River Kwai

Heading home through Thailand

The last leg home included a final fling in Thailand. We spent 30 days there visiting Bangkok and Chaing Mai, where we spent time with my beautiful brother David. We arrived at the airport in Bangkok and in looking for a taxi we managed to sign up for a trip to the River Kwai and a guided tour with a lady called Nancy around the city of Bangkok. It turned out to be worth every minute.

Kitchener's Island

We had a lovely afternoon at Kitchener's Island. We shared a felucca (felucca's are sail boats that have been used on the Nile for centuries) with an English couple we met on the cruise.. Kitchener's Island was very pleasant and cool and a special treat for the locals. There were school children there and families enjoying the gardens. I had a brilliant idea that the Botanical Gardens in Sydney could link with these gardens, given that Australia and Egypt were both British colonies. The gardens looked a little worn out and could have done with some reviving.

The big highlight of the day was when Alan got to sail the felucca back to the boat. He was truely in his element. He was having such fun; so full of light and life; he was lovin' it.

Timeless

One of the most beautiful memories of Egypt was relaxing on the deck of the boat in the late afternoon, watching the banks drift past. It had such a timeless feel; the people dressed in robes; camels and donkeys drinking at the water's edge; men washing their horses in the river and women beating carpets along the banks and all the while the call to prayer echoing back and forth across the water. It was like looking into history.

Cruising the Nile

In order to get in some sunshine before we came home to the Canberra winter we decided to visit Egypt. We got so bogged down in work and the expense of the UK that we sadly didn't make it to Europe. That will have to be another trip. As compensation we went on a 2 week holiday to Egypt. We spent one week on a river Nile cruise, cruising from Luxor to Aswan and one week lounging around at the Maritim Jolie Ville which is on an island in the middle of the Nile. It all felt very luxurious especially after the cold and snow and hours commuting in England. We flew into Luxor, the old city of Thebes and joined the cruise. It was full of poms and germans on holidays and we shared a table with some great people thankfully no one mentioned the war.

If you haven't been on a cruise before, I can only recommend it to you. It is great value for money. We had an above the water cabin (no way was I going below the waterline) with room service, all meals and tours. It was busy because we took advantage of the guided tours. The tour guides have up to 7 years study to be able to be a guide. There was nothing they didn't know about Egypt, the pharoes, or the history of the tombs and temples that we saw. If it had been up to us to organise the time we would never have seen the wonderful places we visited. I have to admit though, there were times when I wanted to sneak off and just take it in on my own. You know, "on your right you have... and on your left you have.." gets a bit tedious. Some of the people on the cruise had been on it before. One guy had been on it over 40 times. I think once was enough for me. Dare I say after a while its a case of you've seen one tomb you've seen em all.

The Valley fo the Kings and Queens,Egypt 2009

Our first glimpse of ancient Egypt was the Valley of the Kings followed by the spectacular Temple of Queen Hatsutchep.

We visited an alabaster factory where we bought a lovely mortar and pessle and some bowls. We werent much on souveniers. Alan is a great bargainer. I managed to pay 40GBP for two cotton table cloths because I had no idea what the translation was and got well and truely dupped by the locals.

This trip has been one adventure after another. We took an amazing balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. It never rains in Egypt and so people dont bother having roofs on their houses. When your floating above the Nile you can see just how dependent the country is on it. There is nothing but desert and then this green ribbon of life running through it. It was wonderful going up in the balloon but I have to admit that we went up with "dodgy bros" and I am really not good with heights. I cried in fact and had a panic attack something like I did in Mesa Verde but got passed it and then relaxed and enjoyed the ride. I am very grateful that my lovely husband encourages me to go beyond my boundaries. It makes for an interesting life.Another exciting adventure was our visit to Kanak temple. This was to be a highlight with a sound and light show of the Temple at night. Well it turned out to be a wind and sand show. We were hit by a sudden sand storm. I have never experienced anything like it. We had our shirts and cardigans wrapped around our faces to keep out the sand and had to leave early to find the bus back to the hotel which was almost impossible. We missed our bus and Al had an argument with the driver of another bus going to the same place to make sure we could stay on it to get back. The wind had blown trees over and it was quite scary to be out in it. The incredible thing is that it doesnt rain at all there so it was just dust and sand.