Japanese Cultural Experiences in Tokyo and Hakone

When you think of Japan, what comes to mind? For me, it was all about the cherry blossoms and the Geishas. Sumo Wrestling? Drumming? Karaoke? Not so much. But I kept an open mind, and I’m so glad I did. Frequently, on OAT trips, I didn’t know I wanted to see something until I got there.

Take, for instance, sumo wrestlers. These guys put on quite a show for us. I hadn’t expected them to be so funny! While demonstrating the forbidden moves—poking their opponent’s eyes—a fake eyeball popped out and rolled on the floor.

Sumos have “stage names”, like US wrestlers
Who can resist a photo op with nearly naked men?
They’re heavy, but muscular and very fit.
Our group is now complete. 5 more joined for the main trip.

It wasn’t just laughs, though. We also learned quite a bit about the sport. Some of the sumo wrestlers are recruited from the ranks of “troubled” boys, usually around the time they turn 15, providing a constructive use of all that testosterone.

Their careers last about 20 years, which means they retire from wrestling in their mid to late 30’s, similar to the career span of professional athletes in the USA.

Renee and I (because of our insurance backgrounds) immediately had questions about the impact of all that extra weight on life expectancy. We learned that sumo wrestlers, on average, live 10 years less than most Japanese. As one would expect, diabetes, joint problems, head injuries and other medical issues are responsible for decreased longevity.

Like our time with the wrestlers, we were offered a “hands on” experience at a subsequent cultural event —drumming. And boy, did we get into it! We were like a bunch of pre-teen boys, wildly pounding away.

It was raining off and on during our second day in Hakone, but we didn’t mind. Our day was filled with indoor cultural experiences, starting with a boat ride across the lake to visit a woodworking master.

Renee, attempting to get the perfect exterior shot
I was more captivated by the plush interior and the “pirate”ship

I’m not normally a shopper, but this master craftsman’s work was so exquisite and so unusual, I had to buy a couple of his smaller pieces. Partly because of the prices and partly because traveling with carry on, my purchasing power was severely limited.

Next up was shabu shabu for lunch ( Japan’s version of fondue),

followed by a delightful encounter with these two lovely geishas, who danced and played a traditional instrument to demonstrate how they entertain clients.

During the question and answer period, they dispelled many misconceptions about geishas.

Unlike the book and movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” would have you believe, geishas are not prostitutes, nor are young girls sold to geisha houses. Although they admitted those things might have happened many years ago, the practice was not widespread even back then.

I never would have guessed there is a geisha union that clients contact when they want to book a geisha for an event. Geisha musicians are the highest paid, and if a client wants them to paint their faces white, and don wigs to create that traditional hairdo, it costs extra. An event normally lasts about two hours, with geishas sometimes attending two parties per night.

Curious about that big padded thingie on their back? I sure was. Well, they don’t carry a purse, so they need SOME PLACE to store their cell phone, right? Think of it as a Geisha backpack. I couldn’t believe all the stuff they pulled out to show us!

Because Hakone is noted for its hot springs, many hotels have onsens on site, and our hotel was no exception.

Men and women have separate areas, because everyone is naked in the onsen. During our stay, Kris , Janis and I experienced different pools, both inside and out, during our multiple visits. Since this is not an X-rated blog, there are no photos of the three of us frolicking in the onsen. Plus it’s against the rules. . .

Did I mention Japanese are very good at following rules? They are much better than Americans, which is probably why the laminated card in our rooms included English translations.

I’m going to end this post with our final Hakone activity—karaoke. My only prior experience with karaoke was at a bar, where individuals performed solo. The Japanese do it differently. It’s a group sing-along in a tiny room. Yep, the room isn’t much bigger than what you see in the photo below.

What a bonding experience! I’ll admit, it helps if you downed some sake (or wine) beforehand, which we all did, to celebrate Kathleen‘s birthday.

Wondering about that red basket? It held the microphones.

Hakone, Part 1

Every time I think this trip couldn’t possibly get better, it does.

On our bus ride to Hakone, we were treated to multiple views of the elusive Mt Fuji. We watched as it progressed from crystal clear to cloudy.

10:30 AM at the rest stop
The clouds started rolling in around 3 PM.
3:30 PM. Our driver took us to this special look out that gave us a phenomenal view of the mountain.

Although it is wasn’t on the itinerary, I had told Mori I really wanted to experience the Open Air Museum in Hakone and he made it happen. Turns out 12 out of the 14 of us wanted to visit. We made the most of our hour at the museum. Here are a few of my favorites.

It may not look like much from the outside but wait till you step inside.

But there was so much more to see, like this piece which was inspired by the myth of Narcissus.

The sculpture was trying to view her reflection in the water, but her tears were blurring her image.
Can you believe how perfectly balanced that sculpture is? And check out the gorgeous setting.

We lucked out with the weather because our second day in Hakone was rainy.

