Time to go home

The next morning I wake up bright and early I was really struggled sleeping beside Marwuan all the beds we were staying in were single beds so it was always a tight fit I was used having a queen size bed to myself back home. I got out of bed and kissed Marwuan on the forehead he tried to pull me back into bed but I wanted to get back to my room before Mel woke up. Back in my room Mel was still asleep so I jumped into my bed and fell asleep for another hour.

When we both woke up Mel was still feeling ill she was sticking to her guns and not leaving the motel room today she was going to do a bit of reading and watch a little television but mostly catch up on sleep as she did not get much in Dahab she was out most nights to early hours of the morning drinking and dancing, she wanted to be refreshed for when she got back to Melbourne and back to work. I told Mel everything that was spoken about between Marwuan and I the night before she was amazed that I had committed into a long distance relationship with someone that I had only known for two weeks. She tried to reason with me about the difficulty and asked all the questions that I had been asking myself. A lot of the questions I yet did have the answers to give I told her that I was just going to go with the flow and take it a day at a time and if it did not work out then I can say at least I gave it a go. Mel didn't believe that the relationship between Marwuan and I would last a few weeks but that was her opinion I took what she said on board but it did not make me change my mind I wanted to see where this could go.

After a few hours of hanging out in the room I got a call on the room phone it was Marwuan he had just woken up and was wondering what our plans were for the day. I told him that Mel was not leaving her room today so I was free all day to do whatever he had planned. He asked me to come to his room and he would call his mum once I got there to confirm the lunch that he spoke about the night before. Again I snuck through the halls of the Indiana hotel to Marwuans room. Like the previous day all the staff I passed was too busy playing on their phones to notice where I was going No wonder the hotel looked so run down the staff never did anything. Marwuan called his mum but unfortunately she was working today but could do tomorrow instead. This was not possible for me as Mel and I were leaving tomorrow late afternoon also Marwuan had to go to his office tomorrow to meet his manager because we was meeting a new group tonight to start another tour. The look of disappointment on Marwuans face said it all it really meant a lot to him for me to meet his family. Secretly I felt relieved I was not ready to meet his parents yet but I did not want to hurt his feelings.

"What would you like to do today?" Marwuan asked. "Would you like to go out for lunch somewhere or go look at any sites around the city?" I thought about it and like Mel I was also exhausted and over site seeing "Would you mind if we just stayed here for the day?” It was my last full day in Cairo and all I wanted to do was stay in and have Marwuan to myself and not share him with anyone else in the world. "That sounds perfect "he replied. So for the rest of the day we spent it in bed talking about our past and our future dreams laughing at each other's silly stories and every so often getting tangled in the sheets with each other. The day was fantastic much better than any site seeing. We didn't know what the future held for us but we were with each other now and we were going to make the most of it.

At 8pm Marwuan had to go upstairs to meet his new group so I made my way back to check in on Mel she was not alone Ben was hanging out with her like Mel he had also a tummy bug so the both of them spent the day watching movies on Bens laptop. I was going to catch up with Marwuan after the meeting and asked them if they wanted to join us on the roof for a drink but as I expected they declined Ben was leaving that night and Mel still in her PJ's was not moving.

Marwuan called when he was finished with the meeting he was taking the group to the pizza place around the corner for something to eat and asked if I wanted to join them. I was starving so I accepted. Meeting the new group was strange because I got to see the people that would be spending the next two weeks with Marwuan. When I was introduced he introduced me as his girlfriend and told them i was Australian so straight away I go bombarded with questions. I didn't tell them that I had only met him two weeks ago i said that we had know each other for ages but I just joined Marwuan on his last tour. They all seemed to believe my story.

After dinner Marwuan and I went up to the roof we were meeting one of Marwuans best friends he was coming to join us for a drink and bring some exported vodka. Again I was introduced as Marwuans girlfriend. Hearing it this time did not sound strange to me I liked the way it sounded. Sammy was the name of Marwuans friend and like Marwuan he was a tour leader. Marwuan kept getting called off by his new group members during the time Marwuan was away Sammy started throwing the 100 questions my way. Answering them all the best of my ability apparently I won him over i later found out by Marwuan.

The next morning Marwuan woke up before me he had to go down to the lobby to meet his new group. Today was the day I had been dreading for the last week I got up and went up to my room. Mel was feeling better and was packing her bag; we were to get a taxi to the airport in a few hours. I sat on my bed looking through my camera at all the new memories I had made over the last two weeks I called Mel over and we looked through them again together laughing at all the photos. It was an amazing two and half weeks but now time to head back to reality. After packing my bag we checked out of the hotel i met Marwuan in the lobby it was time to say goodbye. We went out to the street and held each other tight for the longest time I could not hold back the tears anymore there was a massive lump in my throat no matter how many times I swallowed I could not get rid of it. My body was trembling I looked up at Marwuan he was not crying as much as me but there were tears in his eyes. I turned around and Mel was standing there she was also now crying. "Look at us anyone would think someone just died" I said laughing while crying at the same time. Marwuan now was jumping in a taxi he had to go meet his manager at the office. I couldn't watch him drive off I had to look away Mel was holding my hand. Would I really ever see him again?

My phone was going crazy text message after text message all from Marwuan. Telling me not to be sad and then the next one said he was now crying his eyes out in the taxi the next one a minute later telling me to tell him when we are in a taxi on the way to the airport. They just kept coming I didn't have time to reply before another message would come through. Mel and I still had an hour to kill before we had to leave for the airport so we went for a walk near the hotel to find somewhere to have lunch.

When in the taxi to the airport I texted Marwuan and said I was on my way. The whole way to the airport I was reminiscing the time I had spent with Marwuan the tears kept flowing. We reached our terminal and as soon as I looked towards it Marwuan is standing there with a big smile on his face. What was he doing here? I put my backpack on and ran over to him. "What are you doing here?' He said he couldn't let me leave the country without giving me one last kiss. Butterflies took over my stomach. He came into the terminal with Mel and I and did not leave until we went through the check in gate. The whole time he held my hand so tight that I could not feel my fingers. This time when we said goodbye it was not as hard because something in my heart told me that no matter how difficult the next six months would be we would work it out because we truly loved each other.

The truth comes out

Back in Cairo and the smell of smog hit you again as soon as you get out of the bus by the time we arrived back to Cairo it was dinner time. We checked back into hotel Indiana and then went straight out to dinner. Tonight would be the last night the group would be together our tour ended tonight some people were leaving after dinner and some the next day. Mel and I still had 2 more nights before we were due to depart Egypt. I did not want that time to come.

We all packed into 2 taxis to go to dinner 5 people were squished in the back of our taxi and I was sitting on Marwuans lap in the front seat, my neck and shoulders slouched over so I could fit in the car. The taxi driver was not fussed that his taxi was filled to the brim in Egypt there is no law for the amount of people you can have in your car as long as the driver can see where he is going. You also don't need to worry about a seat belt unless you are the driver of the car but never have I seen a driver wearing one.

20 minutes later we arrive at our restaurant Deals we had to walk through a dark hallway to a bar/restaurant that has no windows and is dimly lit cigarette smoke is lingering in the air. There are a lot of mirrors on the walls and a few LCD televisions playing music videos.  We sit on stools at a tall table and order our food and drinks. I was happy to see that they had imported alcohol it was very hard to find imported alcohol in Egypt, only 5 star hotels and fine establishments served it and at expensive prices compared to the local stuff. But well worth it when you found it because the Egyptian alcohol even though cheap always gave you the worst headache.

