An Egyptian Excursion - Day 9

Today, we were up by 7am. Had a pretty heavy breakfast and the nervous waiter nearly spilled his entire tray of coffee on Mum. He did apologize profusely though. The driver and guide were already waiting for us. In Aswan, the drivers don’t stop all the time and give pedestrians priority when they’re crossing, quite unlike Cairo. Here you have to be a bit more careful when you’re crossing the road.

Our first stop was the old dam in Aswan. Built by the British around 1902, later seized in the revolution of 1952 and all the power dam produced was henceforth used for Aswan alone. Then we drove to the Aswan High Dam. This one was newer and supposedly built with money seized from the Suez Canal during the war. This was the dam that submerged the land of Nubia (hence the migration of the Nubian population to Sudan, and regions like the Nubian village in Egypt which we saw earlier) and several temples of Ancient Egypt. This massive dam powers pretty much the whole of Egypt. Neither of the dams have any locks (not the kind you put on your door), so boats can’t pass through either one.

We headed to the boat dock for a ride to Philae Island. This was one of the numerous Islands that the dam had submerged. However, a coordinated effort was organized to disassemble the underwater temple and reassemble it on a nearby island that still remained above water. An amazing feat by any measure, considering how deep the water is. The Philae Temple, built in Ptolemaic times (time to dust off that old history book) is dedicated to the Goddess Isis – wife and sister of Osiris (yeah, the Egyptian Gods and Pharaohs were pretty messed up that way). The courtyards, pylons, statues and pillars were all covered with ornate designs and carefully preserved with not a hint of any mess left behind by tourists – which is, sadly, hardly the case in monuments back in India. We took our time walking through the temple and caught a boat back to the docks where the map seller followed us around saying “India India, Sholay very good, Shahrukh, Amitabh, Salaam Namaste, Kareena Kapoor, Salman Khan, Rajesh Khanna, Amir Khan” and went on and on even when it was apparent we weren’t interested/didn’t need a map (all the regions were stored offline on my N79). He could probably named more Bollywood actors and actresses than I ever could. Then there was the souvenir seller who tried to sell us something for 12, then 11, then 10 egyptian pounds, then for the heck of it, dad said 9, then he said 8, 7…and counted down to 1 laughing all the way while waving us goodbye.

Driving back from the docks, our first stop was the EgyptAir office (to check on the status of our flight back to Cairo) and then the quarry of the unfinished obelisk. Soon we were back at the resort. For these 3 hours of sightseeing inside Aswan, the cost was around Rs. 4400 (exchange rates around May 2010), by no means cheap. The previous 2 days’ trips came to about Rs. 20,000 each (no, not a joke). So be prepared to shell out a lot when touring Egypt, especially in the tourist towns of Luxor, Aswan and Edfu. If you have plenty of time, you can even take one of the cruise ships that ply the Nile and stop at the major attractions.

This was our last day in Aswan, so we took our riverside walk yet again, and stopped at the same Aswan Moon Restaurant from yesterday for lunch. The friendly old waiter was there and we had fresh mango juice and strawberry juice to go with our meal – no water, no essence, just pure and awesome juice. Once again, the food was simply marvelous. There was a bit of packing to be done back at the resort and we did that while I watched some cheesy Punisher flick from the 80s. I checked my mail after what seemed an eternity and found an IEEE Project idea of mine had been shortlisted for funding. Looking out my room’s window, I found a mother cat walking about the Nile’s banks followed by her 6 kittens and threw some cheese, butter and any other edible stuff I had in my room. The kittens were happy enough with this. Had to shave today, what with the face fungus growing rather unruly.

Around 8.15pm we took a walk down to McDonalds, had a big combo and a KitKat McFlurry (McFlurry Ice Cream blended with bits of KitKat chocolate). There are always so many more women out at restaurants here than men. Plenty of kids too in their early teens. Everyone seems to eat so much, yet they get to maintain perfect skin and a pimple-less face. Today however McDonalds was a bit too crowded – I suppose it was some kind of holiday. Mum had an ice-cream from a nearby shop on the way back. It was apparent that he’d overpriced it at the last minute when he saw we were foreigners.

And so began our last walk back to the resort along the famous Nile. Finished packing and ended the day with End Game on television (starring Cuba Gooding Jr.).

An Egyptian Excursion - Day 8

Got up at 4.30 am. The minivan and the guide were ready and it was already light outside by 5.30am. There was the usual name-taking by the police on the way out of town. The road out had plenty of greenery on either side – one side was decidedly rocky and on the other the Nile flowed. Passed Kom Ombo and Edfu (all these places I’ve only heard of till then in Egyptian legends I’ve read as a child). Stopped at Edfu briefly for a cigarette – no, not us silly, just the driver and everyone else around. Plenty of people smoke here. The route to Luxor abounds with military and police checkpoints. We made it to the ancient Pharonic town of Luxor by 9.10am, despite the traffic being heavier than the road to Abu Simbel. Then again, Abu Simbel lies near the ancient region of Nubia (and towards the border with Sudan), hence being a tourist spot in a desolate location away from other cities – so the lack of traffic was understandable.

