Racing Up and Down the Nile

30-Apr-2010
Cairo, Egypt

Egypt is a land defined by the Nile as it carves a narrow corridor of life through the endless Sahara. So any visit to Egypt will likely be focused in part on this fantastic river. Being hedonists at heart we chose to cruise up the Nile from Luxor to Aswan on a five star cruise that brings you up close and personal with the temples and sights of Upper Egypt.

Not being into advanced planning, we waited until we arrived in Cairo to book the cruise. The local travel agent put all his troops to work arranging a fairly complicated itinerary leaving from Cairo by plane to Luxor, cruising up the Nile to Aswan, flying to Abu Simbel and then taking the sleeper train back to Cairo 6 days later. Each stop along the way was to be managed by a local guide and private car. A couple hours and several cups of tea later we had an itinerary that was to take us from Cairo by plane to Luxor the next morning!

Luxor is a long way from Cairo in distance and temperament. This former capital of the ancient world, AKA Thebes, is the heart of the Egyptian tourist trade. Aside from the Pyramids, the Luxor and Karnak temples are the most visited spots in this desert country so come prepared for crowds of tourists slathered in sunscreen. Anyway, we rushed out of bustling Cairo to catch an morning flight to Luxor where we would spend the night at a luxury hotel while we waited to board the cruise the next day.

The cruise ships stay in Luxor for a couple of days to give you a chance to visit the Valley of the Kings, Queens and other temples. We checked into our two cabins on the ship and explored the town with our guide named Mina. Aside from one incident where I foolishly agreed to ride on the back of the motor cycle Mina had borrowed (read near death experience), we had a lovely time in Luxor. We finally left Luxor and enjoyed the Nile vista for two days as we steamed south up river to Aswan catching Edfu temples and a truly impressive river lock on the way.

We arrived in Aswan and quickly disembarked the ship at 6:30 am to catch a glimpse of the unfinished obelisk and the Aswan High Damn before we caught a puddle jumper to Abu Simbel . As Bill Nye the Science Guy famously said, "Now that's some Damn power!" Abu Simbel is a must see. This massive temple was carved into caves in a mountain and was threatened by the rising waters of lake Nasser (see Aswan Damn) so UNESCO moved the whole thing piece by piece to a new location just up the hill from the lake. Even if you're not into Ancient Egyptian monumental art you've got to see this place just for the modern engineering marvel that it is.

Running out of time(on our trip and in this post), we quickly flew back to Aswan to catch the night train to Cairo. In the guide books they mention how train travel in Egypt is clean and efficient for long hauls like the 13 hour trip from Aswan to Cairo. The guides even accurately describe the cabins with their fold down berths and tiny sinks. But what they fail to mention is that a night on the sleeper car is one of the most terrifying train experiences you'll take. When the train isn't careening down the track at a break neck speed only matched by the night bus in Harry Potter, the engineer is randomly applying the brakes at full power. One minute your standing and the next your pressed against the cabin wall as the train lurches to an impossibly quick stop. The beds were clean, the food was fine and the cabin attendant was excellent.

There were honestly times during the night that the sound of the train rushing madly toward Cairo rose to a crescendo so dramatic that I was sure the engineer had left the train at full power and was asleep somewhere. Luckily, just as the panic rose to its high point in my throat, he'd apply a jolt of brakes to bash the fear right out of me.

--Paul