I was sitting in a felucca, enjoying the crisp wintry breeze on my face as we sailed down the Nile River in Aswan, when I was drawn by the most curious sight: A boy, who could not have been more than seven or eight years old, was perched on a surfboard and rowing furiously to our white wooden boat. He was using paddles (really two flimsy pieces of cardboard) and he grabbed the side of the boat and began serenading us with a carefully curated list of foreign songs (including Macarena) as he beckoned for tips.

“Go to school,” I said. He smiled, but did not respond, as I gave him a dollar and he wrapped up his routine and prepared to paddle back to shore.

Life hasn’t been easy in Egypt, not especially since the 2011 revolution that ended Hosni Mubarak’s presidency and set off a sharp decline in tourism — a major problem for a country whose economy relies so heavily on the industry. However, locals we met on our trip said Egypt appears to be stabilising under current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after the 2013 takeover that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood and it is more than ready to embrace tourists again.

Tour operators have started returning to the country its locals call “mother of the world”. (I was there in the safe hands of global travel company Insight Vacations on its first trip back to the country since 2013.)

I did feel at ease, even though the occasional sight of guards with assault rifles at major sightseeing spots, along with tanks outside the Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square in Cairo, was a little unnerving. Yet, I was comforted to note — from conversations with our guide, shopkeepers, waiters, ship crew and taxi drivers, most of whom welcomed us with the warmest hospitality — that the Egyptians were genuinely happy to see us back on their land. I know I was more than happy to explore this ancient country.

OF TEMPLES AND PYRAMIDS

During my eight-day tour around Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan, I was mesmerised by the relics of the country’s history. I simply could not wrap my head around how men were already able to design and build immensely complex structures such as the Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple and the Temple of Edfu, which were built around 5,200, 3,400 and 2,200 years ago, respectively. I couldn’t even figure out how much I was supposed to tip our waiter without the help of a smartphone. Because there weren’t many tourists at any of the sights — compared with five years ago — we were also able to take in as much of the pyramids and temples at our own pace.

Among the many temples we saw, I was most impressed by Abu Simbel, a massive temple complex cut in solid rock in southern Egypt, built by the great Pharaoh Ramses II around 1,200 BC and dedicated to, erm, himself and his queen Nefertari. The structure is angled in such a way that for two days every year — on Feb 22 and Oct 22, the dates of Ramses II’s birthday and coronation anniversary — the rays of the sun would penetrate the temple complex and illuminate the incredible paintings and hieroglyphs recording the pharaoh’s triumphs over his enemies, as they shone squarely on the sculpture of Ramses II at the back of the temple.

Of course, we had to pay homage to the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, as well as the step pyramid of Saqqara. Nothing quite compares to the experience of standing next to these immense structures and imagining what must have gone through the architect Imhotep’s mind when he designed the first of these tombs. And this is also the place to tick the pyramids off your bucket list and get a photo without pesky tourists in the background.

One of the taxi drivers I met on the trip said he had spent his childhood climbing up and down the pyramids, although this was no longer permitted when I visited. Still, several of the more adventurous among us from the tour climbed down a very narrow shaft at one of the pyramids to visit the chamber that was situated in the very centre — right beneath the tip of the pyramid — which contained the sarcophagus of the pharaoh. Even the most jaded among us couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that we were standing in a room that was built thousands of years before we were born and will probably continue enthralling visitors for thousands of years after we are gone.

WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN

Some of my best experiences of the trip, however, were moments that were largely unscripted on the itinerary. Meal times and bus rides were spent chatting with our wonderfully knowledgeable tour director Mohamed Ragheb. He was a tall, dignified man whose eyes shone when he spoke of his country’s history and who had been compelled to spend the past two years at home with his children when tourists stopped visiting. Mohamed, who has a master’s degree in archaeology, not only told us stories about Egyptian gods, pharaohs and queens and their legacy, but also answered our questions about Egyptian culture as well as his thoughts on the political situation. As part of Insight Vacations’ signature Flourishes segment, Mohamed also surprised us with a trip to a small cafe in Luxor, where we chatted with a scarf seller we met on the streets over Egyptian coffee, mint tea and homemade bread.

On my last day in Egypt, a friend and I decided to be a little more adventurous and explore Cairo — a city that regards its lanes and traffic lights as mere “decorations” — on our own. We booked a taxi to take us to the Khan El–Khalili Bazaar, an old Arab souk that dates back to the 14th century and which sells everything from spices, shisha pipes, toys, souvenirs to bellydancing costumes. Hopelessly lost in the dizzying streets of the bazaar and its outskirts, we eventually found our way back to the taxi with the help of some friendly locals — though not before I purchased some freshly baked sugary sesame bread at a small bakery by the road, which cost only one Egyptian pound (S$0.20) apiece.

But my favourite memories of Egypt were much simpler. The lazy afternoons were spent lying on the sun deck on the spectacular MS Tosca cruise ship on the Nile River as we travelled from Luxor to Aswan, watching the birds, camels and other wildlife on the banks while waving to the children playing on the banks, their donkeys grazing idly by.

I hope the next time I visit, Tahrir Square would no longer be guarded by tanks and military men and the boy who sang to us from his surfboard would be singing for his own leisure rather than for tourists. I would close my eyes, feel the rhythm of the Nile, smell the breeze ... and stuff my face with more delicious sesame bread, of course.

This trip is made possible by Insight Vacations. For more information, visit www.insightvacations.com or call 6922 5950 or 6922 5978