The Maldives - Malé, Hulumalé, Villingilli and Maafushi

Travel, simply put, is an adventure. You are the lead and the world is your playground, full of experiences to be had? It's full of sights to be seen and people to be met. A pretty romantic notion, but not without its hard times too. Adventure and adversity then perhaps.

These two things seem quite at odds with each other at first, but the more I think about them the more interchangeable they become. Is it just a matter of perspective? 

I arrived in the Maldives ready to soak in a week in paradise. I'd originally decided on the unlikely backpacking spot so that I could meet a friend who is working there (hi Liz). Sadly she had to fly home due to some truly sad news. While this was obviously unfortunate, I was feeling positive and ready for sun, sea, sand and above all snorkeling, it was going to be a fantastic adventure. 

I suffered a long delay in getting to the country's capital and biggest island Malé, arriving at my apartment at 4am. I was shattered, but I had managed to successfully navigate the local ferry system and get a cab all for less than a couple of pounds, I was tired but also quite pleased with myself.

Malé had a bad rep, it's another 'city' without much in the way of culture or beaches I was told, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I strolled round the shops, all of which were independents, so no McDonalds or Starbucks on every corner, and got to know the lay of the land. One place of note is Newport Café, which is opposite the airport ferry terminal, if you're ever in Malé check it out. I had a peanut butter stack and a coffee, I only finished half of the stack and think I have actually shaved years off my life expectancy... Worth it!

I also walked around the edge of the island which takes around an hour and 45 minutes, this is when I met Paul, a lecturer with Imperial college who is working on his PHD and honorary consol to the British government. He suggested I take the boat to Villingilli a small Island with a nice beach, it's nice, but there's only enough to fill an afternoon with. I did find a stationers there and picked up some pencils, so that was good. 

I later visited Hulumale, an artificial island which is mainly residential. There isn't really a whole lot going on here either and the coastline is unnaturally straight. I didn't love it, but being on a man made island was a first and I do love to try new things.

Back on Malé I was quite pleased that in a short time I could confidently navigate the island, in fact I only used one taxi when I was there. Though we'll get onto that in a bit.

Before that I have to say that while Malé only has one very small artificial beach, it's impossible not to be captivated by the sea. It's just stunning, like a constantly moving precious stone of crystal clear turquoise and other bright and beautiful blues. It's hypnotic and inviting. It wasn't long before I ended up at the artificial beach.

I've never been to a man made beach, so that was fun. It's tiny, but not many people use it, so I was able to swim and leave my things on the beach, then sunbathe and watch tiny crabs clear out their burrows in the near-white sand. Is it a burrow if it's made by a crab? They certainly weren't sea bunnies... And now I wish there was such a thing as a sea bunny...

Anyway... I suppose I should get to the adversity bit. My plan had been to spend most of my time on Kurendhoo, a very out of the way island that promised excellent snorkeling and cheap accommodation. I met a contact from the hotel who had organized our travel as he was going the same way and together we headed for the boat. I was looking forward to spending 8 hours on the cargo boat where I could sleep on the top deck under the stars. Out in the middle of Nowhere the sky must be amazing. I sadly never found out, as when we got there the ship's crew let us know that it wasn't going to Kurendhoo anymore. As the island is so far out we couldn't get a boat for a few days making my visit pointlessly short. As such I had to cancel my trip and head back to Malé. The hotel contact was very apologetic and let me use his 3G to look up a local hotel for the night. It was now pitch black and raining, but I found a hotel and booked it online. I then tried to find said hotel... What a mess. They had listed themselves on the wrong road and so I walked by the side of the building several times before walking back to the ferry port to get a taxi. Finally I was at my hotel and I could sleep... Except that they had been having problems online and in fact didn't have any rooms. Thankfully I had looked up a back up and made it there some time later. Exhausted I collapsed into bed.

During this debacle I had contacted Paul who I had met earlier to ask for any suggestions on hotels. Unfortunately I didn't get his message in time, but we met up the next day for drinks at his place as he has a license for alcohol. So there I was, in a very nice apartment chewing the cud with a new found friend over a beer in an alcohol free city. Not many can say that! Paul actually put me up for a night and then suggested I go to Maafushi a more accessible island.

