Kom Ombu - 29 December 2007

This cruise seems to specialize in early morning wake-up calls - not the most desired addition to a relaxing holiday - and this morning it was 0600 so that we could be at the Kom Ombu Temple, in front of which we had moored during the night, when it opened at 0700. Unfortunately this temple was used as a source of building blocks for a sugar cane processing factory so is nowhere near as complete as the others we have visited. The unique features here include mummified crocodiles; a Nilemeter, used for gauging the height of the annual flood and thus levying the taxes for the year; depictions of the King with two left hands, a practical joke by the workmen carving the reliefs; and a relief showing the various medical instruments in use 2000 years ago for such operations as brain surgery and caesarean sections.

Leaving Kom Ombu it was a race down the Nile to Edfu, the MS Serenade seemed to get overtaken by every other boat, leaving us trailing the twelve or so line-astern ahead of us. At Edfu, those who had joined the Serenade at Aswan were taken for their tour of the temple and we had some free time to wander around ashore. Unfortunately it was not all that pleasant: the quay is lined with carriages touting for tourist trade drawn by the most mangy collection of smelly, scrawny, under-nourished horses you could ever have the misfortune to meet. The water-sellers, bazaar owners, carriage drivers and walking 'cambio' men were all vying to catch your attention and, naturally, your 'tourist dollar'. On the whole this trip has been reasonably free of this harassment but the short time ashore reminded us quite forcibly that we were in Egypt.

Back on the boat we cruised into the night heading for the Esna lock and Luxor.

Abu Simbel - 28 December 2007

This morning's wake-up call was at the unsociable hour of 0340 so that we could be on the coach at 0415 ready to join the convoy at 0430. After the 1997 massacre the authorities are taking no chances with their most precious commodity, the tourist. The 280km trip from Aswan to Abu Simbel is made in convoys under armed guard. For some reason, although we appeared to be the last coach to arrive we were the convoy leader and as soon as the guard had joined us we set off across the featureless waste to Abu Simbel; bizarrely on the wrong side of the road most of the way.

30 minutes before arrival the tour leader woke us so that we had time to eat something from the 'breakfast box' that we had each been given as we left the boat and it also gave us the opportunity to watch a totally unspectacular sunrise over the Sahara.

Abu Simbel was packed with tourists but different in that it was carved form rock rather than built from stone. The story of its rescue from the rising waters of Lake Nasser and its repositioning 64m higher and 280m back from the original location is quite inspiring. Unfortunately, photos are not permitted inside the temple; a prohibition rigorously enforced by the numerous attendants inside the two temples.

The 2.5-hour trip back to Aswan was a chance to catch up on some of the lost sleep before we arrived for lunch. Quite why we had to join the 0430 convoy when, clearly, there were later convoys running at civilised times is anyone's guess.

After lunch it was time for our felucca ride up around Lord Kitchener's Island and back to the boat. Part way round we were 'ambushed' by a young boy in a hand-paddled 'canoe' who pulled up alongside and sang various well known English songs and then, at the request of our tour leader, a 'national song' from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan and so on. Pokarekare ana was not in his repertoire. Having been tipped for his vocal prowess he then paddled off flat-stick looking for another boatload of tourists.

With a little spare time before dinner we decided on a walk through the souk; quite a disappointment after the bazaars of Cairo and the souks of Morocco so we returned to the boat to catch a sunset on the Nile.

High Dam and High Tea - 27 December 2007

Another morning of intense sun-lounging was our lot but the difference this morning was the presence of feluccas, the gaff-rigged sailing boats so distinctive of the Nile.

After arriving at Aswan, where we joined at least 60 other cruise ships moored 4 and 5 abreast, we disembarked for our bus trip to see the Aswan dams, Philea Island and Temples, and a perfumery. We drove across the lower, original dam en-route to the High Dam. This dam was built by the British in 1902 and flooded the Temple of Isis and it was not until 1987 that this Temple was rescued, reduced to 47000 pieces and repositioned on the renamed Agilika Island.

The High Dam is just what one would expect and, as is normal with hydro dams, most of the interesting stuff is underground. The dam contains enough rock to build 20 Great Pyramids and holds back the largest man-made lake in the world, so long (500km) that it reaches into neighbouring Sudan. The dam was built in the 70s with Soviet assistance and now provides more than enough hydro-electricity to power the whole of Egypt as well as taming the annual Nile floods.

On the way back to our boat we detoured to visit "Philea" Island and the Philea Temple complex. Since the Temple is on an island, a boat is required for access so the bus dropped us off at the waterfront tourist-tat bazaar where there were dozens of boats milling around and jostling for position to entice tourists to use their services. It appeared to be total chaos. If there was any organisation to the way it system worked it was not apparent to the outsider.
Having, somehow, secured our boat we were delivered to the island for our tour while our boat waited, in the shade of another island, for our return. How all this was coordinated before the advent of cellphones is anyone's guess.

It was our intention to visit the Old Cataract Hotel for High Tea on the terrace where Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile but unfortunately we never had the time to make it there and there were conflicting stories, one of which was that the Terrace was closed for refurbishment.

