Another thing was soon plainly obvious on the cruise, we have a lot of sites to visit and only a week in which to do it so it was going to be a very hectic trip. Our first site was the temple at Esna which was our introduction to Sherif, the experienced and  incredibly interesting guide. Sherif gave us all the usual information on the temples plus some excellent stories which unfolded as the week progressed, delivered with a fair smattering of humour, a great introduction to Egyptology.

The restaurant on board the boat was sited at the front of the craft just above river level which enabled us to watch the Nile in all it's splendour pass by as we enjoyed our meals. We shared our table for the week with John, Barbara and a lovely Scottish couple from Coventry, Pat and Stan. After our evening meal we spent an hour or so on the top deck chatting with the other passengers as we made our way down the Nile to Aswan. Although it was very relaxing watching the world go by we decided on an early night as there was a seriously busy day ahead of us on Friday. Arrived in Aswan at midnight.

It needs mentioning here that security and begging are the two most irritating aspects of any visit to Egypt. Since the massacre at the Valley of the Kings and numerous violent Coach attacks the Egyptian government has saturated all the tourist areas with armed "Tourist Police", some in uniform and quite a fair number in plain clothes. While it is in our interest to have these officers, you can't help but feel uncomfortable at times by their presence. As for the begging the people seem to want paying for simply everything such as photographs, pointing out where the toilets are or merely walking along the street with you. The word is baksheesh and to be honest  Egypt appears to run on baksheesh and the protocol of the practice becomes evident quite quickly the moment you enter the country. A popular greeting on the streets is "hello, are you English?", followed by "where are you from?"  When you say Manchester or wherever, it seems by coincidence they all have a relative there. This is usually followed by an offer of a drink at a nearby cafe, free of course. Then comes the tale of how poorly they are paid as a teacher at the local school and that only last year their father died. I'm sorry but when you've heard this for the umpteenth time you tend to get a bit cheesed off especially when it's followed by the baksheesh request. This occurs all the time wherever you go or whatever you are doing so I will not mention it again but a good tip is to carry small denomination notes in one pocket, nothing over 1EGP ( 10EGP = £1.00 or $1.7 or €1.4 ) and anything larger in another pocket. Enough said on this subject.

Early Friday morning 6am, we are up for breakfast ready for our coach to take us to the Aswan dam. What an incredible sight the dam is, built with Russian funding to control the flow of the Nile and produce electricity for a large proportion of Egypt it was a mega project. With it's completion lake Nasser was formed to the south. From the top of the dam you can see the Philae Temple on a small island a mile or so away, this would be our next trip. The Island is reached by a short motor launch ride. We arrived just as the temperature was rising but there were plenty of opportunities to look round the inside of the temple where Sherif again gave us a detailed explanation of each section. The Temple itself was moved from a nearby Island and completely rebuilt because the original was to be flooded by Lake Nasser on completion of the dam, a mammoth task which was overseen by Swedish engineers who did a superb job.
After returning to the east bank by our motor launch we were taken to a Papyrus manufacturer who demonstrated how the ancient paper is made from the papyrus reeds still harvested on the Nile. We then had the "privilege" of buying some traditional pictures painted on the genuine paper. Of coarse the savvy amongst us all knew that these could be bought for a fraction of the price from the street traders in the town or anywhere we stopped on our cruise. Janice and I did this buying around six pieces, all beautifully painted which I left at the airport on the way home. If by any miracle the finder of these happens to be reading this please contact me, I'd love them back!!! (I wish)
After the Papyrus shop we were taken by coach back into Aswan where we were transferred to another motor launch for a trip to the Botanical Gardens on the West Bank. These beautifully kept gardens were sited at the foot of the hills where the Aga Khan's Tomb is sited, overlooking Aswan itself. After an hour relaxing in the gardens with a cool drink, non alcoholic beer (alcohol is not widely available in Egypt) for me which tasted dreadful,  we rejoined our launch for a trip round Kitchener's island where we passed the Old Cataract Hotel where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile. During the evening we watched the light show at Philae Temple which was a little disappointing and lacking in new technology, if that isn't a contradiction.  What a long but very enjoyable day...

