I must have been very tired or not slept well because of the cold because I was one of the last people awake and I had slept through the removal of the blanket wall around me. It must have been about 7am or a bit earlier because once we woke up we had time to do our needed morning things and then get back on the boat for a little bit before we had breakfast on the boat. From there we sailed from the West Bank of the Nile to the East Bank.
We moored and took our things off the boat and up to the bus, which was waiting to take us to Luxor. The drive was expected to take about 4-5 hours. We left at 8am and arrived in Luxor at about 1:00pm. This drive does not take 5 hours because it’s a long road but because it is a road full of check stops and speed bumps. Constantly we had to stop for the driver to talk to police or slow to go over speed bumps. Egypt would greatly benefit from creating a highway from Aswan to Luxor or Cairo that is an express way past villages and towns and without the need for speed bumps.
When we arrived at the hotel we had free time until 2:30. We used this free time to shower and shower again. It had been 2 days since we had left the previous hotel and the bathing facilities contained within. It felt so nice to scrub the Nile, big spray, and general dirt off my skin in hot water. After that is was connect to the internet and let everyone know I had survived my time without internet.
The small problem with the Royal House Hotel where we are staying is the limited internet capacity. After there are 4 mobile devices on the internet it stops letting other people online. So we all had to take turns making our updates and all the rest.
After our free time we met in what became our corner of the lobby by the modem. We got on the bus and drove out to Karnak. Karnak is a large complex of temples together in acres of space. Many temples are grouped together and some are self contained.
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After Karnak we headed back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. For dinner we took a taxi down to the Luxor Temple. It was dark so we were able to see the temple all lit up by the sound and light show from outside the fence. It looked pretty nice but not worth what ever the extra entrance fee would be.
We walked past the temple and towards the bazaar. We passed a street where there were many horse and buggies waiting for passengers. We walked passed a nice book shop with a good selection but expensive prices. We stopped at a jewellery shop where you could buy gold and silver by weight. In Egypt you buy by weight but have to pay taxes and a commission fee. I didn’t get anything because it would be cheaper in Kuwait.
We kept walking and found a no-hassle shop with all the prices put up on items for sale. Tous and Tony stopped to buy a few things while we kept going. We found a small alley and walked into it to a hotel with a roof top restaurant that had a view of the Nile and Luxor Temple. We mostly had Tarjeen, food cooked in a clay pot.
After dinner we walked quickly through the bazaar so Mohammed could show us where it was. Many of the shop owners would yell at us not to shop with the guide because he would take us to expensive shops where he would get a commission. This is not true at all. Mohammed was very good about telling us what the estimated Egyptian price of something would be.
Thirty by Thirty 