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Saturday, 23 January 2010 |
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1/25/2010 - Egyptian Photos I'm currently sitting in Starbucks since JoZoara is closed, and the atmosphere is very distracting. In between sips of a delicious cafe latte, I find myself glaring at my computer screen in hopes of some inspirational material to blog about. There is none. It's 10:30 PM and far too early for profound or mildly amusing attempts at humor. No, my brain doesn't really start churning out the good stuff until I'm ready for bed... at sunrise. This little sleep schedule of mine is really convienient when I need to get up for important things (insert sarcasm). People have made vampire jokes about my horrible sleeping habbits and as soon as I get the Tempur-Pedic coffin installed their metaphor will be spot-on. The Egyptian portion of my blog is finally completed, therefore you should now be reading about my arrival in Berlin. Unfortunately it has yet to be posted. I find it quite riduclous that my blog is nealry 3 months behind my life. Those who know me aren't surprised by this delay, but those who only know of me from family, friends or random Google searches are probably a bit irritated (Actutally they've probably just grown apathetic... But I like to feel important). Anyway, I didn't have a computer suitable for editing my photos while I was traveling through Egypt/Europe so the pictures had to wait until I got home. You can find the Egyptian gallery by clicking the "Photo Gallery" link to the right, or by clicking on the photo below. One little note... I've taken some advice and added an annoying watermark to my photos. But they are now of a higher resolution so you can click on them and they expand!!!! Oh the fun! 
My guide wanted to take this picture, which I agreed to pose for in order to illustrate one of my pet peeves
of travelling: Tourists who make stupid poses at famous places. This pose is also poular at the Eiffle
Tower in France, while idiots at the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy prefer to take their picture "leaning"
against the tower in order to hold it up. Anyway, click on photo and check out my Egyptian photo album!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 January 2010 )
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Wednesday, 13 January 2010 |
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A Sweet Farewell I’m fully aware that most people come to Egypt to view the pyramids, sail down the Nile, explore the Sahara and see the mummies. These activities are all well and good, but what excited me the most about Egypt was something far less special. It’s round, has cream cheese icing melting down its sides, and has about 700 calories. That's right! Egypt has Cinnabon! Let it be known that one of Thailand’s major flaws is that it DOES NOT have these shops of sweet goodness and my craving was left unsatisfied for nearly three long, hard years.
I had been trying to locate this Holy Grail of confection since my arrival in Egypt, yet here I was, ten days later with unfulfilled desire deep in my belly. So it had all come to this; my last ditch effort and the backup plan of backup plans. I was certain the airport had a Cinnabon tucked away somewhere deep in its corridors and I was poised to partake in its bounty before I left the country. The fact that I would be in America within a month did not escape me; this was about reaching a personal goal.
I woke up at 4:30 in order to share a taxi to the airport with a really nice Canadian lady I met at the hotel. Everyone knows I despise early wakeups, but she paid for the whole ride (I LOVE Canadians!). Based on my previous searches for Cinnabon, I correctly made the assumption this would be a time consuming quest. My arrival at the airport was met with a large heaping spoonful of disappointment: the store was located in another terminal. I hopped onto a bus that took me to Terminal 1 and was quickly met by some random Egyptian wanting to carry my bags. I knew he would want $$$ for the “help” and I refused to let him so much as get a decent view of my luggage. While I wasn’t willing to let this guy carry my increasingly heavy and worn out bags, I would have been more than happy to tip him for showing me to the Cinnabon. English was, for the most part, completely lost on this guy and I tried my best at Charades which was also apparently lost on this guy as well. At one point he was taking me through this seedy area beneath the parking garages. Exposed wires, broken glass and crumbling concrete surrounded me and I decided that this was not the type of décor usually associated with Cinnabon. I quickly retraced my steps back to the actual airport and ignored the guy’s demand for baksheesh (a tip).
Finding someone familiar with Cinnabon was like a horribly twisted game of Where’s Waldo where no one is wearing a candy-cane colored sweater. Success came in the form of a helpful airline agent who told me that it was in Corridor B near the Burger King. I walked up to security and was quickly denied entrance because my flight departed from another terminal. But where there's a will, there's a way: I slipped one of the security screeners 40 Egyptian pounds to retrieve the object of my desire. He returned and demanded even more baksheesh for his services. I reluctantly paid him and devoured three weeks worth of transfats in minutes. In retrospect, it's quite funny (or sad) that I'd pay $10 USD for a cinnamon roll, but wouldn't fork over $15 USD to climb one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Either way, it was money well-spent as I boarded the plane with a happy feeling in my happy stomach. Next stop: Berlin.
Egyptian Cinnabon: Mission Accomplished! Notice the cool Arabic script on the packaging!
