I was lucky enough to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Egypt at an industry event and it was a moment I will never forget. For me, this was a dream come true, as I had studied Egyptian history at school, and in my younger years, devoured books and watched countless documentaries about the Ancient Egyptian way of life, and the mystery of the lives of the Pharaohs and their rituals, particularly those around mummification.
This being the case, I was obsessed with the pyramids and ancient ruins which were such an important part of Egyptian life and culture in ancient times. I joined my tour in Cairo with On The Go Tours, and met our guide Momo. Our first day was spent visiting the Sphinx and Great Pyramids in Giza, and ticking off some true bucket list items. The other thing which was great about our tour was we had tourist police with us, who were discrete in their presence but also were on hand to assist if we were bailed up by someone trying to sell us a camel ride. It added a layer of comfort that I appreciated during the trip.
That night we travelled on an overnight train to Aswan. While the train is not flash, it was serviceable and the advantage of travelling overnight is you lost no time during the day which could have been spent sightseeing or doing other more interesting activities.
Our cruise on the Nile was one of the genuine highlights of the trip; it was such a wonderfully relaxing way to travel and enjoy watching the world go by as we travelled up toward Luxor. We had a wonderful support boat where we had our meals which were prepared for us by the crew, and the rest of the time was spent relaxing.
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 Relaxing on a felucca as we sail down the Nile |
For me, the true highlight was the Valley of the Kings and the hot air balloon experience over this magnificent area. While it did involve a very early morning, seeing the sunrise over the Valley of the Kings was something that I will never forget and was a true bucket list item for me on this trip. The Temple of Hatshepsut was also included on this day and the beauty and enormity of these temples was simply mind-blowing, to think all these temples and structures were created by hand!
 Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens from above |  One of the most amazing experiences, over the Valley of the Kings |
 Temple of Hatshepsut |
The trip concluded back in Cairo, and included a trip to the Cairo Museum on our final day. Seeing the mask of Tutankhamun and many of the other amazing artefacts in the museum was also something I had dreamed about as a small child and I kept having to pinch myself that I really was there.
I will never forget my trip to Egypt although I would have loved to head to Hurghada or Sharm-el-Sheikh to enjoy the beaches and go diving in the Red Sea, which is some of the most amazing diving and snorkelling in the world.
My advice to anyone would be don't travel to Egypt in August; it is fiercely hot, and can interfere with your enjoyment of some of the sights that do not offer much in the way of shade. I would also suggest being of reasonable fitness to be able to walk around the ancient ruins and see these incredible parts of history.
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