The life and times of a bustling traveler in a tourist dead country

Crossing the Nubian desert

Leaving Khartoum we followed the currents of the Nile until we reached the Meroe Pyramids of Northern Sudan. Built between 800-280BC they are nowhere near the size and definitely not as well known as their Egyptian counterparts but they were magnificent to see in such a desolate setting. We had the entire site to ourselves, not only for the time we spent walking around but the whole night also as we camped right next to them hoping to get some good photos in the cool of the morning. Mother nature had another idea however and threw up one hell of a sandstorm, covering everything in a fine sand that was able to get into places I didn't even know air could get.

Meroe Pyramids

There ol' chap, over yonder

The sandstorm from the back of the truck

Washing off in the Nile

 

Driving out of the sandstorm we stopped for a quick dip in the Nile, not staying in for long as there are still crocodiles south of Aswan which are apparently almost as large as the saltys we get back at home. The risk of being eaten alive by a croc was very much at the back of our minds however as it was a consistent 40° every day and combined with the sand from the night before it was an easy decision.
We left the line of the Nile as it bent its way west and decided to leave the road and cut across the desert for 300km, following the dead straight line of the railway, making our way towards Wadi Halfa. The first day and a half we made good progress but after lunch on the 2nd day we started to get bogged. Again and again and again. A couple of hours later we decided to retrace our steps back to where we had lunch, getting bogged again and again and again. The rest of the day was sand-matting, lugging six 20-25kg sheets of metal along next to the truck in 40° heat, driving no more than 100km for the whole day. The next morning was more successful and after sand-matting for the first couple of hours back towards a remote rail station outpost we rediscovered the "road" and reached Wadi Halfa and civilization by lunch.

Crossing the Nubian desert

Sunrise after a long day sand-matting

Playing on a handcar we came across

Our last bush camp just outside Wadi Halfa

Wadi Halfa was where we temporarily said goodbye to our truck as we all hopped on the ferry, disguised as a sardine can, crossing Lake Nasser to Aswan. The truck would be going on a separate journey on a barge and would hopefully be joining us a few days later. The ferry ride didn't start too well when we discovered that the 1 room we had booked to store all our luggage came with a hidden surprise. Another passenger. We had booked a single bed, not the entire room so someone had to sit in the room to keep an eye on our gear. To makes matters even better we had booked a male room so the females were not allowed in there at all. 570 people squeezed onto the boat and we set up shade with a tarp we had bought and took over a quiet corner. Card games and backgammon kept us busy, the slop was as good as it looked and sleeping on the deck with every inch of space taken up was not the best sleep I've ever had but definitely a memorable one. With not a single pirate sighting we pulled into port at Aswan and took our first step into our last country, Egypt.

Philae Temple from the water

Philae Temple

Nefertari's Temple

Abu Simbel

The unfinished Obelisk

After driving through Sudan for the last week it was a welcome relief to arrive in a tourist centric country with all the facilities we had been craving. It was even nicer to discover that all the attractions were empty of tourists for a few reasons; it was the middle of summer, it was the end of Ramadan, and Egypt is a bit of a basketcase at the moment. Due to the truck still being in Sudan we stayed in a hotel, full with air con and a pool. Immediately after a long deserved shower most of us hit McDonalds and had the afternoon off before putting on our tourist pants the next morning. Aswan Dam, Philae Temple and a papyrus shop were on the agenda day 1 and a bus convoy down to Abu Simbel on day 2 was one of those days where you can't actually believe you're standing in front of such a famous monument.
We left Aswan via felucca the next day and had the pleasure of sailing down the Nile for 2 nights towards Luxor. In much better circumstances than our prior ferry ride we drank, ate, played cards, listened to music, swam and had a dress up party all as we drifted down the river. After the heat of Sudan and the frantic pace of Aswan it was nice to be stuck on a boat where we could do nothing but relax.

Our felucca parked up for the night

 

Kom Ombo Temple

We hopped off the felucca at Kom Ombo Temple and had a quick look around before catching a mini bus to Luxor as our truck had not yet appeared. Stuck in a hotel with air con and pool again for 4 nights was more than I could cope with so I kept myself busy visiting all the sites I could around Luxor. Karnak Temple & Luxor Temple were amazing and the recent discovery of a ancient road linking the 2 was interesting to see despite it being in excavation hiatus due to the 2011 rebellion.

Karnak Temple

Karnak Temple

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple

Ancient road linking Karnak & Luxor Temples

The next morning I crawled out of bed at 4 to go on my first ever hot air balloon ride. A beautiful sunrise over the Nile and breathtaking views of the Valley of the Kings was enough to keep me content for a week but why stop there when you can land and go visit the Valley of the Kings on the ground as well. All the praise for the Valley is well deserved, the colour of the paintings on the walls after thousands of years was impressive but surprisingly the best painting I saw all day was probably in a workers tomb at a nearby site. All this along with visiting Hatshepsut's Temple in heat like I've never experienced before made for thirsty work so a few drinks along with our buffet that evening was well deserved.

Hopping on our balloon in the morning

West bank of Luxor

Sunrise over the Nile

The edge of the "greenzone" around the Nile

Hatshepsut's Temple

We now find ourselves on the Red Sea Coast in Harghada as our truck has still not made it across Lake Nasser. Unfortunately for us we reached Wadi Halfa just before the end of Ramadan which leads into Eid, a 4 day celebration and holiday for Muslims. This meant that no one felt like working during Ramadan when we arrived because it was hot and they couldn't eat all day, and then with Eid being a holiday they were even more reluctant to work. With Eid now over we have word that the truck is being loaded today or tomorrow and will soon be in Egypt. Our fingers are crossed it makes it to Cairo before we finish as we are all desperate to have 1 last drive in the beast of a truck that has driven us right around this African continent.





more...