Day 9 Mnt. Sinai - Dahab
At midnight we left for Mount Sinai. We drove for about 2 hours before arriving at Sinai at 2am when we started the hike. Mount Sinai was the mountain at which Moses received the 10 commandments and is sort of a holy pilgrimage for many people. We began the walk which we were told would be a 'gentle stroll' although we soon found out that is was a rather fast paced hike with extremely steep rubble/ sand pathways for over 7km followed by 750 'steps', when they said steps what they really mean is boulders which steeply go up the mountain. It was quite scary at some points because of the height (it was alright in the pitch black with torches but as soon as there was a tiny bit of light you could see how high up you really were). I'm tempted to say it was the hardest physical thing I've done in my life (I can't think of anything harder off the top of my head). It was so rewarding though. Really beautiful views and a lovely walk back down in the blazing sun. At the top there were lots of groups of Christians singing hymns and praises. We finished the climb and descent at around 9.30am and headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep, but we didn't want to waste time so we only slept 'til 2pm. We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and exploring the vast resort. In the evening we caught the free shuttle to the town centre where we had a lovely group meal. After the meal out we went to a bar called Mojito where we just chilled out with the group and chatted. BYE.x
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Egypt update
Day 8
We left the hotel in Cairo in the morning and started the drive to Dahab. It was a lovely drive through the desert and mountains. We arrived in Dahab in the early afternoon and stopped to get water etc. We checked into the hotel which was a great surprise to us. It was a big resort with lots of house style accomodation and it had 3 pools and a private beach with snorkelling club, 3 restaurants, internet cafe, quad bike hire and shops. We had a quick shower etc and then went into town via the free shuttle bus to have a meal together. It was really nice. The town is so lovely, really pretty and colourful. We then headed back to the hotel for an hour or so of sleep before waking up to go to Sinai. BYE. x
We left the hotel in Cairo in the morning and started the drive to Dahab. It was a lovely drive through the desert and mountains. We arrived in Dahab in the early afternoon and stopped to get water etc. We checked into the hotel which was a great surprise to us. It was a big resort with lots of house style accomodation and it had 3 pools and a private beach with snorkelling club, 3 restaurants, internet cafe, quad bike hire and shops. We had a quick shower etc and then went into town via the free shuttle bus to have a meal together. It was really nice. The town is so lovely, really pretty and colourful. We then headed back to the hotel for an hour or so of sleep before waking up to go to Sinai. BYE. x
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Egypt update
Day 7 Cairo
We arrived back at Cairo at around 8am. We checked into our room which this time was on the top floor of the hotel and had a balcony, a lounge and a perfect view of the pyramids. We then went to Saqqara and saw the Step Pyramid which is believed to be the first pyramid ever built, it was under restoration at the time with a bit of scaffolding but never the less it was still good. We then went to see Coptic Cairo and some of the oldest churches in the history of Christianity and saw some Babylon building thing and a 'hanging' church. We then went to the Khan El Khallili market which was really good, it reminded me of Brighton lanes the way it was laid out. In the evening we went to the sound and light show at the Pyramids where they illuminate the Pyramids with graphics and tell some history of the Ancient Egyptians. After that we went to this beach club thing on the Nile which was really amazing, we had food there and yeah it was just really good. Then we went to sleep. BYE. x
We arrived back at Cairo at around 8am. We checked into our room which this time was on the top floor of the hotel and had a balcony, a lounge and a perfect view of the pyramids. We then went to Saqqara and saw the Step Pyramid which is believed to be the first pyramid ever built, it was under restoration at the time with a bit of scaffolding but never the less it was still good. We then went to see Coptic Cairo and some of the oldest churches in the history of Christianity and saw some Babylon building thing and a 'hanging' church. We then went to the Khan El Khallili market which was really good, it reminded me of Brighton lanes the way it was laid out. In the evening we went to the sound and light show at the Pyramids where they illuminate the Pyramids with graphics and tell some history of the Ancient Egyptians. After that we went to this beach club thing on the Nile which was really amazing, we had food there and yeah it was just really good. Then we went to sleep. BYE. x
Egypt update
Day 6 Luxor
