Egypt - Part 3

Day 9: Cairo - Dahab
Leave Cairo in the morning in an air-conditioned coach for a scenic ride from the Nile delta through the Sinai Peninsula to the seaside city of Dahab. Transfer to your hotel. Spend your day relaxing on the shores of the Red Sea, overnight at your hotel in Dahab.
We arrived mid morning at our hotel which looked quite nice, couches in the tiled foyer, big pool with bar, right by the beach. There was a problem with the booking unfortunately, not enough rooms available. We ended up getting rooms, but Pete had to stay in a different hotel.
We had a nap in the room, a nap by the pool and a swim. The rooms at the hotel were not the nicest, ours had electrical problems, but we had a room and the pool was nice. The other problem was that the hotel was about 10km from town. We headed into town for dinner and met Pete and Christina. The 6 of us ate at Funny Mummy, a chilled out restaurant on the beach, no chairs, just cushions and rugs. It was cheap and had cats running around the restaurant, but the best bit was the water spray bottles to spray the strays!
Day 10: Dahab
This is a free day to be spent as you feel. Dahab is a relaxing small resort town. In Dahab there are many options available, snorkeling, swimming, sun-tanning, and scuba diving. Christine had been talking about it a few times in different places around the world. And since we had 5 days we figured, what the hell. Christine went Scuba Diving. We were a bit nervous about the mouth piece and her dodgy jaw, but it was fine. She loved it, she was a natural, according to Christine! After the Great Barrier Reef, the Red Sea is meant to be one of the best snorkelling and scuba areas in the world. She saw coral, fish, sea horses and played with Nemo (clown fish), sadly no turtles! Now she wants to get her dive licence. Shelly and Christina also did the diving, but were starting the 3 day dive certificate. This left Damien and Brett to sleep, swim, drink beer and be lazy by the pool the whole day...nice!
When the girls returned and got ready it was back into town for a look around and dinner in the same restaurant as the night before. Town is very laid back, lots of restaurants, shops and sheesha places along the beach.
Day 11: Dahab
This is another day free to be spent as you see fit. With snorkeling, swimming, sun-tanning, scuba diving and good food and drink available you will find much to do; or nothing to do but enjoy the sun, overnight at your hotel in Dahab.
Again Shelly went scuba diving, Christina has dropped out of the course. The other 5 of us hired snorkels and fins and headed to the ‘famous’ blue hole. This is a coral reef with a deep hole in the middle filled with fish and tourists. We had to get a 4x4 jeep to drive us there as there is no road, it was that or a camel. We had a guide, but he spent more time worrying about the other tourists, who couldn’t swim, than guiding us! The snorkelling was good, heaps and heaps of fish.

Day 12: Dahab - St Catherine - Sinai
Today you will be taken to the historic Mount Sinai, a place sacred to 3 religions. This evening we climb the mountain to its peak.
Shelly managed to finish the 3 day dive course in 2 days, so we headed back to the blue hole with Shelly and without the guide! We spent the day in and out of the water, spending the rest of the time in the coffee shops and lying in the sun. Was good to get back into the water, its hard to get sick of chasing fish, but still no turtles! It was then an early dinner at the hotel by the pool and then to bed to get some sleep before a big hike!

Day 13: St Catherine - Dahab
In the early morning you will see a sunrise over the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula that you will remember forever. After a brisk trip down the mountain you will enter one of the oldest functioning monasteries in the world, Saint Catherine's Monastery. Inside this monastery contains the famed location of the burning bush that spoke to Moses. Then enter an air-conditioned coach for the trip back to Dahab.
One of the reasons we chose this tour is because it had a night hike to the top of Mt Sinai the highest mountain in Egypt. Leaving the hotel at 2am we were at the base of the mountain by about 3.30pm. We then had 2-3 hours walking up. There was the option of taking a camel some of the way. This was a pain as it meant we were dodging the camels much of the way up the hill. The hike was in the dark but it was not too bad as there was a full moon that gave some light.
We were at the top in time for sunrise which was the point of the exercise obviously! It was cold but very nice. Amazing how quick the sun rises after you have hiked in the dark for 3 hours! It really is something that we are glad that we bothered to do. Possibly the nicest part of the walk was the walk down, in the early morning sunshine. Unlike on the way up we could see all around the region. It was baron, rocky an orangey yellow color, amazing in the morning light.
After heading back down the mountain we visited Saint Catherine’s Monastery. This is at the base of the mountain. This is where the burning bush is and Mt Sinai is the mountain that Moses climbed to collect the 10 commandments. Again it was full of busloads of tourists, some of which were quite pushy and rude. Shoulder to shoulder in a monastery is not exactly idyllic.
It was around midday when we got back to the hotel. Seemingly short on time we decided to grab our snorkels and head into town to the ‘lighthouse’ diving area. This was another reef, but in the beach next to town. We sat in a restaurant on lounges, snorkelled, drank Turkish coffee, ate and swam for the afternoon. We then met up with Pete and Christina and the 6 of us had dinner in town, again in a restaurant by the beach.

