Chapter 223: Aswan Night Market (Edited)

Night trains, also known as Trenhotel or overnight trains. Passengers board the train at night and arrive at their destination the next morning when they wake up. One of the most famous night trains is the Florence to Venice night train; of course, it doesn't depart from Florence, but it's the most convenient way to get up from Florence.

There are some differences between the Trenhotel and the ordinary train: its conditions are much better, most of the seats are bunk beds, and they are all comfortable. This type of train is mostly "sentimental," as for the ordinary train, it's only used as a last resort.

It's like agriculture, some retire, others are forced to live, it's the same but completely different. As a tourist, you can truly experience a "Trenhotel," which is a very novel tourist experience.

Tom and Hermione were on a Trenhotel.

Tom and Hermione entered their compartment, which was surprisingly nice. Tom had boarded the train with the intention of traveling on an Indian train, but once inside the compartment, he found it quite pleasant: clean seats, graffiti-free walls, and shiny windows. It was a first-class compartment, even though the comparison was worldwide.

Tom drew back a curtain from the compartment wall and saw a coat hanger with a sunken piece on top, with a railing and two pillows inside. Next to the railing, there was a mirror and a sink, and a socket for charging.

Tom turned on the faucet of the sink, and the water flowed very little, no bigger than a wizard's "Aguamenti," but why would you need a bicycle when you can enjoy a private compartment and an independent sink on the train?

There was also a selection of lunches on the train, chicken with rice and grilled fish with rice, but Tom opted for his own magnificent super meat sandwich.

When he woke up the next day, Tom had arrived at Aswan Train Station.

The popular customs here are more open, walking down the street, from time to time, someone comes out to greet Tom and the others.

They called a taxi and headed to the Aswan Market.

The driver was very talkative, although his English wasn't very good. The driver introduced himself and the city in broken English. Through him, Tom learned that the fat, dark-skinned man in front of him was Nubian and enthusiastically introduced him to the pyramids of Cairo and the Nubian Grand Bazaar.

He was very proud of his Nubian identity.

Upon entering the market, one is greeted with a sense of humanity.

The market had a very North African feel, and wherever Tom and Hermione went, there were local vendors shouting the word "free" at them.

Hermione stopped at a mobile stall and curiously looked at the products they were offering. Only...

"Is this a local Egyptian item?"

"No!"

Hermione: "..."

"And this?"

"Neither!"

"Do you have any local Egyptian specialties?"

The shopkeeper was a little embarrassed and finally pointed to a wooden object resembling tongs, indicating that it was made in Egypt.

Tom and Hermione then strolled through the market, but there were few things that interested Tom, except for the ice creams.

The sun leaned westward, and night fell.

"Goodness!" Hermione suddenly let out a small gasp.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Come on, let's go!" In the dim light, Tom couldn't see Hermione's face, but she kept insisting they leave. When Tom saw the merchandise in the shop's showcase at the end of the street, he understood why Hermione was shy!

At the end of the street was a shop selling Egyptian statues.

A shop selling Egyptian statues.

There are many shops of this kind at tourist attractions, but there is a real problem: the fertility cult still exists in Egypt. The so-called fertility cult was a widespread custom in primitive societies. It was an expression of the ancestors' desire for happiness and prosperity, as well as a celebration of the reproductive capacity of living beings.

In short, it involves sculpting ridiculously large buttocks on the statues.

In addition to ceramic jars and cats, the shops have these abstract art statues with a fertility cult theme: mostly male genitals.

The statues ranged from a man dressed in ancient Egyptian attire holding a large iron rod as long and thick as the upper part of his body, to a single large black iron rod. Of course, Tom also saw an astonishing sculpture of a small iron rod sticking out of it.

Hermione seemed about to cry when she realized what was attracting Tom, and she gave a stomp: "Tom Yodel! What's so good about this store-?"

But the shopkeeper had spotted potential customers and immediately beckoned them eagerly.

"Statues!" His English wasn't very good either, but he made an effort to present his products to Tom: "You! Come, buy, this way!" He lifted a statue with an iron rod the size of an arm, distorted by its size, but the smallest of the group. "Next, buy, you!" Then, he grabbed a statue with an unusually large iron rod and pointed at it with a gesture.

He probably meant to say that if Tom bought it, he would be favored by the strange gods and become a big child, big enough to peek into the tube and get a gesture of dominance that would cleanse his bowels.

"NO, NO, NO," Tom waved his hand repeatedly while pointing at the second statue, "So, I don't, I don't need any."

Shopkeeper: ...

Hermione: ?!

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and took out a package of powders of unknown composition: "This, drink, it will make you stronger!" while making a strange gesture.

A tall, bald man emerged, repelling the man who was trying so hard to sell Tom a powder and a statue, then he looked at Tom and apologized in fluent English.

"I'm sorry, Apdula has just spoken out of line and said something he shouldn't have. Please, come with me." He made an inviting gesture while glancing at Apdula, telling him to leave and reflect on what he had done: what kind of person sells something like that to a customer with a female companion! How can a customer buy such a thing in front of his friend?

Hermione felt relieved to see someone coming to her aid.

The old man led them to the next shop, which looked much more normal, with statues of ancient Egyptian gods and white robes.

When they entered the shop, he picked up a statue with a dog's head and handed it to Tom.

"Anubis." The shopkeeper spoke to Tom about these statues of the god Anubis.

"I am a true Nubian, and this statue is the most realistic Anubis statue in all of Aswan," the old man said with pride and a smile on his face.

"Nubia in the night market..." Tom frowned.