Today we got up (another early start needless to say) at about 6am to go to the Valley of the Kings. We had another Egyptologist with us as we always do when we get to a new city. He took us to a few funerary temples on the west bank of the Nile before heading into the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, Egypt and it's crazy restrictedness and selling copyrights to photos meant that we couldn't take any photos in the Valley. It was really amazing though, unlike anything else. It's unreal. We had really good explanations of everything and then we were allowed to go into some of the tombs. Our guide chose the ones for us; they were 3 of the Rameses'... They were actually amazing. Although they were well over 60c inside so the 10 minutes in each were quite uncomfortable but so worth it. We then went to the temple of Queen Hatsheput which was really amazing because it has such a good story behind it and it's the only temple built on multiple levels. Basically, she once ruled Egypt as the only woman but she dressed as a man etc. She was a pretty cool person. We then went to Karnak Temple which again was really good. We then checked out of the boat and got on the bus to Hurghada. In Hurghada we dropped of 21 people from the group who were doing a different tour but our itineraries had been the same until this point. We browsed the shops and had something to eat. We got back on the bus at midnight and drove 8 hours back to Cairo. BYE.x
Today we got up (another early start needless to say) at about 6am to go to the Valley of the Kings. We had another Egyptologist with us as we always do when we get to a new city. He took us to a few funerary temples on the west bank of the Nile before heading into the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, Egypt and it's crazy restrictedness and selling copyrights to photos meant that we couldn't take any photos in the Valley. It was really amazing though, unlike anything else. It's unreal. We had really good explanations of everything and then we were allowed to go into some of the tombs. Our guide chose the ones for us; they were 3 of the Rameses'... They were actually amazing. Although they were well over 60c inside so the 10 minutes in each were quite uncomfortable but so worth it. We then went to the temple of Queen Hatsheput which was really amazing because it has such a good story behind it and it's the only temple built on multiple levels. Basically, she once ruled Egypt as the only woman but she dressed as a man etc. She was a pretty cool person. We then went to Karnak Temple which again was really good. We then checked out of the boat and got on the bus to Hurghada. In Hurghada we dropped of 21 people from the group who were doing a different tour but our itineraries had been the same until this point. We browsed the shops and had something to eat. We got back on the bus at midnight and drove 8 hours back to Cairo. BYE.x
Egypt update
Day 5 Edfu - Luxor
This morning we had another early start, leaving at around 6.45am and we went to Edfu temple. We got off the boat and got on our transport to the temple - horse and carriage... hmm. It was interesting to say the least. The temple was really good. We went back to the boat and had breakfast at 9am before setting sail. We started sailing and we had a free day. Needless to say, most of us went back to bed for a few hours. Then we just chilled out on the top deck by the pool... half of it is a covered area with squishy seats, sofas and tables and the other is the pool and deck chairs. It was really nice just chatting with everyone and watching the Nile go by and all the little villages by it. We arrived in Luxor late afternoon and went out to the evening markets which was cool. There was a belly dancing show on the boat after dinner this evening but it was horrible because it was just one woman who had fake breasts, a ton of make up and a wig.. quite gross really so everyone literally ran out of that show! BYE. x
This morning we had another early start, leaving at around 6.45am and we went to Edfu temple. We got off the boat and got on our transport to the temple - horse and carriage... hmm. It was interesting to say the least. The temple was really good. We went back to the boat and had breakfast at 9am before setting sail. We started sailing and we had a free day. Needless to say, most of us went back to bed for a few hours. Then we just chilled out on the top deck by the pool... half of it is a covered area with squishy seats, sofas and tables and the other is the pool and deck chairs. It was really nice just chatting with everyone and watching the Nile go by and all the little villages by it. We arrived in Luxor late afternoon and went out to the evening markets which was cool. There was a belly dancing show on the boat after dinner this evening but it was horrible because it was just one woman who had fake breasts, a ton of make up and a wig.. quite gross really so everyone literally ran out of that show! BYE. x
Monday, 20 September 2010
Egypt update
Day 4 Aswan
We had a really early start this morning at about 2.30am we left the boat. We headed to a police check point where we joined a big convoy on the way down to Abu Simbel. After a 4 hour drive, we arrived at Abu Simbel which is very close to the Sudanese border and you can see Sudan over Lake Nasser. There are two temples at Abu Simbel, one for Ramesses II and one for his favourite wife Nefetari. Both are spectacular. The reason for the early morning visit is the heat of these temples! Even at 7am they were over 45c inside and they reach well over 60c. After seeing these amazing temples we headed back to the boat. Lunch again. The boat set sail in the afternoon and then it docked at a port called Kom Ombo where we got off to see a little market at the port. It was really nice and then we went to a cafe with the group who all had sheesha.. it's like flavoured tea stuff that you puff (no tobacco). You constantly get offered 'how many camels?' and told how nice your eyes are. Funny Egyptians. I think the highest camel offer so far is 6 million... We then went back on the boat and had dinner before all going up to the top deck of the boat where we all just sat round the pool chatting. BYE. x
