Holy Flurkin' Fallucca!

If you've read my itinerary on a previous blog, you may have read that I was to spend two days and two nights sailing in a felluca on the River Nile. What an experience!!

The morning of the day we were to set sail I had to be up at 4am ready to leave by 4.30am as I had a plane to catch to Abu Simbel, which is where the tomb of King Ramses is. Meg chose not to do this "bolt on" part to the tour, so I was careful and quiet as not to wake her at such an ungodly hour. 

I realised that I wad running a few minutes late so jogged from our room to reception, to find only four others of the 12 who were going, we there! Brock, an Australian on the tour asked if he could ask me something- I said "of course". He asked me to give him the time off of my watch. It was 3.20am. How did this happen? 

Apparently all our mobile phones (which we were using as alarms) had updated the time automatically for daylight saving which had been overnight. The really annoying thing is that Egypt don't follow daylight saving. So there we were, an hour early. Luckily it wasn't the other way around! Being it was still super early and Meg and I shared one room key I didn't go back to the room, but curled up for a bit on one of the hotel couches. 

We finally left for Abu Simbel from Aswan airport. Yet another insanely quiet airport! No tourists again. The flight had about 200 on it, mind you, and on arriving to Abu Simbel it was really dusty which made for an exciting landing. 

What people say bout Abu Simbel is true. It really does take your breath away! You enter the gates, and have to walk around a mountain... When you turn a corner, there it is. The entrance to the Tomb of King Ramses. Wow. I just stood and stared at the sheer size of it! Amazing. Then we found out that due to flooding, in the 1960's it was moved up the hill 60m- if you could imagine the size of it- you too would be impressed! 

This is the view that took my breath away!

Amazing!

Holding the GIANT key to the temple!

HUGE!! 

Once we left Abu Simbel after a couple of hours of taking photos and exploring, we hopped back on the plane. Two plane trips, all before 11am! On arriving back at the hotel I was rather excited as the Royal Wedding was playing live on the BBC channel, so whilst showering, packing and getting organised to check out in an hour, Meg and I watched it. How beautiful did Kate look? So elegant- great choice of dress. Loved it when the ring didn't go on easily- that happened to me so I can sympathise with her! Interesting William doesn't also wear a ring. 

After we checked out of the hotel, it was time to check in at our felluca. Which was just down the stairs from the hotel. Docked so close, that I could still access the hotel wifi- which I couldn't even get from my room haha! The felluca was fully decked out with a large foam cushion which covered the entire deck, with a sail stretched over the top for shade. We had to remove our jandals on entering and place them in the "shoe bin" and climb aboard. Our large luggage was stored underneath. I have to say, there is something quite relaxing about lying on a large cushion on a boat on the Nile. 

See? LUXURY!

Our shoe bucket :)

On the fellucca.... Gemma and I just chilling. 

But we were not as chilled as our driver.

BLISS!

Due to high winds we were unable to sail, so we just stayed docked outside the hotel all night- outstanding! We had full access to the hotel wifi and toilets. We were all quite pleased to actually set sail the following day- the weather was stunning and the breeze fantastic. The drinks on board were really cheap too. A bottle of coke just 3 Egyptian pounds... About 30 pence or 70 NZ cents! 

It was so nice just to lie there, not having to do anything - I finished "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks and started a book called "The Slap" Which was also a good read. In the evening we stopped soldered along the riverside at a Nubian village where our tour guide knew someone. We had the chance to go into their home and have hibiscus tea. We got to see (and hold if we were brave enough) a baby crocodile and a turtle- so awesome. I also got the opportunity to talk with some Nubian children - they have nothing it really is heart wrenching. How I wished I had a supply of pens and paper to give them! It was a great experience just to see what their lives are like. 

Not our fellucca, but one so you can see what it looks like!

I slept surprisingly well and he following day we traveled further up the Nile after eating our fill of bread, oats cheese, boiled egg and cake. Actually I just had jam and honey on bread. Not a boiled egg fan! We stopped a couple of times and shortly after Aswan Bridge we had to stopfor the night. We met a boy called Mustafa who came over to our felluca on a raft made of a rubbish sack filled with empty plastic bottles. He was asking for something for school which I finally managed to understand as "pen for school". I nearly cried. Pete, a man on tour gave me his pen to pass onto the boy who grinned ear to ear. Then I did some counting and colours etc in English with him which I really got a buzz out of, before his angry sounding father started shouting at him and waving a big stick. I did wonder later if this boy has a room full of pens from the tourists!! I doubt he does though. It's so sad they have this little. 

What a world! What a life!

This is Mustafa... my little friend I met and gave a pen to :)

That evening we had a huge Egyptian styled feast of lentil soup, potato stew, bread and fried chicken we joined another tour group on the river bank and the felluca captains brought out their drums and started playing some chants whist people from the tours danced around the fire- very cool. They played "She'll be coming round the mountain" but at one point changed the words to "She'll be smoking marijuana when she comes...." LOL. 

SO CUTE! Love him!

This is Salah. His name is 'nearly same as my name' which is what he said to me on hearing my name. Bless!

Dancing round the fire :) 

Playing music on the side of the River Nile :) So COOL!

The following day, after two days of showering using baby wipes, we checked into our hotel in Luxor. I have never been so pleased to see a real toilet and stand under the water jets. Bliss. But... How many of you can say you've slept in an open boat on the Nile - and brushed your teeth overboard?! We met up with the rest of our group in the afternoon to see the third temple of the day before having dinner at an Egyptian restaurant and then hitting the sack for our early morning start. FYI- this is *not* a holiday! 

Hehe

Ramses Sphinx's

Look at the size of it!! (The statue, smarty pants, not me!)

We were up at 5am and ready to leave by 6am to the Valley of the Kings. It was stifling hot, but the tombs we had the opportunity to see today were incredible. The colours on the hieroglyphics on the walls looked so fresh - it is hard to believe how many years ago they were painted! The highlight of the day for me was the chance to go inside King Tutankhamen's tomb. There is nothing in there except his sarcophagus ... And his body. Today, I saw the face of King Tut- and I only had to pay an extra 100 Egyptian pounds (10GBP) to do so! It is amazing how intact his head and feet are. The rest of him is covered up, but still. Incredible. 

After leaving the Valley of the King's we took the bus to get to the other side of the mountain to the Valley of the Queen's, which was impressive but there are no tombs you can enter. 

Currently we are on the bus on the way back to the hotel for a quiet afternoon eating and drinking by the hotel pool before boarding a seater train tonight. I guess sitting upright I would feel better than lying down. I was quite scared at times on the sleeper train going to Aswan. This trip is only 10 hours. Only! 

I feel so fortunate to have seen and done all of what I have done in the past twelve days. ANZAC day to seeing the pyramids - things I've wanted to do since I was 13. It is so awesome to know my bucket list is getting shorter. The only downer is the news of Gaffi's family who were bombed, followed by the death of Osama Bin Laden. I will be pleased to be back in London town- and I think after this trip, I've seen what living in *real* filth is like.... London is not so bad after all! 

Next stop? Cairo. Then back to London. Until my next adventure...

Cheery Bye :)