16/06/22 - False Dawns

15/06/22 - Arrival in Kathmandu

14/06/22 - Quitting work and hitting the airport

Today was a good day. The last day of working at my job, I quit the office at 11am and gleefully headed to Gatwick to catch my flight to Kathmandu.

But today's flight wasn't like previous flights, today we flew business class. You know the flight is going to be good when you turn up to check in and you have your own walled-off, carpeted check in queue.

The luxury did not end there. After news headlines of mass overcrowding and delays and UK airport, I next traversed to the private security lane before swiftly heading to the business lounge, and this was where my glutinous 12 hours began.

First I started with a champagne, washed down with a pie & mash, caramel shortbread and another champagne. Not wanting to under do it, I ordered the 'afternoon tea' of coronation chicken sandwich and crisps.

A quick stroll took me to the gate where I mistakenly joined the peasant queue, whilst my fellow business class passengers skipped the entire queue and walked straight to the front - rookie business class move by me.

As I entered the sparsely populated plane, I was shown my cabin for the journey complete with flat bed and privacy screen. The privacy screen that I couldn't figure out how to work until embarrassingly a stewardess stopped to show me. I received my wash bag for the flight and was asked which cocktail I would like after take off, all the while sipping another glass of champagne.

The food was delightful, a roast dinner at cruising altitude with a cheesecake and cheeseboard for dessert. And a charcuterie board for starter.

Flying in business was an eye opener - I felt at home, I felt this is how I should fly every time. I made a note to get back on the points hype and ensure I had the necessary airmiles for my next trip. 

After an extremely comfortable flight, we landed in Doha and I yet again descended on the free food and drink - this time to the extremely large lounge in the airport.

I started with a steak from the a la carte and followed this up with a biryani and some middle eastern snacks from the buffer. All of course washed down with more champagne.

After gorgin myself silly, I uncomfortable relaxed until my next flight to Kathmandu. Having reached the gate I was told to wait until everyone else had boarded and then was taken to the business class bus transfer to the plane - excessive considering only four people were in business class. Yet, I did not complain. When on board, I felt slightly duped. There was no individual cabins this time, only large business class seats that did not recline.

At this point I was knackered, but remained awake for the sea food based menu on board.

As I dosed off, the night time view was on fire with the sunset glow. As i awoke this changed to the daylight Nepalese scenery with 8,000m mountains poking above the skyline. The fact that the plane was almost eye level to the peaks of these mountains left me in awe of their stature. Eventually Kathmandu came into view and we made our descent into the busy city. 

Egypt: Flying Home (24 December 2020)

 The final morning in Egypt. I was up early to have a final breakfast, with the memories of Mohamed Ahmed's foul and falafel fresh in my mind, I head to Oldish to hopefully repeat the experience.

I take the 10 minute walk, dodging traffic and death at every junction. Oldish was open, one of the few Cairo breakfast places open before 9am. I order the Oldish Breakfast with omelette, foul, falafel, orange juice, bread, salad and a soft cheese concoction.

The service was the most Egyptian in my short time here, and typically the one time I had to be in a rush in order to catch my plane. After 40 minutes my omelette appeared - a world record for the cooking of an omelette surely. The breakfast was sustenance, over the flavour of Mohamed Ahmed's foul and falafel. 

After a quick scurry back to the hotel, and the 47th body scan and search in the 24 last 24 hours. I quickly pack and order an Uber for a bargain price of 130 EGP (£6.50) - unfortunately I had to forgo Hamdy's offer of 150EGP, even though it was probably the best taxi offer I would find.

My Uber driver extoled the virtues of Dahab and Sharm during the 30 minutes journey. Driving no handed and excitedly flicking through videos of his recent visits. I had to endure 3/4 minutes videos of my man dancing on the Sharm beaches whilst dodging Cairo motorway traffic. Sharm did look fun to be fair to him.

My driver dropped me at terminal 2, I walked in and immediately had a sinking feeling when the London flight was not shown on the departure boards. Had it been cancelled? Had the borders with the UK closed? I should probably have checked before leaving the hotel, but alas, it was just a case of being dropped at the wrong terminal. A five minute walk later and I was at terminal 3, going through the copious security and eventually dropping my bag via an erroneous journey through domestic travel security.

A handful of people were waiting for the London flight, the cleaners and airport staff easily outnumbering the outbound passengers. The same seven Christmas songs were on repeat adding to the dystopian charm of the empty airport.

I boarded the almost empty plane and set off back to the UK, not knowing what would greet me. Everyone I spoke to in the last few days commented about the reported Covid issues in the UK - back to the eye of the storm. Until next time.

Egypt: Cairo (23 December 2020)

Another early start and a quick stroll to the Brazilian coffee store which is inexplicably closed at 8am. Clearly there's no early morning urgency for caffeine in Alexandria. Instead it's a quick pack and an Uber to the railway station.

