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[sayhello]

So how was the balloon ride?? The couple of pics you posted look very cool! Although 28 in one balloon?? Who knew?

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

So interesting! The guide and your ship sound amazing. Not sure I'd do well with all the aggressiveness. I know it's part of the culture, but I can't stand that.

 

[AquaDame]

So how was the balloon ride?? The couple of pics you posted look very cool! Although 28 in one balloon?? Who knew?

Sayhello

It was so fun! We've never done one before so I have nothing to compare it to. I did wish we had risen higher - some balloons went higher or longer and we don't know why... it may simply be dependent on the wind doing what it will!

So interesting! The guide and your ship sound amazing. Not sure I'd do well with all the aggressiveness. I know it's part of the culture, but I can't stand that.

I can't either and I still did OK, until one specific incident in Jordan, but that is a ways off. The guides did a swell job of helping ward off the more persistent amongst them and helping folk shop also if they wanted some help navigating things. They also had a tendency to try to sell things at the doors of the busses so the guides would again step in, taking the items onboard and asking if anyone wanted the trinkets for $1-2. Lowering the pressure even by that much did wonders - many people bought things this way without the vendor getting in the way of themselves.

 

[sayhello]

It was so fun! We've never done one before so I have nothing to compare it to. I did wish we had risen higher - some balloons went higher or longer and we don't know why... it may simply be dependent on the wind doing what it will!

I'm glad it was fun! I still haven't done one, either, but it's on the bucket list!

I can't either and I still did OK, until one specific incident in Jordan, but that is a ways off. The guides did a swell job of helping ward off the more persistent amongst them and helping folk shop also if they wanted some help navigating things. They also had a tendency to try to sell things at the doors of the busses so the guides would again step in, taking the items onboard and asking if anyone wanted the trinkets for $1-2. Lowering the pressure even by that much did wonders - many people bought things this way without the vendor getting in the way of themselves.

I so do not care for bartering!! Just tell me the price, and either I want to pay that price or not!

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

With your entry ticket to the Valley of the Kings you are allowed to visit any of three open tombs, and there are a few more that are ALWAYS an extra fee. Our tour included Tutankhamun as ABD does too. There is a board that shows you which are open - our guides selected the three we'd do and spoke about them outside of each before we entered and of course answered any questions we came up with when we were inside also. I'd take a pic of what I wanted interpreted and Hussein would oblige every time.



Our first stop was KV2 / Ramses IV, and it had a queue outside and we moved very slowly in and around... such a different experience than Valley of the Queens! There was a worker at the sarcophagus hurrying folk along after a quick pic (and offering to let you take longer/ take the pics for you in exchange for a small "tip" of course).



KV 11 / Ramses III was next and much larger, though no less narrow on walkways. We were able to spread out more as it had more offshoots to it, and had upper and lower sections.



KV6 / Ramses IX rounded out our Ramses heavy itinerary on the included visits. We were given our tickets for Tutankhamun as we went in, and told to head there next and meet back up afterwards in a shady spot.



KV62 / Tutankhamun is soooo small comparatively! They limit the number of people in there at a time, but did a terrible job actually sending down that number... at least they WERE trying. It was a madhouse of elbows and jostling for a pic of where the sarcophagus laid. His mummy is on the other side of it now, but there is little of interest over there aside from... well, lets be honest his corpse. I will spare you that one.

Hussein is convinced he was murdered, and there is certainly compelling evidence... though his cache seems very impressive to us, it was quite small and poorly compared to what would have been expected for a pharaoh. Hussein had also shown us how his cartouche is misspelled on the box for his canopic jars. How could such a mistake have been made? It would have meant he could not find them when it was time, and so Tut would not be able to move on to the afterlife where he could squeal. So vicious..!



From here we again split off from the main group as it was time to spend some money! We had signed up for some extra tomb openings that AP arranged for us for this day. First up was KV 35 / Amenhotep II, and we were joined by three other folk on our tour for the opportunity. As is the norm, we bri... I mean tipped the staff once inside and were then allowed to take pictures. No tip? No dice. This was my favorite of the ones we paid extra for as the person working there was easy going and fun to chat with in addition to frankly being in this amazing place. When your mind is already blown, it doesn't take much to tip you over, and he had us all sit quietly in the dark next to the sarcophagus for a few minutes in meditation. Quiet as a tomb... I now know what that feels like in my bones.





