Luxor, part deux
Trip Start
Jan 07, 2007
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22
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Trip End
Apr 02, 2007
Luxor, Egypt
Friday, February 9, 2007
Having never been in a hot air balloon before, the biggest shock was the noise... or lack thereof. Silence envelopes the balloon except for the gentle pilot light (which erupts every now and then, but I really like that sound). It was so smooth and peaceful, and the sights were magnificent! We same the Temple of Ramses, Medinat Habu, Hapshepsut's Tomb, the Tomb of the Nobles and the Valley of the Queens. We were low enough to graze sugar cane, and the highest we reached was 2300 feet (so cool looking straight down the side from 2300 feet). The personal highlight of the trip was when a British female tourist exclaimed, "We're higher than the bloody plane!" (It's true, we were).
I had never thought about how balloons landed, but what ensued was an order to take landing positions, and squatting, we crash into the ground. This is highest of high comedy when several British people exclaim, "Oh my! That was rough wasn't it!" and "Did we just crash into the bloody ground?" We ended up taking off again (accidentally, we got up about six feet) and hit the second impact. It wasn't all that rough, but I was laughing all the time. One British tourist said, "Feels like an american landing." I have no idea what that means, but I'm upset now! Haha.
Then I went to the temple of Karnak. A temple that is unbelievably (my favorite adverb for describing Egypt) huge that is about the size of 10 large cathedrals. The most impressive piece of this is the entrance hall, that has 138 (!) columns that are about six feet in diameter and stretch up about 50-70 feet (there are two sizes). Now that may sound big, and I knew it was big after studying it in my arch history book, but let me tell you, this hall is REALLY BIG. Everything in Egypt (except the sphinx) has been bigger, grander and in better shape than I ever imagined. What an incredible piece of architecture.
At sunset, I am going to go on a sailboat for an hour on the nile to say good-bye to Egypt. I am very lucky I had the opportunity to come here, and I know I will never forget my experiences here. Shalom!
(Pictures coming tomorrow or the day after, I know that is why all you hot girls visit, but I just want you to love me for who I am and not just for my body).
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Deutsch
Please tell me when you've learned how to say 'en la noche' in German...then I'll know you're really fluent.
Oh, it's a good thing Darren's pants are quick dry.