The walk to the station entrance is currently a building site for what looks like a far grander avenue leading to the station entrance. Until then, it's a walk in the sand and mud. I navigate through the rush hour crowds, presumably arriving from Cairo and the surrounding cities for a days work in Alexandria.

    

The ticket office hidden away in an non-descript alcove half way along the platform. One first class ticket purchased to Cairo for the sum of 130EGP (£6.50). I instantly regret my decision when I take my seat, just in front of a rotund Egyptian man who chose to snore/scream for the majority of the journey. 

The hunger pangs begun on the train, but i couldn't take myself to buying one of the dry and bland looking train breakfasts. I decided to power on through and promised myself a Koshari in Cairo.

At Cairo there was no instant taxi touts jumping on tourists disembarking the train - always a good sign. I decided in my mind that I would be willing to pay 50EGP for the trip to the hotel, which is probably double what a local would pay. The first chap offered 50EGP on the spot. After minimal sleep, i was happy to take this and avoid arguing over the sake of 50p. 

We set off and hit the morning Cairo traffic. 3 minutes in, my driver did something to offend at least 9 Egyptian micro bus drivers. I've no idea what this was, but there was a solid screaming match for around five minutes. Arabic is an aggressive sounding language at the best of times, but eventually one man was dragged away and my driver reversed a metre and apparently resolved the crisis.

At the Steigenberger the high level of security was immediately noticeable compared to my previous hostel in the city. Just one narrow entrance, and two body scanners and two body searched to obtain entry into the hotel.

I dropped my bag and immediately headed to Abou Tarek for a final Koshari. Even with no breakfast it was a struggle to finish, but this triple carb meal would set me up for the day.

The next challenge was my return to Khan al-Khalili. On my first day in Cairo I attempted this market but had to turn back due to the sheer chaos, jowl to jowl shopping and the conspicuous coughing at every turn. This time, I had an Uber drop me at the tourist side of the market instead of having to walk through the vast and immensely busy sections of the local market.

This time was far more successful. Haggled away to buy the obligatory bust of Tutankhamun, generally wandered through the many back streets and had a delightful yet overpriced mint tea.

Fully exhausted from the constant walking, which is confirmed by many of the Egyptians telling me to smile as they harassed me to buy some of their garbage perfume oil, I braved the clogged motorway in search of a taxi.

A nice old chap called Hamdy picked me up and offered a very reasonable 30EGP to take me back to the hotel. It only took a few pleasantries before the cross selling occurred - firstly a very corny Nile cruise as evidenced by the WhatsApp PowerPoint I was obliged to view. Second was the trip to the airport for the following day. Hamdy offered 150EGP, which i thought was a great price until I checked Uber - not a tourist price, but definitely not a local price.

From the hotel and straight to Gad for a Shawarma. Back to the hotel for a swim, and an unexpected telling off for swimming after the pool had 'closed'. To cap my last full day in Cairo I took a final walk along the Nile and eventually to Kazaz - the shawarma place that I wanted to visit on the my first day, but I thought I couldn't due to the busyness and the lack of Arabic. This time around I left with chicken Shawarma in hand. 

With the Khan al-Khalili and Kazaz demons banished, I was able to sleep peacefully before my scheduled return to London the following day - on Christmas eve.

Egypt: Aswan Abu Simbel (19 December 2020)

The dreaded 3.30am wake up. The hotel owner had turned my breakfast into a packed lunch, which was a nice surprise and we headed across the Nile to the mainland on the owner's boat...or one of many that he commandeered. 

The owner spoke little English so I did not know any details of what this trip would entail. I was joined by a Chinese couple, and a small Egyptian family. The four hour drive south near to the Sudanese border flew by, mainly because I was unconscious for most of it. Somewhere along the four hour drive, can't tell you much about it:

Abu Simbel was probably the most anticipated sight of my trip. Not only was it an ancient feat of engineering, built around 1264BC, but also of modern engineering. The entire complex was relocated in 1968 during the construction of the Aswan High Dam to move it above water and to save it from being washed away forever. The site was cut into large blocks, dismantled, moved and reassembled 65m higher then previously.

Yet again we arrived at a totally empty customer car park. At some point in the journey a tour guide had joined us - great, I thought. It turns out that this tour guide was booked by the Chinese couple - brilliant. After paying for my ticket, I found out that it included a free tour guide. At first I refused the guide, but after a little while thought why not, especially as it was free (except for the ubiquitous baksheesh).

The four hour journey was definitely worth it:

The sheer size of the temple was something to behold. To build this with modern techniques would be incredible, but to build this 3000 years ago is unthinkable. The inside was equally spectacular. 

