The Boyzz do the Nile

The SS Misr - fat King Farouk's old Royal Barge, now our home for 11 days

To get us in the mood for sailing, we have a few days in the BenBen hotel in Aswan. From our balcony there we could see the Nile. And we can report that it looked a flat as a pancake, and none of the mountainous seas and high winds that we stoically endure on expedition ships in wilder parts of the world.

Looks a suitably poncy place for us to camp for a few days. Mind you it was hot, not just a little warm, but 42 degrees hot. We needed a lot of drinks to keep hydrated


We check in at the BenBen, bit of a walk from the ferry to ..	..our room, where we installed ourselves in a deck chair before ..	..the padres bagged it. There was a jacuzzi, but we don't swim.	In the room he nice attendant gave us a towel design every day

Down to the bar to sample the drinks .	Then in to the restaurant to see what the food is like	There was a big water slide	And this is what we call transport. Whose turn is it to drive?

And lots of swings. Both in the bedroom, and scattered round the	. grounds. We were never far from a swing	Sometimes we had our swing stolen from us	And sometimes we had to share with a toweling friend

Once we were suitably relaxed, it was on the the SS Misr. Quite a presentable ship, you could say it was our sort of ship


Here it is. Wrought iron balconies, and looking very smart	Ours was a suite with polished wood. We were straight on to ...	...lifeguard duties at the pool . All over the ship were	...these chaps, in fancy dress pretending to be Egyptians

Looks like a violent country with these parked everywhere.	The Nubian Museum at Aswan was reasonably pleasant.	The Aswan High Dam was breezy.	And the Philae Temple looked like the start of Old Stones days

But just when were thought there were more Old Stones..	..we discovered afternoon tea at the Old Cataract Hotel. Nice..	..place right by the Nile. And 3 layer cake stands, like the ones we	..dream of every day. but rarely see


As Old Stones go, this was quite impressive. We think that ..	..someone moved all the Old Stones here and managed to ..	..make a decent building out to the piles of stones	We paused for a photo opportunity

On to another temple , Kom Umbo , where the most ..	..interesting thing was the mummified crocodile museum.	We are not sure why anyone would want to mummify a croc,..	....but the are masses here and quite scary

Back on board we made ourselves known to the afternoon tea ,,	.. man and to the pianist. Always worth finding the top people	And here we are enjoying the said afternoon tea	And this is the dining room, useful to know where it is

Next day the Valley of the Kings & Luxor. Looks like a full day of old tombs and old stones


We were not allowed a balloon ride. Too expensive they said.	Second best, we went to the Luxor Museum. We prefer balloons.	Then to the Old Tombs. Masses of old tombs, with the bones of ..	..old pharaohs. Quite nicely done, but we decided that we ..

..would not need anything quite as grand as this for ourselves.	That is an old mummy behind us. Lots of old mummies in Egypt	Hot Chicken Soup's temple. That's what it sounds like	Us beside a couple of large moth eaten statues

Impressive temples at Luxor, but by now we were feeling ..	..that we were a bit "templed out"	So it was good to get a cocktail reception at the ..	..Winter Palace Hotel at Luxor


The padres told us that we had to earn our food. So today it ..	..was more old stones at somewhere called Dendra.	Before we got down to the serious business of a ...	..barbecue on the back deck


Nothing better than a hefalump to get you going in the morning,	Then it was more temples, this time Abydos	Still very hot, especially in our sweaters	Back on board, fun when the funnel was lowered for bridges


Little to distract us from food today, as the ship did not stop ..	. closest to old stones was a distant Orthodox Monastery	But we did get some sustenance on the top deck

After mummified mummies and mummified crocs, we saw mummified ibises and mummified baboons today


We started with the easy bit, plain mummies. Then we ..	went into the catacombs where thee were millions of ..	..mummifies ibises and baboons. They are still called mummies	Our two guides. We are not sure if they like bears or just tips

A hike up to the top of a hill to see more old tombs and old stones	..Then another pile of old stones so massive you hardly can see us	A gentleman's form of transport that we discovered on the ship	And this funny fellow who told us he was a whirling dervish


Different layout of towels every day. He looks like the padre	It was a long way up those steps ..think we will stay here	..and we did not like the look of this chap's gun	And what do we get to see - Old Stones


We (wisely) decided not to enter this pyramid. Looked dangerous	The madre did go in all the way, we were impressed by her	A policeman with a natty 4x4 - we want one	And what have we here. Old Stones laid out in lines


This was a chance for some serious posing	The stones are bigger than we are.	We were not allowed to climb up the pyramid	But this a classic "pyramid in the background" shot

Seems like a lot of pyramids, before moving on to ..	..the Sphinx was looking over our shoulders	It had Pembroke a bit worried as it was very fierce.	But then we retired to a nearby Marriott hotel for lunch - good table, nice view

Unfortunately there was another museum in the afternoon.	The Old Egyptian Museum that has among other things .	King Tut's Golden Mask - too big for us to wear.	And a photo of the nice Mr Carter at work on his mummy

Then on to Cairo Airport in the middle of the night, but happily it was Business Class - us boys prefer Business Class