Next up was KV57 / Horemheb though no one else paid the entry fee (plus tip) for this possible murder's elaborate tomb and we had the whole place to ourselves.



While we were in these tombs everyone else... waited on us. There were snacks, and it would be possible to buy a second ticket and visit more tombs but I don't think anyone did. That had been our plan if we hadn't coughed up the cost of paying for the private entries. We were here from just before 9 until noon, then it was time to head off to Hatshepsut's Temple just a couple of minutes drive away.



By now it was HOT. So hot... even to the point I started feeling a little woozy. I did not want to burn so I was stubbornly keeping my hat and long sleeve shirt and pants on as best I could but it was getting rough for me tbh. We hadn't sat down for hours since we were going tomb to tomb, but I also didn't want to drink too much water as bathrooms are few and far (and cost $ every time)... The tour guides all jostled their groups into the shrines on either side here to interpret the carvings for their folk, and there was little shade to go around.

After being shown both Hathor and Anubis, we again split off from the group, this time being the only folk who took them up on seeing the tomb of Senenmut. Perhaps we shouldn't have... as we started climbing down down down to the entrance I was not feeling very well at all, but I was looking forward to getting into the cooler air of the tomb ASAP... but that was not to be. Turns out no one had the key... or at least they had one, but when we got there found TWO locks! One gentleman ran back up to the office to try to find the second key while we plunked down in the shade, thankfully, and waited.

...and waited.

......and waited some more. He returned without a key so they went to phase 2 - break it off with a rock. BANG BANG BANG... it wouldn't budge. I had long finished my water and was thankfully starting to feel better, but it was still so hot. I was ready to bag the whole thing, and Hussein by then was on the phone arguing with folk in Arabic. Another man came with a hacksaw and they started sawing it about the time we should have been wrapping up our visit. I felt so badly for everyone waiting for us! 20 minutes then 30 went by before Hussein declared it was not happening and we tried to go. It was such a crazy scene of men arguing that they would get us in, and Hussein saying we had no time left for this. They knew if they did not get us in though they would not get our money, and so they refused to sign the paper ackowleding they could not fulfill their part of the bargain. Finally they relented and - seriously - as he went to put pen to paper yelling from the tomb that they got the lock off! Still more arguing from Hussein though as it was so late and we had no time, but they did not give him a choice and so down we went... into the tomb after all!

At the time we were so rushed I thought it was a terrible waste of money, but in the end this was Kyle's favorite and I'm glad we went. It shows the stages of creating these scenes, from sketch to inking and finally the finished areas as well. You could see where artists edited from the rough sketch to fill in their own ideas, and the ceiling is thought to be the first of its kind as a celestial calendar. We had Hussein in there all to ourselves and I could have kicked myself for knowing so little that I didn't have any good questions to ask. That was a common lament from me this whole trip...I just didn't know enough to even know what I did not know! Oh well..



Our bus then came to get the three of us and we met back up with everyone at an alabaster shop for the requisite forced shopping time. Everything was too rich for our tastes as always so we wandered around while other people spent their dollaroos and enjoyed the free hibiscus tea offered. We did not get back to the ship and lunch until around 2:30.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent cruising up the Nile towards the next day's activities. This was one of my favorite times, slowly sailing, passing and being passed by other river ships, enjoying the scenes on either shore. The ship held an afternoon tea on the upper deck every afternoon with small snacks and a wide selection of teas and some coffee. Between the two early mornings, packed days, late lunch, and tea, we were both pretty sleepy by 7pm so we gave in to it, and fell asleep without dinner at all, also missing a cocktail hour where they introduced the crew... whoops!

Just like that, we're already halfway through! Somehow at this point I felt like we'd be on vacation FOREVER with how many things we'd seen done already. That only lasted until we get back to Cairo in a couple days though, at which point I said it was much too short how could we be done already? So it goes...

 

[wdhinn89]

@AquaDame I am loving your review, thank you!!!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 6

Totally different pace today! During our sailing we went through a lock at night; they weren't sure what time it would be, so we couldn't have set an alarm to see that even had we wanted to. By sheer luck or perhaps vibration Kyle did wake up during it, but said the ones we'd been through in Europe were more impressive - this was a wee one.



