h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...can be intense - unfortunately most tourists are there for a couple of weeks, mostly spent in air-conditioned buses, hotels and restaurants

I was lucky enough to travel by bus to Egypt (from Sweden!) - and the bus had no air condition, which sounds a lot worse than it was (most of the time, anyway). This allowed us to become accustomed (sp?) to warm weather gradually - and I was very grateful for that during the month we spent travelling around in Egypt!

The heat didn't bother us much - and we were able to see the sites at hours when they *weren't* crowded with other tourists...

There's an edited entry on Abu Simbel with more details found here: A430183

Thanks for an excellent travelogue - it brings back fond memories!

The heat was bad, but certainly not the worst part. It is just a question of giving it due respect and working round it. Hence why I was at Abu Simbel at six in the morning. Most tourists don't seem to follow this rule though, which means the bigger sites are relatively quiet at that time in the morning. Never go to Abu Simbel after eight in the morning, there are just soooo many tourists these days.
Glad you are enjoying my reports, now if only I can get the rest of my pictures online before the final part comes out next week.