Monday, February 25, 2008

Luxor...

I'm in Luxor.

When I started this trip I wasn't sure how much cycling I would be allowed to do in Egypt. It turns out that just past Mallawi was the limit.

As you enter each city in Egypt there is a road block. Tourists aren't supposed to go anywhere without a police escort to protect them. It's not dangerous but those are the rules. Sometimes the police let me ride my bicycle in front of the police pickup. But that's not the same. People don't smile and wave as I pass. I try to cycle as fast as possible to the next town where they can switch police. It seems rude to stop and take photos or buy street food. So mostly I stuffed my bike on the back of the pickup and rode along.

Anyway I got tired of that and took a bus to Luxor. I don't have an escort here. It would have been selfish too insist on riding in police cars for 3 days and also stupid. I'll cycle enough later to make up for it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good to hear you're surviving. You may have better luck cycling south beyond Luxor. The section you just passed through is supposed to have the heaviest security. Anyway, I hope you'll stop for a while in Luxor.

Even if there aren't any comments, some of us are still following along, so don't stop posting!

AnnaC said...

I love the visual of you having a police escort even though it may not be comfortable.

Keep the posts coming... I am enjoying the ride!

Kenton Williston said...

I'm sorry you haven't been able to bike as much as you wanted so far! But, I'm glad you're being sane... :)