Luxor is not just a crappy computer game

Hey all
Well, not so rushed this time but alas I won't be posting any photos, as one of my fellow tour mates got a mild electric shock from the USB port on this PC! So no way in the remotest Hell am I risking my lovely camera and lovely photos, never mind me....
So what to tell? Since I last wrote I have actually ridden a camel. Let me tell you about it...
Those of us who decided to brave the camels met at dusk in a small village on Elephant Island, I think it was (off Aswan). Approaching the camel was a daunting task. Do you know how big camels are?? Enormous. And getting on to a camel is a tricky thing. The camel is tall enough (even when seated) that you have to sort of lie on it and haul your arse over by sheer brute force. Graceful, absolutely (not)! Then the camel stands up and OH MY GOD it's high. You lean forwards and backwards while he (or she?) is rising so you theoretically don't fall. But the saddle feels wobbly. The handler tells you to wiggle until you are in the right position but what IS the right position? Let me tell you I didn't actually enjoy the whole camel thing. The whole time I was completely consumed by the certainty that I was going to fall. And camels move in a lurching sort of manner which is kind of nauseating. Not to mention the fact that they grunt, snort, fart, piss AND spit with grumpy abandon. And they smell bad in general. Ugh.
Finally it was over and we went to have dinner with a Nubian family. The Nubians are one of the cultural groups in Egypt and they speak Nubian, which is not Arabic or even a dialect thereof. But we played with the kids and you don't really need words for that. We sat on a mat on the floor and shared food around, watched as it was prepared in a clay oven probably hundreds of years old. My favourite part of any trip is seeing how people live, just the ordinary people. I know that our Intrepid dinners are a little out of context, if you get my drift (when there's money involved of course everything starts to change), but at least it's a glimpse. Better than a restaurant at any rate. Good food, too, except for some green soupy stuff the texture and taste of spit!
We then spent a day and night floating on a felucca on the Nile. Very lazy, basically, a day of lying around on a glorified giant mattress (with sail on top) napping and staring at the scenery in turn. After that we got the minibus to Luxor, which used to be known as Thebes for any of you history buffs. And that is where I am now.
Otherwise we have been Templing. I declare this a word though it might not be in your dictionary!
Templing (defined): the science of wandering through many temples, guidebook in hand or guide in earshot, looking and acting like a complete tourist.
We have visited the Karnak Temple (unbelievable, columns and hieroglyphics) Valley of the Kings (unbelievable, hieroglyphics in burial chambers cut out of the mountains) and Hatshepsut's Temple (unbelievable, massive structure with columns and hieroglyphics) and the Colossi of Memnon (also unbelievable, with hieroglyphics of course). Between me, you and the lamp-post, I am a little overtempled right now.
Oh by the way, someone just offered me five chickens for my love, and I was called a "sexy madame". These men are sleazier than you would believe humanly possible, I am almost ready to start flipping them the bird but I'm not sure if that gesture translates. It's like continually walking past the worst kinds of building sites. But you should take your compliments where you can find them I guess! lolz
Will write more in a few days, as we are going into the desert tomorrow.
Love lots,
D