The Plan B Adventure

Our trip down (remember South to North) the Nile continued courtesy of a giant cruise boat, The Miss World. It was us two, Craig (our new travelling buddy) and about a hundred of our closest Russian friends. Unknown to us the Russians love to travel during the off-times and don’t mind enduring the heat as they have some of the most creative outfits we have seen worldwide. Well, the Miss World took us along the Nile riverbanks which allowed us to view the locals at work and play. We also docked at a few stops along the way in order to view some of the temples located along the shore and, more importantly, restock our supply of Stella (not Artois) beer as it cost over 6 times more on the boat! Although the scenery is beautiful as you coast down the Nile refreshments make the time much more interesting as Craig taught us…just kidding buddy!

After a few days and nights on the boat we arrived at our final destination of Luxor, home to some of the most grandiose architecture in the Nile River Valley. As we think back on our Aswan to Luxor journey a few thoughts are rekindled and we figure this would be as good a time as any to document the two most challenging things about travelling in Egypt. First, for all that we can gather Egypt has been getting tourists longer than anywhere else (courtesy of their ancient monuments) in the world. This has led to a “gimme gimme gimme” attitude among most involved in the tourist trade. To illustrate with a simple example at one point Jeff was told “Oh, your American then the price is triple what I just quoted you ’cause you’re RICH.”…..from then on we were Icelandic! Most of this abuse is outside of Cairo where most locals were friendly and genuine but be careful of the “shadiness” in Luxor and Aswan. Lastly and in the same vein it is next to impossible to find something to eat in Upper Egypt where the price is automatically quadrupled upon you asking, if it’s even quoted at all before you have the item in your hand. Here’s a brief exchange:

Becca: How much is a Coke?

Vendor: This one? (Handing her the can)

Becca: How much is it? (Avoiding the can)
Vendor: Here you go! (Effectively thrusting the can into her hands)

Becca: (Obviously getting annoyed) How much?!!

Vendor: For you? (Re-attempting the thrusting technique)
Jeff: (Receiving the go-ahead look from Becca) No..for that guy down the street….of course it’s for us! How much is it?

Vendor: $3 US (Trying the thrust on Jeff)
Jeff: (Containing his laughter w/hands behind back to avoid thrusting) How bout $1?

Vendor: Come on….I have a family to feed. $2?
Jeff: Last chance….$1

Vendor: Sorry…can’t do it!

Jeff: Ok….bye (walking away)

Vendor: Ok…$1

Jeff and Becca (in unison): Unbelievable!!

This is a message for the uninitiated travelling alone in Egypt than anywhere else, this is what you have to go through when you want a soda, falafel, water, souvenirs, internet access, and sometimes hotel rooms! Good Luck and don’t get frustrated it’s just a game for them although in 100+F heat it gets a bit annoying. Can you all see why we had soda and Twinkies for lunch? Advice….book a trip and get a good guide!

Back to Luxor because the sights are really amazing even in the dead heat of the Africa desert. Visited first and our most favorite was the Temples of the Karnak and Luxor. To reiterate our earlier thoughts we just can’t believe how old this stuff is and in Karnak’s Temple you can actually see original paint!!! Are you kidding me?!! As the sun sets across the Nile the shadows and contrasts make for an amazing walk up and down aisles of giant pillars as you weave your way in and out where the queens and kings use to do the same. After the temples we ventured across the Nile to view the Valley of Kings and Queens where the amazement is all contained below ground. Yes…this is where everyone who’s anyone in buried including the world famous, King Tut! While descending the channels to visit the chambers of these elaborately designed and very well-preserved burial tombs is very interesting for all we recommend bringing a guidebook with an explanation of the stories on the walls as guides aren’t allowed entrance.

The final leg of our Egyptian adventure took us on an overnight train from Luxor to Egypt…not too bad in the grand scheme of things….and into the arms of our original guide, Zina, for a tour through the amazing Egyptian history museum. This is where most of the cool stuff left behind by kings and queens resides. We want you all to be as surprised as we were with everything so we won’t tell too much. Two things that shouldn’t be missed: 1) Tut’s gallery and check out his Onyx eyes as well as the four mini-sarcophagus sed for holding his holy organs! 2) The 3200 year old mummified body of Ramses II. As you travel through Egypt much of what you see and hear about is from this guy’s doing so it’s good to put a face with a name….and what a face it is!

Okay….off early in the morning for one of the most anticipated events of our adventure….Our Tanzanian Adventure Safari.

Tags: Cairo, Egypt, Luxor, Travel

This entry was posted on Monday, June 19th, 2006 at 7:26 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.