Frying in Luxor

We're enjoying Luxor! It is so cheap here we can't get over it. Not much to say today right now we are killing time in the air conditioned bliss that is the internet cafe before the mummification museum opens at 4pm.

I slept in this morning for the first time in over a week so I feel very rested....I followed that up with a swim and some suntanning/reading at the pool and lunch at a downtown restaurant..the same one as last night. When we find a good place that doesn't make us sick why mess with fate and go elsewhere. Sue on the other hand was up early for exercising...crazy, crazy :)

We're gonna hit the mummy museum and then the Souk later when it is cooler out. It is so hot out right now you can't really walk the streets without over-heating (It is 34C today) .

We have one more full day in Luxor and then we are going to fly to Sharm El-Sheikh. The trip is flying by!!

Keep warm back in Calgary...

We're free, we're free....

Hi from Luxor!

I'm officially old today...I wouldn't let Sue celebrate it until 9am, to account for the time difference, so I relished my last remaing hours in my 20's...Sue bought me dinner tonight at this awesome restaurant in downtown Luxor. We sat at an outdoor table and watched the horse carriages go by while eating really good Egyptian food(we're addicted!) one of the best meals yet, and as we always take each other out for our birthdays Sue got off easy...Food is so cheap here we both ate huge meals for about $4 canadian...I told her that that is exactly how much I will spend on her in one month so McDonalds here we come.

We had a really relaxing fun cruise...we met some cool people on the boat and had a good time last night watching the sunset from the top desk with them as the foggy skies of Luxor crept up from the distance. We finished our cruise this morning with 7 hours of tour-guided sight seeing from 7am-2pm in stiflingly hot,hot,hot weather...I love it hot and even I was dying out here. The whole tour-guided thing was OK at times but we much prefered doing it on our own...we felt a little herded around like cattle by the end; you can't take break when you want, you had to stand in the sun for long periods of time listening to the tour guide drone on and on and with Sue's bad knees it was hard for her to stand around like that. Our guide spoke very good english but was hard to understand...we can't put our finger on why exactly but you had to concentrate very hard to get it...if you let your mind drift he sounded like he was speaking a foreign language...we felt like two kids in social studies class trying to pay attention unsuccessfully. We are also both very quick sight viewers...in and out...the tour guided stuff lasted about 4 times as long as our attention spans! So we're free!!!! Yeah!

We saw the Valley of the Kings and Queens today...they were excavating that new tomb they just found and we got to watch for a bit. We also went to Karnak and Luxor Temples...which were really amazing, the best we have seen yet. Unfortunately, by the time we saw them it was 5 hours into the day, smokin' hot and we couldn't appreciate them fully because WE WERE DONE. We're gonna go back fresh and crawl throught them before we leave Luxor.

Luxor is quite a nice city...a lot like Aswan but busier with more energy to it. The Sellers are more agressive here as well...we are pretty good at ignoring them but there were a few people on the tour bus from the boat that just got completely taken advantage of...Two of the guys from the cruise, Robert and Sal, would come back to the bus everytime after walking through the souvenir shops post sight-seeing with crap they always stated they were forced to buy. You can't engage sellers at all... you have to just shake your head no and walk...or say no in arabic so they don't know what language to sell to you in, they get confused and move on to the next person.

We are staying at the Sheraton at Luxor..it's pretty nice...we only paid $46 US per night so a steal! It has an amazing pool overhanging the Nile with super comfy loungers, we have big basking plans tomorrow! Oh and another mini-fridge(we looove the mini-fridge) water is about 2LE in town and 15 LE at the hotel ...same for pop , half price in town..we're cheap, well not cheap, but don't like to be taken advantage of like we're walking dollar signs because we're in a nice hotel. It's the principle.

Well, we're off to check out the Souk and head home to bed(we were up at 5am today) Talk to you all soon.

