To me Luxor and Cairo should be on everyone's 'to do' list. The scene is set as you come in to land, with a birds-eye view of the Nile, the lush vegetation and the contrast of desert as far as the eye can see.

The thing that hit me first was the heat: Luxor gets very very very hot so when I visited any sites I got up seriously early, which was great as the temples were very quiet then. My advice: take your camera everywhere, as Luxor is like an open-air museum.

Obviously no trip is complete without a visit to the Valley of the Kings to see where the pharaohs were laid to rest. On my first visit we also combined this with a visit to Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut, Karnak and Luxor temples - amazing. The best view of Luxor? Believe it or not it's from the top of a fast food restaurant, which if you get up there before dusk, you can see the Nile, Luxor temple and a truly memorable sunset.

Away from the temples and tombs, I really enjoyed the markets, which were great fun and I got some real bargains haggling - never pay the first price you're given, the traders don't expect you to take it! I also found plenty to do in the evenings and had great fun in the some of the local bars, and loads of amazing food at really good prices in different restaurants. Feeling adventurous? How about hot air balloons or a camel ride? My favourite thing to do was to relax by the Nile with an ice cold beer and shisha pipe watching the world go or float by.

Cairo for me is a crazy place but I absolutely love it; traffic is basically a free for all with cars, donkeys, camels, horse and carts and even chickens vying for space! The famous Cairo Museum was fascinating and of course the pyramids are easy to get to, and Cairo also has a shopping mall called City Stars to rival any in the world.

If you want sun, culture and an amazing adventure then Luxor and Cairo are the answer!