From all over the world

Recap To Date:

 

Where I've been so far (red), what's next (blue)

I loaded up iPhoto to download photos from my iPhone and saw the above map of places I've taken photos so far on this trip.

Country Count visited: 5 - Germany (layover, but left airport), Israel, Palestine, Cyprus, and Egypt.
Currencies: 3 - Shekel, Euro,  Egyptian Pound

Note - make sure you send me your address so I can send you a postcard!!!! If you're reading my blog I want you to have a postcard.

Waking Up

I was due up at 4am and scheduled to meet the driver at 4:30 to be transported to the train station. The train ride  to Luxor was expected to take 3 hours. This wasn't a sleeper train, but it was 'first class'. The driver was supposed to walk me in to the station and escort me to my seat. Finding the car and seat is not easy if you're unfamiliar with the trains. He didn't, he just scooted off after dropping me off at the station. I guess good help is hard to find.

 

Egyptian First Class

The seats were rather roomy. Unfortunately, my seat at the front of the car was occupied so I took an unoccupied seat in the middle. All my bags were next to me and I took the window seat. All was fine for a little over two hours when a man grunted some words and started moving my stuff. Since there were other seats I thought he would go away if I ignored him, but he was persistent. The conductor has already voided my ticket so I thought I was okay where I was. A man in the seat in front of us asked for my ticket and pointed out my seat was in the front. I apologized to both, collected my stuff, and head for my seat. I had been in my own bubble for the entire train ride, so maybe being moved was a good thing. If it's one thing I've learned from past international travels, it's that you have to treat every unexpected twist as an adventure. 

 

My real seat...disgusting and broken 

Moving up the far, I found that not only was my seat broken (see picture above) but it was occupied. I ask if I have the right seat and am surprised to hear the person in the adjacent seat spoke perfect English with a British accent. His name is Abdul. After some moving around, I take the seat next to Abdul. Abdul is a few years younger than me and heading to Egypt with his family. I compliment his English and he teaches English at a private school in Aswan. "It better be good", he jokes. He asks me where I've been in Egypt, why I'm traveling alone, my thoughts about the country, etc. But, being more interested in his thoughts, I return the questions. "The country is a mess" he tells me, "Everyone is looking for work". His thoughts are very much congruent with the others I've spoken to. As we chat, he tells me Cairo is not safe and that I should be very careful there. I ask about Aswan and he tells me there are dangerous places there, too. I ask about the market and he laughs - those parts are entirely safe. Hearing this random strangers thoughts reiterated what I already heard from others. After a short while Abdul's uncle introduces himself. He tells me he has good friends in New Jersey. He offers me half his sandwich and a juice box. He insists I take the juice box - which is a sealed mango fruit flavored. It was an incredibly tiny gesture, but I think it says so very much. Here's a man who has next to nothing and he's offering me breakfast. He chat for a bit and he returns to his seat behind us. Abdul and I chat a bit more as we reach Luxor. He tells me this is where I need to get off. I tell Abdul I'd like him to take his family to dinner on me and try to give him 200 Egyptian pounds ($30 USD). He refuses. "Egyptian people do not take handouts", he tells me. I insist it's not a handout. I ask him if he knows what karma is. "Of course", he says. I tell him that I would have loved to take his family to dinner myself but my schedule is tight. I think it would be neat for them to have a nice dinner out and that I could use the good karma. He smiles and throws the 200 back at me. In the end I got him to take the money. Abdul is one cool dude. 

Arriving at the Station

As I arrived at the Luxor station, a man with a sign that said "Mr. Christopher Raymond" greeted me. He asked how the train ride was and I tell him fine. "Off to the hotel", he says. He explains he's the Luxor area manager and the guide will come at 1pm to pick me up.

 

Outside Luxor Station

Arriving at the Hotel

The Lotus Hotel looked pretty nice from the outside. The inside lobby was nice and had WiFi, although it wasn't free. Roughly $10 US a day is what they wanted or around $1.50 an hour was the asking rate. The fee entitled you to the wireless key which changed every 12 hours or so. The staff was very friendly and the early check in was fairly simple. It was around 9-10am, but early check in was no problem at this hotel.