Highlights: Tokyo at Night

Let’s get real here. After action packed days, how much night life do you think this jet lagged group experienced? If you’re looking for bar hopping photos, you’ve come to the wrong blog. At our ages, we are quite abit more sedate—at least so far. But we did still manage to pack in quite a bit AND be in our jammies before 10:00 PM. Here are just a few highlights.

Shopping Centers

You might think shopping centers are not very exciting. I would encourage you to think again. You see, SOME shopping centers in Tokyo have outdoor platforms which offer SPECTACULAR views, like this one, which overlooks the Imperial Palace.

Although can’t see the Imperial Palace, it is just inside that white wall and moat.
Do a 180, and THIS is what you see.

A vertical mall is the best way I can describe Tokyo’s shopping centers.

This one featured a particularly eye-catching mystery object. (At least it was a mystery to ME)

Having no clue what it was, I reached out to my Japan expert, 9 year old Oliver, who knew immediately that it Miraidon. Still in the dark, I consulted Ms Google, who offered further enlightenment. You are looking at a Pokémon character, which is also a drivable vehicle!

An up close view of Miraidon.

For those who wish to learn more, here’s the link.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/03/15/companies/toyota-pokemon-mobility/

The “malls” also house an abundance of restaurants. Our very congenial group has gotten quite efficient at selecting dining venues despite what has been a mind boggling selection. One night we had one of our best meals ever—delicious Wagyu beef. With our beverage of choice (mine was an alcoholic lemonade) my cost was $20.20 TOTAL ( I already checked my credit card online).

Sorry, no food photos. Did I mention my lemonade had alcohol in it? Knowing that, what do you think are the odds that I forgot a few possessions in the restaurant? Fortunately, a member of our group was on “baby sitting” duty that night.

I DID grab a quick shot of one of the floors while riding the escalator down. Why? Who knows. Blame it on the lemonade.

After visiting the famous Shibuya Crossing, four of us decided it was time for some fine dining, so we chose a restaurant with great food AND an equally wonderful view.

5 PM
6 PM
6:30 PM, with restaurant’s interior reflected on glass

Mass transit experiences

I’d heard that Tokyo’s system is easy to use. Maybe it is, if you have no other options, but WE were lucky to have Mori, who gave us a tutorial on how to get from point A to point B. ( if truth be told, he needed to do it more than once for our group).

Mori very thoughtfully purchased subway cards for us, preloaded with enough credits to allow multiple subway rides. The expandable carrier he gave us is a major stress reducer for someone like me. Without it, I would have been frantically searching through purse and pockets every time I approached the turnstile.

Light show

Tokyo’s government building in Shinjuku is the largest projection mapping site in the world. It’s a free 10 minute show, playing every night between 7 and 9 PM.

Cruising the streets

Streets are clean and safe and the architecture is breathtakingly beautiful at night.

It might not be obvious from the photo below and the header on this post, but the video playing on the billboard is three dimensional. I was so mesmerized, it was time to cross the street before I thought “ Damn, I should video this for the folks back home”.

Remember the splurge meal I mentioned earlier in this post? What better way to end than with a photo of my dessert and Sally’s empty champagne glass? Maybe a photo of the 4 party girls taking mass transit home might be better, so I’ll throw them both in.

No only does Mori make sure we take the right train, he also is our photography pro.

Highlights: Tokyo by Day

Bonsai

I had always thought that all there was to creating bonsai was diligently clipping a young plant. As usual, I was oh, so very wrong.

You begin by carefully selecting a tree from the mountain area, because its growth has already been stunted by the poor, rocky soil. THEN you slowly start clipping away, attempting to form an asymmetrical triangle. You help it along by wiring branches into position and by grafting shoots where you need a little extra oomph (sorta like what humans do when they want a little more ‘junk in the trunk” , to quote my friend Kathleen).

But if you have more money than time and patience, you just drop a million dollars and the 600 year old black pine on the left will be all yours. I preferred the one on the right, which was equally old, but a few hundred thousand dollars less.

I continued to demonstrate my total lack of sophistication and fine taste by being more captivated by OTHER sights at the site, like this beautifully simple floral arrangement in an exquisite vase.

I won’t tell you how much time I spent at the koi pond. Let’s say my little friend in the blue jacket got bored before I did. I couldn’t help but notice the gold one with the big mouth and think about a human version who continues to make a splash.

The National Museum

One could easily spend a full day admiring the ceramics, samurai swords and scrolls in Tokyo’s National Museum. MY favorite objects were the Buddhas and clothing.

I absolutely LOVE his facial expression. Yes, that guy’s a Buddha. In case you don’t believe me, here’s proof.

Of course, there were more traditional Buddhas, like this one

One final Buddhism photo, before I move to the clothing displays.

Now, whenever you see an onion shaped object, you should make a wish. If it comes true, then you will know that you had encountered a “ wish granting jewel”.

KIMONO

Back in the day, they had to figure out a way to keep that intricately embroidered clothing clean. Voila! The drying rack! But this one has a twist. You see that little object under the rack? That’s for burning incense. I couldn’t help but wonder how many kimonos went up in flames.

Fortunately, THIS kimono survived.

