Thursday 4th August.
HotChipSoup
We made our way to the Valley of the Kings and as soon as we got out of the minivan we got to experience the hassling that we were warned about when visiting Egypt. It was crazy, there were people basically people hanging off our ankles as we tried to run away, and it was only going to get worse! Also, we found out that there was strictly no photography in the Valley of the Kings and we were advised to leave our cameras in the van, otherwise we risked them being taken off us.
We gathered with our guide who gave us a quick introduction to the Valley of the Kings. He then pointed us in the direction of the first of three tombs that our tickets allowed us to see and told us that he couldn't come inside with us because he didn't have a ticket. Inside the tomb we descended down the narrow, steep passageway and found ourselves in a small enclosed room with a large, freestanding stone tomb in the middle of the stone room and there were cool hieroglyphics painted on the walls. There was an elderly man, and by elderly I mean easily 150 years old, he looked a lot like the knight that protects the goblet in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (if you haven't seen that movie yet, go forth and be enlightened! Anyway.... I presumed that this old man was there as security to make sure no one damaged the tomb in anyway and he had a few scraps of cardboard in his hand, one of which he handed to me and indicated that it was to fan myself with. How nice of him, I thought. Then he followed behind me and struck up a conversation about the paintings in his broken English. Again, I though what a nice old man he is. Then as we left to climb up the steep, narrow passageway to the comparably fresh air in the open, the old man put out his hand and asked for money. I should have seen that coming. Lesson numero uno.. NOTHING in Egypt is free.
From there we went into the second tomb, but wiser from the first tomb, I didn't get conned into giving anyone else money. When we went to enter the third tomb there was a man standing at the entrance handing out torches. I presumed, understandably I think, that if they are handing out torches it must mean that you need it to see inside the tomb. Wrong. It was very brightly lit all the way through the tomb. Instantly I knew that I was going to have to pay for the displeasure of holding that torch for five minutes. Frustrated I brought it up with a guy standing further inside the tomb. I tried to give it back to him saying that I didn't need it and didn't want it but he wouldn't take it, he just kept on pointing at the man who had handed me the torch. But I knew that the second I went back to him with the torch he would demand money for it. Okay then, plan B. I waited until someone I knew walked past us on their way back out of the tomb and asked them politely if they would please drop the torch off on their way through. That issue sorted, I got back to admiring the ancient tomb we were inside of. This tomb was a bit different to the last two, I had a long hallway covered in paintings and at the end of the hallway there was a staircase down further. At the end of the stairway we could see a few rooms separated by archways. It got dark pretty quickly so we couldn't see how deep it went, but it felt like it went on forever underground. As we were leaving the tomb the torch guy seemed to be arguing with other people, presumably about asking for money for the torches, and as he was so busy he didn't even see me leaving. And, as a by-note, the poor sucker I hand-balled my torch onto didn't have to pay for it as the torch guy was distracted when he passed too.
Back above the ground we looked into seeing the famous tombs of Tutankhamen and Ramses II but decided against it when we found out that it would be EGP100/US$17 each for each tomb. As we made our way back to the minivan we were again bombarded by people trying to sell souvenirs and had to fight our way through the crowd to get back to our van. Overall, we found the Valley of the Kings to be underwhelming and the hassling to be a bit overwhelming.
From the Valley of the Kings we were driven to HotChipSoup Temple (a.k.a. Hatshepsut Temple). Now this is more like it! The minivan was parked and, surprise surprise we had to walk through a market place before reaching the entrance. Getting through that relatively unscathed we entered the information building where there were toilets that you could pay to use and cans of soft drink you could get for the crazy price of 20 Egyptian pounds each (usually 5 pounds!). We exited on the other side of the information building and jumped into one of the little train cars that ferry people to and from the temple which was a long, hot walk away.
On the way back to the meeting point at the information building we were once again bombarded by kids trying to sell souvenirs. we were getting the hang of politely but very firmly saying "thanks but no thanks", but others around weren't as good at it, and some tourists (one who looked like Priscilla Queen of the Desert) had kids hanging off the side of the train car as we were driving still trying to sell things.
After HotChipSoup Temple we were taken to an Alabaster factory where we were given free hibiscus tea as we looked through their shop, while our driver no doubt got a commission for taking us there. There was a set of really nice colourful alabaster glasses that I really liked, but luckily for our bank account they were way too expensive.
From there we made our way back over the rive to the east side and asked the driver to drop us off at McDonald's instead of at the hotel. Everyone but Geoff and Kate got out at Maccas. The McDonald's in Luxor, by the way, is a tourist attraction all on its own because right across the road from it sits Luxor temple. From maccas we walked back to the hotel via the very long market/souk street and ended up buying another shisha pipe, one that says EGYRT instead of EGYPT on it... T.I.A.