After dinner we went around the table said a few words about each other. It was a good positive way to end the tour. Marwuan and I got teased a lot about our holiday romance but it was all in good fun. After a few more drinks everyone went back to hotel to get ready to leave to their next destinations. Marwuan and I stayed behind at Deals we had nothing planned for the next morning. Mel was really tired so she went back to hotel with the group Marwuan and I said our goodbyes it would be the last time we would see a lot of them ever again.

When everyone left we moved from the tall table and took a seat of one of the smaller tables in the corner. I sat close to Marwuan he had his hand on my thigh. "I can't believe the tour is over" I said "It went by so quickly especially the last week in Dahab". Marwuan nodded I knew then he was thinking the same as me, with the tour being over that meant that we were closer to saying goodbye.  "How would you feel about meeting my family tomorrow?" Marwuan blurted out; surprised by this question I laughed "You're joking right?"

He was not joking he was serious I stopped laughing. He told me that he been thinking about it the whole time we were travelling back to Cairo he said that if I accepted he would call his mum in the morning and ask her if she would be home tomorrow afternoon and if she would cook us lunch. "Umm I will have to check with Mel we planned to spend some time exploring more of Cairo before we went back home."  

"Ok she is more than welcome to join us if she would like" I nodded and said I would ask her when I got back to hotel and get back to him. This was a big thing I knew that in Middle Eastern culture you did not just take any girl home to meet your parents unless you were serious about the relationship.  

  "When you speak to your family about meeting me what will tell them?" I asked this question hoping that it would give me more information about what was going on in his head but he turned it back onto me. "What do you want me to tell my parents?"  I took the safe road and said that you could always introduce me as your friend. "Yep I could do that" he said "but I have never taken home a female friend home before so I think they will figure out that it is something more". Just what I had thought. It was now time to talk about the future we had put it off for the last week but it had come that time where we needed to discuss with each other about what would happen when I went home. I asked if we could go back to the hotel I did not really feel like talking about it in this dark bar I wanted to see his face and look into his eyes when we spoke about our future.

When we got back to the hotel I had to go to my room first. We could not be seen going into his room together by any of the hotel staff or Marwuan could get into serious trouble. In Egypt a man and a woman are not allowed to share a hotel room together unless they are married and you need to provide your marriage certificate when booking a room with a female. If you do not have a marriage certificate and get caught in a room with a female that is not your wife you can get charged by the police.

Back in my room Mel was still up watching TV again she was not feeling very well her stomach was playing up again. I told her that Marwuan had asked me to meet his family tomorrow and she was more than welcome to join but if she did not want to go I would not if she had plans for us to do more exploring of Cairo. Mel said that she doubted that she would be leaving the room at all tomorrow because she felt like the stomach bug was back. I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her tonight but she told me to leave and enjoy my time with Marwuan she would be asleep very shortly. I said ok but I will be back before she wakes up in the morning. I always came back to my room before she woke up in the mornings I liked to be there to spend some alone time with her when she woke up.

I ran through the hotel hallways and up the stairs to Marwuan's room checking in every direction if any hotel staffs was paying attention to where I was going but they were too busy talking on their mobile phone to care too much what I was doing. I knocked on Marwuans door still looking in both directions, he opened in a towel he had just showered. "What a nice way to be greeted" I said with a smile and entered the room. No talking was going to happen now.

Lying in the bed after making love I told Marwuan that we needed to talk. He agreed that we had put it off for long enough. I told him that the feelings I had been feeling towards him were strong and some feelings that I had not felt in a very long time I felt excitement, happiness, enjoyment, jealousy, nervous and I was scared whenever I was around him I was falling in love with him. However I was unsure on how I could cope with a long distance relationship I am a person that needs to feel love and I need to feel like I am getting attention and I am unsure how he could do that when he is on the other side of the world. I also need to feel trust toward him and with the job that he does I know that new women will be introduced to him fortnightly. I'm not sure that it will work I won't have his touch or his smell to keep me going. All I will have is his voice; will that be enough to keep me interested?

He had the same concerns as me but also felt the same strong feelings towards me that he had never felt before. He said that he wanted to give the long distance relationship a go and if it didn't work that's what god had planned us. If we walked away now without even trying we knew we would both be thinking about it for the rest of our lives what if. So from that moment we made it official we were going to give this relationship a go we were going to do whatever it takes to make it work even if were on the other side of the world from each other.

After that conversation I felt relieved that we had spoken so openly and honest to each other I felt like I had got everything off my chest however I still felt very scared for the future I knew that it was not going to be a walk in the park I knew this was going to be one of the biggest challenges I had faced so far in life. Not only was it different countries between us it was also different cultures.  

Time to let my guard down

Driving in to Dahab we are stopped at a checkpoint men in army uniforms come up to the bus and ask us to take out our passports. A man in plain clothes puts his head in the door and takes each one of our passports after a quick look he passes them back nods his head and we are free to go. Our hotel is on the other side of town so we drive through Dahab. There are open spaces and mountains to our left to our right shops and the Red. It does not looked as maintained as Hurghada and the road has many pot holes. But it does look clean. You notice lots of utility trucks and jeeps with Bedouin drivers wearing scarfs on their heads. Sitting in the back of the utility trucks are people in wetsuits going to their destinations. Dahab is a world famous diving spot so divers are everywhere you look

After going through another check point we reach our hotel. In the hotel lobby we are seated while Marwuan sorts out the paper work and keys for our room. Walking to our room we noticed that there are no other guest in the hotel. The hotel was located right on the beach. The beach was not a sandy beach it was all rocky. The hotel consisted of white square brick buildings that were all lined up diagonally; each room had a wooden door at the front and a sliding glass door at the back that lead to the pool area. The room consisted of two beds a little fridge with a television on top and a table to the side of that The bathroom was small just enough room for toilet basin and shower there was no shower basin so whenever you showered water went all over the bathroom floor.

Once in the room I jumped straight into bed not worrying about changing out of the clothes I was in I was so tired I could have slept for days. My alarm went off a few hours later. I looked out the glass door the sun was going down, there were some of the group sitting out by the pool so I showered and went out to join them. It looked like they had got a lot of sun today both Ben and Nick's faces was bright red. Apparently they had spent the whole day by the pool. Everyone was now at the pool and it was time to leave so we made our way to lobby to meet Marwuan. Outside there were two jeeps waiting for us, The jeeps were older jeeps with bench seats lined below each window we all piled into the back and made our way into the town centre.

The jeeps dropped us off at what looked like a car park here were jeeps and trucks lined up dropping or picking up tourist. We walked through the town centre heaps of restaurants one after another all going right up to the water edge men were standing out the front of them asking us to go in, each restaurant had a seafood displayed in big trays for the guest to choose from. The restaurants were all lit up with different coloured lamps and filled with tourist. On the other side of the path there were shops these shops were all filled with the same trinkets that markets sold. Men also stood outside the shops asking you to enter their shops We stopped at alcohol shop all the restaurants don't serve alcohol but you can bring your own and they will provide the mixer. Mel, Lauren and I all picked a drink called ID. It was a vodka mixed drink with lime, watermelon or lemon flavour much like the premixed drinks you can get back in Melbourne. However these were 10% alcohol and very strong after two you felt very happy.

Today the restaurant we went to was called The Kitchen it served Indian, Chinese and Thai inspired food. It was good to have something other than Egyptian food I had eaten enough Egyptian food to last me a lifetime by now. I took a seat close to the end of the table Mel sat on one side then Marwuan took the seat on my other side. Ben, Lauren and Nick were across from us. The entire group was really good I had no complaint but it seemed the six of us were the loud ones and the ones that was always up for a drink so at most places we stuck together.

