We had a further full in Beijing, now fully dedicated to a visit to the (in)famous Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (or Imperial Palace).
Author Archives: Björn
The Great Wall of China
Today we had an early start and made it to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall (about 3 hours driving time one way). From here we started a hike along the Great Wall to Simatai – overall twelve km.
Beijing and around
After my trips to Mexico and Egypt in 2004 it felt like the logical thing to go to Asia this year. China had been on my list for long – and as I wanted to see the Three Gorges prior to the completion of the dam, this also felt like the right time.
After my arrival on September 18th I used the 19th to explore the city, my walk led me from the hotel to Tiananmen Square and back. The morning of the 20th was dedicated to a visit to the Summer Palace (now with the group), the imperial getaway for those days of the year when the Forbidden City was more like an oven than an appropriate place for an emperor (or empress).
The afternoon was at our leisure, so some of us (including myself) used the time to visit the Temple of Heaven in Tiantan Park. In the evening we enjoyed a performance of the Beijing acrobats.
Abydos and Dandara
From Luxor we had the opportunity to visit the temples of Abydos and Dandara. We just chartered a taxi for the whole day and a guide. It was quite impressive to see these two – not so crowded – temples, especially with the background of their history and inherent power.
Kom Ombo and Edfu
On the way back to Luxor (back on terra firma again) we did visit two further temples – Kom Ombo and Edfu – impressions below.
Down the Nile … on a Felucca
The trip did include a felucca cruise down the Nile – probably the most relaxing part of the trip – with two days of chilling – no tombs or temples to visit or even think of. Just the felucca, the Nile and us.
Aswan & Abu Simbel
We had an early start today – at 3:30 (yes, that’s am) – to be on time for the convoy to see the magnificent and impressive temples of Abu Simbel.
After our return to Aswan and a very quick lunch we took a taxi to the boats to Philae Island for a look around.
The Valley of the Kings
This morning we took a boat to reach the other bank of the Nile. For the remaining 7km we took the most fun method of transportation – riding on donkeys.
After about an hours of pushing the animals to the right side of the street we arrived at the entrance gate to the Valley of Kings. After the Valley of the Kings we went to Deir-al-Madina, to see some of the smaller tombs of the craftmen and artists.
Luxor
Today we finally made it back into the civilized world and to a decent hotel close to the center of Luxor.
We directly jumped on horse drawn carriages and continued to the Karnak Temple. where we had about the best guide one could get. Afterward we decided to also have a look at the Luxor Temple.
Around the Oasis of Kharga
This morning we did visit the necropolis of Bagawat, an old christian cemetery and the temple of Hibis – before proceeding to Kharga.
