Egypt Adventure
Egypt Trip Report – Nile Rover by Imaginative Traveller
Style: budget adventure travel 9 days
Day 1. The flight detail screen in the plane read 2027 miles since Paris. We’re a long way from home. This thought was to be reinforced in many ways over the next 9 days!!!!!
I was met by a delightful gentleman from Benu Travel. They provide the airport meeting services for Imaginative Traveller (ImTrav). He was alongside the ramp from the aircraft, so he directed me to the “Visa purchase office” which was a wicket where you handed over your passport and approx $25 US and got a postage stamp in your passport from the Egyptian government. That’s your entry visa. Then we went through customs and immigration to the air conditioned minibus. Our driver, Samir, was courteous and professional. He steered us through the maze of cars which is traffic in Cairo. There are no streetlights and no lanes. It is pretty much a free-for-all but it works. Traffic was very heavy and we witnessed one fender bender which held up traffic for about 30 seconds while the drivers settled their altercation with fists, then hopped back into the cars and sped off.
We arrived at the Hotel Indiana which is on a fairly quiet side street, centrally located. The lobby is heavily decorated with red- marble, carpets, upholstery, walls- all in different shades and patterns. The furniture resembles 19th century style. The elevators were interesting….an actual hinged door which opened out into the hall, banged shut behind you and then locked into place for the ride up or down- no inner door! This was typical of all elevators we rode. Also typical of the hotels we stayed was the room- shabby but the linens were clean. Carpets were stained and old, but vacuumed. Each room had a loud rumbling air conditioner which pumped out good cold air and proved to be an asset in masking the hallway noise during the night. The bathrooms were the big surprise. You would expect water to be at a premium. It certainly was in the showers- always a hand-held apparatus which leaked a trickle over your body, regardless of the pressure evident from the tap. Intermittent bursts of hot or cold water led to short, efficient efforts at getting clean or refreshed. The toilet was the next adventure. A push or pull button on top of the tank activated the flush, with varying degrees of success depending on the pressure in the hotel. Then the water would run into the tank for several hours. You would expect more effort at conservation in a desert country. Remember- do not put paper into toilets in Egypt. The sewer system is antique and uses ½ inch copper pipes, so paper goes into the basket provided. My rating of the hotel is budget, maximum 2*, but the difference on this trip is that the travelers just take it in stride. It is part of the “adventure”. And when you figure the cost of the trip, they are pretty decent!
Day 2 Breakfast proved to be standard everywhere. Buns, buns and more buns. Occasionally hard boiled eggs and sliced cucumbers or tomatoes added variety. Plenty of good jam and butter, and “laughing cow cheese” (you know, the little foil-wrapped triangles).
We had our briefing and met our group and the tour leader. We were fortunate to have Ibrahim, an energetic young Egyptian with several years under his belt with ImTrav. One of the first things he told us was that drinking tap water was safe (?) and that no-one ever got sick on his tours. Hmmmm. He also told us that if we had any currency besides Egyptian pounds, we should get it changed at a bank while in Cairo, as only Egyptian money is accepted everywhere. (That was definitely the case and I found it refreshing!) Our group of 12 was me, a Canadian couple, a British couple, an Aussie couple on their honeymoon, 2 Irish sisters with a lovely soft accent, 2 single Aussie girls and a Korean girl whose family lives in New Zealand and she works in England. Quite a group and we mixed extremely well on the trip. The Canadian couple were leaving us on day 6 to venture further on their own before heading to Africa on safari. The 2 Aussie girls were going home when I was; this being the last leg of their trips which had lasted from one to 3 months. The rest were continuing on to the Sinai Peninsula to climb Mt Sinai and to see the monastery.
Our day continued with a bus tour to the pyramids and Sphinx at Giza- just on the outskirts of the city. Pretty exciting and awesome. I actually went into one of the pyramids despite my quasi claustrophobia. It was some 30 metres down a steep ramp in a passage about 5 feet high. The big surprise/disappointment? There is nothing inside the pyramids. No artifacts or paintings. It was even hotter inside than outside, which was certainly high 20’s. Looking up does not reveal the shape of the pyramid- there are rooms inside so you can’t see the tops. Back outside we went on a short camel ride. They are very tall, and not uncomfortable to ride, but I don’t think I’d want to be on one for a week. They do fart something awful, so try to avoid riding directly behind the person in front of you! Getting on is easy, as they are kneeling on the ground. Then you have to hang on for the 2 part process of rising first from their knees, then raising the hind end to normal height. 
