Luxor and Karnak - 21 September 2010

I'm skipping a few days, as most of the time on the Fellucas was spent sleeping, reading, and swimming. We arrived in Luxor a few days later and met up with Drew and Dazy (the truck).

One of the largest sections of remaing wall

Heiroglyphs

Pillars looking out towards the Nile

Original colours - the blue is still incredibly vibrant

I seem to have a thing for shots through doorways

The only heiroglyph in Egypt depicting the birth of a baby. Quite small inn size, so I had to zoom in quite a lot to get the shot.

Our tour group standing in the courtyard

Karnak

Horus

Bruno getting up to mischief

Feluccas on the Nile - 18 September 2010

Like most of my diaries, I appear to get side tracked or sick of writing them at a certain point. From this post on, I have to change the way I share my journey. Instead of pictures illustrating what I've written, the pictures will be the story, and I'll have text with them so you know what you're looking at.

We're heading for the opposite bank. Boarding a little ferry like the one on the right we start our journey for the day.

Aswan Botanical Gardens is on Kitcheners Island. Kitchener is a notorious Governer of Egypt who was less than caring with his "slaves"

There were heaps of cats on the island. We were told that they were all healthy but some of them looked terrible. This one reminded me of Mischief.

Ange & Bruno - I asked them to get their gansta on to which Bruno replied "what you think this is?"

Drew sitting on the bank of the Nile, smoking shisha with the guys piloting the fellucas. This is a couple of hours into the cruise.

Traditional farming on the banks of the Nile.

Hard, hard life.

Image via ACP

Fancy dress party on the bank of the Nile. From L-R: Bruno, Drew, John, Sean and Karl

Cat

Sean and Tambi

Tara and John - "Team Ireland"

Ange and Joel - This is the look sinister face.

The Model Shot - I clearly don't understand what's going on as Ange has the look perfectly.

Standing L-R: Me, Joel, Helen & Bruno...Sitting L-R: Teegs and Drew - Image via ACP

Dancing around the camp fire. I found the lense speed setting on my camera, and managed to set it to get a photo I really like of some ghost dancing.

Lots of drinking had occured by the time the cross dressing had started. From L-R: Karl, Bruno, Glen, Aadrian & John

After this last photo, things progressed to nude Nile swimming. Not me, I have some shame but there were some sights burned onto my retinas that amuse me still to this day. Needless to say, we all slept well that night.

Abu Simbel & freaking camels - 17 September 2010

This post is partially continued from 16 September...

***

Ange and I got home and clambered, fully dressed, into bed. We had a wakeup call set for 2:30am but we had been warned these frequently didn't happen so we stayed up talking.

At 2:30am the phone did ring with the wakeup call. We filed downstairs and met up with the other bleary eyed members of the group and at 3am we headed to the bus. The bus went back the same way as it had the previous morning but then turned off into another street where a heap of other buses and mini buses were waiting. At this point we say for an hour waiting for something to happen. It was after 4am before we finally left. I think the worst part of waiting is not knowing when something is going to happen. Not being told anything is an interesting form of torture for me.

The reason it did take so long though, is because the travel police prefer people to travel in convoys when heading out into this area of the desert.

On the bus, once we finally got moving, I put my ipod in and slept the whole way there. We missed the sunrise at the site but that's ok.

The four of us took off together to go around Abu Simbel. I got stufk behind a group of slow moving oldies in the uniform of white trousers, ridiculous shoes and carrying walking poles so I had to race to catch up.

I came around the corner expecting a moment of revelation but only got the dull thrill or recognition. It was a disappoiting reaction. The statues are in themselves incredible and there is no denying how special they are. I think half the problem is the sheer volume of people traipsing through everyday.

Abu Simbel

Temple to the wife

Helen, Me, Ange, & Bruno - the Original and the Best

A part of me wonders if half the people who visit these sites have knowledge or understanding of what they're seeing. And then part of me wonders if the only reason any of this becomes an issue is because I've always had such a love for Egypt.