I luckily joined a group of travelers who had all come together to hire a speedboat as there was no morning service to Maafushi, despite what the online timetables claimed. There was also no ferry back until the next morning. This just about worked with my travel plans, as I had a flight to Singapore at 12:10pm the next day. So throwing caution slightly to the wind I agreed to go with whatever I had on me, which thankfully included a snorkel and mask that Paul had lent me.

Maafushi was the Maldives experience I had hoped for. More beautiful beaches, crystal clear seas and bright sunshine, but most of all snorkeling! I am fascinated by fish, I always have been. For some people it's dinosaurs or astronauts, for me it was fish. They live, breath and fly underwater! When I was young I could spend hours watching the fish at the local aquarium pet stores and had lots of fish of my own growing up. So you can imagine my excitement at seeing so many amazing fish up close.

I made my way to a quiet area of the beach and within minutes was looking at fish I'd never seen before. The majority were silver with a brown mark on their sides. I was eagerly following a group of these when I saw one that had different markings from afar, within a few strokes I was staring at a parrot fish. I actually gasped, which in a snorkel is a bizarre experience. I'd seen one once as a kid, but there it was in amongst the short reeds that lead down to the rocks below. I was so enthralled by its weirdly small mouth and fins that I almost careered into a puffer fish. I saw it in time thankfully and it hadn't puffed itself up, but that boxy shape and the flattened spines were unmistakable. 

Over the course of the day I saw all manner of fish, small royal blue and black and white ones protecting their tiny young around the coral, large silver ones that reflected the light to blend in with the shimmering waters, long green ones hidden amongst the reeds, even an intimidating pink eel which came out of its hole and looked like it would not only attack, but actually eat your soul, he was scary! I also walked round the island and saw small sharks about a foot and a half basking in the shallow water swimming in and out of the current, as well as a small wray of some kind. I would love to include photos, but sadly my GoPro was out of battery, despite having been fully charged the day before and not being used that much... Still I have the memories and an excuse to do more snorkeling!  

The next morning I made it back to Paul's and collected my things. We even had time for a coffee where, amongst other things, we discussed the fact that I would miss a traveling production of Hamlet by the Globe theatre, which was taking place at 2pm and to which Paul had been given a box, so I could have gone to for free! That's gutting! 

So that was my time in the Maldives. My entire trip had been affected by the adversity of one night, but I'm more likely to think of it as an adventure. If it hadn't been for that one night, I wouldn't have been able to catch up with Paul, had a beer in Malé, or met the group of people I went to Maafushi with, including Vicky a lovely flight attendant from China who even offered to let me use her discount on flights, how nice is that?!

So is adversity the opposite of adventure? I think that in some cases it is, but maybe adversity can be turned into an adventure... As Dolly Parton once said "If you want rainbows you have to put up with the rain."

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

So I had been told great things about Israel and had been looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about. Would it be all it's cracked up to be and in just seven days, would I be able to experience enough to know?

I was in a pretty chipper mood on arrival, despite the security guards at Jordan taking my compasses. I mean who did they think I am, some sort of MacGuiver super spy? If I was so skilled in assasinary (?) that I could hijack a plane with a pair of compasses, I wouldn't need to fly economy!

Anyway, despite arriving without my compasses, I was ready to enjoy Israel and was impressed from the get go. It was just so efficient, I could have been fooled into thinking the place was run by Germans (I know, such a stereotype). 

Efficiency was evident everywhere, even before I got out of the airport. At passport control, they no longer stamp passports to avoid travelers having issues getting into other countries, everything is clearly laid out, queues are well controlled and tourist information is easily available. This all helped me in my bleary eyed state as I was directed to the shuttle, which dropped me off just by my hostel. 

Arriving in Jerusalem at the Abraham Hostel (www.abrahamhostels.com) which was amazing, I dropped off my things and headed out to the local market. Mahane Yehuda is a food market by day selling pretty much everything under the sun, but by night it takes on a different vibe. The shutters are pulled down to display a wealth of amazing street art, most of which is religious, or reflects the contents of the stall. 