After dinner we went to bar called Mojito it was a bar that was on a second level that had a balcony that you could see the whole Dahab strip. We drank cocktails out of big bowls here but only had one tonight because most of the group was getting tired unlike me they did not sleep through the day so we all went back to the hotel. At the hotel everyone went back to their rooms. I was sitting in my room but was not tired so I looked out the window towards the pool area to see if anyone was up Marwuan was sitting there alone I took a drink out of the fridge and I walked out to join him.

"Hey you. What doing sitting out here all by yourself?" I asked. He said like me he had slept today so he was not tired now. I sat down on the chair beside him. We started talking general chit chat with a little flirting thrown in here and there. I knew where we were sitting everybody could see us if they were to look out their glass doors so I asked Marwuan if he would like to take a walk on the beach. "Sure it's a great night for it" he said. This was very true the sky was filled with thousands of stars and the moon was almost full so it shone off the water and there was no wind the air still warm.

We walked out onto beach trying not trip on the rocks under my feet. Marwuan took my hand and we walked in silence for a while just enjoying each other's company every once in a while we would look at each other and just smile. We walked until we came to the next hotel's beach. On this beach there was sunbeds Marwuan sat down first I then sat down in between his legs both of us facing towards the water. I leaned back into his chest he put his hands around my stomach. Now was the time for me to explain myself.

I started off by saying that I enjoyed the time we have spent together alone and I am sorry that I had walked out on him twice. I then said that I was previously worried that I would be just another notch on belt because I am sure that things like this happen all the time. Marwuan tried to talk, I asked him please to wait until I finished talking "ok" he said. I continued. "But life is too short to worry about silly things like that so I want to just enjoy the time we do have together. We won't talk about the future or the past we will just go with the flow and take it day at a time. And one more thing you have to promise not to fall in love with me" I turned around and smiled at him.

Can I talk now" Marwuan asks, I nodded and turned back towards the water. "First this kind of thing doesn't happen as much as you think it does and when it does happen I don't just tick it off a list, for you to think that of me hurts my feelings. But I can see why you are concerned I am concerned also I am having feelings towards you that I don't remember feeling in a very long time maybe I have never felt like this and you are leaving in a week. I will agree with you that we won't talk about the past or the future but I cannot promise that I will not fall in love with you because I am already falling.

My heart stopped I was still looking towards the water I wanted to turn around and kiss him but my body was frozen. After a second he turned me around "Now can you just kiss me enough talking" We kissed for what seemed like forever but was probably only minutes. I was on the biggest high I pulled away from him and asked "can we go back to the hotel now please" he smiled at me "of course."

Walking back to the hotel he stopped me and pulled me close, his arms around me so tight I could feel the pressure on my ribs. It felt so beautiful but terrifying at the same time so many things were going through my mind I was thinking that I don’t want this to be over in a week I did not want to leave this moment and go back to my normal life in Melbourne not that my life was bad in Melbourne but this feeling was something I had never felt before. I believe in destiny and fate but surely this was not mine. I had to stop thinking about it because I said to Marwuan to take each day at a time only minutes ago so I had to do the same there was no way I could bring this up with him now. Back at the hotel he led me in his room, this time I did not stop turn and run this time I followed.

 I woke up with Marwuan's arms around his waist I looked at my watch 6:30am I needed to get back to my room. I turned to Marwuan and told him I was leaving, half asleep he held me tighter "why do you have to go? Stay." I shook my head "I'm sorry but I'll see you later" I kissed him on the forehead got out of bed got dressed and made my way out the door. It was quite cold outside the sun was just coming up over the mountains. I ran to the door and opened it thank god Mel had not locked it and kept it open for me because I didn't have a key. I walked in. Two heads popped out of the blanket but it wasn't Mel. It was Rob and Louise "oh my god I'm so sorry" I squealed. I had walked into the wrong room I was in the room next door to mine. I left them dazed and confused and ran out.

At the next room I opened the door and thankfully it was the right room. Laughing at myself I jumped into bed Mel woke up and looked at me but went straight back to sleep. I couldn't believe what I had just done. It now struck me the cat was out of the bag they would now know what had happened. Like Marwuan Rob was a tour leader but in Europe and his girlfriend Louise met Rob while she was on tour with him so I was 100% sure that they would put two and two together. There was nothing I could do about it now I would tell Marwuan when I saw him next what had happened I'm sure he would see the funny side of it.

My alarm went off it was now breakfast time Mel and I made our way into the area where we were having breakfast most the group were already eating breakfast when we walked in. As soon as I entered the room I knew that everybody was aware of what had happened the previous night. I sat down but nobody said anything. I whispered to Mel that I think everyone knows she just shrugged and smiled. A few minutes later Marwuan walked in then the room started clapping. That just confirmed that everyone knew. Marwuan was all embarrassed he just smiled and said "ok guys we are leaving in 10 minutes so if you need anything from your rooms go and get it now" and walked upstairs to the lobby not sitting to eat breakfast.

Today we were going to the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is a world famous diving spot it is also known as "Divers Cemetery" because so many divers have died here due the hard diving conditions. it has beautiful coral reefs on the sides of the Blue hole so that's what we would be snorkeling today. On the way to the Blue Hole Mel, Nick, Lauren and Ben are trying to get information out of me what happened the night before. I just smile and laugh not knowing what to say because I was still yet to talk to Marwuan.When we reach the Blue Hole we are seated a restaurant that is not far from the entry of the water. The table settings are traditional Bedouin seating. We are sitting with our legs folded on mats with low tables in front of us. Our waiter Saba comes to greet us and hands us a drink menu because our food for the day is provided. Once we choose our drinks we are then walked to the area where we are to try on snorkeling gear.

I was very quick at trying on my gear the flippers were a bit big but I wanted to get back to talk to Marwuan about what our next plan was now that everyone was aware that we had been together the night before. Once back at our table I took a seat at the very end of the table and called Marwuan over. "Everyone knows what should we do?" We both agreed that we would still act like nothing was going on through the day and then at night meet up. I was happy with this plan because I wanted to still spend quality time with my sister this was supposed to be a holiday about us. Even though it was hard to act like nothing happened we both tried our hardest keeping our distance. Whenever we had the urge to talk to each other we would send a flirty text but we ensured that it was on the sly.

But as the week progressed it was harder and harder to hide our attraction for each other during the day. Each day we would become more open in front of people and before the end of the 5 days in Dahab we were very public about our affair. We would hold each other's hand in public. We would always sit beside each other at dinner and even kiss in front of the group after a few drinks. Marwuan could not believe that he was acting this way in front of his group. I had nothing to lose but he could get in heaps of trouble from his company if anyone complained but he just didn't care anymore. Being with me was more important he said. I still spent heaps of time with Mel we went horseback riding on the beach, quad biking and lot and lots of dancing and drinking.

On the bus back to Cairo we sat beside each other with my legs hanging over his. We had my iPod on with one ear piece in my ear and one in his. We had found our song Bruno Mars " Just the way you are" we would listen to this song over and over as well as many other cheesy love songs. During the whole way back to Cairo I was feeling down I didn't want to be leaving in two days I didn't want this feeling to be over. Marwuan and I had spoken briefly about what would happen when I went back to Australia but not in great detail because we didn't want to stress about at and just enjoy our time together. I knew that next year I had planned to travel overseas again but for a longer period of time so we had talked about meeting up then and travelling together for a bit but that was it. So many things were going through my mind, will we actually meet up again? will he miss me when I'm gone or will there be another girl on the next tour that makes him feel the same? Time would only tell.

