Travel Bugs

The next day we met up with another Aussie traveller named Nigel, also from Perth. It’s a small world. We had a tour with him and a guide that Ibrahim had arranged for us as part of the tour package we paid him for. We were picked up from our guesthouse by a driver and picked up our guide before headed to the Valley of the Kings.

The Valley of the Kings is where over 60 tombs are located and where the kings (pharaohs) of centuries past were buried. There might be more undiscovered tombs as well, though our guide said they have found them all. We bought the entry ticket which includes getting to see three tombs of our choice (which our guide picked for us) and paid for one extra tomb. We saw the tombs of the Sons of Ramses II, Ramses III, Merenptah, and paid extra to see the tomb of Ramses V & VI (same tomb).

I enjoyed the decorations that covered every inch of the walls and ceilings of the tombs. I also liked learning that the depth and length of tomb was determined by how long the king ruled. This is why the tomb of Tutankhamen is so short, since he ruled from age 9-18 or 19, dying at a young age. Tombs were begun at the start of a king’s rule, and finished about 70 days after their death, to account for all of the funerary procedures such as mummification.

I was struck by how much these ancient Egyptians thought about death during their lifetime. The tombs as I alluded before are incredibly detailed and must have taken a lot of time and effort to dig. It makes me wonder how many people were involved.

I also liked learning that there are different tiers of tombs…obviously we were looking at those of kings. There were others for nobles, and also for the artisans. This struck a chord with me, since I always appreciate when artists are revered and respected. It makes sense that ancient Egyptians valued artists, since they covered all their temples, tombs and homes with the décor chiselled, sculpted and painted by artisans and artists.

We also visited the Temple of Hatshepsut, a fascinating character who I would like to watch a documentary on. She was the second ever female Pharoah; convincing people she had a divine right to take the place as King.

We broke for lunch before moving on the Medinet Habu Temple, built by Ramses III. I was getting a bit templed-and-tombed out so my knowledge of this place is minimal at best, but I did enjoy the large, intricate columns of this place.

Let me summarise the next three days in a more succinct manner: we visited the Eastbank where we went to the Karnak temple and the Luxor temple with a guide named Basry, who was excellent and so much more knowledgeable and fluent in English than our guide the day before.

The day after we made our way to Aswan, 240kms further south and taking about four hours with a stop at Edfu Temple along the way.  Once arrived at our hostel, we decided to find lunch at a slightly nicer spot called Obelisk, being a bit sick of falafel. It was a nice quiet spot to eat Western cuisine and have a break from the noise of Egypt. We had a second try at a felucca ride and this time there was wind. Our young captains leisurely sailed us around, and with Google Translate I discovered they were 18 and 12, but not much else…I tried to find out information about the area, but they didn’t seem to know much that I couldn’t just look up myself. It was nice to be on the water, though, since I do love boats!

Our final day in Egypt was to do a very long day of driving from Aswan to the Abu Simbel Temples. These were interesting but I am not sure it is worth the long travel day to see them—I did get some great photos there, but after getting up at 330am, getting picked up around 4am, and driving four hours with only one pit stop which was buzzing with others doing the exact same thing, it left me feeling a bit like cattle being shuffled along. We had two hours to look around before making the four-hour trip back to Aswan…with NO bathroom breaks until I PLEADED for the driver to stop somewhere since I was going to pee my pants. The tours in Egypt could be so much better if the people running them would stop to think about it.

My final words about Egypt: it was an uncomfortable country. It has some amazing sites that are a must-see, but it is not an easy place to visit. There were very few interactions with women—almost none, in fact. The women must be at home, taking care of children and cooking. All of our guides and all the service people we encountered were men. The call to prayer got a bit tiresome, especially since two of our three accommodations were right next to mosques. I would recommend checking the proximity of your hotel or guesthouse to mosques when you plan your visit. Actually, I would recommend going with a tour where all guides and entrance fees are sorted out for you, as well as your itinerary and meals. Stay at a nice hotel or two. Since we’re on a budget, our time was not as comfortable as a 41-year-old would like, to be honest. Callum is also glad he never has to return again, this being his second time there.

Egypt was chaotic and dirty and challenging, but I am so glad we went.