The train ride is over! It was absolutely miserable. I slept 3 of the 15 hours that it turned into. It was dirty, I had to avoid the bathroom, and I had a large Egyptian old guy snoring in my ear for half the trip! THEN, at 3 am, a few guys were yelling at me in Arabic because I was apparently sitting in their seat. It was awful. BUT, things could only get better from there, and they did.
When we arrived in Aswan, we had a few hours to chill out and take naps and showers. In the afternoon, we met up for a cruise in a felucca. A felucca is like a small sail boat that people have been sailing the Nile for years. We were originally supposed to spend 2 nights on one, but we upgraded to a cruise ship! It was great to be out on the water. The Nile is narrower than I had imagined (well, at least this portion). We then pulled up to a shoreline... to ride camels! Yes, today I rode a camel along the banks of the Nile. So cool. It was a bumpy ride, and at times the camel guide was not paying attention and I thought my camel was going to walk off the cliff, but I'm alive! We rode th camels for about 20 minutes, to take us into the Nubian village. The Nubians are the original habitants of this region of the Nile. We were invited into the home of some Nubians, were I tried hot Hibicus tea! SO yummy! It's a very Egyptian type of drink. The Nubians look more African that middle-Eastern, and they speak a different language. I found them to be more friendly than other Egyptians I have come in contact with so far.
After walking around the town, we boarded our boat again and sailed back to the hotel. From there, Hamada arranged for take-out dinner on the banks of the Nile. We boarded onto a motor boat this time and ate chicken, rice, and vegetables on the way to a random, deserted bank of the river. We had no idea there was entertainment in store! The retaurant dilervery guys (or so we thought they were) built a campfire and played/sang Nubian music. They required us to dance, but it was so fun! All the while we were drinking Egyptian wine and beer, which is pretty good, but nothing to write home about.
I'm enjoying Aswan much more than Cairo. It seems cleaner, and the people friendlier. It is still pretty fast-paced, but more in a tourist/vacation way, rather than a city way, if that makes any sense. The people in the tour are awesome. We all know each other's names and where we're from and we all seem to be getting along well. Tomorrow we have a low key day to recover from the last 2 action-packed days!
When we arrived in Aswan, we had a few hours to chill out and take naps and showers. In the afternoon, we met up for a cruise in a felucca. A felucca is like a small sail boat that people have been sailing the Nile for years. We were originally supposed to spend 2 nights on one, but we upgraded to a cruise ship! It was great to be out on the water. The Nile is narrower than I had imagined (well, at least this portion). We then pulled up to a shoreline... to ride camels! Yes, today I rode a camel along the banks of the Nile. So cool. It was a bumpy ride, and at times the camel guide was not paying attention and I thought my camel was going to walk off the cliff, but I'm alive! We rode th camels for about 20 minutes, to take us into the Nubian village. The Nubians are the original habitants of this region of the Nile. We were invited into the home of some Nubians, were I tried hot Hibicus tea! SO yummy! It's a very Egyptian type of drink. The Nubians look more African that middle-Eastern, and they speak a different language. I found them to be more friendly than other Egyptians I have come in contact with so far.
After walking around the town, we boarded our boat again and sailed back to the hotel. From there, Hamada arranged for take-out dinner on the banks of the Nile. We boarded onto a motor boat this time and ate chicken, rice, and vegetables on the way to a random, deserted bank of the river. We had no idea there was entertainment in store! The retaurant dilervery guys (or so we thought they were) built a campfire and played/sang Nubian music. They required us to dance, but it was so fun! All the while we were drinking Egyptian wine and beer, which is pretty good, but nothing to write home about.
I'm enjoying Aswan much more than Cairo. It seems cleaner, and the people friendlier. It is still pretty fast-paced, but more in a tourist/vacation way, rather than a city way, if that makes any sense. The people in the tour are awesome. We all know each other's names and where we're from and we all seem to be getting along well. Tomorrow we have a low key day to recover from the last 2 action-packed days!
Wow - hey - I love that FB pic of you kissing the Sphinx -- that's a riot. Take care -- the IRLSS video camera is hooked up here (not on the web tho) & it is groovy. You can zoom in & see individual cars going over the IR Bridge. PS - Steelers won the Super Bowl but not by much. Devon is now safely home too. - JIM
ReplyDeleteHey -- I think I already told you this but ... see if anyone can show you any Arab falconry stuff. I know they sell falcons in markets & stuff. Falcons (& to a lesser extant hawks) are a big deal there.
ReplyDeleteWow, your trip sounds very interesting so far! The camel ride sounds like a lot of fun (albeit a bit scary). The toilets sounds wonderful... Do the they have actual toilets that you can flush toilet paper down (you can't here)? Or are they worse? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Don't forget to pay attention to street signs and things like that! It will come in handy when we compete in the Amazing Race!
ReplyDelete