And on the trip back we discovered that our guide has to ''sign off'' our food bill every evening, including the wine. Particularly the wine. I think he was a bit puzzled by the amount of it that we managed to consume, particularly as two of us were not one the ''drinks package''. Perhaps now he has had an insight into how sociable the British can be at the dinner table, and how chatty we get...
I have come to the conclusion that they should not try to do ''Western food'' on these ships, but having said that the breakfast and lunchtime buffets are amazing.
I tend to travel light these days and do a bit of laundry by hand until I found out how cheap the laundry service was on the ship, (I think that perhaps some of them might have laundry facilities?), wonderful service and everything came back ironed, even my socks! Well worth the money!
There seems to be a competition going on to see which members of the crew can come up with the most amazing animals made out of towels and bed spreads.
On the way back to Luxor you get a chance to drive the ship! Apparently I was not very good at it....
Arriving back in Luxor the last two sites included in the cruise are Karnak and Luxor Temple....
I am giving Luxor Temple a miss because I want to visit the museum instead, and you can see enough temples on one lifetime.
Karnak is impressive, and of course, in ''Death On The Nile'' it is where the dislodged stone narrowly misses killing Lynette Doyle (nee Ridgeway), but seemingly it has other important features! Karnak is the largest temple complex is Egypt, and apparently the largest religious complex in the world. It has been destroyed, and rebuilt, refurbished and rebuilt, modified and rebuilt. Successive rulers have all added their own touches to it, and even when it fell into disuse for worshipping Egyptian gods, it was used by Christians...
At Karnak you will find obelisks standing up, and obelisks lying down, columns of massive proportions, hieroglyphics in abundance,massive statues, and the first example ever of clerestory windows set high in the ''roof''...
Indeed everything you could want and far more than you can see in one visit, but them you are coming back aren't you??
My decision to go to the museum was a wise one i think, except that when I got there it was closed.
I missed the normal opening hours is the only reason, but never mind the market is close by.... Me and markets, it is worth the visit just to see how much, or how little you can get hassled!!
Our last night on board and under discussion is our onward travel the following morning. One of us was a last minute booking who flew direct from the UK to Luxor and is returning the same way. The two couples came via Cairo, as did I, but the are flying back from Luxor direct to the UK.
And me? Ever the difficult one, I am taking the train back to Aswan. The guide asks me if I have got a ticket, to which the answer is no, I am going to book it on line tonight. It seems it is better to go to the station, which is no far away, and do it in person.
No sooner said than done he arranges for one of the crew to go to the station and get me a ticket. There are regular trains from Luxor and the go-for calls the guide and says what time do I want to go, late morning would be ideal as the trip takes 3 hours and gets me there for about the right time to check into my hotel....
But there is a plus in sending somebody Egyptian to get the ticket, because as you have already found out (if you are an independent traveler), there is an Egyptian price and a tourist price for a lot of things including the train! So my train ticket comes out at the Egyptian price.... You just have to hope that nobody notices!!
The following morning I am packed and ready to go, having made new friend on Facebook, and Whatsapp,
my bags are whisked away, and I am taken shoreside and put into the oldest Peugeot car I have ever seen in my life. I think they only thing that was holding it together was the paint, and that was beginning to go in places. The trip to the station takes all of five minutes, and on arrival I pay the driver, and already my bags and ticket have been whisked away by a man of indeterminate age assisted by a boy who cannot be much more than 10. Inside the station they have already checked my bag through the scanner and are waiting for me on the other side of the barrier, except I don't have my ticket but it doesn't matter because the man on the barrier knows I am with them.
Fully expecting to be left on the platform with my luggage, but no they wait until the train comes and bundle me and luggage on to the train and into a seat in completely the wrong carriage but it seems that doesn't matter either.
And we are off........