Egypt: the Nile cruise.

If ever there's a trip worth doing it's a cruise along the Nile. This week has been a once in a lifetime experience that I'll never forget.
Egypt is a crazy country. It's the country where you don't ask “Why?” because there are apparently no reasons for what goes on.
Most of the population lives along the narrow strips of irrigated land either side of the river. I think the stats are something along the lines of 95% of the population lives on 3% of the land that borders the river. I think it's fair to say that without the Nile there would be no Egypt.

The Cruise boat:
I was originally booked on a boat called the Nile Saray. After negotiating my way through Luxor airport I got on the shuttle coach to where the boats are docked. The road is one that most tourists travel on and is, therefore, in very good condition: well lit and bordered by many-coloured plants (bougainvillea I think). The first thing I noticed was that nobody drives with their lights on (it was dark). Occasionally they'll flash their lights to make sure you know they're there but they never leave them on. Doesn't matter if it's a big coach, a car, a motorcycle (often with 3 or 4 people astride). No-one could explain why this is the case. Don't ask “Why?”.
At the place where all the boats were moored I was directed to the Nile Saray and crossed the gangplank – literally a plank: three feet wide carpeted plank with thin rope to hang on to and a couple of bits of 4 by 2 jamming the plank in position. You get used to them after a while. Anyway, onto the boat to be told I'm supposed to be on the boat next door: Semiramis 1. Back up the gangplank, down another one. This time they said I could stay. Phew!
I was booked into room 103 where I soon discovered that the window didn't open, as I was at water level (steerage!), the shower had no hot water, the fridge didn't work and the power outlets wouldn't hold plugs in place. Great start! Fortunately I was able to upgrade to room 308, two floors up, the next day. Everything worked and the window opened. Cost me an extra few dollars but it was worth it.
The Nile Saray was decorated very garishly, in a cartoonish Egyptian style. The Semiramis is decked out like a 1930s movie set. Poirot would feel right at home!
There were two groups of people on the boat: the English and the Germans. Haha, don't mention the War! In the English group was one Aussie (me), three Irish, two Welsh and three South Africans, plus the English. Most of the group were about my age, retirees for the most part. We had a lot of fun. I've made a couple of new contacts that I'll try to follow up when I get back to Liverpool.
I'd booked fully inclusive: three meals a day and drinks on demand. No other way to travel!

The cruise itself starts in Luxor, where it stays for two nights. Then on, through the Enza lock to Edfu. Then on through Kom Ombi to Aswan for two nights. Then back to Edfu overnight and one more night in Luxor.
Once on board I was able to book daily excursions. Of course I booked them all. Karnak and Luxor temples; Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Kings and Temple of Hatshepsut; Edfu temple, Kom Ombi temple, Nubian village, Abu Simbel, Karnak light and sound show, Luxor city tour in horse and buggy. And a hot air balloon ride on the last morning. Still can't believe I did that last one! It was a pretty packed itinerary and we were all exhausted at the end of it all. But it was worth it. In between, of course, was time to sit on the sun deck and watch the Nile float by.