Across the street from the pyramids were the first unwelcome signs of North American life- KFC and Pizza Hut. Thankfully, no McDonalds. We stopped in at a recommended roadside foodstop- you can “take away” or eat there. The menu was falafel or shish kebabs at a whopping $1.50 per.
The remainder of the afternoon was free, so a couple of us went out for a walk, braved the traffic to cross the street 6 times and to get to the internet café and a bank. As a sidebar, I think this would have been a terrific opportunity to have a guided city tour, as many services and stores are closed in the afternoon. But that is not something offered on a budget adventure trip. We lounged in the lobby chatting for the early evening and had dinner in the rooftop restaurant. I stuck with spaghetti Bolognese, but a couple of the others had Egyptian dishes which were (again) shish kebabs or falafels.
We gathered promptly at 930 to head off to the train station, En route we stopped at an Esso -“On the run” station for snacks/water etc to get us through the overnight train ride. It was quite funny to see the familiar name and colours – in English- in the middle of Cairo! The train was listed as first class, but I would rate it second. The seats were wide, reclining, and leather but old-style. This was an old-fashined clackety-clack railroad track, bumping and jostling all the way. I slept most of the night as I was sleep deprived from several short nights prior, but I gather the car was noisy and busy. (I took earplugs and an eye cover, as well as gloves and thick fleece to stay comfortable. The air conditioning was set above full, and the temperature was probably somewhere around 15 degrees (I’m being generous!) Try to be dehydrated if you use this train. The toilets were disgusting. Since the ride was so rough, and you would not dare to sit on the seat (not anywhere in the country), the floor was a puddle about an inch deep. There was water in the tap to clean your hands, but all that did was splash onto the floor, too.
Day 3- We arrived in Luxor about 7am, transferred to the Windsor Hotel and had a few minutes to “freshen up”. Too bad there was no water. (see description of Indiana Hotel in Cairo). Our bathtub tap had enough pressure to wash your hands- just. But the beds were comfortable and the a/c worked. The lobby here was dark , more modern but still run-down. The pool was large enough to swim and heavily chlorinated. A few ventured in later that evening.
We took horse-drawn carriages to the Karnak temple at Luxor. WOW. This was our first and was certainly impressive. We had a very knowledgeable Egyptologist, Mustafa, as our guide. I am sure there is nothing he does not know about the history of the country. The temple is immense. 
They are still working in places to excavate more of it. One of the Obelisks is here, too. All of the carvings tell stories of an event, or a lifetime, etc. Just fascinating and mind-boggling to think that you are standing where people lived at least 4000 years ago.
On our way back, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. I had Moussaka which came with a rice side-dish, and nan bread. Any of the 3 would have been a good-sized meal! I also had a coke, as I was avoiding tea and coffee to ensure I drank no unsafe liquids until after the Abu Simbel trip. My total lunch bill was EP 14 – approx $3 Cdn. There were stray cats everywhere around the restaurant and streets here. We wandered in the bazaars after lunch. I bought a tshirt for about $5 and a charm of Nefertiti for $25 – 18 carat gold! You haggle for everything except gold here, and if you do venture into a shop they seize the opportunity to sell you everything- I was paying for my tshirt and he was offering headscarves, sunglasses, carpets, you name it! Gotta give them points for effort!
Dinner that evening was at a local restaurant. We took a little boat across the Nile and walked past a wedding reception to get to our place. It was an all-you-can-eat place, serving a terrific variety of dishes in huge quantities. They could have served us half the food and still had leftovers. We had nan bread, rice, moussaka, veggie stews, chicken wings, scalloped potatoes, breaded aubergine (eggplant) and a few other stew-type dishes. Dessert was Baklava-similar to the Greek one but about 10 times sweeter. You were gasping for water after every bite due to the sweetness. The Egyptians do like their sugar!
