Hi, guys! This week, let’s explore Philae Temple and Nubian Village with a felucca. We will also board a deluxe Nile cruise and stay in Aswan for three nights! 🌊 ✨ 🚢
The day before, my sister and I arrived in Cairo and visited the Salah El-Din Citadel, the Mohamed Ali Mosque, and the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo.
The first day of the group tour was quite rushed because many people exchanged money at the airport, so we waited for them for almost an hour.
Because of that, we had to rush the itinerary, and I was so annoyed. I was worried the whole tour would be rushed.
But luckily, from Day 2 onwards, the pace was good. We had enough free time exploring the temples and the Grand Egyptian Museum 😌 😌 😌
If you plan to visit Egypt, please get some EGPs beforehand. The rate may be better in Cairo, but don’t waste your time queueing. Oh ya, cash is still preferable in most of the shops here.
So, it’s better to have some cash and not rely solely on your credit/debit card.
Rise and Shine! Waking Up Super Early for Philae Temple, Aswan
I knew there would be early departures for this Egypt tour, but I was still shocked when the tour leader said we would depart at 3am for the airport 😂
On the first day, we had a long flight from Kuala Lumpur to Cairo, rushed through some destinations, had dinner at the hotel (which was good)… I thought I could have a good sleep that day.
But nope. Wake up call at 2:15am, then departed at 3am because we had to board our flight to Aswan.
❌ Wake up at 2am for work
It’s ok, Clara. Don’t complain. This Egypt group tour suits your budget, you can do it!! 👏 👏 👏
Luckily, everything went smoothly. The domestic airport check-in, the flight (Air Cairo was great!), and the weather. We left Cairo with heavy eyes but arrived in Aswan with sparkles in our eyes.
Finally, I could see the exotic Egyptian temples in real life! Philae Temple, here I come!! 🤩 🤩 🤩
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The Relaxing and Exotic Felucca Ride to Philae Temple
Once we reached Aswan, we boarded a felucca to Philae Temple instead of boarding the cruise and checking in. What about the luggage? Oh, the cruise staff handled them! 😉
A felucca is a traditional Egyptian wooden sailboat, powered by the wind. It’s a nice experience to have when you visit Luxor and Aswan, I really recommend it!
But please note that most of the feluccas in Egypt don’t provide life jackets. One of my group members was upset about this and gave feedback to the tour leader, stressing the safety concern.
He said he saw a group of Japanese wearing life jackets during their felucca ride, so the tour company should do the same.
Ah, I didn’t even think about it! I was too excited about the trip 😅
I’m not sure about you, but I didn’t feel unsafe throughout the ride. The wave was calm and the cool wind blew softly on my face, yet I didn’t feel cold because the sun shone brightly.
After the hoo-haa, rushed early morning flight, I really enjoyed the relaxing and exotic felucca ride on the Nile River ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
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Visitting the Stunning Philae Temple in Aswan, Egypt
The first Egyptian temple that I visitted during this trip was Philae Temple aka Pearl of the Nile. This temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, was actually located on Philae Island.
However, due to the flood, the whole temple was moved to Agilkia Island in the 1970s by UNESCO. The relocation story was interesting!
So, in 1902, the Aswan Low Dam was constructed and it caused flooding in nearby areas. Then, there was a plan to build a modern dam in Aswan, which would submerge the whole Philae Temple.
Since the temple was important, UNESCO members launched an international competition to come up with a proposal on how to save it.
The Egyptian designers came up with the best proposal: relocate the whole temple to Agilkia Island, which was 12.4 meters higher.
They removed each stone that made up the temple and reconstructed it there. The reconstruction project was completed by two Italian companies after three years.
Alright, now about the temple itself! My group tour reached Philae Temple in the morning, at around 11am, but it was already crowded.
It was almost impossible to take photos in the temple without the crowd. Maybe you can get nice photos if you come super early! But if your mobile phone has an AI cleanup feature, then there’s no problem!
I was lucky to meet a kind traveller who helped take this photo of me, when everyone had gone into the temple:
Oh ya, I know it’s very tempting to feel the historic pillars, walls, and carvings. Actually, you’re not allowed to touch them. If everyone touches the temple, then the colours and exotic carvings will fade.
Imagine you were the unlucky traveller, having flown from far, far away to Egypt, only to find “plain” temples! 😿 😿 😿
After exploring Philae Temple, we returned to the shore by felucca, then went to spice and perfume factories before boarding our Nile cruise.
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Boarding MS Nile Premium, a Deluxe Nile Cruise
Alright, there are many Nile cruises to choose from: budget, deluxe, or luxury cruises. Before booking this Egypt tour, I was planning to go alone and checked out some luxury Nile cruises.
They were so beautiful, with exotic and elegant interior designs, plus awesome reviews. But when I saw the price… Oh, it was hundreds of USD per night 😂 😂 😂
Luckily, it turned out my sister was also interested in Egypt, so we joined a group tour from Malaysia. I was happy that the tour company chose MS Nile Premium, a deluxe Nile cruise.
Okay, actually, the tour company and some Nile cruise websites stated that MS Nile Premium was a 5-star cruise. However, I felt it was more like a deluxe cruise.
It was very nice for the price, though! MS Nile Premium is a medium-sized cruise with a modern, minimalist interior design.
My room and the cruise were very clean, the bed was comfy, the staff was friendly, and the most important thing – the food was really nice! 👍 👍 👍
If you plan to visit Aswan and Luxor, I suggest you choose at least a deluxe Nile cruise so you can leave Egypt with happy memories.
Come on, you’ll be staying on the cruise for at least three nights, with daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner included! The itinerary is packed and it’s hot outside, you’d want a comfortable space when you return.
You can deny it, but a comfortable Nile cruise and great food do make a difference when you explore Egypt 😉
After lunch onboard, I rested for a while until my next optional trip to Nubian Village.
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Felucca Ride to the Colourful Nubian Village, Aswan
In late afternoon, me, my sister, and some people who signed up for the optional trip boarded a felucca to the Nubian Village.
I was happy because I could ride felucca 4x in a day 😄 ⛵ ❤️
Ok, Nubian Village was an interesting destination because you could see how the locals who lived by the Nile River live. This village was exotic and colourful, with many stalls selling souvenirs.
Although it was colourful, blue was a dominant colour here, so it gave off the vibe of Chefchaouen, the Blue City in Morocco 💙 💙 💙
Fun fact: crocodile is a favourite pet in Nubian Village!
So you think only kings can keep exotic animals? Well, in Nubian Village, many families keep crocodiles as pets to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits (it’s their tradition).
We visitted a house with some crocodiles. The host welcomed us and let us take photos with a baby crocodile. Although it was a baby, at first, I was reluctant to carry it in my hands.
But then I told myself, “You’re not going to Egypt twice!”. So, I did it!
The baby crocodile’s body was cool, and it was very calm in my hands during the photoshoot. Aaaw 🥰
Next, we went to a local school and had a quick Arabic language lesson. One of the school teachers showed us the Arabic alphabet, how to pronounce it, and what our names look like written in Arabic.
It was interesting!
Afterwards, I returned to our cruise, showered, had a delicious dinner, saw a belly dance performance for a while, then slept really well. Pheeww, it was such a long day!😴 😴 😴
Alright guys, that’s the end of our Day 1 Nile Cruise! I hope you enjoy our felucca ride to Philae Temple and Nubian Village 😊❤️⛵
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