The temples are magnificent. All of them. Huge, of course. Edfu and Abu Simbel are the two I saw that are still mostly intact; the rest are missing rooves, wall, etc. But all are incredible to see first hand. Photos just don't do them justice. Abu Simbel (two temples dedicated to Ramses II and his wife Nefertari) was moved when Lake Nasser was created, otherwise it would have been flooded. It took 4 years and a lot of impressive engineering to move. At first they thought to leave it there but soon realised that salt water and sandstone don't mix. One bright spark had the idea of taking tourists to see it via submarine. Wiser heads prevailed. Two concrete domes were built and the temples rebuilt under them. Then the mountains were constructed over the domes. You'd never know they're not in their original place.
The statues of Ramses II are magnificent. 21 metres tall. There are four of them – two either side of the entrance. All are of Ramses sitting on his throne. At his feet are smaller statues of 14 of his favourite children. Ramses II is widely recognised as Egypt's greatest Pharaoh. He reigned for several decades, living till the age of 97. I forget how many wives he had but he had close to 200 children! The inner rooms and chambers are all dedicated to his exploits. There's a small room at the back of the temple with four statues seated on thrones. They are Ramses II, the god Amun (Ra), one other god and, on the left, the god of darkness. Two days a year the sunrise lights the faces of three of the statues; only the god of darkness is not lit up. Originally this happened on Feb 21st and October 21st. Since the temples were moved this now happens on the 22nd of the those months.
The second temple is dedicated to Nefertari, Ramses' favourite wife. The facade statues are not as tall but are still hugely impressive.
Kom Ombi was buried under tons of sand until about 150 years ago. Kom Ombi means City of Gold so the locals were very keen to help with the excavations: no gold though. Must have been rather disappointing. It's mind boggling to think of how much sand it would take to completely bury such a structure. Even more mind boggling to think of the work involved to uncover it again.
There's also a new excavation in Luxor itself: a road has been discovered that connects Karnak and Luxor temples. The road is lined both sides with sphinx: Sphinx Avenue. Shops, homes, two churches and a mosque had to be moved to recover the avenue. Apparently the mosque management refused to move until the mayor of Luxor told them “Move now or I knock it down. Now.” They moved. Cool dude that mayor. This has only happened over the last few months.
The Valley of the Kings was fascinating too. No photos allowed though, not even outside. All cameras had to be left on the bus which made me a bit nervous. We saw three tombs, Ramses 7th, 4th and 3rd. I can see why they don't allow photography as there are still areas of original colour inside the tombs. Flash would fade them too quickly. (Though they should make exception for cameras like mine which don't need flash to take a reasonable picture!) The work that's gone into these tombs is incredible. The walls, and ceilings, are carved and painted from start to finish, telling the story of the Pharaoh's life. Unbelievable.
Edfu had the most complete facade of all the temples; huge carvings into the granite. It's also the only temple we saw with an intact roof. Probably because it was buried under sand for centuries. The ceilings were very smoke blackened though – we were told that's from countless fires lit inside by early Christian (Coptic) groups who took over the temples in days gone by.
Hatshepsut's temple has the most impressive setting: set against the mountainside like it was carved out of it. Over the back of it is the Valley of the Kings. The facade is the most impressive part here; inside is not much to see compared with other temples.

I've seen zillions of photos of these places in History books over the years. Nothing compares to actually seeing them. A photo doesn't convey the scale, the work, the sheer awesomeness of it all.

Two excursions that were completely different were to a Nubian village near Aswan and a buggy ride through Luxor.
To get to the Nubian village we had to walk along the mooring area to get on a much much smaller motor boat to take us across the river. Hahaha, the gangplank here was maybe 9 inches wide and lodged onto the riverside rocks. Thank goodness for the man with the helping hand! So we clambered into the boat and away we went. The ride across the river went the long way round through the First Cataract area. At one stage a couple of young boys, paddling on what looked like old doors, attached themselves alongside and sang songs to us. Once they'd collected a few coins they paddled off.
The village was quite large but we only really saw the main market street, the school and one private home, belonging to relatives of our guide. The Nubian homes are no wealthier looking than the average Egyptian home but they are much cleaner and brightly painted, inside and out. The home we visited had cool Egyptian scenes painted on the whitewashed walls, sand floors, large open living areas on two levels, crocodile heads (over the door and on the walls), live baby crocodiles in a cage. Apparently they are a symbol of luck so the men go down to Lake Nasser and catch them. They're kept till they grow too big, then released back into the Lake. Most of them anyway. The family were very welcoming and offered us home made bread, dips and a very sweet cheese. It's considered rude not to partake.
The buggy ride through parts of Luxor in the evening was an eye-opener. The market streets are just wide enough for the buggies and were very crowded with stalls, shops and shoppers (mostly women). The men do the selling. Other men sit around in coffee shops smoking huge hookahs. We also went through a few of the back streets and that was pretty awful. There's not much lighting which makes it a bit scary. The back streets are full of tiny hovels, most roofless and often without electricity. People sit around in the doorways or out on the street around fires made from anything they can scrounge. There's usually a donkey outside as well and, sometimes a scrawny cow or two. Stray dogs and, especially, cats are everywhere. Children run alongside the buggies begging for money. The buggy drivers chase them away but that doesn't stop them. Sad.

From there we were taken to Karnak temple again for the sound and light show – the temple is lit up and, as we moved through the temple, a recorded history of the temple is broadcast from hidden loudspeakers. It was okay but not the most exciting excursion of the week.

