So, the train to Aswan was as I expected it to be: cold and late. Fortunately I had prepared for both so I was both warm and resigned to the fact that we arrived in Aswan four hours late. I was met at the train station by a representative from my hotel who brought myself and two other American girls, Kate and Anna, through the chaos and to our hotel. We settled in and chatted and then we left together to go see the High Dam (which was just a dam, though if had some pretty spectacular views) and Philae Temple. The temple was incredible. It was located on an island that was set to be flooded with the construction of the dam so it was moved to another island nearby. We took a boat from the shore and wandered around the temple until sunset. The colors of the sunset, the temple and the Nile were absolutely breathtaking. It was also so incredible to see an actual ancient Egyptian temple! I had seen the hieroglyphics in the Egyptian Museum, but it was completely different to see them as part of the whole structure. After we went back to Aswan, the three of us went for dinner along the Nile and then turned in early: we had to be up early for Abu Simbel.

The wake-up call was at 2:45 am. We had to be in the lobby of the hotel at 3:15 am to meet the police convoy traveling to Abu Simbel at 3:30 am. Our hotel supplied us with a special Abu Simbel breakfast-box and we slept for most of the 3 hour drive. I did wake up in time to watch the sunrise over the desert. We got to Abu Simbel at at about 7:00 we made our way to the ticket desk. For some reason they would not accept my student card, which had worked everywhere else, and I had to pay full price but, oh well. We walked around the dune to where the temple was suddenly visible alongside the water. The image that everyone sees of Abu Simbel is a temple dedicated to Horus; there is also another temple dedicated to Hathor on the same site. We explored both and took plently of pictures before heading back to the bus. We were told to meet up in the parking lot at 8:45 to meet the convoy traveling back to Aswan at 9:00, but the bus was nowhere to be found! Our entire group ended up stranded in the middle of the parking lot looking in vain for our bus until it finally drove over from some mystery location at about 9:10. We climbed on and most of us went back to sleep.

We got back to Aswan and I parted ways with Kate and Anna, who were leaving that afternoon for their cruise down the Nile to Luxor. I spent the afternoon wandering around the souq and admiring various souvenirs before grabbing dinner. Tomorrow I board a felucca and I will spend one day sailing down the Nile in very traditional style before docking at an island and spending the night onboard. The nights have been rather cold so I'm a bit wary, but we'll see how it goes.