Street Chickens

It appears my day by day reports on my activities in Egypt will not work out so well. My internet access has been a little sporadic. Instead, I'll give you some of the highlights. It's late here, really late, but I figured I'd better give you at least one more update before I head back to the states.

We've been in Luxor for the last three days. It was a truly wonderful experience. The guys who run the hostel we stayed in befriended us quickly, and they made sure we had a good time. They even took us out to the "local" bellydancing joint, where we'd see "the real thing," not just the tourist traps. Luxor is beautiful and much quieter than Cairo. There are two major temples to see, as well as tomb after tomb. The Valley of the Kings was particularly interesting. We saw tombs that were almost 4,000 years old.

New Year's was great, as well. We went to bed far before midnight because of an early morning flight, but both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were incredibly memorable. On the Eve, we went to the pyramids, riding camels around for about 3 hours. It's very scary when you dismount a camel, my friends, because they sit down on their knees and dump you forwards very quickly. And my camel was sick. It gurgled for most of our ride. Go figure. On New Year's Day, we took a felucca (boat) ride on the Nile to a place called Banana Island in Luxor. There we wandered the banana trees, ate more bananas than I've ever had in one sitting, and explored their fairly primitive irrigation system. The best part of our journey was the ride back, however, as we watched the sunset over the Nile. We had tea, listened to the captain's jokes and riddles, and relaxed as the sun descended. It was, perhaps, my favorite experience on this trip.

The most exciting experience of late was this morning. We got up at 4:45 a.m. to go on a hot air balloon ride in Luxor. It was OUTSTANDING. The view was incredible, the captain was entertaining, and afterwards...there was dancing! What more could a girl ask for?!

My favorite food experience so far was today. One of the guys from the hostel took us to try sahalab, a hot milk drink with coconut, cinnamon, and maybe nutmeg. It was soooo great. I'm hoping we can find some in Cairo today so I can have another. The hostel guys also cooked us dinner tonight - a "real Egyptian meal." Again, amazing.

On the downside, I am very tired of being honked at, stared at, and hassled. The salesmen in Luxor were ruthless in their appeals, and as young white women, we receive far more attention than we're due here. It's really more annoying than flattering. One of the men, in his appeals, called us "street chickens." We laughed pretty hard, but were very confused. This evening, when we asked our Egyptian friends, they said it's probably because we scatter and walk quickly away from their sales pitches like chickens being chased in the street. :)

That will have to suffice for now. I have one more day in Cairo, then I'm headed back to the States. Better make it count!