day 9

Today we explored the west bank of Luxor, visiting the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Medinat Habu, and the Collosi of Memnon. Of the sites we have seen so far, Medinat Habu has been the biggest surprise. It's not listed as a top attraction by the guidebooks and we almost didn't see it. So far it's been the best temple we've seen so far. It's largely intact and relatively peaceful, without the large crowds we saw at the temples at Luxor and Karnak. Why? It's parking lot isn't big enough for tour buses.

We also spent like crazy today. E£61 each for admission to the sites, plus E£65 each for a driver for the day. That plus E£5.50 for food and E£40 for hotel means we spent an astonishing E£131.50 today (although I made E£1 today by doing some forex transactions with the locals - bought $2 for E£10). Tomorrow will be even worse. Booked a tour to see the temples at Abydos and Dedara for E£150 a head.

It should be interesting. Those are two of the most well preserved temples in Egypt. We'll also be accompanied by an armed escort for both sites. Hopefully that doesn't cramp our style. We're not much for crowds of tourists.

P.S. I finally washed my pants. Yes. The ones that I've been wearing every day since I got here except for the Mt. Sinai hike.