Sunset on the Nile, north of Aswan

Nile Cruise: The end

.. and the sun sets on a magical week's cruise aboard the MS Nile Saray (Three star vessel with a 5+ star crew) on Egypt's life blood, the Nile.

...and across the congested skies of a desert morning

...along a Nile fed irrigation canal

...across the Colossi of Memnon

Looking towards the Royal Valleys of Kings and Queens

Nile Cruise: Balloon Flight Luxor

Another really early start: we had decided to take a balloon flight across the Nile's floodplains and below the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens as a special treat. And while we were promised at least 35 minutes we enjoyed a full hour's flight welcoming in the morning sunrise amongst the smokey haze from sugar-cane burn-off. And in the silent morning washed with the heat from the ignition flame to the balloon we traversed the sky. How can you express the imagery except maybe through pictures?

The Temple of Abu Simbel

Nile Cruise: Abu Simbel

An early morning wake up call 3.45am was all we needed but today we flew Egypt Air from Aswan to Abu Simbel on the southern shores of Lake Nasser about 25km from Egypt's border with Sudan. Abu Simbel is IMPRESSIVE!!! The original construction, monuments to Rameses II and his favourite wife Nefertari, were carved out of the rock of the hills, but because they were going to be drowned by the rising waters of Lake Nasser, the structures were removed and built 90 metre higher up. Two artificial hills were constructed and the saved artefacts were reassembled in an exact replica of the original monuments. The rock-cut Temple of Abu Simbel is up there with Ankor Wat in Cambodia. The Pharoah Ramses II is shown at four different stages of his life while in the Temple of Hathor alongside (dedicated to Nefertari)the 10m high statues step out of the wall, their left feet forward, symbolic in Ancient Egypt of walking into the afterlife. After a 90 minute tour we were shuttled back to the plane for the flight back to Aswan. And lunch!! And a rest!! That night we sailed back towards Luxor, stopping at Edfu during the day and arriving at Luxor about midnight.

Shelley smokes (BUT DOES NOT INHALE!) Shisha

Lake Nasser from Aswan High Dam

Nile Cruise: Aswan

Clive didn't fare too well in Aswan. We thought initially it was the Pharoah's Curse, but more likely it was reaction too rich and plentiful eating. Can't complain about the food! Shelley took in visits to the Temple of Philae (by felucca) in Lake Nasser; the Aswan High Dam (and we crossed the lower dam at a later point) and on to the Botanical Gardens. After lunch, and a kip, we took a tour to a local mosque in Aswan, where because it was 5.10pm and not many (five in fact) Muslims come to pray at that time, we were able to sit in and watch them at prayer in a mosue built about 25 years ago. Our guide explained to us his version of Islam and how accommodating and tolerant it is of other religions and from there we tripped down to the local markets where we were let loose for an hour. Very similar to the markets of Turkey and Istanbul in particular. Hassled all the way by shop owners (and their'vultures') we were encouraged to buy: 'Come and have a butcher's'; 'ASDA prices..'; 'We'll pay you to come and look'. Clive tried bartering with a book stall owner and was told to 'Go away' because his offer price was absurdly low. We met other members of our tour group in a local coffee shop where we had free drinks and Shisha - Shelley insists she didn't inhale the raspberry flavoured smoke that bubbled through the water! It WAS nice!

Dressed to Kill: Galabaya (traditional Egyptian Dress) party

Kom Ombu Temple

Temple of Edfu

Nile Cruise: Temples of Edfu and Kom Ombu

More sailing up the Nile, heading towards its source, brought us to the Temple of Edfu, half way between Luxor and Aswan. Edfu, the Temple of Horus, was largely buried by sand until it was found in 1860 and because it was buried several parts of the walls and columns contain their original coulours. The engraved illustrations here have taken on a new look and, influenced by the Greeks, show more human detail: the shape of both men and women - and navels! A quick wander, a purchase (and some unsuccessful bartering) and we were hustled back to the boat for another huge lunch and more sailing to Kom Ombu. A night visit to the Temple and for the first time, witness of the Egyptian calendar (the last day of the month was identified in hieroglyphics as a circle with a tail across the top - is this where the term 'tail-end' comes from?) and the mummified remains of three crocodiles and back to the boat from where we set sail for Aswan. Traditionally, they say, aboard the cruise ship, tonight was Galabaya night where everyone dresses up for a fun party of dance and music and drink. We were becoming rather partial to the Luxor Lager and it was SO easy to get: sign to Room 118 please!!!