Day 4 We awoke at 4 to climb aboard our donkeys for the 7km ride to the Valley of the Kings. It was so much fun. One donkey had a bowel problem so you had to stay well away from him, as the liquid purges were strong jet-streams. We had lots of laughs with each other on this ride. The Valley is home to 62 tombs, including that of King Tut. This was a different method of burial than the pyramids- more “recent”. All of the surfaces inside are carved with stories, and our guide Mustafa explained them all in great detail before we entered. On some of the carvings you can see where they used vertical plumb-line string methods to keep the drawings in a straight line. No photos allowed as the flash will fade the colours. Construction of the tomb was started as soon as a king came to power, so that he could design and approve it as it was built. The valley was chosen since it was high enough to avoid the yearly floods, and the shape of the valley was a natural hiding place. Tombs were sealed to deter grave robbers, but that was seldom successful. The entry ticket is good for 3 tombs. There are several but opening is rotated to prevent overexposure. A couple went into Kung Tut’s tomb but it is small, empty and an extra fee, so it was worth missing. We then climbed up the hillside (about 30 min). We left the bottom at 930 am, which was the latest Ibrahim had ever left the valley. The climb was not as arduous as I expected, but the vendors were persistent all the way up! We got to the top, took some photos and water, then started down the other side to the Temple of a queen. This was the hottest we had been so far- at 10 am. I am sure it was mid 30’s and absolutely exposed along the top and side of the mountain. Rough, loose rocks but the path was packed and easy to follow. At the bottom we rested in the shade before mounting our donkeys for the return ride. This was very scenic and educational, as we went through a rural village filled with people, school kids and daily life. Too bad we were moving too fast to take photos. Lots of palms trees, sugarcane fields, mud-brick homes, donkeys and a creek.
We boarded our cruise boat, the MS Melodie, serving only ImTrav passengers. Room for perhaps 80 passengers, with compact cabins, a full dining room, bar, disco and outdoor shaded and sun areas. It has only been back in service for 2 weeks after a complete refurbishment. There were still signs of decay in some of the wood doorframes, but otherwise it was nice, but compact. Rated as a 4* but I would give it 3.5* max for cabin size. Otherwise 4*. Several of us sat at the tiny pool in the sun drinking Stella beer all afternoon- and not a sunburn in sight. I used a whopping SPF 4 and had no trouble at all. The sun just wasn’t strong-guess there is still ozone in the sky above the Nile. The food aboard the boat was very good. Buffet style with rice, meat and veggie dishes for lunch and dinner, and eggs/sausages/buns/cheese/veggies for breakfast, too. Early evening we took our place in line at the locks at Esna. We were actually moored, as we were a small enough vessel to anchor to the shoreline with a stake in the ground. Enterprising locals would row small boats alongside and try to sell their wares by heaving them up to the top deck for us to examine. If a bargain was struck, the buyer would tell the vendor what cabin number, then go down to his cabin, lean out the window to give payment to the vendor waiting there in the boat. A whole new way of shopping!
Day 5 We stopped at Edfu and went to the Temple of Horus. Our guide had us act out the family of gods important to this temple, which really helped make sense of what we saw. The crowds were unbelievable! Back aboard we enjoyed watching the passing Nile from the shady part of the deck. Late afternoon we went ashore to visit the temple at Kom Ombo. There were a couple of mummified crocodiles. (One of the gods came to earth in the form of the crocodile). There are some carvings here showing a list of surgical tools, many of which are still in use today. On the way in, we stopped for photos with a cobra. No thanks, but some were brave. We met afterward in the cafeteria. In order to get to it, you had to push your way through aggressive vendors who would accost you in the walkway so that you could not walk unimpeded. It was very annoying. They just don’t seem to understand that if they left you alone to at least look at the items as you walked by, they might have a better chance of making a sale. Haggling is certainly the way, but often they offer you something to get inside the store, then it turns out that is not available, or they were quoting in British pounds, not Egyptian (suddenly the price has increase tenfold!). Dinner that night on board was a dressup party-“walk like an Egyptian”. Most wore the Galabiyya (long cotton robe) but there were a variety of efforts made at dressup. Afterward we had teams and played games till about 11. I was very sick with bronchitis so escaped to bed as soon as the last game ended. It was fun, though.
