Justin-Klein.com – Life of a Traveling Programmer – Page 86

Sharm to Dahab to Jerusalem

Jun 022008

My trek through Egypt was finally coming to a close. I’d delayed my return flight to the US twice, and couldn’t push it back any further – I’d be flying directly from Tel Aviv to New York for a friend’s wedding on my way back home to LA. It was time to start working my way back to Israel.

Mike and I decided to catch a bus from Sharm El’Sheikh to Dahab so we could finish a few diving trips we’d postponed last time in hopes of getting my camera fixed in Cairo. As soon as we arrived, one of the hotel touts from last time remembered us. He gave us a lift into town and we set up camp. Continue reading »

Sharm El’ Sheikh

Egypt, Public 1 Response »

Jun 022008

The bus ride from Aswan to Hurghada was fairly typical: five or six ticket-checks and several rest stops. Shockingly, there wasn’t a single military checkpoint – these seem to be MUCH more common in Sinai, which I guess makes sense since the border with Gaza was recently bombed by Palestine (or so I’ve heard – I didn’t actually read about it myself).

The bus arrived 2 hours late, and since it was already after 2am and we had to get up at 8 to buy the tickets to Sharm, we went with the first hotel tout who approached us. He said he’d pay for the taxi if we agreed to come have a look at his place, but as usual asked for the money as soon as we actually got there. “Sorry, but no – we would’ve paid if you were honest up front, but let’s be true to our word here.”

Mike got to sleep about 4 hours, I slept none. Mosquitoes. Continue reading »

Aswan

Egypt, Public 2 Responses »

Jun 022008

Man the heat is really starting to pick up. No matter how much we drink it never seems to be enough – we’re ALWAYS thirsty!

After our unsuccessful attempt at a Fellucca ride in Luxor, Mike and I hopped on a train farther down the Nile to Aswan. It left the requisite 45 mins late, but the entertainment onboard more than made up for it – after pulling out my laptop to watch a quick episode of Globe Trekker I got to witness nearly everyone in sight slowly readjust themselves to see the screen, cramming around for a glimpse of my magic little entertainment box 🙂

Once the train arrived, we decided to get a room with the first hustler who grabbed us at the train station. The effort of lugging our packs across Luxor under the blazing desert sun did not seem like something we wanted to repeat.

We ended up with our own private triple room for 40 pounds – about $3.70USD. And it was located right in the middle of a bustling street market. Continue reading »

Valley of Kings, Town of Relics

Egypt, Public 2 Responses »

Jun 022008

The feeling of Luxor was very different from what I’d expected – and very different from Cairo. It’s a small town. And it feels almost half-done – most of the roads are unpaved, most buildings unfinished. People sit lining the streets selling pigeons in wooden cages, cooking round pita on stone plates, sorting trays of vegetables and camel meat with flies buzzing around, children begging for a pound or two, women on bicycles with large trays of bread balanced on their heads, and of course, people gathered around smoking sheesha.

This is the Luxor on the East bank of the Nile. Most of the well-known historic sites and artifacts lie on the West bank. So we hopped on a ferry across the river, rented a pair of bikes, and rode to the Valley of the Kings.

Man, Luxor is just littered with artifacts! Thousand-year-old statues just sitting in gutters next to the road. They’re neck-deep in ruins and relics! Simply amazing.
Continue reading »

Getting To Luxor

Egypt, Public 6 Responses »

Jun 022008

One of the reasons Mike and I headed straight to Cairo from Sinai was to get my underwater camera fixed before doing any more aquatic sightseeing (in Dahab or otherwise) – but after a bit of research it proved to be far too expensive. Canon doesn’t honor their warranties internationally, and because the cameras themselves are prohibitively expensive in Egypt, repairs are likewise marked way up. Mahmoud warned me that it would probably be a shoddy repair job anyway, and I’d be much better off getting it fixed back in the states.

So much for that.

We decided to catch an 11 hour train to Luxor that night. Continue reading »