Day 14: Dahab - Cairo
Today you will be driven back to Cairo in an air-conditioned coach.
We were up and ready for our bus by 8am, which we had asked for an early departure. We were hoping to be in Cairo in time for sunset over the Sphinx and pyramids. Not for the first time, Pete was late to pick us up, our only complaint about Expat Explore is regularly we were told a pick up time only to wait 30min-1hr before actually being picked up. The bus then had to get fuel and stopped for a few other things. We missed sunset.
The drive back was long and felt longer than the way for two reasons, it was day time so much hotter, and we were hoping to be back for sunset. We drove along the Red Sea, then inland through about 6 hours of desert, crossed the Suiez Canal, through about another 2 hours of desert before finally making it back into Cairo.
We still headed down to the Sphinx, to have dinner in the Pizza Hut, which has a view of the light show on the Pyramids and Sphinx. Well that was the plan anyway, the hotel put the 4 of us, (Brett and Shelly) us in a cab and told the driver where to go. Unfortunately something was lost in translation and he took us to the wrong Pizza Hut, so we told him, ‘No Pizza Hut Sphinx’. He then drove, and drove and drove. We had no idea where we were or where we were going. We knew the place we wanted to go was about 5min from the hotel, but this guy drove us for an hour. Eventually he pulled over, out front of another Pizza Hut. We all jumped out, relieved to be out of the car. We went into the Pizza Hut and spoke to one of the staff who spoke English. Apparently we had been dropped at ‘Sphinx Square’ about an hour out of Cairo! Pizza Hut then let us use the phone to call the hotel, so we could get Pete on the phone to clear things up. Pete had the drivers number, so got him to come back for us. The driver then drove at 150km/h along busy Cairo freeways, to get us to the right Pizza Hut, didn’t take that long! It was like something out of a computer game, sitting in this cab flying down the highway!
The cab fare was pre organised with the hotel, based on the 5 minute journey it should have been. We tipped him a bit extra but after nearly 2 hours in the car we paid about $10 Finally in the right place we had a classy dinner and watched the light show from the Pizza Hut rooftop. Thank god for the guy in the Pizza Hut that spoke English and let us use the phone, life saver!
After dinner we walked back to the hotel!
Day 15: Cairo
Enjoy breakfast in the hotel and then you will say goodbye to all your new friends.
We were up early again, this time to catch Brett and Shelly, who have become quite good friends of ours over the past 2 weeks. They were heading to the airport and on to London this morning. We spent the rest of the day with Pete, the tour guide. The tour is over but we told us he would take us to see his apartment, which is half built. He had some things to sort out with builders etc but was also showing a few of his friends the place. It is different in Egypt, the developer builds the building, but that is it, just a brick structure. The owner then has to organise doors, windows, gas, water, electricity, fittings etc... It explains a lot, while driving around Cairo you notice a lot of buildings that look half built, or half ruined. Pete’s place looks like it is going to be really nice, not far from the Pyramids, it still has a bit to be done but it is spacious, and we saw the tiles that he has just bought to put through out.
After this we said good bye to Pete and Christina, we had to take another cab into the centre of Cairo, as the hotel was fully booked. The company was supposed to organise our extra nights, but must have forgot. Our new hotel, for our last two nights wasn’t as nice, but was centrally located in the middle of Cairo, so not a bad result.
Our last day in Egypt we spent wandering around Cairo. It was a really good day. Travelling at our own pace and away from some of the tourists. We walked from the hotel, in search of a post box. The hotel had given us directions that led us down a street which had lots of local markets, selling everything from books, board games, clothing and fish. Absorbing everything around us, we missed the mail box. We asked some more people who pointed us back the way we came. We even met a friendly German lady who was living in the area. After wandering past them 2 or 3 times, we finally found the overflowing mailboxes. When you know where they are, their kind of hard to miss! A local guy who was posting hundreds of letters helped us jam our mail in.
We continued walking, we saw some local butchers with full sheep hanging up, camels and sheep in side streets and ended up in a little local coffee shop.
After a coffee break we jumped in a taxi and headed across town to the Old Cairo Bazaar. Christine enjoyed the markets so much the first time that she wanted to head back. We weren’t as successful this time, having already bought a few things we wanted. We tried buying some beer t-shirts, but we couldn’t find the styles and sizes we wanted. We got some scarf’s and some more touristy items! After our shopping we headed back to the hotel for a beer and then out for dinner, one last Egyptian feed, Kufta! which is like lamb sausages.
After a wonderful time in an amazing country, the next morning it was our turn to get a transfer out to the airport for our flight home. As amazing as the Pyramids are we have learnt over the last two weeks, how much more Egypt has to offer!

