Cairo is huge and busy and dirty, with lots of traffic, but we are used to Asia, and this didn’t bother us. We had read a lot about how difficult it is to travel in Egypt, and how aggressive the hawkers and touts can be. Actually, we didn’t find that. I made all the bookings myself. I got a lot of information from my sister-in-law who had been just a month or so earlier. Having an esim with local data was critical to this. We relied on Uber to get us to and from the pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, which had been open for only a month. Uber worked brilliantly. So too did a local taxi airport transfer service (Rimo tours) I found online when booking our hotel. We used them for early morning pickups and all airport transfers. Even in Luxor, where there is no Uber, the local taxis would agree a price (based on advice from our hotel). At a dropoff, they then provided a QR code for their whatsapp contact details, and we could text them later and tell them we were ready to be picked up. Completely seamless, and we had no problems at all.

We stayed in Cairo at the beginning of the trip, and Giza at the end, and actually enjoyed the travel between the two areas, when we could see some more of the city. We visited the pyramids on our own, without a guide. There is a main entrance, but our taxi driver took us to the Sphinx entrance, which I had thought was closed. It was not. The signage is poor, but the locals directed us to the nearby ticket office (just around the corner), and as we were there early in the morning, there was virtually no queue either.

There are also free shuttle buses around the major parts of the Pyramid complex – the Sphinx, the pyramids, and various viewing points. Visiting without a guide was very easy. We spent about three hours in the huge complex.

Anyway, energy was flagging. Canny Uber drivers were camped out in the carpark at the entrance, meaning our wait time to go back to our hotel was about two minutes. Though a note – not all “Comfort” Ubers in Egypt meet the same standards as “comfort” elsewhere in the world.

So we spent our first afternoon relaxing by the Nile, as we had the night before on arrival. Our hotel had outdoor cafes and bars, but actually, it was a bit windy and cool! Warning: December in Egypt can be cold. Layers are important! Also, the noise from some (maybe just one) of the boats on the Nile was quite diabolical one night. Ear-plugs were deployed. But I am very glad we stayed there. I grew up learning and hearing about the Nile River, and it was really special to stay in a hotel on an island in the middle of the river itself.

The next day we visited the Grand Egyptian Museum. News of its opening the month before had been broadcast all around the world, and the crowds the first few weeks were phenomenal. By the time we went, however, the government had introduced ticket limits and time frames. I booked tickets from home, for the first entrance of the day, a civilised 8.30 am. We got there early, stood shivering in the morning queue before the gates even opened, chatting to other visitors. Then we entered the museum. Even before they opened the exhibition galleries, there was plenty to see. And seeing it without crowds was magnificent and awe-inspiring. It is a huge building, with a cavernous entrance area – though it needs to be with all those enormous statues of Ramesses II! We went straight to see the Tutankhamen exhibition, with virtually no queue at all to see the famous mask , and we found ourselves in other sections of the exhibition viewing treasures completely alone. We then explored the other galleries at leisure, though the crowds were building by late morning. There is so much to see, it really depends on your stamina, back health, and good shoes. There were restaurants and cafes and ice cream stalls catering to the tired and hungry, and we took advantage of those too.

Then we flew to Luxor. Another hotel by the Nile, this one with sunsets, and peaceful feluccas sailing by, and slightly warmer temperatures.

We arranged a tour through the hotel for the Valley of the Kings, and our guide filled in a lot of gaps about timelines, cultural practices, etc and enriched our visit to the tombs of the pharoahs. I’m sure the information is all online, but getting the information there and then was invaluable. Guides can’t enter the tombs – they are crowded enough already. But they can tell you in advance what to look out for, which ones to visit, etc. The detail of the decoration, the beauty of the art work, the wonderful preservation of the tombs over 3000 years, and the fact that this site was used for 500 years is all extraordinary.

Our tour also included a visit to the nearby mortuary temple of the Pharoah Hatshepsut. I loved her story. A woman couldn’t be Pharoah, but the heir was only a boy, so first she ruled as a regent, then took over by dressing as a man and becoming Pharoah Hatshepsut. She ruled for 21 years, over 3500 years ago. The setting for her temple is magnificent, and the building is the most recognisable in Luxor.

