Aswan

My second hotel was much nicer than the first, even though they were both run by the same company. The souq (market) out the front door had just about everything I needed. I bought a shirt, batteries, food, and an hour of Internet. In the morning, I went to Elephantine Island and the Botanical Gardens by boat. Then I met up with a Japanese guy to go see the Tombs of the Nobles. He told me that there was a terrorist attack in Alexandria the previous day, so I decided I wanted to go to the Red Sea instead to stay on a beach. I'd like to wear shorts and a t-shirt for a change because traditional Egyptian clothes are supposed to cover everything but the hands and head.

I was feeling sick from the local food, so I had to go to Mcdonald's because I trust them more. It may have been the best Mcdonald's I've ever been to because it was very clean, had good service, and overlooked the Nile.

The next day was a trip south to Abu Simbel, the Aswan High Dam, and Philae Island for the Temple of Isis. The bad news was that the bus left at 3:30am, the good news was that I saw one of the most beautiful sunrises I can remember. It had the full rainbow of colors, it might have something to do with all the sand in the air. There were 30 to 40 buses travelling in a convoy for safety. I found it difficult not to think about the recent bus crash on the same route. For the 3+ hour ride down, we got to wander through the temples for about 90 minutes, but it was incredible. The large carvings outside, the wall carvings, the hieroglyphs, pillars, and paintings inside were all great. I got plenty of photos, but of course there were a bunch of tourists in most of them. There was some color left on the inside, which made me think of how good they must have looked before the paint was gone. I could also see cracks in the outside from where UNESCO cut the whole monument apart to move it to its current location to avoid the rising water of Lake Nassar, which stretched farther than I could see from north to south.

The ride back was through hot, sandy desert. I decided not to pay US$4 to see the High Dam because someone told me it is just a dam. I met a guy named Marc, who went to Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He has lived in Korea with his girlfriend for the past four years and he was jealous that I would be in Robertson Valley soon. We walked around the Temple of Isis together, which was impressive. I enjoyed the 19th century graffiti, but many of the carvings of people were scratched out. I later learned that this was the work of the Christians, and later the Muslims because they were Pagan symbols. Marc was a very nice guy, and he took my email address and said I should contact him if I need any help in South Africa.

I ate at a restaurant suggested by my guide book and I had delicious grilled chicken with herbs, rice, and vegetables for less than US$9.

I ate dinner