1st March 2008 - New guests and
another chance to visit the West Bank of Luxor - this time we
started with Medinet Habu before moving on the the Valley of the
Nobles, Valley of the Kings and finally Dier el-Bahri. While
Taff and Irene visited Tut's tomb in the VOK we decided not to
do it again so went into Rameses V/VI instead which had opened
recently after refurbishment and for me it was the highlight of
the day and well work the 50LE entrance fee.
1st March 2008 - St Davids Day in Egypt and Taff surprised us
with some Welsh Cakes which we ate close to Tutankhamen's Tomb!
2nd March 2008 - An early start to
the day with a early morning balloon ride. Jo and Irene
foolishly decided to stay in bed while Taff and myself enjoyed
seeing Luxor from the air.
3rd March 2008 - Another early(ish)
start and this time Camel Riding on the West Bank. After the
initial awkward few minutes we soon got into the rhythm and
enjoyed the ride and the scenery.
3rd March 2008 - After an early
start we needed a relaxing day so we had a two hour trip on a
Felluca and got off on Crocodile Island for coffee and ice
cream. Luxor seems so peaceful from the water and two hours on
the Nile in the sun is the perfect way to relax.
After a relaxing boat trip we were
full of energy and spent the next few hours relaxing on
Crocodile Island drinking coffee and Blackberry Milk-shakes
while watching the sunset.
4th March 2008 - After a busy few
days in Luxor it was time to head for Cairo and to see some big
piles of stones! We managed to arrange a taxi driver to drive us
around the various tourist attractions of Cairo for a reasonable
price but were not quite aware at the time that we would have to
squeeze into one of the smallest cars possible with a driver who
could speak hardly a word of English. Even with these drawbacks
we had a wonderful day in Cairo.
5th March 2008 - A hectic week
which I am sure we will take a few days to get over but so much
packed into a fun filled week and it had come to an end so
quickly. Taff and Irene headed back to the UK while we went
shopping! Not my idea of fun but essential to stock up on a few
supplies we are unable to buy in Luxor. A late flight back to
Luxor and some much needed sleep.
6th March 2008 - By now we had had
three weeks off work from Sunshine but we were too tired to
start today and tomorrow was Friday so Sunshine was closed and
we decided to recover our strength and make sure we were
fighting fit and ready for the rugby on saturday.
8th March 2008 - Ireland v Wales
at Croke Park and a big game for the Welsh boys so we turned up
early at the pub to make sure we got a good seat only to find
out their TV was not working and they would not be showing the
game. Quickly we headed to the Sheraton where they had shown the
game a few weeks before but they were showing another channel
and even after many requests we were told they were unable to
change the channel! Rushing home we managed to get commentary of
the game online and were getting excited with the close game
only to have the commentary cut out ten minutes before the end
due to some licencing issues !!! We had to wait with baited
breath for the final score to appear online and again we were
smiling.
Wales had by now beaten Ireland, Italy, Scotland and
England (think I might have mentioned beating England before but
no harm in repeating myself) and just now got to beat the
French for the Grand Slam.
10th March 2008 - Gecko hunting !!
Not as cruel as it sounds as any that are caught are unharmed
and relocated to a safe spot outside. For weeks now we have been
sharing the flat with a number of geckos and at one point
probably had about 15 so we have been slowly catching them and
putting them outside. I think they are cute and harmless but Jo
does not like sharing the flat with them but no matter how many
we catch and put outside there are always some in the flat when
we get home each evening. Jo has become obsessed with blocking
up every gap and hole with toilet paper or cardboard but nothing
seems to keep them out. I am sure it would be a funny sight to
see me chasing them about the flat each evening but its much
less hassle than leaving them there and having Jo wake me up
every five minutes when one of them moves!
10th March 2008 - Back to Sunshine
after three weeks off and the kids were happy and smiling (not
because of us but because they are always happy and smiling).
12th March 2008 - One of the joys
of shopping in Luxor is buying fresh fruit and veg that was
probably still in the fields hours not days or weeks before
purchase.
15th March 2008 - The day passed in
a bit of a blur as most of it was spent in Murphy's Bar to watch
Wales v France for the deciding game of the 2008 Six Nations. It
was made all the better as a good crowd of people had gathered
for the game including some English, two Kiwis, two Irish and
even some more Welsh people. There was many stages of the game
where I could see the title slipping away but was very very
happy when it was not nail biting during the final few seconds.
After the game when we should of been heading home we made the
fatal mistake of going "clubbing Egyptian style." It is not a
experience I would repeat in a hurry particularly as I had
already had more than enough beer but kept drinking more and the
following day was one of the worst hangovers I have had in
years. Even with a head pounding and a feeling I could be sick
at any minute it was a very happy day as Wales had won the grand
slam again !