By the time we both woke up a little before dawn we were already docked at Edfu. We toured here from just past 8 to 10am when we again boarded and continued sailing towards Kom Ombo.





Hussein once again did an excellent job on this day. He filled our heads with history of the place, while also fielding questions on the stray dogs (I guess there is an 'inside the temple' pack and an 'outside the temple' pack and boy howdy do they not get along). He also talked at length about the Sudanese refugees taking up homes here. He said that for awhile no one was totally clear on why so many made their home there specifically (could be as simple as there already were Sudanese folk there) until they realized they were being used to work the illegal gold mines outside the city. As I mentioned earlier - no topic was off limits. That is either a plus or minus depending on your POV, but I have been thinking about this over the past couple days after reading the NatGeo review from a couple years ago with fresh eyes now I've been on my trip.

I feel compelled to say something about that and the complaint that we don't talk enough about the bad... yes, I have pictures of abject poverty. But here is the thing... I have them from MANY countries. I have some gnarly pictures of the US as well. I did not find what I saw here any worse than I've seen in Caribbean countries or I've seen in SE Asia or East and South Africa. Why should I recount the horrors of what I've seen involving kids and animals in a trip report? What would that serve? Where do I draw the line and how much time do I give it? Is it not sufficient for folk to realize that yes, Egypt is not as well off as many, and to travel means seeing the world for what it is as a whole? I feel like it is. We "know" Egypts rep, that's why folk are concerned and if anyone wants to ask a specific question I'm happy to answer it. There was an election going on while we were there, so many of my pics had banners all over.



I feel like the vast majority of folk who want to read these - and ESPECIALLY on Disney/ABD board - do not want to focus on that. They want to see why they should go anyway. They rely on being shielded somewhat. That's the point of having this hand holding. They can't stop you looking out the bus windows, and noticing things you may later wish you hadn't, but they can choose to drop the horse and cart ride when the animals are not fed properly as AP did. They can choose NOT to include a camel ride as AP does. They did stop for a quick photo op for folks who chose to do so, and guided us to a person who treated their animal well. Yes, I sat upon and took the picture and I have no qulams about it. I freely tipped the man who afectionately called his camel 'my Charlie' and kissed him sweetly for our amusement (ew) and who showed no signs of wear on his knees and appeared in excellent health. I am an animal lover, I volunteer at my local AZA accredited zoo and have pampered my fair share of domestic cats, dogs, hamsters, and birds, though which can either prove or disprove my point based on how you feel about animal husbandry and pets. I inwardly seethed at the camels and donkeys with open wounds and dirty halters knowing that the world just flat out doesn't have the same ideas as to what constitutes abuse. I'm not hiding anything, but I'm also not bringing it to the light unless or until it affects the trip, like having to make certain not to hand off food and money to kids does.

The other problem they lamented was how sick everyone got from the 'safe' food they were served. I'll be honest... my group did not have problems. At all. One woman caught a nasty cold and was down and out for a couple days. Kyle had a bit of an upset stomach at one point as well, for half a day or so, and we never could figure out what it was. We ate the same stuff and I was fine. Here's the honest truth though - what he experienced? That happens at home too. It happens to me sometimes. I was worried about that sketchy buffet and yet... fine. We had drinks from the refreshment stands at the sites we went to, and it was fine. Coffee, juices, etc. Fine. Maybe we were lucky, or things have been getting better the past few years. Our guides said they would let us know if we needed to worry about vegetables or fruits or what have you, and I think only once or twice they reminded us to stick with only peeled fruit, when we stepped away from them and wanted to remind us in case we got our own snacks.

ONWARD...

we sailed, ever seeminly going backwards in time as we headed south up the Nile. Yes, south is upriver.



Life seeminly got slower and by watching the scenery roll by I saw a party along the banks with groups of men and women dancing gaily, fishermen, birds of all kinds and we even sailed past more ruins that we were not stopping at such as Gebel el Silsila. Sailing was one of my favorite parts of this trip, for sure. Since we had the entire ship to ourselves there were swaths of time I had almost the entire sundeck to myself - the exception being the pool which the one kid in the group had to himself. Along the way we picked up a hitchhiker; we'd been warned the small boats will often do this to save gas and to not be alarmed.



