Day 100: December 2

Didn’t sleep well on the train. Kept drifting in and out due to the awkward positioning of the chair. I also wasn’t feeling well. At around eight my stomach took a turn for the worse… I made a sprint for the bathroom. Opened the door and puked in the toilet. Spent the next ten minutes over the porcelain alter (or should I say metal altar).

Two hours of feeling miserable later we arrived in Cairo. I was feeling allot better after puking, but still…. Just wanted to get home. However, the Americans we met on the train were looking for a hostel in Cairo. We felt obligated to help them. We walked with them over to the Africa House Hostel. Talked to the staff for a minute, and then caught a cab home.

Evan and I both enjoyed our trip, but were happy to be home. All I could think about was getting to bed. However, first I walked down to the corner store and bought some water. Finally I got back and passed out for the next seven hours.

Woke up again… still feeling awful, but trying to be productive. Worked a little bit on my essay, but not much. Ended up watching TV and huddling under a blanket. Watched The Green Mile. Really good movie, but very sad.

Couldn’t muster the appetite to eat so I just drank water. Called Sara to tell her about my week and then went to bed early. Hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.

Day 99: December 1

Slept in a little. Woke up a little after ten. Evan and I both showered and packed our bags. We walked downstairs and checked out. They offered to hold onto our bags until our train came. We accepted and left our bags behind the front desk.

We went to the upstairs patio and had our breakfast. We sat on the roof and ate slowly. It was a small meal, but that was fine by us (a half week of gorging was getting old). We read a bit before going out.

Our first stop was the train station. We had no problem finding tickets for that night. Although everyone told us there wasn’t going to be any left. It cost us just over a hundred pounds which was 50 less than on the way up. Not a bad deal.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Luxor and checking out the non-tourist parts of town. We found a really old Coptic church which was being rebuilt. We went in and checked it out. Really gorgeous, almost cathedralesque. Afterwards we continued to walk around. We ended up in the souks looking at wares and browsing stores. Evan ended up purchasing a scarf.

Eventually we made it out of the markets and decided to take a seat in a coffee shop. We had a couple cups of coffee and chatted with the owner of the store. When we were leaving we asked him where we might find a deck of cards. He took us to a nearby store and inquired. When they didn’t have any he dragged us around the city until he found some. Really nice of him.

During our wonderings we met two other interesting characters. Both of which tried to sell us drugs. One was a 12 year old kid who offered us hash… we ended up running into him later with his older brother who he deals for. It was really sad to see a kid his age involved in that. The other was a real pushy 30 year old who kept trying to drag us to his house. I eventually told him that if he touched me again I’d break his nose… that got the point across.

We had a late lunch at a chicken shop. Each of us had half a chicken, some bread, salad, and tahina. A good meal. Real tasty. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel to cool our heals before catching the train.

We spent the next few hours chilling on the roof of the hotel. It was nice to just relax and read. I read some of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and did some journaling. We also spent some time talking to the guys that work at the hotel.

With an hour and half left before our train we decided to go to the souks and grab dinner. We grabbed our bags and set off to the markets. We walked around for a half hour before we found a place that served tagen. Tagen is a dish similar to stew that has lamb, potatoes, veggies, etc. It was really good and we got a whole bunch of food.

From there we walked to the train station. We got there a few minutes early and bought some water. The train arrived and we jumped on. We found our seats in a private(ish) cabin. It was a small cabin with six seats. Evan and I occupied two of them and another two Americans took the other. Later on we were joined by two Egyptians in the last two seats.

We spent the next waking hours watching a few episodes of The Office and talking to our American companions. They had been doing a two month trip through the Middle East which sounded absolutely epic.

Eventually we all drifted off to sleep.

Day 98: November 30

Woke up at 8AM when Saeed announced breakfast. We rolled out of bed and walked outside to the courtyard where breakfast was being set up. Evan, Saeed, Ashraf and I sat on the ground around a plate of food and ate our breakfast. Breakfast consisted of eggs, bread, jam, and cheese. Simple yet delicious.

After breakfast we took turns using the single shower in the main bathroom. It was more of a faucet hooked up to a hot water heater… you then used a bucket to poor it on yourselves. However, it wasn’t that much different from our apartment in Cairo.

Afterwards we got dressed and ready to leave.