At Hatshepsut's Temple: Last remaining Original Statue

Nile Cruise: Valleys of Kings and Queens

The tombs of the Pharoahs and their families are located just outside of Luxor on the barren fringes of the Sahara Desert. Sited under a pyramid like peak with the sun symbolism portrayed by its shape, these resting places are much more sohisticated and elaborate and buried much more deeply than I had imagined. In the Valley of the Kings we visited the tombs of three Pharoahs: Ramses III, IV and IX. The sarcophogi lie at the end of long elaborately decorated passage ways with small antechambers dotted along the inward route: in these were housed the necessities for the journey in the afterlife. Keeping a watchful eye over the thousands of tourists swarming through the tombs, high in outposts along the desert ridge line, the Tourist Police maintain their armed vigil against the possible threat of terrorism: an accepted part of tourism here given that in 1997 58 tourists and 3 policemen died in a terrorist attack in Luxor. From the Valley of the Kings to Deir el-Bahri, the monumental temple designed by Senmut for Queen Hatshepsut, to the Valley of the Artisans (home of the workers who constructed and engraved the tombs in the Kings and Queens Valleys and who were led blindfolded to work and back so they were unable to reveal the tombs locations) and on to the Valleyofthe Queens. The warmth of the desert sun was a welcome addition to our tours through these oppulent and majestic structures. Only two tombs were visited in the Valley of the Queens(Nefertari's Tomb is closed to general rifraf like us!):The Tomb of Queen Tyti and of the 12 year old Prince, who died too young to be buried in the Valley of the Kings, Amen-Hir-Khopshef. And back to the boat for a sail south to Edfu.

Columns in Karnak Temple Hypostyle Hall

Nile Cruise: Luxor

We arrived in Luxor in the dark and the first experiences of the city were at night. The desert air was cold (but not as cold as UK) and the sky clear; the streets were busy and golden lights glowed from both street lights and buildings. The 'porters' did everything - and then demanded backsheesh, the tip! You almost had to tip to breathe the air. The pestering was bad - almost as bad as our experience on Hai Van Pass in Vietnam. But we got through the phalanx a couple of pounds sterling lighter. The first morning required a 5.30am wake up call with a 6.30 post breakfast departure so we could visit Luxor and Karnak Temples ahead of the crowds. And what awe inspiring places. The creative genius and engineering feats of the early Egyptians can only be marvelled at. The blend of the spritual with the ordinary daily lives where social structuring saw the separation of nobility/priests and other people was expressed in the monuments (big seemed best), especially those dedicated by Rammeses II to himself and his family, and in the hieroglyphics etched onto walls, obelisks and support structures. We enjoyed a thoroughly informative tour of both temples with our guide, Achmed, who was a great font of knowledge on the ancients of the area. Our worst experience at Karnak Temple was being yelled at by an armed Tourist Policeman, from a distance, to get off the mud brick wall which surrounded the temple. We didn't argue!! Back to the boat for dinner (the full board which was included in the price meant three sumptuous buffet meals per day) and then a visit to the Luxor Museum, a relatively new museum in which, apart from several interesting artefacts, there were two well-preserved mummies. It was kind of an honour and a privelege to be able to look in on these two people, preserved in death for the world to see.

Cruising on Loch Ness

Urquhart Castle remains on Loch Ness

Scottish Highlands

The next day December 1 we took a twelve hour coach trip from Edinburgh, north to Loch Ness and on to Inverness, before heading home again down Scotland's spine. A long, long day but a very memorable exerience. The stories of the early Scots and how they lived and died I found really interesting. I thought I was of a Highland clan but no! Turns out we Crawfords are of Lowland Scottish stock. But being amongst the Highlands was like being in the Mackenzie Basin of our South Island only not as high. Bleak, colourful, rich in human history, desolate and uncompromising. This is the Highlands of Scotland. From the complete Stirling Castle just north of Edinburgh to the crumbling ruins of Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness, via the shrouded peak of Ben Nevis, our day took in a 400 mile route. Castles and Lochs; glens and invers; MacDonalds and Campbells; Bag pipes and Ceilidh; mountains and crofters; sheep and highland cows. These are the images of the Scottish Highlands - and no Loch Ness Monster to be seen! (We WERE looking! Wouldn't you for a £1.0 million reward?)

