Floating on the Nile

Friday 11 May 2012  - Moving north along the Nile

Day 29 and 130 to go

With our wake up call booked for 4.15am it was an early start, but not as early as we expected. After answering the phone I was out and ready to have a shower before read his watch to find it was actually 4.40am and we would be picked up at 5am. So we got dressed, grabbed our things and were down stairs in 10min.

There was another family of Aussies who also did not receive their wake up so between us the reception staff got a blast. Paul complained to our tourist leader about the wake-up call and our interrupted evening.  Not sure if it will do much good though.

We were driven to the airport. The roads were a lot quieter at this time though we had a stop because of a car accident. Someone missed a bend on the bridge and crashed through the safety barrier ending up on the road below. There only little bits of car left as it had been removed.

We were at the airport within 30min and checked in leaving our tour guide behind. We located the gate and the other Aussies before sitting and eating the breakfast we were given by the hotel.

At 6.10am we walked through the boarding gate and were shuttled by bus to our plane and by 7am we were back in the air and heading to Aswan 90min away.

The view was desolate and when we landed in Aswan I felt like I had been transported to the surface of Mars. The land was orangey and rocky. There was desert all around with only the banks of the Nile sustaining greenery.

We were met by our tour manager Amir, who collected our bags and showed us to our car, before we drove 30min to our cruise boat. We drove past the old dam and could see the Phillae Temple in the distance. Tomorrow we will be able to walk through it.

We were escorted aboard at 9.30am before being shown to our room. We had a large window from which we could see the Nile and the West bank. It was very well appointed.

After sorting out our things we decided it was a good time for a nap, as lunch was not being served until 1pm. After being up early we needed to recharge. Ahh.

At 12.45pm we walked around our deck level before going down to the restaurant for lunch. We were given our table number and then we could help ourselves to the buffet. The meal was very nice with soup, salad, hot vege, meats and dessert. The issue we had was drinks were not included in our “Full Board”. We had expected to not have to pay for anything while on the boat but it is obviously not how Egypt works.

We were seated with the other Australian family (mick, Sandy and Phil) and an English couple. We had a good chat over our meal that was enjoyable.

Following lunch, Paul and I wandered up to the top deck where there is a pool, though they had drained it this morning for cleaning. It was quite stifling hot outside but not unbearable. We played table tennis. I kicked Paul’s butt. I am the table tennis queen.

We returned to the room and had a drink before deciding to brave the outside world and go for a walk. We found the markets to wander through. We had been told to expect plenty of hassle but we found it quite easy. We walked the strip mall checking out the little stalls. We bought some drinks before walking back along the waterfront. There are many horse and cart owners along this section. Some of the horses look like they could do with a good feed and plenty of water. It is quite distressing to see.

We got back to the boat hoping to have a swim, but the pool was still empty and we were not allowed to use the pool of the other boat. I had a shower to cool down instead.

We watched the BBC news for a while before heading to the lobby to meet our tour guide at 5 and the other Aussies, in readiness for our Feluca ride on the Nile. 

We boarded the small sailboat and set sail. The sun was just starting to set and there was only a slight breeze that made the experience enjoyable.  The guide Aswanee told us about the area and the things we were seeing.  There were many people out on boats or fishing.

With the ride almost complete the deckhand brought out the trinkets he had for sale that did not impress any of us. We were also advised by the guide that tipping was expected. Paul and Mick let him know we would not be tipping, as what we paid for our trip was more than enough. We also let him know that we weren’t happy that drinks were not included on board considering it was a full board ticket. He let us know that for drinks to be included it would have said all-inclusive.

As a result when we got off the boat we stopped at a local store and bought plenty of water and soft drink to put in the minibar. We returned to the room. I loaded the pictures onto the computer and we continued to watch TV before going back to the dining room for dinner.

Again the meal was delicious and the service attentive. We once again enjoyed the company of our English and Australian travelers.

As there was no entertainment on board tonight we returned to our room for an early night in readiness for another early start tomorrow.

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