Its been a while since we were last able to update our blog, lots has happened. We left cairo late at night on the overnight train, what a treat that was, 45 degree chair, smokers, cell phones, car door open..close..open close.. and the washroom was a real treat, we could have washed our feet on the floor it was so wet with water used to flush... the quietest time was around 6:00am when everyone was asleep. Leanne & I were highly guarded by 4 handsome young armed (with pistols, that is) strong men that sat in front of us.

We arrived in Aswan around 11:00 am and went directly our luxurious cabin on the Nile cruise ship.. for a shower then lunch. To get to shore we needed to navigate between us and the other boats that were docked, at times this was up to 4 ships we cut through to get to land and back thus realizing 5 star is a sometimes considered 3, ours was the "5" Soliel.

In summer Aswan can reach temps of 50 and 40 in the shade, lucky for us it is fall..perhaps 30 C ....

We went to Philea Island to see the temple of Isis - beautiful architecture, massive columns and statues..yes we went crazy with pictures. We also went for a one hour sunset Felucca ride on the Nile. Leanne really wanted to blend with the locals practicing fasting for Ramadan - tummy much better now...

The next day we were up at 4:00am to catch our "police escorted" convoy to Abu Simbel along with hundreds of other tourists. The 3 hour journey was picturesque, beautiful sunrise across the desert, police in their little lookout towers smiling and blowing kisses at Leanne. Upon arrival we passed through a "metal detector" and airport xray machine - funny these are every where but have no meaning....beep beep beep and the guards just ignore you.

Due to the 1997 bombings, tourist police are everywhere - more of a false sense of security than anything else - alot of their rifles are cracked, probably could not shoot a straight bullet if they tried...most guards use them to prop their heads while sleeping at their posts.

Two impressive temples at Abu Simbel were carved out of the side of a two mountains and stand 20 meters high - all this was moved around 1963 when the dam was built which flooded the land. Well worth the 6 hour drive.

The next day we ventured to Kom Ombo Temple. That night we celebrated Egyptian style in our Egyptian garb and played fun dance games - even spoons - Leanne was the clear winner of all the women but I was a close second - yes we are a bit competitive. She won a "free" beer that was added to our tab, none the less we both enjoyed it.

We sailed to Luxor to end our Nile cruise. We visited the temple of Karnak by horse drawn carriage then ended with a short city tour to check out our next "day hotel" before we catch the train back. Our tour leader Mohammed showed us the bazaar which we later visted just in time for "break fast" this is the best time to visit the markets, the shop keepers are preparing to eat dinner. They are quite aggresive..."where you from???" Hassel Free... Canada? Canada Dry...ha ha ha" you know what, its annoying after the first few times. They hang out side their shops trying to lure you in but just piss ya off.

Looking for the Internet cafe we were hijacked by Ali, a 20 year old local that had a teacher at the papyrus shop (Leanne purchased her first low quality knock off - Brent you will love it). He took us to the real Egyptian market - what a sight..dead fish and meat covered in flys..."fresh" fruit and veggies...yum, dysentry here I come. Next he took us to a "village" were we rode a water wheel turned by a cow (not us) then to the field for a quick camel ride...total cost for suckers like us....122 egyptian pounds (or $21 CDN) yes we are official suckered for the second or third or forth time or who's counting.

Another early morning wake up call, 4:00 am, I am too old for this and Leanne, well she is just not a morning girl. We crammed into a tour van, transfered to a boat (that died half way across the nile) then transfered to another van to head to a farmer's field for a hot air balloon ride around ruins on the east bank. Lucky for us we took the morning flight as the heat from the balloon was almost untolerable. The view was outstanding - we saw insides of farmers homes (some do not have roofs or have holes in their roofs, we saw one guy curled up in his bed). On our decent, we were meters from the power lines, the captain threw down a rope to the guys on the road who quickly pulled us to safety....to the other side we narrowly escaped hitting a tree and gently landed on the shoulder of the road..yes Terra Ferma.

Immediately following we boarded a van and headed to town for our 1 hour donkey race to the Valley of the Kings...my lord were jokes flying when Mohammed was explaining that we were to go to "Donkeys Place" to meet. Fiona (an Aussie in our group) was coming with us but Shrek stayed at home. We suited up with our donkey and headed, or herded, to the valley. It was neck and neck, only three minor casulaties - two early dismounts, point level of 5 out of 10, and Leanne's Diaraherra Donkey that needed some imodium; by the end of the trip, as Mohammed said, "your full of s***" and she was. Everyone tried to stay away from her and her s***ty donkey. This would have been a brillant "wet one's - never leave home without them, they clean any s***" commercial.

At the Valley of the Kings we visited 3 tombs - they are ornately decorated with vivid colored carvings that have never been restored. We descened to the burial chamber to see the scargofigus.. Sweat pouring down our brow...the temperature must have been around 40 in the sun...

We headed back to our day home...5 per room, two single beds..sounds great..wrong. 4 of us took a nap while waiting for our MacDonalds lunch...the burgers were as big as our head and fries were the size of our both our hands...American super size has nothing on Egypt. And yes, it is as bad as it is in Canada....after lunch we napped again...you know how it is ...its good to be King.

Tonight we board, 2nd class, to head back to Cairo....

Glad your all keeping up with our journey, thanks for your thoughts..no worries, we are keeping well and safe..our group is like our second family.

Bye for now.