The kiss

My head was hurting I had the worst headache I looked at my watch it was 6:45am I popped my head out of the sleeping bag the sun is up and there is a mist above the river. A few people were up and walking into the bushes to use the bathroom. It was then I remembered what I did the night before. I could not tell Mel about this I won't tell anyone about this how embarrassing I will act like it never happened that's my plan I will keep this to myself and I will not drink tonight to ensure I don't do anything silly. I drank some water hoping it would help with my headache. I lay there for 5 minutes then decided to have a swim it always helped in the past when I had a hangover. In my sleeping bag I slipped into my bathers.

Slowly I made my way into the water I didn't want to wake the others that were still sleeping. The water was freezing at first I dunked my head under. When I came back out some people were standing on the bank looking at me. "your crazy" someone said "it must be freezing" I nodded then went back under my headache was slowly going away.

I walked out of the water and back on the boat to dry off Marwuan was now awake he nodded his head and said "good morning". I could feel my face go red I replied "Morning" then went back to my sleeping bag to get out of my wet bathers. Everyone was now moving around the boat, a few of the boys jumped off the side of the boat for a swim before we would be taking off sailing again for the morning.

The fog had now lifted all the sleeping bags were folded and put away, we were now sailing up the river. I had position myself at the front of the boat lying in the sun reading my book. I had also given the crew my iPod so instead of listening to Bob Marley over and over like the afternoon before Jack Johnson was playing in the back ground. I was back in that relaxed place not worrying about what had happened the night before. A few others joined me at the front of the boat. We spent the morning talking and lazing around like lizards on a rock.

Lunch time the boat docked again this time we were at a sandy beach the sun was really belting down on us time for another swim. The water was a lot warmer than this morning. We were jumping off the side of the boat and the boys were wrestling each other in the water a few of the girls just sat on the sand and watched. By this stage of the tour everyone started to know each other really well so there was a lot of joking and laughing going on.

After lunch we set sail again. This time I sat down the back of the boat with my sister and the other girls. They started drinking but I declined Mel thought this was strange I blamed it on the headache I had in the morning I told them I would join them later that evening for a drink. I was watching Marwuan out the corner of my eye I got busted a few times as he was looking in my direction but I quickly turned my head the other way.

The sun was falling low in the sky so the boat docked again for the evening. This time there were other boats docked either side of ours. Some boys from the other boats were already playing football up on the sand so the boys from our boat went and joined the game Mel, I and few of the other girls went to watch until it was time for dinner.

A big bonfire was lit when it hit dusk everyone sat around it. One of the crew members started playing a drum and other crew members joined in by singing. Before we knew it everyone was up on their feet dancing around the fire. Cody a guy from New Zealand had bought fire twirlers so I went over and joined him learning how to do the tricks. After burning my legs a few times on the fire twirlers I went back to where the party was. I stood back and watched until Mel grabbed my hand and made me join. Mel and the other girls were all well on their way to being drunk. It was now time for me to have a drink.

I walked onto the boat to get the bottle of wine Marwuan was on there with the two single boys from our group talking to two girls from another boat. A feeling of jealousy come over me. What was going on with me I never feel jealous. I made my way to the ice bin close to where they were standing and got myself a drink. Marwuan turned to me and told me that these girls are also from Melbourne like me. I took a seat on the ice bin, the girls started asking me questions about where I living in Melbourne and what do I do for work. These girls were young and still studying at University. They were very drunk and flirty with the boys.

The ice bin I was sitting on was on the top of the boat, where Marwuan was standing was on the lower deck where the crew did their cooking. Marwuan leaned on the ice box his back where my legs were. I felt a shiver go through my body. He put his arm behind his back and put my legs over his shoulders, the next thing I knew I was on top his shoulders. Laughing and trying not to fall I told him to put me down I was worried he was going to throw me in the water. He also was a little tipsy. Once he did I said I had forgotten to take a drink back to Mel I turned took the wine from the ice bin and walked off the boat and joined the girls around the fire my heart still beating fast.

It was now very late most our boat was already sound asleep. a few were still down the other end of the boat playing a drinking card game two of these being my sister and Marwuan. Mel called out for me to join but I pretended to be asleep the last thing I wanted to do was being talked into playing a drinking game.
The next morning I woke up feeling fresh unlike the day before. When I popped my head out of the sleeping bag this morning most people were already packing up their sleeping bags. We were departing from the boat soon to make our way to Luxor. After packing up my bag I had a quick splash in the Nile it would be last chance I would get to swim in the Nile.

In Luxor our bus stopped at an alley. Off the bus I followed the group down the alley to our hotel. Like all hotels Mel and I were sharing a room. This hotel didn't have a working lift so we had to walk up 5 sets of stairs with our bags on our back. Our room was tiny; it had two single beds and just enough room to walk around the beds. At the foot of the beds there was dresser that had a television on it. There was a glass door that opened to a small balcony we had no view we looked straight into window of another building. I could not get the hot water to work but I didn't mind too much. After Mel and I had a quick shower we had to go back downstairs we had two sights to see that afternoon.

As soon as I walked outside I got hit with a wave of heat. Our first stop for the afternoon was the Karnak Temple. The Karnak Temple was huge. Once we made your way in through Avenue of Sphinxes we entered to the main court yard I walked amongst the great pillars that were perfectly lined one after each other, the pillars are easily taller than 11 people. There are lots of fine details calved on the walls, pillars and obelisks. It really was an amazing site. Sweating in the heat I had to find some shade I sat and watched Mel as she took photo after photo.

Our next site was Luxor Temple thankfully the sun was going behind the mountains so it was cooling down. Another group joined our guide. This temple was just a beautiful as the last but on a smaller scale. Because it was getting dark the temple had lights shining against the pillars and statues it made it more magical. It reminded me of a grand hall in a palace but without the roof. I could really imagine what it would be like all those thousands of years ago.

After walking through this site our group all met out the front. We were going to walk to have dinner. On our way to dinner we walked through the Luxor markets. Like the market in Cairo it was filled with colours and sweet smells. The same trinkets and clothes were also available. I felt more comfortable in this market because we were in a group I had a go at bargaining and purchased a lamp and small sheesha.

We had dinner at a traditional Egyptian restaurant. I ordered an Egyptian Pie which is very much like a pizza but with a pastry base. Most of the group ordered the Kofta. Kofta is a Middle Eastern skinless beef sausage. After dinner we made our way back to the hotel here we met on the roof for a drink because it was going to be the last night with the whole group, the people that were doing the 8 day tour would be taking a train tomorrow evening back to Cairo.

Again beer was the only drink available I ordered one and sipped on it slowly as I looked out at the view of the Valley of the Kings Mountains. The mountains were illuminated with different colour lights. As we sat around talking and drinking one by one people left to go to bed. I looked around it was just Marwuan and I left alone.

Not knowing what to say I asked about tomorrows sites. We were going to the Valley of the Kings this is where many of the mummies tombs were discovered. From then the conversation turned from the sites to spirits and ghost. Then that turned into a conversation about fears. Because most people's fear is about love our conversation then turned into relationships. The conversation was getting to deep for my liking. And I didn't want to be in the same situation as the first night on the felucca I looked at my watch it was now close to 2am. I used this as an excuse not to discuss the topic anymore. "It's getting late I should go to bed " I said hen silence he looked at me and nodded " Ok" I got up from my chair started walking towards the stairs hoping he would ask me not to go. But he didn't when I reached the stairs I turned back to him and said "Goodnight" he said it back I then made my way downstairs leaving Marwuan sitting there by himself. Back at my room door I stopped I questioned myself if I should go back up the stairs but then thought if he wanted me to stay he would have asked me not to go.I don't want to embarrass myself again.So I opened my door and went to bed.