As I wandered down the corridors covered with religious figures, fish and cheese, I found a thriving midnight scene with people enjoying drinks and food to the sound of dance, old school jazz and traditional music pumping out of the many eateries and bars that were still open. The walkways were taken over by tables, chairs and shisha pipes to form courtyards where people gathered to let off steam on a Tuesday night, that's right, it's a Tuesday and the place is alive, but civilized. There are no groups of vulgar lads, no packs of high heels and big mouths, just a multicultural, mixed group talking and whiling the night away. I'm instantly impressed and already wishing I had more time here. The chicken shish and bottle of beer I had for dinner only reinforced my instantaneous love of this city.

On a side note, I noticed that there are some really attractive people here. All large blue eyes and flowing dark hair, or tight blonde curls and statuesque features. By this point I'm already considering a permanent move!

Despite the relatively late night,  I must have hit the hay at 1am, I get up early full of energy for the day ahead. I booked a trip to the Dead Sea, but have a few hours before my pick up, so I take the opportunity to look around the area. There's a nice mix of shops selling bags, glasses and materials where I'm situated in Davidka Square, which acts as a central point for the downtown area, where the bus and tram lines intersect. I notice how clean everything is and that there are a fair number of people around for 9am.

After a nice stroll I get back and join the group for the Dead Sea trip. There are two things to experience here 1) the sensation of not sinking, which is very odd. The water here is so thick that you feel like a plastic bottle, having that same level of buoyancy. That if someone were to push you under you would shoot straight back up again and into the air. 2) the mud, I got in warily as I had heard that the water was bad for your eyes. It was a weird experience feeling lighter than I should, but also sinking up to my mid-calf in the squelchy mud. But that didn't stop me as I covered myself head to toe. This left me looking like a black and white minstrel, so accidentally a bit racist :S. Getting all the mud off also proves to be a challenge, so be warned. The rest of the day was spent drawing in the common room and getting an early night ahead of my busiest day. 

The next morning I woke up ready to join a guided tour of Jerusalem which I did for free with the Sandeman tour group (www.newjerusalemtours.com). Our guide Itay was brilliant - see a link to his tours at the end of this post. He made the whole experience engaging - funny at times, but sticking to the facts at the appropriate places. The old city in particular was amazing and full of history as one would expect. It was nice to see the historic site so well preserved after being in Egypt. 

It was impossible not to look around in awe as you learned about the Christian, Armenian, Muslim and Jewish quarters and even the Protestant church. I won't go into all the details, but as you can imagine it was a lot of arguing, warring and so on... The one thing that really surprised me was that the church of sepulchra where Christ is supposedly burried is privately owned by different religious groups, all except the tomb itself which everyone agreed should not be owned.

Itay also encouraged us to get to know the group and I met some great guys (Hi Chris, Steve, Ayelet and Cecilia) who I had lunch with afterward, which Steve paid for without our knowing (thanks again Steve). Chris and I then headed off to the holocaust museum navigating the tram and bus system, which was very simple.

One tip, if you want to ask for directions to the holocaust museum, make sure the person you are speaking to speaks your language. I asked a woman at the bus stop this question and she looked at me aghast and just said "holocaust" like I was some rando at the bus stop who wanted to have a chit chat about genocide... Things looked like they were going to get complicated quickly. Thankfully Chris had the Hebrew name of the museum on his phone and we managed to get the directions.

Now I knew the holocaust museum was going to be emotionally taxing, especially having already been to the apartheid museum in Johannesburg, but I still wasn't prepared for what I was about to see. Horror does not even begin to describe it. 

We started in the children's hall or rememberance. The mirrored walkway turns a small number of lights into an infinite constellation, each glimmer representing a lost child. There are images of children projected here too, giving a face to a minute number of those lights. It sucks you in, you feel as though you are floating in space, in infinite silence, a stark contrast to the laughing, crying and shouting you expect from children. It's hard to describe. I think anyone who has read the Old Kingsom trilogy by Garth Nix will instantly find extra meaning in what they are seeing, but I won't go into detail as I don't want to spoil the books for anyone. They are brilliant. 

We then moved onto the main building via a few smaller exhibits. Upon entering you see that the architecture tells the story in itself with its long triangular corridor which gets narrower as it gets to the middle. It's cold grey walls giving you a sense of oppression, claustrophobia and hopelessness, as though you are caught in a trap. 

