Sunday, 2nd of June, 2019.
I left the hotel early morning and asked the receptionist to leave my backpack in there for the day. I walked until where I could grab a micro-bus to Abu Simbel, which at that point I though it was the best option, the cheapest one. The problem is the heat! It was a very hot time of the year in Egypt, almost unbearable to stand outside and travelling in a car or bus without air conditioner, mainly a micro-bus full of people. I am guessing it was around 40 Degree Celsius.
At the bus station it was a little difficult at the beginning to figure which micro-bus it was actually going there. Remember, is very difficult to find someone who speaks English in Egypt plus you must to be always careful about the fact that a lot of people just want to take some money from the tourists. And they don’t know I am not a tourist. But this young guy helped a bit and I got in the bus and we left not too late.
The whole trip I was in silence, napping here and there, but then when we arrived, the man sitting beside me, a doctor, helped a bit talking with the driver to drive a bit more than usual and drop me at the entrance to the temples. Very nice of both of them!
At the temple, I meet Tom Cruise, a local guy who runs one of the souvenir shops over there. He is very nice and walk with me telling about the place and helping me out. I think it is weird the fact that is no car or people walking around at all. Tom tells me that some days are just like that and then next day there are 2000 people around. I buy the tickets and start to walk. I see no one. It is horribly hot. I finally spot the first temple, The Great Temple, and it is like being dragged to so many of the movies I watched my whole life. Of course that The Mummy’s soundtrack comes to my mind immediately. Laugh. I take a picture and then I finally see the first people, a couple, a nice couple, and I help them to take a picture.
I am melting outside so I decide to go to the entrance of the temple just to rest at some shade. You see, I know that you cannot take pictures inside of the temple without an a special authorization that costs you a lot. But I misunderstand that for the fact that I can go inside the temple, just to see it. Luckily, there was this tourist guide with two other people, and he reminds me that I can go inside. Actually, he does much more than that! He started the actual conversation saying: “What do you think about taking a picture inside the temple without need to pay?” And I was “what?” At the moment, I did not know yet he was just a private tourist guide so I though he was the guard responsible to control the pictures inside. I am very honest with him and say that I am actually just interested in the pictures outside. So then he reveals to me that the actual guard who supposed to be there, “securing” the place, is somewhere else because of the heat and the fact that are almost no tourists. He even offered me the guard’s chair to sit and rest. Laugh.
So when the tourist guide and the people leave, I remain in the temple just by myself. That is right, people, no one single more person or a crowed of heads annoying my view. Nope. Just me and thousands of years of history. I cannot believe in my lucky and I wish I could stay there the whole day. But since I need to go back to Aswan, then Luxor and then grab a bus to Sharm El-Sheikh, I stay just for one hour inside, half an hour outside and they I leave. And of course I took the picture inside anyway.
The funny things it is that, when I was going inside of the second temple, The Temple of Hathor and Nefertari (or small temple), the security guard yelled from the far away spot where he is, in the shade: “No pictures inside!”. And I confess I got a little afraid that he would ask to check my camera when I pass through him but he did not.
When I was leaving, I sat for a bit to rest of the super strong sun and get the courage to walk for fifteen minutes to town and grab a micro-bus back to Aswan. Talking with Tom Cruise, he tells me that I can get a lift to town with his friend in his tuk tuk. Great! We walk to his friend coffee shop and there I am told that no micro-buses just leave town some time before 5 p.m. The reason is because it is so fucking hot that no one wants to travel in that time. It is a two hours travel to Aswan and I want to grab the 8 o’clock train to Luxor, in Aswan. So they give me the idea of waiting for this local guy how is visiting the temple and contract a private car to bring him there. The driver is waiting for the guy at the coffee shop and I decide to wait. Apparently, it will take about one hour for the guy to finish his tour. After more than one hour, for some reason that I do not know precisely but involves the arrival of a police officer at the coffee shop (fucking police officers!), the owner of the place drives me to town to check the micro-buses. No one. Then he has another idea and drives me to a Sudanese restaurant, where usually loads of buses from Sudan stop for a break and then lead to Aswan. There were four buses there but not too many people. He talk with one of the drivers and arrange one spot for me. Amazing! And will cost me almost the same of the micro-buses plus I will have a comfortable seat with air conditioner. And the Sudanese people are friendly in a quiet way.
I have hopes that we are going to make to Aswan before 8 o’clock and I grab the train. But the buses leave far to late after 4 p.m. and they stop out of town, in the bus station which is about 20 minutes away.
There, I am trying to arrange a micro-bus to Aswan, and some Sudanese joy me. When we are about to leave in a micro-bus, a police officer (who looks like more as a street person) starts to ask about us and where we are going and how many are together with me. One of the Sudanese, who speaks for the others, does not let me answer and keep saying to the officer that we are in eight people, as I was to pay for them. But the police officer does not buy him and asks directly to me, so I answer the truth and say that I am by myself. With that, he asks to all the Sudanese to leave the micro-bus and wait outside. In a few minutes the vehicle is full again and we leave.
I don’t know which nationality are the driver and the guy sat beside me (I am in the front seat) but they are not very friendly. They try to talk with me even without the English and then keep on laughing and acting like idiots. I try to explain that I need to get out at the train station but they can understand. A friend of them, who speaks a little English, join the micro-bus and then just after that they finally figure where I am going. I arrive at the trains station. Is after eight already.
I check the next train and it is at 10.20 p.m. I can do that. So with the ticket in hands the next mission is to find a Koshari. I have been eating just carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and pita for the last three days. I need a proper meal now. Looking for a cheap place where I can find the Egyptian dish, this big and middle age man offer to walk with me to a place. The Koshari is not that good, almost not rice, but it is cheap, just 10 EGP. After eating, the guy insists in give me a ride around the Nile river in his taxi. According to him for free. At this point, my truthful at Egyptian man is not very strong, mainly at night and in a taxi. Plus, I just want to seat and wait for the train. I go back to the hotel to grab my backpack and change. The owner is very nice and say I could wait for the train in there, under the AC. In a few minutes, there are some other workers for the hotel who want to take pictures with me but all of them are pretty nice.
I leave soon and grab the train. I will arrive in Luxor around 3 a.m. So my plan is to take the first bus to Sharm El- Sheikh and do not spend one more minute than necessary in there. Sweet illusion of mine…
