Salaams from Aswan, Egypt

We took an overnight train from Cairo to Aswan, 13 hours long. The seats were nice and comfortable thank goodness. This train took us south from Cairo so that we can hop onto a boat and cruise down the Nile. It's weird. They call Cairo Lower Egypt since it's downriver and places south like Luxor and Aswan Upper Egypt since it's upstream on the Nile.

In Aswan we got to sail a felucca at sunset which is a really picturesque sailboat used on the Nile. Funny because I didn't feel much wind out there. This sorta turned into a problem when we became stranded, sails luffing without wind. I think this happens pretty often because a motorboat soon came along to give us a nudge. Later, we would ditch the felucca altogether and ride the motorboat home. If I were captain of this ship, I would have paddled us home with the rudder. For those wondering, yes, pirate jokes were made. Note to self: bring Jolly Roger on vacation. Also, plank.

That night we decided to pay and see a "Sound and Light Show" at an ancient Egyptian Temple. If you are ever in Egypt and are offered such an opportunity, prepare to be underwhelmed. First off, anytime something is advertised as a light show and doesn't included freaking laser beams has got to be kidding me.

The temple at night was very pretty to look at, but you couldn't help but wonder - doesn't this stuff look sorta new? This temple was supposed to be 4000 yrs old but some of these carvings looked like they were put in yesterday. Turns out much of the structure was moved and reconstructed once the river was dammed. More on this later. The sound part of the show was the best part since it was narrated by these over-the-top voices of the Gods speaking in the first person. "Let the river and its bounties fill my granaries!" Little bit of Civ, anyone?

The cruise along the Nile was filled with some of the most peaceful moments on our trip. Sunny with a slight breeze, we whiled away the days reading books and relaxing.
Along the way we checked another temple at sunset. This one we found some asian filmmakers waiting for that magic hour where the lighting conditions are perfect. Curious, I asked one what they were filming about. In response, he stared at me hard for a solid second before answering, "Japan" and turned to walk away. Those japanese are so crazy sometimes.


Here's something cool we found at the temple: a Nilometer. It measures the depth of the Nile. Depending on where the river is on these steps, taxes would be calculated. The higher the Nile, the better the crops and thus higher taxes. Now that I think about it, this looks a little too close for comfort to the well in The Ring for me. Don't be scared Lee.