New Zealanders Brian and Pat Deakin are inveterate travelers and video-makers.  In this extended diary they give us an insight into their attitude to vacation travels and recall a visit to Egypt and Jordan - and the first words of Arabic they learned: "La Shokran" ...

Friday 15th March

Our plane touched down in Cairo Airport at approximately 6.30 am. We were greeted by Ahmed Saied a representative of the local travel company and assisted with entry visas etc. Ahmed informed us that today was the Egyptian Sabbath so the ride into Cairo should be easy. As he booked us into the Ramses Hilton hotel he also told us that we were the only two people on the tour!

What at a shock we expected at least ten or more!

Entering the Ramses Hilton hotel is like walking into a 1930's movie. Marble columns, grandiose stairways, indoor palms and bellboys dressed in red and gold. In the foyer, the resident pianist tinkled away on the grand piano as we ascended by lift to our room on the 18th floor. This magnificent hotel is situated on the banks of the River Nile and on opening our curtains we expected to view this amazing sight. Imagine our horror when the view that met our eyes was one of squalor and tumbling down buildings. Our room was facing the opposite direction!

To our left was a glorious hotel, to our right a spaghetti junction motorway system but directly below and in front of us was a no-mans land of ramshackle half demolished and half finished buildings each with a TV satellite dish perched on top. By now (mid day) the sound of the traffic was unbelievable, everyone in Cairo drives with one hand on the horn but above all this din could be heard the amplified voice from the minarets calling the faithful to prayer.

Welcome to Cairo, a city of 17 million people with an additional four million commuting into the city daily.

But after all, this was the Sabbath, so we decided to go for a quiet walk and explore the banks of the Nile. Once outside the hotel door we were immediately assailed by a squadron of taxi drivers who were equally determined that we should not walk. We soon found out why! Crossing the busy street proved to be a major undertaking. The zebra crossings on the road were barely discernible, but it didn't matter as they were completely ignored by the drivers anyway. Even the traffic constable had more sense than to stand in the middle of the intersection. With false bravado he retreated to the edge of the curb, weakly blowing his whistle and waving his arms but to no avail for all the drivers ignored him. After about 20 minutes we finally made it to the other side, breathed a sigh of relief and thanked our blessings that we'd taken that extra life insurance.

Strolling along the embankment we were soon to discover how it felt to be a movie star. We were attracting a lot of attention, mostly from young adults and children. They were approaching us, several at a time and asking us our names, our ages and where were we from. They were very friendly and excited and we soon realised that they were eager to practice their English. A bus load of school age children had drawn up beside us and the din was deafening, laughter and shouting and all shyly putting out their hands to touch these two pale invaders.

We made the mistake of raising the cameras to take some video and they immediately turned to rigid poses. We had our first experience of what was to follow throughout the trip-"Baksheesh-Money, money!" was the cry.

Saturday 16th March

Today we meet our tour guide for the next three days a very attractive young Egyptian girl called Reham. Our first visit was to the ancient stepped pyramids of Sakkara on the outskirts of the city.

There are more than fifty known pyramids in Egypt but Sakkara at 4600years is by far the oldest. The step pyramid of King Zoser was the first pyramid to be built in ancient Egypt. Reham took us into the tomb of King Zoser, down a very narrow, confined shaft and into the claustrophobic burial chambers. She explained the meanings of the hieroglyphics and her knowledge of Egyptian history was very impressive and detailed. In the afternoon we proceeded to the well-known and much larger pyramids at Gizza and the Sphinx.

We were completely awe-struck by the magnificence of our surroundings but not really given an opportunity to soak up the atmosphere due to the persistence of the local hawkers and camel and donkey riders. All wanted to sell us something or take us for a ride. The first words we quickly learnt in Arabic were "La Shokran" - (No thank you). Most of these Camel and Donkey touts are illiterate but many of them can speak up to seven languages, including idioms and slang. They were also very amusing and hard to resist grand masters in the art of separating the tourist from his dollars.

Sunday 17th March

This morning we visit the famous Egyptian museum. This is without a doubt the most fascinating collection of historical artefacts that we have ever seen!

Forty feet high stone statues, that look as if they were carved yesterday. Preserved wooden boats over four thousand years old. Sculptures of family groups dating back to the beginning of time, but most of all the treasures from the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun, they were beautiful beyond description! In the Mummy Room we viewed the remains of about seven Pharaohs. The most prominent of which was Ramses 11. He lived for ninety-seven years, had numerous wives and concubines and sired more than a hundred children. Even in his mummified form he looked majestic.

