I’ve signed up for a little Egyptian sights package tour against my better judgment. I’ve never actually done a package tour, so who am I to judge? I’m on day 3 or 4 of the 12 day trip, and I have to say that so far, it’s not horrible, and it’s actually nice not to have to worry about how to get to point A to point B. After dealing with travel logistics for the last 7 months, it’s nice to have a little break. Besides, I thought I might meet some fellow travelers this way. So far, I’ve done:

A trip to the western desert for two nights, including a night of camping in the White Desert. Got to do the trip with two Mexican men who may or may not have been a couple. I suspected they were, but they were playing it very straight. I didn’t pry. The desert wasn’t as fun as it should have been because I was feeling sick. I slept most of the time. But I did manage to get up at sunrise and practice yoga and meditation to a beautiful rising sun in this surreal white desert landscape with wild rock formations. It was there that I realized just how much I’ve been in my own head for the last month, and how I’ve been punishing myself for what happened with the Nepalis. I know it’s why I’m sick. So I decided then and there to let it go. That night was a full moon, so it was exactly EXACTLY one month since I stepped into my room to find the Nepalis had taken off with my money. Instead of being able to rise above it, my mind went to a very unconscious self-punishing place that’s not been good at all. So, I’ve had it with my mind. I’m not going to let it boss me around anymore. So decided to shut my mind up every time it goes into thinking about the past or the future, and really just try to be in the present moment as much as possible. I know this all sounds very odd, but I think it’s working! I got back to Cairo and decided to stay another extra day. I had a great last 2 days in Cairo trying to do everything I could squeeze in. After my White desert morning meditation, I’m feeling much better! I managed to visit in one afternoon: Khan-a-Kalili, the Northern Cemetery, the citadel, and Coptic Cairo, before taking the metro back to town. Then I got a nice shave and haircut, got my email, and said goodbye to my new best friend in Cairo, Ellen. Ellen has been absolutely wonderful and she was just what I needed, exactly when I needed her. She really made my first night in Cairo one of the best nights of my trip, treating me to a wonderful steak dinner at a nice French restaurant, then taking me to a hookah bar in the heart of Islamic Cairo for sheesha and coffee. I couldn’t have had a better introduction to the city! She’s been really wonderful! She got me some work photographing some pajamas for her friend’s business, took me around to some very nice places, took me on a felluca ride, and even baked me cupcakes for my last night in town. I wouldn’t be in the happy place I am today if it wasn’t for her. She told me some poetry one evening, and that night, I dreamed of poetry written on Cairo’s ancient walls.

I caught the night train up to Aswan and arrived this morning. The Nile is absolutely stunning here. I enjoyed a little tour to the Isis temple and the dam that holds back the longest river in the world, making the second largest reservoir in the world. It’s really not as impressive as it sounds, but the temple was cool, despite being squeezed in with 4 or 5 busloads of Italian and Spanish-speaking tourists. My own little tour van had about 10 of us, including 2 Americans with two young kids. I took a good amount of photos, and I’m now back in my room, enjoying my first room with air-conditioning since…my first night of my trip! I must go to sleep now, because I have to get up at (EEEK!) 2:45AM to catch the shuttle up to Abu Simbel. Then it’s off on a felluca down the nile for two nights! This tour package stuff is fun! All I have to do is show up. We will see how it goes.