Day 39, 12 August 2012, Drive from Cairo,under the Suez Canal, around the very bottom of the Sinai Peninsula, to Dahab, on the coast of the Red Sea - 5 am wake up and last minute pack before we enjoyed a hot breakfast at the Pyramids Park Resort Cairo. The swimming pool glimmered in the early morning light as we checked out. Just so tempting... We have been demoted from massive tour bus to a mid-size mini-van for the trip to the Sinai and eventually got away b...

Day 38, 11 August 2012, Arrival at Giza Railway Station, transfer to Pyramids Park Resort, Cairo - After rocking and rolling the night away on the sleeper train from Luxor, we were at the hotel at 9.30 am and proceeded to the gorgeous pool - 95% of which was almost 8 feet deep. Figured this out after I jumped in the deep end. I cruised to the shallows with a gold medal doggy paddle and we whiled away an hour or two reading Egyptian "Insight" magazine - Cosmo lo...

Day 37, 10 August 2012, Sunrise Balloon Ride over Valley of the Kings, Visit to The Colossi of Memnon and three of the Valley of the Kings tombs, Visit to the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut - Egypt's female king, Alabaster factory visit and last, but not least, Karnak Complex and the sleeper train back to Cairo - There are many "must-do" balloon rides in the world - so far we've ballooned in Queenstown, the Serengeti and have plans for Cappadocia in Turkey. Toda...

Day 36, 9 August 2012, Farewell to MS Nile Style, hello hotel, Luxor by night - After a peaceful night docked in Luxor we bid a fond farewell to MS Nile Style and transferred to the Sonesta St George Hotel in Luxor. We repaired to the pool after the usual Egyptian arrival hiccups.... "Oh by big bed in a non-smoking room did you really mean twin beds pushed together in a smoking room?" Er... actually no oddly enough. But as we say "This is Egypt". After venturi...

Day 35, 8 August 2012, Edfu Temple, Esna Lock, Arrival in Luxor - Edfu Temple is 5 minutes from the Nile via horse & buggy. Another incredibly well preserved temple - this one in it's original position! Dedicated to Horus, the falcon god as you can see from our smiling faces in the cover photo. The horse and buggy ride from the ship to the temple had me flicking mentally through the travel insurance policy with regard to patently dangerous activities. Eve...