The rooms show images, news reports, documents and artifacts in a chronological order. Along the way, as you zig-zag from one room to the next via the main corridor, you find interviews from survivors. This is by far the most harrowing aspect and I'm not ashamed to say that I was close to tears a few times. I don't know how anyone couldn't be when hearing someone recount the day their parents were taken to the concentration camps while they hid in a cupboard, or of watching people being lined up naked by a trench and being shot, only to be moved to line up after them to face the same fate. There are no words to explain the feeling. The museum ends with the hall of rememberance, a domed, circular room covered in photos of just a fraction of those who died at the hands of the Nazis. This is when I lost it and started to well up. After that I couldn't even speak, I was too moved, too emotionally drained.

I went back to the hostel, met up with Itay and ended up getting very drunk very quickly after such a roller coaster of a day. I think it's what I needed.

The next day was tough and I wasn't in the best state to take the bus to Tel Aviv.

Having wasted the morning, I made my way to the central bus station. It was another sunny day and an easy walk along the wide, open main street. Getting the bus was straight forward... Remember what I was saying about efficiency. I was lucky to bump into Greg a bunk mate at the hostel on the bus.

Greg helped me find where I was going and I found my accommodation easily enough. Now Tel Aviv was my first experience of couch surfing and it was amazing.

Leading up to my visit I had been in contact with my host Filippo via couchsurfing.com and he had agreed to host me for three days - this became longer, but we'll come onto that. 

Filippo is an Italian-Jew educated in the UK, so he speaks English fluently. Currently he is studying Opera at university and is an amazing and thoughtful guy. He welcomed me into his very bohemian house and introduced me to his flat mates. Omrea, a percussionist, Nicoletta a waitress, Bertan the only non Italian, who studies piano performance and his honourary flat mate Antonella. There was also one last flat mate, Pamina Filippo's dog who is a ball of cuteness, smiles and energy wrapped in a fetching bow tie. The house was so welcoming and invited me into their little family with open arms, it was really a very special experience that I am truly grateful for.

The visit started with a bang as I arrived in the middle of a house party, mainly situated on the building's awesome balcony where people were chatting to the sound of classical music. So back on the booze I went. The party wrapped up fairly early which was nice after the night before and so I staggered off to bed. This was a perfect indication of what the house is like, it's a really communal space with everyone being welcome to come and join the fun.

Over the next few days I explored the city. The highlights for me were the beach which is dotted with interesting promenades and outdoor gyms, much like Las Palmas. There's also a dog beach where Antonella and I spent an afternoon with Pamina. I learned that Pamina isn't the worlds greatest fetcher. In fact she would grab the toy then shake it out of her mouth and lose it. 

The old town, Jaffa, is stunning and I romed it's cobbled streets looking at the yellow stone buildings with Pamina at my side. The ampitheatre at the top of the town has amazing views, but my favourite part has to be the small doc with it's small cafes and shops. 

Near the old town are also markets focusing on jewelry, materials and furniture. The latter is very impressive and I am already planning a return visit for when I buy a house. 

I also enjoyed the famous Tel Aviv night life. Unfortunately this involved me getting so drunk that I lost my bag, which I had forgotten to take my passport out of... This was upsetting, but I am proud to say that I didn't stress about it and via the embassy, the bag and contents came back to me. I won't go into details as I'm still a bit embarrassed, but I was so happy to get the bag back. However this was after missing my flight to India, which I rebooked for a week later. Thankfully Filippo said I could stay at his - what a champ!!

This then gave me time to join Filippo at a freestyle class called 5 Rythms (http://www.mc5.co.il/en/) . It's a freestyle dance class using music representing five  different rythms from relaxed to utter chaos. It's all very un-English, but I threw aside my cynicism and self consciousness and just went for it and I have to say I loved it. It was like raving without the regular intoxicants, because everyone was open to it and doing their own thing. It was freeing and two hours later I was pouring with perspiration and fearing the blisters that had already appeared on my soles. Worth it though! Totally worth it! If you're in Tel Aviv and want to try something different then I suggest you do it!

The extra week also allowed me to head to Eliat and where I have booked to cross the boarder to Petra in Jordan. That's still to come as I'm on the bus there as I type this. 