But not all of the beautiful kimonos were in glass cases.

Later, while admiring the stunning architecture of this building,

we noticed a flurry of kimonos, so we dashed to where they were gathering for several photo ops.

Cherry Blossoms

Okay, it’s still early, but every time we’d see a tree in bloom, we got super excited. we didn’t care if it was in front of a fence!

Notice our attire. That was one VERY COLD and windy day.

Mike, Renee, me and Patsy
See what I mean about packing for extremes in temperatures?

Famous “fish”market

I’ll be honest. This was my least favorite experience. The market extended over several streets and they were all pretty much like this.

The crowd gave me the perfect opportunity to practice my Zen breathing.

I was pleased to discover that the market offered a whole lot more than just seafood. I didn’t leave there empty-handed.

Today is the last day of our pretrip, so I’ll close with a photo of our fantastic group, taken by Mori in front of the national Museum.

Tonight, five more women will be joining us for the start of the main trip.

Tokyo FINALLY!

Okay, so we may have gotten off to a rough start, but man oh man, Tokyo is so WORTH the 14 hours of travel (even with a three hour flight delay).

Seven of us eager beavers arrived a day before the pre-trip started, so usually that would mean we’d be on our own for the arrival night and first day.

Did I mention that we hit the travel guide jack pot when we got Mori? We were delighted to see him waiting for us at the hotel, to take us to dinner. First, we helped shake off jet lag by walking to the Ginza area, ending up at the Ginza Six mall. And what a mall it was! Feast your eyes on some of the beautifully unique goods for sale here.

The mall had an abundance of restaurants featuring cuisine from all over the world.

My favorite mall feature, however, was the rooftop garden that offered a spectacular view of the street below.

Despite the abundance of options at the mall, we decided to go for an authentic Japanese dinner of ramen noodles, pot stickers and beer —for about $10—at a tiny restaurant on one of the side streets, where we all sat at the counter. If anyone has ever seen The Midnight Diner, you would understand why we felt like we had wandered onto its set.

By the time we returned to our hotel, we were all more than ready for bed.

When I awoke I thought I had vanquished jet lag. Then I looked at the clock. 11:30 PM. Damn. After trying mightily to fall back asleep, at 2:30 AM I admitted defeat and popped a sleeping pill, which powered me through Saturday’s morning events.

As Mori suggested, we headed out early for the local “fish” market near our hotel. Although they certainly had plenty of fish, I was pleased to see they had a whole lot more. The ceramics were gorgeous, the paper place mats were beautifully painted, kitchen equipment was plentiful AND you could even get dried grasshoppers, if that was your thing!

As it got later, the crowds at the market got bigger, so we decided it was time for the peace and serenity of the “nearby” Hama-Riku Garden. But of course, we took a couple of wrong turns and ended up discovering this gorgeous temple.

The cards give instructions on the correct way to offer incense.

The Tsukili Hongwanji’s main hall houses the Amida Buddha. Sorry, I didn’t want to be disrespectful so I contented myself with this one quick photo. Trust me when I tell you Amida Buddha is beautiful.

I remember as a child, growing up in a Catholic school environment, I was urged to give my money to “purchase” a pagan baby in Japan. It tickled me to see that the Buddhists have missionary activities in the USA. I wonder if Japanese kids are trying to save the “ heathen” Christian children in the USA?

After leaving the main hall, we purified ourselves before entering the more intimate, empty hall.

A lovely Japanese lady demonstrated the proper purification method which Janis and Ruth performed

Relaxed and refreshed ( and purified) after our unplanned detour, we were ready for the Gardens.

Upon arrival, we learned there was a tour in English starting shortly. How lucky were we to get this fantastic guide! She provided the history of the gardens from the Shogun era (the mid 1600’s), to the Meiji restoration, then up to post WWII , when the emperor’s property was given to the municipal government. (She used visual aids, and rewarded those who gave correct answers to her questions.)

We learned that the property was originally a fort, until the Shogun decided to build a hunting ground for his falcons.

Throughout the grounds, canals brought in salt water from the nearby bay, attracting wild duck for the falcons to catch.

The traveling buddies: me, Kris, Janis, Ruth and Patsy. I scrunched down so I wouldn’t look “freakishly tall” as my dear friend Elena described it.

There’s so much more to say about our second day, but we are getting ready to start day 3 in this glorious city…more to follow.

I feel SO very lucky to have the privilege to experience this vibrant city. And I’m SO glad I decided to arrive 4 days before the start of the main trip!

Tokyo Bound

I’ll admit it, I’m super excited to be on my way to Tokyo. This is the third time since 2019 I’ve booked a trip to Japan. I don’t have to tell anyone why a trip ANYWHERE in 2020 wasn’t happening. And it wasn’t much better in 2021, when Omicron surfaced. My Grammy always said, “the third time never fails”, and I’m REALLY hoping that this time the old girl is right. You see, right now my travel buddy Kris, and I are experiencing a bit of a kerfluffle. Our plane has had technical problems that United was unable to fix, so we have all deplaned and are sitting in the terminal while we await our fate.

A business class ticket allows you to board early, so I had plenty of time to blog while the rest of the plane boarded initially. This is what I wrote 2 hours ago, when I thought we were on our way:

It’s a 14 hour trip, so I decided to live large and booked business class. The price fluctuated between $10,000 (when I booked) and $20,000 ( a month ago), so I used all of my miles (and Mike’s) and transferred points from my Chase Sapphire Reserve account to reach the 400,000 points required for round trip business class flights. It was clear that transferring points is far better than using the points as cash. 400,000 points would get me $4,000 in cash that I could put toward the $10,000 ticket. You don’t have to be a financial wizard to figure out which would be the better deal.

I love being able to stretch out. Once we are airborne I plan on laying flat.

The map atop this post shows most, but not all of our itinerary. The majority of our group of 14 elected to do the 3 day post trip to Hiroshima, which couldn’t fit on the photo.

Our wonderful guide, Mori, has been communicating with us already via WhatsApp. He sent us this map, with the good news that we should have a wonderful cherry blossom show in Kyoto.

We had been warned to pack lightly, partly because hotel rooms are small by US standards and partly because we need to only take an overnight bag on the bullet train. (Our larger luggage will be transported by van). I was glad to learn that some hotels have laundry facilities on site, so opted to do carry on only, and it looks like this:

With business, you can carry on TWO bags, plus a purse.

For this trip I used packing cubes (the bottom of my blue bag is a detachable packing cube) and a combo of rolling and folding.

Cube on right is bottom of bag
Other cube goes inside

We shall see how wrinkled the contents are after I arrive and whether one method produces superior results.

The biggest challenge has been weather uncertainty. I didn’t decide till this morning which coat I’d be taking, finally settling on my down coat with a hood.

Because I booked my own flight, I didn’t get an included transfer from airport to hotel. I could have purchased one from OAT for $150 one way.

Mori told me I could get a taxi for about $50, or take mass transit for less than $5. We shall see how adventurous I feel when we land. If I’m not jet lagged I will likely be up for the adventure option, but if I’m feeling crappy, it will be taxi.

Such is the world of travel. You have to be ready to expect the unexpected. Fortunately, this is a chill crowd. No nastiness. People patiently waiting, even the kids.

What will become of our heroines???

I’m not going to leave you with a cliff hanger. They finally fixed the problem and we were able to reboard, so I’m back all comfy in seat 5A, just almost 3 hours later. Let me tell ya, that Tokyo taxi option is looking better and better.

Homeward Bound

I know, after EVERY place we’ve stayed, I’ve said that it was the best place ever, and I didn’t want to leave, but THIS time, I really, really mean it. The Aswan Cataract Hotel made me feel like we were in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, probably because this is exactly where the rich and famous HAVE stayed. 

The Cataract Hotel is actually made up of two separate buildings. The “old” section was built in 1899, then in 1961, the “new” building was added. In a country that has existed for more than 5 centuries, “new” is definitely a relative term.

Although our rooms were in the “new” building, we were able to tour the “old” building. Portraits of the many famous visitors, like Princess Diana, Queen Nur, Henry Kissinger, Omar Sharif, Howard Carter line the corridors. But two of the many impressive guests were special enough to have had their names emblazoned on their suite door: Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill.

Agatha Christie wrote Death on the Nile during her one year stay in “her” suite. It has all the comforts of home and then some, complete with dining room, office and chandelier over her bed.

She was so inspired by her surroundings that she set some of her novel in the hotel. I haven’t seen the recent remake, but some of the scenes of the 1970’s movie were shot at the hotel. It was fun trying to figure out what scene was shot where. Hint: I’m convinced the dance scene was shot in the room where we had breakfast.

As impressive as it was, I actually preferred the Winston Churchill suite because of the balcony. I could easily envision Winston standing on it, drink in one hand, cigar in the other, watching the sun set. That’s exactly what I did, minus the cigar and whiskey.

See that building on the left? That’s where we stayed –in the“new” building. My room is on the 4th floor, the first one, with the huge balcony. I know, it looks a bit like a Holiday Inn from the exterior, but wait till you see the interior.

The following photo is the view of Churchill’s huge “balcony” from MY balcony. His sits atop the restaurant’s terrace, which is the ideal place for sharing a bottle of wine and a cheese platter. (The terrace, not Winnie’s balcony, although both would certainly work).

That’s just what what Jeanne and I did. We loved the hotel so much we decided to skip the evening’s planned activities: a visit to the market and dinner outside the hotel. It was the right decision…perfect weather, great food, drink, and conversation, plus a wonderful night time view of the Nile.

I promised a peek at my interior, so here you go. Agatha and Winston aren’t the only ones with a chandelier above their beds. You’re looking at only about half of my suite. It took a while for me to locate the entrance to the bathroom, because it was hiding behind a huge dressing room. Honestly, at this stage of my life, I prefer something smaller, with a bathroom a bit closer. I needed roller skates to get from my bed to the bathroom!