Egypt - Part 2

Day 6: Felucca Cruise - Luxor
In the morning you will visit Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples. Then you will arrive in Luxor in at afternoon, tour the East Bank of Luxor. Here you will experience the massive Karnak temple and historic Luxor temple, overnight at your hotel.
After watching sunrise on the Nile and breakfast, we were off the felucca and headed to Luxor with a few stops along the way.
First up was temple Kom Ombo. This is another temple on the side of the Nile. This was even busier! One thing I hadn’t mentioned about felucca was our tour group of 11 was split in two, 5 joined a 5 star cruise ship while the rest of us choose the traditional felucca sail boat. Anyway, these cruise ships, which are large and numerous, can actually dock at this temple, meaning all the cruise ship passengers disembark, trample through the temple and then pile back onto their boat.
The temple itself was very good, despite the crowds. One of the highlights was an ancient calendar in hieroglyphics. The temple itself had lots of large columns and many well preserved pictures and writing on the walls. The story was interesting about two gods who lived together but fell out as one was lazy and didn’t do any cleaning, while the other did all the ‘housework’. The temple was then divided into two halves! A good solution to an age old problem! Down the road, just passed a semi trailer full of camels, was our next stop. The Edfu temples. This stop was not so busy, yay, possibly as its off the river, no massive boats with loads of tourists! The main attraction in this temple was a chariot that used to be used to carry the god of the temple to visit a god in a different temple on the other side of Egypt. The inside of the temple was also designed being with a high ceiling at the entrance, which gradually decreased to being a low ceiling at the back where the chariot was lived. This was to allow the god to be able to see out, but not let people be see in at the same time. The temple itself was really quite big to look at from the outside and in very good condition. Before arriving at the hotel our guide took us to a local diner where for about $2 we ate a massive local dish, rice, noodles, veggies and a curry sauce over the top. It didn’t look the best but was very nice, an authentic Egyptian experience! The day ended in Luxor, where we had the afternoon to relax. The hotel had a roof top pool where we met up with the other half of our tour, who had arrived earlier off the cruise ship. The evening was spent in a pitiful ‘Irish bar’ with terrible music and no Guinness! Still not sure what actually made it an ‘Irish bar’.

Day 7: Luxor
After breakfast we tour the West Bank of Luxor. We start the tour with the World famous Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut (Deir El Bahary) and the great Colossi of Memnon, the last remains of Amenophis III’s temple. Then take the overnight first class train back to Cairo.