The sun had set by the time we set out again, this time for our visit at Kom Ombo Temple in the dark which was welcome as the temperature was ever rising as the days rolled on. It was so close we simply walked to it.





He pointed out a few times that the ancient egyptians invented everything first... here is one of the first 'excel spreadsheets' showing offering amounts.



After touring the temple we also visited the mummified crocodile museum attached.



Tonight we had the traditional dance party that all the ships seem to do. Kyle didn't want to attend and I did not want to go without him, so we called it another early night and relaxed as we had ANOTHER super early day the next day!

Unlike Disney, AP takes a bus to Abu Simbel. In order to get there before the crowds, it meant bus wheels were rolling at 3:30am! We were allowed to take our pillows onto the bus with us and the ship collected them when we returned and provided fresh ones on our beds.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 7

As promised all were aboard and trying to sleep as we made the almost three and half hour drive to Abu Simbel. True to form there was no chance for me, so I read, and watched the scenery from the bus. Most was desert, so the majority was spent on the former, though I'm chuffed I can say I have traversed a portion of the Sahara! Hussein would later tell us about some of the efforts being made to bring agriculture here utilizing dredged soil from behind the dam, with some success. They hope to do more and more, artificially doing what the inundation had done for some millennia. As we came closer to our goal, the sun rose, promising another hot sunny day.



Our earliness paid off... the site was almost entirely ours when we arrived just before 7:30! Hussein gave a talk outside as guides are not allowed in, and then we were given time to wander the site.



Some folk had paid extra for a behind-the-scenes tour in the artificial mountain but we had not, so we were on our own until 9 which left us plenty of time with Abu Simbel and the Temple of Nefertari.



As time went on more and more folk did show up, but it never got too crowded to get some nice pics if you were patient for a couple minutes.



Swallows (I think?) were flying all over as they built their nests inside - thankfully no one was getting pooped on!



The site has a very large cafe and gift shop attached but once again nothing struck my fancy, we then reboarded the bus for the long ride back, with a stop at the High Dam of Aswan.

We needed military approval to drive on this road, and were only allowed 15 minutes to get out and take our pictures. We had to make certain not to take any of any military folk or equipment the entire time we were in Egypt. They are very strict!





When we got back to our room we were both flummoxed by what this is supposed to be.... Any guesses? An obelisk? A dam?



From here our route with the tour veered off on its own course. We had decided to skip the visit to the Namibian village and papyrus factory to make time to head over to the Old Cataract Hotel. I enjoy Agatha Christie so there was no way I was going to waste being that close to it, even though I am a little sad to have skipped out. No one seemed to have thought it was not to be missed at least - so I believe that gamble paid off as I LOVED heading there and having afternoon tea! If you go with Adventures by Disney they have lunch there, so you will definitely not miss it.

I read a lot of conflicting info about what you can and can't do without being a guest here, so I had to keep my hopes low until it all worked out in the end! Suat helped us hail a taxi to take us there, along with setting the price, and the driver tried to get us to give him a time to come back but we had no clue how long we needed so we declined. That was a mistake, as there were not taxis sitting there waiting and the hotel is set back a little from the street... and well, we don't know quite how to hail a taxi in Egypt! Would they speak English..?? Once again our dumb luck saved us as the same exact person just happened to arrive to pick up someone else as we came out wondering what we should do! He called a friend and we waited for them to arrive and they took us back to the ship... crisis averted! The car was not marked as a taxi, and had curtains blocking out all the back windows as if we were in a hearse! I bet in the middle of the day it was welcome but at night.... felt a little sketchy.

When we got to the hotel we had to check in at an office next to the gate, where we paid an entry fee of 1500 pp (a little over $30 at today's rate) but you then can use that amount in 'select' bars and restaurants. No clue which you can't - seemed like they all accepted it. I then nervously approached reception for the terrace and they said it was no problem, would we like to be inside or outside? Outside please!! We quickly ordered some cold drinks as it was SO HOT, and afternoon tea for me. They did not make us each order it and we were very glad, as to be honest we weren't very hungry. Did I mention how hot it was...? They first brought us a large plate of breads to start with which we did not touch. After a few minutes they came and took it away, thankfully.



The setting here really is something special, right on the water with falucas sailing by, and we also dumbed into a very pretty sunset as we wrapped up!