 

Outside of hotel

 

Nile in the background

 

2 twin beds...I don't think any rooms offer double beds

 

Small balcony with the poorest view in the hotel- first world problem

Searching for Breakfast

Since it was a Friday, most of the surrounding shops were closed. An occasional souvenir shop was open, but that was it. There was a KFC on the street, but that too was closed. Google maps told me a McDonalds was near so that would have to do. As I walked down the street numerous cab or horse carriage drivers offered me a ride. Eventually I took one up on it. We did the negotiating game eventually settling on 10 Egyptian pounds each way (around $1.50). He wouldn’t take any money when he dropped me off, he said he’d wait and I would pay the entire amount when I was done. In case you were curious, the Egyptian McDonalds menu is a little different than it is in the states. Not surprisingly, pork isn’t an option here. So sausage is chicken sausage. I opted for 4 hotcakes, which cost right around 12 Egyptian Pounds (under $2) and orange juice since I was still nursing a cold. When I returned from McDonalds he tried to upsell me every way imaginable. First it was a tour of the town, than he wanted to take me to on the tours I already had lined up. For 40 Egyptian pounds ($6) he offered to cart me around town for an hour or so showing me around. Since I wasn’t tired a carriage around the hotel area seemed like a good idea. After some confusion around where my hotel was, we eventually get there. I had marked the location in Google Maps so I was able to help navigate back. More or less, everything in town is on the Nile River so navigating isn’t very difficult. When we arrive back at the hotel I give the driver 50 Egyptian pounds even though we had agreed on 40 Egyptian pounds. He starts arguing with me that he deserves more. Since we were at the hotel, I got out of the carriage and thanked him for his time ignoring his demands. I guess that’s the way to handle them because I saw him later in the day and he pretended to be my best friend while offering to cart me around again.

Touring

My guide today was named Abdul and he showed up at the hotel at 1pm as promised. Abdul speaks 4 languages and his also a museum examiner. Abdul was extremely friendly and down to earth. He's not afraid to speak what's on his mind. We went over the itinerary. We’d begin with the Valley of the Kings, than Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, and finally The Collosi of Memnon. Camera’s are not allowed anywhere within the Valley of the Kings tour.

Valley of the Kings

After a short trolley ride, we were at the exhibit and walking around the tombs of pharos past. The basic ticket allowed entrance into three different tombs. Entering King Tut’s tomb was an extra ticket – but Abdul didn’t really offer or suggest it. “It’s a small tomb not much different than what you’ll see”, he said. The valley is full of tombs for dozens of past pharos. Some tombs were discovered as recently as 7 years ago. I couldn’t help but think of the game “Tomb Raider” as I went through the tombs.

 

Outside the Valley of the Kings

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

The Temple of Hatshepsut was simply amazing. The temple is absolutely enormous. The inside is full of inscribed walls with very rich color and detail. It’s incredible that the color has survived all these years. Abdul insists it’s original and not a restoration.

 

The temple

Me with the temple in the backround

The Collosi of Memnon

While the Collosi of Memnon has very tall statues, it’s rather small compared to the temples. Abdul spent about 20 minutes explaining the background. The two statues are of pharaoh Amenhotep III. There are also two smaller statues symbolizing the pharaoh’s mother and wife.

 

Me in front of the Collosi 

Dinner @ KFC

After getting back to the hotel, I loaded up my MacBook to look for places to eat. While in the lobby I bumped into a tour group consisting of people from all over the world. One of the group members, Art, asked if he could borrow some hand sanitizer, as does one of his friends. The tour group was dividing at this point so many were saying goodbye. Part of the group was leaving for a dive trip to the Red Sea in the Sinai Peninsula. Art’s friend is one of them and I tell him he’s brave. “Why” he asks. I didn’t want to scare him, but that’s the region of Egypt that is lawless – it’s the part of Egypt that is outside continental Africa. He suggests they are traveling with a convoy, as they did to Abu Simbel. I didn’t see a single military convoy in Abu Simbel, but I wasn’t about to say anything. Eventually, everyone in the group disappears.

I decided walking around would be the best way to find a place to eat. In the end, I gave in and ended up at KFC. I felt like a complete idiot – here I was in Egypt and for breakfast I had McDonalds and Dinner would be at KFC. In any case, I had the chicken strips and the KFC was tasty. I bumped into two Asian girls there who go to Kellog in Chicago. Crazy, the only people I’ve met from Chicago on the entire trip was at KFC.

Back to the Hotel

After dinner at KFC I went back to the hotel lobby to update my blog. Art appeared a short time later with one of his friends and we chatted a bit. A few of his friends joined up. After a short while we go outside to sit along the Nile River and talk. We all appeared roughly the same age, but were from all over the world. Art was a Canadian who was born and raised in Brazil, James was from Australia but lived in Berlin (Germany), Brent was from New York, a girl was from South Africa, and one guy was from New Zealand. The topic of conversation began with Egypt and slowly went into politics. I joked that I was just in Cyprus and that they are not very fond of the Germans (where James had lived). We went on to discuss the effectiveness of the EU for a couple of hours. It was enlightening talking to all these people from different parts of the world. It was around midnight when he decided to call it a night.

Sunset

Tomorrow

Tomorrow would be a late day. I was to check out at noon, but the driver would pick me up at 3:30pm. I was welcome to use the common area of the lobby or walk around outside. The hotel would hold my bags in storage as long as I wanted.