Wednesday 18-Mar-2009
After breakfast, I fly to Cairo and then to Amman.
Well, the Seti Abu Simbel was quite a success. It's a remarkably tranquil spot with wonderful views of a corner of Lake Nasser and lots of bird life. Hard to believe we're at a water reservoir that was desert fifty years ago. Buffet breakfast is served in the restaurant. There's quite a large French contingent at breakfast - the staff tend to address you in French if you look European. I check the water temperature of the swimming pools. There are three pools, Childrens, normal and a somewhat deeper one. Although there's bright sun, the wind off the lake keeps the temperature down so I'm afraid it's too chilly for me. Instead, I decide to have a look at the village-cum-city of Abu Simbel by taking the road the coaches use to get to and from the temples.
The pavements, where provided, aren't too good so most locals walk at the edge of the road, usually with their back to traffic. Vehicles give a little 'pip' on the horn as a warning as they're about to pass pedestrians. Just after nine o'clock a convoy of large, air conditioned coaches passes me. Over a few minutes, about twenty-five big coaches and half a dozen smaller coaches rumble past, returning from their visit to the temples.
There's a scrum of local men around one building. They're queueing (but not as we know it, Jim) to buy a supply of the round, bread-like cakes they eat. I'm intrigued that they carry stacks of six or more away in their bare hands. Nearby, a local café seems to be doing a roaring trade but I notice all the customers are men. Outside, on the pavement, a couple of young men are operating a shoeshine business. I make my way back to the hotel. There's lots of little boats (all with outboards) in the little creeks nearby and plenty of men preparing for a day 'messing about in boats'. It all seems very relaxed. In the distance, the artificial bulk of the two man-made mountains which house the two temples looms large - the source of wealth contributed by visitors. Each admission fee to the temples includes a tax levied by the local authority and, with at least 500 guest beds nearby, there are lots of local jobs created by the tourism. Pictures of Abu Simbel town.
I return to my hotel and get ready to leave. Mr. Ahmed and the young driver are there early and we are soon on the way to the airport. I am seated in the departure hall whilst Mr. Ahmed checks in my baggage and obtains my boarding pass. I'm amused to see the staff furiously re-arranging all the seating. Mr. Ahmed, returning with a large batch of documentation for other passengers he's facilitating, explains that they're preparing for an international flight. Despite its small size Abu Simbdel is, genuinely, an International Airport. Shortly afterwards, a Thomas Cook liveried aircraft lands - probably the International flight in question. I thank Mr. Ahmed for his help and make my way through security. After a more thorough X-ray examination of the hand baggage than usual, I board the bus and am soon on board the EgyptAir Boeing 737-500.
There are just eight seats in the 'C' class section. On the short leg to Aswan - less than forty minutes - they've only time to serve a very welcome drink. On the ground at Aswan, Cairo passengers stay on the aircraft whilst people de-board and board. We take off again with only two 'C' class passengers and the friendly cabin crew serve a very decent cold meal with a couple of cups of tea. I'm quite relaxed by the time we arrive in Cairo.
I'm expecting to get myself across from Domestic Arrivals to International Departures but, as I'm waiting to collect my case from the baggage carousel, the young man who saw me off on the 10th to Luxor appears. He gets a trolley for my bags and takes me across to departures, checks me in and sees me safely up to passport control. It was certainly faster than if I'd been on my own.
I make my way to the EgyptAir lounge. It's a bit of a rabbit-warren with themed rooms 'English Room', 'Italian Room', 'Business Room'. I settle for a neutral-themed space overlooking the apron that just looks like a cafeteria. The charming waiter explains that my Wi-Fi should work there and, on the third attempt after re-booting, the computer connects to a fairly fast connection, allowing me to answer a couple of e-mails. I also uploaded some blog text "I'd prepared earlier" using 'Word' when an Internet connection was not available. I could happily have stayed there longer but I thought I'd better pack up and find Gate 7 for my flight to Amman.
The Departure Lounge was heaving with passengers but, shortly after I arrived, they started getting people onto buses to go to the aircraft. This took some time because there was a final security check of passports actually at the door leading to the coaches by uniformed officers who seemed to be taking no chances.
Eventually, I got to the waiting A320. The 'C' class is five rows of four abreast and I make myself comfortable. It's another cold meal but with hot bread rolls and, to my surprise, I find I'm hungry again and woof most of it down. The flight to Amman is only about one hour twenty minutes so I've barely time to finish before we get ready to land.
Amman Airport boasts air bridges, so I'm off the aircraft and walking to immigration when I see a sign for "JAM FORD". The sign is held by Mr. Nasr Bani Nasr of Petra Travel and Tourism Company and yes, he's looking for me. He says he'll meet me in the baggage hall. While I'm waiting for the bag to arrive, Mr. Nasr pops off to check on two people going to Petra. When he returns, we go outside to find our car. There's a lot of building work going on so the access for cars isn't terribly good. Mr. Nasr explains that the airport is being expanded from its present capacity of 3 million passengers to 10 million.
It takes about 30 minutes to drive to the city, most of the time on a 3-lane each way motorway. We go to the Kempinski Hotel Amman. Like the Conrad Hotel in Cairo, the Kempinski has a couple of 'Executive Floors', in this case 7 and 8, together with a private Lounge for use by guests on those floors. I'm soon in a decent room on the seventh floor with good views over modern Amman - the city is nothing like I expected.
