Return to Luxor and Ultimately Home

We were officially separated from the tour in the morning as pretty much everyone flew home early that morning. We and two couples had the ship to ourselves and then we were transferred to the hotel after lunch. We opted to explore a few more museums in Luxor and then the town proper. It started out fine but then Craig got suckered into a caleche ride, I got crabby because Craig seemed to have completely forgotten our agenda and Owen got museumed out. Thank goodness for room service!

Mosaics outside the Mummification Museum which was worthwhile, short & sweet:

Anubis
Scarab & Winged Sun
Lotus (above) and papyrus (below) on fence of the museum
Our caleche driver, Mohamed (everyone seemed to be named Mohamed by the way), waited for us to finish seeing the museum and then took us on a tour of the real Egyptian market (not the tourist one) and stopped at McDonald's for Owen and Finn to experience the thrill of eating in an African McDonald's (where IS that sarcasm font when I need it???). I will confess that the Egyptian fries are better than British McDonald's fries. Craig bought Mohamed a caramel sundae and a super size Coke. He consumed half of each and shared the rest with friends.
View of the Luxor Temple from McD's - prime real estate
Even the Chicken Nuggets are Egyptologists!
Market scene
Then we were dropped off at the Luxor Museum which was modern and nice and had a few really interesting mummies but overall it was just okay when one considers how many artifacts could have been in the museum. There were so many Americans, it felt like we were in the Smithsonian. In the gift shop, the attendant noticed I was chewing gum and asked for some "for the children". I don't think gum is sold in Egypt; I never saw any in the shops. He told us that Americans were "very nice". I think "very nice" translates to "sucker" in Egyptian. A cab driver also told us that Americans were "the most very nice" and Russians "not so much nice". I totally laughed out loud at that one.

On our last day, we opted to just veg out poolside mainly because we hadn't yet and partially in response to world events and word that there were riots in Cairo that day. The Sheraton had a fab outdoor heated pool and it was a sunny but somewhat chilly in the shade day. I suppose the weather gods were weaning us from Egyptian warmth to British chill. We were packed and ready to go the next morning at our 4AM wake up call. The kids experienced Business Class for the first time and we were home by 4PM. It was nice to be back and not have to tip someone in the toilet to get toilet paper or to just plain use the facilities.

Which leads me to my parting notes:

The opportunity to travel to Egypt was incredible and I will never forget it. Well, unless I get Alzheimer's which is possible.

I will also never forget my top five reasons to perhaps never return:

1. Haggling
Just tell me how much you need for it. If it's sensible, I will pay your price. I don't need to negotiate;

2. Baksheesh
This is the custom of being required to tip everyone who does something for you whether you need them to provide the service or not. It gets old real fast;

3. Toilet attendants
Expecting money for handing toilet paper to someone or a paper towel to dry one's hands has always been a pet peeve of mine and it is inescapable in Egypt. I actually had my own small roll of toilet paper (much to Owen's amazement) and the toilets weren't all that clean so you don't get what you pay for in my opinion;

4. Feeling guilty
Actively ignoring people just makes me feel guilty but the pushiness to buy the exact same junk the next guy is hawking was worse so I chose to feel guilty. I also felt guilty that I was riding around in a big bus looking out at someone else's world. That's why I don't love the catered vacation package experience, I suppose;

5. Being taken advantage of
This was a hard one because even the smallest profit means a lot to someone who has less than you, but I still dislike the feeling of someone trying to take advantage of me right in front of my face.

Reasons I liked Egypt:

1. Mostly EVERYONE smiled. You don't get that here;

2. Delicious food;

3. The climate;

4. Being able to see and touch ancient structures is mind boggling;

5. My kids will never forget it.