Above: From my Luxor hotel rooftop.
I had spent all of yesterday in the hotel, mostly in bed. I needed time to clear my mind with things I haven’t taken care of for a while when on the road. So, it was filing, sorting bills, and trying my luck with getting a new job when I get back home. Sometimes I get a job when I don’t look, so I won’t try too hard.
Today, with a 2345 train departure for Alexandria, I relaxed and planned my activities for there and Cairo thereafter. I really should have moved on but the hotel in Luxor is pleasant, good and cheap. I had arranged a halfday rate and checked out at 2300 to walk to the train station.
The train arrived just before 2345 and we left on time, with me in Coach #1 (the very end) in a first class seat (which was 3 rather than 4 across).
Officially, foreigners are only allowed to travel from Luxor to Cairo on the sleeper train, not the public train. The sleeper costs USD100 twinshare. Foreigners are prevented from buying the normal tickets at the counter so I bought mine online directly from the railway’s website. It cost me EGP134 (USD19) all the way to Alexandria in First Class. It would have been cheaper to Cairo or in Second Class.