I'm so happy that it all worked out. We took our time wandering all over the lobby and common areas as well as the terraces outside and small garden in the front before finally saying goodbye to it and heading back.

We had taken a picture and dropped a pin when we got off the ship to be sure we found our way back, and had to cross a bunch of boats to get to ours as we were anchored at the back. When we got there though... no boat!

WHAT???

The staff immediately realized something was wrong and we asked them where the Senator was. The laughed and said we were at the wrong pier! How?? Shamefully we began the long walk back to the dock, having been told we were the next one down, with them laughing at us being "typical Americans". It did not feel right then and it DEFINITELY made me upset when our crew said they moved the boat while we were out. Not a problem had we been with the group, but we were not with the group... also not their fault as they had not known. But, note to self, always check with the ship if I zig when everyone else zags again!

 

[pjacobi]

On my non-Disney tour, I stayed a few nights at the Old Cataract Hotel. I snacked on pigeon served in the hotel bar - it's an Egyptian specialty food!

I also read "Death on the Nile" while floating down the Nile!


-Paul

 

[AquaDame]

On my non-Disney tour, I stayed a few nights at the Old Cataract Hotel. I snacked on pigeon served in the hotel bar - it's an Egyptian specialty food!

I also read "Death on the Nile" while floating down the Nile!


-Paul

How was it..? We stayed docked overnight so I admit I was tempted... but it really would have been a waste of money in our case!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 8

Had it really already been four nights? Did we really have to leave the ship so soon?? Say it ain't so!

But it was, and we did. Sigh. They wasted no time saying goodbye, as we met up at 7:30am after one last breakfast and were off to see the unfinished obelisk. It was very close by, or else I might wonder why they stopped there as there isn't a ton to see.



Since it had cracked they left it where it was. Reminded me of the heads left on Easter Island as well when they also made a mistake... easier to just move on. Since you had to climb up to it and the terrain had lots of steps and was uneven here too folk had to just stay behind. They didn't miss much, but there was one woman with movement trouble who was getting more and more upset by the day... Including a little shopping time (only the second time on our trip the guides provided any time at all to shop the stalls in or out of a site) we were on our way to Philae within the hour. They recommended a bookstore here and a weaver stall that had nice scarves and such. Of the two books they recommended I only found one, and it was fairly heavy so I decided to not buy that either. I did buy it after we got home, though I do feel remorse for not supporting the stall owner in Aswan... sorry sir!

To get to Philae you have to take a boat, and we were told how this site too had to be relocated to save it from the water when the dam was put in. They lovingly marked it block by block and painstakingly reconstructed it higher on an island that they had to enlarge for it to fit. Truly a feat of engineering, love, and patience!



We spent a good amount of time here, listening to Hussein interpret and saw the last known hieroglyphic inscription from AD 394. A batch of kittens kept some of us extra amused while we listened.



We broke up for some free time to wander around, with virtually all of us ending up at the cafe with tables overlooking the water as it was once again HOT...! We enjoyed watching them swiftly unload a restocking boat by tossing them... there were a few oopsies but not too bad!



At 11 it was time to head back to a Nubian cafe for lunch, again overlooking the water. It wasn't anyone's favorite but got the job done. We spent a good chunk of time here too.. I think honestly we were treading water wasting time before our flight back to Cairo. Kyle and I asked if we could go up the stairs to the roof and were told OK. I enjoyed seeing how they make their solar lights... soda bottles in concrete! Well, it worked!



I mentioned in a previous post Kyle did have stomach issues for a half a day, and it was here, sadly. We ate the same meal and I was fine, but he had drank an 18+ energy drink called 'Sting' when we were at Philae. I'd had a bottled spanish coffee instead, so perhaps that was what got him. We'd have thought that was safe though... so really who knows. Thankfully it passed quickly and he felt much better by dinner.

From here we headed to the airport for our 2:40pm flight. On arrival an hour later we realized there was some kind of problem.. two of our tour members were not on our flight! Somehow during checkin they had been placed on the next flight about 20 or 30 minutes after us. I had noticed Hussein on the phone in Aswan but thought nothing of it, now again he was on the phone in Cairo still sounding very upset, as you'd expect! They did show up not too long after we'd all collected our lugagge, and without further ado we were on our way to our final hotel of this trip - the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence. What a mouthful...!

