We opted to take the 10 hour night train, and because $60 per person is far too much for a cabin and two beds, we paid $30 per person for a first class berth. Let's just say that I don't want to know what 2nd or third class is like. Gross. Fortunately for us, there were few people on the train. For a little baksheesh money (about $4) the steward let us change seats to a cabin with no other people, and we were able to lay down and sleep.
Even though it was only 7am, we were swarmed by people outside the train trying to get us to sign up for tours or go to their hotel. We quickly walked to our hotel, got settled, and prepared for our first day out. We headed across the river to see some of the most famous sights in Egypt. By bike. For the equivalent of $5, we acquired two not so trusty steeds and headed to Hatshepsut's Temple. Hatshepsut was one of the only women to become a Pharoah, and certainly the most famous. Because only men could be pharoahs, she is portrayed as a man.
The place was pretty crowded, but in retrospect that was not a bad thing. It was the only site we went to where we didn't have to talk to anybody. No hassle, no baksheesh. Next we headed around and up into the hills to the Valley of the Kings. It was good that Morgan had gears on her bike!
The Valley of the Kings was interesting, but disappointing in that it was the most expensive and least spectacular. No photos! We checked out our allotted three tombs, and headed to a place where we hoped to find seclusion to contemplate some ruins in peace; the Temple of Seti I. Begin rant: Unfortunately, a man following us around drove us away. In retrospect, I wish I had offered him 5 pounds to leave us alone. There are guys like this at every site, who come up to you and try to point out scarabs and khartoushes, then think you should tip them for it. If you let them start pointing things out to you, you've got to pay up. It really ruins the experience. Some of them are employed by the state, but they get paid so little that they need the baksheesh. On the other hand, it's hard to enjoy the sites when you have to babysit an untrained Egyptian tour guide. I wish they would double the price to all the sites, pay the employees a decent wage, and leave us alone once we get inside. End rant.
We made our way back to the river, stopping at a cafe by the Colosi of Memnon for dinner. It was excellent, but we still had the bad taste of hassle in our mouths, and decided that we would go back to Cairo the following night. Additionally, we planned to wake up at 5am to get to Karnak before the tourists and the touts. Arriving at 6am, it was worth it:
The most amazing part of the complex was the Hippostyle Hall, a hall of giant pillars designed to look like papyrus, I think.
All in all, my favorite thing about Egyptian sites is the heiroglyph carvings on the walls. The combination of words and pictures is really quite beautiful. Honestly, I used to wonder why people made such a big deal about ancient Egypt. Now I have no trouble seeing what has captivated the imaginations of travelers over the centuries. To be frank, these places beat the pants off Greek or Roman ruins.
If not for the hassle, we would've loved to stay in Luxor for a while. As it was, we spent most of our second afternoon at an outdoor cafe reading the New York Times. Then we spent 3 hours at POWERHOUSE internet cafe, with about 20 teenage boys. At 11pm, we fled like the cowards we are on a train back to Cairo.
Packed into a cabin with 3 other travellers, we secured a seperate room from the steward. "Tonight sleep," he said. "Tomorrow baksheesh." No problem.
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