Egypt 10 day Trip Report - Cairo, the Nile, Luxor and Aswan via Egypt Air

I would love to join this forum. Nice to meet you here

[url=http://simulationcredit1.com][color=#FFFFFF][u]simulationcredit[/u][/color][/url]

Correction – we were on the m/S Jasmin – a last minute switch (no harm done, both boats are about the same)

Our tour included a guide, an Egyptologist and whenever we were in public or on a bus and armed guard. I assume this is somewhat standard. Be sure to book a tour that includes an Egyptologist!

The trip down the Nile was exactly what I expected and I was not at all disappointed. There are a large number of similar boats on the Nile and at point of docking it was not uncommon to pass through the lobby of boats that were parked side by side. Alert staff watched us as we passed through boats but it certainly is a good reminder to keep your cabin door shut and locked.

Evening entertainment was provide on the boat each night. It was always somewhat basic and fairly short, and as such made for an after dinner amusement. (and a good time to bring out the duty free). The galabea (sort of traditional Egyptian tunics) party was fun and the bartering process with the vendors that come along in row boats to sell galabeaswhile at the Esna Locks was actually fun as well.

Luxor – Be sure to stop and see both the temple of Karnak and Luxor – Once you leave Cairo, you leave the pyramids and are now going to see only temples. These are both very manageable and provide insight into the culture of the Pharos. Our guide used this as the starting point for what became a mind boggling lesson in Egyptian history. While in Cairo he focused more on the Architecture of the temples and faith, we now began to learn of the lneage of the Pharos

Hint: Try to learn a little about the lineage of the Pharos and Egyptian history before you go to Egypt. It can be quite overwhelming. . I found a book on CD called Mountains of the Pharos by Zahi Hawass at our public library and am very glad I listened to it – everything made much more sense to me than it did to others. I found myself able to explain and repeat things the guide had shared during the day to our group later in the evening. We also watched Agatha Christie’s death on the Nile and while not an intellectual movie it was the perfect thing to have done the day before we left the US.

The Colossi of Memnon – Ok – I guess we were there so going here was the right thing to do – but really – no big deal!

The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El-Bahari – the “she” king is very in vogue these days, and I must say I enjoyed the temple a great deal. The long walk up the ramp took us back in time and as we looked around I truly felt like I cold transport myself to the time of the Paros for just one moment.

The Valley of Kings – Wow – do not miss this opportunity – the valley appears at first to be nothing, just mountains of rubble. The treasure it held in the tombs was like the Fort Knox of Egypt. Your pass will allow you to enter just 3 of the tombs. Choose wisely. Your guide will help. We skipped the tomb of Tut having already seen it’s contents in Cairo. These tombs are all empty so ask about those which have the best murals.

Hint – you can not take picture in the tombs. The guards watch carefully and if you even touch your camera they will approach you ……. but there is sort of a way around it … for 1USD buy a pack of post cards and take photos of the cards that have images of the tomb murals. It’s almost the same thing. The people selling cards have at least 3 different packs. Be sure to buy one that has the tombs you visit. My guide was stunned when I showed him my “pictures” – I then explained – I suspect he will tell others.

Edfu and the Temple of Kom-Ombo – this would have been a really cool visit if it were not for what were the most annoying vendors along the boat docks that we encountered the whole time we were in Egypt. Their persistence was obnoxious and I found myself yelling and having to push them away several times. This did not make me happy.

Felucca ride – Ok – you have to do this, it’s like you have to ride a camel. The boat ride around the Elaphantine Island at Aswan is actually very pleasant and being low in the Nile offered a perspective that differs from that of the cruise ship. Try to get a ride later in the day, when it is cooler and the sun is going down. As always, wear bug repellent!
Aswan Dam – The High dam is an engineering marvel. What is more interesting to me were two facts I learned. If the Dam broke it would flood 87% of the Egyptian population within 24 hors – primarily Cairo … hence very tight security. Second item – when the dam was built, on the up river side was Nubia. Effectively all of Nubia was flooded and Egypt resolved the “Nubian Problem”. More interesting was that within the flooded area were numerous temples. UNESCO and several countries moved the temples to bring them up above the water level. As such Abu Simbel and the temple of Philae are not in their original locations. Additionally the US was gifted the Temple of Dendur, now at the Metropolitan in NYC. I always wondered how/why we had that temple.

The Unfinished Obelisk – OK – so you are there g see it, be prepared to be under whelmed.

Abu Simbel – fabulous and for us a great end to our tour. The flight down was easy and I suspect the flight back was as well. I, unfortunately while at the temple, 2 bus rides and 2 plane rides from our Cairo hotel managed to become gravely ill with what felt like a 104 F degree temp – hard to tell it was 111 outside!. In fact I was the sickest I have ever been in my life. I christened pretty much every private spot between Abs Simbel and Cairo. The highlights were 3. The attendants in the Aswan Airport bathroom praying to Allah for me, the ice cold tonic the flight attendant insisted I drink (which helped the upper end of my problem) and the medical evacuation transport that met our plane on the tarmac in Cairo and whisked me away – not telling anyone were I was going (which while I was somewhat delirious at the time it seemed amusing to me). Good news is I took cipro the moment I felt I was getting sick and by 6 AM the next morning the prospect of boarding the plane home was reasonable. Egypt Air provided wheel chair transport at the airport entrance. (we were amongst to enjoy the new international terminal – which is very nice and very well air conditioned!