A few hours after falling asleep my alarm went off. Mel was already up and in the bathroom I must have been completely out of it because I did not hear her walking around the room. When she came out the bathroom she did not look good at all she was pale and dark under the eyes. "Are you ok?" She shook her head and went to lie back on her bed. She told me that her stomach wasn't feeling the best but should be ok.

After showering and breakfast we met the group in the lobby for our daily site seeing. A few of the group were missing, four were already at the site because they had done a balloon ride at sun rise over the Valley of the Kings and a few were up in their room sick with the same up-set stomach that Mel had. When we went to the bus there was already another tour group aboard waiting for us they would be joining us for the site seeing today.

On the way to the site the movement of the bus was not agreeing with Mel she was getting worse. By the time we reached the site she had to run off the bus to be sick. She could not go on and do the sites I went and got Marwuan he was going to have to take her back to the hotel.

After Mel and Marwuan left we made our way into Valley of the Kings. The Valley of Kings is the ancient burial ground that was used by the Pharaohs , it is also where the famous tomb of Tutankhamen was found. We followed our guide around the site. The guide was not allowed to come into the tombs with us and explain so we had to stand out in the heat and hear the history of each tomb. A few more people were starting to feel sick and standing in the heat was not helping them at all. What was going on, the group were all getting sick. I was hoping I wouldn't be next.

It was extremely busy slowly in a line we make our way into the tombs, once inside the tombs the air is incredibly dry. You need to keep drinking water as you are walking through to keep your throat from drying up. Lucky Mel didn't come because it would have been really hard for her I was not sick but the thickness in the air while walking through the tombs was a struggle. The colours on the wall are still vibrant and all tell a story we were not allowed to take photos inside which was disappointing because the pictures painted really were beautiful.

Once we had walked though four of the tombs it was time to go to our next destination. Back at the bus Marwuan had returned from the hotel. I asked him how Mel was and he told me that she was safe and sound in her room. The next site was Queen Hatshepsut's temple. This temple was dedicated to the longest running female ruler of Ancient Egypt. Like all the other temples I had visited over the last few days it was decorated with statues and. sphinxes by this point I was over looking at temples and was happy that it was the last temple I would be visiting on the tour.

Back at our hotel as I walked into the room Mel woke up she was still looking terrible. Beside her bed was a trash can so I knew that she was still not keeping anything down I told her that almost half the group was now ill and that we figured out that it had to be the kofta from the previous night. Luckily we had a nurse in our group who told us what medication to purchase at the pharmacy to stop the vomiting and stomach cramps. In Egypt you don't need a script to get drugs at a pharmacy you just need to know the name of the medication and if they have it they will sell it to you. So I gave Mel the medication that was recommended and told her I was going to go for a walk to find a internet cafe while she continued to sleep it off. We had a few hours free time before we were to leave to our next city and I couldn't spend it sitting in that tiny room that reeked sickness.

Walking out the lobby I hear someone callout my name I turn around and it Marwuan. "Where you going " he asks. I told him that I was just going for a walk to find a internet cafe and maybe go to the markets for a look because I didn't want to sit in my room while Mel slept. "Do you mind if I come with you? I need to find some jeans" he says. "Um yeah sure" I reply" I would feel a lot safer with a guy with me anyway". We start walking to the markets talking just general chit chat then he stops. "Did you mean what you said the other night" knowing perfectly well what he was talking about I started walking again "when I said what?" . Marwuan stops walking again "When you said you wanted to kiss me". I laughed trying to hide my embarrassment "oh that yeah but I heard you say No all is good". We continued walking not saying anything until we reached the markets. He asked if I was looking for anything in particular. I wasn't so he asked if we could sit at a cafe and have a sheesha. I said that was fine.

At the cafe I ordered a Pepsi and he ordered a chai and sheesha. While waiting for our drinks I was looking around at the people that were walking past then Marwuan spoke "I do want to kiss you to". I stopped looking around and looked at him trying to contain my smile on my face I then asked why he said no the other night. He told me that he doesn't just go kissing every girl that asks for it and he wanted to get to know me better before he was to do anything like that. He also went on to say that after I left him on the roof the night before that he waited there for another hour hoping I would return. I felt butterflies. I didn't tell him that I also questioned myself if I should go back up the stairs.

We then went to the men's clothes store he was talking about but it was closed. "What now?" I asked "Do you feel like having a drink?" I really needed a cold alcohol beverage so we agreed we would go back to the hotel to have a drink. The upstairs bar was closed Mel was still sick in my room so we went to Marwuans room. He went downstairs and ordered two beers then came back up. We sat on the edge of the bed in the aircon watching an old Arabic movie he was explaining to me the story line as he had seen the movie many times. The beer was going down fast even though I didn't like it I was so nervous I just kept drinking. After I finished the beer he asked if I wanted another. There was no way I could drink another so I declined. He then asked if I would like a kiss instead. I nodded my whole body was shaking nervously. He then leaned in and kissed me I will never forget that first kiss and the butterflies that took over my body.

There was a knock on the door Marwuan pulled away from kissing me and opened it. It was Cody the kiwi asking about his departure time because he was one of the group that was taking the train back to Cairo. Embarrassed that Cody had seen me in Marwuans room as soon as Marwuan closed the door I was up on my feet. Marwuan asked where I was going I said that I had to go pack my bag and check in on Mel.Not giving him a chance to stop me I left his room and ran up the stairs to my room. When I got back to the room Mel was awake watching TV and packing her bag she was feeling a little better. I didn't tell her what just happened I walked straight into the bathroom and had a cold shower to cool myself down.

 Time to leave for our next destination we made our way down to the lobby of the hotel. The group that was leaving back to Cairo were also there saying their goodbyes and exchanging emails and Facebook details with the members of the group that would be going on to Dahab. Our bus had changed it no longer was a huge 40 seater is now was a mini bus that could only hold at most 15 people. We loaded our bags on the roof and took our seats. I sat in the seat behind the driver Mel went and sat up the back with another girl Lauren so they could lay across the back seat and sleep. Marwuan took a seat up the front of the bus beside the driver. I put my Ipod in and we were on our way.

After an hour into the drive I received a text on my phone? I looked at my phone and did not recognise the number it was not an Australian number so I had no idea who it was from. It read "How are you?" unsure who the message was from I replied "Who is this?" A message responded straight away. "The man that is sitting at the front of the bus lol" He then turned around and smiled at me. It was Marwuan but how did he get my number. It took me about 30 seconds to figure out that I had called him from this number on my second day in Cairo asking about money exchange. I was impressed that he was smart enough to look back at his phone records to get my number.
I replied "I'm good thanks and you" then put my phone on silent I didn't want everyone to know I was exchanging messages with Marwuan because unlike me his phone was beeping every time I replied. A few flirty text messages went back and forth before we reached our city for the night.

We were in Hurghada a city that is located on the coast of the Red Sea. Hurghada was unlike the other cities we had visited on our tour. It was a resort beach town so very clean and well maintained the roads were real road not dirt tracks and there were paved footpaths to walk on. The main street was lined with flags from around the world. The people that you see walking around are not covered up they are wearing bikini tops and shorts and the men no tops at all. A lot of the shops signs were in English and what looked liked Russian no Arabic. I didn't really feel like I was in Egypt anymore.

