My first felucca experience was the last night of the work portion of the trip. We met the felucca a little bit south of Cairo, on the East bank of the Nile. I can't remember the name of the neighborhood, but there was a TGIFriday's there. It was so peaceful, quiet, and relaxing that I decided Andy and I would hire one in Luxor.

This is definitely the way to travel. I have no idea what it should cost, but we paid 60 Egyptian Pounds (which is about $15 US) for an hour. We didn't care if we were overcharged because it was awesome. The Nile in Luxor is a lot different than in Cairo. Our felucca captain made us tea as we sailed into the sunset. It was a vision from some travel show or something!

Karnak temple was the reason I wanted to go to Luxor and it did not disappoint. When we arrived, our guide picked a shady spot and we sat and listened as he explained what we were about to see. The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the temple - quite impressive. We spent close to two hours wandering around and taking pictures. This meant that we didn't have the best lighting conditions by the time we got to Luxor Temple, but this place was simply overwhelming and it was worth it.

The main reason I wanted to visit Luxor Temple was the see the Avenue of the Sphinxes - the main road leading up to the temple lined with dozens and dozens of sphinxes (lion body with human head). There is a mosque right in the middle of Luxor Temple (kind of on top of it) and we were there during a call to prayer which added to the experience. Since Luxor Temple is right down the street from our hotel, we decided to return at night to see it illuminated. There are a few night pictures from Luxor Temple on the Luxor Scenery page.

We absolutely loved Luxor and would return if we get the chance. We spent the morning visiting the Valley of the Kings. Talk about a tourist destination, the place was packed at 7:30am! The tombs aren't nearly as claustrophobic as I imagined, and the paintings and carvings are exquisite. Before heading back to the East bank of the Nile, we stopped at the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossus of Memnon for a few photo opportunities.

We stayed at the Old Winter Palace, which can be described in one word, WOW. We felt like royalty - our room opened to a patio overlooking the Nile, the bathroom was the largest I've seen outside of the United States, they brought us cookies in the afternoon, and they turned down the beds and scattered rose petals about while we were at dinner. The grounds were phenomenal too - lush gardens with a very nice pool adjacent to a welcoming shisha bar.

Visit the main trip page.