Marhaba Palace Hotel Aswan

... towards Luxor. We are not sure yet whether to do a one or two night trip (leaning towards the one night) as having spent three days on a boat to Timbuktu we know that it can get a little boring after too long. If we do the one night option we will get off at Kom Ombo and getting buses up to Luxor, otherwise we'll do two nights and get off at Edfu. The weather down here is much much warmer than in Cairo, and it was about 35 degrees yesterday and shaping up to be the same today. The heat ...

... scorpion and we obviously came across many small crocodiles in the inscriptions. Definitely a good temple to visit and we really did enjoy it.

When we returned back to the boat and visited our cabins, we found the pillows & towels had been dressed up and mine was dressed to resemble me, complete with tank top and stuffing for breasts! So funny that they did this and upon looking in everyone else's cabin, they had done the same. There was no wind to set sail to ...

... His name was Mostafa and he was crazy and loud and i liked him. He said to me 'gameela' which means beautiful in Egyptian Arabic and indicated my face which was the beginning of my experience of being hit on by Egyptian men young and old alike. He wasn't creepy though, just funny. He asked me if i was his friend and i assured him that he was. When i got in the car i couldn't see any seat belts so i asked him where they were and he replied "this is Egypt not Italy" (for some reason he ...

... and took photos, but didn't really hang out.
On the way back to Aswan and the lovely air conditioning on the cruise boat, we stopped at an essence shop. Basically this is a large shop where they sell the pure forms of many of the perfumes we all know. All perfumes are based on the essences of natural plants and in Egypt they still sell essences. There are essences that are also used as natural cures for different ailments including head aches, muscle tension ...

... a crowd gathering. Dino followed one guy around who had nothing to do with it at all, telling him to **** off.
Shona tried instructing them maybe it would be better to talk to her rather than Dino as at least she wouldn't cut them off. Unfortunately this is Egypt, only if you are a man will they really pay any importance to you. After some time and much interruption did they agree that we would leave our bags at the hotel (which they weren't at all to happy with) and ...

... in song and dance before dinner. The meal itself was simple but amazing, typical of most of the food we have had since leaving Cairo.

I have no delusions that even in this aspect of the tour the path has been well trodden before us, but for me this does not take away from both the experience. The area has not yet been
ruined by excessive tourism, and yet can still benefit the additional income generated by semi-regular visits throughout the year.

... in the bath and relax. I love talking on the phone with kim for hours even though i should just drive to her house. I love raising my hands high in worship on sunday mornings. I love giving my kids a high five when they score a goal or succeed in the move they have worked on for weeks. I love home and while I will always travel and seek adventure, I know where at the end of the trip I belong. So now about my experiance in egypt.....
I arrived in Aswan after a comfortable ...

... As we started to tack up the Nile the wind started to pick up got the first bit of wind and over she tilted and off she went. Tacked back and as everyone wasn't use to it yet and we were all lying on the deck it was like something out of a cartoon. She tilted and everyone went sliding with some bags almost goin over. Any way we tacked down the Nile (which is up on a map) everytime the wind picked up she tilted to about an inch above the water line with water splashing on the deck from ...

... water from the cafe) for his instant noodle and bought some sandwiches. I noticed that Egyptians would pray in a makeshift praying area facing the kiblat. Back home, the Muslims only prayed at the suraus or madrasah if they are no mosques, not in public with just a cardboard as their mat.

We finally took off and reached Aswan past 11pm. The airport is extremely empty. We are right at the south of Egypt and it is more ...