We got back to the hotel in time for an afternoon swim and a nap and then went to a fancy Japanese restaurant in a fancy hotel in town with a few people. Yummm!
Friday 5th August.
Hot air balloon over the Nile... Don't mind if I do...
Our alarm went off at 3.30am and we were downstairs in the minivan by 4am. Me, Alex, Lars, BJ, Fiona, Emma and Benne we all pumped for our hot air balloon ride (well, as pumped as you can be at 4am). We all stood around and watched the 10 or so balloons get inflated in the field while the sun slowly started to rise. We also got to witness the very hi-tech way that our pilot tested the wind direction- by releasing a helium filled birthday balloon into the air and seeing where it went! Very technical!
We had a smooth take off and an amazing flight. We reached heights of 3000 meters and flew so low at times that we almost brushed against the palm trees. We had an amazing view of the city, of the Nile River snaking into the horizon, we could see Hotchipsoup Temple, and could see where the desert met the green of the city limits.
We were also lucky enough to glide over the Nile River, something that apparently doesn't happen very often but had now happened two days in a row. Our landing was a bit touch and go, we kept on floating up again. After about 10 minutes of up and down we finally came to a stop on the edge of a corn field on a pile of burnt out rubbish.
We got back to Rezeiky Camp by 6.30 and waited until 7am when we got picked up to do our half day east bank tour of Karnak and Luxor Temples.
Karnak Temple is dated back to 1000-2000 BC. Excavation began in the 1800s and is still continuing to this day. Every day more artifacts, temples and tombs are discovered. We could see a dig site just out the front where there were clay jugs half dug out of the ground. Only a few months ago a Roman bath was discovered on the Karnac Temple grounds, which has been dated back to 300 BC. The whole of modern day Luxor city has been built on top of ancient Luxor, and there is an Alley of Sphynxes, 2.7 kilometers long, that connects Luxor Temple to Karnac Temple.
Karnak Temple was amazing. Breathtaking. Words can not describe. It was exactly what I had been expecting to experience in Egypt but hadn't yet. There was one hall that was filled with ginormous pillars, hundreds of them. It was such a massive place, with gigantic room after gigantic room. Outside there was a huge pool, not for bathing or for swimming, but only for the high priest's to bless things in. What amazed me most was that no one ever got to see this magical, grand Temple. Only the royal family and the highest of the high priests ever got to go inside the Temple. Apart from that, dignitaries and high priests only ever saw the outside courts and the blessing pool on the outside during very special ceremonies. To have such a massive and magical place built and not show it off to everyone that you can doesn't seem right to me, how mysterious it must have been during the day!
Hotchipsoup added her little bit to temple as well (having her own massive temple wasn't enough for her). She had an obelisk built and put in there. It was made of one solid piece of pink granite and stood at well over 60 meters high. The engineering skills that they possessed back then really is amazing.
If I can say one thing to you it would be.... Go see Karnac Temple! Please!
We went home via pizza hut this time and had a huge afternoon nap, exhausted from our busy last few days. We woke up and had a long soak in the pool. At dinner time I went out to the Chinese restaurant again with Emma, Fiona and Marcus and we met Mark, Aileen and Jan there. Alex, Benne, Jimmy, and Lars stayed home and hung out smoking shisha pipe all night. I really love Luxor.
Saturday 6th August.
Chillin' in Luxor.
We had a relaxing day. We spent the first half of the day swimming in the pool, then spent the afternoon in our air conditioned room watching the movie channel. In the late afternoon as the sun was going down we sat around the pool area reading books and chatting. At dinner time everyone but Kate and Geoff had enjoyed a massive, delicious buffet cooked by the lovely man that owns Rezeiky camp. He looked like one of the statues that you see outside of Italian restaurants with a big smile, bushy moustache, and kind eyes. It was a really yummy dinner with all traditional Egyptian food and it was really nice to sit around a table with everyone, especially because the trip is nearing the end.
Farron arrived with our truck at about 10pm with the Oasis truck right behind him. The Oasis truck was empty except for the driver because everyone was on the fellucas and would be arriving in the morning. The poor buggers had not had as much good luck as we had (well, they didn't have Farron- that was their main problem) and they ended up missing the ferry that we caught from Sudan and were stuck in the dirty hole of a town, Wad Halfa for a whole week. Maybe next time they will choose African Trails! Everyday we thank our lucky stars that we have Farron as our driver, and friend!
Sunday 7th August.
Into the Western Desert we go.