We visited Luxor and Karnak Temples on our own. These were both quite magnificent, and we walked and walked at the larger of the two, Karnak Temple, exploring the enormous open air museum complex.

There is so much information online, we didn’t regret not having a guide, although one would have saved us a few steps (or few thousand steps)! You can actually walk between the two temples, but it is a long way, so we decided to go to Luxor Temple in the late afternoon around sunset after a rest. That was the right decision.

Egypt is mind-boggling – the sheer age of the monuments, their grandeur, and the length of such sophisticated civilisations are extraordinary. I’m so glad we were able to go together.

We had a fantastic time. I’ll blog about it soon – with pictures! It was a truly a bucket list trip – we don’t actually know if we’ll be able to travel together again, so this was a “see the ___s before the bucket is kicked” trip. We might have some years left together, but we might not. So it was a special time, we splurged completely (and I hope it doesn’t adversely affect the rest of our lives!), and we enjoyed every moment we could. (Except when I got food poisoning! But I guess that was inevitable.)

Coming home in midsummer means I have missed out on one of my favourite times of year – the Christmas blooming of the pōhutukawa trees. From social media and news reporting I saw when we were away, it was a spectacular display this year in Wellington. One of my favourite local views of the tree in bloom was still flowering when we got home on Friday, and I made the bread/milk run over to the supermarket. By today, on a more leisurely trip to the local shops for a coffee, it has faded already.

It has been nice to get home and to be able to start catching up with friends. And hopefully a visit to family sometime in the next few months too. And I hope to be able to read again (it took a back seat to health issues and caring, and travel planning) and do some more writing. Here included! But it is a little shock to the system to have no more laundry service or restaurant meals or room service. I have to cook and clean here at home! lol There will be more treatments and doctors’ appointments too. Back to reality.

At times I mistake the wind for the noise of a plane coming in to land overhead. We shout to be heard over the maelstrom. In the darkest night, as the roof (or guttering) bangs and clatters, my heart sinks. I fear the roof will rip off and fly across the valley. This is not an unrealistic flight of fantasy, but a reality for houses in my city. Sleep is often elusive.

Spring in 2025 has been unrelenting. There are few gentle days with warmer temperatures. August and September were uncharacteristically calm. But October has seen these belligerent north winds torment us almost daily. These are not brief, periodic outbursts, but a sustained onslaught on our homes, our trees, and our minds.

A rare calm day is a respite, mocking in its brevity. Today has been one of those days. A southerly change at 4 am brought silence. But even then, this afternoon, the wind laughed as it did a full circle back to northerlies and nor’westers (my most hated direction) just for an hour, before switching back again to a southerly. Tomorrow might also be calm. I hardly dare to hope. But I see the vengeful winds are coming back on Thursday. I’m finding it very hard to take this year, on top of other stresses. I’m taking it personally.

Reading: I reported in January that travelling puts a halt on my reading. So too do other things. Major health upheavals in our house have also done that. I’ve read some very simple YA books, that have been easy escapism, but have struggled with others. Only a few books have stood out.

One I particularly enjoyed was the audiobook of the relationship of Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, modestly titled “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told.” They are so obviously in love, and spend a lot of time laughing together that it was a joy to listen to and exactly what I needed as I walked around our suburb.

I heard a great review of a New Zealand book, A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan, and promptly sought it out at my library. Set about an hour up the road from where I live, it was easy to visualise (though I usually have no trouble in visualising books or their settings), an unusual delight to read something set in my country, let alone my province. It’s a bit of a mystery, though a potential answer is flagged early on, and therefore sets you on edge. If you can get hold of it, it is worth the read.

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi was a little too close to home, but is a beautiful mystical book about precious memories.

And finally, I recently finished The Women, by Kristin Hannah. I chose to read it based on its accolades and knew nothing about the subject matter (the Vietnam War) or the author. It had many rave reviews, and I gobbled it up in a day or two, despite disliking the writing in the early chapters. Some things were a bit predictable, and I thought the ending was a bit unrealistic. But I felt her fury at the dismissal of the women’s contribution, and that kept me reading.

