Planes, Trains, and Automobiles II

After the train ride from hell, our tour company decided it was better if we not experience any more train travel.  We had been scheduled for a shorter 3 hour afternoon trip to go from Aswan to Luxor but a car was hired and we took the trip by automobile instead.  While we appreciated the thoughtfulness of changing our mode of transportation without us requesting it, I was a little hesitant to experience a 3 hour car ride on the Egyptian roadways.  Cairo had already shown us that what we have experienced in China was relatively tame in comparison.  Overall, car was probably a better choice, but deserves its own top ten list of things observed on what proved to be a very interesting trek up the Nile.  There was no highway, but rather a two lane road that was almost wide enough to make a “third” lane if necessary to avoid collisions while passing.

10. Herding of goats next to the roadway

9. About 5-6 camels lying down in the back of a pickup…these are not small animals

8. Full grown (and overweight) men riding donkeys that seem much too small

7.  Hand signals used by drivers to alert other side to upcoming speed traps

6. How quickly the terrain changes from fertile farms next to the Nile to complete desert with no green in sight

5. Security checks every 20-30 km verifying origin and destination

4. Many non-Chevy pickup trucks with “Chevrolet” painted on rails, even some fake emblems painted on the grill

3. Full grown (and overweight) men riding donkeys that seem much too small

2. What are the passing rules?  Best to keep your eyes closed or watch the scenery

1. Man on a donkey in a long farmer’s robe with straw on the back…talking on a cell phone

The ride was marginally smoother than the train ride, but much more interesting and cleaner.  We will go back to traveling by plane when we leave Luxor and return to Cairo, hopefully that ride will not be worth a blog post.