As I've said many a time, "It's no good being poor and looking poor!

We were moved to our proper room when our original booking date (Saturday) arrived. They knew exactly which suite to give us, as there is a set of shelving in the small office which was obviously designed to accommodate a serious collection of melodeons. If only I'd realised, I could have brought the lot, instead of a solitary1 Row!

I have to say that the suite is palatial. It's bigger than our flat in Luxor, and also bigger than our home in Windy Nook! Would you like a look around, Dear Reader? I'm sure that my beloved took a video. (Actually, she now tells me that she took 4, so that they might load more quickly.) What do you think, Dear Reader, have we fallen on our feet yet again, or what?

I wondered about these new lights in the floor towards the bar, as they seemed to be running off-centre! 

But then realised that they were reflections from these beautiful chandeliers:

It's always worth staying in the best quality places that your finances can stretch to, Dear Reader. At the Cataract, they even had something which we at "Our Luxor" hadn't even envisaged:

No, Dear Reader, not the trousers, but the double electrical socket which they've craftily concealed in the wardrobe, just in case you're passing by and feel the sudden need for some instant electricity! I was also rather taken aback when spying this in the room:

For a moment, I thought we'd travelled back in time to the sixties, and Rediffusion TV! (For those who aren't English; Rediffusion was a company providing TV signals, via a hard-wired cable network; every customer had one of these [or something VERY like it] on their window sill, for changing TV channels.) But his turned out to be a volume switch in the bathroom, for the TV or Bose radio and music system, which I didn't have a clue how to work, so left well alone!

We're struggling on here, making do with room service meals, as we cannot be bothered to go to the fabulous and famous '1902 Restaurant' in the old building. (We found it more conducive to slouch, in our oversized bathrobes, in front of one of the giant sized TV sets, watching junk movies from the USA.)

We've got some food on its way just now, so I'll say "Au revoir." until next time. Mind you, it's so nice here, that when our Premium Bonds come up, I think we should start to winter at the Old Cataract in Aswan!

"It's nice here, isn't it?" exclaimed Abdou the West Bank Donkey Man, for the umpteenth time!

Yes, he was a lovely fellah as he took Number 2 Daughter and I on our donkey tour of the West Bank farming lands and villages, then stumbling over the mountains from the King's Valley to Hatshepsut's Funery Temple. Great fun was had by all, including him as he had to keep stopping my donkey from wandering into the path of the fully laden six-wheeled tipping wagons coming pelting down the road from the Valley area.

Of course, that was many a long year ago, when she was a little girl, instead of the fully grown beauty queen and devoted mother which she now, who (just about!) singlehandedly runs the pharmacy at our local hospital! But we still have a laugh when any of us comes out with Abdou's catchphrase.

And so it was, as we gracefully made our way up the Nile on Mr Ramadan's Nile Cruiser, the Royal Viking. "It's nice here, isn't it?" I must have said that to Freda at least a half dozen times, and each one raised a smile for both of us. It IS nice, and genuinely so! I'm ever grateful to our good friend Mr Ramadan Hagaggi for helping us to travel on her, as we do really feel like part of his extended family. (He's a nephew of our dear departed neighbour [the English speaking Egyptian Guide, Licence No. 9 in all Egypt!] Uncle Mohamed, whom we had the privilege to help and care for during the slow decline towards his death, and whom we still miss greatly!)

We've been fortunate enough to cruise the Nile on this vessel about 5 or possibly 6 times, now, and I love it. I cannot honestly put my hand on my heart and tell you that it's the most luxurious Nile cruiser on which we've sailed, but the very fact that we keep on returning to it must tell you something? It's comfortable, certainly clean enough; and with every usual Nile cruiser facility available onboard, the crew/staff are attentive and kindly as ever, and the food is very good, even improved upon previous visits! Roll-on next time, we can hardly wait!

(If you type 'Royal Viking', into the little search box at the top of this page, you'll find lots of posts about her and also the Cataract, as the two have often gone hand in hand.)

The main purpose of the cruise was to get us to Aswan, and our pre-booked stay at the glorious "Old Cataract Hotel". I've probably told you all this before, Dear Reader, but the Cataract is my No. 1 favourite hotel, ever. There is the old building, known as the Palace, and also the concrete monolith which was formerly the "New Cataract", which was in the same style as the equally awful (but both adequate and cheaper) "New Winter Palace" in Luxor. Now, it has been almost re-built (a few years ago, I blogged about it at the time!) as "The Nile Wing" and is the very apogee of luxury and modern style! I'm writing this very Blog in the office part of our suite in that building, who's a lucky boy then?  

Here's the view from the balcony, of the room which we were allocated on arrival, I think it's outstanding!

Mind you, this room on the 6th floor wasn't what we were really expecting, but we were glad of it, nonetheless. Our original booking was for Saturday, but the cruiseboat leaves Aswan in the very early hours on Saturday, so we had to leave her on Friday. Frantic phone calls and emails etc to the Cataract manager had him struggling to find room for us in an hotel which was already bursting at the seams. But, star that he is, he did it, good old Mr Osama Saied! Thank you.

The room was very nice and well appointed, but........twin beds? Really, for old folk who've been married for a month short of 50 years?

Thankfully, by the next night, our proper room was available and made ready for us. But that's for another story!