Egypt & Jordan - Great sights but dirty everything

Saturday 10 November 2007
This morning, we left for Cairo, via Madrid, with Tammy, Linus, Loreen and Felix. Our first impression of Cairo wasn't a pleasant one, with the general scenery comprising unfinished earthen houses, squatter slums, rubbish everywhere (including the mosquito infested canal outside our hotel with a bloated dead cow floating upside down in it), and horrific traffic. It immediately reminded me of India (a place I could not wait to leave...and after 15 days touring, I couldn't wait to leave Egypt as well). Our 5 star hotel, Cataract Pyramids Resort wasn't anything near 5 star based on international standards with yellow water, mouldy bathrooms, and mosquitoes everywhere.

Sunday 11 November 2007
Our first day of sightseeing started with Saqqara, the Necropolis (burial ground) for Memphis, the first capital of Ancient Egypt (now I know why Memphis Tennessee in the USA is the sister city to Cairo). Saqqara's main feature is a step pyramid which was built for Pharaoh Djoser and is the first pyramid built for Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. Also at Saqqara, we visited a tomb where we caught our first glimpse of hieroglyphics.

Then we went straight to the Giza Necropolis to see the Pyramids, the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was amazing to see the enormity of the three main pyramids (Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus). On the Giza Plateau, most of the tour group did the clichéd camel ride around the Pyramids, but with all the bad stories I had heard from friends and family who had been, fear of flea bites from dirty camel saddles and just the strong camel smell that would linger on your clothes, we opted out of this. Instead, Yang and I went inside the Chephren Pyramid, which was quite scary as there were quite a few up and down tunnels (some Koreans turned back after only going in 10 metres) and it was so so so humid and hot (almost sauna like)...definitely not something you would do if you were claustrophobic.

Our final stop on the Giza Necropolis was for the Great Sphinx, which was actually a lot smaller than I expected. Most probably because the photos of it place it in front of the pyramids and because of the elevation of the pyramids, the Sphinx looks bigger. I also learned here that apart from losing its nose, the Great Sphinx also had a ceremonial pharaonic beard, part of which is in the British Museum (which I must have been to 6 times but have never seen).

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a "Flower Essence Extract Shop", i.e. an Egyptian perfumery. The Flower Essence Extracts are marketed as flower oils with 10 times the "staying power" of eau de parfum. The shop had been able to copy pretty much any major commercial perfume.


Finally back at the hotel, we all showered up and then had a relatively boring meal at the hotel poolside restaurant before heading to Aswan on an overnight train. This was the worst overnight train experience I have had (compared to the trains from Rome to Nice, Nice to Paris, and Moscow to St Petersburg) as the chairs were filthy and didn't recline more than 15°. However, we did share a cabins with a really nice Indian couple on our tour from Sydney, Taz and Shanaaz.

Monday 12 November 2007
After a very uncomfortable and sporadic sleep, we finally arrived in Aswan and headed to The New Cataract Hotel, where my first stop was the bathroom as I had held out using the facilities on the train for 13+ hours as they were disgusting.

The New Cataract Hotel was a huge improvement on the Cairo hotel and Aswan itself was a prettier and cleaner city, and drivers actually followed the road rules!

After a buffet lunch at the hotel (this was to be a theme!), we were back on the bus heading to the Unfinished Obelisk, which is unfinished because it cracked during its creation. It's not really anything interesting to look at, but I guess it provided Egyptologists with an insight as to how the Ancient Egyptians carved massive obelisks out of granite without the heavy machinery we have to do it these days.

From here, we continued to the High Dam, which was built to stop the flooding of the Nile and river cities, including Cairo (which apparently would flood in 70 minutes if it wasn't for the dam). The High Dam is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and 364 feet tall. On the south side of the dam is Lake Nassar, a huge reservoir created when the dam was built. Egyptians have also harnessed the energy from the Nile to provide electricity to 95% of Egypt.