The first stop was at the Colossi of Memnon (meaning Ruler of Dawn) – two large statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Both statues were affected by a large earthquake around 25-30BC. These colossi stood guard to the once-massive Mortuary temple of Amenhotep III – of which little remains today. After a brief jaunt through the Ramesseum, we headed to the Valley of the Kings – large complex of burial chambers (obviously of the Pharaohs) cut into the mountains and spread over a wide area. Several of them were pretty deep and well preserved with even the paintings retaining their color. The tomb of Thutmose III was pretty high up – a steep climb followed by a steep descent, and hence my parents opted out while I took a shot at it. Few people come here, thanks to the daunting climb and subsequent drop, but it was well worth the effort. We visited a few more tombs, with paintings and wooden sarcophagi surrounding the inner metal/stone sarcophagus containing the mummies. Photography inside isn’t allowed.

Our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut – erstwhile Queen of Egypt – which had 3 distinct ‘steps’ in its construction. The courts were adorned with images, statues and reliefs of Hathor and Anubis and scenes of Somalia (not quite the war-torn, impoverished country it is today). It was obvious Hatshepsut fancied herself a God and apparently, her son-in-law and stepson got fed up with her behavior, and after her death several of her cartouches and paintings had the faces chiseled off. No doubt she must have been like a certain chief minister in India whose name begins with M, has a Y in the middle and ends with an I – the one that keeps building monuments in her name ;) .

If you ever visit Egypt, be sure to take along plenty of sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses and a cap or hat. Else you’ll be hit with a terrible headache – like the Pharaohs would have had when they had holes drilled in their skills through which their brains were extracted before embalming. Of course they were already dead at that point.

Loading up with quite a number of souvenirs (the sellers had a field day) we left the complex and drove to the Karnak temple complex (once the largest in the world) on the opposite bank. Here we found courts with HUGE (and I mean bloody freaking HUGE) columns supporting massive slabs of stone high up in the air. The temple had many sections expanded by different Pharaohs. The entrance itself has small sphinxes on either side. In ancient times, the temple was connected by canals (which have long since closed and disappeared) to the Nile River. The sacred/royal boat was kept in the temple and each flood season it would be able to make its way onto the river when these canals filled up. After a long walk through all the sections, we went over to the Luxor temple, similar to Karnak but smaller. We were pretty tired after all the time we’d spent in the heat and sun and left Luxor a while later.

The rule of the land here is that foreigners HAVE to be back inside Aswan (not outside the cities or on highway roads) before sunset and the police are pretty strict about enforcing this. On the drive back, we found from the guide that he had to take formal exams and such and a course of a few years before he could become one. While he was good with English (which was what we preferred), his wife was a Spanish guide. They must make a pretty penny with the tourist industry in Egypt booming even off season and the prices for tours what they are.

Back at the resort, we freshened up and took a walk by the riverside. We bought more bottled water from the resident Amitabh Bachchan fan (from the other day, remember?). Unlike London or Bangkok, there was no commission or tax here to change our dollars to Egyptian Pounds. We stepped into a nice restaurant by the river (literally ON the river actually) and had fresh Mango and Banana Juice. I must confess it was among the best fresh juices I’ve ever tried anywhere in the world. The resident kitty (very pregnant) was there (plenty of cats around Aswan) and we took a few pictures of her. Her man came along soon enough and sat by her. He chose to meow politely at us while she ate whatever we gave the both of them. Some damned foreigner (probably Spanish :P ) didn’t like kitty and co being around their table (where she headed next) and so the owner carefully picked them up and led them into the kitchen, all the while petting them gently. Kitty was back soon enough though :D . What I’ve noticed here is that, even the locals who are supposedly highly conservative go out and enjoy themselves much more than folks back home. The food was excellent and we headed back to the resort where I watched “The Ghost and the Darkness” (a Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas starrer about a hunt for man eating lions in Africa) and then “The Fast and the Furious” before calling it a day.

An Egyptian Excursion - Day 6

Breakfast today was pretty heavy, an excellent spread at the buffet. We got ready to check out, and our driver for the day, Karam (a friend of Tiger/Nemr's), was waiting for us. And so we started to the airport. On the way Karam pointed out the 6th October 1973 memorial, pretty much everyone seemed to know about it and from the way they talk it's apparent that they respect it and revere the people who gave their lives during the Yom Kippur War. Few of us would ever accord the same degree of reverence to those who laid down their lives in Kargil or the war of 1971.

He proceeded to showed us the Cairo International stadium among other sights. Our flight was leaving from Terminal 3 of the new airport. Pretty large, spacious and pleasing to the eyes. One big airport in the middle of the desert.

