May 18

May 18

            The days are starting to hazily blend together, and we’re both getting tired of traveling.  It’s fun and incredibly beneficial with regards to expanding and deepening your worldview and perspective, but it’s also draining and sometimes a little lonesome.  It’s difficult to really invest in people’s lives when you’re constantly moving from place to place.  Relationships make life rich, and relationships take a lot of time.  You can’t invest the time if you don’t have, and you’ll never have it if you don’t stop moving.  The desire of our hearts is to live out the Great Commission.  The Great Commission commands us to make disciples, and like I said, this can take a lot of time.  So, all in all, we feel incredibly blessed that God has allowed us to travel, experience new cultures and countries, learn about the world, and learn about ourselves, but, we are thrilled to know that we’ll be in Tanzania shortly laboring alongside fellow brothers and sisters for the cause of Christ…

            Took a train today to Cairo from Luxor – 12 hr. train ride.  The train broke down a couple times so the journey was longer than expected.  People got angry and there were a few minor outbursts between passengers and railway employees but we’re fairly accustomed to this now (we’ve now witnessed more than several rowdy, heated, animated confrontations since we arrived in Egypt).  Aside from that, the train ride wasn’t too bad.  We rode ‘first class’ this time.  On our way to Aswan from Luxor and vice versa we took the third class train – garbage strewn all over the floor, people spitting on the floor, windows open, vendors selling their wares at every train stop – and it was a great experience, but we decided it was too long of a trip to Cairo so we opted for ‘first class,’ which might have passed as third class in Canada though I’m confident people wouldn’t be smoking and spitting tobacco-laced lugies on the floor.

            On the train we met a lively young boy (maybe 10 yrs. old) who sat near us and ate continually until he finally fell asleep about an hour from Cairo.  He was traveling with his uncle who was sitting somewhere in another car.  His uncle checked up on him occasionally and pacified him with chips, pop, cookies and the like but I think the kid was still a little bored so he frequently paced the aisle from car to car and also attempted many MANY times to strike up conversations with Leah and I.  At the end of it all (and the end was a LONG time in coming), we learnt his name (Muhammad – which is easy to remember, especially considering the fact that this seems to be the name given to literally about half the males born in the Middle East).  We also learnt that he is a friendly, smiley, playful little boy and we were reminded yet again that children are pretty much the same the world over. 

            We arrived in Cairo (it’s a mad house!) and took a taxi through a turbulent sea of honking vehicles downtown to an area where there’s some hostels and hotels.  Leah checked one while I stayed with the bags in the car to make sure our taxi driver didn’t leave us stranded and bag-less.  Her report was unfavorable (dark, dingy, and creepy), so we jumped back in the cab and our driver honked his way through the chaos and brought us to another place.  Yes!  We found a decent place and crashed.  

May 17 (Leah's)

 

We woke up to another day back in Luxor. We had a nice breakfast provided by the hotel down in the main room. Bread, “cheese”, jam, tea, orange and an egg; this has been a pretty standard hotel breakfast since being in Egypt. Least it’s healthyish- and “free”.

            We went to check out the train times, we were hoping to leave today to Cairo. We found out that the train was full; supposedly you have to buy a ticket a day in advance. So we bought two tickets for the 8:00am train for tomorrow. We will be on the train for 10 hours! Yikes! Hope first class is a little better than third class. I hope the seats actually have some sort of cushion so I have a bottom left when we arrive!

            We walked around town for a bit. Walked along the Nile River. There are so many vacant cruise boats and sailboats lining the shore. Like I have mentioned before, the lack of tourists leave many people out of business. One man told us he hadn’t sailed in three months due to no customers…Makes us sad…We got asked many times to take a sailboat ride or a horse carriage ride. We as politely as possible declined, we actually had no money whatsoever on us at the time. Spencer got asked how many camels he would take for me….thankfully he said I wasn’t for sale (most of the men just joke around here, I guess they have nothing else to do ).            

            We ate our lunch up on the roof terrace- bread, yummy peaches, nutella (Spencer graciously is sharing his prized possession with me) and thirst quenching water! In the afternoon we caught up with some emails, relaxed in our AC room and later Spencer went on the roof terrace and played his new darbuka drum while listening to some groovy Arabic music on his ipod. I am glad he is able to do some drumming again!