Then we crossed the Old Aswan dam and boarded small boats to ferry us across to Agilkia Island where the Philae Temple was moved to as it was under water for four years after the construction of the High Dam. The Philae Temple was dedicated to the Goddess Isis. The hieroglyphics and the temple were definitely worth the trip to Aswan. We also made a short detour on the way back to the hotel at a Papyrus Museum where they showed us how papyrus paper was made.

For dinner, all the Travel Talk groups met up and were ferried across to a Nubian Village for a traditional Nubian dinner. Nubians are a race that occupy northern Sudan and southern Egypt; they are distinctively darker skinned than normal Egyptians. The food was okay; very homely and basic. After eating, we were "entertained" by traditional Nubian singing and dancing, which some of us found excruciatingly painful to endure for more than 5 minutes whilst others enjoyed immensely.


Tuesday 13 November 2007
A 4am start this morning and straight on the bus to join the convoy of tourist coaches heading to Abu Simbel, near the Sudanese border, approximately 280 kms away. Unfortunately, due to the Islamist insurgency of the 1990s, which reached its peak with the 1997 terrorist attack at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, you have to travel through several parts of Egypt in a police-escorted convoy (although arguably all this does is allow any would-be terrorist to know when and where foreign tourists can be targeted).

Abu Simbel comprises the Temple of Pharaoh Rameses II and Queen Nefertari. The Temples were cut out of sandstone cliffs but again, due to the construction of the High Dam, both Temples were cut up and moved into an artificial cliff 65 m higher and 200 m back. The Temple of Rameses II is overwhelming with the four colossal statues (20 metres high) of Rameses II sitting in front of the Temple entrance. The hieroglyphics in the temples were amazing; the Ancient Egyptians were great storytellers. This was definitely one of the best sights on this trip.

After a short time at Abu Simbel, we had to rejoin the convoy to head back to Aswan. We had lunch at the hotel, with the pool on one side and great views of the Elephantine Island on the other.

Following lunch, we jumped onto a felucca (a traditional Egyptian sailboat) and sailed around Elephantine Island (so called because of the rocks that look like elephants) and Kitchener’s Island. Along the way, the Nubian crew entertained us with more traditional Nubian singing and dancing.

The felucca docked downtown and from there, our guide walked us around the main street of the Aswan Bazaar where we were constantly hassled. After a few of us made some purchases, we took a horse drawn carriage to a boat which then took us to a traditional Egyptian restaurant on a small island. We had fish, beef or chicken cooked in an Egyptian Tajine (different from the Moroccan version) with rice; and pita bread served with an assortment of yummy dips. This was complemented with an extremely thick mango juice (it was so good I had two) and then Nubian coffee (very spicy). This was my best meal in Egypt so far.

Wednesday 14 November 2007
This morning we joined another convoy, this time to travel between Aswan and Luxor. Along the way, we stopped at the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the Crocodile God Sobek and the Falcon God Horus. Three hundred crocodile mummies were found on this site, and we got to see two of them!

We spent a bit too much time at the Temple of Kom Ombo, by convoy standards, so the convoy actually left without us, and the driver was speeding and horning his way through the small villages to catch-up. Luckily we made it just before the first check point; otherwise we would have had to wait to join the convoy that arrived 3 hours later.

Next stop was the Temple of Edfu, dedicated to the Falcon God Horus. It is the second largest Temple in Egypt.

After leaving the town of Edfu, we continued to Luxor, which was built on the ancient city of Thebes. Luxor apparently has 1/3 of the world's monuments, which is why 85% of its economy was dependent on tourism until the 1997 terrorist attack at the Temple of Hatshepsut.

