We got up early to get picked up by our guide Ahmed at 8:00. Initially he insisted that we go straight to Karnak, but we convinced him we want to go to the boat first. Which turned out potentially unnecessary, as our room want ready anyway, but at least we got to chill for a moment and leave our luggage.
Before we took off to Karnak, I have already been told fifteen times how good my galabiya is. And then about a hundred times more throughout the day. And the price was good, too. Best buy.
Karnak is absolutely stunning. And massive. Ahmed turned out to be pretty knowledgeable – he says he’s an archaeologist and we’re inclined to believe. He gave us a good tour, going way beyond what most other guides did, and then left us to wonder alone. Apparently we taught him some patience there, because we took ages! And we are not the usual tourists, apparently.
We got back to the boat for lunch, had to argue our way into a proper double room, got the best one on the boat, had some lunch and after a break head of to Luxor temple (via a short unnecessary stop at a tourist jewellery shop – I think now Ahmed really believes we’re not normal tourists).
Some general thoughts:
- All the temples really inspire great childlike wonder and sheer joy
- Jemma loves traveling with me, because I ask lots of interesting questions
- You can tell a good guide by the fact that he enjoys answering the questions (though he does refer to me as a philosopher all the time now)
- It pays off to bea bit balsy and argue to get what you want, because you’ll usually get it.
- We look very interesting and ‘conservative’ to the locals and they approve. A whole bunch of people asked to take photos with us at Luxor, and people comment on our looks a lot.
In the evening, we spent an inordinate amount of time sorting out the remaining payment for the trip. Back on the boat we enjoyed some rum and coke we smuggled in, and watched some dance performances, including Jemma’s awesome dance with the belly dancer.
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