Luxor was sweltering.
Dressed to avoid heatstroke and sunburn, Julian took a boat across the Nile River to get to the Valley of the Kings.
"You are a brave man venturing to the Valley this time of day..." the man steering the sailboat told him.
"Why? What's happened? I was not informed of any dangers or anything for today." He said, checking his camera still had enough battery.
"Bad..." the middle-aged man muttered "bad omens...trouble is coming..."
"Excuse me?" Julian asked, looking concerned "Did you say something?"
"Tourists don't listen to us river people..." he continued to mutter, steering the boat into the jetty.
"Do you really think it's wise for me to go up into the Valley or should we turn back?" He asked the man who was now sitting down and fanning himself with his wide-brimmed hat.
"We're here now, your guide and camel await, it was a pleasure!" He said politely as if he had never had a change in mood, just a moment ago.
"I'm spending three hours in the Valley, will you be here when I return to take me back to my hotel?" Julian asked, disembarking.
But the man was already casting off and beginning to sail away.
"You should have listened to me son, always listen to the river people!" He called, leaving Julian to stand alone on the wooden jetty.
*
His tour guide was a young looking man, around thirty years of age. He had a wide-brimmed hat on and was covered in sunscreen.
"Don't mind him!" He reassured Julian with a smile and an extended hand. "He's just a lonely hermit that sails up and down the river trying to scare tourists! You'll get back to your hotel, via the Luxor Bridge, see just down there? We'll take you back! Anyway, I am not a local I am actually an Aussie and the name is Dan, but I have lived here in Luxor for the last decade when I met the love of my life, an Egyptian beauty!"
"Pleased to meet you, Dan, do you miss Australia?" He asked, returning the handshake.
They were by now walking to two beautiful looking white camels.
"Sometimes, Julian wasn't it?" To which Julian nodded.
"And who do we have here?" He asked as he reached up to pat one of the camels, it returned the favour by sneezing all over him.
"That's our one and only Melwah!" Dan said laughing as Julian came to terms with being covered in slimy camel snot.
"Do you mind if I take a selfie with Melwah?"
"Go right ahead! If she sneezes on people like that, that means she really likes them, so feel privileged!" Dan said, still amused.
"Gee...thanks! Feeling the love!" Julian replied as he took the photo. "How hard is it to get camel snot out of clothes?"
"It sticks like shit! Wash your shirt and hat at least a dozen times!" Dan advised, still trying not to laugh.
"Do you get a kick out of your camels sneezing on the people you take to the Valley of the Kings?" He asked, sending the photo to his brother.
He knew Sean would get a kick out of it.
Moments later he got a reply "please put that on Instagram... Charlotte is wondering why I nearly choked on my breakfast! Have a ball in Egypt, brother! Bring yourself an Egyptian Goddess home!"
"All good?" Dan asked, "Ready to mount?"
"Might as well, I've already been sneezed on!" Julian said, eyeing the beautiful female camel, she had a colourful halter on that accented her deep, brown eyes and long, luscious lashes.
She swung her head around and nearly knocked him flat on his backside.
He only just had enough time to duck, she then pushed her nose right in his face.
"Will she bloody bite??" He asked, his voice tensed, his breathing hitched.
"Can I ask what you are wearing? Scent wise?" Dan asked, holding onto her lead rope.
"Joop, I think I put on this morning, then Lynx for deodorant" He answered.
"Ah well, there you go!" Dan said grinning as he got her to lay down. "She loves Joop on men and anything floral and sweet on the ladies, and you do know that camels can kick in any direction? Anyway...on you get! Time is wasting!"
He tried to climb on as gracefully as he could but watching Dan mount his camel he soon felt as clumsy as a child learning to walk.
"Least you're not a show-off and ended up face planting the sand on the other side of her!" Dan said as they set off.
*
It was if the three hours had come and gone so very quickly but Julian now had some amazing shots on his camera, he didn't realise just how much the Valley of the Kings stretched across the desert, tombs of many ancient Egyptian rulers, housed in the rock, a catacomb of many rooms and mazes, once filled with treasures of gold and precious stones long looted by the tomb robbers before him.
But left behind was the amazing hieroglyphs and everyday life depicted on the walls of each chamber, carved thousands of years ago they stood against time to still be standing to be enjoyed by the many tourists and archaeologists that still made the trip to Egypt to see the wonder and the beauty for themselves.
He was glad he had finally made the trip for himself.
They rode their camels back to the jetty.
"I'm gonna miss you, sweet Melwah!" He bode the camel goodbye with a hug and a kiss to her neck. He had a few good shots of her but his favourite was their selfie.
"Just waiting for the car to come and pick you up Julian," Dan said, approaching him. "Are you moving on from Luxor?"
"Tomorrow, and moving on to Abu Simbel, then up the river to Cairo," He told the Australian.
"If you want some good shots of the river just head past the jetty, the sun will soon set so the light should play in your favour!" Dan suggested, "but don't get too close, the hippos and the crocs aren't as friendly as Melwah here! I'll give you a yell when the car does get here, shouldn't be long!"
He smiled and checked his camera, he had just enough battery left so he headed down to the river bank.
A couple of hippos were laying about downstream from him.
So with a smile, he captured a couple of shots, one even giving him a big yawn.
He took a couple of steps closer to the river bank, noticing the two hippos had a baby with them, crouching down to snap a couple of shots, he wasn't quick enough to move out of the way when the big male charged and knocked him into the murky waters of the river, he hit his hip on something heavy and sharp concealed in the muddiness of the river.
Coming up for air and yelling out in pain he just focused enough to see the male hippo crush his expensive camera with a single bite.
He tried to get out of the water but his foot got caught in something on the river bed.
Dan was by now running down to try and help him.
The hippo seemed to close the gap between them quicker than he could blink, and as his pair of massive jaws came closer and closer to Julian that was the last thing he saw before everything went black...