We walked from the house down the main street of the village. Saeed introduced us to friends as we walked. Eventually we came to a split in the road. One way went into the fields the other back into the village. We decided to check out the crops.

We walked on a dirt path through the thick fields of sugar cane (the village is renowned for this). Saeed explained the crop and its value. Along the way he pulled out three stalks and made them into walking sticks. He also peeled the top so we could eat sugar cane as we walked. The a multipurpose walking stick if I have ever seen one.

We continued to walk and eventually came to different crops which Saeed showed us and explained their significance. It was mostly spices and herbs. We came to the end of the fields and up to a fair sized house. Saeed walked in the house like he owned the place…. Ironically enough he did. It was his house that he shared with his other brothers. They were in charge of the family farm. This house was set up in a complex (like the last one) with living quarters, a courtyard, and sitting room.

We were given the grand tour. We met more people than I could possibly remember. Eventually we took a seat out near the fields and were offered a platter of peanuts. We ate, talked, and enjoyed the beautiful morning. Being foreigners tends to draw attention in small villages like this one. Pretty soon we had a crowd of young children staring at the strange looking white people. I ended up playing with them for an hour. Mostly soccer.

We met back in the sitting room for a traditional lunch. Tahina, bread, salad, vegetables, and fish were served. Very delicious… as with every other meal I’ve had here, saying no to seconds/thirds/fourths is not an option. After the meal we sat back and talked. This is when I started having problems…

I’m not sure if it was the food or maybe the water, but I started having the runs (diarrhea is such a gross word, the word in Arabic is so much better. Literally to come with ease). Over the next few hours we were introduced to all of Saeed’s friends and sat and talked. I tried to stay focused, but I made three trips to the bathroom… Which of course was the traditional hole in the ground.

Two of Saeed’s good friends spent the remainder of the day with us. Solomon and Khalid are from the next village over, but work as associates of Saeed’s (who is a lawyer). We were first introduced to them when they were texting and calling their friend trying to convince him they were a girl who wanted to have sex with him… very interesting characters.

Another common thing throughout the day was tea. I would say we were given a new glass of tea at least every thirty minutes. Occasionally it was a similar drink that most resembled green tea. Saeed swore it was better for us.

After awhile Saeed decided to take us to the next village over so we could see Khalid and Solomon’s houses. We got in Solomon’s car and were on our way. Along the way we stopped in an alley to be introduced to some more friends. The friends were so impressed that they insisted on buying us all sodas. These people will go out of their way to be hospitable. They gave some money to a kid who ran to go grab the sodas. 5 minutes later he reappeared with orange soda and cigarettes. Evan and I were each given a soda and our very own box of cigarettes…. I’ve never owned a box of cigarettes before, and it was definitely very weird carrying it around with me all day.

As I have probably mentioned earlier, Egyptians love smoking. Saeed is no exception. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure he could be labeled as a chain smoker. In the States I don’t smoke, but I have taken to having a single cigarette when offered to avoid offending anyone. Well in Saeed’s case it’s like if you give a mouse a cookie except in reverse. If you let Saeed give you a cigarette… he’ll give you another… and another… and another… and a whole box. By the end of the day I had a full box and half a box loose in my pocket.

We got to the village and dropped off Solomon so he could attend to business and drove to Khalid’s.

Khalid has a very traditional home on the outside and a very western home on this inside. It was like walking through the door into an American home. We spent most of the time in the sitting room being served cookies and juice. We were given fresh cantaloupe juice that was simply amazing. We talked about Egypt and how it differs from America. All Egyptians want to know three things. First, is that they are hospitable. Second, is that you love their country, third, is what America/Americans are like.

After an hour and a half we made our way from Khalid’s house to his business office (after using the bathroom of course). Again from the outside the building looked pretty average, but the inside was very western. We spent another hour at the office, drinking tea and talking about many random topics. We also broke the news to Saeed that we would not be able to stay another night (my lungs thanked me for this one). He was a bit disappointed but understood we had to get back to Cairo. (Visited the toilet again)..

From Khalid’s we drove back to Solomon’s to meet his family. By this point Evan and I were a bit anxious to get on the road, but of course we were invited in for tea. *sigh*. The next hour was spent meeting Solomon’s family and friends. We were served multiple courses of tea and cookies. We were also offered dinner, but Evan and I violently refused… good thing too, because I don’t think I could have fit more in my stomach. An hour later we were on our way back to Saeed’s Dad’s house to pick up our bags and head out.

Solomon, Saeed, and Khalid drove us and told us the entire way how sad they were we had to leave. We arrived at the house and grabbed our bags (also took a keflex to solve my problems). We also took some photos of Saeed’s family (I didn’t get many pictures in the village… I had my camera, but it didn’t feel right to take pictures. Almost taboo). Then we were on our way.

They drove us to the bus stop and piled out of the car. They bid us farewell and made sure the bus driver was going to take good care of us. Multiple warnings were given to treat us like sons. Hilarious really.

The bus departed shortly thereafter. It was pretty empty, and a very exhausted Evan and I stretched out and fell asleep. Three hours later we arrived in Luxor. We really had no game plan from there, and talked to the minibus driver about hostel suggestions. He had a friend who ran one and volunteered to drive us there. Ten minutes later we were at the ‘Princess Hotel’. The hotel staff was waiting for our arrival and helped us with our bags. Very cheerful considering it was 1AM. They showed us around and gave us our room. Evan and I got ready for bed and passed out.

Day 97: November 29

Ruben and my alarms went off simultaneously at 2:55AM. We both begrudgingly rolled out of bed and did our last minute preparations to leave. By 3:15 we were packed and ready to rock. We walked to the lobby and checked out of the hotel (cruise ship). Shiyu, Ruben, the tour guide and I were all ready by the appointed time, but Mike was nowhere to be seen. I called him twice and he finally picked up on the second call… he claimed he was packing… he sounded awfully sleepy.

Mike ran up the stairs ten minutes later, and we made our way off the boat. The tour guide showed us to our 13 person minibus (for the four of us) and we spread out for our 3 hour bus ride. We talked excitedly for the next 5 minutes about the upcoming trip, but sooner or later we all passed out.

I woke up some time later and took a peek out the window. I had awoken just in time to see the sun rise. It was amazing to watch over desert. Awesome shades of red, orange, and yellow. Stayed awake awhile longer to watch the countryside pass by, but eventually fell back asleep.

I awoke to our tour guide announcing our arrival at Abu Simbel. We piled out of the car and started our walk towards the monument. It was amazing how neat and clean the surrounding areas were. The visitors center and surrounding shop were very neat and trim. Inside the visitors center were pictures and descriptions of the reassembly of the temple, which our guide said we could read after the tour.

We proceeded through the main gates and were greeted by a giant hill. There were two paths around the hill leading to the temple, we proceeded down the right path. Turning a corner we came face to face with the largest manmade lake in the entire world, Lake Nasser. In an attempt to control flooding, Nasser ordered the construction of the Aswan High Dam. This dam is used to regulate water flow down the Nile and thus keep it from destroying crops and houses when it floods.

However, in building the High Dam, Nasser created a large body of water that flooded and destroyed many ancient temples. One of the temples threatened by the rising waters was the Temple at Abu Simbel. In 1964, Unesco led a mission to save the temple from the Lake Nasser. Sponsored by 50 countries the organization cut up, dismantled, moved, and reassembled the entire temple on top of the hill. In addition to this, they created a concrete hill and added rocks so that it looked like the temple was still coming out of the mountain.

It is absolutely amazing to see this monument in real life. I had heard about it back home and always imagined the feat of engineering required to move it, but never imagined I would stand close enough to touch the colossal statues of Ramses the II. We all stood in awe as our tour guide gave us the background to the temple. It was built by Ramses the II and dedicated to the sun god, Amun-Ra. Nearby he constructed a similar temple to his wife Nefertari, which was dedicated to the god of pleasure, Hathor.

After the explanation we were given free time to roam and explore. The insides of the temples were almost as impressive as the outsides. The reliefs and carvings were massive. It really shows the wealth and popularity of Ramses II. One of the coolest things is the paint. Unlike the open air temples, this temples paint has survived much better, allowing us to better see how the temple would have looked originally (3000 year old paint).

Two crazy things about this temple. Not only was the outside moved, but the inside was moved as well. They had to cut the top off the original mountain and then cut the inside out block by block… The second crazy fact is that the original temple was designed so that sunlight would only shine directly through the temple onto Ramses’ statue on two days, his birthday and coronation.