We defintiely were not in Aswan anymore... back were the highrises that look like they were hastily put up (they very likely were)!



There is a lot of rubbish on the tops as well, unfortunately.



It took us about an hour to get there during which the sun had set. By this time we were getting peckish as we'd had lunch before noon and it was now 6pm. The scedule said we'd have our final lecture followed by dinner at 7 but it was moved to 7:30 and then 8! So late! Suat did apologize in our whatsapp group when they did, but I remember grumbling to Kyle that they should feed us first then and not make us wait! Everyone has their triggers and mine is mealtimes at appropriate times... not my best trait. This was compounded by the fact that our wakeup call the next day was 2:50am, departure at 3:15am for our private entry into the Great Pyramid! It was to be another short night..! ^^;

Our speaker was Dr Mohamed Ismail Khaled, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. He has had a long illustrious career, to be sure, but I found my mind drifting as I listened. Sadly I don't remember quite what it was, but it was a rehash of something I had already learned, about how they moved materials for the construction, or perhaps how they moved the sites, it escapes me. If we had the lecture earlier in the trip as we were meant to (and not been tired and hungry) I may have paid more attention. I think we may have also missed the memo or misunderstood as about 2/3 of our group had changed into much nicer clothing..! The younger amongst us were still in the same clothes from the day. Surprisingly none of us had extra questions after the talk... perhaps we were all tried from the long day and as hungry as I was. We all took a picture together before proceeding into a hall of the hotel for a plated dinner. Nooooow it made sense why they hadn't moved our dinner time as he joined us for the meal as well!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 9

This was THE day, the "biggie" day, bucket list day, which we expected on day 3, but got at the end instead. At the time we just were brimming with anticipation and sad we had to wait longer, but looking over the itinerary again I admit I am a bit sad it was switched around because I think we would have understood what we were seeing on exhibit better having being to all the sites. It makes me want to revist the GEM, but having only really scratched the surface in the tie we had that day I think that would have been true regardless...

Once again, as on so many mornings so far, we arose before dawn was even a hint in the night sky and were on the bus to the great pyramid of Giza for our private entrance. We had breakfast boxes from the hotel once again for anyone peckish, AND visited the Mena House again for a proper breakfast afterwards as well. That and the 45 minute drive underscored that this was meant for day 3, so other folk may get to sleep in a bit longer than we did!

By 4am we had arrived to the completely silent complex and began our ascent.



First you go up some stairs outside and then the inside is similar to the pyramids we visited on day 2, though there was more space in some areas. Look how luxurious this is! TWO ways once you hit the grand gallery! Beforehand you have to come up a shaft like we did on the other pyramids though, and you still crouch through a tunnel at the end before reaching the sarcophagus chamber.



Once again we had some folk who were not able to go in, so we took lots of pictures for them again. I know you're laughing at the idea this report is short and doesn't have a lot of pics but my husband took over 6K just for this day y'all. We were so excited we were right on top of Hussein leading the way. He pulled off when he could and we scampered even faster to the King's chamber and had some time in there to take all the pics we wanted with no one else.



Even without anyone it was stuffy and hot! Even at 4am! Even with no one in there! They had a couple dehumidifiers running already and one little fan in the corner. We took turns in front of it while Hussein talked once everyone made it. Then we all went to the Queen's chamber, grateful it cooled off bit by bit as we descended. I can only imagine how it is during the heat of the day with lots of other tourists crammed in! We'd have done it if we had to, but we were both grateful we DIDN'T have to.

Now, we had been told that we would have access to all three chambers, however we ran into a bit of a snag. We only had twenty minutes left, and the guards began arguing with Hussein that just getting down there would take up the twenty minutes. At this point I'm not sure what's performative and what is reality, as I'm sure Hussein has done this before and knows what is possible, but in the end all we were allowed to do was go into the passageway and take pics. So I did.



Comforted by Hussein's insistance that there is literally nothing in the subterreanean chamber and they aren't sure why it's there, AND its the most boring for lots of extra work...we pulled ourselves away and headed over to breakfast. All told we had the pyramid to ourselves for an hour, which was ALMOST enough time to do it all.