There was a dark-skinned African guy who got stopped at the entrance though - apparently some issue with his tickets. His companion, another negro, was let in and he proceeded to find a ticket counter where he could set things right. Meanwhile the man who got left behind (with a thick African accent) kept saying "You let white man go, but I go to America, they stop me there. I go to Europe, they stop me there. Now I come to Africa, you stop me here too. OH MY GOD!!". While I can imagine that it must have been distressing for him, his words were so funny with that accent that I couldn't help laughing at what was happening (not in front of him though).

There was another problem with our seat allotment which kept us standing at the counter for some time, though they did resolve it. Next stop - duty free. After browsing through many of the shops there, we boarded the plane. As usual, there were a few Indians laughing loudly on the flight as if it was some train compartment they'd hired exclusively, drawing looks and giving us a 'good' name :P . When we finally landed at Aswan, the tour operator from the Pyramisa Isis Corniche was there. One Mr. Abdul Rehman, who gave us a full briefing of the sights to be seen on the way to the hotel.

Soon after checking-in, tour arrangements were to be discussed. Now like I always say, we never take group tours, we prefer traveling alone - just the 3 of us - with a guide and driver too at max in a vehicle. All the prices were in dollars (they kinda prefer that to the Egyptian pound here) and they were all pretty damn expensive. Even compared to London and such high-flung places.

The view from the room itself though was just too beautiful to describe. Right on the banks of the Nile - the cradle of the Egyptian civilization, with the Tombs of the Nobles right across the river on a hill, and the sun's beautiful rays shining down on the water. We decided to take a Nile cruise on a boat from the hotel's dock.

And so we went, taking in the beautiful scenery as we watched the rich greenery and civilization on the banks on one side contrasted with the stark desert and sand dunes on the opposite bank that extended into the distance.

Mind you though, we kept our hands firmly within the limits of the boat. The Nile crocodile is the largest crocodilian in Africa (with some 20 feet plus specimens recorded) and is sometimes regarded as the second largest crocodilian after the Saltwater crocodile. A fact we were well aware of. One of the rocky little islands in the middle of the river even had an ominous "Croc warning" danger sign.

We saw Aga Khan's mausoleum (now closed to the public) on the way too. Soon the boat stopped at the Nubian village. These Nubians live in a somewhat more traditional fashion on the west banks of the Nile and on Elephantine island where they settled after being displaced to make room for Lake Nasser. Here, we had Hibiscus juice at a traditional Nubian house where they had croc skins among other weird paraphernalia hung up all over. There was even a relatively small crocodile in a makeshift tank in the middle of the hall.

Walking through the streets of this little place, we nearly got run over by 2 camels. Periodically, a camel or two run down the streets with a tourist or the owner himself on it. There are shops where you can get souvenirs made by the locals here too, and the shopkeepers call out "Hey India India" based on the color of our skin, except one dude who incorrectly called out "Hey Sri Lanka" :P . We took the same boat back with our guide to the point where we started this little journey where a car from the hotel was waiting for us.

We skipped over to the opposite side of the road (crossing the road is a slightly more perilous affair here compared to Cairo) to look for some place we could get plenty of bottled water. We did find one such shop where the shopkeeper was busy watching some old Amitabh Bachchan flick on his little TV. On seeing us, his eyes lit up like two 100W bulbs and he went "India India... Amitabh Bachchan you like??" and only after he confirmed this would he sell us the water. Even gave us a discount LOL. We had the car drop us back in front of the hotel's entrance and from there we took a walk along the road on the banks. Some tout tried to accost us saying he was a cook from the restaurant, pity we come from a land where touts are a dime a dozen. Didn't work. A little bit of shoe shopping and currency exchanging and Hostess Ho Ho buying later (I just love HoHos and I was frankly amazed to find them here in Aswan too). Had an ice cream too after many days (we'd been unable to find much in the way of ice cream during our time in Cairo).

There was no dearth of people of Sudanese origin here in Aswan. Everyone seems to like Amitabh Bachchan more than any local stars. Google it too if you don't believe me, but they kinda greet Indians here with "India India?? Amitabh Bachchan!" hahaha and they just love his movies (as we would find out during the later days). Soon it was dark and time for dinner, which we had at our resort's restaurant (they sort of messed up with a Vindaloo that wasn't quite a Vindaloo) with the dark water lapping the shore barely a few feet away. Wonderful setting with the Movenpick Hotel (yes the same folks who make that awesome ice-cream) on the opposite bank showing off its ever-changing lighting. I was beginning to miss the constant texts I'd usually keep sending a friend of mine by now. The phone had instead turned into my travel diary of sorts, keeping track of everything I did wherever I went. Stored the location I was at on the phone's GPS for memory's sake .

After dinner, I tried to turn in early (big trip next day), but to no avail. There was some crazy prom slasher film on the tube which ended with everyone else dead but the target of the obsessive slasher.

Then, quite coincidentally, The Mummy came on. Couldn't resist watching The Mummy all over again what with this being the land of the Pharaohs ;) . For the record, Hamunaptra is imaginary and Imhotep was an architect, engineer, physician and adviser of the King Djoser, and he didn't quite stab the king in the back and go about cavorting with his bride.