Moi - Image via ACP

Joel, Ange & Bruno - Image via ACP

We were only at Abu Simbel for an hour and a half before we were back on the bus. I did the same thing back as I did on the way in, but the seats were damn uncomfortable.

Nearly the whole group ended up following the 4 of us to McDonalds for lunch. We are all so sick of stale bread, diced tomatoes and cucumber with mystery meat in sauce. I never thought I'd miss McDonalds. We spent the rest of the afternoon in an internet cafe and didn't do much else.

At half 5 we all met up down at the docks and got a little ferry boat across the river. We climbed a sandy beach, covered in camel shit. Reaching the top we were greated by a herd of camels and their handlers.

Bruno was one of the first on and gone. I was freaking out. Ange was up on a camel and being lead away. As she came past I said "I can't" and she started almost yelling at me, saying "yes you can! Get up on that f*$#ing camel!!"

Practicing deep breathing techniques while waiting for a camel

I was lead over to one camel that didn't look like it'd be strong enough. I got my leg over and as I did the guy grabbed my arm and pushed while a guy on the other side pulled my other arm. As soon as that happened I was pitched forward - the two guys caught me as I dropped the "f" bomb and off we went. I don't think I've been so scared of something i my entire life. I'm also not sure how far the walk was bt I didn't stay on till the very end. I saw the downhill section approcahing, with underlying shale and I freaked. I know I said 'get me down' or 'let me off' quite a few times. The getting down, thankfully, was easier than going up. I know it's only camel riding but I feel I've done something extraordinary.

Freaking Camels!

I held onto the sadle so tight with my right hand it was bruised by the time I got off and it really ached the next day.

Once we reached the other end of the ride, two Chevrolet utes were waiting for us. They acted as taxis and took us to the Nubian village. The house turned out to belong to our felucca captain. I've never seen such a serene living area. It was like a giant zen garden. No tiles, or grass, just sand. The walls were painted a beautiful blue and thene there were the traditional beds / couches. I loved it.

After dinner it was back on the utes, and back to the river. I was far more confident getting on the ferry this time. Once back at the hotel, I zoned out with one of the terrible B grade movies on one of the Arabic tv stations.

Philae Temple & the Aswan Dam - 16 September 2010

It's been a while since I blogged about the tour but now that I am gainfully unemployed again (at least for a little while) I'm going to try and get through the rest of this journal. Just a reminder, this is taken directly from my journal, with very little editing and I haven't gone on to research anything I was unsure of when I initially wrote the journal. Gives you all something to do if you should want to know more.

***

I was a little bit excited this morning. The first stop of the day was Philae Temple - dedicated to the Goddess Isis.

The temple has been moved to its current location because of the building of the dam. It hasn't lost anything of its splendour. Getting to the temple was an adventure in itself, as the first ferry we boarded had its engine burn out so we all had to get off and find another one. The men steering the ferries have a lot of confidence in what the ferry can take as they crash into one another with little sympathy.

Image via ACP

Joel - Image via ACP

Our guide told us the story of Philae Temple.

The two gods, Isis and Osiris, had a son, Horus. One day, Osiris' brother Set, killed Osiris and spreak his body over fourteen parts of Egypt. As Horus grew up his mother taught him this history and instructed him on how to kill his uncle.

Eventually the time came. Horus held a party and invited Set (the god of evil). As the party went on Horus made his attempt but decided against following through. Isis didn't understand the change of heart in her son and asked why he had allowed his uncle to live. Horus replied that for the good in the world to be truely appreciated, evil must also exist. This is how Horus became the god of protection.

Inside the temple

Inside the temple

Cleopatra also has a temple at Philae. The guide didn't tell us her story and I can't really remember it. The temple itself was closed off for refurbishment so we couldn't go in.

Bruno and Ange in front of Cleopatra's Temple - Image via ACP

Image via ACP

From the temple we went up to the Dam itself. It's a massive superstructure. Egypt got the funding for it from the Russians forty years ago and they're still paying it off.