We had a really early start this morning at about 2.30am we left the boat. We headed to a police check point where we joined a big convoy on the way down to Abu Simbel. After a 4 hour drive, we arrived at Abu Simbel which is very close to the Sudanese border and you can see Sudan over Lake Nasser. There are two temples at Abu Simbel, one for Ramesses II and one for his favourite wife Nefetari. Both are spectacular. The reason for the early morning visit is the heat of these temples! Even at 7am they were over 45c inside and they reach well over 60c. After seeing these amazing temples we headed back to the boat. Lunch again. The boat set sail in the afternoon and then it docked at a port called Kom Ombo where we got off to see a little market at the port. It was really nice and then we went to a cafe with the group who all had sheesha.. it's like flavoured tea stuff that you puff (no tobacco). You constantly get offered 'how many camels?' and told how nice your eyes are. Funny Egyptians. I think the highest camel offer so far is 6 million... We then went back on the boat and had dinner before all going up to the top deck of the boat where we all just sat round the pool chatting. BYE. x
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Egypt update
Day 3 Cairo to Aswan
This was the first overnight bus journey that we would be making this trip. We were given a full description of what the journey would be like and we were told that after the first 180km there would be a really bumpy ride for the next 60km. I took my travel sickness pills just in case but turns out I slept right through it. Egypt is full of 'check points', there are constantly these things that resemble border crossings but are even stricter than the free movement allowed within Europe despite the fact that you're not actually crossing any country borders. We stopped every 3 or so hours for toilet breaks and refreshments. When we all woke up at about 10am we had packed lunch style breakfasts on board the bus which was nice and then we carried on driving until about 1pm when we got to Aswan. As soon as we got to Aswan we checked into the boat and went straight for lunch which was another buffet style thing but was really quite alright. I'm now trying to think of what we did after that as I am writing retrospectively... I think we then had about 1 hour before we went to Aswan Dam and Philae temple. We stopped at the dam and had a thorough explanation about it and it's workings etc. (oh and it's so much hotter down south, it's not too far from the Sudanese border). It's really huge. Then we went on to the Philae Temple which was one of the temples that was in the way when they flooded the area to build the dam. It is now located on it's own island sitting in the middle of the Nile. We got a boat over to there and explored that temple which was beautifully located. After that we came back to the boat and dropped off some of our stuff before heading out on another boat down the Nile to see a Nubian village (Nubian are like the tribes people who live in the area). We walked through their village and had some drinks in one of their houses. Some people also went for a swim in the Nile but it didn't appeal to me. When we got back to the boat we had dinner again - on the boat, dinner consists of a 4 course meal, soup, starter, main, desert! After that we had some of the Nubian tribes people come in to do a show in the bar area which consisted of traditional African singing and dancing. It was amazing, they got all of us involved and it was a really fun night. Bed time. BYE. x
This was the first overnight bus journey that we would be making this trip. We were given a full description of what the journey would be like and we were told that after the first 180km there would be a really bumpy ride for the next 60km. I took my travel sickness pills just in case but turns out I slept right through it. Egypt is full of 'check points', there are constantly these things that resemble border crossings but are even stricter than the free movement allowed within Europe despite the fact that you're not actually crossing any country borders. We stopped every 3 or so hours for toilet breaks and refreshments. When we all woke up at about 10am we had packed lunch style breakfasts on board the bus which was nice and then we carried on driving until about 1pm when we got to Aswan. As soon as we got to Aswan we checked into the boat and went straight for lunch which was another buffet style thing but was really quite alright. I'm now trying to think of what we did after that as I am writing retrospectively... I think we then had about 1 hour before we went to Aswan Dam and Philae temple. We stopped at the dam and had a thorough explanation about it and it's workings etc. (oh and it's so much hotter down south, it's not too far from the Sudanese border). It's really huge. Then we went on to the Philae Temple which was one of the temples that was in the way when they flooded the area to build the dam. It is now located on