We woke up at 9am to clean the bomb site that was our bedroom. We switched off the air conditioning in an attempt to start to re-acclimatize to the heat. We went downstairs to join in in the truck clean. We put together a package of food that we didn't need anymore, things like 2minute noodles, tins of tuna, soup etc. for the guy that owned the shop at Rezieky camp. He said that he knows lots of poor people and that he would take the package to church on Monday and distribute it around. Alex also left him with our guitar and asked him to give it to someone who would enjoy and not otherwise be able to afford one.
We were meant to be leaving at 1pm but we were waiting for the Oasis people to arrive from their felluca trip because we were gaining 2 new family members from them. Damien and Anna were jumping off the Oasis truck and joining our us. Because they were running late from the fellucas we had some time up our sleeves and spent it skyping home. We got to speak to my parents and my sister and brother. It was so nice to see everyone's faces and to see my sisters big pregnant belly in real time, it appeared on the screen a whole minute before she did!
We ended up leaving Rezeiky Camp at 3.30pm and then stopped for petrol so were properly on the road by 4pm. We were on our way to Cairo, with two nights of bush camping in the Western Desert on the way. I thought we were going through the White Desert as well, but it turns out we will miss it. Oh well, gives me an excuse to come back to Egypt- not that I need it because I absolutely love it here!
We got to see the most amazing sunset and pulled into a quarry to make camp. Cook group made a really nice mashed potato and minced meat thing that tasted just like a shepherds pie. We set up our beds in the truck and ended up having a big slumber party because Marcus, Fiona, Lars and Aileen all slept in the truck too.
Monday 8th August.
Small town hospitality.
We were awake just after 5am from a combination of the sun already being up and from the hundreds of flies using our faces as landing pads. On top of that we hadn't had a very good night sleep due to a mixture of Lars snoring and bugs biting our faces. We ended up having breakfast and leaving 30 minutes ahead of schedule at 8am because everyone else was awake and ready.
We drove for a few hours through deserty nothingness. We made a sudden stop-over at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere because Farron had spotted what he thought might have been a fridge.... and... BINGO- there was even ice cream. We continued on, in search of an oasis to pull over for lunch in the New Valley.
Just as we were arriving at a town in the New Valley where there was meant to be a nice oasis to swim in, we were pulled over by police. They had a quick chat to Farron and we were on our way again. But then 5 minutes later just before we entered the town, the police caught up to us and pulled us over again. This time they escorted us to the police station. An office came out and asked Farron exactly what we were looking for. Farron explained that we were looking for an oasis to swim in while we ate our lunch. The police officer kindly informed us that the next town, 180kms away, was better for that and that his officers would promptly escort us out of their town. Small town hospitality- what can I say?!
So we left that town in style with a cop car in front of us that turned on the sirens every now and then. We were also being followed by a ute that was filled with what looked like 15 year old boys with big guns and battons. Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but it certainly crossed my mind that I hope they weren't leading us into the deserty nothingness to rob us for all we had. Luckily that didn't happen and they waved goodbye to us at the next police check point. We carried on further down the road for another 10 minutes of so when Farron pulled over so that he could explain to us what had just happened and for a quick pee stop and lunch break. Not long after stopping and just as we were about to enjoy our tinned tuna lunch, the cops came back. Turns out they didn't trust us not to turn around and try and sneak into their town again. Lovely little place. They ended up escorting us the whole way to the next town. As soon as they left our sides, police officers from the next town came up to us. We thought for sure that they were going to escort us out of their town as well, but much to our surprise they didn't. Farron had explained that we wanted to find an Oasis to swim in and them somewhere to camp at. For whatever reason they took us to this hotel of broken dreams, a badly run down place with an empty and mouldy pool. It probably belonged to one of the police officers cousins or something. Farron thanked them but said that we could not stay there. Instead of just letting us go our own way they took us to another place out of town. Our spirits were a little broken after a full day of being given the run around by the local police and we didn't have high expectations for this place.
We pulled up to a dusty little place that was still being constructed, it had a camel in the back and two toilets in the front. There was one small mud building that was completely empty- but there WAS a fridge plugged into a power point under a wooden umbrella and it was FULL of cold soft drink! Excellent!
There was a sandy area where we could put our tents up and there was a bizaar Oasis. Apparently if you swim in it, the magical powers would make you 10 years younger. It was a bubbling natural spring and it was the weirdest thing ever. It was so unnerving because the sand at the bottom of the pool kind of disappeared in the center. Right in the middle where the bottom disappeared there were bubbles raising to the surface of the water and the sand at the edge became like quicksand. Right in the middle was like a sand blaster as the air from the middle of the earth pushed around the sand. It was so weird. Right on the edge it felt like it was sucking you under and in the middle it pushed you back out again.
