July 17 - Egypt: Aswan
We actually slept on the train last night! We each woke up a lot, but we definitely slept too. Breakfast on the train was a bunch of bread - a croissant and two rolls of bread. The train was supposed to arrive in Aswan at 1:00, so we just sat there and read our respective books during the trip. At 10:30, suddenly everyone around us began to pack up. We asked what was up and they said "Aswan"! Ooops. We were slightly misinformed. So we hurried to pack up our stuff and got off before the train left the station.
Happi Hotel
We blew off all the taxi drivers and decided to hoof the five blocks to the hotel we chose: The Happi Hotel. It's a bargain at $20/night. We got a room with a view of the Nile - if you go out onto the terrace and stick your neck out and around the corner. It's an old hotel, and it looks like there's some construction going on our floor. Either that or they just haven't patched up the walls in many years. There's a new air conditioner in our room, which is very nice except for the fact that the wall around the A/C hasn't been spackled yet so the sunlight shines in through the cracks. And, although the bathroom seems to be very clean, I don't think this carpet has been vacuumed in a year or so. But all in all, we're quite happy for the bargain price. We can also get free passes to a nearby pool if we want to go.
The Market and American Express
We cooled down in the room for a little while, and ate pita bread and cheese because the train breakfast really wasn't enough. Then we walked through the market back to the train station to buy train tickets to Luxor. Yes, we could have done that when we got off the train but the backpacks are SO heavy and cumbersome that we really just wanted to get them to the hotel. We wanted tickets for the 5:00AM train on Thursday, but it was sold out so we settled for the 8:00PM on Wednesday.
We decided at the hotel that we would check out the deals on organized tours in order to avoid some of the traumas we had in Cairo. So we walked and walked and walked to the American Express Travel office on the other side of town. We decided to walk along the Nile, even though there was less shade there. But the views were terrific, and I think we're getting used to being sweaty every second of the day. It's easily 100° out here, if not more, and the sun is incredibly strong.
Jon on the Nile
We were so happy to finally get to AmEx because we were starting to fry and the office was air conditioned. And we were quite surprised to find that the office has an exchange bureau in it, despite the fact we'd been told it didn't have one. So we tried - again - to finagle some US Dollars for our Tibet tour. Amazingly, surprisingly, unbelievably, he could give us all the US Dollars we needed. There were fees, of course, but we didn't care because we were so happy to be able to get dollars. What a wonderful experience!
While Jon was finalizing the dollar situation, I went to the travel desk to see about organized tours. Osama the travel agent showed me some of them and we decided to book a Sound-and-Light show at the Temple of Philae tonight, and a felucca ride to the Botanical Gardens tomorrow. Osama and I started chit-chatting, and he mentioned that he had some great hotel rates in Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea. So of course I decided to take a look. Incredible! He can get us into 4-Star Hotels for almost nothing! One hour later, we had a 4-Star hotel booked in Luxor for a song, two more tours, and Osama is trying to get us into our hotel-of-choice in Sharm El Sheihk. Then he recommended a place for us to go for lunch. We LOVE Osama!!
Panorama Restaurant
The place we had lunch was on a restaurant right on the Nile near the AmEx office. Jon and I have a running joke that he ALWAYS chooses the best dishes. So he "wins" every meal. This time was no different, I thought the curry chicken sounded good and Jon got the moussaka. The chicken was bland and boring, but Jon's moussaka came in a little clay pot and was divine. He couldn't finish it so of course I abandoned my chicken and helped him clean his plate.
Siesta
At around 3:00, we went back to hotel for a siesta. When the wind blows, it's like a breeze from a fire. We walked back through the market because there was shade there and we got a bit lost. The streets completely clear out between the hours of 1-5, and most stores, banks, and offices completely shut down during these hours. But then everything opens up again when the sun begins to set. We eventually found our way back the hotel and were so happy to lay around and sleep for a few hours.
Temple of Philae
At 8:30, we met our tour guide to go to Temple of Philae. There was a short cab ride, and then a felucca ride on the Nile to get to Agilika Island where the Temple is located. The sound and light show was wonderful! It was sort of a walking tour, as the Temple complex is very large and you can't possibly get full enjoyment by watching it from afar. So the lights and sounds led us from one part of the temple to another. We learned quite a bit about Isis - to whom the temple is dedicated. I dressed up as Isis for Halloween one year. I had a great costume that my mother made me.
Anyway, the sound and light show was quite a bit better than the one at the Pyramids. This one was actually educational and interesting. The Temple of Philae was moved from its previous island location because - for six months of every year - it was flooded by the Nile. Tourists used to take rowboats to glide among the partially submerged columns and to peer down to see the columns and statues. So in the 1960s, a massive effort moved Philae stone by stone to its current location. Very cool.
Inside the Temple of Philae
Aswan Moon
We got back to town at 10:00, and we were starving. We had dinner at a place called Aswan Moon, which is on a boat on the Nile. The decor was very colorful and lovely, and the feluccas around the river made the whole experience very romantic. If only I could keep my eyes open! I was so tired, I could barely eat. So we had dinner and then headed back to the Happi Hotel to sleep.