Today was possibly my favourite day of the tour, surprisingly! Yes I loved chilling out on the Felucca and on the beaches in Dahab. And after seeing so many temples, who would have thought! But Luxor was definitely a highlight, if not the highlight. We did the West and the East bank in one day. Our first stop was a quick photo opportunity with a couple of massive sculptures. Two Egyptian looking guys in a sitting position, randomly in the middle of nowhere. Slightly crumbled but still very impressive. Then it was on to the Valley of the Kings. Sadly no photos here (cameras prohibited), I guess you will all have to see it for yourselves! The valley itself is very dry, dust and hot but Tourism Egypt is all over this, train cars to escort the tourists up to the tombs.
The tombs were incredible. The valley has something like 30 known tombs, still looking for more. Not all are open at the one time, and of the open ones the ticket only allows entry to 3, which is plenty. Our guide was good, telling us which were the better ones to visit, giving us the history and what to look for once we went inside. They were just like tunnels with small chambers. The walls were covered in well preserved paintings, prayers and stories. The preservation of these from thousands of years ago is incredible, much of it is still in color. Thankfully, the main ones have protective glass on the walls, to avoid the stupid tourists that touch or scratch bits off (like we saw one guy do!). Only one of the tombs was discovered before the tomb raiders got to it, Tutankhamen. This tomb is in the valley but we didn’t visit, extra charges, plus apparently it is the smallest of the tombs and was also partially unfinished. Our last stop in the West Bank was the Temple of Hatshepsut. Still hot and dusty, and another tourist train from the main gate to the temple. The temple is 3 levels built into the side of a mountain. The top level had 26 soldier statues along the front of it, each about 3m tall and colored (back in the day). These day only about 6 are intact, remnants of others remain and most of the color is faded. The temple had more paintings and writing on the walls. There were also 2 massive sculptures, the size of the 3 storey temple, on guard out the front. After McDonalds for lunch (our guide likes us to eat western food to avoid getting sick, ironic huh!) we continued on the tourist trail. This time it was the East Bank and the Karnak Temple. This was by far the biggest of the temples we visited, and has the WOW factor that is experienced walking into the Colosseum in Rome. Built over the years by various different rulers, each would add a bit more trying to outdo the previous ruler. The result being open spaces, a parade of sphinx’s, huge stone gateways, massive columns, obelisks, holy lake and temples. There was even a story about one ruler who didn’t like his predecessor. So the obelisk that the predecessor built, he completely buried it in stone blocks so it was no longer visible. Some of these have fallen away and the obelisk is visible sticking out the top of the rubble.
After a long day we walked back to the hotel, on the way Peter (the guide) got us some sugar cane juice, an Egyptian favourite. Then it was off to the horrible Irish Pub for some more horrible western food. Last stop for the day was the train station, for another overnight train ride. This time the 6 of us were in one cabin, meaning we could stretch out, Peter and Christina slept on the floor!
Note - Apologies it has taken so long to get the blog up to date, its been such a busy summer! Sadly it means that a lot of the detail and story’s we have been learnt I can’t remember.

Day 8: Cairo City Tour
After breakfast, a guided visit of the Egyptian Museum, the old city of Cairo where you will see Coptic Cairo, the Hanging Church, the cave church, Islamic Cairo, Saladin Citadel, Mohammed Ali Mosque, the old Cairo bazaar (Khan El Khalili) and El Fishawy Coffee Shop, overnight at your hotel.
It’s a goods thing we were a bit more comfortable on the train. We did get some rest, not a great night sleep, but enough.

Day 8 – Cairo City Tour. Off the train to the hotel, after a quick shower it was back on the bus and back into it!
The Egyptian Museum was the first stop, again no cameras! This was hard work! It was busier than the London Museums, but less spacious. The big tour groups all huddling around door ways and corridors didn’t help. The Museum’s collection is amazing. It was just our state of tiredness, the crowds and the fact that most of the artefacts were not labeled or even stored very well. The highlight was the Tutankhamen collection, which is what was found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Gold everything! Heaps of jewellery, facemasks, furniture and pottery. He was buried in his tomb in 4 coffins of different sizes, all inside each other, each laced with gold. These are laid out separately in the museum. There is also rooms full of mummified animals (people in a separate room, extra charge), statues, jewellery and pottery. But after about an hour and a half we were ready for coffee, so we headed to the cafe to meet Peter and have a hit of Turkish Coffee, another Egyptian favourite!
Aaagh... Coffee. Feeling better, we were off to the Hanging Church. This was a nice old church built over the top of roman ruins. The church also had a miracle occur in there and an image of Mary is burnt into one of the pillars in the church.
After lunch, a bit touristy, but an Egyptian feed, we headed to the Old Cairo Bazaar. This is a big market selling all sorts of touristy goods, sculptures (we bought an Ibis), paintings, scarf’s, clothes and the usual key rings etc... It was very busy and the stall holders would not leave you alone, similar to Asia, gets annoying pretty quickly! Exhausted we returned to the hotel. We were scheduled for a nights sleep followed by a 9hr bus ride in the morning to Dahab. Despite being exhausted we arranged for an earlier bus, leaving at about 3am, giving us an extra day on the beach! We had a few hours sleep, before jumping on the bus for another night of travel.