P.S. A big thanks out to all those folks shoveling my walk!!! Funny how I have hardly touched my shovel all year and the second I leave town it snows. I owe you all many free shovels when I return:)

Cruising the Nile

Sorry for so long between posts...internet is expensive on the boat..as is everything(they have you trapped!)

Our cruise is Awesome!!!! 10/10...Way nicer then we expected. It is beautiful to sail down the Nile and enjoy the view of passing small towns and farms...lots of palm trees and goats too! The ship is a good size..about 125 people on board...a dining room,lounge, and sundeck with a small pool and bar. We somehow lucked out big time and got the suite as our cabin!!! There are only 2 suites and we won the lotto...our room is twice as big as the others with a sitting room and it is at the front of the boat with wrap-around windows to see the view...and also a small door to a patio area...and real feather duvets/pillows and fluffy bathrobes...we are in heaven!

I almost forgot: the mini-fridge!!!! Our beautiful, beautiful mini-fridge.

Once we noticed it we jumped off the boat and bought enough pop and water and chocolate to last the trip and stocked it up! We are the cheap-asses who bring our own drinks to dinner...Ha ha! The only problem is mosquitos..well not for me, as they don't bite me...Sue on the other hand must taste delicious because she is waking up with bug bites...the other night she was up reading and saw 4 of them on the wall...she snapped and started yelling at them and banging her book on the wall to attempt an all out assasination...she missed them all but I laughed as I can't imagine what was going through the people's heads next door when they heard screaming and repeated banging on the neighbouring wall.

Another funny thing about the boat is the soundtrack...they keep playing the same mixed tape over and over but whoever made it accidently put some inappropiate songs on it (I think without understanding them)...it is a mix of instramental music, pop and dance music....The joy of our day is when we hear a certain Enya song we know we have to find a prime position next to the most uptight looking older person because in 2 songs it breaks into that old dance song "face down, ass up, that's the way we like to Fuck" the reactions of people's faces are hilarious!

Food is awesome too...huge buffets, nice 4 course plate service meals...couldn't ask for more!

The room cleaning staff always leave these elaborite "origami" towel animals on out bed when they finish the room..it is funny to see what will greet us each day..Yesterday I turned our towels into birds,the only origami I know, and Sue put one outside the door for the boys while I was showering...10 minutes later I got pulled out of the room in my bathrobe and ended up doing 10 minute inservice demonstation on how to make it for all the staff...then later that day they paraded me proudly to all the rooms to show me thier birds!! It was cute.

We have been stopping at different temples along the way down the Nile with a guide and are now on our way to Luxor..I am on my way to suntan on the top desk and read my book while it all goes by!

Abu Simbel

Whew! it's hot here!!!! Low thirties..we're melting!

We are having fun in Aswan, it is a nice city and very cheap to travel here...we are eating 3 course meals for about $4 per person. The hotel is nice and offers an amazing free breakfast.. I had crepes and an omelet today, yum...first real breakfast yet. They don't really eat much for breakfast here..just bean dishes and tea.

Yesterday we went to Abu Simbel, a town about 40km north of the Sudanese border along the Nile by Lake Nasser, to see the Ramses II temples. They are huge statues/temples carving into the side of a mountain...it was actually originally in a different location but had to be moved up hill when the dam was built..it's amazing that they moved them as they are very huge and impressive...quite a sight for any ancient travellers venturing up the nile to be greeted by back in it's day.