it's own island sitting in the middle of the Nile. We got a boat over to there and explored that temple which was beautifully located. After that we came back to the boat and dropped off some of our stuff before heading out on another boat down the Nile to see a Nubian village (Nubian are like the tribes people who live in the area). We walked through their village and had some drinks in one of their houses. Some people also went for a swim in the Nile but it didn't appeal to me. When we got back to the boat we had dinner again - on the boat, dinner consists of a 4 course meal, soup, starter, main, desert! After that we had some of the Nubian tribes people come in to do a show in the bar area which consisted of traditional African singing and dancing. It was amazing, they got all of us involved and it was a really fun night. Bed time. BYE. x
Egypt update
Day 2 Cairo, Egypt
Today we had to wake up at 6.30am after only 5 hours sleep and 1 hour from the night before. Breakfast was okay, a selection of stuff which would be alright for any normal person but wasn't to my taste particularly. I had an apple that I had saved from Mum so I had that. We first went to the Egyptian Museum. It was extremely busy with little/no ventilation due to the age of the building. Our Egyptologist took us around the building explaining everything but it was so busy you were always rubbing shoulders with someone. It was interesting to see the mummies and tombs and Tutankhamon's gold etc. Afterwards we headed over to the pyramids and we stopped at this panoramic view point just like the one Dad stops at everytime we go to Austria. We took pictures here first before heading down closer to them. They are absolutely amazing and it's so hard to comprehend how they acheived these amazing buildings 5000 years ago. There are so many camels about it's crazy. We then went down to see the Sphinx which was pretty cool too, it's amazing how large these buildings are. After seeing the temple by the Sphinx we went for lunch (although it was gone 4pm) at a buffet place. Great if you like food and don't want to play safe, not so great otherwise. Everyone piled up their plates and there I was with a handful of rice and 2 meatballs which I was assured would be okay. However, I found that the first one was cold so took a raincheck on the other. The sticky rice however was really good, it had tiny bits of noodles amongst it and was very full of flavour so I had some more of that. Obviously, I paid disproportionately more than everyone else as I only had rice and no pudding. After that we went to an official papyrus institute where we had a demonstration on how papyrus is made and then we had the opportunity to buy some with proper artistic paintings on so I bought one depicting 'paradise' - my only souvenir I'm allowing myself for Egypt owing to lack of money and more importantly, space. We then went back to the hotel to have a quick shower before going to the shopping mall for a few hours. I had KFC which wasn't too bad actually. They had lots of western shops like Topshop and Accessorize. We then got on the bus 11pm to set off on our overnight ride over 1000km south.
BYE.x
Today we had to wake up at 6.30am after only 5 hours sleep and 1 hour from the night before. Breakfast was okay, a selection of stuff which would be alright for any normal person but wasn't to my taste particularly. I had an apple that I had saved from Mum so I had that. We first went to the Egyptian Museum. It was extremely busy with little/no ventilation due to the age of the building. Our Egyptologist took us around the building explaining everything but it was so busy you were always rubbing shoulders with someone. It was interesting to see the mummies and tombs and Tutankhamon's gold etc. Afterwards we headed over to the pyramids and we stopped at this panoramic view point just like the one Dad stops at everytime we go to Austria. We took pictures here first before heading down closer to them. They are absolutely amazing and it's so hard to comprehend how they acheived these amazing buildings 5000 years ago. There are so many camels about it's crazy. We then went down to see the Sphinx which was pretty cool too, it's amazing how large these buildings are. After seeing the temple by the Sphinx we went for lunch (although it was gone 4pm) at a buffet place. Great if you like food and don't want to play safe, not so great otherwise. Everyone piled up their plates and there I was with a handful of rice and 2 meatballs which I was assured would be okay. However, I found that the first one was cold so took a raincheck on the other. The sticky rice however was really good, it had tiny bits of noodles amongst it and was very full of flavour so I had some more of that. Obviously, I paid disproportionately more than everyone else as I only had rice and no pudding. After that we went to an official papyrus institute where we had a demonstration on how papyrus is made and then we had the opportunity to buy some with proper artistic paintings on so I bought one depicting 'paradise' - my only souvenir I'm allowing myself for Egypt owing to lack of money and more importantly, space. We then went back to the hotel to have a quick shower before going to the shopping mall for a few hours. I had KFC which wasn't too bad actually. They had lots of western shops like Topshop and Accessorize. We then got on the bus 11pm to set off on our overnight ride over 1000km south.
