6.16.05 - Touring Upper Egypt (this is really southern Egypt but because the Nile flows north...it's considered Upper Egypt...go figure!)

So what have we been up to.... We've toured lots and lots of sights (mosques, citadels, The Cities of the Dead - people actually living in old cemetaries surrounded by graves and mausoleums, the famous Egyptian Museum...) - with so much to see and do there's barely any time to rest. We've eating loads of great food and even run in to a few friendly fellow travellers along the way. I can't say the same for all the touts and enduring the "eve-teasing" (sexual harrassment) from the locals. Nothing like having a seemingly innocent 12 year old boy approach you, ask you where you're from, go to shake your hand while at the same time reaching out his other hand to grab your boob. It's true, it happened to me...and it was quite shocking. I can deal with quite a lot but that did shake me up. As a result of this and in an effort to respect the cultural norms of this region I have taken to covering up with long trousers and big baggy tops. The perfect shield against the harsh rays of the sun and an attempt to disguise my "western-ness" if such a thing is possible. In larger cities like Cairo it's not unusual to see women in more Western style clothes - but hardly any bare shoulders or legs. So when in "Rome"...

We're currently in Aswan heading to Luxor tonight. This is a lovely little town along the Nile, green gardens surrounded by barren desert, the perfect setting to take a 3-4 hour felucca ride ("fancy" word for sailboat) on the Nile around the islands around Aswan. Of course there's always something and on this particular ride the proprietor of our hotel felt the need to come along to do some bong hits outside of the office. That's customer service for you. By the end of the 3-4 hours we'd had enough (definitely not travelling to Luxor via this mode of transport) and practically begged to be brought back to the shore.... It was actually quite amusing..but we've really had our fill of boat rides! Additionally the actions of our hotel manager were typical of the "treatment" we've received at your $6/night hotel. I have to laugh that after 3 days (2 nights - that's the max we could endure) we still don't have towels but some how managed to accumulate 4 rolls of toilet paper. Every time we asked for towels, made the necessary body movements (the internationally recognized "sign language" for towel) to express our needs...someone would show up at our door with toilet paper!!! By last night all I could do was laugh. (It seems the hybiscus juice they serve here really does mellow you out!) This coupled with a few more stories have made this an eventful trip to Aswan.

The sights are amazing - it's hard to believe that such grand monuments were built thousands of years ago. Because of the heat we have to get up super early (3 am yesterday to join a convoy of buses, containing pretty much all the tourists brave enough to endure the summer heat in this part of the world, for the 3 hour journey to Abu Simbel the site of 2 amazing and much photographed Ramses II temples that date over 3200 years old.) I can't wait to see Luxor but with so much to see and do, coupled with the intense heat it can be quite draining (of both the mind and wallet!!) Oh well - naps are the best remedy and after a hefty "noon time" meal at about 2pm there's nothing like a little rest...before heading out again when the sun sets.

Busloads of tourists are the other major "attraction" in this region - plenty of European and Japanese tour groups. I enjoy following the french tour groups and unbeknowst to them, listening in on their tour guides description of the temples. Frankly it so much more helpful.

6.9.05 - In search of Pyramids, citadels, mosques...and even a dam!