Getting to Abu Simbel was quite the adventure...well, getting home was more of one. The road to Abu Simbel is blocked my police and only certain vehicles can use it at certain times of the day...We could have taken a tourist police caravan(that left at 4am and cost 60LE) which wasn't our favorite option since some people we met at the hotel said it was way too crowded and horrible(and early!)..or we could take the public bus for 20LE and leave at 8am....we took the bus and were the only women on it, but thankfully, there were two French tourists beside us(only 4 white people allowed per trip). The ride up was OK but it took 5 hours with frequent stops to smoke and have tea at passing cafe's...however, once we arrived in Abu Simbel we were dropped off in the middle of the street with no sign of a bus station to place to buy tickets home...and as it is everywhere here, everyone we asked gave us different answers. We took the average of the answers and hoped the existance of a 4:30pm bus home was true and went to the temple by taxi. When we were finished seeing it at 2:30pm we took a taxi back to town in search of the so called bus station and paid our taxi driver Nasser to show us the town, as we had time to kill. He took us to his house where we met his kids, wife and parents who all live under a "roof", that being sticks, the size of my living room...the kids and his mom got a real kick out of seeing themselves in picture from the digital camera. He took us back to where the bus let us off and said that a 4:30pm bus would be there to take us home...so we sat in the cafe with Nasser and had a drink and waited..and waited ..and 4pm came and no bus...however, the offerings of a private taxi for 350LE kept increasing!!!! Also we didn't see the two french guys and began to wonder....so Sue went on a door to door survey of where the bus came and we found out the station was 500meters down a side street...when Nasser drove us there we found the french guys in a mini-bus(ie. 8person van with 12 people in it) and got the last 2 seats at 15LE leaving in one minute!!! That was close but we won, and got it cheaper!!! The ride back was very uncomfortable on a seat with metal poking into my back crammed in a van with 12 smelly Egyptian men but it took only 3hours to get back and they dropped us off at the hotel so it was awesome. Then we went to a restaurant with Claude and Didier (the french guys)for dinner...their limited english and our high school french got a workout but we did ok. They were both really nice and very well travelled..we think Claude is filthy rich somehow as he said he is retired and travelled the world and lives in a 200yearold chateau in France passed down from his family..and he was too young to have worked a full career...and wouldn't say exactly what he did for a living before...just many jobs...a mystery!!!

Today we leave for our cruise, check-in is at 11am...although we still have to find the ship...easier said then done..there are hundreds of ships and as in all of Egypt nothing is labelled corectly, and 10 people will give you 10 different answers! Wish us luck...we may be swimming up the Nile to Luxor:)

Aswan

This is a short one, lots of relaxing not much doing!

We are in Aswan. It is a nice change from Cairo, smaller and quieter and very beautiful nestled along the nile and surrounded by trees and gardens. We took a night train last night out of Cairo. It was actually really nice for a sleeper train. Both of us got a goodnight sleep...our schedule has been so "go to bed early, get up early" lately, especially from the desert safari, that we are exhausted by 6:30pm so we slept well. Our train arrived at 9am in Aswan and our hotel here is the Isis Corniche Pyramisa. We are staying right by downtown on the banks of the Nile..you can see the river and all the feluccas sailing by from our room and the pool overhangs the river. We checked out the Bazaar, foreged for food and water and sun tanned by the pool all afternoon(very relaxing)..it is really hot here, probably high twenties at least. Tomorrow morning we are leaving for Abu Simbel Temple. We have to take a 4 hour bus at leaves at 8am, we're crossing our fingers for air conditioning! I will hopefully write more tomorrow night when we get home, or else the next morning before we leave for our Nile cruise!

We are off to find dinner! :)

Buried in sand...

We survived the desert! It was amazing...I took a million pictures but they just can't capture the vastness or the scale of it. You will have to all go and see for yourselves one day...It was like being dropped on the moon, I felt as though I was on another planet.

We did a 3 day/2 night Desert safari through the black and white deserts...It was about 5 hours west of Cairo between The Baharia Oasis and the Frafara Oasis towards the Libyan border. We went through a company called Khalifa Expeditions which is run by Rose-Maria and Khaled Khalifa(she is Swiss and he is Egyptian). I read a great article praising one of their trips on the internet from a travel magazine and contacted them. They arranged a personalized tour for us so we could see everything we wanted.

