Egypt Part II

Able to dodge Aladins attempts to allow him to arrange our further travels in Egypt and, after witnessing his behavior in response to our resistance, we had one last final straw with him when we caught him in a series of lies regarding his last ditch effort to do us a "favor" and save us a hassle by acquiring train tickets: Wanting to head south to Aswan our pal told us he'd hook it up, to call him after a few hours to confirm he had the tickets, and to take the evening to relax before the late departure overnight train. Anxious to escape his clutches we humored his friendly side, confirmed he had the tickets when we later called (Lie #1), and planned to meet him outside his shop after dinner. Over tea he went on to explain that the train that evening (which before was no problem and he told us over the phone he had the tickets for us for) was now full and that the only way to get on the train was through his "special black-market source" that would charge a "small" commission! This, according to Aladin, was the only way and best priced ticket out of Cairo (Lie #2)... in his mind he was our only hope. Hmmm. Well, we were smart enough to say no, thank him for his help with the jeep safari, and at last part ways to find our own path... until halfway down the street when, with a tap on the shoulder, he was suddenly behind us and ready to negotiate the rock bottom black-market price he quoted us just minutes before! At this point I had had enough and told him straight up that we weren't fools and to basically leave us alone. He got the message and finally Aladin was out of our lives... Well, maybe not just yet...

On our own Danica and I proceeded into the city, down onto the metro, over to the train station, and up to the ticket window to find out what we'd hoped was the real story. Like most things in Egypt, the concept of organization or standing in a line to wait your turn is non existent... After wiggling through a mass of men and, fighting to gain the attention of the clerk behind the window, we discovered that indeed the night train that evening was full but that the next night had seats available for the standard price. We bought them and extended our stay in Cairo till the following day...

Our transport to Aswan started with another jaunt through the metro lines to the train station and being subjected to the chaotic security lines and checkpoints along the way. While waiting for our train we proceeded to watch a local train (which tourists are not allowed to take) pull up
and witness the craziest spectacle of a mass of bodies filling every available square inch of the doorless, windowless, orderliness-less train car... I swear it looked like a prison train and, as it started moving, it did not prevent even more masses of bodies from stuffing their luggage and them selves through the window openings or dangling off the side of the doorways! Madness.

After all the craziness in the countries capital city we were happy to wake up the next day in The Nile Valley and our stop for a few days in the city of Aswan. Located along The Nile, Aswan serves as a starting point for the compulsory police escorted convoy to the temple of Abu Symbol and a popular place to catch a multi day felucca (traditional Egyptian river sailboat) down current towards The Valley of The Kings and the city of Luxor. Here pictures are worth a thousand words and I share the following to convey the shear majesty of the temple:

 A visit to the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae, a traditional Neubian Village on Elephantine island (where Danica got a Henna tattoo), and Lake Nasser (the largest man made lake in the world created to manage the annual flood waters of The Nile) rounded out our site seeing in the area. Though the temples are spectacular, navigating through Egypt is not easy traveling and we looked forward to escaping the dusty dirty streets for a few days of sailing along The Nile...

Our Felucca ride down the Nile started blissfully while docked along the river bank but, as if it was possible for anything to go smoothly in Egypt, the smooth sailing ended when we were stopped by the river police, turned around, and told that we couldn't proceed beyond a certain point because our trusty captain had not properly gone through the procedures to obtain the permit! Instead of sailing down river we tacked back and forth between the police station dock and down stream becoming more intimately acquainted with the certain small stretch of river and similarly more confused about what was transpiring between the police and our crew. It was still nice being on the water and chatting with the small group of travelers aboard but non of us expected to be "stuck" in front of Aswan for 24 hours only to find that our crew was arrested, boat confiscated, and we had to switch onto a smaller vessel with a whole new crew! Ahhh... That's Egypt for you!

After our adventure in denial... I mean, on The Nile... We arrived with new friends bonded together by the experience to the city of Luxor. Known as the hassle capital of the world, you couldn't walk more than a minute without a friendly "Hello my friend, where are you from..." or "Felucca ride? Best price my friend..." or "Carriage? I give you good price... 10 Egyptian Pounds.... Okay 7... 5... 3" or the constant honk, stop, and stare of a driver offering you a "tax" (taxi). Buying anything from a meal to some crackers entailed the negotiation game as well which had continued to be very wearing but, now after a couple weeks in the country, was now almost comical to play. Being from Hawaii and looking "like Egyptian" helped as well :)

With our energy and interest in more ancient ruins fading, Luxor was the place we chose to end our site seeing by paying visit to the burial sites of generations of Pharaohs in the fabled "Valley of The Kings." Taking a short ferry ride across to the West Bank, Danica and I hired some rickety old bikes and peddled our way the 15 kilometers through the desert heat to the valley past the ruins of several other temples, sugarcane fields and alabaster factories. I had little expectations for what the tombs had to offer but was quickly amazed by the quality of the preservation of not only the carved hieroglyphics but, more impressive, the colors of the paint used to adorn the carvings. It is hard to imagine but nearly all the temples and ruins we see in Egypt were at one time colorfully ordained... Though some have structurally survived the sands of time, it is the colors that are often missing and forgotten. In the tombs of The Valley of the Kings you are transported back in time and see the depictions in a state that seems as though they could have been completed just a short time before.

(Unfortunately, photos were strictly prohibited inside the tombs)

Thoroughly "ruined out" it was time for some r & r in one of the worlds best dive sites in Dahab along the coast of The Red Sea....