. This was an experience. I have never met such persistent sellers as the Egyptians in Aswan. It was downright irritating! Stores that I might actually have looked in, I didn’t on principle because the storekeepers were so forceful. They tried anything and everything to try to get you into their store. The funniest and most unbelievable tactic was the “I’ll pay you to look in my store”- what sort of idiot would fall for that! I felt really sorry for poor Mark, our lone male traveller- he got heckled the whole time. The entire population of Aswan felt the need to call him Casanova or something to that effect. We ate in the bazaar- I had a lamb and rice type thing with the obligatory flatbread that seems to be the staple diet here. Very nice- Egyptians know how to cook! We wandered back to the hotel, bellies full, for an early night, partly because we were absolutely knackered from 2 days of travel with minimal sleep and maximal sightseeing, and partly because we had a 4am bus to catch the next morning to go to Abu Simbel.
These early mornings are killing me! 4am and we are on the road for about a 3 hour drive south to Abu Simbel. The reason for the early morning is the strict rules that Egypt has for going on certain roads. We went in a huge convoy of buses and police cars. I guess they feel there is safety in numbers out in the desert. We arrived on sunrise to one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. Abu Simbel has 2 main temples overlooking the majestic Nile. These in themselves are spectacular, but perhaps just as spectacular is the fact that they were moved about I don’t know, 40 years or so ago to higher ground after the Nile was dammed. It is amazing- I imagine it was one of the world’s oldest and most fragile jigsaw puzzles and they did a brilliant job. It was ridiculously busy here but totally worth the trip and the lack of sleep. I am glad that we came so early in the morning too because it was absolutely stinking hot and I would have hated to be there in the midday furnace.
A long hot and boring bus trip back to Aswan and we boarded the cruise boat that was to be our home for the next 3 days. It was pretty flash, on board pool, giant dining room, lovely little twin cabins with private bathrooms that all had little balconies. Anything would feel like luxury after that dreadful overnight train (I really do think that I may be scarred for life). We had a huge dinner and the afternoon was our own. Most of the group decided to indulge on a felucca ride down the Nile. It really was the most amazing and relaxing afternoon. The felucca that Khaled hired for us had basically the whole deck as one big cushy mattress covered in pillows. We lounged around for hours in the perfect weather drinking tea and eating cake provided for us by our Nubian sailor guy. All of this while listening to Bob Marley (who is apparently a huge favourite of the Nubian people). It really was absolute bliss. Another good thing was looking out at all the other feluccas absolutely crammed with people. Most of those boats on the river just had bench seats and seemed to carry at least 25-30 people, ours, while being exactly the same size had the big mattress, lots of space between the 10 of us (including the driver) and with every single boat we passed crammed with people sitting on hard seats while we lounged about I must admit I absolutely loved the jealous looks! Like I said: absolute bliss!!!!
We had a relaxing night on the cruise boat. They had a show on with a belly dancer woman and a guy (who kind of looked like my mate Tharwat from Liverpool Hospital) whose act mainly involved lots of high speed spinning and flapping of his skirt. I was suitably impressed that he didn’t fall over, vomit, or trip up on his huge skirt.
The next day was spent relaxing. I had a last minute shopping trip at the bazaar in Aswan to get some souvenirs (which I managed to barter quite successfully for! Yay me!) And after that it was utter relaxation on the boat as we set sail down the river. More and more relaxation- after the craziness of the previous few days it was lovely just to mooch on the sun lounges and watch the world go by as we drifted slowly down the Nile. Just on sunset we arrived at Edfu to see the temple of Horus. Sunset really is a lovely time to see an Egyptian temple.
Back on the boat we had a fancy dress party. Good times- a very fun night! Prizes for best dressed definitely went jointly to Mark – in his exquisite blue Egyptian man dress, and Rhiannon, Laura and Bec in their matching belly dancer-esque ensembles.
The next day we continued sailing down the river. It is a lifestyle I could certainly grow accustomed to! We stopped to look at another wonderfully preserved temple, and then continued on with our lazy drift northwards. That evening we had a big traditional party with dancing and music before a huge dinner – the food was brilliant- and plentiful!
That evening we arrived in Luxor. Tomorrow morning it is another early rise for a sunrise hot-air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings! This trip is brilliant! So in the morning it will be goodbye Nile but hello to the next part of my adventure- into the desert!
PS I think Emma is getting sick of me constantly singing Billy Joel!