The Aswan Dam - this picture doesn't do it justice size wise

The heat is so incredible that these are the only two places we visited today. The heat is such that our guide told us in his 28-29 years he had never seen rain. Bruno and I aren't sure if this is right though as Bruno and I were having our own conversation.

Spent the rest of the day hanging out. Exchanged some money then had ice cream on a boat on the Nile with Ange, Helen, Bruno and Glenn.

In the evening, Teegan and Drew took us to a little 'restaurant' that serves Kushari. It's delicious though. It's made up primarily of lentils, pasta, and veggies of some sort. You add different dressings and chillies to it to make it taste how you want.

Kushari*

The genders split up after dinner to go shopping for fancy dress costumes on the fellucas. If you've never been to be a souq before it can be an intimidating experience. You cannot simply

Aswan Souq at night**

Everyone sings out at you. They all want to know where you're from and they all think its funny when they start shouting kangaroo and Captain Cook.

Ange found a galabaya to try on but the price the guy was asking was to much, so she took it off and gave it back to him. At this point, things got a tad hairy. The guy was so desperate for a sale he kept dropping the price. He bagged it up and kept thrusting it in Ange's face. He got so bad he wouldn't let her out of the shop. I walked over while this was happening and I was ready to put him on his arse cause it had been going for about five minutes. We finally got away from him and he made to follow us. I yelled at him that we was a "very rude man". Lame I know. Thankfully no one else was as irritating as this.

In almost the last shop we visited, we all found our dresses and head scarves. By this point it was after 11pm and we were starting to feel a bit the worse for wear. That and we were all aware of the really early start tomorrow for Abu Simbel.

*http://travelswinger.com/the-egyptian-kushari-%E2%80%A6-a-really-pleasant-dish/
**http://www.flickr.com/photos/endlisnis/442403167/

An Open Letter to My Facebook Friends




"Gone" by 2Raven ^

  “Therefore it is wiser to have a reputation for meanness which brings reproach without hatred, than to be compelled through seeking a reputation for liberality to incur a name for rapacity which begets reproach with hatred.” Attributed to Machiavelli*


Recently, I decided to turn my back on Facebook. To date, it has been over two weeks since I have posted a status update, a news link or something from YouTube.
I will admit to considering, in depth, the benefits of deleting my Facebook (herein FB) account all together. It seems, via FB, I am monitored, scrutinised, accused, belittled and insulted. I found myself a witness to my own censoring of what I wrote, wondering later, if an innocuous status update might be misconstrued and used against me. Perhaps this seems paranoid, but it has happened. As Nietzsche is reported to have written, “there are no facts, only interpretations”+.

FB infuriates me. It is rife with misspellings, nonsense, bigotry, bossiness, snoops, hidden agendas, cruelty – the list could go on. Once upon a time, FB was a bit of fun, but no longer. I do not want my life scrutinised. I do not want my day to day goings on left open to public debate. Yes, it is egotistical to think anyone does this, but I have been around enough people to know that once something is seen or said on FB, it becomes gospel and heaven help you if something innocuous is misconstrued into something resembling nothing of its original conception.

My living in London has not changed me. I am still the same person as I was when I was living in Brisbane. I still have the right to make my own decisions. I have made it to 30 years old with a sound knowledge of what I want to get out of my life. I have not suddenly reverted back to being a 5 year old who needs to be monitored constantly, and finger slapped for being caught in the biscuit tin.

To make a long story short, I will be on FB, if and when I see fit.

At the moment, it is a source of aggravation and I refuse to have that influence near me. I will update the blog when I have something worth blogging about, I will email when I have something worth emailing and I will be back on FB when I have something worth using it for.

Nobody should read this as a personal letter. This decision has been coming for some time.




^ http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&global=1&q=gone#/d7whov
* Machiavelli - http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince16.htm
+ Neitzsche - http://www.nietzsche-quotes.com/other-nietzsche-quotes