Here are some more shots of the hotel.  Notice the painted arches? They reminded me of the Mosque in Cordoba, Spain–the one that the Christians repurposed as a church. Despite that, (and the Crusades), none of the Muslims I met appeared to have had any hard feelings toward the Christians, as evidenced by the abundance of Christmas decorations in this predominantly Muslim country.

The breakfast room
The Lobby

Have you seen enough temples yet? There’s one more, located on an island in the middle of the Nile. Like the Temples at Abu Simbel, the structures at Philae were moved from their original location to save them from the rising waters of the Nile. Unfortunately, not soon enough. The structures were partially submerged by the time the rescue was initiated. 

I’m so grateful that spray paint wasn’t available in the 1800’s. If it had been, then the French visitors wouldn’t have needed a chisel to leave their marks.

Lunch was at a colorfully decorated Nubian restaurant, right on the water. The Nubians love bright colors, as you can see from the joyous decorations on the exterior.

I’m not going to lie. Getting on and off the boat was a little tricky. That low canopy meant that you had to duck your head and leap onto the slightly wet rocks while the boat was doing its own rocking and rolling. Once again, I gave thanks to the Somerset Hills YMCA for keeping me in shape.

We couldn’t get too wild and crazy at our last dinner at the Cataract Hotel, because we had yet another early morning flight. Our departure was doubly painful–we were leaving this mini Paradise, plus we had to be on the bus at 5:45 AM. On a positive note, it DID allow us to have the beautifully illuminated gardens all to ourselves. They even rolled out the red carpet. 

And now a word about airport security: in both Jordan and Egypt, you get to go through it twice. The first time, both your checked and carry on luggage are examined. THEN you get your boarding pass at the counter, and drop off your luggage. THEN you go through security yet again, with your carry on AND even if you don’t “beep” when going through the metal detectors, you STILL get thoroughly patted down, which is why women have to make sure there is a woman security guard waiting for you at the end of the line. But I will say that Egypt was much easier than Jordan. In Jordan, I was held up both coming and going, because I had binoculars, which are considered “military equipment”. It was actually worse leaving the country. One guy took my passport, photographed it, then walked around with it in his hand while he talked on the phone–to whom, we don’t know. Meanwhile another guard was switching my flashlight on and off. It looked like he was sending a message in morse code! And here I was worried that my husband’s ashes might have been problematic. They were fine–safely tucked away amidst my underwear.

Eventually we made it through and were able to visit two historic Cairo mosques. One doubles as the grave site for the former Shah of Iran. Remember him?

Are you curious about that green Jedi? So was I. I surreptitiously took this photo of the very beautiful young woman as she was photographing the grave site. Yes, I know it’s a bit blurry. That’s what you get when you are sneaking a shot. 

I’m home now, dealing with jet lag and a cold. But I won’t be here for long. I hope you’ll come along on my spring adventure — Japan. 

On the Road to Abu Simbel

To acclimate us for the end of our leisurely float up the Nile, we used less luxurious modes of transportation to visit the town of Daraw. We’d been ferried across the Nile by small boats before, but this was our first time in the back of a pick up truck. The truck was covered, but there was such little headroom, I could barely sit upright. And no, that’s not a canvas top to the truck. It’s metal. If you’re wondering how I know, let’s just say there were more than a few bumps in the road.

You see all modes of transportation in Daraw: bikes, motorcycles, trucks, donkeys, tuk tuks, just about everything except cars.

Most OAT groups tour the livestock market, but because there are no markets on the day we were there, we visited the local entrepreneur. One of his many businesses is a “livestock hotel”. Hey, if you don’t sell all your animals on the first market day, you need someplace for them to stay, right?

Another of his businesses resembled a mini petting zoo, which we greatly enjoyed. I’d been warned that camels spit. After being taught a lesson by that rambunctious water buffalo a few days earlier, I kept my distance. Bobbie and I decided it was time to let others interact with the babies.

This camel bumped Jeanne in the head multiple times
There was significant bonding between Bill and baby donkey. We expected him to start negotiating a purchase price.

Next stop, shopping—and eating—in the marketplace. Mohamed purchased Falafel for us to sample. We had just watched as the street vendor was making it. I don’t know that I would have been brave enough to eat food from a street vendor if I were on my own, but with Mohamed choosing the vendor, I felt perfectly safe.

It felt like we were on the Amazing Race when Mohamed instructed us to search for, and purchase, specific fruits and vegetables with the 20 Egyptian pounds, (about $.62 in US currency) he gave us. We were all so focused on our task, there were no photos of the adventure. I foolishly pointed at potatoes and waved my 20 pound note. Any idea how many potatoes that amount would buy? A whole lot. A whole HEAVY lot. Good thing I’ve been going to the Y.

Bobbie, on the other hand, was a smart shopper. She purchased the required peppers, but she negotiated skillfully enough to be able to buy bread for us all. It was delicious and still warm from the oven.

Our last stop before leaving our beloved dahabiya was “Nile Beach”, where are some of us were perfectly content to just stick our feet in the water. Others, namely, Marianne and John, were far more adventurous.

