Aswan

It's time to move on!

We're taking a train south to Aswan today. I've been on overnight trains in China, Vietnam,Thailand and India...and this was probably one of the cleanest! I've always loved train rides, especially long journeys. When I left home for three months a few years ago to travel from China to Turkey by train, I was actually inspired by a girl's journey on the Trans-Siberian. I just love lying there, drinking, eating, reading, meeting the neighbors, looking at the scenery and falling asleep...

It took 13 hours; me and my mom slept pretty much the whole way.

Aswan is much more laid back than Cairo; it's nice to just walk along the Nile and enjoy the fresh air. We visited the famous Philae temple, which can only be accessed by boat. This temple was moved from one island to another because it was submerged when the high dam was built. It took 8 years to move the temple piece by piece to another island. Not only it has survived, but many people added their little piece of story to it. Early Christians that were persecuted by Romans hid in this temple and disfigured the pagan figures out of fear. We can also see the marks from people carving their names on the walls from thousand years ago.

Aswan is more famously known for its markets because it is considered the southern gateway to Africa. We went shopping at a local market. My mom is pretty bad at bargaining, and I really hate doing it. My best technique is simply walking away and they end up giving it to you for very cheap. We also noticed that many people wanted pictures with us. A police at the pyramids wanted a picture with us. Shopkeepers wanted pictures with us. It's a great way to break the ice with the locals. They say we look like sisters.