We poked around the two temples for another half hour before heading back towards the parking lot. On the way I collected some sand for my growing collection.

Slept on the way back. Woke up about ten minutes from the boat. Dug into the lunch/breakfast box provided with the tour. Some rolls, fruit, and a juice box. Not much but enough.

Got back to the boat and found out that the rest of our group was on a tour of a small village down the Nile. They took a sail boat down there and walked around for awhile. I was jealous because apparently they got to play with crocodiles (although Evan says it wasn’t as cool as it sounds like, more like watching another guy harass them).

They arrived back at the cruise ship half an hour later and we met to decide on lunch. Evan pulled me aside and told me that Saeed had extended an invitation for us to stay with him for a day or two at his house nearby. We had to decide whether we wanted to take the train back with the group or split off and go into the unknown. We decided on the latter option.

This meant that we would not be getting lunch with the group, but instead would be collecting our bags and heading off. Our first order of business was to figure out transportation to Saeed’s house. He actually lives near Kom Ombo, the town we were in the night before. However, after talking with a few people we ascertained that one can get to Kom Ombo via microbus with little trouble. We decided this was the best course of action and would leave at around five to arrive near dinner time.

We had four hours to kill and decided to check out the city of Aswan. We got lunch at a small restaurant. I got Kofta and Evan got fish. It was a bit overpriced, but much better than the food we had been getting on the ship. We spent the next hour walking down the market section of Aswan. We looked through a few shops and talked with the owners. Nothing really caught our eye.

We were eventually accosted by a store owner who thought we were Russian’s. We told him we were and he then proceeded to talk to us in Russian…. Oops. We corrected the mistake and he then tried to sell us drugs… TIE (this is Egypt).

After breaking away from that awkward confrontation we found an internet café and checked our emails. Turns out I have meetings with my teachers everyday this week to make up the classes we’d miss. That could be problematic since I won’t be back until Wednesday at the earliest. Oh well…

Anyways, we left and continued to search for a houseguest present for Saeed. We didn’t find anything in the market area, so we walked down towards the boardwalk. There we found a sweet shop and bought a kilo of mixed sweets. We figured you couldn’t go wrong with sweets.

We walked to a nearby café and sat down to kill the remaining time. We had a few cups of tea and read for awhile. Aswan is allot less busy that Cairo and it was nice to sit and enjoy the peaceful ambiance.

At five we walked to the place we were shown to catch the microbus. The first microbus took us to the main bus depot in Aswan. From there we caught a microbus to Kom Ombo. In total we spent 5 pounds and an hour travelling. However, we made it and that’s all that matters. Potential problem number one… check.

We got off the microbus in Kom Ombo and gave Saeed a call. He told us he would be there in twenty minutes. So we sat and cooled our heels. We ended up talking with a man in Kom Ombo for the holiday. He was an officer in the army but had family there. He called Saeed and gave him better directions to where we were. 5 minutes later Saeed arrived.

He was there with his 4 year old son and a friend. The friend owned a pickup truck which we took to Saeed’s house. Saeed insisted that we take the front seat and nothing we could do would change his mind. Saeed’s friend, Evan and I were in the front and Saeed and his son sat in back.

We had figured Saeed lived in the city of Kom Ombo… however a twenty minute drive out of the city convinced us otherwise. It turns out he lives in one of the many small villages surrounding Kom Ombo.

We were taken to his father’s house where we were to stay the night. We were introduced to his entire family. It is hard to tell who his brothers were and who weren’t. Anyone even slightly related is referred to as a brother. We were introduced to his brother (really cousin) who was a Sheik and three of his brothers who lived at his father’s house. They all live and work there at his father’s bakery.

The house was more like a small complex housing the bakery, courtyards, living quarters, sitting area….etc. It was amazing. We were served a large dinner of lamb, rice, bread, salad, soup, tahina, and cucumbers. It was amazing. As soon as we finished one dish another was placed before us. There was no satiating their hospitality… the food just kept coming. I practically rolled away from the table.

Life in the village was simple and beautiful. We spent all night being introduced to new friends and family who came by the house. For awhile we sat out front watching foot (and donkey) traffic. It was very surreal. I met so many people I can’t even begin to keep the names straight. As I remember it Saeed’s brothers are Mostafa, Abdul Aziz, Khairi, Saeed, Asharf.

