EGYPT:  (1995, 2004)  Cairo:  (1995) Where to stay: Hotel Select on Shria Adly (8th floor) was very friendly and conveniently located within walking distance of the museum, the bazaar and the railway station.  What to do: The Museum is a must. You can spend days in there but will probably be overwhelmed after a couple of hours. The gold mask of Tut Ankh Amon is there and yes it's out of this world. There are many beautiful mosques to see. The Citadel should be paid a visit. The huge bazaar is also a must and quite fun. Smoking the sweet water pipes in one of the many cafés is also a nice way to spend time in Cairo.  Even though the Pyramids are and always will be a tourist trap, they're so amazing you just have to go. The local bus is one tenth of the price of the tourist buses and takes you pretty much to the gate of the pyramids (the bus leaves from the museum - ask around for which one to take).  A great place to eat is the very popular (with good reason) Felfela Garden at 15 Sharia Hoda Sharawi (just off Sharia Talaat Harb).  Getting there and away: The train is a nice way to move on to Luxor.  Luxor:  (1995, 2004) Where to stay: I stayed at Grand Hotel (less than US$ 2) in the back alleys (1995). It was a far cry from grand, but very friendly (I was even taken to a wedding by one of the guys working there).  What to do: Visiting the old temples in Luxor (Luxor and Karnak ), the Valley of the kings, temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon, and the other sights is too much to sum up. Do it all! It's amazing! My only advice is to rent a bicycle in Luxor and visit the Valley of Kings and the other sights on the other side of hte River Nile on the bike. It's a wonderful way to get around and you'll be able to stop where and when you want.  Shopping: There's a good souq/bazaar in Luxor close to the Luxor temple. They sell everything from water pipes to the obligatory papyrus paintings. If you wander off from the main tourist market you can find good bargains on anything in leather and the quality is usually very good.  Getting there and away: The train takes you to Cairo or further south to Aswan . There are buses to Hurghada and other Red Sea destinations. Finally there is also the Nile cruises between Luxor and Aswan. Nile cruise: (2004) there are around 300 cruise ships going between Luxor and Aswan. It is truly a floating highway and you can always see one or more ships in front of you (and behind). Still it is a great way to travel. It is also fascinating to see the system used when the ships dock side by side on the shore, up to ten ships outside one another. When some leave and others arrive it is quite chaotic but extremely skilful.  Most have a small pool on the sun deck, and service onboard is superb. You will get to see the life of Egyptians drift by on the shores; farming, washing clothes, fishing, kids playing, etc. You also stop by some magnificent sights in the towns of Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan (see more details under the sections of the mentioned towns). The standard cruise takes a week and gives u extra time in Luxor and Aswan. Booking is said to be cheaper through tour agents in Europe than in Egypt, but price still depends mostly on the luxury of the boat.   Edfu: (2004) the temple of Edfu is one of the best preserved in Egypt. The reliefs are great although there is little or no colour left. The centre-piece is without doubt the massive statue of Horus  (the Falcon - God of wars).   Kom Ombo: (2004) we did not enter this temple but it looks great on the bank of the Nile and is lit up magnificently at night. There is a chamber there with mummified crocodiles also. You enter the temple through a small but intense bazaar. If you turn right before the gate to the temple you can find a fantastic traditional tea tent where you sit on cushions on the floor smoking water pipe. Right next to it is a fabulous Nubian house.   Aswan: (2004) the bazaar in Aswan stretches along the road from the train station. The display of spices is very colourful and there are some good buys here (what is sold as saffron is actually tumeric so don't pay a high price). There are plenty of offers of felucca rides, typically going to Elephantine Island to visit one of the two Nubian villages. The tour of the high dam is quoted as disappointing by many as the views are no good. One of the biggest attractions is the temple of Abu Simble, a three-hour bus ride south of Aswan. The temple was rescued by moving it when the high dam was built. There is a visitors centre at the gates that show this huge operation. There are two temples, one for Ramses II and one for his wife Nefertari. Both are cut straight in a mountain and truly awesome. The statues of Ramses are some 20m tall (and he is sitting). Inside are incredibly well preserved reliefs showing Ramses conquering Nubia.   Hurghada: (2004) Iberotel Arabella  is made as a village with nubian style white washed buildings in a labyrinth of arches, stairs and domes. It has a good atmosphere and the staff are fabulous. There are two big pools, several restaurants and bars, and a small beach with a great coral reef just off the pier. There are plenty of activities for kids and those that need activating. Double rooms are Euro 96,- a night, but most visitors are package tourists getting a better deal through tour operators. In Hurghada you sunbathe, swim, snorkel and/or scuba dive. ---- TUNISIA (2001)  Tunisia is a safe and friendly country for the traveller. It has OK beaches along the coast if that's your thing, but it's main attraction is the Sahara desert in the south. The staple food is couscous made from semolina granules. The fast, cheap, and easy way to get around is by louages, which are group taxis (station wagons that leave when full, but fortunately the Tunisians don't mean full as literally as the Kenyans do with their matatu equivalent, so you'll sit comfortably). Sousse: Tourist area with nice beach. Sousse has little charm and is not a place to spend most of your time in Tunisia. The medina is quite nice however, and worth exploring if you have the time. The museum at the top end of the medina (by the fort) has some incredible mosaics from the Roman times. The train southward to El Jem, Sfax and Gabes, leaves at 07:59 in the morning. Cost is ca US$ 2 to El Jem {1 hr). El Jem: The huge and impressive amphitheater is the main attraction of El Jem. It's an attractive town also. The amphitheater is Roman and was the place for gladiator fights. Apparently it's just slightly smaller than the Coliseum in Rome, but better preserved. These days it's used for concerts, and if you're unlucky (like us) the stage and rigging is still there ruining the possibility of great photos. There are frequent louages (group taxis) from El Jem. To Sfax it's US$ 2 and takes you 1 hr. Sfax The Medina of Sfax it's the big attraction as no tourists go there. Its surrounding walls are impressive. To get to Tataouine or Douz you take a louage to Gabes and switch for a new one there. Louage to Gabes is US$ 3,50 and takes 1,5 hrs. Tataouine: This relaxed town is situated in a small valley between some beautiful hills. The market place is very beautiful and you'll be pretty much the only tourist there in the afternoon and evening. The Hotel La Medina right next to the market is basic but very friendly. They also have a decent restaurant where you get dinner for ca US$ 1,50. The rooms are US$ 3,50. You get there by louage from Gabes (2 hrs, US$ 3,50). Tataouine is the gateway to the Berber villages and their "ksours". One of the best preserved, yet not heavily visited (we were the only ones there), is the Ksar Ouled Sultan. This is beautiful architecture and the place is quiet and wonderful. The two old Berber villages, Douiret and Chenini are very different in the fact that the latter is heavily tourist and somewhat bigger, and the former not visited at all although somewhat smaller. Both are spectacularly situated on hilltops overlooking an escarpment. You can get a camionnette to take you to these three sights in a day (4-6 hrs). This will cost ca. US$ 30 (for the car, not pr.pers).   Matmata: The scenes from Star Wars of Luke Skywalker's home were filmed partly in Matmata. The outside scenes were filmed close to Tozeur, but the scenes from the actual home is from Matmata. His home is now a magical place of a hotel - the Sidi Driss -and still has some of the movie decorations intact. The dugout troglodyte home is probably one of the most extraordinary hotels you'll ever stay in, and it's not even a tourist trap. If you make the trip to Matmata, do stay overnight. The tour buses come rolling in from early morning, but after 4 in the afternoon you have the whole place to yourself. Dinner is served under the stars in the bar area, and is truly a special experience. The Sidi Driss charges US$ 6 a night and the rooms are really nice and cool. Some people in Matmata still live in these dugout homes, and it's easy to understand why, in summer when the sun becomes fierce. The homes are built around a pit courtyard in a mound of sandstone, with dugout rooms in the inside wall of the pit. You can get to Matmata by regular bus from Gabes for US$ 1 (takes 45 minutes). Douz (Camel trekking): There's a charming market square in Douz, and apparently it is spectacular on Thursdays. Apart from that, it's a sleepy little town where tourists drive through on their way to Zafraane and camel trekking in the Sahara. You get to Douz via Kebili from Gabes. Takes you 2,5 hours and costs US$ 4,50. You can get a small camionnette from Douz to Zafraane, and this is where you get the best deals for camel rides. You're dropped of in the middle of a huge area with hundreds of camels and the dunes as a backdrop. You can negotiate for any amount of time you want to go trekking - from one hour and up to 8 days (visiting the ksar Ghilane). The best deal seems to be the overnight trek where you go at ca 1700 and head out into the dunes for 2 hours. The guide cooks you a great supper on open fire and even bakes bread straight in the hot embers of the fire. Then you spread many layers of blankets right on the sand dune and cover yourself with the last one, and wait for sleep while watching the stars. You wake up at sunrise and head back. Great experience! Tozeur: The Residence Warda is very nice and popular but prices have hiked accordingly. You get a double room for US$ 15. Tozeur has an interesting Old town where the houses have very special brick decorations. One of these houses used to belong to the Bey of Tozeur, and was also used as setting for the movie "The English patient". There's also a palmerie and you can rent bikes to get around. Residence Warda offers an excursion to the three spectacular oasis villages Mides, Tamerza and Chebika. This cost US$ 18 but is negotiable depending on how many in the group (max 7). Mides is situated on the Algerian frontier 1 hr's drive north of Tozeur. It' main attraction is the spectacular canyon that the old Berber village overlooks. Going back towards Tozeur, you stop in Tamerza. Tamerza also has an old deserted Berber village, and most of all two very different but beautiful water falls. Finally just at the edge of the salt lake, lies Chebika. The mountains surrounding it are very beautiful and there is a small waterfall and a creek that is channeled down to the old village. The old village was actually flooded in 1969 and its inhabitants moved to the new modern town of Chebika. There are huts for rent at the waterfall in Tamerza, and if you have an extra day, it looked like a wonderful place to spend it. You get to Tozeur from Kebili by louage for US$ 2,50 and the trip takes 2,5 hrs. Do stop halfway across the causeway of the salt lake and look at (or buy) the beautiful salt and mineral roses. There's a bus to Sousse at 0950 (US$ 10) taking 5 hrs.