There is absolutely no photography allowed ever in the tombs of the valley of the kings!

I had called for a taxi to show up at 6:30 am, and thinking back I wish it had been more like 6am, to avoid the throngs of tourists even more! I had seen the valley of the kings before, but I had only seen three tombs then, and it was with a tour group, and far too full of tourists. This time I went alone, and without a guide. The tomb I most wanted to see was closed! The tomb I second most wanted to see was also closed, arg! This is definitely one very frustrating thing about Egypt, the constant closing of various monuments and tombs. They usually do it for restoration purposes, but it can get quite frustrating!

First it was onto the tuff tuff, the little passenger thing that takes you from the bottom of the road up to where the tombs are. Fortunately the rest of the tombs I wanted to see were open. The very first tomb I went into was completely empty of people, it was wonderful, it was only me and the guard. The best part of this was the photo opportunity :). I had purposefully planned it this way, it’s just that the first tomb I tried it with was closed, so I had to go to the second tomb on my list. I didn’t have the leisure to take 50 photos, but I got a good ten in before the guard told me that was enough.

The second tomb I went to was up a flight of about 200 stairs up the mountainside. It was a beautiful walk up and back down though. Then once you got to the entranceway, it was about 100 stairs down to the upper section of the tomb, then another 30-50 stairs to the bottom of the tomb. The walls on this tomb were odd in the fact that the pictures were more stick figures then the usual perfect artwork the valley of the kings is known for. I can see the reason for this though as it was all text, and the figures were only 2” high each. This tomb had the book of the afterlife within it. Unfortunately this tomb was extremely full of tourists and extremely hot inside. Closed off areas deep inside a mountain are likely at least a bit hot, but they are far more stifling when they are packed with hoards of tourists all day. I’m sure glad that I got there just after it opened.

I visited a few other tombs, most of them fortunately not too full. I had already seen the most popular ones with the guide last time. There were long lineups at quite a few of the tombs where you had to wait to get in, and once you were in it was wall to wall people. The very last tomb I visited only had about 7 people inside of it. Eventually there was only an elderly couple and myself left. The guard asked if I wanted a photo of myself, but he had meant outside the tomb... I told him only inside . So we waited for the couple to leave, and he took me back in to get the photos. In the end he kept complaining about how the tip I gave him wasn’t enough, and I kept telling him he could afford to go rent a hotel room for that amount! Actually I could afford to get a room for that rate, so I’m sure being Egyptian and getting half or less of the price he could get a room and 3 meals for that much!

I was debating whether to see the tomb of Tutankhamen, but I have been told so many times it’s not that big of a deal and really not worth the $20 it costs to get in. The deciding factor is that I was already late to meet my taxi back at the parking lot, and there was now a lineup outside the tomb. I had talked to one woman who had gotten in first thing in the morning though, and she said that she was the only one in there and she quite enjoyed it. I got a tuff tuff all to myself on the way back, and the driver tried to get me to sit next to him, then next tried to sell me some souvenirs LOL.

Even though a great deal of Egypt’s economy is based on tourism, and the West bank of Luxor is a the most popular destination amongst tourists, for some reason no one thought to put in a bank machine on the entire West bank! If I had known this beforehand I would have planned better, however I ended up having to take a taxi to the East bank and back which cost $25 including tip. I tried to purchase my bus ticket in advance as well as I hear they sell out days in advance, but I came to find that I’m supposed to just show up an hour in advance of my train leaving. So the hour and a half long trip accomplished nothing but getting more cash.

It’s always interesting traveling through Egypt, especially through the smaller towns. Between the west bank and east bank it is mostly just farmland on both sides of the road. So you get many tourbuses and taxis, as well as regular traffic on the roadway, alongside the cows, large numbers of sheep, people riding donkeys, people riding donkey carts, and people riding bicycles with a large heap of grass strapped on the back that they are off to sell at the market or wherever. I do have to say there is never a dull moment in Egypt :).