Aswan and Feluca trip

(John)  You can't come to Egypt without going on a Feluca. Some people choose two or three day trips with food and everything included. We were not convinced we wanted to be sitting in a sailboat for that long so we chose a two hour trip. Of course nothing is straightforward. We have been asked if we want a Feluca ride at least 100 times so finding a Feluca captain is easier than getting a donkey ride in Petra. Our man was called Abdullah and we negotiated a deal to sail at 4pm for two hours at a cost of 50 LE, roughly 10 bucks. We turned up early at the allotted spot where we found a large man asleep on a bench but no Abdullah. While we waited two more Feluca captains came to offer their services and tried to beat Abdullah's price. I turned them all down because I had shook on a deal with Abdullah. One of the hopeful waited to see if our man would show up. Suddenly at 4.00pm the sleeping man on the bench jumped up and shouted “Abdullah, I am here for Abdullah. You must come with me now” So we went with him. He told us he was Mohammed and Abdullah was his friend and he was sent to meet us. We soon got to the boat where we were greeted by another man who was also not Abdullah. He was Abdul. Which was going to have to be close enough. We guessed that Abdullah had got a better deal and these guys were given the job instead. Whatever! So off we sailed. Mohammed was big and jolly, always laughing and Abdul was more serious and philosophical. They made sure we knew that we should give good baksheesh if we have a good time, because they are poor and have many hungry children etc etc etc. The sailing was fun. Sam was given the rudder and taught how to turn the Feluca tacking up against the wind. While Mhari was praised for her beauty and we were asked how many camels we wanted for her. Mhari wanted to try sailing but she was basically snubbed as they assumed she would not be strong enough. Mhari is not easily offended by people who don't understand her cultural values. She just shrugs off these male biased attitudes she encounters knowing that there are not enough camels on the planet to make her want to marry someone who won't treat her as an equal.

Things were going well until we turned around to come back. The sail was turned to run with the wind, the keel was lifted to reduce drag and the wind died to a mere puff. From then on there was nothing to do but talk. And man did Abdul want to talk. He went on and on about his bloody Australian girlfriend who he loves so much, he promised and she loves him too he promised and they went to Bali twice and they fought and broke up, then he got married to a girl his family wanted him to marry, then this woman she came back to get him but he was married and he does not love his wife but his kids are everything, but he went to Bali again just for one month but after two weeks he came back because they fought again – over stupid things – like she wants to watch one channel, then she fell asleep so he changed the channel, and she woke up and got mad and he does not understand why she did this and it's so crazy, blah blah blah.

Then we heard all about an Australian man who went on his Feluca who did not like him talking on the cell phone and did not understand why he had to zig - zag across the river, he thought he was cheating him. Then the Australian man told him to stop talking to his friend and eventually he got off and only paid half and this was a very bad thing to do.

After all that we were pretty late, our two hours were up. Abdul went to the back of the boat and chatted with Mohammed while we drifted painfully slowly against the current along the bank where the river ran slowest. At long last a motor boat came by driven by a friend and he pulled us most of the way back.

When we were getting off. I handed Abdul the 50 LE plus 20 LE more. I had anticipated that I would end up paying 80 LE in total and sure enough he asked for 10 more reasoning that we had an extra hour. I said I did not stop the wind and I didn't want three hours. He began pleading absolute destitution so I handed it over. Then he begged for me to give more for Mohammed. I said “no that's it, there is no more, you share that”. They were quite miffed and let us know saying “I have 5 daughters this is not enough”. Needless to say it is pretty hard to feel good about the whole Feluca trip when at the end you basically get accused of being a heartless bastard after you have given a 60% tip. But we debriefed and reminded ourselves that it is all part of the game and their would be no hard feelings on their part. We walked back and found some cheap food to eat and just as we were headed into our hotel there they were, Abdul and Mohammed, all smiles and happy to see us, we shook hands said have a good evening and we all went on our merry way.

Photos: Mhari with the Royal Tombs in the background; Sam and Abdul sharing stories; Creeping home along the west bank of the Nile; 

Damn, I look good

Not as good as Sam though