Thread: Nile River Cruise with the Thai Girlfriend

the best way Nile river trip is on a small fellucca sail boat. We took ours tacking upstream from Luxor to the Edfu temple, it's an overnighter, you just sleep on the boat at the riverside. It's unbelievably peaceful. There's just the two you and the driver. At night you stop by an island, he cooks a meal, and you sleep under the stars.

we got a package just from a travel agency in Cairo that was train to Aswan, night in an hotel, early start tour to Abu Simbel two hours drive away, bus to Luxor, overnight at an hotel, guided tour of the Valley of Kings and Queens the next day, and then fellucca boat up to the Edfu temple, also Esna temple, then bus to Hurghada.

that was when the package tour we booked in Cairo ended. You can tailor make them to suit your needs.

after that, we went independently by boat across the Gulf of Suez to Sharm el Sheikh, and then up the peninsular to Dahab, for brilliant snorkelling and diving.

it's a while ago now but in 1999, this tour cost $150 per person all in, and that's everything except (some) meals and the modest temple admission fees - all transport and the hotel accommodation was included in the price.

obviously we gave generous baksheesh to especially to the felucca sailor/driver.

I'm sure the cruiseships are great, I've been tempted by them myself especially as the prices seem reasonable even when booked overseas, but I'm not kidding, felucca is the best way to sail the Nile - sometimes, we'd pass by the big cruiseships and we'd spot the passengers who would be waving at us, and you could tell they were jealous of us inches away from the water, bravely tacking our way upstream in the tiny sail boat.

OK, we might have had to shit in a hole in the ground, while they had waiter service like on a cruise ship, but our boat was still the better one to be on.

whatever you'll enjoy Egypt. It's got to be pretty close to being the best all-round tourist destination in the world.

you've chosen just one of the better months (November) by the way. Not too hot, and not too cold - in December/January it can get distinctly chilly in Egypt, even Cairo can often get into single figures at night. In the desert when the temps drop markedly at night, and when there's elevation, it can get even colder than that.

its quite like Thailand, it can get cold but never quite cold enough to freeze.

Went on a cruise ship down the Nile and was a great experience. Swimming pool and bar on the top deck where you could sit in the shade with a cold beer and take the passing scenery in. The food was good too.

The tourist sights are incredible. The country is well worth the visit.

Be very careful on the roads. They drive like maniacs. Worse than Thailand.

Thanks for the well wishes.

I was told that the walkways into some of the Pyramids were kind of musty, I understand why now, thanks to Bangyai and Happyman. It doesn’t sound too appealing.
And they say the Egyptians were such good builders, in their time. Maybe good builders but not good planners. They should have planned for the future and built some bathrooms in those Pyramids so that people could take a piss while pillaging their remains.

It is nice to know some of you have been there and enjoyed your trip. Panda we’ll be doing the same thing as you once did,…sitting on the top deck next to the pool enjoying the scenery. And DD if you check the airfares with Egyptair (direct flights to and from Cairo, 812.00 US) you might find them reasonable.

Don Juan it was a little disturbing to find out what they required from a Thai (and from me in letter form) to visit the country. A certificate of employment? What if she wasn’t working,.could she still go? Financial documents? What if she didn’t want to show one of her accounts? I wouldn’t want to (for a tourist visa),...hell I don’t even like showing the Thai consulate in the states proof I can live over here without becoming a burden to the Thai society. Do they think she’s going to show too much skin? Maybe they have a problem with women who might wear painted on jeans. Just silly the stigma some people have about Thais.

Callippo we’ll be sailing on a felucca, for a short time. I guess they (the cruise operators) want to give us the experience of that type of boat. It would be nice to sail the Nile like you did, however I don’t think it would provide us with the comforts we have become accustom to at this stage in both of our lives (you know like a toilet that flushed, something along the lines you mentioned). I also don’t think I could live down the ridicule my family and some of my friends wives who have become very fond of the girlfriend would give me, once they found out how we spent our trip.
Sailing on a felucca, sleeping under the stars,…does sound more romantic. If I was younger and had the time and money, I would do it your way. And yes,.I’ll be one of those people sitting on the top deck of the boat we are on and watching the felucca’s as we pass them and think how nice it would be.

A grand tour for you and your lady to look forward to, and the rest of us look forward to the Trip report. Have a great time.

look forward to your posts and pics when you get back. im thinking of going there early next year.

Flew into Cairo yesterday and visited to a few sites. When I get back to Thailand I will attach stories to the pictures (many more).

Originally Posted by callippo

the best way Nile river trip is on a small fellucca sail boat. We took ours tacking upstream from Luxor to the Edfu temple, it's an overnighter, you just sleep on the boat at the riverside. It's unbelievably peaceful. There's just the two you and the driver. At night you stop by an island, he cooks a meal, and you sleep under the stars.

we got a package just from a travel agency in Cairo that was train to Aswan, night in an hotel, early start tour to Abu Simbel two hours drive away, bus to Luxor, overnight at an hotel, guided tour of the Valley of Kings and Queens the next day, and then fellucca boat up to the Edfu temple, also Esna temple, then bus to Hurghada.

that was when the package tour we booked in Cairo ended. You can tailor make them to suit your needs.

after that, we went independently by boat across the Gulf of Suez to Sharm el Sheikh, and then up the peninsular to Dahab, for brilliant snorkelling and diving.

it's a while ago now but in 1999, this tour cost $150 per person all in, and that's everything except (some) meals and the modest temple admission fees - all transport and the hotel accommodation was included in the price.

obviously we gave generous baksheesh to especially to the felucca sailor/driver.

I'm sure the cruiseships are great, I've been tempted by them myself especially as the prices seem reasonable even when booked overseas, but I'm not kidding, felucca is the best way to sail the Nile - sometimes, we'd pass by the big cruiseships and we'd spot the passengers who would be waving at us, and you could tell they were jealous of us inches away from the water, bravely tacking our way upstream in the tiny sail boat.

OK, we might have had to shit in a hole in the ground, while they had waiter service like on a cruise ship, but our boat was still the better one to be on.

whatever you'll enjoy Egypt. It's got to be pretty close to being the best all-round tourist destination in the world.

totally agree., small boatts the way to go, cruise ship crowds give me nightmares, in fact my parents did one down the nile just last year. nuff said,

I did a tour of Egypt about 15 years ago. It was a great experience and I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves. I recommend going to the night show at the pyramids, it was just like the James bond movie without the killings.

^We were there last night,......it was educational and chilly.

Was at the pyramids for the millenium. Jean Michelle Jarre or wotever his name is did a 12 hour gig.

If in Dahab in the Sinai, go for a walk into the mountains behind, bring pot, food, water, and fire logs. Go to the highest peak... Smoke... Lie back and enjoy a 360 degree nightsky with neither land nor light pollution obscuring your vision. Then root the missus and smoke up some more.

Happy days.

There was an old tour guide called Mohamed that showed us around Luxor temple (or one of the temples) and very dramatically started the tour by saying.

"In ancient times, before entering the temple, the great sphinx would ask each person this riddle which they had to answer corectly before being aloud to passssssss ooooo (drama added ). What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon and 3 legs at night? ooooooo"

I was only 15 and the youngest person on the tour by about 40 years but answered it straight away and he called me a cheeky little shit and that I'd ruined his act as no one normally gets it.

I saw him on the national geographic channel a few years ago and he was still telling the same story. Maybe you'll get him!

Errrr! I give up ! what is the answer

Man.

4 legs in the morning (baby crawling on all fours) 2 legs in the afternoon (adult) 3 legs in the evening (old man with walking stick)

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

There was an old tour guide called Mohamed that showed us around Luxor temple (or one of the temples) and very dramatically started the tour by saying.

"In ancient times, before entering the temple, the great sphinx would ask each person this riddle which they had to answer corectly before being aloud to passssssss ooooo (drama added ). What has 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon and 3 legs at night? ooooooo"

I was only 15 and the youngest person on the tour by about 40 years but answered it straight away and he called me a cheeky little shit and that I'd ruined his act as no one normally gets it.

I saw him on the national geographic channel a few years ago and he was still telling the same story. Maybe you'll get him!

Our guide (during our first day) wasn’t as colorful as yours seemed to be, but he was knowledgeable and I will share some good stories about him when I get back to Thailand.
I will look for your guide once we get to Luxor,….now that I know the answer to his question, maybe I’ll be the spoiler.

Yesterday we visited Khan El Khalili Bazar (said to be the largest outdoor market in Africa?) and walked the streets of Cairo.

Just a warning to anyone of you who will bring your Thai girlfriend/spouse to Cairo,…….The girlfriend drew a lot of attention yesterday with her full length Thai skirt (more than she wanted at the bazar). Most of the women here dress in black so the bright yellow skirt she was wearing got some criticism (all of it good, but some of the women would gawk a little too long).

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

Man.

4 legs in the morning (baby crawling on all fours) 2 legs in the afternoon (adult) 3 legs in the evening (old man with walking stick)

Hmmm........not much of a riddle as riddles go. I never thought the great sphinx would be such a fraud . Glad you sussed it so easily .