            For dinner we basically did the same thing as last night. Sometimes its nicer to eat in a quiet place. We also picked up some food for our long train ride tomorrow. The lady we have been buying a roasted chicken from has been pleased that we have come a total of 3 times now. Each time she adds some pita bread for free, and the past two nights she added a dipping sauce! We ate our meal as the sun was setting, but it was still quite hot out.

            Again I did some hand washing. Its better to do it in small amounts more frequently. I think yet again we will end the evening in the room, maybe watch a movie, and hopefully get a good sleep! Cairo here we come!

May 16 (Leahs)

 

            We got to the train station with plenty of time this morning. We got a boxed breakfast to take with us…Spencer was fasting so I got double for the ride.

            Once again we got hassled at the train station. For some reason we are either not allowed to take the third class train or they just don’t think as white foreigners that we should. Either way, many different people told us that the train we were to take back to Luxor was at one platform, where as all the “locals” where getting another train that was defiantly third class (you can tell the third class from first class because the third class has window’s open and it is filthy and the first class has the window’s closed because it has AC). Spencer kept asking different people for the train for Luxor. He got some not very straight answers. I finally convinced him to go over to the other platforms and ask the people on the train where it was going because all the policemen guys kept telling us different things. Sure enough that was the third class train to Luxor. We grabbed our bags and took the stairs to other platform to try and catch the train. A policeman who had previously told us that that wasn’t the train asked us where we were going, we just kept walking.            

            When we got on the train people confirmed this was the third class train to Luxor. That Policeman followed us and told us to follow him to another car. We weren’t quite sure what was going on. I think they don’t want us taking the train because then we pay less and first class is more expensive…..I don’t know the reason, but I was sure angry at this point. I felt like we kept being lied too…but maybe we don’t know the whole picture….We haven’t seen any other “white men” on the third class train…Maybe they didn’t want us to g on it because they thought we were too good for it?? I am not sure….but like I said, I was sure angry that they kept lying to us… or at least that is what I thought..maybe we weren't suppose to take the third class....but anyways, no body would give us a straight answer..so that is what made me aggravated…

            The train ride took about 3-4 hours. It was hot, and the wind coming from the window felt like I was standing under and exhaust pipe, it didn’t even bring that much relief…I did buy some bananas from a guy who walks up and down the train cars selling them ( along with many other men selling items).. this was the first time I felt like I wasn’t cheated.. I got about 10 small bananas for 1Eyptian Pound which is only 16cents CAD.

            When we got off the train that same man who met us on the mini bus taxi the first time we came to Luxor was outside the train. He seems to have a tourist radar or something. Anyways, we went to the hostel he owns. It is only $8/night! We spent some time in our room until we ventured out in the evening for some food (Spencer was done fasting now). We walked along the streets. We bought some bread, chicken, tomatoes, and cucumber and dessert and took it back to our hotel roof to eat it….however, we only got lost for about 30min and walked in circles trying to find the side street to the hotel not realizing we were on the wrong main street. Our street was parallel to that one…We finally find our place and went up to eat our dinner!

            We spent the rest of the evening watching Tin Tin on the laptop and eating our dessert.

May 15 (Leah's)

 

We had a good sleep last night, although my hip felt like it was going to fall off, I could feel the board through the mattress when I laid on my side. Besides that though I had a good sleep. We had our breakfast and then we waited for about ½ hour before we went for a run. We haven’t run in what felt like 3 years and when we started to run it felt like we were running a marathon in hell. It was so hard because we felt so out of shape and it was stinking hot! We probably only ran for about 30min- of that! It was brutal. I felt so heavy and out of shape! Holidaying isn’t always a good thing; you get out of routine and sometimes its hard to exercise depending on where you are! We are looking forward to being in Tanzania and hopefully being able to exercise consistently.

             We did some hand washing in our bathtub after our run. That in it self is quite the work out! We hung them on the roof and I am pretty sure they dried in less than an hour! It is so ridiculously hot out! I had another cold bath- seems to be the only way to cool down- complete submersion of cold water.

            For lunch we had something Spencer has been wanting – Mac Donald’s. I had a caramel sundae and he went for the Big Mac combo (even big sized it). It was a bit cheaper than back home. I also had some bananas and bread that I brought along- you know I don’t like fast food, although I did steal a few fries and had my first bite of a MacDonald’s burger in about 5 years! We sat there for about 2 hours. It has nice AC.