Look how clear the water in the Nile is!
Marianne and John are going skiing after they leave us.
Photo by Susan Burke

Our “farewell” dinner was even more spectacular than the other meals we’d enjoyed. We were sad to say goodbye to the crew that took such good care of us.

16 crew members for 9 passengers. Was the service outstanding? You bet!

We all got a surprise when we returned to our cabins. We each got a unique Egyptian creature waiting for us on our beds. I’ve seen towel art before, but these were, by far, the most creative. My favorites were the crocodile and the cobra. ( I got a scorpion).

Crocodile
Cobra

How to describe the ride from Aswan to Abu Simbel? Three hours of sand, sand, and more sand with high tension wire strung along the roadside, delivering electricity from the dam to the populations further north. We needed to get closer to Abu Simbel for the landscape to change.

We stopped midway in our journey for a bathroom break. I think the term “food desert” was coined here. If it wasn’t, then it should have been. The “snack bar” could be best described as “selection-challenged”, but if you’re looking for potato chips, or packaged mystery snacks, you’ll be very happy.

Our group thought we’d seen so many temples and tombs, there was little left for us to see. Boy, were we wrong! The size of the 4 statues of Ramses 2’s temple ALONE was jaw dropping. But to think that this entire temple was MOVED block by block to the higher ground on which it currently stands, is truly hard to believe. Why is as that done? If it hadn’t been moved, it would now be well below the waters of Lake Nassar.

Back in the 60’s, 50 nations cooperated to rescue several temples threatened to be submerged by the creation of the High Dam at Aswan. To me, the engineering that went into the move was as awe inspiring as the temples.

But wait—there’s more to say about this temple. The ancient Egyptians were so knowledgeable about engineering and astronomy that in the 1200’s BC, they were able to construct this temple so that twice a year, on February 22 and October 22, the sun shone all the way through the temple to illuminate three of the four statues in the inner sanctum. The fourth statue is of Ptah, the god of the underworld, who was intentionally left in darkness. Two of the others represent different versions of Ra, the son god. Bet you can’t guess who was the last statue to be bathed in sunlight. None other than Ramses 2. Clearly he didn’t have a self esteem problem.

That black area falling across their laps is a shadow

Next to Ramses 2’s monument to himself, he built a temple honoring his favorite wife, Nefertari. Remember her? We visited her tomb in the Valley of the Queens.

That old goat lived well into his nineties, acquiring wives and children ( rumored to number approximately 200) along the way. Good thing he lived BEFORE viagra was invented! Of all his women, (thought to number about 100, if you include concubines and mistresses) Nefertari was his favorite—the only one who got her very own temple next to his. There is only one statue of her on the facade. The other five are, of course, of her husband, who was also known as “the Great” (probably self proclaimed).

That random guy standing in front of Nefertari gives you an idea of the scale of these statues.

We only spent one night at the beautiful Seti Hotel in Abu Simbel. Can you see why we were reluctant to leave? The multi-level pool had a swim up bar; each room had a private balcony facing the Nile. It was SO very peaceful.

Before we left for the light show at the temples, we met Hassan, who enlightened us about Nubian culture and history. He also entertained us by playing instruments that were the forerunners of our guitar, banjo and harp.

In 1976, when Hassan visited his cousin in San Francisco, he was invited to play with what he described as “ a small folk group” —the Grateful Dead.

Once again, you had to be there to appreciate how wonderful it was to be sitting under the stars, watching a multimedia show projected onto the temple walls. I didn’t take any shots while the show was ongoing, but did so after, and used that shot the heading for this post.

I truly appreciate everyone’s comments on my blog posts. It almost feels like I’m having a conversation with my friends. Although I know who comments on Facebook and Linked in, many of the comments on WordPress are coming through anonymously. If I didn’t respond to you, that’s why.

Floating on the Nile for Five Glorious nights

I felt like Egyptian royalty, floating up the Nile in our private dahabiya. It’s mind boggling to think that the pharaohs used this mode of transportation centuries ago, when they traveled between their two capitals. Memphis no longer exists, but Thebes still does, except the Greeks changed its name to Luxor.

The dahabiya is certainly is a very comfortable way to travel. Of course, the pharaohs took months to make their journeys, stopping to visit temples along the way. We also are visiting temples, but our river trip only lasts five days.

Although the sails of our boat were unfurled, it was strictly for a photo op. The photo above was taken from the tugboat that pulled us upstream. It is illegal for dahabiyas to have motors because the Egyptian government wants to preserve this ancient mode of transportation. I’m glad they didn’t insist that the tugboat be replaced by a rowboat!

To show you what that looks like, I took the photo below from the back of our dahabiya. The larger boats, and we saw many of them on the river, are allowed to have motors.

We had lots of help climbing from the tug back onto our dahabiya

The Nile starts in Lake Victoria, and flows into the Mediterranean. That means when we travel south, we are going up the river, the opposite of what we are used to. Back in the day, the southern part of Egypt was known as the Upper Kingdom, with the Lower Kingdom extending to the shores of the Mediterranean.