Egypt - Part 1

It was a very pleasant flight to Egypt due to British Air’s entertainment system and mini bar. We got into Cairo very happy at around midnight. After getting our visa we were picked up by the tour company ‘Egypt Explore’ and taken to our hotel. We reached the hotel and were pleased to be put in a room with a view of the pyramids, but not pleased to discover there was no hot water. Day 1: Cairo
Arrive in Cairo airport, you will be met by our representative who will assist you through the formalities and then transferred to your hotel to meet your guide for briefing about the tour package; overnight at your hotel in Cairo.
We had a good sleep in the next day by finally got up to find some food. This resulted in a very long walk around the neighbourhood as the reception girls couldn’t give us a map and insisted a supermarket was too far to walk to. We did eventually find some water but had given up on food so ate in the hotel instead. This left us time to have a swim before getting ready to meet the tour group at 5pm.
This is the second tour we have been outnumbered by Kiwi’s. We were actually the only Australian’s which is nice for a change. The rest of the group consisted of a kiwi couple we got to know quite well, an older kiwi couple, a Saffa/English couple, the tour guides girlfriend and a Columbian girl. Everyone was very nice which made the trip more enjoyable.

For dinner that night we headed to the Nile River for a dinner cruise with live entertainment. This was a belly dancer and a male dancer who wears a very colourful cloak as a skirt and spends the whole time spinning in circles. I don’t know how he doesn’t fall over as he was spinning for around half an hour. The food was a nice combination of western and Egyptian. Our guide wisely recommended we hit the dessert bar quickly, before the bus loads of Indians cleared it out!
Day 2: Cairo - Giza Pyramids - Aswan
After breakfast you will start the tour by visiting the awe inspiring Great Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza plateau, then head to Sakkara to visit the Step Pyramid- the first completed Pyramid in Egypt and some other amazing tombs. After a day of seeing 4500 year old ancient structures, you will take the overnight first class train up the River Nile to Aswan. Our first day in Cairo was spent exploring the Pyramids. First stop was the Sakkara Step Pyramid. This pyramid was actually the first to be completed in Egypt. It is a tomb from the old dynasty. Originally it was to be a simple rectangle shape, about 5 meters high. This however would never be grand enough for a king, so an extra 5 or so smaller rectangles were layered on top, forming ‘steps’ in a pyramid shape. The entry was through a columnade, like a hallway with heaps of old limestone pillars and columns.
It was then off to a perfume shop for a drink. The guy who runs the store was pretty funny, he kept saying ‘get high before you die’, ‘hubbly bubbly’ and other random phrases in a very thick Egyptian accent. Damien’s sneezing ensured the guy didn’t get a sale from us!
The Great Pyramids were our next stop. These are the 3 biggest and most famous in Egypt. They are surprisingly close to Cairo, that or our hotel (Pyramid View Hotel) is a long way from the centre of Cairo, a bit of both I think! Our guide, Peter, explained a bit about the history and why they were built (apparently their not built by aliens, who would have guessed!). They are tombs for the kings with 3 smaller pyramids nearby for the queens. We were then free to walk around the first pyramid. This really is an amazing experience, not an easy one to explain. Damien actually got to go over and pose against it, although this cost him 5 pound ($1AUD) Egyptian to the Tourist Police who let him through in the first place. We quickly learnt that Westerners are looked upon as walking dollar signs and the Egyptians have had years of tourism to find the best ways to make you part with your money.

Back on the bus, we drove past the second Pyramid and stopped on a sand dune just past the third pyramid. This has a great view of the 3 big Pyramids as well as the 3 smaller Pyramids. It was also very exciting as we had vouchers for a free camel ride. It was cool to ride a camel at the pyramids, although it was a bit brief and very touristy (get on the camel, ride a few hundred meters, photo, ride back, get off camel).
As if this wasn’t enough for one day, we headed on to the Sphinx. That funny looking lion cat with a person’s head. Cool to look at from a distance, but the closer you get, the more tourists in a very small viewing platform.
Dinner was at a nearby restaurant, another buffet, similar food to last night maybe a bit nicer. It also caused a few concerns later that night on the overnight train. The first cases of ‘Pharaohs Curse’ for our tour!