            We decided to go for a felucca ride on the Nile (which is a sail boat). We took a cheaper deal with one guy- only 35 EP (which is only$6). He took us in his old sail boat- that was the “cheaper” deal, as opposed to his nicer boat. But least if floated and we got to go for an hour sail on the Nile. There is an Island right where we are on the Nile and we sailed around it. Our drivers name is Ahmed. He lives in a local village with his wife and daughter. He sails boats for a living but he also grows mango, lemon, and bananas at his field near his house. Income is very low in these parts if you don’t have a “city” job, especially since the tourist business is so low. 

            Our felucca ride was quite relaxing and fun- we even hung our feet off the boat into the nice cold water- praying that no crocodiles would come, (don’t worry, they told us there aren’t any in this part!!!). We headed back to our hotel after. We got our super dried clothes off the clothesline and bee lined it inside-like I said, so hot out!

            We recuperated from the sun inside our air-conditioned room until we could muster up enough motivation to go out into the streets in search of dinner. We ate dinner at this local place that was quite good. I even was able to eat it after I seen I guy mixing the salad with his hands and the little boy server picking our pita brad from a huge bucket that all the waiters stuck their hands into to grab pita for the customers. It was only $7 for the both of us, and we got quite a lot of food!

            Spencer really wanted a darbuka (Arabia hand drum) so we went to the market to get one….We got hassled, lied to, and cheated, but Spencer got his darbuka! Paid a more than we should of, but its really hard (and annoying) being white and a tourist because all prices are jacked up for you!

            We walked back to our hotel. Settled for bed, and mentally prepared for our train ride back to Luxor as we slept!

may 14 (Leah's)

 

This morning we had our breakfast that was included with the hotel. Not as extravagant as our buffet at our last place. It was just bread, jam, cheese, egg and tea. It was suffice. We decided to head out for a walk right away before it got “too” hot. It was only 10am. Once we stepped out side we were hit with intense heat. By the time we finished our walk at 11:30 it was probably like 40 degrees! All we wanted was water! We did have some, but it was still frozen, so we bought some from a guy selling it on the street. So nice! Water is definitely life giving here.

            When we got back to the hotel we met the Dutch guys that we shared the mini bus taxi with in Luxor. They just finished a three-day cruise along the Nile. We came to Mac Donald’s hoping for “free wireless”- but there isn’t. But at least there is a bit of AC and shelter from the intense heat outside.

            I did some hand washing in our bathtub and then I had a nice 2 hour nap. It is basically impossible to be outside at this time of the day without dying. After my nap we wandered down the “tourist” market street until we ended up outside the train station. Spencer had checked out a restaurant online so that is where we went. It was a pizza place. We got an Egyptian style pizza and it was actually quite good. There was a group of young guys in the restaurant too, one had a “wandering stare’ that seemed to be directed at me. I can’t escape this! Sometimes I wish I did have the burka to where. Or even better I wish I had an invisible button that I could press at anytime. It would mean less hassling for sure! Anyways, we enjoyed our meal nonetheless.

             We walked back down the same street to our hotel. Lots of people were out and about- hardly any tourist, mainly locals. It seemed to be family time; now that the heat wasn’t so oppressive. It was still hot however.            

            We ate some bread with nutella for “dessert” on the hotel roof. Its seems like horns are honking the entire time, maybe with a 2-3 second break every once and a while! We watched a Muslim man do his prayers while the Call to Prayer blasted from a near by mosque. It was nice to see the people down below and not have to worry about being hassled by them. We find it comforting to be out at night when there are more women around, it seems to make it feel more pleasant and also less hassling because the women are like a shield between us and the men so we are less of a target. We can mix in the crowd more when there are more women and their children out shopping in the streets.

            We both had bold showers to cool down before bed. It is a nice way to bring down your body temperate. I am not sure how people survive here in the dead of summer. You literally would feel dead. I think today was the hottest I have felt yet- thankfully there is not much humidity.  I think we drank our body weight in water today too. You feel thirsty all the time! Thankfully we can buy good, clean, bottled water. I feel bad for the people in the villages who don’t always have clean access to water. So many people live in conditions that I can’t even imagine having to live in. We saw a lot of places like this on our train ride. Its incredible how they survive.            

            When I lay my head down to sleep tonight I will continue to thank God for His grace and mercy on my undeserving life. I have so much compared to so many people and yet I can’t figure out why God chose me, but I am so thankful He did. We are undeserving of His blessings and grace, but in His love and mercy He has blessed us more than we can imagine. Thank you Jesus for saving and choosing us.

