Egypt 2010: Day 08 Cairo - Tired body and soul...

"You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb..." - Andrew Carnegie

We had breakfast at 4.00 am and got ready to disembark at Giza train station at 5.00 am. The guide was already waiting for us and sent us to Mercure Cairo El Mirage hotel. We stayed in the lobby until we are allowed to check in at noon.

(Cozy lobby of Mercure El Mirage Hotel)

We had bread, cheese and honey for lunch and room service for dinner. The whole afternoon and night was spent in the cool room resting our tired bodies...

(Supplement for steaming hot soup)

👈 2010: Cairo/KL

2010: Luxor/Cairo, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 07 Luxor/Cairo - On a choo-choo train...

"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning..." - Pele

We had breakfast early and checked out at 8.30am. The boat would be sailing off at noon so we have to be transported to Ibrotel hotel for a transit before we boarded the sleeper train at 7.30pm.

(Lobby of Iberotel Hotel)

We had lunch at McD which is situated next to the Luxor Temple. It was hot when we walked back to the hotel. With nothing particular to do we spent the whole afternoon resting at the hotel lobby until the guide picked us at 6.30pm and sent us to the train station.

(Sail boats docking at the Marina)

The sleeper train was on time. We had dinner straight after the train moved and slept right after.

👈 2010: Cairo, Egypt

2010: Luxor/Nile Cruise, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 06 Luxor/Nile Cruise - Valley of the Kings...

"Effort doesn't matter if love is left behind..."

We had our breakfast early and there was a slight confusion on the day's iterinery. But at least we were lucky to have Nasser, an expert in Egypt antiquities to be our guide and enlightened us on ancient histories of interesting places around Luxor. He was one of those involved in the excavation of the latest tomb discovered.

Colossi of Memnon

The Colossi of Memnon (known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat) are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. the most imposing monument on the West Bank at Luxor.

(Colossi of Memnon)

Valley of The Kings

The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings, including Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great. We had the opportunity to visit three of the famous tombs.

Queen Hatchepsut Temple

Hatshepsut was an 18th-dynasty pharaoh who was one of the handful of female rulers in Ancient Egypt. Her reign was the longest of all the female pharaohs, and her funerary temple still stands as a tribute to her incredible rise to power.

(Queen Hatchepsut Temple)

(A line of Pharaohs)

Karnak Temple

Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places".

(The Karnak Tempe)

(A row of stone lions)

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple is among the most beautiful Temples in Egypt. It was known in the New Kingdom period as Ipt-Rsyt, which means the southern shrine.

(Very large column of Luxor Temple)

 👈 2010: Luxor/Cairo, Egypt

2010: Aswan/Nile Cruise, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 05 Aswan/Nile Cruise - Temples and Triad of Gods...

"At the centre of your being you have the answer, you know who you are and you know what you want..." - Lao Tsu

Last night The Armada sailed silently and docked at Kom Ombo. Some passengers went on land for a night walk. We overslept and woke up late this morning and had to rush to make offerings to the crocodile and falcon gods at the Kom Ombo temple.

(The Armada Cruise Ship)

Kom Ombo Temple

The Temple of Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple built during the Ptolemaic dynasty for the Sorbek and Horus, the crocodile and falcon gods in the Egyptian town of Kom Ombo. The design is almost perfectly symmetrical, with two side-by-side sanctuaries and two parallel passageways leading through the outer parts of the temple.

(Kom Ombo Temple)

We had a late heavy breakfast after the tour and later rested in our cabin for we had another 3 hours of free time on board before Edfu, the next walking tour.

(A story to every painting on the wall)

Edfu Temple

The Armada was behind schedule. We missed lunch which was served before the tour began. The Edfu temple is 2km away and you can either take a cab or ride on horse carriage to get there.

(Lunch at the restaurant)

The Temple is dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, it was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies. Edfu is located 60 Km to the North of Aswan. It was the 2nd Nome of Upper Egypt and the centre of the cult of a triad of Gods.

