Kalabsha Hotel Aswan

... very little today and tomorrow, before going on a day trip to Abu Simbel, where the legendary pharaoh Ramses II built a massive and stunning temple. Abu Simbel is about 40km's from the Sudanese border and there are not too many accomodation options at a reasonable price, so we will head down via mini-bus and check out the temples before coming back to Aswan. We'll do that on Monday and then have another days rest on Tuesday and maybe Wednesday before we go on a felucca trip up the ...

... by Cleopatra's father Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysis. I think we took a photo of Ptolemy XII being presented to Horus the elder by Isis and the lion headed godess Raettawy, with Thoth looking on. We all came across some reliefs that we hadn't seen before. There is one of a godess – whom I am not sure who it is, wearing a dress with a floral print on it. However on closer looking, it is actually a fur of an animal complete with tail and paws. Pete
also discovered his ...

... allegedly given any way.

Any way i ended up having to get a taxi to the hotel and was prepared to be ripped off so i said to the guy straight up-10 pounds which i now know is grossly underpaying him (the from the airport to Dokki where my hotel was is usually about 100 pounds...). Of course the guy looked mortified so we stopped and bargained and i was stubborn even though i had no idea what he should be paid i just decided 10 was a good number. Eventually we settled on 20 ...

... an island in the Nile River. The entire temple complex was actually dismantled and rebuilt on a different island than where it was orignally because it was under threat of being flooded after a dam was built on the river.
Philae Temple was not built during the ancient pharaoh era in Egypt but during the time when Greek and Roman rulers controlled Egypt.
It was nice to see but I admit the heat made it a bit difficult to appreciate. I walked around having a ...

... to both upper and lower Egypt's agricultural communities. We then took a small boat over to the Philae Temple, which is a temple that has been relocated to an island due to the high water caused by the building of the high dam. Next we visited the unfinished obelisk and ended with a felucca ride down the Nile. Ashraf then took us to our Nile cruise ship and we slept and ...

... we will start sailing without any of the other guest as they will be arriving late that afternoon. Dino is not happy, "We don't leave without the other 3 people."
"They aren't arriving until at least 3pm, we can just sail around a bit and wait for them up stream."
"We agreed yesterday, we don't leave without the other 3 people."
That's when the argument started. Ziggy telling Dino to **** Off and Dino not really appreciating that much at all. Before long there ...

... towns) before being led to a Nubian household for an evening meal.

The house appeared typical of many in the village, mostly open-air and painted a deep blue, with
murals on the walls. It was well equipped with basic facilities, and I could easily imagine spending time enjoying life in such a place (perhaps only hindered by the lack of a Western-style toilet). The family were very welcoming, and we were all encouraged to mix with the local ...

... remember the memories I will also be glad to be home. I guess I wanted to prove something to myself. i wanted to seek that adventure and through inner strength explore the unknown. I love adventure, I love the thrill, I love the new experiances but what I didn't realize until this trip is I love home as well. I spend so much time planning for my next adventure and talking about my explorations I forget to appreciate home. I love to cook and entertain, to go dancing with my girls, to ...

... under the deck (which was just wooden floor) and we jumped onto the deck, massive mattress covering the deck with some pillows, noice! We met the captain, his first hand man and the cook. The felucca was a no shoes affair so everyone chucked their shoes or thongs (flip-flops for all you non Aussies) in the bin and boarded the right front of the felucca. Can't go the left as that is the kitchen.

Anyway we pushed back raised the sail and we were off, and didn't we pick up some ...

... with a big group of English ??? and we stood out like a sore thumb, being the only Asian among the caucasians. They then left and we were still around like dufus until a guard called us and asked where we were going. We then realized that we were at the wrong area - Sharm El Sheikh and the Aswan gates were in a different area.

We are tired and didnt really felt like dinner. Got Chris some hot water (paid about RM2 for ...