The last morning of the cruise was my most adventurous by far. Up at 4am, onto a shuttle bus to a small boat to take us across the river, then another bus to the hot air balloon field. I still can't believe I signed up for a hot air balloon ride. To say I was nervous is a complete understatement! Climbing into the basket was an adventure in itself! Once in, there not much room to move either. So off we went, up into the sky. I think we reached 2,000 feet high. It really is very peaceful up there. The views across Luxor and the Valley of the Kings were just amazing. Because of the wind direction we didn't go across the Nile itself, which is a pity. But we floated above the Colossi of Memnon, Hatshepsut's temple (which gave us a glimpse into the Valley of the Kings), various other temples and parts of Luxor. We watched the sun come up over the Nile, although extreme haze muted that somewhat. From the air you can clearly see the line where cultivation ends and the desert begins. After an hour (which went by very quickly) we landed in a ploughed field. I don't think the farmer was too pleased. After clambering out of the basket we got back on a bus, crossed the bridge and reboarded the boat in time for breakfast. Incredible trip!

Then it was time to pack and board the coach for the 4 hour trip to Hurghada. More on that later.
The cruise was such an excellent adventure. I loved every minute of it. If you ever get the chance.... do it!

Later....

Egypt

Flew out of Manchester at 9.45am where the temperature was minus several. Arrived Luxor 5.10pm (local time; 3.10pm England time) and I was completely overdressed.
The flight was uneventful, except for my panic attack at check in when I realised I'd left my lucky charms in Liverpool. Flew over the Alps - awesome. Mostly what I saw was clouds. :/



Luxor airport is organised chaos. The plane stopped in the middle of nowhere and we all had to catch a bus to the terminal. 5 planes had landed in quick succession and only one (ONE) passport control booth was open. Also, only one baggage carousel. Did someone mention "queue!" I had to get a visa (15 GBP) on arrival. The tour guide guy sent us to a queue. The guy at the desk said we had to go to another queue because our names weren't on his list. I looked at the list.... "there's my name" and I pointed to it. He didn't look, just said "Give me 15 pounds" and stamped my passport. Quite bizarre.
Another bus took us to the boats - there are several. I was taken to the one on my paperwork but it was the wrong one. Next door! It's always next door in Egypt! (that's a variation on a Goons joke btw).
The boat is such a throwback. I'll have to take some pics tomorrow. Speaking of pics....saw the most amazing sunset as we came in to land. Stay tuned for some sunset shots!
The staff on the boat and at the airport are all male. I haven't seen a single woman yet. Saw some donkey drawn carts on the road though. And flat-roofed mud brick houses. 5000 year old traditions right next to an international airport. Boggles the mind.

So... I'm here, in Egypt. Who'd have thunk! It's going to be amazing.

Later.....

PS. Meanwhile, hahahaha, King Tut is in Manchester. Go figure :)

Sigh

At a currency exchange booth, Manchester airport:
Me: I'm going to Egypt tomorrow. Is it better to change money here or when I get there.
Man in booth: I've never been to Egypt.
Me: (following a short, stunned moment) Thank you for your help.
Man in booth: You're welcome.

The Lake District

The Lake District, Cumbria, in England's north west, is one of the country's most popular holiday areas. I can see why. Mountains and lakes always make for spectacular scenery. It's a very popular spot with walkers, hikers and climbers - not that I'm any of those! There were plenty of them about though, even in near freezing temperatures. Hardy souls.
I stayed one night in Ambleside, at the north end of Lake Windemere and one night in Kendal, the south end. Windemere is England's largest lake. It's quite narrow (1.5 miles) but very long (11 miles) and is very scenic.




Ambleside is a pretty little town. Quite hilly though. It's less touristy than the bigger towns - Windemere, etc. Every second shop sells outdoor gear for the serious hiker. I bought a hat :) I stayed in the Queen's Hotel at the top of the hill. Haha, every time I went up to my room I had to pass a portrait of Betty Windsor. Kind of an old fashioned place :) Comfy though and reasonably priced for bed and breakfast. Wifi too.
From Ambleside I drove up to Keswick, past Thirlmere - another of the lakes. I took the back road rather than the main A road so was able to stop a few times to take pics without having to worry about getting in the way of traffic.



Keswick is also a pretty town. The central section is for pedestrians only - very pleasant.
From there I headed back to Windemere. I had thought about taking the lake cruise to get some pics but the thought of standing about in the freezing cold for a couple of hours changed my mind.
I decided to just drive back to Liverpool but only got as far as Kendal - just a few miles down the road. I'd had enough of driving by then.
Woke up the next morning to discover it had snowed overnight.



It wasn't a lot of snow by local standards but it looked very pretty. I was a bit nervous about driving in it though. You have to drive for hours up into the alpine areas to see snow in Australia and I haven't done that for many, many years. So it was all a bit new and fantasy land like to me.
It took a while to get the car cleared so I could see where I was going - very thankful it has a good heater!
The drive back was uneventful. Just a few miles down the road is the motorway and there'd been no snow there at all.
English roads are in excellent condition given the incredible volume of traffic they carry and the dreadful weather. Not just the motorways either, the A and B roads are just as good. (Unlike the US where the roads are terrible.)

