Am I still dreaming or is that a water buffalo?

I arrived in Luxor via the train, first class, the recommended class for any white girl travelling alone. I met other Westerners aboard who all opted for this, what was supposedly the more opulent option. It was not first class in the Orient Express kind of way, but we weren’t riding with livestock so who was I to complain. The food was a little different then expected, my breakfast was four different types of bread – definitely not a country for an Atkins follower. I had previously travelled on trains in Switzerland, while the differences were many, one would definitely have to take note of the great discrepancy - in punctuality. A Swiss train scheduled to depart at 1837, would depart at 1837 no matter if the conductor’s own mother were standing on the tracks. My 2015 train departed around 2236 and instead of arriving at 0723, as scheduled, rolled into the Luxor station a mere 4.5 hours tardy. With only a few precious days in Egypt, this was a significant loss of tourist time. Resigning myself to my fate, I spent a lazy morning on the train looking out the window at the peculiar sights that passed. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen before, almost like going back in time; water buffalo plowing the fields, dead animals floating in the irrigation ditches and every railway crossing had at least 6 donkey cars waiting to cross.

My cultural shock deepened as a walked from the train station to my new hotel. I walked by a pile of garbage with goats feasting on it – this was right across from a butcher where the meat, covered with flies, swung in the slight breeze. I saw a little boy, no more then 3 years old, sitting on the ground, no adults anywhere around. The smell…well just imagine everything that I described at 38 C.

It's odd, Luxor is much the same but also entirely different then Cairo...population wise there is no comparison - 25 million vs. 750,000. It’s bizarre, I hear the constant honk of horns day and night but when I look the window from my budget hotel the roads are cluttered with horse carriages and donkey carts. There is more of an eye on safety in Luxor – of the motorcyclists that I do see, I would guess at least 25% of them are wearing helmets, or rather hardhats (yes like construction workers).

The sights are astounding, the temple and tombs, it really is overwhelming. I got an early start on my second day in Luxor with a hot air balloon ride over the west bank. This granted me not only fantastic views of the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and various temples but a fleeting look into everyday life of average Egyptians.

Most of the homes in Egypt are not finished - once the building is complete the owner will have to pay taxes to the government. This is clearly not an option for most so they learn to live without windows and roofs, with rebar sticking out everywhere. Today as we floated low above the ground we caught a glimpse into the homes of the people, and as it turns out their livestock as well. Chickens, geese and goats wander freely while people are slumbering nearby on reed mats or carpets. I took a photo of a lady asleep with a Water Buffalo standing next to her bed. Do you have any idea how large a water buffalo is??? Imagine waking up next to that....

The other really neat thing to see from the air is the Nile Line (that's what I call it). The banks of the Nile are lush and green, fertile farmlands, palm tress...and then nothing - just sand. It's not a gradual change either - it is very abrupt. You could stand with one leg on the sand and one leg in the jungle.

I latched onto a tour group in the afternoon to get a closer look at the temples that I had seen from the air. The Valley of the Kings was even hotter then Luxor, how I am not sure. Our tour guide spoke 7 languages and had a surefire way of identifying the nationality of all tourists at first glance. Japanese, “I think Japanese may think they will die if they not take photo”. Canadian, “They always have a Canadian flag sewn on them somewhere”. American, “They always have many, many Canadian flags sewn on them”.

We visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, significant as she was the only female pharaoh. It was also the site of the 1997 slaying of 70 tourists by Islamic extremists. There was no memorial, no statue, no mention of it anywhere – odd to me as I am used to North America’s love of commemorative plaques. The temple itself was incredible; there were even a few spots where the original wall art had the original colour. Not bad when you consider that the paint job is a few thousand years old…my old Dodge Stratus’ paint job faded in a just a few years.

Later that afternoon I had the chance to see one of the most amazing things I could ever imagine…the actual mummy and sarcophagus of Tutankhamen, in his actual tomb...awesome. He looks a little worse for the wear. From what I understand they don’t plan to keep him in this location much longer, they are unable to control the climate and preserve these precious artifacts. When I was there is was 41 C outside, the tomb is hollowed into the side of a mountain and there was just an electric fan blowing on Tut. The fan was plugged in to an electrical cord that ran out of the tomb and though the Valley – I have no idea where it ended. One of the most significant archeological discoveries of our time was protected with a fan that was dependent on a hundred electrical cords running through the desert…no room for error here.

The tourist police are absurdly corrupt. At least the corrupt ones are awake. This division of the police force was created in the wake of the Queen Hatshepsut Temple slaying, to reassure tourists. I think these are just men who like to walk around with guns. One Canadian I was chatting with set off the metal detectors at Abu Simbel, the guard glanced up and said "you gotta a bomb"? After answering no the guard waved him through. The biggest scam is the guard will guide you to an area to show you something special that is blocked/off limits - and then once they get you away from the crowds they shake you down for a “baksheesh” (tip). In case you were wondering $2 USD will work nicely. It's unfortunate that its at the sake of what they are actually supposed to be protecting - with enough money I am certain that you could throw Tut on your back and stroll out of the tomb, no problem.

I am off to Hurghada tonight - via ‘the convey’. To leave Luxor on road if you are a non-Egyptian you must leave with the convey. It is the only safe way. There are several rules in place to ensure the safety of the tourists – for example; no sugar cane can be planted on the side of the road (sugar cane provides an ideal hiding place before an ambush). The convey is a large pack of vehicles, delivery trucks and buses that travel with a police escort. In order to ensure an air conditioned ride, as it is now 42 degrees Celsius, I have booked a private car and driver – the price, and I am sure I am being ripped off is only $50.00 (less then the cab ride to the airport back home). Looking forward to an uneventful ride...