To visit the temples, we had to disembark and when we did it felt like we were walking the gauntlet. The street vendors were laying in wait. “Hey lady, only $5”,or “Welcome to Alaska” which we heard at multiple sites. I didn’t dare take a photo of the chaotic scene. Instead, I focused on walking quickly, avoiding eye contact. It was difficult. I felt I was being rude by ignoring their greetings. After being bamboozled once however, I toughen up.

Was it worth it? Yes! The temples were an oasis of serenity and peace. Although we saw other, larger ships on the Nile, we were the only ones visiting the small temple of Khnum in Esna. Mohammed, our guide, knew the schedule well enough to plan our arrival after the larger ships had departed and before the afternoon ones arrived.

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We were able to watch centuries of dirt and muck being cleaned from the temple walls. Mohamed told us that only recently have women been allowed to do restoration work.

Yes, the Sistine chapel’s ceiling is a masterpiece, but the ceilings of Egyptian temples are equally breathtaking. Not only that, but they were painted centuries earlier.

If you were standing below, looking up, this is what you would see. Check out the tops of the columns. Each one is different. It’s difficult to see in the photo, but the hieroglyphics between the columns are depicting the various phases of the moon, something my astronomer husband would have greatly enjoyed.

The next day’s temple was in Edfu. It is dedicated to Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris. Horus’ parents were both brother and sister and husband and wife, which might explain why their offspring had the head of a falcon. Sometimes, as in the statue below, he’s depicted as all bird, but on the temple walls, the carvings show him with a human body.

Horus, outside his temple’s inter sanctuary. His angry look was designed to keep the common folk out of the sacred spaces. On his head are the crowns of Egypt’s upper and lower kingdoms

Like medieval churches, the temple walls are used to tell a story. Here’s the Cliff Notes version of a rather long legend. Osiris was killed by his jealous brother Seth, who chopped him up and scattered the pieces all over Egypt, but Isis found the pieces and (unlike Humpty Dumpty) put Osiris back together again, except for one key piece—his most prized possession. (I hope I don’t have to spell it out for you. ) Anyway, Horus was determined to get revenge for his uncle’s dastardly deed. The two of them fought an epic battle. Although Horus won, during the battle he lost one eye, which then magically came to life. To this day, Horus’ eye is a symbol of healing and well-being.

Our guide claims the following wall carving represents incense being burned. The ladies in the group decided it was actually Osiris’ missing member. You decide who had the better interpretation.

As you can see from the visual of our 5 day journey, we took a temple break to visit a farm on Bishaw Island, where we met members of the village and had lunch in the home of the very charming Sayed.

In the USA, we can step back in time by visiting Plymouth Plantation or Williamsburg, where people dress up in period costumes and demonstrate how different tasks were performed during colonial days.

THIS was authentic. It might look like the village women are making wood fired pizza, but they are actually baking a day’s worth of bread. Sour dough. The loaves all came out perfectly.

Bill was recruited to help remove seeds from hibiscus, which is used to make tea. He was a natural; in fact, he did such a good job, I was wondering if he’d be allowed to leave.

What are these women doing, you ask? Well, they are making sure there are no barley grains among the wheat. Why? I have no idea, and no one thought to ask.

Yes, this baby water buffalo is adorable. Especially when he is tied up. He wasn’t when we entered the enclosure, so he was able to charge at us, first at Bobbie, then when she moved aside, he came at me, either trying to bite or kiss my leg. The only thing I know for sure is the Bobbie and I were left with water buffalo lip smears all over our pants.

Our next stop was far more tame. We visited the quarry from which the pyramids’ sandstone building blocks were cut, then floated down the Nile. That block must have been enormous! I should have had someone stand beside it for scale.

Our final temple (for the cruise part of our adventure) was Kom Ombo, which was again timed to ensure that we avoided the crowds (at least of tourists—not of street vendors). This temple is unique in that it was dedicated to two gods: Sobek, who has the head of a crocodile, and Horus, the falcon, shown here with his human body.

The view of the Nile from inside Kom Ombo

Now here’s something you don’t see every day— mummified crocodiles. A live crocodile, believed to be the earthly incarnation of Sobek, was kept in a pit in the temple. When it died, it was mummified and replaced with another.

Although we have another day on our wonderful dabahiya, this post is already quite long, so I’ll end it with a sneak preview of tomorrow’s activity. Not another temple—tomorrow we go to the livestock market. Let’s see if another animal wants to get up close and personal with me!

Luxor

I was awakened from a deep sleep by Jeanne, who was standing at the foot of my bed, shaking my leg. That was strange, given that we weren’t rooming together. Was it a dream? Nope. It seems I managed to sleep thru my 4AM wake up call, my cell phone alarm, and numerous text messages. They say there’s one in every group, and this time it was me.