The first day we were picked up in Cairo and driven 5 hours to their home in Baharia where we had an amazing lunch and met our travel companions, Paulo and his daughter Elena from Boston, our driver and cook Mohammed and Saban, and Rose-maria, our guide. The Desert used to be Sea and volcanoes 25 million years ago and as they dried up over time it left us with a variety of unique landscapes. We would drive for 2 minutes and be in a completely different landscape. We went from the white desert witch looked like an Arctic snowstorm passed over it(everything is white because it is chalk), to miles of massive bizarre shaped limestone and sandstone mountains, some looked like mushrooms, some had huge funny-shaped designs balancing on a thin 5 foot pillars...all eroded from the wind and rain. There was a mountain we climbed covered in crystal, large stretches of land covered in salt, the black desert which is jet black from volcanic eruptions. We visited small oasis's in the middle of nowhere where palm trees grew and water still flowed...one of them was surrounded by the remains of a Roman city(2500years old) and there were archeological finds everywhere...the rocks we were walking on were actually broken pottery! There were remnants of houses, fossilized plants and wood. All I had to do was dig a foot into the sand and I'd find larger pottery pieces, I even found an almost intact mug. In the valleys of the white desert I found 2 arrowheads, and Paulo found some old tools including a stone knife that fit perfectly in your hand. There were fossilised seashells everywhere and at one place in the limestone cliffs we found a bunch of non-fossilised sea shells embedded in the rock, yet, it is so dry and sandy it is hard to believe water ever covered it.

We camped at night in the desert under the stars..which were so bright you could see the whole milkyway. We ate amazing Egyptian food! On the second day we rode Camels for 4 hours. Rose-Maria breeds her own camels and they are so sweet and gentle. They even had a bunch of baby camels along with their mother's following us on the trek. The babies were so cute..very curious and sociable. They kept nussling our necks and loved to be petted. There was one Male camel along, the father to all the babies, who was in heat...he did the strangest thing with this howling/grunting noise and his tongue would puff up, they had to tie his legs so he couldn't stand up when we stopped for lunch or else he would mount the ladies....I guess camel turn-on's are a little different. There was even a pregnant Camel with us(she was big!)

Another thing about the desert is that it is dead quiet...no insects, no birds, no rustling leaves or water running...no traffic or the sounds of your house...just deafening silence, and pitch black at night until the moon rises. We even climbed the cliffs and watch the sunset.

We got back to Rose-maria's house at 4pm yesterday and stayed there last night...

Best. Shower. Ever.

We took a taxi back to Cairo this morning and just arrived an hour ago...I keep thinking I'll get used to the scary traffic but am still white-knuckling it...it is truly frightening driving on these roads. They drive so reckless and there are no seatbelts...I keep picturing myself flying through the windshield. Our driver Mohammed was very nice though, he even took us to help us buy oranges on the way back to the Hotel. We left our bags with the Hilton today for a few hours and are going to take a night sleeper train to Aswan tonight at 8pm. Paulo and Elena will be on the same train so we have plans to meet up for dinner. But for now, we plan to sun tan by the pool and relax to recover from all the relaxing.

Hopefully all is well in Calgary! Stay Warm!!!! Below is video of Sue mounting her camel...

Shovelling snow...er, I mean sun tanning in Cairo...

Hey all....How's the weather there...just kidding, I heard the news! If it makes you feel better, I have a tan...

Today we went to the Egyptian Museum...it was pretty cool...kind of a disorganised jumble of antiquities, but amazing stuff...the Kig Tut tomb exhibit was awesome and the mummy room was pretty cool too. We followed that up with 2 hours basking in the sun by the pool...weather is nice here, not too hot...maybe low 20's but it was nice to relax by the pool and turn less white. The Hilton is very nice with a prime location for tourists, we are glad we stayed here..some of the other neighbourhoods are a bit sketchy!