Tuesday 9th August.
The White Desert.
we had an awesome sleep because it was the most perfect temperature over night. We woke up early feeling refreshed and ready to leave at 8am. There is still 800kms to go to Cairo so we will go as far as we can, hopefully find a bush camp somewhere pretty and then get to Cairo tomorrow. We drove past the 'Sea of Sand', hundreds of kilometers of nothing but sand and sand dunes between here and Libya and beyond.
We stopped at an Oasis which was like a really hot well with a small shoulder depth bath in front. As we were swimming some guy appeared from the middle of nowhere and set up a little shop on the desert floor. He had some scarfs and I of course needed one. We ate lunch while we were stopped there and then continued on.
Not long after we entered the White Desert National Park. I was so excited- I thought we were going to miss it. It was the most magical thing! The sky was a vibrant blue colour, there was red sand in the distance and we were surrounded by white sand and the huge white rock formations. We carried on again and then stopped a further 25kms down the road at the Crystal Mountain. This was nothing special, but I did manage to collect some nice little bits of quartz to play our Bao game with. On the road again we stopped at the next oasis town that had no oasis to swim in and got some veggies to cook dinner with. We pulled over and set up another bush camp. Farron said that we might try and see the pyramids tomorrow on the way into Cairo. I can't believe it is here already! For so long it has seemed like something so far off in the distance, but here we are, getting to Cairo tomorrow!
Wednesday 10th August.
Great Pyramids of Giza.
We were up at 5am to try and push it to Cairo so that we could see the pyramids before it got too hot. We stopped for breakfast on the side of the highway at 7am. As we reached the city limits of Cairo we could see the Great Pyramids of Giza dwarfing the giant city. It was an incredible sight. Struggling through the manic city traffic we finally made it to the pyramids. Parking we made a time to meet back at the truck and walked up the big driveway like road to the entrance. We decided to pay for entry into all of the pyramids- the most expensive tickets, but while we are here we want to see as much as we can.
Entering, we were immediately confronted by hundreds of people trying to sell things. I guess this is the Egypt that most people experience and don't really like. There were men who would just appear in front of you, quickly place an Egyptian cotton hat on your head and then refuse to take it back while demanding payment. We learnt very quickly not to make eye contact with anyone or ask anyone anything! We stopped and asked a tourism police officer for directions, he pointed down the road and then put out his hand for money. A tourism police officer! I just walked away. Yeah right are we going to pay a tourist police officer for giving us- tourists- directions!
We first went into the smallest of the three pyramids. We had to crouch down and walk down this tiny, narrow, and very steep walkway. At the bottom it was so incredibly hot that we couldn't really stop to enjoy the small empty space. We then went inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. Again we had to do most of the climbing in a crouched position and it was such a steep uphill ramp that I didn't think I was going to make it. They really should put a health warning at the entrance- "Not suitable for pregnant women, people with back injuries, heart conditions, asthma, the elderly or those affected by claustrophobia".
When we finally reached the small room at the top of the giant pyramid there was only me, Alex, Jimmy, and Aileen and the guy that stands up there and takes photos of you for a huge amount of money because photos are prohibited. We collapsed on the floor and tried to catch our breath. It was so incredibly hot that we were literally swimming in sweat. When we managed to tell the guy standing there that none on us had a camera with us he stopped staring at us and started chanting. There is no other word for it, it was enchanting. Being up there by ourselves with his chanting reverberating off the giant stone walls. After we had caught our breaths we made our way back down to the ground.
We were meant to be back at the truck at 1pm and were already running late so we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would come back and see the sphynx the next day. But once we got back to the truck we found out that they had extended the meeting time to allow everyone to fit in the sphynx. Alex couldn't bear going back out into the heat and climbing back up the steep hill to the pyramids, so I went with Jimmy and Sherri. We made our way back up the steep hot hill, in through the entrance, past the pyramids and down to the sphynx. It really is a beautiful statue and it is a great pity that it was defaced for nothing more than target practice. We took a few photos and made our way back to the truck. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to see the Great Pyramids of Giza and the beautiful Sphynx, but it would have been so much more enjoyable had it not been for the oppressive heat and the constant, persistent hassling.
We got to our hotel at 4pm. It was a bit of a dump for the amount of money that we had to pay but it did have airconditioning. I jumped on the net and tried to find something better, but it all looked the same for the same price. Plus, we were in a good location, right on the famous Thahir Square with tanks parked right out the front of our hotel, so we decided to just stay there with everyone else. We had a long cold shower and met in the lobby to go out for dinner with everyone and say goodbye to Lars of Arabia, because his flight back to Norway was at 4am.