Day 3: Aswan
Arrive in Aswan around 10:00, you will be transferred to your hotel in Aswan and start your Nile quest by visiting the Philae Temple, the Unfinished Obelisk and the famous High Dam of Aswan which after completion in 1971, created Lake Nasser. Free evening at your leisure, overnight at your hotel in Aswan.
The train, first class, by Egyptian standards, was ok, but hard to sleep. There were 6 seats in the little compartment, we shared with the Dianna, the Columbian girl, and 3 guys from a different tour group. The train was also 2-3 hours late to arrive to Aswan, although this is a reasonable time to arrive according to our guide, some days it takes longer.
We had an hour to check in, shower and relax before heading out to do the sightseeing. Damien opted out, still not feeling great. The group visited the unfinished Obelisk, which by all reports was a few rocks lying in the dessert (bit like an aboriginal watering hole, Dad might like it!). The High Dam of Aswan is quite amazing, although not to look at. It was built to control the Nile water, which previously would flood numerous cities for 3-4 months of the year. Not only this but all of the Crocodiles which were living in the Nile, on the northern side of the dam (all the way to Cairo), were relocated to the south side of the dam. The highlight of the day was the Philae Temple. This was a temple in the middle of an island. After a short boat ride, Peter gave us a rundown of what its all about before leaving us to explore. The walls are very well preserved, covered in carvings and hieroglyphics. Day 3 of the tour and everyone is exhausted! But no rest for the wicked, tomorrow morning is the side trip to Abu Simbel, with a 4am wakeup call! An early night and looking forward to a relaxing few days on the felucca.
Day 4: Felucca cruise from Aswan
After breakfast start exploring the Nile by boarding a traditional felucca, on which you will spend the next two nights. Onboard the felucca you will sail around the Elephantine and Kitchener islands, overnight on the felucca
We were up early, really early! The bus picked us up and we headed to Aswan to join the convoy. All the tours going to Abu Simbel must do so in convoy, surrounded by military vehicles. Some buses, not ours, even have soldiers riding in the bus. If your late to meet the convoy, the road is closed and you cant go. It was a 3 hour drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel, through the dessert with nothing to see except sand and the rising sun. Our driver was fast, very fast. This was a good thing. On the long straight roads, we passed many of the other tours, meaning when we arrived it was not as crowded as it would soon become. Abu Simbel is another Kings temple. It is made even more extraordinary by the fact that where it is today, is not where it was built. It was originally in the side of a mountain that is now covered in water, under the dam water. When the dam was being built this temple was also relocated brick by brick. Not that we saw it back in the day, but it looks like they put it back together properly, everything in the right spot and no damage, amazing. There is some damage to the exterior statues, however this occurred much later, during an earthquake.
So what is at Abu Simbel? Two tombs, the king and queen. The Kings has 4 giant (20m) statues on the outside. These are of the gods that are protecting him. The queens has 6 slightly smaller statues. They are built into the side of a hill, and the inside is filled with yet more statues and hieroglyphics and carvings. Very well preserved and full of tourists. A long journey but definitely worth going for a look. Back in Aswan it was another quick shower in preparation to board out felucca sail boat. We were on board by about 3pm and heading down the Nile out of Aswan by 4pm. After a short sail we pulled up on the banks of the Nile for a swim, an Egyptian feed on board and to stay the night.
Day 5: Felucca Cruise
Free day for leisure sailing down the River Nile enjoy the amazing view of the River, overnight on the Felucca. (All meals served on the Felucca)
A Felucca is a old traditional Egyptian sail boat. It is basic, very basic. No cabin, no shower and no toilet. The deck is covered in mattresses and cushions. We spent the day relaxing on the deck, and the night sleeping on the deck. There are two crew who sailed the boat and prepared the meals for us. We sailed most of the day which was nice and very relaxing, with nothing to do but sleep, read and listen to music. We stopped on the banks for lunch, a swim and to build a sand pyramid. The cold beers on board helped us pass the afternoon as we continued to sail and relax. Then before sunset we pulled up on the banks again for more swimming, drinking and eating.
The felucca was amazing one of many highlights of our Egypt tour. Sadly we felt it was a bit short, the 3 days on felucca is shortened by the late start the first day and the sailing finishes at 9am the last day. Each night we were also parked up in the same place as the other felucca tours (10-12 in total), which sort of takes away from the whole ‘traditional’ experience.