Looking down the Royal Mile

Edinburgh Castle from Castle Terrace

Edinburgh, Scotland

What I thought was a bank holiday in reality turned out to be a Clacton High School staff shopping holiday. We flew to Edinburgh to do our shopping. We arrived in the rain at 10.00pm and, adventurous as we are, caught a £10.00 (for 2) return airbus and set out to find our hotel. But the bus windows steamed up inside. With rain on the outer side, visibilty was very poor. But the friendly driver directed us at our stop and we headed off, towing cabin bags, armed with umbrellas looking for our stay. Eventually we asked a young couple for directions and likewise, eventually, we found our hotel. Signs (like hotel signs) are almost non-existent in the Edinburgh Old Town (or very very small)and so streets and buildings in the dark, were like one huge blur. But comfortable accommodation was finally at hand - and so was sleep. We woke next day to visit amongst patches of blue/grey/rain/cloud/sun/mild 10 degrees, the right up there Edinburgh Castle and, good news, entry was free (down from the normal £11.00 pp because it was Nov 30th, Saint Andrew's Day - Patron Saint of Scotland). As we normally do, we walked and walked, slowly at first, and later, more quickly as we realised the day was slipping away: dusk at 4.00; dark by 4.30. But we did manage to squeeze in a self-guided trip through St Giles Church as we headed down the Royal Mile towards Holyrood Abbey; a visit to a personal 3D theatre show about Loch Ness and its monster; a walk past John Knox's house, past the Mercat (the centre of town and former execution site) and on to the Old and New Parliament buildings: sadly we arrived too late to get into the new buildings. So on we trudged, map out, gathering (all two of us!) under yellow street lamps in the 4.30 dark at various points, and wound our way up what looked like dodgy dark paths to the lookout on Calton Hill (here sits Edinburgh's answer to the Acropolis) from where we got a full on view of the city - at night in the rain (at least it wasn't cold). From Calton Hill down into the New Town and to the Christmas markets - dinner consisted of a small plate of apple strudel and cream from the German market. YUM!! And from there a wander into a huge marquee where we sat and watched St Andrews day festivities with Ceilidh band and dancing and beer and free giveaways. A really enjoyable way to end a very long (but short on daylight) day.

Shelleys in Whitechapel Road

Horse Guard's Horse whispers sweet nothings ..

Clive near Westminster Bridge and Big Ben

A London Tour

Last weekend, 17th/18th November we trained up(?)to London to stay with Paul for the Saturday night. Nothing planned apart from the 8.30 train Saturday am and the 4.30 return on the Sunday. It wasn't raining so we decided to take a flight on London Eye which allowed an easy 360 degree viewof London; from there we walked and walked - to the Houses of Parliament being dusted down and closed for the day for an upcoming event. Oh well! Let's go to Westminster Abbey across the road: closed for an upcoming event. (Turns out to be the Queens's/Prince Phillip's 60th wedding annivrsary and security, police and cleaners are everywhere sprucing the place up for national tv. We walked then along Whiehall to the Horse Guards and into St James' Park, Pall Mall and into Trafalgar Square (for coffee and to plan the rest of the day.) Plan decided we caught a bus through Picadilly Circus to Oxford Street and to London Palladium where we bought the last two tickets to the Stage show of The Sound of Music. Pure nostalgia and a trip down memory lane was not dampened by our having to split up to take our seats. Great show! And that's part of what London is all about. From the Palladium via several tubes to Paul's place (we're starting to feel at home amongst the rest of the tube populace) and a relaxed night reminiscing! Next day we caught the underground to Algate and Bricklane Markets, and in the bitter cold we wandered amongst the colourful side of London life: the stall holders and all manner of nationalities. A wander from Bricklane took us to Petticoat Lane Markets and on then to Spittalfields Markets. A day of marketing with not much more than the experience (some dresses for Shelley and some warm sox for both)to show in return. Plan C? To come back to Petticoat Lane in the warmer months of 2008.

It's NOT cold in Cambridge!!

The Bridge of Sighs

From Cam River across the Backs to Kings College

Persisting in Ipswich en route to Cambridge

A couple of weekends back we headed inland from here to the beautiful University city of Cambridge with all the Colleges which together, make up Cambridge University. When we left it was persisting down and we wondered just what we'd let ourselves in for given we were stepping further outside the comfort zone and not booking accommodation. However, by the time we arrived in Cambridge, two and a half hours later it had stopeed raining. We found a B&B through the Information Centre, caught a bus to it, dropped off our bags etc and bussed back to the city centre just in time to catch a very informative and interesting two hour guided tour of the city. We even had enough time to take in Evensong at Kings College Chapel and in the gloom of early evening we found our way to the Bridge of Sighs which, although built some centuries back, was modelled on the original in Venice. The Sunday morning, after a huge full English breakfast, we walked back into the city via the Cam River and Jesus Green to go to a Remembrance Day Mass at the Catholic Cathedral. Then followed a visit to the Fitzherbert Gallery (where it was warm!!), another hike across town to the Round Church and eventually we found our way in the Sunday night (?) dark - at 4.30pm - to the bus for our return to Colchester.

