New Everest Hostel Luxor

... supposed to go and get my visa extension with Mohamed but he had vanished. Everyone was trying to work out what they were doing before their felucca ride and I wanted to join them but I had to wait for Mohamed. Lex and Heather were leaving the group at 3pm so I wanted to find out what they were doing so that I could say goodbye. Lex and Heather needed to speak to Mohamed before they left so while we waited they said that I should take their room so I ...

... to get it back to at least a 2-star rating. It is the smallest boat of the 144 registered to cruise on the Nile, with only 41 cabins. Our cabin (number 306) is on the top deck and right at the front. It is quite small, but a suite in comparison to the rest of the cabins on this boat. It has 2 single beds pushed together against a wall, a small closet and vanity. The bathroom is only 1 m. (3 ft.) by 1.5 m. (5 ft.). There is no shower ...

... around with all the knobs on the wall, checking what was behind a swinging door. Turned out to be a sink. We tried our best to turn down our beds but it was dinner time and we had not a clue how to pull the beds out. We turned the music on and apparently it was retro 80's night! A little bit of HEART, a little bit of Pet sjop boys! Loved it. Dinner was ok, edible. After dinner we went to sleep, well we tried to get to sleep. The train was really rickity, good ...

... was 49 C since we drove by a clock that also flashed the temperature. We all cheered at seeing the 49 flashing on the screen. Unbelievable. It felt that warm. We were glad to retreat to the (powerful) AC of our hotel.

We had a few hours of downtime for much needed showers and naps before heading across the river for a camel ride through the farms and villages on the West Bank. It was nice that we knew what to expect from the camels this time. Some ...

... low area of the valley and has been flooded at least 7 times since it was built. The floods not only destroyed much of the decoration in the tomb but also filled the rooms with debris.
Some of the tombs were never finished as if the pharaoh it was built for died before it was completed, work would stop once the mummy had been placed in the tomb. The tomb of Amenhotep II was one of those. We got to see the work in progress. Building a tomb not only involved digging ...

... in Egypt and quite vast, with hundreds of pylons larger than any in the country, a huge sacred pool, and more. It can easily take a whole day to wander this site, which unfortunately is going through a bit of construction so one segment was closed. There was a very odd tourist policeman wandering around taking people in the off limit areas to see some large colossus statues, for tip of course. I gave him about 5 pounds after getting some great photos ...

... at the food and tells its every meat but what it is and when you look at him confused he laughs! Anyways, did I mention the word BUFFET. This is not a good word considering how little clothes we must fit into for the next 3 months. Dan is exhausted, he didnt sleep well on the plane and hasnt caught up yet. He also ate something he shouldn't so is frequenting the bathroom alot. He's just fallen asleep fully clothed whilst I am typing this, so it's time for bed and a 5am start tomorrow!

... have been ripped off by a taxi driver. You never really know. Meters make things way too easy, which is probably why they don't seem to be used anywhere. The exchange rate in Egypt is about 5.6 pounds to one dollar. As we waited to get our bags various cab drivers insisted that they could only take us to our hotel for over 100 pounds. We were told by one guy that the government price for all cabs from the airport was $20 US. We knew this was ****... Finally I got a ...

... as impressive as the thought of it being hand-chiseled out of granite, carved with the intricate stories and depictions, and carried by barge several hundred miles down the Nile where it was to be installed in a temple in Luxor. In fact, this is the thought which continually pervades our visits to the many temples, tombs, and monuments that we have seen--the size and scope of the structures, their amazing architecture and precision of design and construction and the feeling ...

... day the wind was blowing wrong! The captain got us back to shore and we hopped on his motorised boat instead. He took us up the river for about a km pointing out the sights on both sides of the bank before we moored up at Crocodile and Banana Islands! The only problem was we were struggling to see the 'island' part - it just looked like the river bank. Once ashore we realised it was all a bit of a local con, basically we had paid to cruise to a field with ...