Originally I had planned to go on a hot air balloon ride early this morning but, because of weather conditions, the trip was scrapped.

On the bright side, though, it meant I didn’t have to wake up at 4am and I could go to bed late and sleep in instead.

So, yeah, I went to bed at 11pm last night and, despite wanted to sleep in, I still woke up at 5:30 this morning.

That didn’t mean I was heading out anytime soon though.

Today was going to be a laid back, easy day.

I spent the morning rebooking a hot air balloon ride for tomorrow and then writing up yesterday’s blog.

And watching videos and, like I said, just taking my sweet as time.

Finally, at 10:30, I headed out the door to explore some sites on the East Bank of Luxor which is the side I’m staying in.

Luxor Temple

My first stop today was the Luxor Temple which was less than a 10 minute walk from my hostel.

And guess how many people asked me if I needed a taxi in those 10 minutes…

7 people.

Damn, I’m sooooo popular!

I reached the Luxor Temple and before me laid a half dozen tour buses lined up.

I actually think I was one of the few individuals just walking up on my own so it didn’t come as any surprise when a lady raced up to me asking if I needed a guide.

No guides for me.

Honestly, for these sites of ancients ruins, temples, and tombs, I just like to walk around on my own snapping photos of all the cool architecture and hieroglyphics.

It’s quick and simple whereas with a guide I feel like it would be long and tedious.

But, hey, some people want that guided tour experience.   They want to hear all the stories and descriptions of what they’re looking at.

I’m just not that person.

Or at least I’m not after seeing so many ancient artifacts on this trip already.

I paid my 500EGP ($14) and spent the next half hour snapping so many cool photos.

Seriously, I hope you’re all looking at the photo gallery at the bottom of each day’s blog.   There’s a plethora of cool photos laid out there.

Mummification Museum

Just a short 10 minute walk away was the Mummification Museum.

I had read beforehand that it was just a small little museum that could be done quickly and, well, it was nearby so what the hell not, right?

Entry was 220EGP ($6) and, yeah, it’s definately a little museum.

There were only 2 of us inside the one room museum and it only took me about 10 minutes to explore everything there was to see there.

Was it worth it?   Nah, probably not.

But I did see a mummified cat there and, well, you know how I love cats, so there’s that.

A burger and a shake

The couple from Mexico, Lupis and Christian, who I had met in Aswan were a day ahead of me and had been in Luxor the night before.

They told me about this good burger and shake joint in Luxor called Java Zone and, it so happened, it was literally right next to where the Mummification Museum was.

Normally I try not to stray off the path of eating authentic food for the country I’m visiting, but damn, sometimes you’re just craving a nice, greasy burger and shake, ya know?

I used the fact that they had recommended the place as basically an excuse to munch down on a burger.

And, hey, I won’t apologize for it.   I’ve had sooo much lamb, and chicken, and rice on this trip already.

I ordered the burger bunless because of my gluten allergy and then had to endure weird glances from the staff as I ate the burger and it’s fixings with my hands.

I mean, there was no knives or forks, what was I supposed to do?

The burger cost 169EGP ($5) and the shake was another 90EGP ($2.50).

I also ordered a side of fries for 55EGP ($1.50) not realizing that fries already were included with the burger.

Hey, after the fiascos yesterday where no rice was included with my meals, it was a fair assumption here.

So, yeah, a burger, a shake, and a double order of fries.

Mmmm… so good.   So filling!

Karnak Temple Complex

By 1:00 I was well nourished and ready to tackle the rest of the afternoon.

The Karnak Temple Complex was about 3km away and I had a choice of either walking 35 minutes or taking a 5 minute drive.

Yeah, 5 minute drive sounded pretty good.

I booked a car on InDrive, which is Luxor’s version of Uber, and a car soon arrived to take me to where I wanted to go.

I paid my 33EGP, about $1, and soon I was at the Complex.

The Karnak Temple Complex is the 2nd largest temple in the world comprising a whopping 22 temples.

And, of course, it’s tourist central.

I counted 10 full sized tour buses and 15 minivans so, yeah, there were alot of people inside.

Luckily, like Petra a couple of weeks ago, the grounds were pretty spread out which meant the people were also spread out.

Again, because I was flying solo, I was approached by a couple of people if I needed a guide.

And, again, I turned them down.

I arrived around 1:30, paid my 600EGP ($17), walked past all the souvenir stands, as was soon standing in front of these massive statues outside the entrance to the temples.

It’s crazy.   No matter how many ancient sites I see, my jaw still drops and a smile comes across my face when I see another.