Tuesday 19th March

Early to rise we catch a 7.30m flight to Aswan, the starting point for our five-day Nile cruise.

But Cairo is not going to let us go that easily. There is a raging dust storm in the Upper Nile and the airports at Aswan and Luxor are closed. We find ourselves sitting in a crowded departure lounge for 18 hours. Eventually our plane departs Cairo at 12 midnight and arrives in Aswan at 2.30m. We then travel in convoy with an armed police escort front and rear delivering us safely to our cruise boat at the riverside. We quickly check in and fall into our beds exhausted.

Wednesday 20th March

After four hours of sleep we get a call at l am and are greeted by Medhat, our tour guide, who will look after us for the next four days. The Nile boat is a four story, floating hotel that has everything on board that one would expect to find in a hotel. We estimate that each one of these floating palaces would accommodate about 300 passengers and we are told that there are two hundred sailing the Nile at any given time. It is interesting to note the effect world events have had on tourism. Our boat is only a third full and not one American accent on board. The service is personalised and wonderful!

Today we begin our Nile experience with a Felucca sailboat ride around Elephantine Island. The early morning sun has just risen over the reeds and bull rushes as our sailboat quietly glides along the banks. We are amazed at the prolific wild life as flocks of Ibis and waterfowl abound. We are also impressed with the handling skills displayed by our rather wrinkled and toothless skipper as he darts in and out of the reeds and all of this against a magnificent backdrop of desert wilderness.

By 10.30am we are sitting in a coach and on our way to view the mighty Aswan High Dam. The immensity of this construction beggars description and although still photography is permitted video footage is banned as the dam lies in a sensitive military area. Our guide informs us that the Nile, from the dam to the sea, is totally void of crocodiles but south of the dam, in Lake Nasser, seventeen foot monsters are common. This lake is a huge inland sea that stretches for hundreds of miles.

We continue on by coach to visit the Temple of Philea. This is situated on an island in the middle of the Nile and can only be reached by ferryboat. Philea is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited. The approach from the Nile is gorgeous. Flowering Oleanders wander down to the water's edge while tall golden columns from the ruins pierce the deep blue sky. How magnificent this place must once have been. The temple complex was dedicated to the God Isis and was constructed in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (300BC-350AD). This is a most exciting introduction to our Egyptian odyssey.

Back on board the Cruise boat we enjoy a scrumptious lunch while sailing on to the next port of call. Mid afternoon we arrive at Kom Ombo and visit a massive twin temple complex dedicated to the Egyptian Gods Sobek and Horns. Horns was the falcon god, ever vigilant and never blinking, while Sobek was the crocodile god. In those days the River Nile was infested with crocodiles which devoured animals and humans alike. Out of fear the Egyptians created Sobek the totem god as protection.

By now the late afternoon sun is casting long shadows between the huge columns giving the temple an eerie atmosphere. The road leading to and from the temples is lined with hawkers selling all manner of goods. On the way back to the boat we are assailed from both sides. To prevent blocking the narrow street the hawkers have to stay behind a white line painted in front of their stalls. Their ploy is to attract you with ridiculously low prices, tempting you to step over the white line! In so doing you are at their mercy and the offer immediately changes from Egyptian pounds to American dollars- five times the value. These boys are good! Given half a chance they would sell you your own shirt! We congratulate ourselves on coming through unscathed, we even survive a snake charmer who tries to sell Brian a live venomous snake for fifty pounds, only to succumb at the last moment to the charms of an eight year old Egyptian girl with pleading eyes. She is selling cheap hand made jewellery and we buy heaps!!

What a busy day. We enter our self-contained air-conditioned cabin and slump down onto the bed exhausted, reflecting on the day's events and once again congratulating ourselves on surviving the gauntlet of hawkers. The day is now coming to a close and Pat suggests that we take some video shots of the setting sun over the Nile. Armed with our cameras we throw open the cabin windows and low and be-hold, directly below and in front are two boat loads full of hawkers jumping up and down with their hands full of goods shouting "Lady, Mister, you buy cheap." Don't these guys ever give up? We collapse in a giggling heap. And so ends our first day on the Nile.

Continued ... in part two we visit Edfu, Esna and Luxor.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Behind the camera

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