جذر يومي: we're definitely not in Cairo anymore

Contrary to what the name might suggest, "sleeper trains" are not very conducive to sleeping. Or at least this one wasn't. I woke up a bunch during the night, sometimes from our rattling door, sometimes from the train suddenly jerking to a stop, etc. When it was finally light out, I looked out the window to see people working on their farms or travelling down the road on makeshift carts being pulled by little donkeys.

When the train finally arrived (it was about a 11 hour train ride), we immediately went to the Karnak Temple. It gets really hot in Luxor, so it's best to go sight-seeing as early as possible. The temple was amazing, and I was really surprised by how lenient they were about basically letting you crawl all over the ancient ruins. The whole temple complex covers 26 acres, so we only saw the most well-preserved portion. Part of the outermost wall was unfinished, and it was really cool to see the ramp system that had been implemented to build and decorate the walls. Most of the color that once decorated the wall carvings was gone, but it was really cool to see the little bits of pigment that were left. While we were there, we also got to walk around a sculpture of a scarab beetle that is supposed to bring you good luck.

After Karnak temple, we visited Luxor Temple, which is smaller but very well preserved. It was really interesting to see the Roman modifications made during the time of Alexander the Great. There were remnants of a fresco that had been created over the Egyptian hieroglyphics and a Greek tablet that described Alexander's conquest.

After Luxor Temple we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool. At sunset we took a felucca ride which was really nice because you could see the non-tourist side of the Nile where natives live and work. Then later we went out to a restaurant by the water and didn't have the greatest experience... I was sitting right under the mister fan which was leaking, so it was essentially raining on me.

1. windows: It was really strange to watch everything happening outside the windows of the train and the bus in Luxor. I felt like I was watching television because I was in this comfortable air-conditioned bus/train, while watching adults and children at work out in the oppressive heat. And then I would just step off the bus into the heat and be at an ancient monument, surrounded by other tourists. I just felt eerily separate from all of the permanent residents of the area. Strange.

2. money money money: Because Luxor is such a tourist area but is relatively isolated and small, they can charge closer to U.S. prices. Cairo has made me so stingy because I can buy a falafel sandwich or a 1.5 liter water bottle there for around 2 Egyptian pounds each (less than $1). I cringed at the prospect of paying 15 Egyptian pounds (less than $3) for a 1.5 liter water bottle. So going back to U.S. prices should be a good time.

3. today was a very visual day: