Yesterday we visited A-Deir Al-Bahari Temple, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens then left the dock. We were not allowed to take any pictures around/in the Valley of the Kings and Queens.
Some Place in Luxor
Yesterday we visited A-Deir Al-Bahari Temple, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens then left the dock. We were not allowed to take any pictures around/in the Valley of the Kings and Queens.
Some Place in Luxor
Last edited by Marmite the Dog; 22-11-2009 at 03:26 PM. Reason: fixed piccies
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Thanks for the update, but only 6 of your pics show for me. None of the ones in your last post show.
^I don’t know what it is? When I preview the post before I post it,.the pictures are there. It might have something to do with my connection?????????
By the way,.thank you to one of the Mods who posted the last set of pictures for me.
Hmmm.... I'll just have to enjoy the ones that I can see. My husband and I would like to go to Egypt someday and we have friends who live in Cairo.
^Lucky you,….you know someone here. It is a beautiful country. You both should visit, when you have a chance.
Today we visited the Edfu temple then sailed to Kom ombo to visit the temple there.
If I am unable to post these pictures (due to my connection?), this might be the last update until I reach Thailand.
Last edited by Marmite the Dog; 22-11-2009 at 03:28 PM.
Another attempt at posting a picture while still in Egypt…………
Most of the day yesterday was spent sailing and we took some pictures of life on the Nile.
Last edited by Marmite the Dog; 22-11-2009 at 03:29 PM.
Your URL for the pictures is wrong.
You put "http://1.1.1.3/bmi/teakdoor.com/Gallery/..."
It should be "https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/..."
^Thank you!
Thursday (one day I did not update) we visited Aswan to tour the High Dam, Philea Temple and an unfinished Obelisk (in a quarry). We took a short ride on a Faluca before doing something outside the tour which was to visit a Nubian village, during the evening.
Philea Temple
Faluca Ride
My ride to the Nubian village
The boat trip ended yesterday in Luxor so we visited the Luxor Museum on our own. It is a must see if you ever visit Luxor. You will not need a guide at the museum, all of the exhibits have descriptions written next to them. However you are not allowed to take pictures in the museum.
Today we’ll spend the day in Luxor, revisiting the Luxor Temple and then fly back to Cairo for the evening, then leave for BKK late the next evening.
When I get back I’ll put some posts together with pictures of the places we visited, some do’s and don’ts and some suggestions.
Luxor Museum
Egyptian Sunset
Nice! Keep 'em coming.
Great shots;
I have aLwys loved Egypt and have been a few times but thought Cario smelled like a huge toilet, (this was back in the early 80's) has it changed?
I took one trip up the Nile all the way to the head in Uganda and went by local transport, (boat.train, truck) and it was one of the most amazing journeys of my life. 4 months and more than 1 near death experinece.
We went to see the light show at the pryamids and sat in the graveyard an watched it for free. Amazing
Would love to go back and travel by style.
After working there for just over 3 years, the last thing on my mind would be going back as a tourist. Glad you enjoyed the trip. What did the wife think?
Do you think your Girlfriend enjoyed the trip or was she yowning all the way whilst you couldn't get enough of it. I am just wondering as I have taken Girlfriends on various trips before and found that Thais just dont appriciate history or even other Cities and coultures, nice shots .
I lived on the other side of the Red Sea for a while, where I learned that fuckingegyptian is one word. This was confirmed by my one and only visit to Egypt.
^^^^Your question about Cairo smelling,…I have some pictures I’ll share with everyone (outside markets that the locals frequent, didn’t smell that good). But in short, it was fine.
^^^The girlfriend was the major reasons we visited,………..she wanted to see the country more than I. She did enjoy herself and still is because we are still in country,…for a few hours. I had to remind her that it can get up to 50 degrees during the summer months and she started looking for her shoes. I’ll share more stories when I get back to BKK.
^^She has enjoyed every place she has visited with me and would like to visit Egypt again in a few years (5?) after they have completed the new museum/s. I have taken her to NY [Central Park, a play (Wicked), the falls, etc], white water rafting in the Colorado River (she liked meeting American Indians and the rafting), Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Florida Keys, Central Florida and has enjoyed each place. She can not wait to get back to Florida/Miami and spend some time there next year (even a little upset with me because I want her to stay just the month of March and not April too, with me). She visited other places before meeting me like Germany and other places in the states with her girlfriends and enjoyed it (she wants to visit California again).
I asked her if she wanted to do Rome for a month (gonna to try to rent a place for a month) next year. She said yes, real quick,……then told me how good looking the guys were over there. She might not be coming home with me.
The girlfriend enjoys history, different cultures and traveling to different places. I know another Thai woman who travels a lot. She did India and then visited the Great Wall just last year. I am sure if you keep looking you’ll find a Thai that will enjoy traveling.
^Haven’t met any of them yet (F’inegyptians),……..well maybe one taxi diver.
Looking forward to more pics.
I wanted to do these few posts before I start to post the pictures of the places we visited.
Here’s what we did while in Egypt:
November 13, 2009, flew into Cairo on an early morning flight from BKK (www.egyptair.com) and visited the Cairo/Egyptian Museum, the Giza Pyramids, a papyrus shop, a perfume shop, the Sphinx, Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids and stayed the night at Grand Hyatt Cairo (http://www.cairo.grand.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp)
November 14, 2009, Visited the a local market and a Mosque before we went out on the streets
November 15, 2009, Visited the City of the Dead before visiting a famous Mosque were the tomb of the last King of Egypt is
November 16, 2009, Flew to Luxor (www.egyptair.com) on a morning flight and moved to the boat to start cruise (www.sonestacruises.com, we sailed on the Nile Goddess, 7 night Luxor Round Trip) and visited Karnak and Luxor Temples
November 17, 2009, visited the West Bank [Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut [a female Pharaoh ( Hatshepsut - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) ] then sailed to Edfu
November 18, 2009, visited Edfu Temple then sailed to Kom ombo to visit the temple there
November 19, 2009, Sailed to Aswan (last night) and visited the High Dam, Philea Temple, unfinished Obelisk, sailed on a Faluca in the afternoon and then visited a Nubian Village (late afternoon/early evening)
November 20, 2009, went into Aswan to visit some markets/walked the streets (not a part of the tour). No scheduled tours so most of the day was spent on the boat
November 21, 2009, Sailed back to Kom ombo then to Edfu
November 22, 2009, Sailed to Luxor
Monday, November 23, 2009, Visited the Luxor Museum (not part of tour) and revisited the Luxor Temple (during the day and on our own), later we flew back to Cairo (from Luxor) on late afternoon flight, checked back into Grand Hyatt Cairo
Tuesday, November 24, Visited the Cairo Museum (again but on our own without a guide) before walking the streets of Cairo then left Cairo for BKK on a late evening flight
I think I have the order right????????
About Egyptair,……….
I have never flown with them before and only booked with them because they had direct, available and reasonably priced flights from Bangkok to Cairo (and Cairo to Luxor), that met with our schedule. The crew/s seemed to be fine (attentive) during the 4 different flights we had with them. There were 6 different meals served during these flights and I only ate one (breakfast back to Bangkok) that I should have passed on. All the flights we took with them seemed to be packed.
One more thing not related to Egyptair but related to transportation in Egypt. A couple at our table during the cruise told us about the train trip from Cairo to Luxor instead of taking a flight (8 to10 hour train ride versus our 1 hour flight). The train line/company in Egypt will advertise the train ride as something special (maybe akin to an Oriental Express), but it isn’t. The couple described the ride and accommodations as what we might experience on a 3rd class Thai train trip.
They wanted to see Egypt from a train ride (which I like to do while in Thailand), to get the experience. They got more than they wanted and booked a flight back to Cairo.
Not the Oriental Express
About Cairo Grand Hyatt,………
After viewing several hotels and their accommodations on-line I thought the Hyatt would suit our needs because it was centrally located, on the Nile, provided free high speed internet connection and a free breakfast (coffee, tea and hors d’oeuvres all day, also) under certain conditions. The rooms are OK and the views we had were nice, but the girlfriend liked the bathrooms,…..something about a big bathtub to splash around in, large mirror and a bidet.
Views from the room during the first visit (above),…Pyramids in the distance.
Below are a couple of pictures from the room during our last evening in Cairo (the other side of the building).
Where breakfast is served and where we were able to get a free internet connection all day, via Wy-Fi connection to the laptop we brought along (below).
Free breakfast (more like a brunch for us and you can eat until ya pop) pictures below.
Random pictures of the Hyatt pictures below.
Sonesta Cruises has a few boats in their fleet, which travel at different times. We were told there were 326 cruise ships (like this) on the Nile (and Egypt is not permitting any more at this time). When they are docked at Luxor they are sometimes 5 deep with ships next to the dock. Row after row after row,………
There are many types of cruises to choose from, even some as low as 500 (US dollars) per person for a 5 day cruise (we were told by an Australian guest). We selected the Nile Goddess because it looked OK (just like most of the rest) and visited most of the tourist destinations we wanted to see.
These types of boats all look the same from the outside.
ships next to dock
inside cabin
view from cabin
Nile Goddess
Below are inside pictures of the Nile Goddess
Our first day in Cairo,……..
We arrived early in the morning and had nothing planed so we went to the concierge desk to see what we could set up. For the day, he set us up with a tour guide that would take us to, the Cairo/Egyptian Museum, Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Sound and Light Show and various shops around Cairo.
You are not allowed to take a camera into the museum and during the first security check the girlfriend was caught trying to get a camera into the museum. Unbeknownst to me she had purchased a camera (in BKK on sale two weeks before the trip that will take panoramic shots) and tried to get it into the museum. Nice try and we might have been able get some good shots (without using a flash). Evidently using a flash will hurt some items in the museum.
There is an area [under the restaurant (?)] at the museum that will give/rent you a tape that will guide you through the museum, like an audio guide. They are also required for groups of 5 or more people, using a guide. They don’t want guides trying to speak over one another in the museum and the audio guide will help you understand what the guide is telling you without the guides yelling over another groups guide.
You can find guides next to the ticket booth. Bargain with them (there is heavy competition between the guides) and try to find a certified guide (wearing a badge around their neck).
We only spent about 1 ˝ hours in the Egyptian Museum during our first visit so when we got back to Cairo after the cruise we retuned to spend more time.
Because we were not allowed to take a camera into the museum the pictures I have posted are a bit disappointing (just some statues outside the museum).
restaurant at museum
audio center under restaurant
The Giza Pyramids and Sphinx,…………
Visiting the Pyramids and Sphinx was a nice experience. They are impressive.
The guide was able to get us into the inside of the large pyramid (with a little cash), even though they were turning back other visitors. I was told the Egyptian government will only allow so many people into the pyramid each day and since it was later in the day when we got there, they had already met their quota.
I was also told, you were not allowed to take a camera into the pyramids (I did), but I saw many people with them inside.
You can also take a camel and/or horse ride in the same area that the pyramids are at.
The guide also took us by two different shops. One where we were told they make papyrus paper (don’t believe them) and a perfume shop.
When we entered the papyrus shop an employee (a cute sales girl) took us and explained to us how the paper is made (history behind it also). She then started with her sales pitch,…….50% off,..60% off, etc. We did purchase some paper/prints.
Later we found out, after visiting another papyrus shop in Cairo that most all of the papyrus prints are the same in each shop. Nothing individual about them, everyone carries the same prints (it seems). We also found out that the guide would usually get 50% of the sale from the tourists he brought into the shop.
We also visited a perfume shop but didn’t take any pictures. Same routine as the papyrus shop,……..pretty sales girl (should have gotten a picture of Barbie, our sales girl) meets you and gives you some history and then with the sales pitch. The girlfriend purchased one bottle of perfume, that will sit on the bathroom counter for a year, never to be used.
the one above we purchased and will probably have framed
To end the day we were taken to the Sound and Light Show at the pyramids. They will use lights/lasers and project them up on the pyramid and proceed to tell you a story (history lesson) about the pharaohs, sphinx and building of the monuments/tombs/pyramids. I will not tell you the ending,.you will have to go see the show for yourself.
Couldn’t tell ya anyway,...we left a little early because the girlfriend got a bit cold sitting outside in the cool breeze.
Couldn’t get any pictures because it was too dark for our cameras.
Oh yeah,.we were taken to dinner at some restaurant near the pyramids that was supposed to be the oldest established restaurant still in business in Cairo. The girlfriend was shown how to prepare a certain type of bread (?).
the baker
If you do ever get a chance to visit Cairo you might want to skip the visit to the concierge’s desk, because it was pricey. You can find tour guides standing outside each tourist attraction that would be more than happy to take you inside and show you around, for a fee.
Finding the right tour guide might be a bit more difficult. Look for the kids/people who are wearing a badge hanging around their necks. As I understand a licensed tour guide has a 4 year college degree in Egyptian history (Egyptology) and has to be relicensed every 5 years (and has to be educated about new finds/history during those 5 years to get relicensed).
I was very underwhelmed by the Sphinx.
Photos similar to this one taken with the pyramid in the background, but no people standing next to it, had always given me the impression that it was much bigger than it really is.
This photo, at least gives it true perspective by having people standing near it.
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