Luxor

4th & 5th June

Our sneaky Felucca crew were up before the sparrows and started sailing the feluccas around 4.30am. When we woke up at 7am we were in a different spot than where we were when we fell asleep. We all got off the boat, toileted and onto the bus for a very early day.Our first stop was only about 5 minutes away - Komumbo Temple. It was built for the Gods Horus, and the Croc god, Sobek. We wandered around there for an hour or so before we were back on the bus again.

Next stop was at the massive Edfu temple. I cannot simple start to describe how big this thing was - the photos don't do it any justice either. Again, MoMo took us right through the whole temple explain the why's and how's and even explaining a lot of the hieroglyphics and art work around the place. We were left for 30 minutes of free time, but we were too scared to do anything wrong as there were lots of men (possibly security guards) with BIG guns, although they didn't stop Bryn climbing up on one of the big Horus statues!

By this stage of the day (it was maybe only 11am) we were so hot and so bothered. We had been warned that Luxor was one of the hotter places around, but there was no escaping the sun. After Edfu, MoMo surprised us with Koshari lunch on the bus and we made our way into Luxor where we could check into our 'luxury' hotel. We were all so stoked that it had a rooftop pool, and none of us wasted any time jumping in. We had the afternoon free, so most of us just lazed about by the pool or had an afternoon nap (Those 2 days on the felucca had really taken it out of us!).

6pm we were back on the bus and heading for Luxor temple - Another massive temple with lots to explore. At least as the sun was going down it wasn't completely unbearable with the heat, but it was still warm. Luxor temple has got some mega-sized statues as well as many obelisks (Including the partner one to the one we've seen in Concorde, Paris, and the one we will see in Istanbul). We hung around Luxor temple until the sun went down and the whole complex was illuminated with beautiful lights.

We were all very hungry by now so MoMo whisked us all off to dinner. We were treated with All-you-can-eat Egyptian buffet. The food was really delicious (But too much coriander for my liking), and we ate up big. Most of us got distracted throughout the dinner with the arrival of the 'jewellery man'. He makes custom silver and gold jewellery all in the beautiful Egyptian style. Both Dan and I ordered some pieces and then finished our dinner!

After dinner some thought it would be a nice idea to check out the local nightlife in Luxor. We headed to an Irish pub with a downstairs 'discotechque', where we enjoyed a few drinks and danced the night away! (Well not really, it was a relatively early night as we had an early start in the morning!)

Up at 6am for breakfast and an hour long bus ride to the Valley of the Kings. We stopped along the way for a short donkey ride, and to pick up the couple of people who shelled out the extra money for an early morning hot air balloon ride. We weren't allowed to take our cameras into the Valley of the Kings which was disappointed because it was a truly spectacular site. It is where a lot of the Pharaohs' tombs were discovered, cut into the sides of mountains and they are really well preserved. Our ticket got us into 3 tombs (Dan thinks they were the tombs of Ramses IX, Ramses III and a double tomb who neither of us can remember they belonged to!), and we were amazed at how well all of the artwork and colours have kept (Remembering that they're 3000ish years old!)

After our couple of hours at the Valley, we drove around the corner to Hetshepsut's temple. Finally a woman King (as she called herself). We all struggled to remember her name so we lovingly called her Hot Chicken Soup. We caught a mini train from the entrance up to the temple, but sadly one of the boys got left behind and was left to walk the short distance in the scorching heat. This place was by far the hottest and with very little shade to seek refuge under, MoMo flew threw the guided tour of the temple. When we gave us 15 minutes free time at the end we all headed straight for the shade of the cafeteria for ice creams.

After we left hot chicken soups temple we made a quick stop at two more massive statues on the side of the road for a quick photo, then instead of taking the bus the 45 minutes all the way around (to the nearest bridge across the Nile) we jumped on a boat which took us straight across the river and back into Luxor. We had the rest of the afternoon for free time, and as it was lunch time (and again the only hygienic places to eat were Pizza Hut, McDonalds and KFC, most of us opted to head to KFC. It was far to hot to walk the 1, maybe 2 kilometers, so MoMo loaded us into a van which was driving by and told us to give him no more than 1 pound each when we got out. It was a game of how many people can you fit into the minivan?? I think there was about 12. Dan had to ride with his arse hanging out the door so we'd all fit. I think this is what they call public transport in Egypt!!!

We had a delicious KFC lunch before deciding to make the journey back to the hotel so we could check out (We had to be out by 1pm). Again, not being bothered to walk we decided to try a taxi ride. MoMo flagged a couple of 1950's station wagons down and told us all to get in. We got 9 into ours and with no air conditioning it was a very sticky ride where we all got to know each other pretty well!! Again, another pound each but it was definitely better than walking!!!

After our afternoon of hanging out in the pool, we were taken off to Karnak Complex, another massive complex of temples in Luxor. I wont bore you with the details of that one, but it was pretty bloody big. When we got back to the hotel, we were all given an exam on everything that we'd learnt throughout the week. Our team lost.

More pool time before heading off for an early dinner, back at the same Irish pub as the evening before. Hanging for a big piece of meat I made a crucial error in ordering a steak. Tasted delicious, but I ended up paying for it for about 2 weeks after the trip ended!!! After dinner it was a quick walk back to the hotel where we collected our bags before being whisked off to the train station, where we were catching the overnight train again, this time back to Cairo. (On the way we passed a big thermometer in the town square, which said it was 45 degrees - not too shabby for 7.30 in the evening!!)

The train journey was a lot more subdued on the way back, everyone was just too stuffed to play up this time. Not surprisingly after Dan and I made a good effort on what was left of our Bacardi, I slept the whole night through!!!