Egypt - Felucca Trip down the Nile River: My World Tour - 2 year, 20 country trip around the world for Bruce Jones and Julia Miller

No trip to Egypt would be complete if you missed a felucca trip down the Nile river (the Nile is one of the few rivers in the world that flows south to north, but you probably knew that). We departed from Aswan heading north for 2 days and nights to Luxor. It was a pleasant diversion from the grime of the cities and constant honking of the car horns. Nothing to hear but the sound of the wind and the boat cutting thru the shallow waves. We stopped along the Nile at a temple and at a botanical garden. In the day time the temperature was 75 degrees F (24 C). But at night, it was butt cold, about 35 degrees F (2 C). The funny thing was no one told us that we needed to bring blankets, and our 2 genius (but nice) captains didn't even have blankets for themselves. Luckily they commandeered 3 blankets for the 2 of us and our mates, Julian from France and Chris from Australia. It was a very cozy "get to know your neighbor" kind of night while wearing every piece of clothing in our bags. If you have ever had a burning desire to really get to know Bob Marley's "Greatest Hits", here's your opportunity, as it was the only tape these 2 had to play. Besides being a popsicle at night, it was a fun time and the food (and tea, or course) were great. Buffalo Soldier, Dread Lock Rock Star.....

Kitchener's Island. This was given to Lord Horatio Kitchener in the 1890s when he was consul-general of Egypt and commander of the Egyptian army. He turned the entire island into a botanic garden, importing plants form the Far East, India and parts of Africa. There are also caged monkeys on the island.