FEBRUARY 10 - TRAVEL TO LUXOR
We were expecting a very long day today .... and it definitely was! Wake-up call was at 4:00 a.m., luggage collection at 4:30 a.m. and transfer to the airport at 5:00 a.m. for our flight to Luxor.
I want to say something about A&K's excellent service once again. Concierge service, all part of the tour, had our bags picked up at the hotel, taken onboard our vehicle, handled at the airport by their personnel and brought up to the check-in desk; we didn't have to do anything with our luggage until it appeared at our next hotel. This occurred throughout the trip.
The Marriott Mena hotel provided us with box breakfasts for our early departure. Our flight on Egyptian Air (we were booked in business class) was extremely comfortable.
I thought a very interesting part of the flight was Egyptian Air's passenger flight instructions. There was a time when a flight attendant stood in the middle of the aisle while another flight attendant read off the instructions on how to use the safety belt, the life jacket, etc. Now, it seems like the airlines have to create something more than just spoken directions to grab the passengers' attention. (We notice this on cruise ships as well.) However, I thought Egyptian Air's flight instructions were beautifully conceived. It was as if we were in a fantasy world instead of an aircraft.
I particularly like this image - "keep the aisles clear"
Upon landing, our itinerary said we would be visiting Luxor Temple that day, but our very experienced guide, Ahmed, decided to change things up a bit and chose to take us to Karnak instead knowing that Luxor Temple would be far busier because of this flight coming in from Cairo. I'll write about Luxor in my next entry as well as about our home for the next four days - the Sanctuary Sun Boat IV - while we traveled on the Nile River to see, in addition to nearby Luxor, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings, Esna Temple, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo Temple, Philae Temple, the Unfinished Obelisk and a felluca ride.
As you can see from the map, it's a distance from Cairo to Luxor, thus the air travel. Our sail on the Sanctuary Sun Boat IV on the Nile River will take us to Aswan.
Those mountains are incredible, aren't they? Airplane looks really nice and comfortable.
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