19th March 2008 - After a day
working with the Sunshine children we left the building walked
down the street and on turning left into the main road we can
across the sight of an Egyptian face down in the street in an
ever increasing pool of blood. There were about a dozen
Egyptians within twenty feet of the man and about fifty or more
about fifty yards down the street all watching the bleeding man
but not one of them was going to his aid ! My initial reaction
was he had been hit by a car but no vehicle was in sight and it
seemed odd that the large group of people down the road was
watching so I was concerned that one of them had done this and
was worried about stepping in and getting involved in a fight. I
was further puzzled that the body was only wearing boxer shorts
and no trousers or shirt. We approached the man and tried to
find out what had happened and checked if an ambulance had been
called but were told no ambulance or doctor had been called and
no-one was willing to do it and we did not know who to call ! We
later were told that they were not willing to call as the one
who makes the call was likely to be arrested and blamed for the
incident and if he was to die then they might be punished for
murder. Because we stepped in the Egyptians also came close and
we managed to get some to help the man and try to stop the
bleeding. We told them to press firmly on the cuts to try to
stop the bleeding and eventually they did so. We then found out
that the man had done this to himself and there were wounds to
his arms, legs and a very nasty gash in his head. After a few
minutes it was obvious that the bleeding was not as bad as we
had at first feared and the pool of blood was no longer getting
bigger and then just as the bleeding was stopping the man got up
and started walking about covered in blood but no longer
bleeding badly but I would guess he had lost a pint or more of
blood. He walked to the shoe stall where I assume he worked on and
calmly got a clean set of clothes! Just another crazy day in
Egypt
20th March 2008 - After the crazy
man the day before I walked Jo to Ahmed Esmet Street as I was
working in Television Street this day and at the end of the
street we can across a man without shirt or shoes and a large
burn on his chest who was begging for money. Another crazy man
two days running!
The day improved as we had been invited out
for a meal with some friends to celebrate Dr Bob's birthday and
it was an excellent night with a mixture of people from Egypt,
England, France and of course Wales. We went to Dean's Bistro and
enjoyed some excellent food and company and we were treated to a show
of Egyptian dancing by some of the party and even one of the
restaurant's chefs joined in.
21st March 2008 - At the end of the
street where we had encountered the men the previous days we
were greeted by a friendly Egyptian who must have seen us over
the past two days and the crazy Egyptians and shouted "no crazy
people today." When we asked him about them his only
explanation was the warmer weather brought out the lunatics!
22nd March 2008 - Another night out
at Dean's Bistro this time to celebrate two birthdays of Ken and Patsy
and another very enjoyable night.
27th
March 2008 - Since it was a Thursday it was my usual day to go
to the Television Street home for Sunshine and to work with the
dozen oldest boys on their homework - today was Maths and
English. After completing the homework there was still some time
left so the boys were able to start the beginning of their
weekend with some time on the computers with some teaching and
playing some games and the usual Egyptian obsession with
football carried through to the computer with most of the boys
playing football on the PC.
27th March 2008 - Sunset at Luxor
Temple - It never lasts long but the sunsets in Luxor are some
of the best in the world. The pictures below do not really do it
justice as the colours were wonderful. I recommend you come and
see for yourself.
28th March 2008 - A day off
from Sunshine children's home and time to enjoy the sunshine of
Luxor. On the way to the swimming pool at the Gezira Gardens
hotel we came across a demonstration where Egyptians were
protesting against the Governor of Luxor and his plans to
demolish yet more homes in Karnak to make way for his
"improvements". Apparently he has given the residents only a few
days notice that their homes are to be destroyed and these are
properties that in some cases have been in the family for
generations. The pictures show the demo outside the Governors
office but then it moved on to Karnak where things got worse and
now all the shop units on the way to Karnak Temple no longer
have windows. We spoke to many Egyptians outside the Governors
office and are very sympathetic to their cause but could not
resist a smile that the demo took place on a Friday when the
Governors office (like most places in a Muslim country) would be
shut !
28th March 2008 -
Quiz night on the West Bank in a hotel I can't remember the name
of and a fun evening trying to remember the names of songs I
have not heard in years. In reality I was no help to my team
whatsoever in the quiz but I enjoyed it anyway and the team did
very well without my help by coming joint second and the three
of them (Jo, Fran and Barry) only came three points behind the
winning team who had eight members!
29th March 2008 - A trip to Ace
Animal Hospital to see the manager Kim and the wonderful work
she is doing there and also to get a list of jobs that needed to
be done that we can help with. Next week we will be painting
shelves and putting handles on doors etc and hopefully having as
much direct contact with the animals as possible. While it can
be disturbing the way the animals have been treated it is
reassuring to see that such a high standard of care is available
to the animals and without cost to the owners as if there was
a cost involved it is very unlikely that the animals would
receive the treatment.
30th March 2008 - Arabic Lesson
today and another chance to show we are not talented at learning
languages but luckily it was not too hard today and we spent a
large part of the lesson counting to 1000 in Arabic and
discussing Egyptian life. Our teacher is obviously much more
intelligent than us and listening to her is fascinating and a
good insight into the daily life of an Egyptian.
31st March 2008 - Over the last few
days we have been flat hunting as need to save some money on the
rent as we are paying far too much where we are now. Even getting a
price from an Egyptian for rent is an almost impossible task
with one landlord telling us "You tell me how much you want to
pay" Nothing is easy in this country!
Back to sunshine
today as the weekend is over and homework with the older boys.
It cant be easy doing some of the Maths in your own language but
with the boys having to do Maths in English it makes it even more
difficult. It never fails to amaze me that with so many children
there is so little fighting and crying but instead lots of
laughter and happiness.