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 January 2010 )
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Wednesday, 11 November 2009 |
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Egyptian Museum The bus ride from Dahab to Cairo was interrupted by 2 or 3 unnecessary visa checks that prevented any sleep. I say unecessary because each time they saw my American passport, they didn’t even bother to see if my Egyptian visa was valid. I shared a taxi with a cool guy from Argentina and we dropped our bags off at this awesome hostel downtown. Check-in wasn't until noon, so we sought out the Hardees I had seen on the way, but eventually settled for the Golden arches when my navigation skills failed us. We parted ways after breakfast as he went souvenir shopping and I went to see the mummies at the Egyptian Museum. For the museum to look so impressive from the outside and to hold so many unbelievable things within its walls, the interior is quite pathetic, This isn't a matter of opinion... Fortunately, there are plans to build more modern facilities within the next few years. My personal opinion is that many of the sarcophaguses should be moved back to the tombs where they were found now that the areas are secure. Moreover, there are so many of them stacked up in corners of the Egyptian Museum that putting them back in the tombs for display would be more authentic and wouldn't take away anything from the Egyptian Museum itself. The mummy rooms were my favorite part (outside of seeing King Tut's golden mask). King Ramses II was particularly impressive with his visible teeth and yellowing hair. Photos weren’t allowed anywhere and there was a rule of silence enforced by a museum worker who fittingly yelled “silence… respect the dead” every few minutes. I suppose I could be wrong, but I highly doubt the Pharos idea of respect was being unwrapped and thrown into a class case so the entire world could witness their decay. But I guess it’s okay because we were silent. I was running entirely on fumes and my 2 egg McMuffin sandwiches therefore my memory of the museum fades towards the last hour. Feeling exhausted and grumpy, I angrily pushed my way through the crowds and made it back to my hotel for some sleep. I got a room by myself on the third floor of this incredible building. It was over a century old and my room had a ceiling that was at least twenty feet high. There were two balconies overlooking a boulevard that looked very European. It was the best room $20 has ever bought me. Unfortunately, I was too tired to enjoy it's awesomeness and was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
 The room in Cairo. The view was awesome, but I
guess sleepiness discouraged me from taking a picture.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 11 January 2010 )
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Wednesday, 11 November 2009 |
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Diving in Dehab
Today I finished the 3 dives needed to obtain my advanced diving PADI license. Now I can do really stupid things like swimming in ship wrecks and do dental exams on Great Whites. The dives were incredible and the water was an awesome blue color that can only be recreated with paint. It's hard to describe the whole diving experience other than to say it isn't like the pictures and it isn't like snorkeling. The feeling of breathing underwater, the mounting pressure on the body, the unique seascapes, and swimming along schools of fish is best described as being in another world. Diving had left me incredibly exhausting and I wanted to relax before catching the night bus to Cairo. I was incredibly happy that Shisha had either not been banned in Dahab or the coffee shops were simply not abiding by the law. The temporary ban was supposedly put into effect in order to control the spread of swine-flu because the coffee shops have a poor record of cleaning the pipes after each use. Seeing as I've already had the swine-flu, this was not a concern to me, and I was eager to partake in this very Egyptian habit. So, in light of it being available, I once again enjoyed the coastal breeze over shisha and coffee. |
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
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Dahab
This was the last leg of my Egyptian experience and somehow the most relaxing, despite being incredibly sleep deprived. I arrived in Dahab after a 20-hour bus ride filled with a few sporadic periods of napping. Dahab is a breezy little coastal town next to the Red Sea. It has several world renown dive sites and a very chilled-out atmosphere. I grabbed a kabab, signed up for some dives, and booked a trip to mount Sinai all upon arrival. The trip to Sinai departed at 11:00 pm and required a 4-hour trek to reach the top. Hiking immediately after such a long bus journey isn't my idea of fun, but because of the mountain's altitude, I had to climb it before I went diving rather than after to avoid Nitrogen Narcosis. 11:00 pm rolled around and I was so tired that I almost called off the trip, but the appeal of climbing such a religiously important mountain won me over. When we reached the final security checkpoint the officers pulled 4 Egyptian guys out of the van. After 10 minutes of waiting, three of them returned. They explained in near-perfect American accents that the Egyptian security didn't like beards, and so their friend had been held for additional security checks. The van rolled forward until we had reached the base of Sinai. It was an impressively cold night, one that felt far more like Siberia than Egypt. The climb was long and steep at some points, but this misery was all buffered by conversation with the Egyptians from the van. They were all in their mid-twenties and could have passed as Americans with their accent. They worked for an IT help desk in Cairo and were enjoying a 4 day weekend. The guys were incredibly helpful and friendly and are a perfect example of why I love to meet people when I travel. 
Keeping ourselves entertained on the climb to Mt. Sinai's peak at 3:40 am.
* picture taken from Osama's facebook*
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After 4 hours we reached the top just in time to watch the sun rise. The sun rose slowly illuminated the misty crevices below the towering mountains. Religious pilgrimage groups sang familiar hymns in unfamiliar languages, further enhancing such an incredible experience. We stayed there until the crowds were gone and the sun was high. Walking down the mountain took another two hours, and a toll on the knees. My Egyptian friend, Osama, joked that he would have to buy a new left knee when he returned to Cairo. Yes, his name really was Osama, and one of the first things he said upon introducing himself was, “You know, just like the guy you all had some trouble with a while back.” 
A small church atop Mt. Sinai. *This picture was also stolen from Osama's Facebook*
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At the foot of a mountain was an old monastery that supposedly housed a descendant of the burning bush. The “bush” was more like a tree and it was not burning. I got a kick out of all the people going crazy when they saw it like it was something amazing. We're all descendants of Adam, but I didn't see these pilgrimage groups going crazy and taking photos when they met other people... We got back to Dahab around noon and I slept through my scheduled dive at 2:30 pm. I did manage, however to wake up in time to meet my new Egyptian friends for dinner. It sounds strangely odd, but it seemed as if I was hanging out with childhood buddies from back-in-the-day. They were all so genuine and friendly. It could have just as easily been Chris or Brad sitting at the table. We followed dinner up with coffee and shisha and discussed everything from the aching legs Sinai had blessed us with, to Islamic dating rules, to where exactly the Cinnabon in Cairo was at. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 October 2009 )
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