In Luxor, we checked into the Pyramisa Isis Hotel, which was a bit 80s, but it had a nice pool. From here, our guide took us for lunch, buffet of course, at the Luxor Museum, which was very uneventful. We were planning on going to the Museum after lunch, but it was closed from 3pm to 4pm so we headed back to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool. In the evening, our guide walked us around downtown, past the Winter Palace and Luxor Temple to a dodgy back alley store that manufactured jewellery. I made my first souvenir purchase here, a bracelet with my name in hieroglyphics, which lasted 2 days until the "i" and "a" fell off. Dinner followed at a restaurant on the banks of the Nile. I had fish on a sizzling hot plate with tomatoes and onions; it was lovely. Yang's mixed grill on the other hand was pretty ordinary.

Thursday 15 November 2007
This morning we visited Karnak Temple, the largest Temple in Egypt. Karnak Temple was for the worship of 3 Gods, Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu.

Nearby, and connected by the Sphinx causeway in ancient times, was the Luxor Temple. This Temple has seen a lot of change, with the Romans changing part of a temple, and the Muslims adding a Mosque to it.

We had KFC for lunch (twice in one week...what is my diet coming to?), then relaxed by the pool for a couple of hours before heading to the Luxor Museum. The Luxor Museum may not have as many artifacts as the Cairo Museum of Antiquities or maybe even the Egyptian section of the British Museum, but it was displayed and labelled really well; thumbs up to the Curator here. Some of the key exhibits were one of Tutankhamun's Chariots, the mummies of Ahmoses I and Rameses I.

For dinner, we met up with the Felucca tour group and had a really average dinner at O'Murphy's Irish Pub, which incidentally didn't sell Guinness so I am not sure how it can call itself an Irish Pub.

Friday 16 November 2007
We left the hotel at 4:45am to board a boat that took us across the Nile to the West Bank of Luxor. From a field in front of the West Bank Necropolis, we hopped into a Hot Air Balloon and watched the sunrise over the East Bank of Luxor, the Valley of the Queens, Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Hatshepsut, and Temple of Rameses III. It was a really great experience and definitely worth the extra £65 each we paid.

After a interesting landing in the middle of a sugarcane field, we met up with the rest of the tour group at the Colossi of Memnon.

Then we went straight on to the Valley of the Kings, a gully behind Cliffs in the West Bank where Kings from Thutmose I were buried; their tombs carved out of the gully, richly decorated and filled with treasures for the Pharaoh’s afterlife. There are 62 tombs and we visited 4:





1. Tuthmose III – One of the earlier tombs, very obviously so as the hieroglyphics were pretty rudimentary, like a child had drawn them.
2. Rameses III – Long corridors with walls of colourful hieroglyphics.
3. Rameses IX – Similar to Ramses III with long corridors and the walls full of colourful hieroglyphics.
4. Tutankhamun – A very small tomb (well the part that we were able to visit), but worth visiting because you get to see Tutankhamen’s mummy which had been taken out of the coffin and place in a hermetically sealed display cabinet only a few weeks earlier. As a result, access to the tomb will be restricted to 400 visitors from 1 December so we were lucky that we were so easily able to buy tickets to see it now. Tutankhamen is probably the most recognisable Pharaoh name, not because he was a great Pharaoh (he was only 9 when he ascended the throne and only ruled for 10 Years), but because his tomb was the only one that has survived intact, and without any of its treasures being stolen by tomb robbers.

From the Valley of the Kings, we headed to the Temple of Hatshepsut, dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra, and built for Queen Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt dressed like a man. The Temple comprises three lengthy colonnaded terraces which immediately put you in awe as you approach it. The inside of the Temple was not comparable to the previous Temples we visited; the size of the terraces misleading you into thinking the actual Temple was also huge, but in fact, it is quite small.

After yet another buffet lunch, we headed back to the hotel and lazed by the pool before joining a convoy to Hurghada, a resort town favoured by Russians. After a 4 hour bus ride that finished close to midnight, we were not impressed to arrive at a run down hotel where the floor mat looked like it had not been washed since the hotel opened, our towels were the size of hand towels and looked like they had been stolen from someone’s house (pink, green and floral motifs), and there was the previous guest’s hair on the bed sheets. Yang and I were extremely grateful that Jason and Ammy had lent us their sleeping bag liners so that we didn’t have to sleep on the dirty sheets that barely covered the dirtier mattresses underneath.