So was it all it was cracked up to be? Definitely and more. Did I have enough time to make a decision yes, but I've still only scratched the surface, so I just can't tell by how much it exceeded my expectations.

Things I've learnt:

I knew that Israelis had to do military service, but I didn't realise they could do jobs like working as tour guides, playing in the army band, etc. though they all have to do basic training which sounds like hell.

The addresses have the street name which normally doesn't have road or street at the end and then the number after e.g. Shenkin 57

Things I liked:

It's really efficient.

In Tel Aviv there are lots of people with dogs, but there's very little mess. 

Tel Aviv is very liberal and axel a lot of different people

The people I stayed with were AMAZING!! 

Favourite food: 

There's loads of great vegan food, but my favourite was Shakshuka, eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.

Favourite sight: 

Pamina's smiley face of course. Also amazing things to be found at the craft market held on Tuesdays and Fridays by the food market at the intersection of Alenby and Shenkin. Plus the after hours nightlife in Mahane Yehuda, Jerusalem

If you want a tour of Jerusalem hit up Itay, he's brilliant and definitely one of te best guides I've had ever! Plus he's a genuine local! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293983-d7811043-Reviews-Jerusalem_Experts-Jerusalem_Jerusalem_District.html

Bonus day in Egypt

I want to start this unexpected post off with a question: What is good customer service? 

Well I think there are two types. The first is going above and beyond to make an experience better than expected, which is rare. The second is harder and that is to correct something that has gone wrong and turn it into a positive experience. The latter is where my hotel, the Bluebird Hotel in Cairo has excelled.

For one reason and another my hotel shuttle to the airport did not make it on time. We won't dwell on that, as it was really out of their control and they did everything they could. 

Exhausted and rather tired, I arrived back at the hotel by taxi. I was kinda chill about the whole thing as I knew it would all get sorted and I knew that being stressed wouldn't turn the plane around. However I didn't want to let on that Iwasn't  really angry as stuff still needed sorting. As such I had my faux anger on when Ibrahim, the hotel owner, saw me back in reception. 

It was all for nothing, as Ibrahim apologized profusely and swept into action. He took me straight to the airline's offices across town (as I had been advised by the check in staff) and paid for my new ticket. On our way Ibrahim pointed out the Swiss Embassy, which was covered in some amazing street art. Now you might be thinking "that's the least they could do, I would t use the term excelled." And you'd be right.

After the flight was sorted, Ibrahim took me to his favourite Egyptian restaurant for lunch. I had a half duck with rice, a lemon soup and salad. It was all nom and more than I had expected. 

By now it must have been clear that I was totally fine about the whole thing, but that didn't stop Ibrahim taking me to have some Egyptian shisha with his friends. We went to a back alley coffee shop set amongst some of the downtown area's taller buildings. I say alley, it felt more like a courtyard where Egyptians from all types of backgrounds spent the evening chatting and playing backgammon, or at least a game that uses the same board and pieces, I still have no idea how it's played! There were also a lot of kitties. Being here really made me see a different aspect of the culture in Cairo that is a bit more real, for want of a better more insightful term. I even bought a shisha pipe from a friend of Ibrahim's, which I'm having shipped home. I am very excited about using it when I get home.

So, that I think counts as excelling at customer service. Yes our best laid plans went awry, que sera sera, I had an amazing time that ended up being the best day I had in Egypt. So if you are ever looking for a genuine experience of Cairo's downtown on a budget, check out the Bluebird hotel and say hi from me!

Egypt

So I've been thinking about my blog and that I need to give it some love and more over, put a bit more of myself into it. Up to this point I've been concerned what the big bad internet will make of my posts and have watered them down to the point of banality. Well screw that. I try to be an open book IRL so why should I care about Internet trolls? To that end lets talk about Egypt.

Egypt... To be honest, after three months in South Africa I really wasn't relishing the thought of two weeks in Northern Africa. The constant harassment from taxi drivers, sales people and vagabonds, the pervasive feeling that you're being ripped off, the litter, the noise, etc, etc. Why bother right? Well you can't travel the world and not see the pyramids can you.... So was it terrible? I'm here to tell you that Egypt was exactly as expected, but I was wrong about everything, I loved it (except the beggars obvs I'm not that cruel).