Also today Aunt Afaf and Uncle Hussan picked us up at 2pm and took us to an Egyptian restaurant and ordered us the typical Egyptian dinner(they eat dinner here at 2-3pm) Falafal, shishkabobs, hummous, veggies...some unspellable items which were all very good...Unfortunately, I am feeling a bit unwell today...woke up with nausea and it won't go away...so I couldn't eat too much, but I tried everything! We took a cab ride after to the Judge club..Hassan is a supreme court judge here and they have clubs they meet at for tea and conversation...we actually went to 2 different clubs, one in downtown(which while enroute our cabbie hit our first pedestrian...a poor crippled girl in a wheelchair!...she was fine though..at least I think, he barely slowed down to check her out in his rear-view mirror...Aunt Afaf yelled at him) and another one on the Nile with a great view. Sue ordered this Turkish coffee which was as thick as syrup...she drank it though...and had to chew it al ittle..Funny. They told us all about Egyptian culture, Islam, name it we talked about it...an awesome experience. Thay are so nice..Hassan was always stopping to give money to the poor as we walked ...they wouldn't even let us pay for a thing.

It is late and we still have to pack, we are leaving tomorrow at 8am for Bahariya Oasis...where we will go on a 3 day desert Safari...sorry, no internet in the western desert so I will Blog again on the 21st when we arrive back in Cairo. We are having a great time and I look forward to telling you about the safari!

Till then enjoy the snow...oh, that was mean....

Trapped in a pitch black pyramid...

We survived our first full day in Egypt, barely! You take you life in your hands here crossing the road, or driving on it for that matter!!! The traffic here is indescribable! 5 cars are jammed in a road designed for 3, no one stops or even slows for pedestrians. We had to cross 2 lanes of traffic to buy some water and find a money exchange place(the Hilton was charging 15 LE for a bottle of water we paid 2LE for across the street) It was literally like playing a game of frogger for your life..you had to run through one lane at a time stopping in the middle of each lane while cars whizzed past with no regard for your welfare! I felt a kind of exhilaration when I finished crossing the road which I usually reserve for extreme sports, like bungee jumping. Our current strategy for survival is to cross with other Egyptians and use them as human shields.

We also took our first real cab ride to the pyramids...SCARY....very scary. I swear we almost got into 10 accidents...it was hard to look forward, you had to look away or freak out. Sue pretended she was watching a video game.The cars weave in and out just about grazing each other(and pedestrians in the process)...I would have felt better if there were seatbelts....

The pyramids were amazing...hard to capture the scale in a picture. We were hardly harassed at all...which we were worried about due to warnings in books...the worst of it was by a mob of ill-mannered 12 year old girls believe it or not! We went inside the large pyramid...the steps in were very steep, narrow and short(you had to bend over the whole way up...and they weren't steps so much as wooden planks with foot holds along them, like a ladder...when we were half way up, maybe 50 meters, the lights went out with a power outage and it was pitch black for about 10 minutes...kinda cool...you couldn't move because it was too steep and dangerous to climb down and you couldn't see where you were going to climb up, but a once in a lifetime experience!

Tonight Sue's friend Hanan's Aunt Afaf and Uncle Hassan met us and took us out for fresh mango juice and dessert..they were sooo nice!! He is a supreme court judge and she is a university professor...they grew up in Cairo and had lots to tell us about life here. They are picking us up tomorrow at 2pm and taking us for falafel, sightseeing and for dinner at a "judges only" club...so that should be cool. They also offered for us to stay with them on our last day in Cario and take us shopping and to the airport. Very nice people so we are excited!

Tomorrow we will go to the Egyptian museum in the morning and Aunt Afaf will pick us up at 2pm. Will write more afterwards! Enjoy the snow:)

5 Point Checklist....

I'm Alive!!!

It is 8:30pm here..I have already lost track of Calgary time, which is good. We just arrived at our hotel, the Nile Hilton...I know, we're travelling in style, eh? The flight over was good... after a few mis-adentures in the airport drop-off...Sue's friend Hanan, who grew up in Cairo, arranged for her Aunt to meet us and show us around Cairo so we brought a present with us for her... and promptly forgot it in the back of my dad's car when he dropped us off...not to realize it missing until 20minutes later...so my poor dad, who is a saint, had to turn around and come back to the airport....after that we instituted the "5 point checklist" My backpack, Sue's backpack, My coat, Sue's coat and the gift...and we successfully all arrived in Cairo!