Day 6 We docked at Aswan where we went to the Nubian Museum. Very interesting display of the area’s history, relics and descriptions. Definitely worth the trip.( allow 2 hrs to see it all at a leisurely pace) Lunch aboard, then we were free to wander in Aswan. A couple of us wandered in the bazaars for a bit, but it was hot and they were pushy so we want back to the boat to relax. After an early dinner we bussed to the dock for the boat ride to Philae, the Temple of Isis for the Sound and Light show. The dock was crowded but the system worked. Our boat was about the size of a lobster boat, metal with an open cockpit for seating along the edges. There was a roof which was also a deck. Chugged along with a smelly outboard. The show was interesting, in English. It is a voice-over telling the story of the temple, illuminated in places with light. This temple is on an island which was subject to flooding. They built a dam around the island to dry it out, then disassembled, moved and reassembled it on higher ground, even landscaped to resemble the original site. (1972-1980 AD) 
Day 7 the dreaded trip to Abu Simbel. Wake up call at 3 am , off the boat at 330 to the convoy meeting place. Abu Simbel is 300 km away from Aswan. There is nothing but desert between the 2, so all travel takes place in convoys escorted by police. Each bus gets its own 2 guards on board, then a truckload of guards travels at the front and back of the convoy. Ours started at 4 am. (No stopping except in case of breakdown. Toilets on board were for dire emergency only, so I made sure to be under-hydrated starting the evening before. I was very careful about what I ate, too, up to that point, as I really did not want to be suffering on that day). We arrived at 7 or so, then went into the site to admire the temple. This is the site which was disassembled and rebuilt 66 metres higher and 200m back from its original location which was flooded when the dam was built. The road was more interesting than I expected. New, paved and straight. The desert has much more shape and more features than I thought to see. I wondered if they have to use big sweepers to clean the sand off the road the way we use snowplows? Or does the traffic keep the sand blown off to the side? The temples at Abu Simbel were very impressive, quite apart from their relocation. Huge statues, interesting carvings inside. One is the temple of Ramses II, the other is for one of his wives, Nefertari, (He was 92 when he died, had 34 wives and over a hundred kids). The second temple was only open for women, so it used lots of yellow in its interior decoration- not sure of the connection but it must have been the colour of femininity?. Both temples were discovered in 1812 AD-had been completely buried in sand. That was one concept I found hard to fathom… how can structures this size simply be forgotten and abandoned over centuries to be buried in sand?
We were back in Aswan by noon, so we wandered in search of lunch. Couldn’t find a restaurant and didn’t want to eat slices from the fly-encrusted meat slabs hanging in the open air, so we stocked up on junk food. That turned out to be an interesting adventure. We sat in the lobby of the hotel and delighted in discovering what was actually inside the package, as the photos rarely portrayed the contents accurately. (Potato chips were safe, but all bets were off on jelly-rolls etc). Good conversation starter!! At 330 we went out for a felucca ride around a few islands on the Nile. These are traditional sailboats with one triangular sail. About 25 feet long with an open cockpit for sitting. A very peaceful way to see the sights. We passed the Tombs of the Nobles which we had wondered about from the cruise, then past the Aga Khan memorial. We went past the “Old Cataracts Hotel” where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile. We boarded a motorboat midriver
to get to a traditional Nubian village for dinner with a family. Nubians are the aboriginals of the area. Many were displaced when the dam was built and whole villages were flooded. The Egyptian government gave each family a piece of land to live on tax free forever as compensation. We landed and walked up a sand path over rocks and entered the village. Several twists in alleys later, we arrived at the home of Omar and his family. Their houses are painted in bright colours. We were greeted, invited to remove our shoes and sit on woven mats while enjoying a drink of Coke, Sprite or Fanta Apple from the bottle. Goods for sale were brought out (of course)- most hand carved or hand made, and henna tattoos were available too. A couple of the girls had tattoos put on their ankles, and one had her hand done. They wear off in about 2 weeks. Dinner was tasty. The daughter of the house arrived with all of the full serving dishes on a platter on her head! We had rice, pasta, tomato sauce, chopped veggies, scalloped potatoes, homemade chips, and chicken wings, with bread. Mini bananas for dessert . The antics of the two year old boy were the ice-breaker, as none of us could speak to the other group. Omar spoke English, but no-one else did. We returned to the boat via a more direct path over the top of the island. Back on the mainland we had to walk through the bazaars. This put me past my limit of tolerance. I was so hot and tired and sick of being hassled that I finally blew up at one very aggressive vendor. Time for bed!! I was asleep at 9, despite the nose of the traffic and the party outside on the street. (It was Ramadan, the holy month for the Muslims. They fast all day and party all night. I don’t know if they sleep. They gather in large groups to laugh and yell and feast or walk together outside.)