Fortunately, I had arrived early for every other meeting, so my group knew I wasn’t t just being an inconsiderate jerk. At least not this time. They were concerned that something bad had happened to me. Was I dead? (I probably looked like I was). Did I meet with foul play? (No). Was I unconscious? (Sorta). What happened was I woke up at 2:35 but made the mistake of not getting up then. Lesson learned. Next time, I’ll grab my phone and do wordle, read email, check Facebook until it is time to leave.

Good thing I had packed almost everything for our flight to Luxor the night before, and laid out my clothes, so with Jeanne’s help, instead of being on the bus at 4:45 AM, my butt was in my seat at 4:52 AM. I’m quite proud to say that those 7 minutes also included the elevator ride all the way down from the 17th floor. Still, l felt bad for keeping the others waiting.

Normally, I put my empty backpack into my carryon, but because I stuffed my toiletries into my carryon (so I could brush my teeth at the airport), I needed to pull out my backpack and allocate the carryon contents between two bags.

Well, I almost left my carryon at security. I was at the check in desk when I realized I should have THREE bags, not two. Yes, you put ALL luggage, including your checked bag thru the X-ray machines, before you arrive at the check in counter to get your boarding pass. Then your carryon goes thru security again, after you dropped off your checked luggage.

Maybe when I get home I’ll do a post about my “interesting” airport experiences, of which, so far, there have been several, especially in Jordan where I got intimately acquainted with security coming and going.

There is far too much to say about Luxor to dwell on my rocky start, so I’ll move on. .

Did you know that 1/3 of the world’s antiquities are in Luxor? And that Luxor was once known as Thebes? I hope those are trivia questions some day.

The reason we had such an early start was so that we could go straight from the airport to the Temple of Karnak, then on to lunch before checking in to our hotel.

At one time this avenue united the Karnak and Luxor temples. Notice the rams head sphinxes that lined the avenue.

Just about everyone has seen photos of Egypt’s temples and tombs, right? But let me tell you, it just isn’t the same. You really DO have to be there to appreciate the immensity of these structures.

Although it looks crowded, and certainly felt that way, this is about half of what the crowds normally are at this time of year.

If you walk counterclockwise around this beetle (scarab) seven times, your wish is supposed to be granted. I had nothing better to do, so why not?

I’ll admit it, by the 7th time around I was starting to feel a little dizzy. But if I get my wish, it will be well worth it.

Lots of school groups were touring Karnak Temple that day. As was our experience in Jordan, the children were adorable and oh so friendly. They blew kisses, waved, shouted “hello” “how are you” and “welcome”. 

That evening, five of us had dinner at the home of Mansour and Azza. We were joined by their two gorgeous daughters-in-law and their two very outgoing and entertaining granddaughters.

It was the perfect way to end our first evening in Luxor.

We spent two nights at the historic Winter Palace Hotel. Besides us, other famous guests included Jackie Onassis, Princess Diana, Henry Kissinger, Al Gore and Richard Gere.

On our free afternoon, Jeanne and I enjoyed a glass of wine in the gorgeous gardens. Helpful hint: if you’re going to drink the local Egyptian wine, go for the white.

Our second full day was spent exploring the Valley of the Kings in the morning, and the Valley of the Queens in the afternoon.

The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s first female ruler, was our first stop on the way to the valley of the Kings. According to historians, her reign was quite successful—no wars, a prosperous economy, but that didn’t stop her successors from trying to completely erase her from history.

Fortunately, archaeologists were able to recreate her story by studying the empty spaces on the walls, and the remaining, very faint outlines.

On our visits to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, we explored the tombs of Ramses 1, 3, 4 , King Tut and Queen Nefertari (wife of Ramses the Great, also known as Ramses 2). All were spectacular, covered with vibrant hieroglyphics, but Tut’s tomb was unique in that his actual body—with face and feet exposed—is still in his tomb.

I had originally planned to leave Mike’s ashes inside King Tut’s tomb, but then I thought the caretakers might sweep him up, so I went with Plan B. I dug a little hole in the ground outside Tut’s tomb, inserted the ashes, then constructed this little pyramid atop them using stones lying nearby.

Okay, so maybe it doesn’t look like much, but I didn’t take 20 years to build it and I didn’t have the help of thousands of workers.

By the time we’d finished with the tombs, we were all too tired to tour the Temple of Luxor. It was just down the street from our hotel, so I caught a glimpse of the outside at night when it was lit up. That was good enough for me.

Our final Luxor activity was an optional one—a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings. Only 4 of us were willing to endure yet another early morning departure (5AM). THIS time I was early!

To get to the balloon site, we had to cross the Nile by boat. Well, there were many boats lined up at the pier. To reach our boat, we had to climb through other boats. In one instance, it felt like we were walking “the plank”. But there was a reward. Take a look at what we got for our efforts. Yes indeed, that is a Twinkie in my hand. I hadn’t seen one of those in decades; it was so long ago, they came two in a package! No, I didn’t eat it, but it did make me smile.

The day before our balloon ride , we had seen these statues of Amenhotep III from the ground.

Here is the aerial view.

It was a spectacular sunrise

Next post will be about our 5 day cruise on the Nile.