Friends, Food, and Fun?

Christmas morning dawned clear and bright as we awoke on the felucca. After a quick breakfast of fried pita, and eggs, we were again sailing. However, our trip was not to last much longer. By 9 o'clock we were moored to the shore and disembarking in order to join a minibus that had been arranged for us. We said our goodbyes to Captain Ayob and Ibrahim, and clambered aboard the Toyota Hiace van. We cruised across the countryside, following the Nile as it snaked northwards. In about and hour we were at the Kom Ombo Temple, our first stop of the day. The temple was interesting enough, but there was nothing that distinguished it from the rest of the temples, at least in my mind.
By 10 AM we were once again bouncing across the countryside, this time towards Edfu--The Temple of Horace. Now the Temple of Horace had one claim to fame--It was huge. The pylons at the entrance towered 30 meters above visitors as they entered the complex. The sheer size of the columns and antechambers was magnificent in scale. Edfu was one of the best preserved temples of our trip and it stands out as one of my personal favorites. But, as was often the case, we ran out of time and had to get back on the road after an hour and a half.
It was early afternoon when we rolled into Luxor's bustling city center. If Luxor isn't a tourist town, then I don't know what is. packs of visitors roamed the wide sidewalks, followed every step of the way by all manner of street vendors, touting their wares. As disgusting as this spectacle was, I was comforted by the fact that Luxor appeared to be the cleanest city I have seen thus far in Egypt. Modern traffic lights, tree-lined boulevards, and even crosswalks greeted us--at least on main street.
Before we arrived in Luxor, the driver of the van asked each of us what hotel we were staying at, presumably so that he could drop us off there. Our whole Felucca group (sans Humberto) had stuck together so far, and after some discussion, we agreed that we would try to stay in the same hotel. Now keep in mind that we didn't know what to expect from any of the hotels. Our travel guides gave us an idea, but frankly their descriptions were sometimes ambiguous. Our best bet was to check out several different hotels and then make a decision based on that. So we asked the driver to drop us off at the Happyland Hotel. He nodded in affirmation.
As the van came to a stop the driver announced that we had reached our destination. We all hopped out and looked around. Curiously enough, the Happyland Hotel was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we were standing in front of a sign that read: Nubian Oasis Hotel. Before we could react, a man rushed out of the hotel and launched into a pitch about his hotel. We were no fools. Clearly the driver was getting a commission for guests he brought to the Nubian Oasis, and we were the next victims! We were all upset by this blatant trickery, and we stormed off down the street in search our original destination. The hotel owner ran after us, desperately trying to draw us back to his hotel. When we confronted him about his scheme, he promised to show us where the Happyland Hotel was. He pointed in a particular direction and we just rolled our eyes. Even we knew that the hotel was in the opposite direction.
But this man was persistent! He followed us for 5 blocks, haranguing us the whole time. By the time he finally gave up he had offered us a free first night and a free joint apiece! But despite this offer of cheap lodging and free drugs, we refused one final time. If the man was that desperate to get people to his hotel, then there must be something wrong with his hotel. Having fought off his attacks, we finally made it to the Happyland Hotel. And despite its curious name, it turned out to be the nicest hotel we stayed at during our break.
The Kiwis and the Brits headed off to see some sites while Kevin, Eric and I decided to take it easy and lounge for a little while. Before we went our separate ways, however, we agreed to meet for Christmas Dinner later in that night. The American posse (we three) wandered the town until we found the aptly named Luxor Temple. It sits on a sight surrounded on all sides by busy streets. Since we could see the whole complex from the outside, we chose not to spend the money to get inside. After fooling around for a bit we meandered back to Happyland where we ran in Kathy and Kerry. Together we consulted the field book and chose a highly recommended restaurant named Sofra that wasn't too far away.
I can honestly say that Sofra is the most enjoyable dining experience that I have had in my 5 months here. We were stunned to find that the restaurant had atmosphere. I had almost forgotten what atmosphere was. An old 1930s era house had been converted into a quaint eatery, with private dining rooms on the ground floor and the main eating area on an open-air covered roof-terrace. Turkish style decorations and furniture, coupled with fitting music, gave Sofra a charming aura that made dinner all the better. Even the menu and the staff seemed legitimate. It was quite a departure from the standard "restaurant" where the menu is rife with mispellings and atmosphere is considered traffic noise and dirty, tiled walls.
However, the best part about this Christmas Dinner was the dinner itself. We all treated ourselves to fresh fruit juice followed by traditional pita bread and dipping sauces. We each chose a separate main course--I decided to really have a new experience and tried the lamb--after which I had fresh fruit salad for desert. And, after an enjoyable evening of food and conversation, we retired to our room, exhausted but happy.