We checked into our room it was now dark and getting late so we dropped our bags off and met down in the hotel lobby straight away to go and get some dinner. We had dinner at a cafe that was next door to the hotel. The cafe served cocktails so I ordered one and some calamari which was delicious. Some of the group were still feeling unwell they left as soon as they finished dinner to go to bed. There were still about 5 of us sitting at the table at the cafe drinking. Marwuan put his hand on my leg under the table it made me jump because I wasn't expecting it. Everyone looked at me. "A mozie bite" I said while trying not to laugh.

An hour later everyone was gone it was just Marwuan and I sitting at the table drinking and smoking sheesha. We were talking about how we were going to do this without having any of the group know. I didn't want anyone to think badly of me and I didn't want it to get back to his office what he was doing. He then told me that his office wouldn't mind if no one complained and he said that this kind of thing happens all the time with tour leaders and girls in the group. Ouch that hurt. Of course this stuff happened all the time but I didn't want to hear about it. I then felt uncomfortable and said that I should be going to bed. I got the money out of my wallet and put it on the table and started to leave. He grabbed my hand. "Where are you going? Don't go I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything". I sat back down "No it ok really, I'm just tired" I said. He asked me please to stay until he finished his drink and sheesha. I accepted he ordered me another drink. I canged the conversation we started to talk about Hurghada and Dahab the place we were going to next.

Our drinks were finished and time to go up to our rooms he held my hand. It fitted like a glove and felt so right but I still had the previous conversation running through my mind. I can't fall for this guy I will be leaving back to Australia in a week's time and will never see him again I have to remember that this is just for fun just holiday romance. While walking back to our rooms he said he would really like it if I was to share his room with him tonight. I didn't say anything i just nodded.

As we walked past my room I took a deep breath was I really going to do this? If I was to go back to his room now I knew what would happen. Did I want this to go further than a bit of kissing and flirting? As he put his key into the door it then when I said "I'm sorry Marwuan but I can't" He stopped the key from turning and asks "why?" I couldn't answer all I could say was "sorry" and I turned and went to my room. As much as I wanted to go into his room I knew if I did I would fall for him more and I didn't just want to be another notch on his tour groupie belt.

Back in my room I was pacing back and forth from bathroom to bedroom with my hand on my red hot cheeks. I have just blown it there is no way he will continue doing whatever we are doing now. Twice I have walked out on him. Oh well it probably for the best I kept telling myself. Mel was fast asleep I really wanted to wake her and talk to her about everything as she had no idea what was going I hadn't even told her that I liked Marwuan. I would tell her everything in the morning she will be able to tell me I'm being stupid and I will agree and get over it. I went to bed but had very little sleep my mind would not stop thinking about the day's events.

In the morning when I woke up Mel was up and looking much better we got dressed and made our way to breakfast. I didn't see Marwuan at breakfast thank god I was not ready to see him yet I had not had my pep talk with my sister. After breakfast we made our way to the beach. We had a few hours free time before we had to be back on the bus to go to Dahab.

The beach was packed filled with tourist from Eastern Europe. Blonde haired tan bodies were everywhere you looked. Mel, Lauren and I found a sun bed placed our towels and headed straight into the water. Once we were all in the water I told the girls what had been going on. They had no idea. Mel was shocked I could keep this all a secret until now. I told them that nothing was going to happen from now on even if I wanted it to I had ruined it. "Thats ok don't need to stress Becks in a week you will never see him again and move on to the next crush" Mel said. Even though Mel was probably right I still couldn't stop thinking about it.

A crush

12 long hours on the train I was happy when we reached our destination Aswan. I really needed to go to the bathroom I had been holding for hours. Mel went on the train and warned me what she saw and told me to hold on unless I really needed to go. When we reached our hotel it was unlike our previous hotel, this one was brand new it had a pool in centre of all the rooms and the sun shone right in. After settling into our room and having a bite to eat I went down by the pool and baked in the sun. It was a much hotter down south, no smog in the air just clear blue skies.

Late that afternoon we met the group in the lobby and took a bus to the Nile where we all boarded a boat. It was my first time to be on the Nile. The boat was long and thin it had a canopy to shade you from the hot sun there was a man wearing a galabia was at the rear of the boat steering the single motor. A galabia for those that don't know is common dress for a man from Egypt the best way I can describe it is a cotton long shirt that goes all the way down to the feet some have a few buttons at the top and some have a V-neck cut out. Down south of Egypt the galabias worn are most likely a brown or grey colour. It's designed to keep the man cool from the hot Egyptian sun.

You could smell the fumes of the motor of the boat as we cruised down the river. The water was calm only rippled when another boat passed us by. The landscape was beautiful and always changing. Sometime rocks came down to the edge of the river sometimes it was sand or grass. We cruised through a narrow area where there were low lying trees on the riverbank I could hear children singing. I look behind me and then see them floating down river on planks of wood. The children are singing to us, they reach out for the boat and are now hanging onto the tyres that are attached to the sides. One of the children is now in the boat setting up a mat with handmade jewellery. The pieces are beautiful some are wooden some are beaded. Both Mel and I purchase a necklace. Mine is a wooden one and Mel's is made of white beads. Once the children had finished selling their jewellery to us they jumped into the water and disappeared back into the trees.

The sun is setting behind us as we dock at a village. It is a traditional Nubian Village. Nubians are the ethnic people on the south of Egypt. Their skin is a lot darker and looks more African unlike Egyptian from the north of the country that looks more Middle Eastern. Nubians also have their own language though they also speak Arabic.

We walk around the village then Marwuan takes us to a Nubian school. Here we are shown around by one of the teachers. Our teacher is very amusing. He asks each of us one at time to go to the front of the class and say our name, on a white board he writes our name and then tells us to copy below. Once we have copied our name he gets us to turn around to the room and then with a big smile on his face and in a funny voice he says "CHEEESSSSEEE" There was always someone with the camera of the person standing up the front of the room taking photos. Each time he says cheese the whole room bellows with laughter it never got tiring.

After eating dinner and walking through the village shops we made our way back to the hotel. Some people including Mel stayed out looking for items at the markets but I was way too tired after the long train ride the previous night so I went back to my room. We had to be up at 3:30am to join a convoy making its way further south to Abu Simbel.

In the morning we woke and made the 3 hour drive down to Abu Simbel. I watched the sun come up through the window of the bus. There was nothing but sand for as far as my eyes could see. The sand glistened as the sun reflected off it. There were buses in front of us and buses behind. We needed to be in a convoy because there had been trouble in the past where terrorist had attacked tourist in the 1990's. When we arrived at the Abu Simbel Temple we were introduced to a new guide who would be showing us around. In the gates of the temple you notice guards everywhere all with rifles or semi-automatics. It was a little unsettling at first. We took a seat at the front of the temple and our guide explained the sight to us, when then had free time to look around. Abu Simbel is an extraordinary temple built by Ramses II it is four gigantic statues of Ramses II chiseled right into the hillside. Beside this temple is a smaller temple for his queen Nefertari. The temple looks over Lake Nasser. It is a beautiful place.

After looking around for an hour we made our way back to the bus. Mel and I took a seat on the back seat and some of the other girls in front of us. The sun was high in the sky now as we made our way back to Aswan. Marwuan made his way up the back of the bus and sat in between Mel and I. To this point I had not yet had a conversation with Marwuan I kept my distance because I was still hung up on my first impression. But to my surprise he was actually very funny. His English was very good, his accent was quite sexy. When he smiled I couldn't help but smile also. Maybe I was completely wrong about him. For the whole trip back to Aswan we sat eating lollies, discussing cultural differences and laughing at each others stories.