(A beautiful sunset)

After the tour we spent the rest of the afternoon resting in the cabin and watch the beautiful reflection of sunset on the Nile from the balcony.

After dinner, we went to the upper deck to enjoy the cool night breeze while watching the Armada passed through one of the river gates in pair with another cruise boat.

👈 2010: Luxor/Nile Cruise, Egypt

2010: Aswan/Nile Cruise, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 04 Aswan/Nile cruise - Popular sites around Aswan...

"Create your future from your future, not from your past..." - Werner Erhard

We checked out after breakfast. By 8am the luxury coach and our guide were already waiting to take us to interesting historic places around Aswan.

(By the pool side at Cornische Hotel)

The Unfinished Obelisk

(An obelisk, broken and abandoned)

Our first stop was to visit the unfinished obelisk, one of the most popular sites in ancient Aswan and provides immense insight into the stone working methods employed by the ancient Egyptians.

Philae Temple

We took a speed boat to The Temple dedicated to Goddess Isis constructed on the beautiful island of Philae.

(On a speed boat to Philae Island)

Philae Island was a rocky island in the middle of the River Nile, south of Aswan. It was called in Hieroglyphic "Apo" which means Ivory.

(Ancient drawings on the wall)

(An ancient building on the island)

It was also known by the Greek "Elephantine", most probably because it was an important centre of trade, especially for ivory.

The High Dam

We visited The Aswan High Dam, one of the biggest dam in the world. It is the largest of the two dams, both of which are situated across the Nile River. The Aswan High Dam, when it was built created Lake Nasser which stretches back 270 km and cut across Egypt and Sudan.

(By the Aswan High Dam)

So far this trip looks like a trip for the rich and famous with our own dedicated limousines, luxury coach and speed boat attended by personalised tour guides just for the two of us.

At noon we checked in the Armada cruise boat and had our lunch on lower deck.

The ship only started cruising at 8pm. We had so much of free time till then. It was hot to go for a walk. There were full of half naked mat sallehs on the deck trying to get a sun tan. So we went back to our cabin to rest till it was time for dinner.

👈 2010: Aswan/Nile Cruise, Egypt

2010: Aswan/Abu Simbel, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 03 Aswan/Abu Simbel - A long journey in the desert...

"A life spent making mistakes is more honorable than a life spent doing nothing..."

At Aswan train station we were met by the tour rep and transported to Isis Cornish Hotel situated by the river Nile. We couldn't check-in until 2pm but we need to leave our bags at the hotel as the coach to Abu Simbel will leave at 10.30am.

(The River Nile)

Before the start of the journey, there were checks on the vehicles for bombs or explosives. The security was extra tight. We didn't expect it to be like this and have not read anything like this in the internet. There must be a threat of some sort. It is a 275 km journey across upper Egypt dessert, there were more than 10 buses and 20 vans of foreign tourist in a convoy escorted by military vehicles in front and back.

There were only the two of us in the van and we had a soldier and an officer riding with us. It was a start of an adventure with a slight uneasy feeling of apprehension...

(Dry Rocky desert)

Along the journey to Abu Simbel, on a hot day like today, the vast desert was playing tricks on us. We could see water reflections of the sand dunes. A mirage that make many thirsty desert travellers go crazy.

(Exploring the man-made lake)

We reached Abu Simbel at 2.30pm and were impressed by the vastness and blueness of the biggest man-made Nassir Lake. A catchment area resulting from the construction of the Aswan dam.

Temple of Abu Simbel

Pharaoh Ramses II had two temples carved out of solid rock at a remote location near the Sudanese border in sourthern Egypt, a site on the west bank of the Nile south of Aswan in the land of Nubia and known today as Abu Simbel.

(The Temple of Abu Simbel)

The temple built by Ramses was dedicated to the sun gods Amon-Re and Re-Horakhte. The two temple were since moved to a safer higher ground when the area was flooded.