Saturday 17 November 2007
This morning we headed to the Ferry Terminal to board a high-speed catamaran to Dahab. Unfortunately, we spent more time floating in the sea than moving due to engine problems. One hour after we departed, we were turned back to dock at Hurghada and had a very long lunch at a nice hotel (why we didn’t stay there the night before I don’t know!) before joining a private bus convoy (which was a mission in itself) to Dahab. This bus trip took 12.5 hours and was really uncomfortable, moreso for Yang as he had food poisoning by this point. In addition, because some people on our tour took too long at rest stops, we ended up wasting more time and as a result the private convoy left us and we had to wait for the normal convoy that arrived ½ hour later. The only positive from the bus tour was that we got to cross under the Suez Canal!

We arrived in Dahab at 3:30am, 13.5 hours after we were due to had the catamaran operated. Physically and mentally drained, we moved our bags into our hotel room at the Octopus Garden Resort to find it even more substandard than the Hurghada Hotel with rusting fittings in the bathroom, salty water in the rusty pipes, more hairs on the bed (this time there was a pubic hair too), and pillow cases that only covered 2/3 of the pillow. Our door had a crack down the middle and you can see right into the room from outside and there weren't even any chairs inside the room. It was classed as 3 stars, which I can usually tolerate, but it would have been a hostel by European standards and I don't believe it had the audacity to call itself a "Resort" either.

Sunday 18 November 2007
Most people staying at the Octopus Garden Resort woke up to find their “hotel” room had no running water. Then to complement this less than satisfactory stay, ants crawling around the table shared our breakfast.

After breakfast we were transported in jeeps to the Blue Hole. The snorkelling here was amazing as you can see the coloured fish as soon as you get to the water's edge. Also, being the Red Sea, the second saltiest sea in the world, snorkelling was so easy as you just float. Compared to the area of the Great Barrier Reef that I had previously snorkelled in, the fish life here was better, but the coral was not as colourful.



We spent a couple of hours snorkelling and then we returned to downtown Dahab for lunch at Jasmine, a seafood restaurant on the beach, where we were joined by Taz, Shanaaz and Kah Leng. Lunch was really good; the seafood was really fresh and it was a welcome change to all the buffets and KFC we had been eating.

Following lunch, the five of us jumped back into a jeep and headed to the Le Meridien Hotel. Yang and I had decided yesterday evening that the culmination of a lizard in our hotel room in Luxor, the dirtiness of the hotel room in Hurghada, the 12.5 hour bus ride to Dahab, and the dirtiness of the current room in the Octopus Garden Resort were making our “holiday” so unpleasant that we were ready to fly back to London.

As we were approaching Le Meridien, and our ESCAPE, the jeep we were in ran out of petrol! A rather comical experience followed with the five of us being pushed by a small Egyptian man up-hill in a run down jeep, the five of us looking at each other wondering whether we should get out and help (but as we were in such fits of laughter, I'm not sure we would have be in a position to), and then rolling down the hill to the entrance of the hotel. Even more comical were the looks on the security guard's faces, who would have been looking at 5 young backpacker types getting out of a broken down jeep trying to walk into the foyer of their brand new exclusive hotel…and as a result, we were asked several times whether we were guests at the hotel.

Although Yang and I were sold on the hotel as soon as we arrived: no rubbish in sight, upgrade to a deluxe room, more staff than guests, the other three needed a bit more convincing. So, the Assistant Front Office Manager showed us around the resort and the rooms. Both our rooms had sea views (the Manager had upgraded us), a porch at the front with clean and new outdoor tables and chairs, heaps of tables and wardrobe space in the room, the cleanest and most comfortable bed (the mattress was more than 30 cm thick) I have seen since our arrival into Egypt, a jacuzzi, separate rain shower, a clean toilet, a clean bathroom sink with lots of bench space of toiletries, satellite TV with English channels (this clinched the deal for Taz), and a private backyard shaded by sails and with a sun-bed and an outdoor shower on a granite backdrop (this pushed Shanaaz over the line as she said it was like something she had seen on Getaway).