Na zdravi (to health) from Praha

Charles Bridge to Mala Strana

Powder Gate: One of 13 of Stare Mesto's Gates

Mala Strana to Vltava River

The Old Town Square

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

Prague: Czech Republic

Having saved a few pounds by not spending up large, we have just returned from a magical five nights in Prague (Praha). Cold for us Kiwis and only one day of sunshine but what a great city to visit. So much history; and so much Catholic history. We booked on-line with EasyJet with accommodation included (£561) and thoroughly enjoyed the near endless walking from Harmony Hotel (on Na Porici) to the Old Town Square, to St Wenceslas Square, to the Charles Bridge, to a plethora of Cathedrals, to the Powder Gate,and to climax our stay, an 8 hour walking day along the Royal Route to the Old Prague Castle,(Prazsky Hrad)and St Vitus' Cathedral above the Lesser Town (Mala Strana. With a 1.2m population (and thousands of tourists even in the off season)there were always people around, even at night, on our way home from dinner (which never cost more than 800 koruna, or about £20 for both of us including three courses - and wonderful BEER!)Three day trips - the tour of the city to become oriented, to Terezin (early WW2 Transit Camp for Jews on their way to the death camps of Poland) and to Kutna Hora (Once a silver mining town, a Royal Mint) a UNESCO protected town and the beautiful St Barbara Cathedral. The ossary was a bit crass - so many unearthed human bones from a crypt containing dead from the Plague along with some Hussite soldiers from the Middle Ages - and turned into a museum of bone (eg bone chandelier) exhibits. Would we ever come back to Prague? You bet! (but unlikely given how big our world is, but you just never know.)

Shelley alone at Wickham Market Station

Sutton Hoo Burial Mound

Sutton Hoo

Our next trip away was north again on the Ipswich lime then on the Lowestoft Line to Sutton Hoo which,(from Old English 'haugh'), means high place or hill. The day was brilliant - blue skies and 20+ degrees. So it didn't really matter when we missed our station stop and overshot. We sat, absorbing the English warmth, all alone (we have NEVER been alone in a public place in England) on the platform with the ubiquitous Stationmaster's black cat. They really do exist. We caught the train back one stop. With some support from the guard (we're rooting for you!) we managed to get off where we intended, walked about 20 mins along quiet/busy country lanes to Sutton Hoo. A burial ground from the earliest Anglo Saxons in England where it is thought, the first King of the united tribes of Southern England (King Raedwald)is buried here. There are certainly some interesting hisorical archives which tell of the unearthing of Anglo Saxon ships which were buried along with important people such as kings,from the burial mounds which are dotted around the crest of Sutton Hoo.

Freeman or Serf or Slave or Idiot?

A day at the Colchester Castle Museum, an old Norman Castle built directly on top of the remains of a Roman base, and this is how you could turn out: freeman, serf, slave but definitely not Lord and clearly not Master.

The Crawfords take on THE WORLD

The White Tower and London Bridge

And then it was off to Jenny's in London via what we thought was the Tower of London.We were a bit taken back by the size of the Tower complex and what, in fact turned out to be several towers. And there was even one where Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick had been incarcerated a few hundred years back at the end of the 14th Century. Fancy one of my rellies doing something so bad that he had to be locked up in his own tower awaiting execution. Still, he was in good company with a number of other executions taking place on the grass common: like Lady Jane Grey, who also met her fate here. What we expected would be a morning took us most of the day (the Crown Jewels were a minor attraction!) before we made our way out, over the Tower Bridge had headed (on foot!) towards Waterloo. Distance got the better of us and even a gelato wasn't enough to get us there and we ended up catching a bus: Shelley's map reading skills found our way there (after some useless debate from the other half). Having finally arrived in Bonnington Square (where Jenny and husband Matthew live) we asked a 'local' for directions. Turned out he was a South African on holiday, but he knew enough to be able to head us in the right direction. We enjoyed Jenny and Matthew's hospitality as we shared her birthday and met an intersting friend of hers. An overnight stay and a rushed trip back to Liverpool Street Station the next day ended a very full and thoroughly enjoyable weekend. (Jenny recommended a visit to Sutton Hoo the following weekend and gave us a pass which would have expired had we not been able to use it.)