Just the sheer vastness of the place with the rising columns, ancient brickwork, and hieroglyphics covering almost every wall.

Simply stunning!

As you walk along, you think you’ve reached the end, but it just keeps going.

I smartly scurried past the different tour group clusters and soon found myself in solitude, away from all the people.

Remember when I was in Karak Castle a couple of weeks ago in Jordan and I had mentioned it was like playing a video game because you had to retrace your steps to make sure you saw every room?

Well, here it was like that but in overdrive.

I think I saw everything, but honestly, I might of missed some stuff.

I had read that people take 2-3 hours there but, because I was just going through the temples without a guide, I was in and out in about an hour.

I caught an InDrive back to the hostel where the driver tried a hard sell on getting me to hire him for the day tomorrow when I explore the tombs.

Honestly, I find it so off-putting when these guys try to sell me on stuff and it has the opposite effect on me.

Internet follies

I arrived back at the hostel around 3pm and that was pretty much all I had planned for the day.

I found out from others that apparently it was a good idea to book the hot air balloon for tomorrow when I did this morning as the company I had booked with were sold out by late morning.

I guess the business is driven by supply and demand and, because the flights had been cancelled the last three days, the prices were now going up for people booking later in the day.

As for the rest of the day, I just wanted to do stuff on my computer, upload some photos, and start writing the blog.

The internet here, however, has been so bad.

My data on my phone with my Egyptian esim is so spotty and doesn’t work alot of the time.

And the wifi here at the hostel quickly loses it’s signal strength as you go up the stairs and I’m on the 3rd floor.

I eventually went downstairs to try to get things going only to find out that the wifi was actually off for a bit.

Seems that they had to pay for more usage.

It’s funny, back home, you’re just so used to having wifi all the time with no limits and you forget that not all places around the world are like that.

A friendly guy from Japan staying at the hostel actually let me hook up my internet to his mobile hotspot to help me out while the guys at the hostel waited for the wifi to reload.

Soon everything was sorted out and I was doing all things internet wise.

I wish I wasn’t so dependent on the internet while traveling but it’s kind of a necessary evil when you’re looking up stuff and planning.

Also, it’s kind of hard to do travel blogs with it, ya know.

A late dinner

At 7:30 I was ready for dinner.

I found out about a place a couple kilometers away that had just recently been added to the Find Me GF app which is what I use to find gluten free options in cities I visit.

A guy had just posted about his experience 3 days earlier and that was good enough for me.

Off to Snobs Restaurant!

I booked an InDrive driver for 50EGP ($1.25) and waited for him to arrive.

It said he was 4 minutes away but soon I watched as his little car kept driving further away from me.

So, I cancelled the ride.

This happened again.

And then a third time.

And, well, you know what happens when you cancel 3 rides in a row?

The app blocks you for 30 minutes!

Well, shit!

And that just happens to be how long it takes to just walk there.

Well, guess I’m walking…

I did ask a couple taxi drivers how much it would be to get there and I was quoted 250EGP ($7) by the first and a whopping 700EGP ($20) by the second.

I mean, I just laughed in the second guy’s face.

It was literally a 5 minute drive that I knew could be had for only 50EGP.

So, off I walked.

That didn’t stop the second taxi from following me in his car yelling lower and lower prices from his window.

He actually came down from 700EGP to 100EGP but, honestly, there was no price he could utter that could get me in that cab.

When I’m done with somebody, I’m done with them.

It’s a matter of principle for me.

Anyway, he eventually took the hint and I walked the rest of the way in silence.

At just after 8pm I had arrived.

I took my chances with the mixed grill again after getting a joke of a meal last night, I was hoping this one would be an actual substantive mix of different things on the plate.

And this place didn’t disappoint!

On my plate was a kebab, steak, chicken, pork, shrimp, and fish.

Oh and it included a starch so I didn’t have to pay extra for a side like I did last night.

And there was no service charge.

Basically the opposite experience from what I had last night.

After dinner, my blocked time on the InDrive app was done and I booked a ride back to the hostel

By 9:15 I was back at the hostel, and after a long, much needed shower, I was tucked away in bed by 10pm.

After a lackluster day yesterday, I was pretty happy with how today went.

It was nice and easy.   I saw a few things and had some good food.

In the end, that’s all it really takes to make me happy while I travel.

Tomorrow is officially my last full day in Egypt and it’s chalk full of stuff.

Starting with a hot air balloon ride at sunrise and finishing with exploring the tombs on the West Bank of Luxor including the famous tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Then it’s off to London and then home.

The trip is coming to a close but there’s a bunch of cool stuff happening the next few days.

See you tomorrow…