Back in the lobby to sign the paperwork to check-in, we were given cold towels to clean our hands and then served drinks and biscuits whilst the Manager completed the paperwork. I refused to return to the Octopus Garden Resort, so Yang, Taz and Kah Leng went back to pick up our bags whilst I read a book on the patio and watched the sunset over the mountains behind the hotel…aaahhhh bliss at last. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that on top of the two infinity pools (one sea water and one fresh water) that fall down to 2 other pools, the hotel had its own private beach to the Red Sea with a PADI Diving centre and a Watersports centre.

Once Yang, Taz and KL got back to Le Meridien, Yang, KL and I had a swim in the heated fresh water infinity pool that overlooked the palm trees which were staggered down to the beach. This was followed by some time in the sauna / steam room. It was the best way to wind down after the stresses of the previous days. To further enhance my state of bliss, I spent way too much time in the rain shower scrubbing the filth of Egypt’s pollution off my body and having a proper hair wash and blow dry…it is amazing how relaxed a good rain shower can make you.

By the time we had all showered, commented on how clean we felt, and ate the complimentary fruit basket and biscuits the Manager gave to us, it was dinner time. We met up with Taz and Shanaaz at the Sea Breeze Restaurant. I actually ate salad for the first time in days as the water has been treated for the entire complex and didn’t taste salty like the water at Octopus. Although it was a buffet, the hot meals were actually really nice and they had an oriental theme this evening that included crab with noodles, chicken and cashew, beef and black bean etc. The dessert selection was really impressive, which I guess can be expected as their Pastry Chef is French.

Monday 19 November 2007
Finally, we got to sleep in this morning! We took our time having breakfast as it was amazing! Fresh Mango, Guava or Strawberry smoothies; rows and rows of different pastries (the French Pastry Chef at his best); an Egg Chef that you didn’t have to queue for; cereal (something really simple that I had missed over the last 8 days); fresh fruit that you weren’t afraid to eat because of the cleaner water here; chocolate, strawberry and banana flavoured milk; and all the normal hot food stuff like bacon, sausages, mushrooms (but halal of course).

The rest of the day was spent doing resort type stuff like aqua aerobics, water skiing (which I found really really hard); and quad biking in the desert (where you get so dirty that I was so thankful that we had such great shower facilities), whilst Yang got some rest as he was still feeling ill.

Our evening was spent with the “5-star crew” (as we were referred to later) at vie Restaurant which was weird as the staff were just overly eager to please us.

Tuesday 20 November 2007
We reluctantly checked out of Le Meridien, collected our huge breakfast boxes and after some initial dramas, we were picked up by the Travel Talk bus and taken to Taba. At Taba we boarded a ferry that cruised along the Gulf of Aqaba to the city of Aqaba, in Jordan (which borders with Eilat in Israel).

Our Jordanian tour guide met us at the border and then we headed to Wadi Rum where we "checked-in" to a desert camp...beds in tents, cold showers, 6 hours of electricity...just a "bit" of a step down from Le Meridien. Can you tell how impressed we were from the expressions on our faces?

After a quick lunch (where the food ran out), we jumped on jeeps and went on a safari in the Wadi Rum desert valley. Most of the time, we were holding on for dear life as the jeeps were driven by teenages as young as 14. However, we did spend some time having traditional Jordanian tea brewed on a fire as we watched the sunset over the valley.

For dinner, we had zarb, which consisted of chicken, lamb and potatoes cooked in coals under the ground for 3 hours. The meat was really quite tender. The rest of the evening was spent around the campfire (it was so cold!) drinking and talking.

