Abu Simbel

The temples of Abu Simbel are three hours south of Aswan near the border with Sudan. The tourist convoy leaves every morning at 3:00am and returns around 1:00pm. The crazy hours are so you miss the extreme midday heat in the desert. Although in the winter heat is not such a problem, the schedule doesn't change. So in the wee hours of the morning, we're squeezing into yet another mini bus. It's an uncomfortable journey on which neither of us sleep. More importantly, however, when we get to Abu Simbel, we're the first ones through the gate and our first views of the towering Ramses II are amazing and devoid of tourists.