the end of an era

Today was, for all practical purposes, my last day at Dell. Technically next Friday is my last day, but I'm only going in for a few hours on Tuesday and Friday of next week.

I feel like I'm being forced out more than quitting. They are making it impossible to work there and a lot of good people are quitting. Just about everyone that has come to Ireland from America is leaving, and there are quite a few Irish moving on as well. The mood at the company is completely dreary. it's all doom and gloom and every breakfast/lunch/break is a depressing affair. we sit around and gripe about how bad things are. We worry about what will happen next. we're miserable and, for some, it has affected other areas of our lives. We spend a ton of time at work and when that is bad, it has a ripple effect. Dell, at least the Ireland location anyway, appears to be a sinking ship and we're jumping. I hate to be quitting, Dell has been good to me up until this point and I'm sure if I went back in the US I would be OK, but the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was never passionate about this job anyway. It was a good opportunity and I did well, but it's over.

The worst part is, I don't really want to leave Europe yet. I feel like I'm not leaving on my own terms. Now that the decision is made, however, I am looking forward to starting some new things back home. I have no job lined up, no place to live yet, no car, and after my last hurrah trip around Europe before I fly home, I will have no money. It's actually quite exciting. I know things will work out how they should.

So, I leave August 7th for a 6(ish) week train trip around Europe. I bought a one way ticket to Portugal and a 2 month train ticket. I have a loose plan but I will mostly fly by the seat of my pants. Whenever I am ready to move on, I'll just head to the train station and see where it will take me. I'll try to keep up on the blog where I can find internet cafes and such so stay tuned and wish me luck and pray that things calm down in Turkey because I will be there around the end of August.

Love, Russ

PS get a mac.

A short story (fiction)

about a loser in an airport, inspired by me while I was in the airport today. Love it or hate it, leave a comment and let me know:) This is fictional, it didn't really happen to me.

I am just sitting here. Minding my own business. Hating life.

I went to bed at 1am and woke up at 4:30am. I sat on my delayed flight for 35 minutes before the plane even moved.

Even though I was up so early, I still have time to kill, so I got an Americano and a chocolate muffin from the airport coffee shop. Both are shit.

I’m on my way to yet another conference where 9 of my asshole bosses are going to tell lies to my customers that I will have to account for and answer to. They will light fires today that I will have to put out tomorrow. I have no purpose at this event. I am not presenting, chasing a PO, or learning anything. I will spend a total of 20 minutes, all during “comfort breaks,” smiling and shaking hands and explaining that no, I don’t have a business card. Making pointless small talk. Asking questions that I don’t care to hear the answers to. Making up bullshit answers to questions I don’t know the answers to. Avoiding eye contact and enduring countless awkward moments which I will get myself out of by faking a cell phone call. I will spend the entire lunch break on fake phone calls to avoid repeating the nightmare that was “Welcome and Introduction.” Death by PowerPoint. Propaganda. Growing contempt for the people who are supposed to be running my company.

I don’t know any of this is coming my way while I am hating my breakfast and the story isn’t really about that because she really ruins my day before any of that started.

Anyway, back to me sitting here. I notice her walk up to the counter and yes, OK, I’m a guy, I notice that she is gorgeous and has an amazing body and all those other dirty thoughts that go along with that. And yes, I am picturing her naked. It is awesome. She looks great.

She is wearing one of those disgusting velour track suits. Only she is pulling it off. Despite the fact that it is the color of a hookers eye makeup. Her hair is in a perfect messy ponytail or clippy thing or whatever. Her hairstyle says, “No, I don’t want to join the mile high club, I’m already a member.” A low waist and tight around her perfectly shaped butt. Zipped low enough to show a screaming glimmer of hope. Mocking me with her cleavage. A glorious 3 inches of skin between the pants and the top is what puts me over the top. She has those hip bones. She wears flip flops and she has nice feet (not that I’m into feet, they just aren't gross, which is nice) and she is tan. Real tan, not bottled tan.

I’m still sitting here. What am I going to do run over and introduce myself, buy her a coffee and offer her a seat at my table? There is exactly one chair left in this area and it is across from me at my table. She glances around the room, notices the seat, and glides right over. She doesn't even give the room a panicked second glance why doesn't she look harder you don’t just approach a stranger like this!!

“Is anyone sitting here?” She asks in her angelic voice with a perfect smile and I swear to God her teeth sparkle like in the movies. She very easily could have said, “Get your shit off my table and disappear. In your cheap department store suit. You disgust me. You’re a disgrace.” Because all of those things are true. I hate this stupid department store suit. Anyway, she could have said all that and I would still tell this story as if it were a triumph simply because I was so near to her and she spoke in my general direction.

All of this is going through my head for a few seconds. Then I realize she was waiting for a response. She is looking at me with anticipatory raised eyebrows and a still great smile when she should have been dumping hot coffee all over my useless crotch.

So with a mouth full of chocolate crap muffin I shake my head yes for a full 10 seconds before muttering “sure thing” and spitting chunks on the table as I spoke. Brilliant. She sits down but my tray is right in the middle of the table which doesn't leave enough room for hers. I am busy in my mind trying to determine what sickness I must have to be this delusional and also what the other people in the shop must be thinking at the sight of me talking at what has to be no one. She is forced to give a perfectly cute giggle as she tries to set her tray down with mine clearly in the way. She probably should have picked up my tray and slammed it over my head, but her way worked too, I move my tray back without a word. I triy to do it deliberately and not like an imaginary goddess had asked me to. All this for the benefit of the other patrons. I want no one to worry. Or call security on the looney in the coffee shop spitting all over his table and talking to himself. Anyway, her demeanor is perfect and she doesn't feel awkward at all and I might as well be naked on the jumbotron at the Super Bowl.

I decide to ignore her. For obvious reasons. This is obviously a trap or a dream or at the very least a total disaster. It is a test.

In my attempt to ignore her, I pull my book out of my bag. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. Backfire for my original plan but major accomplishment for my as yet formed and newly developing plan. To win her heart forever, of course. My how things change. Once I have my book out, she quickly goes into her own bag and fetches a dagger for my heart. Cat’s Cradle by, guess who, Kurt Vonnegut. She puts it on the table and slides it towards me so that I can't miss it. When I see it I am surprised enough that I say nothing. I just sit here and stare at her sort of wide-eyed, a face that could be interpreted as confusion, disdain, pleasure, fear for my life, discomfort, etc, etc, who knows what it looks like but what seems like an hour passes by and the whole time I am thinking, “sure, go ahead, find a way to hate me for this…”

“You read Kurt Vonnegut!” That’s an exclamation point friend, not a question mark. It is a statement. An excited statement. Her inflection is one not filled with contempt, much to my surprise. It is more like “Finally! I can’t believe it! I was just telling all the other beauty queens that I am going to marry the next guy I find who reads the same very widely circulated best selling author as me!”

What follows is unreal to me. Uncharted territory. A conversation that includes some or all of the following:

• I’ve only read a few of his.
• Did you read Slaughterhouse Five?
• Did you know he really was in Dresden during WWII?
• He’s very witty and funny.
• Who else do you like?

And other relevant questions, answers, opinions, words, and sentences that make up what appears to me like a normal conversation. I consider it a success because I say nothing stupid or insulting and when it is over she is still here. It is the most successful conversation I’ve ever had for that reason.

I could have keep going. She is actually making it very easy for me. My plan is to segue from Vonnegut to Palahniuk and then to movies via Fight Club. After movies/actors/actresses I will transition to music via Glen Hansard and Once. These were all topics that I can deal with and seem like good topics for normal, interesting, get to know you type questions for regular people in coffee shops.

But I am cut short. Don’t panic, you wont believe this. I am interrupted from the Palahniuk Transition by some prick interrupting us with the most obnoxious “Is that whats-her-name from such and such’s blah blah blah class? Oh my God I can’t believe it’s you what are you doing here? Gosh you look as great as ever!!”

It is apparently a former classmate of hers happening by in the airport. Of course I am immediately put off and since this jackass is wearing an Armani suit I decide to fold. I am fully prepared to give my It Was Nice Meeting You sendoff when I realize that I know this guy. A friend of a friend type situation, we have met once or twice. He recognizes me at about the same time as I recognize him. He also recognizes my suit. Shit.

They could easily go off on tangents that don’t involve me. About the fun times they had in school or the people they knew or inside jokes. If I am them, that’s what I would be doing. But they don’t do that. Instead, we all three have a conversation, which was the last thing I thought would happen. Small talk. Chat. About the weather and the local sports teams and the coffee and why we are all at the airport.

Why we are all at the airport is another reason this story is worth telling. As it turns out, Whatshisface is going to the same event I am, put on by my company, only he was invited as a guest because he is a potential customer of the particular products that I sell. I wouldn’t have been more surprised if I had woken up with my hands sewn to my face.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, we work out a plan to do business together. I barely had to give my pitch, and we even made plans to close a decent sized deal as soon as we were both back to our desks after the conference.

So Guy takes off, he has to Take Care of Some Things before we meet again at the conference so I’m left here with my dream girl. It is getting close to time for me to go, but I am 100% willing to blow it off and sit at this airport coffee shop that serves burnt Folgers and last weeks muffins with this girl. Of course, she has somewhere to be too. I’m rolling now, on cruise control, confidence is at an all time high, so I make a move.

“So can I get your number?” or something like that…
“Nope.”
Shit. I should have known. How could I be so dumb? Did I forget who I was for a sec?
“Ok, well it was nice to mee…”
“No silly, you give me your number, and no fakes, I’m sick of giving my number to guys and never hearing from them again. You give me yours and I will definitely call you about this weekend.”

Nothing could bring me down. I could wake up the next morning to find my own kidney listed on EBay and shake it off. I might even bid on it with a smile on my face. The world is my oyster. Things are looking up.

So anyway, I’m still sitting here. Sipping my bitter drink and nibbling at my crumbly muffin and watching a very attractive girl in a turquoise velour track suit order a coffee and walk away, counting down the minutes…

Donde es la bibliotecha?

That's right friends, I'm off to Spain tomorrow! I get a full day to goof off in London, then a party bus to Pamplona, Spain for the San Fermin festival and the running of the bulls! I'll be running on Monday and, if I survive that, Tuesday as well. Watch for me on the news, I'll be the one in all white with a red sash, running for my life. Possibly also the one flying through the air after a bull rips me a new a-hole and then stomps my manberries. Don't worry mom, I'll adopt you some more grandbabies. You might have to cosign.

Love, Russ

Egypt will change your life

I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt, ever since I was a little kid. I think I’ve watched every show about the Pyramids or the Sphinx that comes on the Discovery Channel. After doing some research on Egypt Tourism, I decided that just booking a flight and “winging it” like I normally do would not work. First of all, Cairo alone is a city of more than 20 million people. (I’ve read 17, 18, and 20 million, and while I was there the guide said 24 million.) After looking around at some of the other places I wanted to go, I learned that part of the travel would need to involve an armored convoy and that Americans in particular were the most prized target for would be terrorists. Now, nothing of the sort has happened in a long time so the risk is fairly low, but whoever is in charge decided that it was enough of a risk to publicize and to arm the convoy. So I decided to book a tour. I must have looked through every possible organized tour of Egypt and the one I picked was the King Tutankhamen Tour from www.onthegotours.com. I have to say, I was very impressed and it was well worth the money. The company took care of everything; all we had to do was be on time. It was a perfect combination of roughing it, tours, culture, and down time. When we were in hotels, they were 5 star and they all had great food and swimming pools to escape the 120° F heat. Our tour guide was a brilliant Egyptian named Bishoy who had a degree in Egyptology, which means he spent 6 years learning about everything we were about to see. He was a fantastic tour guide. He was great at explaining everything to us and knew the answer to every question we could ask. On top of that, he was very friendly and fun to hang out with during our down time.

My travel buddy was Thuong, you might remember him from the ski trip, and we had pretty much an entire day of traveling to get to Cairo. We left Dublin just before lunch and arrived in Cairo just before midnight, with a short layover in Paris. We could feel the heat as soon as we stepped off the plane. We were greeted at the airport by a rep from the tour company who sorted out our visas for us and transferred us to our hotel.

Once we got to the hotel we checked in and decided to see what was going on at the hotel bar. I went to the ATM machine to get some Egyptian Pounds and was surprised to see that my 400 pounds was dispensed in all 10s. You get about 8 pounds for 1 euro so I was only holding about 50 euros but I still felt rich. Things are pretty cheap in Egypt. We heard some music from the piano bar so we decided to check that out but they were wrapping up as we got there. We had one beer and decided to walk down the street for some snacks before we went to bed. On our way back we were corralled into a Papyrus shop by the ambitious but friendly shopkeeper, Farook. I blame Thuong, I tried to keep walking, but I knew I could say no so I decided to see what was going on. It was here that we first learned that the Egyptians, especially the shopkeepers, are very friendly and hospitable. Once he got us inside he offered us a drink. When we said we’d have a beer, he said “sure” and then walked out the door, got in a car, and disappeared. We were confused but curious so we waited it out. He was back in just a few minutes with a bag full of beers. We sat in his shop for about half an hour, mostly talking about his papyrus and the meanings behind the paintings. It was when I stood up to leave that he turned on his sales game. Once we had established an opening price for a piece of papyrus, it took about 2 seconds to get him to cut that in half. I made it clear that I wasn’t interested so he gave up on me and went to work on Thuong. I genuinely felt guilty that we had spent all that time with him and he even bought us beers and we didn’t buy anything, but we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Once we got out of there we just went back to the hotel room and went to bed.

The next morning was a big day: the Pyramids and the Sphinx, as well as Saqqara. We went out to the tour bus in the morning and met the rest of the travelers on the tour. There were about 20 Aussies, 1 Kiwi, 2 from London, and us two Americans. We also met our guide, Bishoy. The bus was one of those large, air conditioned coaches with plenty of room for everyone. Our first stop was a shop so that we could all get some cash and grab some water and snacks for the day. I must have gone through at least 3 liters a day, sometimes 4. This was the first we got to see Cairo in the daytime. Very busy, very crowded, and very dirty. I don’t know if waste collection is the problem or if people just don’t care, but they seem to just drop trash where they are. There is also a ton of dust but that was expected.

We drove from there out to the Pyramids and I was shocked to see that the city is built all the way up to them. One second you are in town, and you just take a left and there you are at the pyramids and the cameras went crazy. It is impossible to look away from the pyramids. They look much different than I expected. When you see them on TV they seem relatively smooth and uniform, but they are actually very rocky and jagged. I expected all the blocks to be the same size and that was not the case. Look closely in some of the pictures and you will see what I mean. That being said, pictures will not do them, or anything else in Egypt, the justice they deserve. You will only be in awe like that when you are standing in front of them. The middle pyramid, Cephren, still has some of its smooth surface near the top, but the rest was robbed away long ago. We were able to go inside this one. You go down a short and narrow corridor; I had to bend all the way over to walk. You go down a ways, then it levels off, then back up a bit to the burial chamber. There is still a stone sarcophagus inside and nothing else. All the treasures were stolen long before the chambers rediscovery. It was a very small space and it was very hot.

Outside the pyramids there were many locals selling cold drinks and camel rides. They were always begging you to take their picture, which we were told to avoid because once you give them that much attention, they will not leave you alone and try to sell you camel rides. They tell you it’s free but it’s a trap. They will let you up and then make you pay them to let you off. Be warned, nothing is free no matter what they say. At the very least they will hassle you for a tip.

Once we had a good look around we took the bus up the hill a bit to a place where we could get a good view of all the pyramids at once. Here we took a group photo and started our camel ride. It was basically a short journey from the hill down to the foot of the pyramids. My camel’s name was Michael Jackson according to his handler. The camel ride was short but it was very cool. I recommend it if you go and you shouldn’t have to pay more than 50 Egyptian pounds for it.

After that we went right around the corner to the Sphinx. There is a temple there that was used as part of the funeral before the ultimate burial inside the pyramid. The Sphinx has the body of a lion, to symbolize strength, and the head of a man, to symbolize the wisdom of man. It is still a mystery of how the nose was destroyed. The most popular theory is that it was shot of for fun by Napoleons soldiers but there are painting of the Sphinx with no nose from before Napoleon ever arrived, according to Bishoy.

Our next stop was the papyrus institute, where they make and sell real papyrus. The papyrus plant grows in the waters of the Nile. It is the first paper that humans ever made and they have sheets of it in the Egyptian museum that are over 3,500 years old that still have paintings on them. They showed us how it is made and how durable it is. You can get it wet and be fairly rough with it and it will not rip. They had many paintings available. You have to watch out for fake papyrus that is really banana leaves, so make sure if you get any that it has a certificate of authenticity. Papyrus is actually regulated by the government there to try to prevent counterfeiting.

Once we left the institute, we headed west to Saqqara, which is the home of the oldest pyramid in Egypt, the Step Pyramid. When this was built, it was the first time the Egyptians used stone in construction. It was originally one layer, and the other 5 were added later. The pillars in the temple there resemble papyrus stalks tied together and are believed to be the first stone pillars constructed by man. From this site, we could also see the so-called bent pyramid a few miles away at Dahshur. Halfway through construction they realized that it would fall over, so they changed the angle from 54° to 43°, thus the bend in the middle.

By this time we were all hot, tired, and hungry. We got back on the bus and didn’t really know what was up next, we just knew that we were getting on a train later that night. It was only about 3pm and Bishoy told us that they had arranged for us to hang out at a hotel pool nearby and they had arranged a BBQ for us that evening. This was exactly what we all needed. The hotel pool was great and, best of all, it had a swim up bar. As we were all lounging about and just getting to know each other, a man walked around the corner with a lion cub in his arms. For just a few pounds he would let you hold it and take your picture. I’m pretty sure he was sedated but he still wasn’t happy. By the time I held him he was growling quite a bit and he even had a nibble on my arm as I was passing him back, but luckily they had removed his sharp teethe. It was kind of sad to see the lion like that but, hey, I’m only one man and what could I do?

That night the food was glorious. I didn’t recognize anything on my plate but it was all great. After we ate we all headed for the train station for our overnight, 14 hour journey to Aswan. While we were waiting for the train, it rained for about 5 minutes. According to Bishoy, this only happened a few times of year so it was wild to be there when it did. We all got on the train and I was able to sleep most of the time. The temperature on the train went from freezing cold to burning hot and back again several times on the way so it was hard to stay asleep.

We arrived in Aswan around midday. Aswan is in the south of Egypt and is where the dam is. It is considerably hotter in the south, about 125°, maybe a hit higher during the hottest part of the day. The first thing we did was check into our hotel, which was by far the nicest in Aswan. It was a 5 star on an island in the middle of the Nile. We had some time to kill before our sightseeing so we all hung out by the pool and had lunch. Around 3 we got back on the bus to head to the high dam. It was quick; we basically just got out and took a few quick pics. From there we went to our first temple, the Phillae Temple. We took a little boat out to the temple, which was also on an island. It actually had to be moved several years back when the dam was completed, otherwise it would be underwater. They actually disassembled it brick by brick and put it back together at the new site. It was here that we learned the reasons for the layout of the temples and the genealogy of the gods. I won’t ruin it for you, its better to hear while you are there. Plus I don’t remember all of it. The temples are amazing. They all still have hieroglyphs that look like they were carved yesterday. Some still have paint on the walls, though this one did not. Bishoy was able to explain most of the carving and tell their stories. Some of the hieroglyphs have been vandalized by the early Christians, who were persecuted and had secret worship services in the abandoned temples. You can also see many crosses that they carved.

From there we headed back to Aswan where we wandered through the market for a bit before heading back to the hotel. We had seen everything the markets had to offer by then. Another dip in the pool before dinner, which was an authentic Nubian dinner and dancing at a restaurant up the Nile a ways. The meal was good, basic spiced meat with rice and vegetables, not as scary as I expected. The dancing and show were wild to see. There was some interaction with us and at one point we were all involved in a Nubian-style conga line that snaked its way through the whole restaurant. When we got back to the hotel we had a few drinks at the bar and went to bed.

Day three we got a much needed sleep in. Some of the crew bought an optional side trip that took the whole morning, so we slept late and had a nice breakfast and then hung out at the pool again. This was to day that we started our sailing journey up the Nile to Luxor. Feluccas are sailboats that are much the same today as they were in ancient times. It’s basically one big deck with a mattress and canopy, and you just lounge in the shade as you sail. There were ten of us on each boat, plus 3 Nubian sailors who did all the work, including cooking our meals. The first thing we did on the boat was eat lunch. They served us platters of good things to stuff inside pitas, such as potatoes, cucumbers, feta, and humus. We also had some fried sausage and watermelon for dessert. The watermelon in Egypt was the best I’ve ever had, though I suspect it had something to do with the stomach bug that went around. We set sail just after lunch but the wind was too strong so we had to take down the sails and drift. We didn’t have far to go that day anyway and drifting is still pretty quick. On the boat we all had a good time relaxing, chatting, and having a few beers from the ice chest. By the time we docked for the night we were all a bit tipsy.

That night we were invited to the home of a Nubian family to relax and smoke their hookahs. They had a nice area in the courtyard set up and we listened to music and smoked. Hookahs are usually filled with flavored tobacco of some kind. I think ours was apple but not quite sure. Hookahs amplify the affect of alcohol if you’ve been drinking, so it turned into quite a party. I’m pretty sure there was some salsa dancing involved.

At the end of the night we all went back to the felucca to sleep. This was the night that I first began to feel the stomach bug, along with several other members of the group.

This is as good a time as any to get real about what will happen to you in Egypt. I can’t remember one person from the group not being affected. I’m going to be very blunt and disgusting here so if you’re not up for it, skip to the next paragraph. Ready? You WILL get diarrhea. I was prepared and had enough Imodium to stay plugged up for a month under normal circumstances, and I even took a few BEFORE I ever felt sick, but to no avail. I thought a pre-emptive strike on my stomach would help prevent something, but my stomach was no match for the demon bug that crept inside us all. The next morning I could barely move because I was afraid I would shit the bed. I eventually worked up enough courage to head back to the Nubian house, where we were welcome to use the toilets and showers. My first experience was as close to a religious awakening as you can get without getting baptized. I thought about my whole life while I was in there and prayed for 45 minutes straight. The shower/toilet was in one stall – it was basically a toilet with a shower head over it. So, picture me in a run down Nubian village in middle of nowhere Egypt, in the most disgusting shower/toilet combo you can imagine, sitting on a 3 inch thick layer of TP protection, crying, sweating, praying, convulsing, and panting, with all my clothes thrown out of the stall and the shower running on top of me, which served to both cool me off and muffle the most peculiar sounds I’ve ever heard come out of a human body. This, with the exception of the shower part, happened to me 5 more times over the next 3 days, which was essentially every chance I got. The severity of the situation gradually decreased, but let’s just say that if I had used as much concentration in college as I did to not ruin the felucca for everyone else, I would have gotten a law degree in 4 years. And I’d be a doctor. So there it is, and I didn’t have the worst of it. One of the Aussies was so bad that he didn’t move for 2 days and actually went into a village to get a shot, which he declined once he got there because he didn’t feel so comfortable in that clinic.

That being said, the felucca sailing was great. All of the second day was spent cruising down the Nile, watching the desert and the farmlands go by. We stopped at one point on a little island to go for a swim. There are only certain parts where you can swim where it is safe, and I was surprised that the Nile is actually very cold because it moves so fast. If you aren’t careful, you can get caught in it and end up in the Mediterranean before you know it. After the swim we drifted a bit further before docking again for dinner. The place we stopped had 9 other boats tied up so there were a lot of people around. A soccer game was set up and it was all the Nubian sailors versus all the tourists. I didn’t play for reasons stated above, but it was very cool to see. Nubians won, but not by as much as I thought they would. During the few hours of daylight that we had left we all swam a bit and played cards or backgammon. I had played Uno with our sailors the first night and from then on they invited me to play every time they did, which was anytime we stopped. After the sun had set we all had dinner on our boOnce that was over, all the Nubians got out their bongo drums and built a bonfire. They all drummed and sang and a few of them got the crowd dancing a bit. This was one of my favorite parts of the sailing trip, it was totally tribal. That lasted a little over an hour and then we untied the boat and drifted a ways further in the dark. I really liked this part as well; you don’t see that many stars in Dublin.

When I woke up we were tied in at our last stop where the bus was waiting for us. We were just outside Luxor and the first thing on the agenda was the Kom Ombo temple.

I won’t go into too much detail on the temples. I wont be able to do it much justice and it’s more fun you learn it yourself when you are there. The Kom Ombo temple is dedicated to two different gods, Haroeris on the left side and Sobek on the right. Sobek was the crocodile headed god and they had a couple of mummified crocs there. From the Kom Ombo temple we went to the temple of Horus at Edfu. Horus was the falcon headed god and this temple is one of the best preserved.

After the two temples we arrived at our hotel in Luxor, which was again 5 star and well received, especially after the three days on the Nile. We spent more time at the pool; this one overlooked the Nile and also had a bar, yes! Once we were all sunburned we had a shower and a rest before a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the hotel and then to bed.