Back in Aswan it was now early afternoon our bus dropped us off beside the Nile where we were to board a Felucca this is what we were staying on for the next two nights. A Felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat that Egyptians have used for thousands of years to get up and down the Nile. On the boat there was one large mattress it took up the whole boat except where the crew would be cooking. There was no toilet on the boat if we needed to use the bathroom we had to ask the crew to pull over at the side of the river and go in the bushes. Cooking was done on one gas portable stove. There were two ice bins filled with water, soft drinks and alcohol that we had to previously order a few days before.I placed my sleeping bag at the front of the boat and Mel placed hers at the back. As well as traveling together we wanted to ensure to have some space also.

The boat sailed crisscrossing up the Nile it was so peaceful and calm I sat there looking out at what was on the riverbanks.I saw farm after farm some of crops some of animals The sun was slowly going down some people started drinking alcohol. Mel and I had ordered a bottle of wine and bottle of Vodka between us for the 2 days. The alcohol was Egyptian the vodka was called Volga and just like the name it tasted vulgar. But with heaps of soft drink added it was drinkable. The crew put on some music Bob Marley was playing. So here I was cruising up the Nile, drinking Volga and sprite, listening to Bob Marley playing cards with a few of the others. I was so relaxed. Every now and then I would find myself staring in the direction of Marwuan as he made his way around the boat talking to all the little groups that had formed. I had to stop myself I didn't want him or anyone else to see me staring. I think I have formed a little crush.

It was getting dark the sun was almost gone for the day. The felucca docked up on the banks of the Nile. The crew had placed a row of food down the middle of the boat. It was all traditional Egyptian food. There was flat bread, cooked eggplant, potatoes in a tomato sauce, chicken drumets and a salad mix. The food was basic but delicious Once dinner was finished the crew set up a small fire on the beach and started a sheesha. A sheesha is a water pipe that is used in the Middle East to smoke tobacco in. You can smoke plain tobacco or tobacco flavored with fruit. I had a sheesha back home in Australia I had received one as a gift a few years earlier so I was interested to see if it tasted the same here where it had originated. As expected it taste better I got some tips off the crew so i could make mine taste this good when I got back home.

Only a few joined the crew on the banks of the Nile most people stayed on the boat. Still drinking I was feeling a little drunk I had only had the one beer and one wine on the holiday before today so I was drinking the vodka pretty fast. Marwuan came and joined us by the sheesha. It was starting to get late most people had left the fire and back on the boat sleeping. Marwuan sat down beside me and asked me what I thought of the trip so far. I told him it was great and being a little drunk the following slipped out my mouth "but it would be better if I could kiss you". He went quiet. Then replied "I'm sorry I can't." Oh my god what have just done? My heart sunk into my stomach. I know nothing about this guy he was at work and he could be have a girlfriend, or married with children and me being a drunken fool said out loud what I was thinking. All embarrassed I replied "oh of course you can't" I looked the other way we both sat there in silence for what seemed like ages but was only about a minute then I said "well I'm tired I should be going to bed" I got up and went to the boat.

Lying in my sleeping bag looking up to the stars I was cursing myself how stupid of me to be a drunken fool and say that. Now I have to spend the next 10 days felling awkward. I tossed and turned until I finally fell asleep.

Pyramids

The alarm went off on my phone it was time to get up and pack my bag we were leaving our room where we had been based in for the last four days and storing our bags in another room with the other travelers while we went sightseeing that day. My belongings were scattered across the room and bathroom. No matter how hard I tried I could not keep my bag organised.

After cleaning the room and showering we made our way downstairs to the lobby to meet out tour leader and other members of the group. Once everyone was present Marwuan introduced us to our guide for the day, Marwuan was our tour leader however he was not an Egyptologist which meant he is not qualified to explain in detail about the history of all the accent sites. Once we were informed of the day activities Marwuan told us that he would be leaving us for the day and we will not be seeing him again until we meet him in the lobby later that evening when it time to take us to the train?

We all boarded onto a bus for our first site the Cairo Museum. It was not far from our hotel the trip on the bus took only 10 minutes. The building was fenced all around with security at each entrance. I walked through the metal detectors and then faced with a big pinkish colour building. We followed our guide inside the museum where she informs us that this museum holds the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts featuring the famous Tutankhamen collection. In each room we enter there were statues and glass cabinets filled with treasures that had been dug up from the land. Lucky we had a guide because the artifacts had little or no information beside them. Some rooms were filled with mummies both children and adults. It is fascinating to realize that there are actual bodies of people who lived thousands of years ago.

The most amazing room was the Tutankhamen collection this was what I was most looking forward to in the museum I had done a project on him at school and ever since then been intrigued by his story. The room was filled with his gold jewels the centerpiece was his beautiful gold mask. I had seen this mask in movies and books before and to see it so close up was overwhelming. The Tutankhamen displays alone justify the visit, but there is much more than that to see. I could have spent all day looking through all the treasures and hearing about all the history but we had to move on to our next destination the Giza Pyramids.

Again back on the bus we made our way to the Great Pyramids along the way we got to see more of Cairo. One thing that I noticed was there were heaps of apartment buildings that were not finished with steel rods sticking out the top yet people were taking resident in the lower floors. We asked the guide about this and she informed us that these houses were for whole families, once the sons would find a wife the family would build up a level and the son and his new wife would live in an apartment above the parents. Some buildings were 5 storeys high. So I'm guessing they had a lot of sons. I could never imagine having all my family living in the same apartment building I needed my space and my mother would drive me crazy. Egyptians are very family orientated I guess you have to rely on each other when money was always an issue. Another reason why some of the buildings look unfinished is that the owners of the building didn't have to pay taxes to the government until the apartment was finished.Why would you ever finish then?

When we reached the pyramids local children flocked to the bus some without even shoes their hand filled with trinkets and postcards to sell to us. I felt sorry for them they should be at school and not out here in the heat selling trinkets. Making our way through the children we collected our tickets and enter into the gates, right in front of us is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Words can't explain how I was feeling. They are truly majestic structures and to know that they were built without any machinery and have stood the test of times for thousands of years is amazing. Mel and I take heaps of photos of us standing, jumping and walking like an Egyptian in front of these magical structures. We both have a smile from ear to ear we had been looking forward to this moment since we booked our ticket to Egypt all those months ago. We had free time to walk around and explore. There was an option to go inside the pyramid but worried that I would feel claustrophobic I did not accept. While we are walking around the pyramids with sun beating down and sand blowing in our face we are getting harassed by more vendors trying to sell us their trinkets it was surprising how well they spoke English considering they did not attend school, men rode up to you on camels asking you if you would like a picture with them or a ride on their camel. Each camel was wearing a coat with its name written on the behind. The names were mostly of famous people and the spelling was always incorrect.

There were two single guys traveling stag in our group, Nick was one of them he is in his late 20's and from England. Nick was the first one of our tour group to get scammed in Egypt. And it happened on the first day at the Pyramids by one of the camel owners. Nick was asked by one of the men riding a camel if he would like to have a photo of him on a camel Nick accepted. Nick's expectation was to hop on the camel have his photo then hop off however the camel owner had a different idea. Once the photo was taken the camel owner would not let Nick off the camel and would not return the camera. Camel owner told Nick that he had to go on a ride as well as the photo opportunity and would not let Nick off the camel until he had paid for both. Nick had no other option and did what the camel owner said. This was the first and last time on tour that Nick went near a camel.