The suspected culprit – the evening before the boat had beautiful chilled artichokes at dinner. They were most likely steamed/boiled and then rinsed in cold water – and the water stayed within the artichoke and I ate it. Net result 6 weeks of intestinal problems, 3 rounds of cipro and I’m pretty sure the parasite I acquired is now gone and my insides are recovering via probiotics.

Hint – carry your cipro and any other meds with you at all times – you just never know. Andy carry bug repellent wipes too!

The trip home was a non-event. We flew coach and the seats were recently replaced and clean. Still recovering I slept most of the trip.

Last hint – Egypt Air is part of the Star Alliance. If you are a US Air frequent flyer use your number. You will have to provide it for each flight when you check in. Our guide picked up the boarding passes so for all but the first flight EA did not have my number. I sent them to US Air, and it took 3 letters explaining, I was on a tour, I did not have an official itinerary with the fare paid nor did I have auditors coupons etc. US air finally called Egypt Air got what they needed and credited the miles. Persistence pays off.

That's it - a great "once in a life time trip!"

I really hate it when I discover spelling and grammer areas in my posts after I post them! One point of clarity - I gave the gaurd 1USD and HE asked for 5USD.

Thank you very much seafox

I really enjoyed your report ,as I did the same sights a few years ago.

I can sympathize with your being sick.

At the end of my trip I went to Alexandria and got very sick with the Flu... I do not know how I made the long flight home....Cairo to London..to North America.

It was good that you could sleep on your flight back home.

You did not mention the Island of Philae ( in Aswan) but I assume you went there.

Once again Thank You for the report.

Percy - thanks for the reminder - Philae was one of the best temple visits of the trip! A very relaxing day!

I like your tip about taking pictures of the postcards!!

I took pictures of Police on a horse at the Pyramids but they did not ask for a tip .... guess I was lucky.

Did you by chance visit the Perfume factory store near the Valley of Kings.

I agree the Island of Philae was a lovely place..this temple was also moved to higher ground

Once again Thanks for the good report... I read it again. It reminded me of my trip report.

You explained your likes and dislikes very well.

Hi seafox - thanks for posting such an interesting report. I was in Egypt in January and loved it there. As Percy said it's so much fun to relive your experiences.

thanks for nice report but you talk more about tipping in egypt
you mentioned to that many times
i think you are right many pepole asking for tipping in egypt but if you neglect them nothing will be happened
they just expect it when they do anything

Thanks for the great trip report, seafox.

Fun to relive my trip - and makes me want to go back soon!

Sorry you got so sick. I also got sick and had to be visited by a dr - I think it was something I ate on the ship we were on. Seems like from other posts mentioning getting sick the ship's food is often suspected. Next time I go I am bringing boxes of power bars and subsisting solely on them on the Nile!

The only thing you missed in Tut's tomb is Tut himself. I thought paying to go in his tomb was worth it to actually see him after 30 years of reading about him and his treasures. Quite a buck-toothed mummy - I wonder if that's the way the jaw settled or if he really looked that way in life.

Did you go with a group tour or book separately?

it was a group of friends one of whom is an agent and created the package with a tour company

Thank you for your report.

Is there anything you would suggest packing... were you really glad you had something, or wish you had taken something? I noticed you said binoculars would be a good thing to take, thank you for that idea.

Thanks for posting.

Is there anything you would suggest packing...

Wet wipes. Toilet seat covers. Toilet paper.

yes - we had packets of sterile hand wipes(purell), packets of insect repelent cloths (deep woods OFF). the small packets of facial tissue (kleenex) and always be sure to have cipro within reach. I also had the pants that have the zip off legs - got them at REI. They were great and in the end all I needed. Make sure you bring a hat with a wide brim! We also brought packets of water flavorings. One thing I did not have but a friend did and I would suggest it is hydrating salts. When I got sick, the risk of dehydration was high, but the salts added to water helped a great deal.

Thanks again for all your helpful information, Seafox.

Did you take cipro with you from the States, or buy it in Egypt? If bought in Egypt, was it easy to obtain?

In Egypt you can get something called Antinal (sp?) cheap and supposedly more effective than Cipro. All over-the-counter medications in Egypt are cheap (ex. Afrin - 60 cents, cough medicine - $1.00) and readily available.

Get your Cipro here in the States. It's pretty cheap and once your doc. finds out you are going to Egypt they are generally fine with writing the rx (they may try to tell you that you need to go to a travel doctor. if you have your shots already, tell them you can't afford an extra doctor visit - push back). Antinal is for diarhea, but is not an anti-biotic (from what i understand)

Thanks for the suggestions. I usually have kleenex and wet wipes in my day pack, but I hadn't thought of hydrating salts (or similar) incase of dehydration.