Cairo

I arrived in Cairo after two days of flying, including sleeping in the play area of Dubai airport. The soft floor was a magnet for travellers with overnight layovers, it was like a really clean, well-to-do slum. 

The trip did not start off well as the shuttle to my hotel didn't arrive so I had to get a taxi, which threw me right into the middle of the Northern African sales/harassment... LE200/£20 later (rip off), I get to my hotel, the Bluebird, which is nice for the price and is set in Cairo's chaotic down town area. On the way I already got the suspicion that a lot if Cairo was full of western tack for sale, which it really is. There are KFCs and McDonalds everywhere. Though it does occur to me that these are both American brands and England has tonnes of them, so who am I to judge... Also the roads are bedlam. Drivers just make new lanes if they think they can fit between two cars and pedestrians just walk randomly into the road if they want to cross. After a couple of days I think I throw caution to the wind and get the hang of it and it's actually quite fun.

Cairo is a busy city and is fairly easy to navigate on foot, hell if I can do it... The Egyptian History Museum is fascinating. I must admit I didn't think it was going to be as interesting as it was. There's just so much to see and learn. I decided not to have a guide as its a museum and I can read the notes for myself, however upon entry I realised that there aren't many notes and you can't take photos to research later... That being said, like all the big museums there is still an element of information overload, even without a guide explaining everything. In fact there was souch to see and learn about that I completely forgot to see Tutankhamun's burial mask and sarcophagi, which is like going to the Louvre and not seeing the Mona Lisa! This however was a good excuse to go back with my sketch book in hand on my return to Cairo after a trip to Luxor and Aswan. I've never sat in a museum and drawn before and did so with a little trepidation. Overall it was a fun experience, the only annoying part was people looking over my shoulder as I'm not that confident about my abilities yet.

My favourite part was learning about the animal mummification and worship. The museum has some amazing examples of mumified crocodiles and fish which are huge. One croc was easily twice my height (5"8'). It was also interesting to see the mummies of Rameses II and Hapshetmut among others, having heard about them on my trips in Luxor and Aswan. As there's no photography allowed inside, here's a picture of a cat on one of the monuments outside the museum.

After a few wrong turns I also found the  Khan El Khalili market, which to my mind sells too much western tack (I did. warn you), like fake addidas hoodies, sparkly kids shoes, peace symbol necklaces, that sort of stuff. However there are sections that are amazing, full to the brim with interesting smells from spice stalls and vibrant colours of local clothing and materials which you can very literally get lost in. I picked up some scarab beads and bracelets, plus some material for a project I'm thinking of working on. The haggling was good fun and I think I did myself proud with the salespeople. I got my patter down and seemed to get a good price most of the time. The material I got for 30 Egyptian pounds and a salesman further down refused to match that price and said it was really good - I don't think he believed me to be honest. Being British I used to hate haggling, but now I quite enjoy it and I find the key is to laugh at the first price they say no matter how reasonable you think it might be. Plus have an upper limit going in, otherwise they'll push you up too easily.

Giza, Sakkara and Memphis

I booked my first expedition through a local agent and was ready to be wowed by the pyramids of Giza and Sakkara, where the oldest stepped pyramids are... I was not wowed. The pyramids were terribly maintained. This is a running theme in Egypt. Between Pharos destroying each other's monuments, other religions vandalising sacred buildings, archeologists stealing stuff the Egyptian government giving valuables away and plain old grave robbing, all of the monuments I saw were destroyed in some way. It's a shame that these places aren't better maintained and that additions like lighting, doorways, shops, aren't more in keeping and/or discreet, also they're covered in rubble and litter for the most part. 

Anyway back to the pyramids, I went to the Pyramids of Giza on horseback with a guide. This was a rip off, but I was really tired and couldn't be bothered to argue so paid up. As those of you who know me IRL will testify, I'm not a lot of use when I'm tired. That being said, the locations are very impressive in their size, though as mentioned there was a lot of litter and the busy Cairo skyline looms over the site, stopping you getting lost in the history and bringing you back to modern day reality. 

