In Search of The Valley of The Kings

We rode donkeys through the Egyptian Desert and made our way to The Valley of The Kings.

What better way is there to travel through the desert to The Valley of The Kings, than by Donkey – this was a truly amazing experience, and one I will never forget. But first, I will paint you a little picture to why this experience meant so much to me.

We had only been in Egypt for 3 days, having come from a fairly clean country (environment wise), I was not accustomed to the pollution levels in Cairo. So, within 24 hours of arriving into Egypt, I had caught a throat infection. Feeling terribly unwell, I managed to power through each day slowly – thanks the magical science of paracetamol, in the form of Disprin. To help me manage the throat infection, I was literally gargling the stuff every four hours, in an attempt to fight off the bacteria. Unfortunately, all it was doing was numbing the pain, sugar coating my illness and helping me manage at least 4 hours at a time. Of course, this only lasted until we arrived into Luxor on the third day of our trip – I ran out. Not to mention, I had also exceeded by a day, the recommended dosage required for taking Disprin. Not good. My energy levels declined, I could barely walk and a terrible fever took hold of me.

Our guide Waleed was amazing, he tracked down a doctor (on an Egyptian public holiday mind you), who was willing to jump me in front of the que. Mostly due to me being a westerner I am sure. I wasn’t happy they jumped me in front of other families who were waiting, and they could see I was troubled – however the patients were all amazing, and ushered me through, telling me I must get better and they would wait. Wonderful and amazing people, the Egyptians.

So, an hour and three antibiotics later, I was sent off to bed – whilst the rest of the tour group (including my dad) went and enjoyed a night on the town in Luxor. It was unfortunate I had to miss out, but I truly needed the rest – especially as we had a donkey ride to The Valley of The Kings scheduled for the next day, and I refused to miss out.

Fourteen hours worth of sleep later, and I was eating breakfast with the rest of the group, getting ready for the amazing day ahead. I can’t believe I had to take three Antibiotics to feel this good – but it worked. No one could believe how quickly I bounced back after being so sick.

And the Donkey ride – well, as far as I am concerned (and regardless of the amount of meds I was on), it was the best medicine I could have ever asked for.

The Donkey ride take around two hours (maybe more – I can’t remember), and it is the most relaxing, calming and revitalising experience ever. I mean, I did have a very chilled Donkey which helped I think. He just cruised along at a steady even pace, all the way to The Valley of The Kings. No stress, just me and my donkey (and of course the rest of my group LOL).

We wandered past rivers and residential homes, local working fields of cane and fishing in the rivers – all happy to have us and willing to smile for the cameras. The idea, that I could have missed such a wonderous experience was a horrible thought. And, thanks to my incredible guide Waleed, the doctor and awesome locals – I didn’t miss out.