Breakfast was not as good this morning as when we were staying there - not quite everything was available but we had plenty of time to eat and fill up on coffee. Dawn was breaking when we boarded the bus and the sun crested the horizon as we reentered the complex for our date with the Sphinx!



As with ABD, Archaeological Paths allows you right down between the Sphinx's paws.



When we arrived chairs were set up for our last lecture, this time from Dr Zahi Hawass which is how I found this tour in the first place. He travels around the US on tours now and again, lecturing about old and recent findings to kindle the desire to visit Egypt (and spend our tourist dollars, ahem).



After his talk we all took a group and then individual pictures with him. While waiting everyone milled about taking as many pics as they liked. I made sure to fist bump the sphinx and after an hour we moved from the private area to the public one further away to quickly take more photos as the first batch of tourists began pouring in for the day. As more and more came we moved on to touring the temple of the Sphinx, and visited a few other spots as well, some on foot, others by bus. See, I CAN be a little brief. Kind of. One of the stops was for the aforementioned camel op...I could not help myself since Hussein made sure he knew the gentleman took good care of his camel. It was up, picture and if you wanted to walk a little he took you in a very small circle.



At another view point Kyle took some nice wider shots with his much better camera too.



At 11:30 we were taken to lunch at a newish place in the complex called 9 Pyramids Lounge. It was built off some shipping containers and was a very nice serviceable lunch. They had a woman making all the breads in a little hearth in view, and she obliged with a photo and gave me a fresh bread right from the oven. They were good before but THAT fresh is even better! We ate at a normal long table but they also have a lounging area with a pretty nice view if you ask me!



We had plenty of time to chat about all the various new things in the complex that you wouldn't have found a few short years ago. There were paragliders, some kind of glider-copter contraption, some art installations, the aforementioned restaurant as well as others like you might find in a strip mall complex at at least one of the viewpoints we stopped at where I got a gellato. We were also told a bunch of new international chain hotels are going to take up residence in the land around the pyramids as the government tries to convince the Bedouins to move on from the area. Those are the folks with the camels and such... they have been there for a long time now, so... its complicated. It seems like in a decade or so this area may well look completely different.

 

[Minnie1222]

That is amazing being able to get that close to the Sphinx.

 

[AquaDame]

It was absolutely a deciding factor in going with who we did!

 

[AquaDame]

We began the long drive back at about 12:15pm, and there were no more plans for the day until our farewell dinner that night. Had we wished to, we could have signed up for an additional Cairo/mosque tour, but only one person signed up for it. When they realized they were alone they decided they did not want to, so AP kindly let them cancel. Happily traffic was no worse than earlier and we were back at the hotel by 1.

We relaxed a bit and then decided to walk to the mall next door and see about finding an afternoon tea for me. Reviews had mentioned it, but the cafe was all open air on the bottom floor and didn't float my boat.



We wandered the mall briefly but saw the proprietors waiting at every door and counter ready to pounce... we decided to just head back to the hotel and have tea & coffee there. Kyle ordered a turkish cofee which was more interesting than mine; it came with turkish delight as well. My tea come with a couple small cookies - they did not have a large set or anything like that but this was enough.



We then went back up to our room and settled in to relax until it was time to change for dinner. In the daytime you could really see how dilapidated the zoo is at present. Had it been open we would have gone, so it was a shame to see it like this. Hopefully they do a good job and open it eventually... from the looks of it I am not sure. It seems certain all the animals were rehomed.



We once again lucked out with a very nice view, and enjoyed the sunset.



At 6:15pm we descended to the lobby and we all made the short walk to the river where the restaurant was built into a permanent "ship" on the water. I believe it was part of 'The First Nile Boat' but I am uncertain what part... at the time I wasn't paying close attention thinking it was just one thing but it seems there are a bunch including a Petite Chef which we definitely did not do! it was certainly the fanciest of our dinners, with a glass of wine inclusive for those who drank, but I wouldn't say it was the best meal of the trip or anything like that.

And that... was that. We hung back with the mobility challenged woman and husband who did her best to navigate the walk and tall curbs and such - Hussein was in the front and Suat was paying and in the rear but she needed an extra elbow. Feeling somewhat reluctant we ended up at the bar with one of the younger couples willing the trip to not end, but end it must.