The entire next day was spent around Luxor. We had a 4:15am wakeup call so that we could get to our hot air balloon ride in time to watch the sunrise from the flight. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. There were around 20 balloons in the sky and the sun was just coming over the horizon was we got into the air. We could see the entire Nile valley and endless desert. It is amazing to see where the fertile soil stops and the desert begins. We could see mountain and temples below, as well as the whole city and the farms. I was able to get some good pics and video, which are on my Flickr site.

Once we landed after about an hour, we headed to the Valley of the Kings. Once the Egyptians realized that pyramids were a bit conspicuous and that every tomb would be robbed, they began to hide the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. So far 62 tombs have been uncovered there, and there are plans to begin digging for more this year. We went inside three of these tombs, (sorry, cameras weren’t allowed), and they were all very well preserved. Unlike the temples which had reliefs carved into the walls, the tombs were all painted on the inside. The paintings looked like they could have been painted yesterday. Most of their meanings still remain a mystery.

Just outside the Valley we stopped to visit a family who made their living selling carvings made from alabaster, granite, basalt, flint, and onyx. They showed us the difference between these and the cheap plastic or chalk carvings that they try to sell you around all the sights. They had everything from statues of every god to vases to cups and bowls.

The next temple was built by Queen Hatshepsut. This one has a much different structure than the rest and has many columns on several different levels. There are chapels on each side that still have painted walls and ceilings. Just around the corner from that we saw the Valley of the Queens.

At last the final temple! They were all interesting in their own right but were starting to blend together. The last one, though, was probably my favorite: Karnak. This one is by far the biggest. In fact, it is the biggest religious sight in the world, even bigger than Vatican City. At one point there were over 400,000 animals inside. The pillars here had to be the biggest I’ll ever see, and one section alone had 134 of them. The first part of the temple at the entrance was left unfinished, and you can still see the mud ramps they were using to build it. Since it never rains down here, the ramps are just as they were left. There are two obelisks still standing, one turned over, and a scarab statue the size of a VW Beetle. We spent about an hour walking around inside, it was truly amazing.

After we had visited the last temple we were all spent. 4:15am was starting to catch up with us. It was mid afternoon and we didn’t have to be anywhere until the train left at 9pm, so we relaxed and napped by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. The next part of our journey was a 10 hour night train back to Cairo, which I slept the whole way through.

Once back in Cairo, we checked back into the same hotel as before. This time we had a room in the newer wing, which was considerably nicer than the previous room. Once we were checked in we hopped on a bus to the Egyptian Museum. Unfortunately again, no cameras were allowed inside. By far the most interesting thing inside was King Tut’s treasure, including the famous mask that his mummy was wearing. Tut’s tomb was the only one that had not been raided when it was discovered in 1922. All the treasure was still inside. When a king was crowned, they immediately began to dig his tomb. Therefore, the longer a kind ruled, the bigger his tomb. Since Tut died at 19, his tomb was very small. To make up for the lack of space that they needed for all the necessary artwork, they built several boxes inside of boxes, and every square inch of the inside and outside was engraves. The boxes were wood covered in sheets of gold. There were 4 total and inside was the mummy, which was also covered by several different coffins, all inside each other. The mummy was covered with many layers of gold and jewels, topped off by the mask.

Inside the museum also made me realize how many things the Egyptians came up with several thousand years ago that are still used today. They had umbrellas that fold out exactly how modern ones do. They used surgical tools that closely resemble the ones used today. They even had board games. We also got to see plenty of mummies in the museum, including many animals such as crocodiles, cats, dogs, horses, monkeys, jackals, fish, and snakes.

After the museum we went across town to the Cairo market. It was a madhouse of shops and stands selling everything Egyptian. They had a souvenir of everything you could think of, clothes, hats, scarves, jewelry, hookahs, masks, and general junk. We spent about an hour looking around, I bought a hand carved Nubian mask, and headed back to the hotel. A few of us had dinner together and it was time to say goodbye as we all went our separate ways.

Egypt now ranks as the coolest place I have ever been. I highly recommend that you go there at some point in your life. I’ll understand if you skip the felucca trip for obvious reasons, but you have to see the pyramids, temples, and museum. As I said before, my words and pictures will not do it justice.