Anyway... apart from the cold it was a pleasant couple of days. I think I'd like the revisit the area when it's warmer - cruise the lake, take more pics, etc., because it really is a pretty area.



Next trip is to Egypt. It'll be good to get warm!
Later....

Not much to report

I haven't been doing much since the Cotswolds trip. The weather up here in the north west is miserable: cold and wet. Gale force winds last week uprooted the big tree in the back yard - it's currently awaiting insurance assessment.



I went into town the other day, the one when it didn't rain, and checked out the John Lennon peace monument in Chevasse Park.



I really like the monument itself - vibrant colours and a distinctly musical theme in the main section with peace doves above. There's a strange white tent thing to one side with Give Peace A Chance printed on it and another billboard type thing with words from Julian Lennon.
What I didn't like was the position of the monument. It's very central to Liverpool's main shopping precinct - that's okay as it means there are plenty of people around to see the monument. But.... it's right next to an amusement park/fairground. It's kind of difficult to imagine peace and harmony (the message of the piece) when there are people on rides screaming their lungs out right next to you.
It needs to be in a proper park with trees and grass and open space and, well, peace.

I'm currently investigating my next trip..... I think I'll go to Egypt. Fed up with the miserable weather here.

Later.....

Tewkesbury and Gloucester

My final day in the Cotswolds consisted of a trip through Tewkesbury and Gloucester. The former has an abbey which greeted my arrival with all bells ringing. There are 13 bells - proper ones, not pre-recorded like so many places these days - and they sounded very impressive. Inside was just as musical as the organist was practising on the big pipe organ. The ladies in the gift shop weren't impressed but I thought it was fine. A very majestic sound.



I had a pleasant stroll around the town - lots of Tudor style buildings - and then headed over to Gloucester. This is a much bigger place and, naturally, more populated. I wanted to have a look at Gloucester Cathedral as it was used as a film location for the Harry Potter films - the cloisters in particular.



Unfortunately there was an art show of sorts inside so it was pretty damn crowded. There were sculptures all over the place, most of which didn't impress me - too much pain and suffering for me. Along one wall of the cloisters were a series of outstretched hands, sticking out from the wall, all holding something: a packet of chips, a sandwich, etc.
The cathedral itself is not as big as something like Canterbury but it does have some very nice stained glass.
I wandered onto the main street of town and decided to have lunch at The Pig Inn In The City (I think that's its name). Nice enough pub but 45 minutes is a bit long to wait for lunch, especially the roast of the day.
Anyway, after lunch I strolled around the dock area.



It's much more aesthetically pleasing than Salford Quays in Manchester but I think Liverpool's Albert Dock is still the best I've seen.

On Sunday I'd planned to take the long way home to Liverpool but ended up on the motorway anyway. The day is over by 4.30 - 5pm now and I don't like driving in the dark. I got back just in time to see Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0.

Got a birthday dinner to go to tomorrow night but not much else is happening this week. I got a large print of one of my photos, framed, to give as a present.



Looks good, even if I do say so myself :)

Later.....

The Cotswolds and beyond.....

I've seen a lot over the last few days and I've only scratched the surface of what this area has to offer.
Tuesday: Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle.
Wednesday: Chipping Campden and other local spots
Thursday: Avebury and Stonehenge
Friday: Tolkien and Blenheim Palace.

Stratford, of course, is all things Shakespeare. I came across Anne Hathaway's cottage first. 7 pounds 50 to get in plus a pound for parking. The cottage is quite big - thatched roof, interior beams, fully furnished, etc. Photography not allowed inside. The beds look particularly uncomfortable!



The town itself is very pretty. There's the Avon River of course, plus a canal. The narrow boats moored there all seemed to be cafes and ice cream vendors. There's a signpost on the canal: 199 miles, 154 locks and 99 hours to Liverpool by canal. :)



Shakespeare's birthplace is right on the main street. I didn't go in for the tour but wandered randomly round the town instead.



There's an interesting, very old, Tudor style building next to a church not far from the town centre. Like Canterbury, it turned out to be a school so I couldn't get in. Pub names mostly refer to Shakespeare or his plays in one way or another. The one place I forgot all about was the Globe Theatre. Unforgivable, I know. Maybe I'll get back there some other time.

