The West Bank across the Nile river from Luxor is by far one of the most astounding places in the entire world. Between the rugged landscape, unparalleled history and undiscovered mysteries it is truly like nothing else. This is now our second visit to this sacred place and this time we took a different style.

For our adventures from four years prior click here.

While before, we hired a private driver, this time around we arrived in Luxor after getting off a Nile cruise ship from Aswan. A guided tour was included in the package so this time it was loads more organized. Us and three others were to be picked up by air-conditioned minivan by 8:30 and start our day. But, come 10:30 we finally piled into a seemingly 1970’s three on the tree station wagon with missing window cranks. We were told the driver would drive us over the bridge and we would join the van at the Valley of the Kings. This ended up being true, however we were then told by our new van driver that because we were so late that we had to wait here until the others came back and we would join the rest of the tour. This would result in skipping one of the most famous parts of the West Bank and we wanted nothing of that. We basically said nope and made our way to the gates with no guide. Here we paid our 260LE entrance fee, 10LE shuttle and zoned in on our desired tombs. This can be the confusing part of the Valley of the Kings. With your entrance fee you can select any three of the 10 open tombs to tour, and are able to pay extra for three other special tombs. The problem here lies that you don’t know what tombs will be open before you arrive which makes it hard to research where you want to go in advance. As we were limited on time now we did a quick search and found three that sounded like it would be a perfect fit.

We toured through Tausert / Setnakht (KV14), a long and beautifully coloured two burial chamber from the 19th and 20th Dynasty that had minimal tourists at that moment in time. Rameses the third (KV11), another long and elaborate tomb lined with chambers and descent colour remaining on the walls and ceiling. Unfortunately for us it was quite busy resulting in an awkwardly rushed line up to the end of the passageway with heat and humidity making it rather uncomfortable. With our final visit being to Rameses the ninth (KV6), a shallower tomb from the 19th Dynasty with a large pit in the floor of the burial chamber. The walls have clear and defined carving lines with dramatic colours and elaborate ceiling. By now it was closing in on mid day, our guide had found us and was rushing us back to the van, all the while the temperatures through the windless rocky moonscape was well into the high 30’s by now. Us and a handful of others proceeded back to our waiting van before continuing on our way.

Our second stop for the day was the unexpected alabaster tourist souvenir shop. These types of tourist stops are standard in Egypt as drivers gain commission on any sales they make. This time however three members of our tour had to catch a bus so we relaxed in the air-conditioned store while the van raced away to make their connection. Once our body temperatures had finally returned to a comfortable level we were back on the road and proceeded to the gates of Hatshepsut Temple. This was one of Shannon’s favourite temples from our last visit so she was tremendously excited now. 160LE with 10LE shuttle had us through the gates and our guide began with the explanations of this amazing structure. Hatshepsut is a three tiered temple with a one kilometre long causeway ramping up to the top deck. Constructed in the 15th century BC, its rows of columns, towering statues, coloured wall carvings and open courtyards confirmed Shannon with her temple of choice. By now however the heat was also starting to take its toll on her. Being close to 2:00 and little to no food she was feeling dramatically unwell. There was little shade at this temple, but the guide was rushing us through pretty quickly. So quickly in fact that while we stopped for a quick few minutes to take some pictures and let the girls play around our guide was hollering at us to get moving on our way.

Once back in the AC van things didn’t really turn around for Shannon in the way she was feeling. A quick stop on the side of the road for someone selling ice cold, half frozen water was the highlight for Shannon at this point. This helped her a bit.

A short drive down the road we stopped at the less visited Habu Temple. This was our first time at this temple and the lack of tour buses was a huge relief. We were only aloud 15 minutes for this tour as we were later in the day than our guide desired. This 300m by 210m historic masterpiece by Rameses the III had sheer etched walls of bewildering heights with pillars and columns and well preserved relief features. By now this 15 minute tour was 20 minutes too long for Shannon. The 40 degree heat had sucked everything from her and she was forced to wait by the main gates, anywhere she could find shade and waited for the rest of us to return.

With a short zip down a dirt laneway we had a stop for a 3:00 lunch with hopes that some food would help Shannon and everyone else as well. Food was not an option. By now all she wanted to do was cross back over the river to the east side, collect our bags and check into our hotel. This urgency was unfazed by our guide however as the girls and I tried our best to comfort her. After an hour of Shannon’s discomfort, feeling of nausea and face down on a table, the others returned from their lunchtime feast. A 100m walk down to the shore and we loaded onto the hired ferryboat to cross the water.

Once at the pier Shannon promptly gained the dock and nearly made it to the shore before falling to her knees and getting sick into the river. Others overlooked knowing there was nothing they could do to help. Back on her feet we proceeded up the stairs to the roadside and homed in on our van with our bags tied to the roof. The guide still acting oblivious to Shannon’s state insisted that he drive us to our hotel after dropping the others off at Karnak Temple, just three kilometres down the road. We demanded that they give us our bags off the roof now and we would just walk the 500m in the opposite direction to our waiting hotel as we had not signed up for the temple and had no need to go. Ten minutes later of arguing they finally released our bags where the four of us pushed on to Iberotel with its posh comforts. Elevator to the 4th floor was the greatest feeling for Shannon as she opened the door to room 432 before dropping everything and making her way to the bathroom. Shannon proceeded to get sick for the continuing 8 hours before her body finally settled down and she got some well deserved sleep for the night.

Eventually she made a full recovery and I am sure one day she will look back on these situations with fond memories and have a good laugh. Then again, maybe just the girls and I will see the humour in it. The West Bank is truly an unforgettable experience. A must see when visiting Egypt, just try to avoid the sunstroke or food poisoning as best you can.

Continue on to Luxor here,

OR return to the Nile River Cruse here!