Edfu - 26 December 2007

Our early morning transit through the lock at Esna was delayed due to an overnight mechanical failure of the lock so it was not until 10:30 that we finally made it through. The delay afforded the sellers in the rowboats more time to throw their wares to the passengers and more time for the back and forth bartering.

After the lock we settled down to another day of lazing on the sun-loungers watching the banks of the Nile slip past; a truly demanding task.

Late in the afternoon we arrived at Edfu where we disembarked and were taken by bus to the Temple. It is the best preserved Temple in Egypt and had it not been for the Coptic Christians who took refuge there from the Roman persecution, the place would be even more amazing. Fortunately the desert sand had raised the floor level so the lowest layers escaped the religious zeal of the Coptics who industriously chipped away all the other faces they could see; believing that they were representations of gods. The irony is that the Temple is dedicated to Horus, a falcon-headed god and all his images were left untouched while the kings, queens, high-priests etc were defaced (in the strictest sense of the word).

As we arrived at the temple site we were accosted by Ali from Number 4 bazaar, to ensure that we went back to see him and, just to make sure, he handed us his business card proudly bearing the name "Louts Bazar". I thought it impolite to explain the English meaning.

Back on board we prepared ourselves for the "Galabiyeh Night". Most people joined into the spirit of the event and dressed in Egyptian costumes of various types. The after dinner entertainment was a bit of a challenge as they tried to organise German, Italian, Spanish, Belgian and English speakers to all get involved in communal activities. A German girl and a Belgian girl both gave impromptu belly dance routines and both were considerably better than the official 'expert' who entertained us on Monday night.

Leaving Luxor - 25 December 2007

Christmas Day began with a 6 a.m. wake-up call so that we could visit the Karnak Temple site, the largest templ comple in the world, and get back to the boat before it sailed. Karnak is a 70 acre site comprising ruins of temples, obelisks and other structures erected by and in memory of several Pharaohs. There are a couple of majestic obelisks formed from single blocks of granite that are quite inspiring; one is 29m tall.

Back on the boat we sailed south, upstream, arriving at the Esna lock to take our place in the queue for our transit through the lock: two boats at a time and a 45-minute cycle means there are significant queues upstream and downstream. We took our place at number 20 with a likely transit in the early morning.

Being forced to sit and enjoy the hot Egyptian sunshine when we could have London fog was a real trial, but we were stuck in the queue, what else could we do? Until the next boat arrived and moored alongside the entertainment was provided by the locals who attempted to sell Egyptian clothing by throwing it 4 decks up from their rowboats to the unwary tourists on the cruise boats. If the garments were not thrown back immediately the haggling began. Throwing the garments back and having them miss the target and land in the water did not impress the sellers one bit, even though the goods were in plastic bags.

Off up the Nile - 24 December 2007

With Sunday's fog refusing to lift all day, the prospects for an early flight on Monday were not promising. However, the weather bods predicted clearing winds and they were correct with Monday dawning crisp and clear. Gatwick was typical pre-Christmas chaos but we departed on time in a plane full of package tour-package passengers.

Paris looked stunning from the air as did the Italian lakes, a little relief from the tedium of the 5-hour flight to Luxor. There was some delay at Luxor airport as two pieces of our party's luggage had not made it with the rest but eventually we were delivered to the MS Serenade, one of 400 cruise ships on the Nile and our home for the next 7 nights.

Dinner was a special 6-course Christmas Eve banquet followed by a 'floor show' consisting of a dancer with a swirly skirt - not a patch on the one we saw in Cairo and a very flabby 'belly dancer', again not a patch on the one we saw in Aqaba. Should anyone suggest that belly dancing was a good way to loose flab and tone the body, this lady was living proof of the fallacy of that argument.

Christmas in London - 15 & 16 December 2007

Someone has just completed some research and declared, on the basis of various measurable qualities, that London is the best capital city in the world. We feel, on the basis of a few years of experiencing it both ways, that Christmas is more suited to the middle of winter than the middle of summer and part of this impression is undoubtedly due to the fact that Christmas in London is very special.

The City Fathers and the retailers put a major effort into making London an attractive Christmas destination, as there are all manner of things to see and do, many free.

So this weekend we decided to check out some of the city activities starting with the traditional City Guilds Boat Race, part of the Bankside Frost Fayre. As we were then so close to the Tate Modern, we thought we would pop in and check out the large crack in the floor, the most recent “installation”. Although I would not put us in the class of ardent modern art appreciators, this ‘work’ is quite impressive in its delivery although I must admit that the engineer in me was more concerned with the technicalities of how it was done rather than any social comment it may have been making but, as they say, art can be appreciated on many levels.

Crossing the river we wandered up though Covent Garden where we found some aerial ‘angels’ and then to Carnaby Street, which is sporting some rather dashing ‘paper chains’ strung across it.

Hyde Park is host to a Winter Wonderland with a rather magnificent transportable Ferris wheel as well as the largest of the dozen or so ice rinks that have sprung up in London this winter.



While on our way to visit the new New Zealand Memorial by the Wellington Arch we were passed by a massed motorcycle ride of Santas. We have no idea what it was in aid of but they were certainly getting into the spirit of Christmas.