Besides our long conversations we were given a motorcycle ride, a tour of the bakery, and a donkey cart ride. Later in the night I showed Saeed and friends pictures from America so they could see what it was like. They were goggle eyed the entire time.

We talked until late into the night enjoying tea and other beverages. One was similar to apple cider… so good. We went to bed at around 1AM.

Day 96: November 28

Wake up call was at seven this morning. It turned out to be a good thing because I had forgotten to set my alarm. Rolled out of bed at 7:30 and walked upstairs to grab some breakfast. There was an omelet station today, and we all got multiple omelets. Breakfast is by far the best meal on the cruise.

By 8:30 we were all dressed, ready, and in the lobby for our tour. Today we will be visiting the Temple of Horus in Edfa. Our tour guide met us in the lobby and we were off. We walked off the ship and up the embankment. Once at the road our guide told us we were taking horse drawn carriages to the temple. This would be fine if it didn’t cost extra for something we didn’t want. Up until today the transportation had been provided with the tours (also every other group was taking busses).

We arrived 15 minutes later and got outside the temple walls. Most of the temples in Egypt are surrounded by walls to keep them separate from the towns. This is one of the few temples with the walls still intact. In fact, this temple is the second largest in all Egypt (after Karnack) and the best preserved.

Getting out we were amazed to see the gigantic monolith looming in the distance. After paying we made our way towards the temple. As we walked our tour guide explained the history and significance of the temple. Originally the Temple at Edfa was a significantly smaller structure, but was rebuilt by Ptolemy III. Thus it is one of the Greco/Egyptian Temples in Egypt (Ptolemy I being one of Alexander’s successors).

We spent the next hour and a half being shown around the temple. It was amazing to see an intact temple for once. The hieroglyphic were simple stunning. As somebody who considered doing archeology, I was on cloud 9.

The cruise ship was set to depart at 11. So at 10:30 we regrouped and took our carriages back to the boat. Back in town, Shiyu and I went to buy water for the next two days. Unfortunately all the shops catered to tourists. The cheapest I could find water for was 4 pounds. I ended up purchasing 9 and leaving a little disgruntled.

Dropped my bag in the room and went topside. We watched the boat depart and enjoyed the warm weather. Taught the group how to play 13 (the card game) and played that until lunch.

Lunch today included a host of pastas, potatoes, salad, and steak. Everything was decent/good today. Ruben, Mike, and I have decided that we need to eat as much possible at each meal to put the money we spent to work. I had two plates… I think Mike and Ruben had three.

After lunch I went down to my room and took a hot shower. It felt excellent. Afterwards I grabbed my laptop and a book for the top deck. I spent the next few hours reading a little and catching up in my journal. I spent most of the time filling in the holes. I now have all but two days completed...

We docked at Kom Ombo just after sunset. Kom Ombo is one of many small villages located along the Nile. However, this one has a riverside temple. We docked alongside the other Nile cruise ships and disembarked (In order to do this we had to walk through seven other ships).

As we stepped off the ramp we were greeted by our tour guide who whisked us away towards the temple. Unfortunately, the boat got in late and we only have an hour and a half to see the village. He took us to the temple and gave us the background as we walked. The Temple at Kom Ombo is unique in that it is the only temple dedicated to two gods, Sobek and Haroeris. Sobek is the local crocodile god who represents evil and Haroeris is Horus’ Father also known as Horus the Elder.

The temple is designed in a linear fashion, each half reflecting the other. There are two identical entrances and worship areas. The cool part about the temple was the area used to give offerings. This area was divided into two rooms, one for each god. However, in between these two rooms was a hollow wall where a priest could stand and whisper into the chambers…. Apparently the priests used to play practical jokes on those giving offerings…pretend they were the god and demand money. Egypt’s early scam artists.

After our tour we were given a half hour to look around and explore. Ben, Evan, and I looked around for awhile and then headed towards the surrounding village. We poked around looking at the shops, but eventually fled back to the ship to avoid the bloodthirsty peddlers.

Dinner time arrived a half hour later and we went downstairs to feast. There was a beef dish, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and pasta. Pretty good. The desert was awesome.