Shelley outside the Norwich Railway Station

Norwich Cathedral from the manicured lawn

The weekend we went to Norwich was brilliantly fine and warm - what they say here, is a typical September day. The train ride through Manningtree and Ipswich through Diss (must have been a sad person to Dis a town!) was very comfortable and we arrived at Norwich knowing nothing. We spied a castle on a hill which looked as though it were in the direction of the town, and we headed for it. And lo, the town. First stop, the Information Office and a sit in the sunshine overlooking the market, where from the Middle Ages, a market has run, albeit with a few modern changes. A tour through the church of St Peter Mancroft with an elderly guide (who'd recently had a fall and was now sporting a bruise as big as a dish on her side)a walk to the Catholic Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist and a very informative walking tour of the heart of Norwich preceded our end point at the Norwich Cathedral - an impressive building but a lie on the internal, manicured lawn gave us a different perspective. We tried (successfully as it turned out) to find our way back to the station via the Wensum River, which many centuries ago the Romans forded to claim the city. But as we got nearer our thirsts took over and we stopped in a little pub for beers and chips. While we tried to avail ourselves of the local brew the nearest thing to anything local (because they'd run out) was a Strongbow cider. Not really impressed but we did try. After the top up it was back to the station to find hordes of Norwich (canaries) football supporters descending on the station after what appeared to be a loss in the local derby. Some sad faces. But what a lovely city.

The Dome of St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral

The first opportunity we had after settling in to our flat in Highwoods, Colchester, we took a Saturday trip to visit Paul in London. Having watched the All Blacks demolish Italy, we spent a couple of hours visitng St Paul's Cathedral across the new Millenium Bridge. St Paul's was the marriage venue for Charles and Diana some years ago but for us, the climb to the upper balconies was more memorable. Winding steps seemingly going on forever upwards (were there 400+ steps?)spiralled into narrowness but at last opened up onto a crowded balcony from which views over a leaden London spread underneath us. You could almost feel the pomp and ceremony in the whispering gallery and the serious history in the basement burial tombs of, amomgst others,Horatio Lord Nelson, Sir Christopher Wren, the Duke of Wellington and Florence Nightingale.

Amongst the cloud on The Peak, Hong Kong Island

Jordan Rd, Hong Kong in the early evening

Kowloon skyscrapers from Kowloon Park

Hong Kong was an amazing place: population density and high rise accommodation were more than picures could ever indicate. Just so intensely jammed together sometimes apartments not too much bigger than a bed space. Eating out and laundromats preclude the necessity of anything beyond bed space. On the harbours around Aberdeen on the south of Hong Kong Island the rich (apparently) but near destitute looking fishing communities do more than eke out their exisrence fising: if there's no fish catch then tourists pay to be transported around and through the fishing villages where boat dwellers live in boats as big (if not bigger some of them) as apartments with no rental fee (because they are not taking up landspace) and paying no Government taxes. And the August heat and humidity were very overwhelming. Three showers a day to get rid of dust and sweat and wet from the summer rains. For three days the clouds hung low and pregnant over Victoria Harbour like the world was closing in from the hills that characterise both Kowloon and Hong Kong Islands. At another time of year Hong Kong would make a great stopover on the way to Northern Europe but would need to get out into the New Territories and into mainland China. There is not a lot to do but the experience was well worth having. What a history: proudly and richly presented in the Museums: Art, Natural and Space - three separate insitiutions all with their own different contributions to make about Hong Kong's turbulent and sometimes brutally violent past.
But for these tourists no bag space = no shopping (yet it is a shopper's paradise!). Maybe next time. And just to put the icing on the Honk Kong cake our flight out to London Heathrow was delayed 15 hours - so nice of them (Air New Zealand) to feed us with huge buffet meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and put us up in 5* luxury at the Airport Hotel. A great way to while away the time -and what's more we got to fly out to London at 12.30 ish am, a much easier flight on which to sleep than the day flight. And so then to our arrival in England.

Intrepid Explorers, Ancients Alive

Very quickly in the space of just a couple of days (Tuesday 26th June -Wednesday 27th June) I received notification of a Geography job coming up at Clacton County High School. The same evening I had a ring from Jay at the Chelmsford Protocol office and asked a) if I was interested and b) if so, would I be available for an interview on the Wednesday evening. Yes to both! And so, 90 minutes after a 25 minute interview with 2 Assistant Principals (and a New Zealander on the staff) I was offered a job! We're on the way to Clacton-on Sea (Clacton) about 1 1/2 hours by train from London and reasonably close to Stansted. That was our original hope/plan - and so far it seems to be working. Next step - a job for Shelley.