My guide was nice enough, but quite quickly started angling for tips. He claimed that he only got paid in tips. I heard this line a lot, if it's to be believed I estimate that there are only about three people who ever get paid in Egyptian tourism haha. Anyway like I say he was nice enough and took those obnoxious travel photos all tourists get by using forced perspective, oh look they're below, enjoy those haha. There isn't really much more to say about the pyramids, they are what they are really, tall, pyramid shaped and sandy colored. Climbing a little way up one was fun, though I'm pretty sure we weren't meant to do that...

We also went to Memphis and saw some smaller monuments. Again there was a corridor off rip of merchants, but I got through with my wallet intact.

Luxor and Aswan

I had the idea that I was going to plan and book all my excursions myself and take the train everywhere, however, after talking to a tour company and Ibrahim at my hotel (The BlueBird), I found it was immensely cheaper to get a tour, plus a lot less stressful. I booked to see Aswan and Luxor, including a felucca trip on the Nile. 

My trip started with a 3am flight to Aswan. Now I'm no stranger to 3am myself. I have met that dark beauty on many a Friday and Saturday morning, but geez is 3am ugly when you're sober! 

I arrived at Aswan very tired in the early morning and my guide picked me up from the airport in a Mercedes that had curtains in the windows (fancy). As it was too early to check in we went to the High dam and Lower dam before visiting the temple of Philae via a motorboat across the Nile, my first 'Niall on the Nile' experience.

We arrived at the High dam to find a large number of military personel on patrol, showing the importance of the dam to Egypt. It not only stops the annual flooding of the Nile, but more importantly provides Egypt with most of its electricity with enough left over to export to neighboring countries. The scale of the damn was very impressive and its curved shape seemed to disappear into the horizon at times.

After a few photos we jumped back into the car to see the Philae temple, which I had been looking forward to a lot. The temple is dedicated to Osiris the God of the underworld and his wife Isis. The legend goes that Osiris was the king of the gods, but his jealous brother killed him and cut his body into 14 pieces and hid one in each of the districts of Egypt at the time. Isis, then flew across the skies to collect all 14 pieces to bring her husband back to life before giving birth to their son Horus. 

The temple also has a more recent history in that it had been moved when the High dam was built due to the latter's affect on the water level. Walking amongst the colossal columns that reached up into the sky. My guide told me about the temple, explaining that it had been extended by many Pharos, leading to an array of different designs, which can be observed on the columns, which depicted lotus patters and open and closed papyrus. As we went through the main building I learned that is has a slight mistake. To fit it on the new island the architects had slightly staggered the building to one side meaning that from the Holy of Holies, the main room of offering, you could no longer see directly out to the courtyard. 

Exhausted by my travels I then had the rest of the day to myself. Unfortunately I thought that my hotel was in the middle of nowhere and so I didn't fancy venturing into town. I later found out that I just turned up at the wrong time and it's actually quite a busy area. However there was a gym downstairs so I slept and worked out. I know it's not the most culturally explorative thing to do, but I loved it and they played some amazing Egyptian metal which defies a proper description. 

The next day I woke up early (3am) and joined a tour group to Abu Simbel. This temple was a lot more impressive than those I'd previously seen on impact. Just seeing the scale of the temples was impressive, though it was inside the tombs that was most impressive. The dark, bus spacious rooms were covered in heiroglyphs and I was able to put some of what I had learned the day before about Horus, Osiris and Isis to good use. Again the signage and lighting outside aren't exactly subtle, but inside the lighting is done really well and brings the heiroglyphs to life, unfortunately again there are no photos allowed inside, but I can see the wisdom in that - you'd never be able to move for Japanese tourists taking pictures! The scale of the heiroglyphs and statues is immense and shows the brilliant craftsmanship that went into this temple. 

Now I've briefly touched on traders, they were everywhere, but nowhere more than in Abu Simbel and they do give you the sense of being hunted with their insistence that you purchase something. However if you follow the main tips, no eye contact, just keep walking, etc you'll be fine. I didn't buy anything in the shops as the traders would physically stand in the way of unsuspecting tourists to usher them into their stalls. I did however stand in when I saw a Japanese (I think) woman being harassed by a trader, she was literally cowering from him, it was not fair. He started asking what business it was of mine to get involved and I diplomatically said "look she clearly doesn't want this" when I should have more forcefully said "it's my business when a guy is harassing a woman", oh well I'll know for next time. I was really pleased with myself though it was I was on WWYD, my new favourite show. Seriously check it out on YT.