Saturday, and into Aswan to run the gauntlet of local shopkeepers in the labyrinth of little alleys and streets. Non stop hassle but well worth the experience if for no other reason than to say you did it. Bought a few bits and pieces before returning to the boat. The boat set sail for our next destination, the Kom Ombo Temple which we reached just before sunset. A very busy site but as our guide told us, the temples are all basically the same, the stories are basically the same but we never stopped being overawed by the sheer splendour of them. The evening was finished off with a Jalabia party where everybody dressed for the event in traditional Arabic clothes. There was much dancing and competitions plus a demonstration of Arabic dancing and whirling dervish. The competitions and games all seem to follow the pass the parcel or musical chairs format, Egyptian style of course. Nothing quite like the sight of Brits dressed as Arabs dancing to the Macarena, precious.

Sunday, it's an early morning north to Esna and a trip through the locks which we did in the early hours on the way down to Aswan. It is quite an experience getting through the locks and the captain has to negotiate some tricky manoeuvres to gain a parking space while we wait our turn to pass through. Whilst waiting the locals don't miss the opportunity to sell us some towels, at great prices for Egyptian cotton. When the deal is done or just to take a look the seller wraps the towel in a plastic bag and throws it up to the top deck with the accuracy of an American quarter back. Sadly the buyers couldn't always catch like an American football receiver and one or two ended up in our swimming pool. if you chose to buy you then put your money in the plastic bag and threw it back, with a little baksheesh naturally.
We arrived in Luxor and  were immediately bussed to Karnak and Luxor temples. The best yet as I expected with some astonishing sights especially the Sphinx lined avenue which when built stretched two and a half kilometres between the temples. That must have been an awesome sight when they were complete. There are small stretches being uncovered and restored all the time. Sherif told us that only a fraction of the temples throughout Luxor have been recovered and that many are still buried and waiting to be brought back to life. Most have been stripped of their treasures but discoveries are still being made to this day. Back at the Ra II's base, the Eastmar Dock I dropped in at the dockside shop, the Hosni Market where I spent a couple of hours or so chatting with Ramadan the owner who is a really nice guy. With his older bother Ahmed and another guy also called Ahmed we drank tea together and discussed the important issues of the day, football. It always strikes me that if the world has one thing in common it's football, on my travels it is a universal theme between men of all creeds and colours except for the Americans who probably wish to stay separate from familiarity with anything outside their own culture and so refuse to join the rest of the sporting fraternity in accepting the beautiful game. How strange that by the time I had to leave there were about nine or ten of us including a couple of Germans and a French guy who all drank tea together and somehow managed to communicate in our separate tongues with the help of much sign language.

Monday,  Early start today as it was the visit to the Valley of the Kings, one of the most visited sites in the world. It would take an age to describe the complete trip which takes in the Valleys of the Kings, Queens, Workers, the Colossus and temple of Menamon the tombs including Tutankhamen and even a trip to the local alabaster factory where you have the chance to buy some incredibly heavy souvenirs to take back home. Suffice to say that this is the heart and soul of the ancient city of Luxor's History and it will leave you breathless. I finished the day with a trip in a taxi into Luxor which was an adventure in itself. It was like being a passenger in the destruction derby with my Kamikaze taxi driver taking both our lives in his hands, don't forget to always agree the fare before you get into the old Peugeot that passes for your taxi otherwise you'll be in for another kind of adventure of the financial kind.

Tuesday, Ahmed from the Hosni Market Shop presented me with a lovely little sand filled vase representing the pyramids with Janice and my own name painted inside. How much? Nothing, a gift from a friend - I was quite touched. On a parting note one thing that many Egyptian guys will ask you is for a phone you don't need. It's not as outrageous as it sounds, many of us have old mobiles tucked away in drawers at home because we've replaced them with new or updated versions. You'll never use them again so, bring them with you and exchange them for goods in the gift shops, they will be most appreciated.
We sailed for Denderah in the morning to visit our final temple. We were quite shocked when we noticed overnight that the Police had mounted a fixed gun on the rear of our boat which was manned by a soldier. tucked away behind a screen painted with a tranquil Nile scene to hide it from the passengers gaze. This just spoke volumes of the last leg 35k north of luxor which must be an area where tourists at a greater risk. The temple was probably one of the best preserved on the whole trip with some lovely examples of painted frescos.
So it was back to Luxor where we arrived the next morning to our transfer to the next leg of the holiday, a week in a five star hotel on the banks of the Nile facing the Valley of the Kings for some much needed R&R.

My overall assessment of the Nile cruise is one of praise. A really enjoyable week in good company and with good food and superb service from all the cruisers staff. There wasn't a great deal of cons to speak of but a whole boat load of pro's. if you want a different holiday then go for a Nile Cruise and prepare for a grand new bunch of experiences.


           View from le Meridian Hotel looking over the Nile to the Valley of the Kings.