Day 8 Wake up at 5 am, meet in lobby 515 and depart by 530 to the train station. Today was a 13 hour train ride back to Cairo. The seats on this “first class” train were not quite as nice but still wide and comfortable. The toilet was much cleaner, although the motion of the train was as violent, so care and balance were required. Most of us refrained from eating and drinking as much as possible in order to avoid having to use the facilities. Note of interest-there were Egyptians on our train, not just tourists. There are only 3 trains per day on which foreigners are allowed, so the locals must be packed onto second and third class categories. Sandwiches, coke/sprite/coffee and tea are available for purchase on board from an employee who comes through the car at intervals. The timing seemed intermittent, so I was glad we had our own snacks to munch as the need hit. The scenery was very interesting. The further north we got towards Cairo, the wider the fertile band along the Nile. It was very agricultural- bananas, cabbages, sugarcane, and other unidentifiable crops stretched out lengthwise from the tracks to the Nile. Lots of donkeys and humans at work in the fields. Donkeys are definitely the beast of burden of choice! I did see a few camels, but mostly for people riding along the road-not laden with crops or pulling trailers. Many mud-brick homes and apartments under various stages of construction were visible along the tracks. People seemed to be living in them-even in those still not finished. Lots of trash strewn along the bank of the railway-obviously disposal is an issue in all third-world countries. This day on the train showed me many sights which reminded me of parts of China- accommodation, garbage, and how the crops were laid out and worked.
We returned to the Indiana Hotel in Cairo and had a nice surprise. We were in a renovated room which was a huge improvement over the first one! New tiles on the floor of the large and modern bathroom, and a shower that actually rained down an adequate pressure to get both wet AND clean!!
Day 9 We wnet early to the Egyptian Museum- MUST SEE. We were there at 830 to start lining up for tickets and it opens at 9. We went directly to the Tut exhibit upstairs at the back corner, so we saw that whole display and the ancient jewelry before the crowds descended. What an absolutely incredible collection of stunning and valuable gold and other artifacts. Words are inadequate. The whole museum can be done in 3 hours if you are alone and wander with a map (reading a guidebook in advance or carrying it helps as there are no available maps inside). Most pieces have a description affixed. TIP- Do not go in a group with a guide. You will spend the whole time crowding around pieces, straining to hear your guide and will likely miss75% of the displays. Far better to wander alone. The crowds are oppressive.
I had 3 meetings with suppliers in the afternoon, which necessitated navigating by taxi, on foot and private car through the streets and congestion of downtown Cairo. Quite an experience!
We went out for a “last supper” as a group to a local restaurant. Again, excellent food and very cheap, with very large servings. My dish would have easily fed 2 hungry people! Egyptians don’t start dining until at least 9 or 10 pm, so we had the place to ourselves at 730. It was a fun finish to the trip. My ride to the airport next morning was at 430, so I went to bed as early as I could. Checkin at the Cairo airport was uneventful and the plane departed on time to wing me back to the western world.
Tips:
take Egyptian money
always carry Kleenex/handi-wipes and hand cleaner
have earplugs if you are a light sleeper
if you have the choice, do the Egyptian Museum at the end of your trip-it will be more meaningful
pack light and be prepared to pay the hotels for doing laundry (not expensive). Pants should be of strong material with zipper pockets. Shorts and tanktops should be left at home-perhaps one set for the boat. Pants which cover the knees and shirts which cover the shoulders are the best bet, but ladies will still feel underdressed and scrutinized rudely.
Individuals are friendly and like to joke, but as a society only men are important and leer openly at passing western females.
Ask yourself hard questions about your comfort zone before doing an Egypt adventure:
1. are you comfortable being dirty and cramped in hot climates with no running water for 3 days?? If not, don’t take the FELUCCA cruise unless it is for one day only
2. can you survive on 3 hours of sleep in a chair at night? If not, make sure your itinerary includes SLEEPER train
These points come from the comments of several travelers in our group. There were no complaints, but examining these ideas will ensure you are on the right trip for your comfort level. Overall, an adventure is exactly that, and with the right attitude it will be an enjoyable experience.