Connecting flights from Jordan, Ms. Phuong Hang (Hanoi) had 7 days to explore Egypt. The inherent peace of the “land of the pyramids” made her feel nostalgic and attached to the valuable experiences here.
Train travel in Egypt
The Vietnamese female tourist's journey to explore Egypt started from the capital Cairo to other cities such as Aswan, Luxor, Hurghada and then returned to Cairo.
On the first day, Ms. Hang's group experienced the sleeper train to Aswan city, a distance of about 1,000km. The train departed from Giza station at 7pm and stopped in Aswan at 9am the next morning.
“The train we used was quite old. In the sleeper compartment, each cabin had 2 beds, air conditioning and basic amenities. Experiencing the night train, we could save a lot of time and have the opportunity to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the road,” she said.
Arriving in Aswan, the 4-day, 3-night cruise along the Nile River begins. Ms. Hang said that the cruise ship carrying tourists on the Nile River is a hotel boat. There are about 1,400 such boats traveling up and down the river every day.
Most Nile cruises depart from Aswan to Luxor and back, without going to Cairo. The distance between the two cities is about 300km. Cruises have fixed departure times and schedules; at each stop, the boat will drop anchor so that visitors can disembark and visit the sights.
Besides, during her journey, Ms. Hang experienced many interesting means of transport such as: riding a jet ski to the Isis temple on Phila island, traveling on a traditional Egyptian felucca sailing boat down the Nile river to visit Elephantine island, riding a horse-drawn carriage to the Edfu temple early in the morning...
The female tourist revealed: “Egypt is not the most beautiful place to fly hot air balloons, not the place with the most interesting camels, but the difference here is that you get to fly hot air balloons above the Valley of the Kings and ride camels at the foot of the pyramids.
For me, all of those experiences were worth it, in addition, I can mention the experience of cruising on the Nile, buying a day tour to visit Abu Simbel located in the far South bordering Sudan, diving to see coral in the Red Sea...”.
"Touch" the dream
Before going to Egypt, Ms. Phuong Hang was warned by her friends about scams, solicitations, overcharging or “rip-offs” at tourist destinations. Fortunately, she did not encounter any difficulties during her trip.
Most importantly, all the places she had been longing to visit when planning this trip were covered.
“I believe that anyone who comes to Egypt will want to see the Great Pyramids, the mummies, the tombs of the Pharaohs... Me too, all the famous places in Egypt contain thousands of years of history, from the Nile River to the thousand-year-old temples,” Ms. Hang shared.
On the third day, her group visited the Kom Ombo Temple, a site dedicated to two important gods in ancient Egyptian Christianity: Sobek, the crocodile god, and Horus, the god of the sky and war.
Built during the reign of the Ptolemaic Pharaohs, the Kom Ombo temple is located on a high sand dune facing the Nile River. Kom Ombo, also known as the twin temple because the interior of the temple is made up of identical pairs such as: Two entrances, two main halls, two shrines, two corridors... Next to the temple, at the exit is the Crocodile Museum, displaying crocodile mummies dating back more than 2,000 years.
On the last day, after exploring the Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, Hang visited the Egyptian Museum in the heart of Cairo. It displays a collection of more than 120,000 artifacts spanning 5,000 years of Egyptian history, from statues, royal mummies, scrolls of information, to exquisite jewelry. Among them is the solid gold coffin of the famous Pharaoh Tutankhamun (more than 3,300 years old).
Ms. Hang said: “You will probably get goosebumps when visiting this museum! Information on the media often advertises that the museum contains “hundreds of intact mummies”, but I heard the tour guide introduce that there are currently only 2 real mummies.”
From the experience of female tourists, the departure time is an important factor that determines the success and emotions of the trip. From October to March every year is the most beautiful time in Egypt because the climate is pleasant and cool.
The female tourist shared her feelings: “Coming to Egypt, admiring the temples and tombs, I feel like I am lost in ancient life from thousands of years ago. People become small in space and time.”