From Stratford I headed into Warwick and checked out the castle there. 18 pounds to get in plus 5 pounds to park! Expensive day out. It's a bit Disney inside but interesting nonetheless. The falconer was doing his thing when I got there so I stopped to have a look. I'd missed the first bird, it was just being put away, but I was just in time for the Sacred Falcon. Apparently he's a youngster, still in training. Probably explains why, when his hood was finally removed, he flew away and didn't come back. I saw him later over the other side of the castle, so he hadn't gone far.
The Great Hall is amazing. Not huge but big enough and it's full of medieval weapons and armour. There are two full sized, fully armoured knights on horseback in the centre area of the hall. Swords, spears, pikes and various pieces of armour grace the walls. It would have been the perfect place to take Yr 8 history classes for an excursion!
I've got some reasonable photos but haven't uploaded them yet for some reason.

The next day I was treated to a 2 hour tour of the local area by Barry, the owner of the B&B where I'm staying. It's part of the package if you stay 3 or more nights. Me being me I didn't really want to go, thinking it'd be a waste of time. But now I'm glad I went. He showed me a lot of places I probably would have missed on my own. The Cotswolds is a beautiful region. The trees, well the leaves, are all yellow, gold, red, rusty brown. Just gorgeous. There were a lot of cars parked along one stretch of road and Barry got all excited. "Hunt followers", he cried. So we stopped and waited. Sure enough, a whole lot of people on horses accompanied by hounds appeared. I thought fox hunting was outlawed here now but it still goes on. Barry said I was privileged to see it but I'm not so sure. Thankfully, the hounds didn't flush a fox - that would have been distressing I think.



One of the places we went through was Chipping Campden, the nearest town. I went back for a closer look in the afternoon. Apparently Johnny Depp stayed there a few years ago while filming something or other. Very nice place.
Being in The Cotswolds is like being in The Shire.



Yesterday I went further afield - to Avebury and Stonehenge. Avebury is about an hour and a half's drive from here. It's a small village but is surrounded by one of the biggest stone circles in Europe and England's largest. The circle has a diameter of about 1000 feet. It is, in turn, surrounded by a huge ditch and earth rampart. The only way to photograph the whole thing would be from the air. The circle is spread over a number of fields, many of which have sheep grazing in them as well. It pays to watch where you walk!
Stonehenge is about 30 kms further south so I thought I might as well wander on down, seeing as I was so close. Absolutely awesome. I was impressed by the scale of Avebury but its size means, for me, it lacks the impact of Stonehenge. It truly is a magical place. You have to be quick though as they close it up at 4pm at this time of year. 6 pounds 90 to get inside the huge chicken wire fence that stops people just wandering in from the road. It's worth it though. It's easy to see why it's such a magnet for alternative culture types.



There's a rope barrier around the henge to stop people wandering through the stones - a result of too much damage done in the past. The good thing about that is that it's possible to get a decent, people-free photograph. :) The sun was going down as I was there. I would have loved to have stayed longer but they were ushering people away by then.



The drive back to Mickleton - two hours in the dark and drizzling rain - was not so good.

Today I thought I'd go to Oxford, just over an hour from here. First off I went to Wolvercote cemetery to pay my respects to my favourite author: JRR Tolkien. I found the town of Wolvercote (sort of north Oxford) and stopped at the pub for directions to the cemetery. A bloke there said "Oh, that's at the other end of town, five mile drive." So I got directions and off I went. Hahahaha, 'five mile drive' is not an indication of distance but it is the name of the road the cemetery's on. Three minutes away.



He's buried there with his wife, Edith. The headstone refers to them as Luthien and Beren. Very touching.

I decided to bypass Oxford as traffic is horrendous there. I went to Blenheim Palace instead. It's the home of the Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Huge place with even huger grounds and gardens. Photographs are not allowed inside but I snuck some anyway. Photos of the grounds are limited as it was raining constantly. Bleah! I wandered around for a while though - determined to get my money's worth. Another 18 pound entry fee. However, I was able to trade my ticket in for an annual pass so I can go back at any time for free - weather permitting.

Today is November 5th: Bonfire night. Guy Fawkes night. I went to Chipping Campden to see the fireworks but it was still raining, and getting heavier. I was fed up with being wet, and especially fed up with my camera getting wet, so decided that I'd give it a miss. There will be more displays tomorrow in the area so, weather permitting, I might get some fireworks pics.

I have one more day here. As I type, the plan is to go to Gloucester. That might change though.

Later.....