The next day - Day 10 - the only inclusion was a ride to the airport. Another option was paying for another night and taking a one day tour to Alexandria for an additional cost, or purchasing their Jordan add-on which is, of course, much more expensive than what we put together for ourselves. Once again, we had a painfully early morning. Yes ladies and gentlemen my final tally was 5 of 10 days being obscenely early. Two were our fault, mind you, choosing the hot air balloon and having an 'early' departure flight. The others were the early flight to Aswan, the morning drive to Abu Simbel, and finally the early entry to the pyramid and sphinx. All were amazing experiences, and we all resoundly said YES when the guides asked us if it was worth it. FWIW.

Our flight was at 8:40am but still necessitated a 3:30am wakeup, with luggage out at 3:45 and departure at 4:30. We actually ended up getting to the airport TOO early - we were once again handed off from the driver to an airport AP rep who had us settle in at a table until the check-in counter opened. He made sure to hang out while we got through customs and from there we were on our own, and off to Jordan! I'll cover logistics for that as well, as folk have asked, but will cut it off from this post to make certain everyone knows the portion with AP is finito.

There was one woman who signed on for the Jordan add on through AP and she was not happy that her tour did not start the same day as departure but the day AFTER. I assume this was to accommodate folk who wanted to do the one day Alexandria trip, but she was the only person in our group who booked it. It DID go with just her BTW, and no, she did not get paired up with folk from a different tour or anything like that. She had a lovely day hanging out at the pool, but it did feel like a bit of a waste to her.

Final thoughts -
I asked Kyle if there is anything he'd like to add and he said he would HIGHLY recommend doing the hot air balloon ride. Also if you can go early into the pyramids by any means, do! It will save you a lot of stress as he can only imagine how bad it gets during the day.

As for me? I had a great time. I was worried about various things going into the trip - worried I'd get along with the other guests, worried about the class of hotels. Worried about cigarette smoke being on everything (I'm very sensitive to it) and the boat being smelly or run down. I was worried about the water or food making us sick. And none of that happened. They did every bit as good a job as Disney does with ABD with some caveats. You knew there would be caveats, didn't you?
First, there was only one kid with us. That's a huge minus if you like having more children for your kids to hang out with. Due to the nature of this kind of trip they did not go into things at a kids' level. They did give special attention to him now and again, relying on him to participate more than the adults when they needed volunteers to do this and that, and made sure to check in that he was having fun and was comfortable but there were no movies, or songs, or games. There was very little downtime and the times there were it was because we chose not to pay more to fill in the time. Had we signed on to everything? Then there would have been none. That's really hard when you're a kid! That said he did great, honestly. They were a Disney family for sure - I saw her bags from DCL and they mentioned the parks but I never had occasion to strike up a full conversation. Everyone else skewed older with only one other couple in their 40s as we were, and one woman who was traveling with her 30 something daughter. Everyone else was in their 60s or older. We were 22 guests for our group.
Second we went HARD. The days were long, the sites were mostly just walking and listening and when I say walk I mean we walked A LOT. Very few places were fully wheelchair accessible. I'm not sure if Disney can accommodate that one better because that's just how the sites are there at present. I'd only recommend this trip if you are comfortable walking and standing for many hours a day on stone. Even better if you can crouch and crawl, though you'll only miss the inside of the pyramids in that case.
You can trust AP to help you with the vendors and make sure you pay a fair (tourist) price. They will keep you safe, 100%, so you don't have to be as suspicious of the locals.
Speaking of safety, I never once felt I was unsafe except briefly when we got in the cab driver's friend's cab while on our own in Aswan. And even then not really, as he went the normal route. I had thought I'd feel more on edge than I ever was. At one point Hussein mentioned the events November 17th 1997 and said there is a day of rememberance for when Tour Guides in Egypt literally gave their lives to protect their guests. They take the job exceptionally seriously. Every one of our speakers - especially Dr Zahi Hawass - implored us to come home and tell everyone Egypt is safe. They are waiting for us, and we are a lifeline to their people and their country as governments pull their support and dollars and leave them desperate. Both hotels we stayed at have been recently sold off by the government to foreign chains to raise money, which is sobering.

I'm not sure what else would be helpful to know, but I am always willing to talk, so please hit me up if there is something you'd like to know about our trip with them to Egypt!