Anyways afterwards we adjourned to Ruben and My room. Mike loaded some episodes of The Office on my zip drive and we watched a few episodes while drinking the last of the beers. Watched three episodes, just relaxed. Mike/Ruben/Shiyu/and I have to be up at 3AM the next morning and decided to call it a night.

Packed up my bag and went to bed.

Day 95: November 27

We got a call from the front desk announcing breakfast at six. Seriously, who calls at six. Anyway, breakfast only runs until seven so we rolled out of bed at 6:30. I immediately fell back into bed… so exhausted. Ruben volunteered to run and grab some food and bring it back.

I slept for another hour and rolled out at 7:30. Ate some pastries that Ruben had grabbed for me and got ready for the day. Today we are supposed to see the Luxor Temple and Karnack. At eight we met in the lobby to go on our trips. A different tour guide met with us and led us to the bus.

A minibus took us to Karnack. Karnack is located just outside of Luxor. It’s a two kilometer square complex that housed multiple New Kingdom Temples. It started as a single temple and expanded over time. Since its creation almost every pharaoh has added a building or temple… expanding the complex to its current size. Over time the buildings have eroded to due to sand, wind, and flooding. Now all that’s left is ruins.

The tour guide took us around and told us some information about the temples and surrounding area. It is so amazing. It is crazy to think that all this was built more than a thousand years ago before modern machines. We were given some free time to walk around and check out the sites.

Mike, Ruben, and I walked around for awhile and found ourselves in a ‘restricted area’. We found that out when we were approached by one of the workers. However, we talked to him for awhile and he agreed to let us go check out one of the temples being renovated.

It was really cool to go where there weren’t any tourists. It was surreal to walk through and look at the sites without all the hustle and bustle. Afterwards we walked around and checked out the rest of Karnack. Simply amazing. My favorite part was definitely the Temple of Amun. Amun is the main god in the Egyptian Parthenon. Inside is a large hall called the Hypostyle Hall. It is a large pillared hall, easily as big as two football fields.

Eventually we walked back to the entrance and left. From there we went to the Luxor Temple. This was a cool temple, but it’s hard to be impressed after Karnack. Luxor was built by Seti I and Ramses the II. Similar, to Karnack it has developed over time with other pharaohs adding to it.

Two noteworthy facts. One: there used to be a 3 kilometer road running from Luxor to Karnack which was lined on both sides with sphinxes. The second is that the Luxor Temple had many of its hieroglyphics redone by Alexander the Great. When he redid t hem Alexander added himself as an Egyptian god. Cool, huh?

Afterwards we drove back to the boat. Once back we split off and headed to our rooms. Ruben and I took a short nap. At one we went up and grabbed lunch. They were doing pasta with a variety of sides. Nothing amazing... but edible. After that Mike, Ruben, and I watched the Hangover.

After the movie we went up to the deck and watched the shore drift by. It is so surreal to relax and watch the world around you. Played some cards with the group and enjoyed the afternoon. We were later approached by two Egyptians who wanted to play poker with Americans. Mike, Ruben and I decided to join. Because we weren’t playing for money there was no incentive to play conservative… Ruben and I were out in a half hour. However, this turned out to be in our best interest as dinner was served shortly thereafter.

Dinner was steak (really tough steak), potatoes, fish, lasagna, and some other sides. I was really hungry and stacked up a good size plate… unfortunately the food was subpar. After dinner we made our way down to Mike and Jeff’s room. Mike and Ruben have been talking about Good Will Hunting all weekend and decided they were going to show it to me.

We had some beers and watched the movie. It was a good movie, but I think it’s one of those movies that you need to be in the mood for. After the movie most people went off to bed. Mike and I decided to chill on the top deck for awhile. We talked about life for awhile. He is filling out grad school apps and kinda freaking out. Had a good conversation about the future.

I find it funny that my future is so up in the air and I still feel completely calm about it. I am apprehensive, but I’m sure things will become clearer as time goes on. He will take care of it.

Day 94: November 26

Woke up at 3AM when the train made a stop. I looked around me to see if anyone else was awake. Ruben and Rachel were awake so I turned to talk to them. What follows has been entitled the ‘Jeff Incident’.

Jeff was one of the two random people that picked up with our group. Some members of our group made some ‘special brownies’ for the trip. Ruben, Rachel, and I did not partake (each for our own reasons). They ate the brownies earlier on during the trip. Jeff had a few and was now, at 3AM, tripping balls.