The flight up was quick...we managed to snag 4 seats together that Sue slept on and I curled up in our seats and we slept the whole way...with the help of Sue's magic blue smartie's (A.K.A. Imovane)...and 3 pillows each-stolen from said seats...We made our next connection in the nick of time and miraculously so did our luggage. The Cairo airport was not what I was expecting...everything I read warned of us being really harassed but we had no problems at all...everyone was polite and helpful and our pre-arranged taxi was waiting for us with a sign by the exit doors.

The ride to the hotel was interesting...Traffic in Cairo is slightly scary....no one drives in the lanes, cars weave and swerve, no one obeys traffic lights or slows for pedestrians.....I would equate it with taking a bunch of 14 years old boys with their learners permits, getting them drunk and setting them free on the road.....

Well, I have to run! We are going to the pyamids tomorrow and Hanan's Aunt is meeting us tomorrow night at 6pm. Will write tomorrow night again :)

6 Days and Counting....

Well, here goes....my first adventure into the world of "geek-blogging", as I so mercilessly teased Tim about when he handed me his blog address before traveling to South America last year, but as it turns out it was a pretty cool way to read about his trip...so after I finished begging forgiveness for the mocking, he showed me how to set this baby up!

My best friend Sue, who I grew up across the alley from and have known my whole life, is my travel partner! She has just finished her medical residency and is taking a year off to travel the world and regain her sanity...

Why Egypt? Honestly, we just went to the Lonely Planet section of Chapter's and Egypt appealed to both of us. It's always been a place I have wanted to see...archeology fascinates me and I can't wait to see the temples, pyramids and museums...plus, it fulfilled my other criteria for a vacation; hot weather, and no scary bugs.

We are definitely concerned about the recent civil unrest that is growing in the Muslim world over the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. Fortunately, nothing serious has happened in Egypt as of yet, and they are fiercely protective of their tourist industry so things should be fine. Still though, we're keeping a close eye on the headlines...especially since Sue is Danish. All of the violent protests have been in the surrounding countries; Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine...the only news articles mentioning Egypt are associated with peaceful prayer protests. We are crossing our fingers that it all blows over soon...but just in case, Sue is going to cover her blond locks with a scarf...and for once I'm glad to be a brunette!

ITINERARY


Feb 14 - Leave Calgary for Cairo
Feb 15 - Arrive in Cairo at 5:55pm
Feb 16 - Cairo
Feb 17 - Cairo
Feb 18 - Drive to Bahariya Oasis for 3 day desert safari
Feb 19 - Safari
Feb 20 - Return from Safari and stay overnight in Bahariya
Feb 21 - Drive to Cairo and take a night train to Aswan
Feb 22 - Aswan
Feb 23 - Travel to Abu Simbel and return to Aswan
Feb 24 - 4 day Nile cruise departing from Aswan
Feb 25 - Cruise
Feb 26 - Cruise
Feb 27 - Cruise ends in Luxor.... Celebrate My 30th Birthday!!!!!
Feb 28 - Luxor
Mar 1 - Luxor
Mar 2 - Fly to Sharm El-Sheikh Resort for basking and diving in the Red Sea
Mar 3 - Sharm El Sheikh
Mar 4 - Sharm El-Sheikh
Mar 5 - Sharm El-Sheikh
Mar 6 - Bus to Cairo
Mar 7 - Cairo
Mar 8 - Fly to Calgary 3:55am and arrive in Calgary 3:55pm (Calgary time)

Hopefully everyone enjoys my travel-blog!

Feel free to post comments, I'll still be checking my email so I can be contacted there as well!!