WanderingTrader

Egypt Travel Advice: Avoiding Melting Luggage

Ahhh Egypt, the land of the pharaohs.

Unique in its own right, no land is as mysterious and ancient as Egypt.  From the prowess of the Roman Empire or the determination of the British Empire, nothing compares to the longevity of the Egyptians.  Their civilization lasted for 3,000 years.

Till this day there are still significant finds throughout all of Egypt.  One thing you may not have known is that Egypt is situated in the middle of the desert (I know it surprised me too) and boy does it get hot.

Temple at Abu Simbel

After seeing all the highlights in and around Cairo we needed to continue on to the rest of the country.  On to Abu-Simbel Egypt!  We booked a flight with Egyptian airlines specifically because we love the fresh reminiscent smell of body odor from bodies that have not taken showers for days (actually it was the only flight available).

I kid you not, no one was wearing deodorant.

When we got to Abu-Simbel Egypt we didn’t have the luxury of stepping off the plane into a freshly air conditioned room with a compelling aroma of fried food and carbonated beverages.  No, we were greeted with the kindness and compassion of 104 degree heat (40 degrees Celsius) and that’s when it happened.

“The aiport” at Abu Simbel

We get off the plane and breathed in the magnificence of Egypt.  Just realizing at that moment, how lucky we were to be able to see all of this history.  Once we started to walk the ground felt sticky.  At first we just thought it may be gum or perhaps a bird’s gift to the world.  We kept walking and something still wasn’t right there couldn’t possibly be that many birds in Abu-Simbel.  As we investigated further we realized that our sneakers were actually melting on the tarmac.  We shouted to each other “QUICK! TO THE BUILDING!”.

The remnant of the carry-on wheel

With our carry-on luggage rolling as fierce as the run of the bulls in Spain, we were about halfway there when we realized it was getting harder and harder to run.  We look down and the wheels of our luggage had become degraded.  It’s similar to when you take a test in school and you have the upmost confidence that you received a perfect grade only to realize later that you were given a failing grade.  Our luggage wheels were degraded to nubs.  At least this time everyone didn’t see my underwear! We were literally dragging our luggage on the pavement.  Quite the inconvenience at the time but we can now look back and laugh at the case of the melting luggage at Abu-Simbel Egypt.

Egypt Travel Advice:  You have to go to Abu-Simbel!  Just make sure its coldest time of the year (which happens to be almost never).

18 Comments

  1. Hahaha! Great tip about going at the coldest time of year – I went in Winter 2008/2009 and it was still piping hot, but at least a cool breeze. I can’t even imagine what it would be like in Summer 🙁

  2. I loved Abu Simbel. I went by convoy and it was in January. The temperatures were actually bearable.
    What I didn't like about the convoy (besides the fact that I felt like a moving target) was that we didn't get to stay long enough. If I ever go again I will fly and stay there for a couple of days. I will remember to go when my luggage wheels don't melt!!

    1. Hey Nancie thanks for the comment… once we got to the airport we really couldn’t stop laughing. It was a great trip but unusually hot, we def plan on going again

  3. Hot enough to melt your luggage!! lol I def have learned that lesson… thanks for the comment

  4. LOL.. we laughed about it later but then we had the task of finding luggage in abu simbel.. no es bueno! lol thanks for the comment

  5. Thanks for the comment! I think its those heat and melt resistance sandals! I think we saw them in the movie 300 lol!

  6. Thanks for the comment! I think its those heat and melt resistance sandals! I think we saw them in the movie 300 lol!

  7. Yeah its true that Egypt is situated in the middle of the desert..I also cam to know about this information last year when i visited it….Carrying melting products will surely create a huge problem to the travelers,as it is too hot out there….So i will too suggest to avoid carrying the melting products there….

  8. I love your humour……and thanks for the tip….never knew things like this can happen….so thank you for bringing this to our awareness.

  9. complaining and you just had to get on a “plane” for one time with them. how about trying public busses? or even a taxi! haha 😀 really, I have smelled body odours meters away from people in this country of mine 😀 (i try my best to avoid getting help from the guy working with me in the pharmacy getting something of a higher shelf!)

    and for the weather, doesn’t it make you wonder how those pharaohs were able tobuild and carry heavy stones in such weather? 😀

  10. My husband is Egyptian and he HATESSSS to travel by metro whenever hes in egypt. He told me that there is one time his brother nearly kicked him when he suddenly blurted “did anybody took a bath at least yesterday?!!” :))

  11. Oh wow it gets pretty hot then! Always wanted to go, and this has made me want to book a trip – as long as it’s not too hot! 🙂

  12. A well researched and informative article…. I was searching online for something that can help me make a better plan for my Egypt trip…
    Thanks for the article…

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *