No rest for the wicked - we were up at 4.15am to have time for breakfast before our train to Luxor.

The Vegemite!!!

That squeezey Vegemite was great! - had it on everything - some of the Aussies in the group would pop their heads up and say "I smell vegemite!"
It was shared around quite a bit!!

Aswan Train Station--------- Tanya on the train

View from the train

The train to Luxor was the same type we took down from Cairo.

The locals were all up working already and there were so many donkeys and camels too.
We went past a crossing where there was a donkey and cart all loaded up with produce and the load was being transferred into a ute.
It was really odd to see.

"The dodgy television!!!"--- "The dodgy view from our room!!!"

We got to Luxor and transferred to our hotel - Fiona was my roomy again.
The room was good but our view not so good - see the photos.

Views across the city (three photos)--- Over the Nile to the hills

Looking down the street though was amazing - through the town over the Nile and across to the desert.

The roof-top pool------ View to the Luxor Temple

The hotel was really good - on the roof is a pool and twenty-four hour bar - the pool was fantastic and the view to Luxor Temple was fab.

Some of the group went straight to the pool but not me - there’s gold in them thar hills - or down the road in the shop anyway!!
The shop was great!!
The guy was helpful and it was nice not to have to haggle - he just weighed the gold and that was it - price set!!
It was all 18ct gold and the silver was all sterling silver.

Tanya wearing her cartouche (three photos)

......and here is the Hieroglyphic Alphabet

I got myself a cartouche with my name in hieroglyphics on it and a gold chain.
I also got myself a little gold scarab beetle charm too.

Present for Sharon - a cartouche (three photos)

I got Mum a (not to be revealed until Christmas Day!!) and I got Anne a (also not to be revealed until Christmas Day!!)

Present for Brett - "The Eye of Horus" (two photos)

After some assistance from Mike and Mark - I needed the boys’ opinion!! - I got Brett a (also not to be revealed until Christmas Day!! - or when he returns from Venezuela)

We went back to the hotel and met the group for lunch - we went to a nice restaurant and I had a chicken pizza (very Egyptian) and it was really tasty.

We all made our way back to the hotel and got ready to meet our horses and carts to take us to Karnak Temple for the afternoon.

On the way back I got groped - by a tourist policeman.
I just stood there thinking “Did that actually happen?” - I was walking towards him and just before we passed each other he put his hand up and rubbed it over my boob and then just kept going.
After I got over the shock I thought it was pretty funny!

Tanya and two friends on the buggy ride (two photos)

Our horse and carts arrived at the hotel and we jumped in.
The ride wasn’t too bad - lots of yelling and tooting but we got there safe enough.

Saleh

Our guide was great - his name was Saleh and he was 61 and was born at Karnak and used to play hide and seek at the temple when he was little.
He was in the movie Death on the Nile and also guided Prince Charles around Karnak when he was there.

He gave out Egyptian coins when he asked questions and we got them right - I got mine right so I have got a coin.

Everything was such an information overload - he told us so much stuff but I honestly forget most of it.

Information sign------ The back of the Temple

Avenue of Sphinxes - and a close-up of one of them

--Tanya at Karnak Temple--

--Tanya at the front of the Karnak Temple-- (two photos)

An obliesk--------- Statue of King Tut

King Tut and wife - "equal"-------- Ramses II and wife - "not equal"

Karnak Temple was so big!

(two photos) --Some of the hieroglyphics-- (two photos)

The hieroglyphics were amazing and I just loved them.
I got some nice photos and then we headed back to the hotel.

The shops and the goats (two photos)

"The sunset was lovely"

The horse and carts went back along the river and the sunset was lovely - I managed to get a nice shot from the moving bumpy cart.

Tanya up and dancing (two photos)

Marc thought that we might like to go for dinner at a resort.
He said that they have great ice-cream (that tipped my decision) so most of us went.
The resort was called Movenpick and it was on Crocodile Island in the middle of the river - it is exactly like the Novotel at home and not really my type of holiday - maybe a weekend but no longer.

The musical entertainment was provided by a duo.
A guy on keyboards and a girl with big hair - she was a terrible singer and bad dancer and he wasn’t much better.
She spied the big table of us and made us get up and dance no matter how we protested - it was a bit of a laugh.

Tanya and "The Maxi"
(two photos)

......and here it is!!! (two photos)

Marc decided that as it had been my birthday everybody would put in and buy me “The Maxi”
It was the biggest sundae you could order with fruit salad, ice-cream cones, two whole bananas and nine, I repeat, nine scoops of ice-cream.
I made a pretty big dent in it but there was no chance of me finishing it.

Then it was time to head back to our hotel.

We were getting up at 4.30am again for our donkey ride into the Valley of the Kings.
How fun!