Clickity Clack

One of the things I’ve always wanted to do again is travel by train. When I was about 7 or 8 years old we travelled across the US on a train, because the Airlines were on strike. I loved it, the noise, the motion, walking between cars and pressing the button to open the door – the air hisssssss when the doors opened.

Well in Egypt we got the chance. After a full day at the Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum we headed to the train station and waited for the train to take us to Aswan.

The Egyptian Museum was a huge disappointment for me. I was looking forward to seeing their collection including the Royal Mummies, King Tut’s tomb effects, and all sorts of other interesting things gathered over the past couple of centuries. The Collection was truly outstanding; the presentation was poor and the condition of the museum was dreadful. For example, many items were just numbered – but there was no guide or corresponding key … the rooms didn’t seem to be organized particularly well in terms of telling a story or letting us understand what life was like for those whose belongings we were looking at. The lighting was poor, and the museum was particularly dirty. It’s a place that has so much potential … unfortunately it could have been much better. Apparently in 2015 the new Museum that replaces it will be finished and the collection moved. I hope they engage the same team that did the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa … while its collection may not be as noteworthy as that of the Egyptian Museum, it more than makes up for it in the presentation and overall experience you gain when going there.

Back to the train … an overnight on our own sleeper car sounded great. We had stopped by a grocery and liquor store before the train station and had stocked up a bit. On our tour are about another dozen people who we’re trying to get to know. We invited anybody who wanted a cocktail, cheese & crackers to our room. A young couple from Australia – Jeremy and Sarah came, then Brian from Nova Scotia and finally Tim from Germany. We had a couple of cocktails and then settled down to sleep.

One thing I hadn’t forgotten about train travel is how the toilets worked – straight down onto the tracks. Kind of reminds you of yachts flushing right in the bay – and the policy of only flushing when you’re underway seems to be universal. Anyway … if you ever find yourself walking down an Egyptian railway track, don’t pick up the O’Henry bar or you might get a bit of a shock.I took the top bunk, Marina the bottom bunk …. We got a little sleep but with 8 or 9 stops along the way we were jostled a fair amount. Our wakeup call came at 7:00 and we had breakfast in the cabin and got ready to disembark. When we arrived unscathed in Aswan we mounted up on a bus and made our way to the Hotel.