(The sunset over the horizon)

We watched the beautiful sunset on the trip back to Aswan. And at night the sand dunes laid in crisp cool whiteness in luminous moonlight. The night was lulled by soft whispers of past histories of the desert...

👈 2010: Aswan/Nile Cruise, Egypt

2010: Cairo/Aswan, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 02 Cairo/Aswan - Pyramids of Giza Cheops...

"Minds are like parachutes - they only function when open..." - Thomas Dewar

The sun was already high up in the sky when we awoke. We had breakfast early and waited for our tour guide to take us to interesting places around the Giza province.

They are one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the most amazing and world-renowned iconic features in all of Egypt. We skipped the journey into the heart of the Pyramids as we have been there before.

(Majestic and ancient)

The journey to the innermost chamber is hot, humid and claustrophobic for some. The biggest of the 3 Pyramids to look for is Khufu (at nearly five hundred feet high), Khafre and Menkaure.

(Sentinels of time)

The Sphinx

Besides the Pyramids, another popular feature on Giza Pyramids is the Sphinx and the Temple of the Sphinx. This human headed lion was originally built in honor of the sun god Re-Horakhty. Looking at the majestic statue we wonder what had happened to the Sphinx's missing nose?

(The largest monolithic sttatue)

We visited the Egyptian cotton store and a perfumery. But didn't buy anything there much to the guide's dissapointment. Buffet lunch was at the Imperial Restaurant, a cozy tied down converted boat house on the river Nile.

(Sleepy camels)

The Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum was first built in Boulak. In 1891, it was moved to Giza Palace of "Ismail Pasha" which housed the antiquities that were later moved to the present building. The Egyptian Museum is situated at Tahrir square in Cairo. It has 107 halls. At the ground floor there are the huge statues. The upper floor houses small statues, jewels, Tutankhamon treasures and the mummies.

(Collection of treasures)

Khan El Khalili Bazaar

We spent less than an hour visititng the Hussein Mosque and Khan El khalili Bazaar. The bazaar is named after Prince Jaharkas Al-Khalili, who was one of the powerful Mamluke Princes in the 14th century. It is famous for its unusual, typically oriental souvenirs, and handmade crafts. The Bazaar is situated next to the famous El-Hussein mosque.

(Cemetery of the Fatimid Caliphs)

We arrived 2 hours earlier at Cairo train station. The sleeper train was scheduled to leave Cairo at 8pm. It was already dark, the station was chaotic packed full with commuters and foreigners bound for Luxor and Aswan.

(Cozy double decker beds)

The more than 12-hour journey from Cairo to Aswan was comfortable with dinner and breakfast served by our personal butler in the cabin. The rest of the night was spent sleeping soundly, gently rocked by the gentle movement of the speeding train.

👈 2010: Aswan/Abu Simbel, Egypt

2010: Cairo, Egypt 👉

Egypt 2010: Day 01 Cairo - The land of the Pharaohs...

"I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense..." - Harold S Kushner

(Kuala Lumpur - Cairo)

It was a full moon over the land of the pharaohs when our plane began to descent for landing at the new Cairo International Airport. The cold October morning air felt liberating.

(A glimpse of the Pyramid from our room)

We were met by our tour guide and were transported in a limousine to the hotel. When we crossed Cairo city, it was still very early in the morning and the traffic jam was beginning to build up. The 5-star Mercure Le Sphinx Hotel was located in the Giza province overlooking two of the three majestic pyramids.

(Mercure Le Sphinx Hotel)

We had to wait for a while for our room to be ready. After a refreshing bath we had our much needed nap to rest tired body and woke up to order room service of steak and sandwiches to fill hungry tummies.

(Sculpture on the wall)

The whole night was spent in the hotel room watching movies on TV.

👈 2010: Cairo/Aswan, Egypt

2010: Singapore 👉