BYE.x
Egypt update
Day 1 Cairo, Egypt
So, I made it to Egypt! Got up at 1.30am to go to Heathrow after practically no sleep. My bags weigh an absolute ton, but so far I haven't had to carry them... they have trolley pushers and porters in Egypt :) and apparently I look like I need help. The shops at Heathrow were all shut when I got there and the lights were off so I didn't get a bag I was counting on getting, will have to gind one here. The transfer was okay, no problems except having to throw my just purchased water away when I transferred at Vienna. Was pleasantly surprised by both BMI and Austrian Airlines - got meals on both - breakfast was with BMI and then lunch with Austrian which consisted of a lovely pasta bake with chicken and potatoes plus freshly baked warm bread (which was offered round 3 times!), unlimited refills of orange juice or 4 glasses of wine as my neighbour chose and a cake/crumble with apricots. I slept through most of both flights only waking for food or a few minutes. Arrived in Cairo and waited for another couple who would be sharing the car, they were really nice. We dropped them outside their hotel first which was surreal, loads of random sheep and goats in the middle of the street. We then went on to my hotel, they said there was already a girl in my room. She's also 18 and has been travelling for 4 months or so with about the same time remaining. Oh yeah, she's remarkably like Mikki - she's very brave and independent. We had our trip meeting at 8pm and met a few of the 45 people (only 15 were at this meeting). They're quite a bit older, well I think the nearest to my age is 22 but they're all really nice. The tour leader is really nice, very knowledgable and funny and very helpful. We went out for a walk in Cairo after the trip meeting which was at about 11pm. Everywhere was still bustling and alive. Crossing the road was quite an experience, three of us went out with the tour leader, Rafi, and he made us all hold hands as we dodged the traffic. Apparently, despite the eratic driving and what appears to be no rules of the road, the accident rate is extremnely low and most are just scrapes - so it helps if everyone drives like a nut :P When we went back up to sleep we ended up staying awake for ages just chatting. Oh yeah, at the trip meeting we all got offered the opportunity to upgrade to a 4 day Nile cruise. This would mean that we still get the overnight bus down to Aswan but rather than making our way back up by bus, we would cruise back up the Nile. It meant that we would get to see extra excursions as well as everything we would have seen plus we wouldn't have to pay money for some excursions which weren't included before but would be now, oh and all meals would be included for those 4 days. It was 80GBP extra so Molly and I said we would do it and turns out every other person upgraded too! Taking in to account the total saved and the total extra spent, it works out as about 4GBP over the original budget. It's a 4star cruiser with a pool on the top deck and evening entertainment :).
BYE.x
So, I made it to Egypt! Got up at 1.30am to go to Heathrow after practically no sleep. My bags weigh an absolute ton, but so far I haven't had to carry them... they have trolley pushers and porters in Egypt :) and apparently I look like I need help. The shops at Heathrow were all shut when I got there and the lights were off so I didn't get a bag I was counting on getting, will have to gind one here. The transfer was okay, no problems except having to throw my just purchased water away when I transferred at Vienna. Was pleasantly surprised by both BMI and Austrian Airlines - got meals on both - breakfast was with BMI and then lunch with Austrian which consisted of a lovely pasta bake with chicken and potatoes plus freshly baked warm bread (which was offered round 3 times!), unlimited refills of orange juice or 4 glasses of wine as my neighbour chose and a cake/crumble with apricots. I slept through most of both flights only waking for food or a few minutes. Arrived in Cairo and waited for another couple who would be sharing the car, they were really nice. We dropped them outside their hotel first which was surreal, loads of random sheep and goats in the middle of the street. We then went on to my hotel, they said there was already a girl in my room. She's also 18 and has been travelling for 4 months or so with about the same time remaining. Oh yeah, she's remarkably like Mikki - she's very brave and independent. We had our trip meeting at 8pm and met a few of the 45 people (only 15 were at this meeting). They're quite a bit older, well I think the nearest to my age is 22 but they're all really nice. The tour leader is really nice, very knowledgable and funny and very helpful. We went out for a walk in Cairo after the trip meeting which was at about 11pm. Everywhere was still bustling and alive. Crossing the road was quite an experience, three of us went out with the tour leader, Rafi, and he made us all hold hands as we dodged the traffic. Apparently, despite the eratic driving and what appears to be no rules of the road, the accident rate is extremnely low and most are just scrapes - so it helps if everyone drives like a nut :P When we went back up to sleep we ended up staying awake for ages just chatting. Oh yeah, at the trip meeting we all got offered the opportunity to upgrade to a 4 day Nile cruise. This would mean that we still get the overnight bus down to Aswan but rather than making our way back up by bus, we would cruise back up the Nile. It meant that we would get to see extra excursions as well as everything we would have seen plus we wouldn't have to pay money for some excursions which weren't included before but would be now, oh and all meals would be included for those 4 days. It was 80GBP extra so Molly and I said we would do it and turns out every other person upgraded too! Taking in to account the total saved and the total extra spent, it works out as about 4GBP over the original budget. It's a 4star cruiser with a pool on the top deck and evening entertainment :).
BYE.x
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