Fastest way to Heathrow is probably a walk and swim

The span of 48 hours to get from North America to Ireland is a lesson on the pitfalls of attempting to connect to any flights on a July 4th weekend in the U.S.
My end was easy as once I got to JFK it was basically just a refueling stop for my bags (in at the bewitching hour, out before dawn) and then off to London to wait for J so we could tag along to Dublin together.
Her end was fraught with difficulties to say the least. Long story short, after a cancellation here and there, a rebooking there and here, an airport hotel stay and online offline airline negotiation someone was finally bound for Heathrow. My elation was tempered by the discomfort a night spent sleeping in the airport brings. Truth be told though there are worse airports to fall asleep in.

Oh wait no not so simple, more twists and turns. We decided that I would go ahead and await her arrival in Ireland. Longer story shorter, she made it the next day, we went to our friends' wedding and it was a party rocking good time it was!

Soca Intermission

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It strikes me now that I should have added some pics from home to showcase the beautiful twin isle setup. But when you get home and start eating home cooked food and seeing friends again things go awry. Trust though that it was time well spent fattening and relaxing...

The Interlude

We spent the next few days working our way back from Egypt to get settled in for a brief interlude on account of people to see and things to do.
Then it was off our separate ways for a week before getting this show on the road again.

Alexandria

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The days of the fabled lighthouse and the full collection in the library archives are behind us but this is still a cool breezy escape from Cairo for a sight of the Mediterranean and some relaxation.
Taking the train proved to be another hassle and we didn't have seats in the end. J was understandably none too happy about it but we made amends fast enough since fighting makes one hungry so we sat at one of the cafes where we literally steamed off for a bit and I dodged a bullet.

All good now and it's back to Cairo for the evening and the Christian quarter to some of the churches and artwork there. Then to the hotel and to top it off with....yes, the usual, Karkadey and Cane Juice!!

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Giant structures in your backyard

One of the amazing things about Cairo and Egypt generally (and it was the same to some extent in Nepal) is how the people go about their day ho hum while the rest of the world is amazed at all the rich history surrounding and right inside their cities.
Started the day in Memphis and worked our way back up to the pyramids with Amir and Mohammed leading the way.

 
More of the same stopovers to entice a purchase of crafts and perfumes but we really had no interest. Guy tried to get us to rent a camel for a tour of the pyramids at ridiculous prices. He seemed even angrier than us that we opted to walk instead. Compound that with the fact that once you actually finally get inside to the pyramids you can have camel rides (if you so choose) at dirt prices compared to the gold and diamond quotations the guys outside were given. Piece of advice, just take lots of water and covering for the head and walk. Spend money at your own risk inside.
Pyramids and the Sphinx were good to finally see in person so it was more 'ahhhh' than 'ooooohhh ahhhh'. Still all very spectacular though and unforgettable given the historical context.

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Cairo Preview - You can change anything now

Had taken the night train to Cairo. Much different than the Tibet experience. At least we had our own space and everything ran smoothly.
Saw the city at dawn as it was waking up to the hustle and bustle. More drama with the taxi driver on the agreed price to our guesthouse but it's becoming par the course here.

Next day went to national museum which is worth the hype if you are a history buff or even mildly curious as to some of what has survived and how things were in antiquity. After more pressure to buy perfumes and the like we detoured to the Muslim quarter and its streets full of mosques and shops. Left the Christian quarter for another day.

It is probably directly related to the fall off in tourism as a result of the uprising but the people generally are more persistent than anywhere else we've been to date. Our guesthouse manager had a more relaxed take on the revolution. "You can go to Tahrir square and change anything now,

Had to relax some more and ended proceedings of course with more Karkadey and Cane Juice. Excelente!!

Abu Simbel

245am wake up call. Where are the happy people you ask?

After the hullabaloo the mandatory driving convoy is nothing more than a bunch of buses going the same route. It may have been a more potent showing in recent times with security issues but there was nothing of the sort on our trip.
Got to the temple and walked around before heading back into town.

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Aswan

Made our way to Aswan via the train and walked around the rest of the day familiarizing ourselves with the scenery. Shifted across the river to the small island and snaked our way through the small village and its scenery.

Royalty

Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens. The stories/legends that these murals tell are fascinating as is the fact that these works have retained their natural colour in spite of the ravages of time and weather.
Here as throughout there was more of the endless pressuring to buy
what are objects of true craftsmanship from all the stores and shops.

Old School Sunset Cruise on the Nile

In the evening did the sunset cruise felucca.Went to one of the lake isles to see how food and water wells are set up traditionally whilst being forced to down pounds of banana that are readily available on the banana isle.

 At night through observation and more bargaining finally worked our way down to local prices for the cane juice that was available on the streets. That being sorted out I drank buckets
full. Jeanna preferred the carob juice

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the wells and the oven

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Company and sunset

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Temple March

Kharnak and luxor temple. Very grand and magnificent as you would have expected.
In between had a rest and refueled with some water and the most expensive iced tea ever.
Another lesson learned on this day,complete payment in full before product is opened as
price goes up exponentially and arbitrarily!

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The ongoing theme is developing where taxi drivers call me brother and say 'look same colour'
and then still charge ridiculous prices. So I have to remind them that such familiarity
should translate to cheaper prices not higher ones!

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Which way to Luxor?

Our taxi driver from hurghada, as chance would have it, had never actually been to Luxor.
This fact was evident once he started asking for directions a couple hours in. Good thing
the three of us passengers (Singaporean Tyrone joined us to share the ride) had our eyes on
the signs so we could point him properly in the right direction.
With night falling it could have been trickier but we did make it into Luxor.
The lack of elevators makes some of these walk up hostels a lot of planned exercise trips.

The Democratic Process at Sea

As it became more (or less) evident that these sightings were not going to materialize there was voting on whether we should stay or keep on moving. There was a recent ferry sinking years ago which was thought to be a good dive but others understandably (especially the locals) don't go around that area as it's all still too raw a scar.
So we voted moved and moved some more. Got to a school/college/herd? of dolphins and everyone enjoyed that. Fresh off the ultimate dolphin experience in New Zealand we focused on the rich wildlife around with stone fish, scorpion fish etc in abundance.

Worked our way back to the coast to finish up the week which didn't happen as it was supposed to but was still a good experience for us.