Watching: Without reading much, I have been binge-watching my comfort programmes over again. The Good Place, Bridgerton, Ted Lasso, even West Wing (though that is bittersweet). With a new streaming subscription, I even caught up on multiple seasons of Grey’s Anatomy (and was reminded of how much I disliked Derek and many of the male characters, and many of the female characters too!) We’ve been watching lots of easy mysteries. Nothing particularly outstanding, though we are pleased Slow Horses has begun again. And I’m looking forward to the next season of The Morning Show. In the middle of the year, I saw a few movies from the French Film Festival. They always take me away to different perspectives and experiences, and make me wish anew that I could speak French better than I can.

Listening: I’ve been listening to very little. Occasionally I will put music on when I am reading on my own, and I enjoy that. I’ve listened to less news and article radio programmes, because I can only cope with so much negativity.

Following: International politics. Otherwise, very little, other than my husband’s health.

Drinking: The winter saw me consuming a lot of soup – homemade, instant cups of soup, and rice noodle soups, preferably Vietnamese pho or Thai Tom yum flavours. Yum.

Eating: Nothing exciting. Rather than going out for expensive dinners, we snack at cafes with coffee, or a quick lunch. Prices are going up, so it’s harder to buy good cuts of meat. And lately, appetites have been reduced, so I’ve been unexpectedly looking for blander, easy to digest food, rather than the usual Asian and Middle Eastern spices that we love. We’ve been lucky – visitors have taken us out for the occasional really nice restaurant dinners, and that has been a treat.

Buying: We bought two new armchairs. We have been looking for years – chairs that would actually support our heads, that would be comfortable to sit in and read, but that still look stylish. My husband has been asking for years for a good comfortable recliner, and I told him I would relent. But before we could buy it – me with gritted teeth – we actually found two chairs that met all our requirements. They looked good, allow us to recline, had footrests, are very comfortable, and best of all, they were floor models on sale! They caught my eye as we walked past the shop entrance, and within half an hour we had bought them.

We’ve also spent a lot of money on chopping down another major tree, and even more on a bucket-list trip (we got in early for good discounts). You’ll learn about that in due course.

Entertaining: Lots of visitors in the last month. My sister and her husband spent a week with us whilst their daughter was participating in a hockey tournament in the city in late August. We enjoyed having an adults only visit, and I made it to watch some of the hockey games too. Then we had two separate visits from my husband’s brothers from overseas. It was a bit stressful, and involved lots of cooking and cups of tea, but good to have them here. Took me a bit to figure out what to cook – some of my visitor go-to recipes are courtesy of one of my sisters-in-law, so I had to find something different!

Planning: Other than the afore-mentioned trip (that will occur sometime in the next year), we haven’t been able to plan anything else. House maintenance (except for a tree that looked like it might fall down) has been put on hold, the future is uncertain, we are having to quash our urge to plan things in advance.

Enduring: Months and months of treatment and illness (not mine). Sadness and uncertainty and stress.

Hating: Spring. The spring winds have hit later this year, but have hit with real power. We are now in day seven or more of gale force winds, and this is the third or fourth big blow in the last few weeks. It is very frustrating.

Appreciating: Tui visiting us still, despite the loss of both their favourite trees in the last year or so. The lack of pine needles falling on our deck – after a storm, the deck is still pristine! It’s a miracle. Lol Last, but never least, I’ve been appreciative of friends and family who have been concerned and given help, and kept in touch.

Still unashamedly copying Loribeth’s regular series every few months here on A Separate Life.

As part of that peace, I have been walking a bit more, including with friends. August is often a beautiful, calm month with the clearest air and sparkling light. It’s when the winter flowers – hebes and camellias, for example – are in full bloom, and the spring flowers – magnolias and snow drops and daffodils – start appearing too. We’ve had a few very cold (for Wellington) days, when the heating has struggled and the temperature outside hasn’t got over 7 degrees C, but in between, it has been a wonderful month for walking, working on my fitness that has been sadly neglected the last few months as all my attention has been on my husband, renewing my acquaintance with my city, admiring the calm seas in the harbour, and just breathing in nature. The wildness of spring – my least favourite season – will be here soon. So I’ve been grateful for a beautiful late July and August. So far. (I wouldn’t want to tempt fate!)