Our Time in Luxor During Our Trip to Egypt was Truly Fascinating

On October 8, 2024October 8, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Egypt2 Comments

Luxor is certainly the highlight of any trip to Egypt and there are many wonderful ancient sites to visit. Luxor takes at least a couple of days to truly see, and you should divide your time between the west and east banks of the Nile. It is a short flight from Cairo, although it can certainly be reached by bus or car if you prefer. There are plenty of hotel choices in Luxor, but because we were there to start our Nile River cruise, we stayed on board our ship. Out of our entire time in Egypt, many of our favorite memories came from our time in Luxor.

Karnak Temple – After the Great Pyramids in Cairo, this is probably one of the most visited and photographed places in Egypt. We visited both during the day and then again at night for one of the light and sound shows. Regardless of the time of day, it is an amazing location with so many sights to see. From statues, columns, obelisks, to the hieroglyphs and temple walls, it is a labyrinth of fascinating art and architecture.

The Valley of the Kings – If you have watched any mummy movie or ever imagined yourself as an archeologist discovering an ancient site, walking through one of these ancient tombs is a memory that you will never forget. Even though all of the treasures have been removed and can be found in museums throughout the world, seeing where the pharaohs were buried centuries ago is worth the time.

Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon – Although these are two separate sights, they are close enough to each other that we are combining them as one attraction. The sheer size of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is amazing to see and it is definitely different than most of the other temples that we visited in Egypt. As for the Colossi of Memnon, it will only take about a half an hour to visit, but seeing these enormous statues that face the Nile River is quite impressive.

King and Queen Together in the Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple – Although not as large as the Karnak Temple Complex, it should definitely be on your list of places to see while in Luxor. There is a road between the two temple complexes that is being reconstructed that will be absolutely amazing when complete. By the time you have visited a couple of the temple complexes, your head will be spinning with all of the historical, mythological, and cultural information that you will be told if you use an Egyptologist guide as we did.

Nile River Cruise – Taking a cruise from Luxor down to Aswan is an incredible experience that you will treasure forever. As you leave Luxor and start to head south, you will see the mountains that house the Valley of the Kings off of the banks of the Nile. It is also a great way to get out of the heat of the desert and travel in relaxing style.

Alabaster Factories – Going to one of the many alabaster factories is certainly worthwhile, even if you don’t purchase anything. Just seeing the artisans who create unique works of art from the translucent stone makes it something that you should do while in Luxor.

There are many other sites to visit while in Luxor, such as the Valley of the Queens or the Luxor Museum, if you have the time. If you only have two days as we did, we would certainly recommend that you at least visit these particular places.

The Amazing Views from Chandragiri Hills in Kathmandu, Nepal

On February 1, 2024February 1, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn NepalLeave a comment

During our trip to Kathmandu, we had the opportunity to visit the Chandragiri Hills, which is right on the outskirts of the city. The final tour of our trip started with taking the cable car up the side of the mountain, which are really foothills, to see the temple of Bhaleshwor Mahadev. Unfortunately, it was a little cloudy on the day that we visited, but that didn’t diminish from the experience, although we’re sure that the views of the Kathmandu Valley would have been even better and we weren’t able to see the Himalayan Mountain Range. Since we had already taken a high-altitude helicopter up to base camp on Mount Everest, it wasn’t much of a disappointment to see the peaks off in the distance.

It can be very busy visiting Chandragiri Hills, partially because of its close proximity to the heart of Kathmandu and the views that can be seen. Perhaps because we visited on a weekday or because it was an overcast day, it wasn’t particularly busy during our visit. The views from the cable car were quite spectacular, especially during our trip back down from top as the clouds had begun to clear somewhat. In addition to the temple, there is also a zipline at the top of the hills as well as some activities for kids. We received a blessing from a Hindu Priest during the time that we spent at Bhaleshwor Mahadev, which was very memorable for us.

After visiting Chandragiri Hills, we continued on to Swayambhunath Stupa, also known as “Monkey Temple”, which was much busier than the cable car. We had many wonderful experiences during our time in Nepal and Chandragiri Hills was certainly one of them. It took about two hours between the time that it takes to go up and down on the cable car as well as walking around the temple. There is also a trail that you can take from a resort at the base of the hills if you would prefer a strenuous hike instead of taking the cable car.

Resort at the Bottom of Chandragiri Hills

Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal

On January 19, 2024January 19, 2024 By Living The Q Life Travel AdventuresIn Nepal2 Comments

One of the more unique experiences that we had during our trip to Kathmandu was to visit the Pashupatinath Temple, which is dedicated to Pashupati, a form of Shiva. The temple sits on the Bagmati River and one of the things that makes it unique are the Hindu cremation ceremonies, called an Antyesti, that take place along the river adjacent to the temple. For Westerners, seeing the ceremonies might seem strange, but it is an important ritual in the Hindu religion.

There are several stone platforms on either side of the temple and while we were there, most of them were being used to perform cremations. Family members that are able to make it to the ceremony gather around as the body is prepared and placed on wood that has been stacked on the platforms. The ceremony is performed soon after the family member is deceased, typically within a day, so often times not all family members are able to make it to the ceremony.

Our guide talked to us about some of the reasons behind the cremation ritual, some of it is pragmatic, but most of it is spiritual. Some who follow the Hindu religion believe that if you bury a person and create a headstone or location to visit after their passing, it keeps the living from moving on with their lives and causes them to continue grieving. The burning of the body allows their human spirit to rise to the afterlife and then the final remains are swept into the Bagmati River which is another way that allows the spirit to move on.

There are vendors selling food and other gifts in the area and it is important to remember that these are celebrations of the life of the person who passed. We also saw some cows grazing in the open areas near the temple and we learned that at times when a person was cremated their animals were released and allowed to live free. It was definitely an interesting experience and not like anything we had ever visited during our various travels.