Luxor...if possible even hotter- then Dahab

In Luxor the Egyptian sun drove us to getting up early to visit the sites. We were all more impressed than we thought we would be. Having already been amazed by previous ancient Egyptian sites, we were still startled by the colour and magnitude of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. There was an amazing hike between the two sites that we didnt take. As you may have heard a theme in this blog, the heat got the better of me. I said I couldnt do it and Yode and Dairn complied, I felt like a wuss until an hour later, when the three of us were nearly passing out from the heat. Well Dairn andI were, Yode could hike to the top of Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night with 2 beers in her and not break a sweat... oh wait a minute she did. (Story later)

However Yode did have the best way to describe the heat to everyone at home. Ok you will need a friend for this experiment. Here it goes: Turn on the oven, open it and stand in front of it. Just when the sweat has started coming out of places you didn't know had sweat glands, get one of your friends to cool you off with a blowdryer... known here as "wind." For the true Luxor experience you should probably have said friend yelling at you asking where you are from and if you need a taxi.

The most amazing site was the temple of Karnak. Considered to be the largest religious building ever built, we felt small amidst the pillars and statues.

Spending the whole day in the pool to drop our core temperature back to "sane," we then took an 18 hour bus ride to Dahab. This must just have been the name of the bus, as the actual ride took 21 hours. We all got a little sleep and were very comfortable, no creepy men. The only slight set back for me was one of my contacts popped out while I was sleeping. This lead to a very confusing 10minutes at the bus stop, with fuzzy taxi drivers grabbing my bag, and me mistaking a back pack forDairn. I was wondering why he was just sitting there. Finally with my glasses on, we drove into Dahab and fell in love!

The Lonely Planet warns, careful you might never leave. The breeze from the Red Sea kept the town cool, the locals were friendly and fun. The town had plently of cheap beer and food to keep us happy.

Although Yode and I didn't know we had it in us we became expert divers. Well we dove twice... and our instructer said he thought we were very comfortable in the water... and I am sure he doesn't say that to everyone.

We stayed here longer then we thought as we lacked the will to leave.

Another huge highlight was hiking Mount Sinai. At first we thought we couldnt go as we mixed up the days of the week (travellers disease) However, after we had two beers our hotel suddenly said we could go that night. Ill timed beer. We would leave at 11pm, get there at 1pm, hike until 3am, watch the sunrise, and then hike an hour back. A little concerning but we didn't want to miss it, even though it was Dairn's last night and he desperately wanted to spend it with us going for a nice expensive seafood dinner. Yode ignored this request and after saying good bye to Dairn we left on our adventure.

The hike was a little trying for me, and Yode considered it quite a work out as well. Our Bedouin guide basically pulled me up the mountain. I was so exhausted I thought I saw a snake and didn't care. With thoughts of "maybe the snake will bite me and Iwill get to rest" we carried on. Although difficult, this was an experience, the sunrise and mountain beauty were breathtaking. Hopefully Ken will do the hike in a few days and will post some photos and additional adjectives on his blog. The way down was over the 3725 steps of repentance. This was much easier. The steps of repentence were built by a monk as an act of penance. The word "steps" should be used liberally... and really, what did that guy do?

On our last night in Dahab we met up with our new friend Ken and his friend Lawerence and finally had that sea food dinner Dairn had been craving.

Leaving Egypt was bitter sweet, but hopefully new adventures in Jordan await us!