He was super paranoid. He was telling us that the people on the train were trying to set him up. He said that there was some hash near his feet that somebody had planted so that he would get kicked off the train. He kept going for 15 minutes. Finally he decided that he was going to move seats (but all the others were taken) so that he wasn’t near the set up.

Despite our arguing he decided to leave and move up front. In his defense we did find something that looked like it could be a block of hash (the three of us have no clue..). Anyways we call him and find out he has decided to get off the train at the next stop. Which would leave his stranded in Upper Egypt. This of course would be a horrible idea. Foreigners aren’t typically welcome in Upper Egypt outside of a few select areas. There have been cases were foreigners have been kidnapped… stupid stupid idea.

Anyways Ruben and Rachel went after him and argued with him for a half hour. They came back and sent me in to try a different angle. I just tried to calm him down and get him to come back. Eventually he saw that there was no point in getting off early. He couldn’t get a ticket either way and might as well wait till we got to Luxor.

Feeling we had accomplished a small victory we returned to our seats and tried to sleep for an hour or two before Luxor. The next thing I remembered is being awoken by an Australian guy telling us our friend had gotten off the train. Great… just great. We spent the last hour on the train trying to reach Jeff and figure out what was going on.

Eventually we got him to buy a ticket and agree to meet us in Luxor.

We arrived at Luxor and the eight of us got off and found our guide waiting. He led us to a minibus which we piled into. From there we thought we were going to our cruise to drop off our bags and grab breakfast….. ya we were wrong. From the train station we were going straight to the Valley of the Kings. No rest for the weary I guess.

I was in and out of my nap on the way to the Valley of the Kings. We arrived, paid our fees, and went on in. We couldn’t bring camera’s in, and most of the valley is closed to tourists. However, we still got to see many of the sites where the Upper Kingdom Kings were buried. We got to enter three tombs and examine the hieroglyphics and paintings. It was amazing to see the intricacy in carvings etc. Just imagine being the one carving and making a mistake…. Ooops I ruined this entire wall.

From the Valley of the Kings we were taken to a local granite carving shop. The owner introduced us to the many rocks and materials used Upper Egyptian carvings. We went through the process of carving from the quarry to finished product. He then showed us into his show room. The show room definitely was filled with fakes. Kinda disappointing after he showed us the legit way.

From there went to the Temple of Hatshepsut. They did many of the funeral ceremonies and mummification rituals here. It is a well preserved and intricate temple. Even from far away its size and intricacy is apparent and awe inspiring. To get to the temple one must climb two long flights of stairs that make it appear gigantic. Well worth seeing.

Filled with people trying to hawk their goods, but if you looked past them you could appreciate the history and majesty for what it was.

Afterwards we to the boat to drop our stuff. We arrived a bit before 1 PM. The ship wouldn’t let us board until one, so we waited for a fifteen minutes and then walked on. We filled out our paperwork and were assigned our cabins. Ruben and I decided we were going to room together. We moved in our bags and claimed beds.

Showers were the next item on our agenda. I went first and Ruben followed. It is surprising how good a new pair of clothes can feel despite the lack of sleep.. felt like a new man. At one we were called for lunch... the sharks began to swarm.

Ruben and I went up and grabbed two plates of lunch buffet and a plate of dessert. Lunch was chicken shish tawook and lasagna and salad… so good. After lunch we broke into small groups and relaxed.

Ruben, Jessie, and I walked to the local store and picked up water and coke for the group (food was included but drinks weren’t). We then headed back and decided to play some cards. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing various card games while drinking coke with a splash of rum.

Dinner was served at 7:30. Unfortunately it wasn’t turkey, stuffing, and gravy.. Oh well. There was roast beef, fish, potatoes, salad… a large assortment of food. None of it was particularly stellar, but they made up for quality with quantity.

After dinner we decided to head into the city of Luxor and check out the town. We caught a cab who drove from our boat to downtown. From downtown we found a nice café, drank tea, and played backgammon. One of the girls in our group was able to get an internet connection on her IPod so we all took turns calling home using skype on her iPod.

After awhile we all split off into small groups to explore the surrounding area. Ruben and I checked out the souk and chatted with some Egyptians. At 11:30 we all met up again near the café to catch a cab back.

Once back to the boat we all crashed from exhaustion.