Wednesday 21 November 2007
We left Wadi Rum and headed to the ancient city of Petra, the second of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Initially I thought Petra consisted of just the Treasury (location of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) and the Monastary. In actual fact, it starts at the Siq, a narrow gorge that runs for one mile and then stops at the Treasury, and then continues to a huge ancient city with an amphitheatre and a large number of elaborate tombs (especially those of the Nabatean merchants).

After spending the afternoon in Petra, we left just before sunset and checked into the Sala Hotel which "surprise surprise" didn't have any hot water. So I went across the road for the Jordanian version of a turkish bath, which was very timely given the combination of the jeep safari and heavy blotchy duvet at Wadi Rum had given me a sore neck. After the massage, it was amazingly better.

Following another buffet dinner at the hotel, our travelling party plus Taz and Shanaaz congregated in our room for drinks.

Thursday 22 November 2007
This morning we drove to Al Karak Castle, a Crusaders Castle.

Then we went to the Dead Sea Spa Hotel on the Dead Sea, the saltiest sea and the lowest point on Earth for yet another buffet lunch. After lunch, we walked to the hotel's private stretch of the Dead Sea for a float! Floating on the Dead Sea was definitely an interesting experience, but we didn't stay long as it was raining and cold.

From the Dead Sea, we headed to Amman, the capital of Jordan, stopping at a store selling Dead Sea beautry products. Dinner at McDonalds followed after checking into the Hotel thanks to the popular vote of the majority of backpacker types on our tour. This was followed by drinks at the Hotel's bar until 1am for us.

Friday 23 November 2007
We spent all of today travelling back to Cairo...Amman to Aqaba by bus; Aqaba to Taba by ferry; and Taba to Cairo by bus. In hindsight, we should have actually flown back to London from Amman. Well, that's what you get for relying on a tour company instead of planning it yourself. Brunch was McDonalds, which meant we had McDonalds twice within 12 hours.

Saturday 24 November 2007
Yang and I hired a taxi for the day and visited Cairo and Giza by car. Our taxi driver was like a mini tour guide pointing out the main sights and for some reason, the cemeteries. The ride in itself was interesting as Cairo is a modern city in parts, then out of the blue, you will see a herd of goats crossing the motorway or people selling fresh fish in plastic buckets on the side of the road. The key places we visited were:
- Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, a slightly disorganised museum (the curator should be sacked!), but worth visiting for Tutankhamun's Death Mask and other Tomb finds including the boxes his sarcophogus was in - which were bigger than our flat in London and gilded in gold;

- Khan El-Khalili bazaar, a giant souq which we stopped at, but didn't get out because we were scared to!

- Citadel, with its three mosques, Al-Gawhara palace, the National Military Museum and the Police Museum. Of all these places, only the Ottoman Mosque of Mohamed Ali was worth writing home about. However, the Citadel did have great views of Cairo, the Mosques of Sultan Hassan and El Refaee Mosques because of its location at the top of Mokattam hill;
- Coptic Cairo, which has many Churches, but its main attractions are the Hanging Church, the Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue;




- Mosque of Amr Ibn al As, the first mosque in Africa; and



- Shopping for Egyptian cotton sheets which proved unfruitful as all the plain ones were white or coloured but with flowery embroidery.


After our day in Cairo, we went back to the hotel to have dinner and get our transfer to the airport. We bumped into May and Gary Chong at the Hotel as they were about to set off on the same tour as us, so we gave them heaps of tips and warnings!

At the airport, just as we thought we were on our way home and to civilisation, Yang and I had our passports confiscated and we waited for close to 1/2 hour in the immigration area until I was called into an interrogation room by myself to speak to a immigration officer. It all boiled down to the fact that they thought we had fake passports because we had Australian passports issued in London and because we were Chinese and apparently there is a huge fake passport market in China.

Sunday 25 November 2007
Back in London after a long journey back via Madrid, we unpacked and then I repacked to fly to the Hague for work. We also had a post Egypt tour group lunch at Kiasu.