After walking around the pyramids we made our way down the hill to where the Sphinx is located. The sphinx was carved out of one piece of stone and like the pyramids very majestic. Mel and I sat here for a while taking in the atmosphere the surroundings, and take many pictures. It was time to leave and go back to the hotel we made our way back to the bus trying to avoid the flock of children selling their postcards and keyrings.

Back at the hotel that evening we took our bags down to the lobby to meet Marwuan he was taking us to a supermarket close by to buy snacks for the long train ride because he recommended that we didn't eat the food that was available on the train unless we wanted to get sick.

At the train station we made our way to the platform it was a lot cleaner than I expected it to be. At the platform we all put our bags down on the ground and sat in groups talking or playing cards waiting for the train that was supposed to depart at 10pm. Train did not arrive until midnight. There's a saying in Egypt that goes "All in Egyptian time" the reason for this is no one is ever on time. This is one thing that really frustrates me because I am the kind of person that always arrives at a place early to ensure I don't make other wait. The train is an older train the seats are a blue colour some have rips in them and are a little hard on the behind they do recline a little so at least I won't be sitting up right for the next 12 hours. By the time the train departs Cairo it closer to 1am everyone is exhausted.

Sleeping on the train is near impossible not just because the seats are uncomfortable; because its an older train it made a lot of creaky sounds against the track also the other passengers and train employees have no respect for those trying to sleep. I put in my Ipod and place on my eye mask then started to drift off to sleep but an hour later my battery died. Oh no I forgot to put on charge during the day. I took my ear pieces out and lifted my eye mask there are men walking up and down the aisles selling food and hot tea. They are yelling at the top of their lungs "Hummus Hummus" and "Chai Chai" hitting against a tin pot this went on for the whole trip. Sleep was very limited it was a very long night.

Meeting my group and Marwuan for the first time

This morning I slept through the morning prayer and woke up at 7am finally a good night sleep. Once Mel woke up we went down and had breakfast in the hotel. What was served for breakfast was interesting to the eye there were no cereals. I had a choice of hot dogs cut up soaking in a red sauce that looked like tomato soup, mashed up brown beans (which I later found out is called Foul), scrambled eggs, hard bread, lunchon meat cut into thick slices this looked like the roll of meat you feed your puppy, a white cheese that looked like some sort of feta as well as some tomato and cucumber sliced. I ate the bread with white cheese, tomato and cucumber I was not brave enough to try the other food.

We relaxed in the room for a bit then set off on our walk down to the Nile. We reached the main road we had to cross it, there are no traffic lights anywhere but we did see a zebra crossing great we would use this but when we stood at the crossing cars are not stopping to let us cross it seemed that pedestrians have no right of way. Ok looks like we have to just take a chance and do the best we can to get across we literally have to dodge around cars that were passing by. We made it across the road my heart was racing I was sure I was going to get squashed.

Not really sure where to go we were just guessing we passed the Cairo Opera House but did not see the Nile anywhere we were lost we were walking around in circles. After walking around for what seemed like hours in the heat but was only 30 mins we came to a road with a bridge ahead of us we had made it to the Nile. There was a gate beside the bridge that leads down to the river we walked in. A man jumped out at us and started speaking in Arabic we had no idea what was going on, were we going into private property? He then pulled out some tickets we had to pay to enter. We paid the man the money it was not much 5 pounds he handed over us a ticket then not really knowing what we were paying for we made our way in.

We walked down the stairs towards the river, we could see why we had to pay unlike the rest of the places we seen around Cairo it was a well maintain park with lovely green grass, wooden benches to sit on and a footpath that ran parallel with the river. We took a seat and spent time watching the people and the boats pass us by. After an hour of sitting talking, people watching and taking a few photos we walked down the river in the direction of the Cairo Tower it was a lovely clear day so we decided to go up and see the view of the city from above

Cairo Tower is a tall thin tower that stands alone in the middle of Cairo beside the Nile. Up the top it has a rotating restaurant and above that a viewing deck with 360 degree views. We had to go through some security checking then made our way up the lift to the restaurant then we had to walk up a flight of stairs. We came out to an open air area we are greeted by men dressed as pharaohs.We walk further out the view is amazing you can see far into the horizon. The weather was perfect we were lucky that it was a sunny clear day. Cairo looked like a different city. Its quiet up here I couldn't hear the horns of the traffic that was jammed down below. I see a sporting facilities, pools, tennis courts and soccer pitches. I see the Nile and the boats that are slowing making their way down the river. I see all the building across the river that are all the same grey brown colour because of the weather conditions they have been standing in for so many years. And when I looked far into the horizon I see the Pyramids.

After some time on the viewing deck we made our way back down to the restaurant where we had planned to have lunch. Lunch was nice the prices were more on the expensive side but they did serve wine so I was happy I finally was enjoying a nice glass of white. We took our time enjoying the view and lunch as we rotated around. It was getting late we had to get back to the hotel we were meeting our group in a few hours and we were unsure how long it would take us to walk back there was a high possibility we would get lost again.

Mel and I made it back to the hotel without getting lost this We made it across the main road again playing chicken with traffic was not my idea of fun but it had to be done. When back in our room I had a quick nap but really I was just laying there because I was very excited about meeting the new people on our tour.
Mel and I both showered and changed and made our way up to the top level of the hotel this is where we were all meeting. I walk in and people are sitting around a table I ask them if they are here to do the tour "Yep" someone replied. Awesome we are in the right place. The table has about 10 people around it so far mostly females and a few males. We took a seat one of the girls gives me some paperwork and informs me that I have to fill it out.
While filling out the paperwork a dark skinned male walks in the room and introduces himself as Marwuan our Tour Leader. I put two and two together he is the same man I was speaking to on the phone yesterday.

We had to wait a little bit longer for more people to arrive but there was a bit of small talk happening around the table. People were introducing themselves and talking about where they were from and where they had just traveled from. The group had people from Canada, England, Brazil, New Zealand but majority were Australian. Everyone seemed really nice. When there were a total of 15 of us Marwuan began talking. He informed us that there were still a few arriving that night and he would fill them in once they had arrived. He then went on to inform us that we were 2 groups that were joining together to make one so half the group would be doing 8 days of the tour then leaving and the remaining would continue on to Dahab.

Marwuan was quite direct when explaining the information about the tour his face was serious very rarely breaking into a smile. Another tour leader came in he was all bubbly and laughing he handed Marwuan a beer and told us that it was Marwuan's birthday the day before and we were to wish him a happy birthday. We all did so. Marwuan gave us a quick smile and thanks then continued talking about what we had installed over the next few days. After explaining everything he told us he would meet us early in the morning and said we were free to go. I was surprised that was it I had expected that he would be taking us out for dinner for us to get to know each other.

My first impressions of Marwuan were not very high I was starting to worry that he would be a grumpy tour leader and hard to approach. I was a little disappointed I had expected more and after seeing the other tour leader all bubbly I felt that we had really lucked out on who we had leading our tour.

After the meeting a few of the group were starving and because Mel and I had been in the hotel for a few days now we knew where to go to eat we invited others to join if they would like. Some accepted and we took them a few blocks to get pizza we took this time to get to know each other. Once we collected our dinner we returned to our room because tomorrow we were going to be up a 6am we had a full day of sightseeing we were going to the Cairo Museum and Pyramids then tomorrow evening we were taking an overnight train down south.