Monday 11 April 2011

Day 205 Egypt 11/4/2011, Luxor – Aswan – Luxor. Trains, The Sudanese consulate and a closed ferry ticket office.

In typical fashion there were no taxis to be seen as we left the camp-site bound for the train station. One did eventually pass us and we were soon waiting on the platform for the train.

If somewhat long, the journey was pretty comfortable. The seats in 2nd class were good, there was plenty of legroom and the air-con was also very welcome. At 25LE (just under £3) for a 120 mile journey, it was good value for money as well.

Arriving in Aswan we pushed through the hotel touts and taxi drivers and set off for the Sudanese consulate. With a quick check of the location at the tourist information office and with the help of a few locals, we soon found ourselves outside the consulate.

After the mayhem of the embassy in Cairo, the Aswan consulate was a very sleepy affair. We found our way up to the passport office, handed over our paperwork to the very helpful lady and were told that unfortunately the passport officer wasn't there but if we came back at 1pm he may be in.

Despite the knowledge that we couldn't get a ferry ticket without our visas, we headed to the 'Nile River Valley Transport corporation' to find out when the next ferry was running and the availability of tickets. Getting any information proved to be impossible when we found the office to be closed. A passer by told us that because the ferry leaves today the office wasn't open, but they would be open tomorrow. While not a disaster, the day wasn't going as well as we had hoped.

Unsure whether our visas would be done today and drawing a blank over the ferry, we stopped for a tea to discuss the best way to proceed. With our gear in Luxor and the Consulate and ferry office being in Aswan, the only sensible option seemed to be to try and get everything to Aswan tomorrow. This was going to involve getting everything on the train or the more expensive option of a taxi/minibus.

With these thoughts in mind we went to have a look at a hotel that had been recommended to us by Larry and Sharon. The hotel Hathor was not bad, so we booked a room for tomorrow and then headed back to the Sudanese Consulate to see if there had been any joy with our visas. The passport officer had still not returned so there was nothing we could do until tomorrow.

Back at the train station we queued for ages for a ticket, only to be told that we couldn't buy one and we would have to pay on the train. With the next train not for an hour and a half we had some lunch at a local restaurant. Even though I am known for being able to eat just about anything, the strange green sauce that accompanied the meal was a step too far. Although it looked like a mint sauce it had the consistency of snot/ectoplasm and just sort of hung from a fork when you tried to lift it! Having it dripped all over my trousers when a cat jumped on the table and then walked through it didn't help much either.

Back at the station we boarded the train and played musical chairs for a while, as because we had no ticket we had no allocated seat. When the ticket inspector came round we found out that the ticket was 6LE (70p) dearer because we didn't have a ticket. While this isn't very much, it's pretty galling when you tried to buy a ticket and were told you can't, but then that appears to be Egypt!

The journey passed at a leisurely pace and we arrived back in Luxor early evening. The taxi driver who eventually agreed to take us to the hotel for 10LE (£1.10) was left looking on incredulously when his demands for a tip were met by us walking away. Taxi drivers in Luxor nil, Matt & Debs 1!

Back at the camp-site we enquired about the cost of taxi/minibus to take all our gear to Aswan. Eventually the answer came back from Mr Rezeiky (the owner) that we would be better off taking the train and that it would be no problem with the bikes. We had been looking at the taxi option to avoid the train, but looking at the cost difference it had to be worth a go. With plans to catch the 7:30am train again tomorrow, we had an early night as we would need to be up just before 6am to get packed up in time. Let's hope it all goes ok!

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