Luxor and Karnak

I then took the train to Luxor, which was really relaxing. Watching the scenery  go zooming by in a rather spacious seat was relaxing and not too mentally taxing as yet again I was on an early commute. 

I was met on the platform by a representative from the tour group and taken to the hotel to check in and relax before heading to Karnak and Luxor temple. I walked into Karnak and was blown away by the scale, I had been impressed before but now I was mind blown. The hot sun and blue sky created the perfect atmosphere to loseyself in the many columns and the almost infite array of heiroglyphs. The sandy columns casting an army of shadows across each other. The obelisks crowned the forest of columns standing out like giant oaks amongst saplings. Id learned about the obelisks in school, but seeing them really puts into perspective how amazing it is that these were carved and erected out of single pieces of stone. 

I then had to draw myself away to get to Luxor temple, which is a smaller affair, but makes up for its size in diversity. The temple has five different influences including a mosque, Grecian tableau (built by Alexander the Great in an Egyptian style) and a Christian alter. It's a reminder of the influence of other nations, particularly the Romans on the Egyptian culture.

The 4:30am wake up call from the hotel the next morning was a shocker. I practically jumped out of the bed, I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash. Though this was probably a good thing. After staggering into a shuttle bus and a short boat trip across the Nile, which thankfully included a much needed coffee I was on a hot air balloon for sunrise, with a few other bleary eyed tourists. This was another highlight I had been looking forward to. It was amazing and very tranquil silently soaring above the landscape, looking down at the Valley of the Kings. I was stunned by the scale of the Valley of the Kings and the temple of Hapshetsu, It's an amazing way to see the city. I was also surprised by how quickly the balloon moved without being jerky or shakey - like the way ghosts move in movies, but not creepy obviously. I also realised I have no idea how these things work, they were firing up what assume is called the engine as we were going down, surely more fire equals more height right?! Anyways riding a hot air balloon is another thing off the bucket list and added to the date idea list, it is very romantic and those of you who know me know how much of a true romantic I am.

After that I was ready to just float around all day, but instead I headed off to the West Bank to see the Valley of the Kings and the temple of Hatshepsut on the ground. 

You could quite easily get spend days in the Valley of the Kings with its vast array of catacombs cut into the cliffs. I went into three tombs in the valley and was immersed in the detail and remaining colour of the highly decorated walls and ceilings. It really is impressive how the colours have survived, you can almost imagine the hundreds of people working on them chiselling and painting by the blinding midday sun.

I would have happily visited more tombs, but sadly due to a lack of tourists, only a few are open. This is a running theme for me. Everyone I speak to tells me how the recent revolutions have killed the tourist trade, which the cities rely on so heavily. They are desperate to host people again and everyone tells me that I must tell people how good and safe Egypt is. I have to say that I don't have anything bad to say about it. Yes you have to watch your things, but if you weren't doing that anyway then I don't think you should visit any city, or even leave the house.

We then went to the temple of Hatshepsut one of the most influential and important female Pharos, who assumed the throne after her husband died and left their young son as heir.

Following my tour I got back to Cairo for a few days of travel planning and r&r. There was an issue with my hotel shuttle and I again had to get a taxi (120 EP this time). To apologize the hotel put me on a dinner cruise on the Nile. I hadn't been interested in the cruise as I thought it would be very touristy and it is, but it was actually a lot of fun. I was also surprised by how much it was like sailing down the Thames looking at the lit up banks and bridges. The entertainment were indicative of various areas of Egypt but had been spruced up for us tourists, such as a guy who was covered in lights while he performed some impressive twirling .

 was also able to spend some more time exploring and found some amazing street art some of which captures the mood of the revolution, as well as some signs of the damage done in that time. 

So that's pretty much my experience of Egypt. I have to say Luxor has been my favourite place or, to be more precise, The Karnak Temple. The scale of the buildings, statues and monuments is just staggering and something that has really made my trip.

As always, please do comment and watch the vid and stuff. It's always nice to hear what people have to say about the blog, even if it's just to point out typos!! It's so hard to catch them when you're typing with auto correct and reading it back on an iPhone!