The Great Temple as it is called is dedicated to the King Ramesses II, alongside the Gods; Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah. Incredibly the temple was built to illuminate the sculptures on the back wall of the temple on 22nd February and 22nd October every year - the dates of the King's birthday and coronation. Whilst at the same time ensuring that the god connected with the realm of the dead (far lef), remained in darkness:

After some time in the temple, without the guide as they are not allowed inside. We headed over to the small temple of the Goddess Hathor and Ramesses II's chief consort Nefertari:

My tour guide turned into my personal photographer, which was worth paying that Baksheesh for:

The four ride back to Aswan was much of the same as the first one - sleeping.

Back at Aswan, I decided to go bouji for dinner. The Old Cataract Hotel is around £200 per night for a room and had a couple of restaurants, one which required a jacket and shirt (no chance) and another more casual. At the entrance I had to pay £20 to receive a voucher which let me into the ground that I could put towards food and drink.

Of course, I had to start with an Old Fashioned which border on prices north of what I'd pay in London:

Whilst eating my three course dinner, I was reading up on Covid developments back home. The UK was going into lockdown #2, which led to making the decision to extend my trip. I booked a new flight departing on Christmas Eve which gave me 3/4 more days of Egypt - this turn out to be a wise choice as Christmas was more or less cancelled. 

Egypt: Luxor to Aswan (18 December 2020)

With Ali's ridiculous price of $120+ for the ride to Aswan, I instead set off early to Luxor train station. A first class AC train costing 120 EGP (the equivalent to £6).

I walked along the main streets to the station and managed to bypass all touts - maybe they don't start until gone 8am? The train was surprisingly on time and the train of very good standards. I had read so many differing reviews of trains; on lateness and poor quality - I don't know what everyone was moaning about. 

Arriving at Aswan felt like arriving at Baghdad. Zero touts (thank God), but the train arrived in the middle of prayer. Instead of the Azan, there were multiple tannoys broadcasting aggressive (though must Arabic sounds aggressive) preaching from the nearby mosques. The exit to the station was rammed with locals, changing trains and heading off into Aswan. 

I walked down a side street, must reminiscent of a building site - scaffolding above me and sand below me. A child asked me for money, 'emshi' (go away). I head straight which takes me to the Nile and my accommodation was in the middle of the Nile, on Elephantine Island. 'Maps.Me' told me that there were two Nile crossings - my first attempt go me rebuffed trying to board the private Movenpick ferry. Sweaty from carrying my big bag, I made the walk to the next pier - locals helpfully told me to look out the for the KFC. I pass 4/5 touts on the 20 minute walk, all hawking boat rides along the Nile for no doubt exorbitant prices. 

I finally find the pier and await the local ferry. 5EGP (25p) to make the crossing. This is the tourist price, locals pay about 1EGP for the ride. 

A short 2 minute ride and I'm on Elephantine Island. A small Nubian village, which was a far cry from the Winter Palace in Luxor. From $100 a night to $10 a night. Walking through the maze of dirt paths, past goats and children I find the Mango Guest House:

For $10 it was perfect. Hopefully they will get enough guests to complete the building of the 3rd and 4th floors. For lunch I headed to Nubian Dreams, that was conveniently located overlooking the ferry pier. The food was expensive by Egyptian standards, but was super tasty and filling. This became my usual spot for the next couple of days:

With some time on my hands, I head across the islands to the Elephantine 'pyramid' and local museum and ruins. On the way through an old Nubian man stopped me in my track, I thought he may just want a chat but of course he had something to sell. He owned a café above his house and he seemed like a nice chap, so I said I would pop in for a drink after the pyramid. Coincidentally, right before the museum, the old chap's son was hanging around and I spoke to him for a while and took his number about a potential boat ride.

I'd just come from the Valley of the Kings, so was unable to enjoy the Elephantine 'island'. The museum was tiny and the ruins were just ruins. If you'd have only seen Elephantine Island, they may have been more spectacular but I was well and truly tombed out. 

The elevation of the ruins did at least provide some views of Aswan:

I left the ruins and straight away recognised a face at the exit, waiting. The old Nubian chap. He saw me and made a bee-line, he must have not had customers for quite some time. I was happy to have a sit down and a drink. He took me into his house, his boys were chilling and one of them showed me a small, live crocodile stuck in a bucket. I was led upstairs to a crappy 'Nubian museum', basically just this old chap's hoard of things he hasn't thrown away in his lifetime. Unimpressed, I asked for a mint tea...50EGP. This was the straw that broke the camel's back - this should cost about 5EGP. I told him no, and walked down the stairs and out of his front door. He tried to pursue me, by my normal walking pace was no match for this old man's legs. Victory was mine. 

For dinner I went to a different restaurant come shisha lounge. The food was ok, there was Egyptian football and the loudest Egyptian music on some knock off speakers. It looked like they were expecting a biggun on Elephantine, but instead there was just a small group of 10 of us in there. I didn't stay much longer after eating and headed back to the Mango Hostel. 

I had spoken to the owner earlier about organising a trip to Abu Simbel in the morning - some 4 hours drive away. Booked with ease, the only issue was the 4am leaving time.