May 13 (Leah's)

 

We left our nice hotel to leave for Aswan today. We ate our breakfast with Andrew, the funny old British man, and then we hopped in a taxi and went to the train station. We decided to go third class- cheaper. As we waited the train finally came, as we went on it (or the one we thought was our train) a policeman said this wasn’t our train. We were a bit confused, because we thought we heard on the PA system “Aswan”.

            The train didn’t leave for a while, and as we waited I still felt like this was our train. It looked third class to me. Finally we asked another man and he said that this was indeed the third class train to Aswan, but our train was coming soon. We asked him what he meant. He said the second and first class train was coming. We opted for the (cheaper) third class train and boarded. We found 2 bench seats, one for our huge bags and one for us. It definitely was “third class”- dirty, smelly, crowed, extremely hot, and cheap.

            We were on the train for about 3 ½ hours. We had the window open but it almost wasn’t worth it, the air was so hot. We passed pasture lands, crops, green fields and dry desert areas. Many people on the train used the floor as their garbage and spitting area. At one point a boy selling cotton candy came rushing into our car and a man (not sure if he has a mental disability or if he was drunk) came running after the boy. A fight broke out. Thankfully we were facing the other way, so we just heard that yelling and other people trying to break it up. Soon the man rushed out of the car into another one. That was the end of fight! Thankfully.

            We arrived in Aswan and an eager taxi driver took us to the hotel; a young engaged couple runs it. They too have been experiencing the hardships since the revolution but they are hopeful that once a new (and hopefully good) President is elected in two months that tourists will start to come again.

            We have a clean room, and a big bed!! We don’t have to sleep in separate beds tonight J We have a really old air conditioner, but least it’s better than nothing.

            We went for a walk through the market, got some drinks, bread, and bananas for lunch. We ended up at a little park; I needed so sit down. I didn’t drink much on the train for I didn’t want to have to use the toilet- which I did once- and it was nasty. So I was a bit dehydrated and the sun was killing me- so hot! A young man stopped to talk to us. He has a Russian wife in Russia. His mom is from Aswan and is a Christian; his dad is from Sudan and is a Muslim. The young man told us he is a Christian three days a week and a Muslim three days a week. Not quite sure how that works!

            Anyways, we headed back to the hotel; I needed to get out of the sun. We bought some water and headed back. We had some creepy guys ask us if we wanted “hashish”- marijuana. We boldly told them no and kept walking. I had a really cold bath- it was quite effective in cooling me down. Later we will go out for dinner near our hotel.

            For dinner we went to this place that was literally on the water. We were able to catch the sunset as we waited for a meal. I had spaghetti and Spencer had “hamburger” and fries. It was just 5 ultra thin patties. He used the pita to make a mock burger. It was okay. We walked along the Nile back to the hotel. Many people were out since the temperature wasn’t as hot. We had an early night and went to be early. The sun just drains you here.

May 12 (Leah's)

We were suppose to go to Asswan today, but since we are on our own time frame (and I was feeling too lazy) we decided to spend another day in Luxor and go tomorrow. This way we could check out bus and train times.            

            We had our breakfast and then Spencer went with Andrew to collect our Landry. I asked the hotel desk to call the bus station; there was no answer (this is when we decided to stay another day). We tried to do a little work out in our room. Spencer used our nifty home made TRX that we got in Aqaba from a friend. My shoulder is still not up to working out. We then decided to brave the streets and we walked to the train station to try and get more accurate information, and along the way we found out there was no bus to Asswan, so we decided we were definitely taking the train then! On the way back to the hotel we bought a roasted chicken, tomatoes and a loaf of bread to have for dinner that night. We still had some fruit remaining for our lunch.

            The rest of the afternoon we hung by the pool, reading, relaxing, swimming and baking in the sun! It was probably 40 degrees today (Celsius!!). It is hot, but thankfully it’s a dry heat so you don’t sweat as much like in the humidity.

            We were able to skype with both our families today. It is so nice to have this “free” source to call home! It is nice to be able to stay in touch and every once and a while when we skype feel like we are with them! It is hard traveling sometimes, but now that we are married, we are a family, which makes it a bit easier. We don’t get as homesick as some “single” travelers do, so I am very thankful to have such a loving man as my husband that I can travel and see the world with! (and he gets reminded all the time from local men how lucky he is….I think 3 guys today called out as we were walking down the street- “you are a lucky guy!” … I keep waiting to hear “you are a lucky girl”…but Spencer reminded me there probably aren’t that many gay men here and most of the women don’t talk to men they don’t know…but I can let you know.. I am one lucky girl!