Hi all...
So having arrived in Cairo I have to say that Dubai wasn't exactly a "dry" heat but compared to southern India it was a nice change...and a step in the right direction. But a great time was had in Dubai and I was so happy to get in touch with my friend Hani who, while business called him out of town, put us in touch with his friend Mohammad who made sure we saw all the "trendy" places that I don't think we necessarily would've seen. He took us out to a wonderful sushi dinner at the Dubai Marine and Beach Resort - very swank, right on the water - and it was such a delight to spend the evening with him. We are eternally grateful that he took the time to go out with basically two strangers!! And while he wasn't able to join us the following night he did recommend that we head to Madinat Jumeira. We arrived in style using the local bus (after all we are still "backpackers") that dropped us off in front of the world's only 7 star luxury resort (the one shaped like a sail) - Burj Al-Arab. www.burj-al-arab.com Yep it's true. We weren't allowed to enter this veritable oasis (non-guests need to reserve one day in advance, pay an "entry fee" of $50 which is applied to services in one of the restaurants and be appropriately attired.) We did enjoy chatting with the "security guard" at the perimeter of the Burj who provided us with some literature that detailed the "do's and don't's" for the various restaurants and facilities in the resort. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and we had great views of the light show projected on the Burj as we walked to Madinat Jumeira...an upscale shopping "experience" complete with restaurants and theater. It was quite bustling at night - with just people visiting the eating establishments. I wish Mohammad could've joined us but hopefully we can re-pay the favor in the very near future.
We left Dubai on the 8th and headed to Cairo. We couldn't stay there any longer - it made me long for home, for nice clean clothes, fancy/ fashionable clothes, all the comforts of home (mobile phones, great restaurants, fun nightlife, friends...). So off to Cairo to slip back in to the "backpacker" persona for just a few more months.
I'm already entranced by Cairo and Egypt. I believe this is the most densely populated city in the world. The traffic is insane, the people are friendly (although overly friendly...and trying to sell you something...in the downtown), the daytime temps seem manageable so far and the food is amazing! It's just the beginning... Today we started off the day at the Syrian embassy where we were told that to "qualify" for a Syrian visa we'd first have to establish "residency" in Egypt. This necessitated a 3 hour adventure/ exercise at the Egyptian immigration office...get a form, fill out the form, make photocopies, wait in this line, wait in that line, you forgot to buy the "stamps" but no one told us to buy the stamps...figure it out as you go along kind of thing. I found it to be quite entertaining though. Such great people watching!! Unfortunately we won't get back to the Syrian embassy until Sunday (Friday and Saturday is the weekend). But all is not lost - there is so much to see and do in Cairo - it's truly incredible. I'm sure we'll continue to meet "friends" who want to "help us out" and today we relented and chatted with "Sam" who helped us at the train station, chatted with us over tea, pointed us in the direction of a travel shop...but no pressure we were assured. It was actually quite enjoyable to "hang out" with a local person. Very insightful once we let the guard down a bit. (My guard is way up...as I've mentioned before...I wouldn't want to meet me on the street at this point of our journey!!) We're off to the Pyramids, Sphinx and Saqqara (site of the oldest monument in the world!) tomorrow morning. More to come....

6.6.05 - At least it's a "dry" heat...

...ha ha ha... yeah right. It's 1pm and currently 108 degrees in Dubai (42 degrees celsius). We've been walking around all morning (visited the key "historical" sites including the Dubai Museum which features some great exhibits detailing the history of the city as well as the way of life of people in Dubai) but finally had to retreat to the air-con and shade and here we in an internet cafe. They seem few and far between in this urban metropolis so had to take advantage while we were out and about.
My cheap sunglasses finally broke and now I'm left without...and I'm pretty much going blind because of the sun and the light colored buildings. I desperately need to find a mall...and it sounds crazy...but there are so many to choose from I don't know where to begin?!? May head back to our side of the "Creek" (quite a large river really) and check out one of the local mall...but it's hardly the chi chi part of town - it's known for its Gold Souk, Perfum Souk - these are markets) - Deira. We managed to find a "cheap" hotel for $40/ night and that's really slumming it here it seems. Luckily we found a "family hotel" so we aren't being charged by the hour which I'm told is the case in some of the other establishments in our area. Quite honestly it's one of the nicer places we've stayed in for a long time!!
But quite honestly Dubai is a total change from India - the streets are clean, cars stop at crosswalks to let pedestrians cross, there are garbage cans and people hired to collect garbage from the "Creek"...it's just so nice and clean!!! And even more than that is just the sheer opulence and grandeur of this relatively new city. Everything is bigger and better - they are willing to take on any challenge...re-create the world map with islands in the ocean, create a community of islands in the shape of a Palm tree, build an indoor ski hill....opulent malls, gorgeous beaches...if you have the money it's yours in Dubai!
Well enough gushing - more to come....

6.5.05 - Out of India in 10 hours and counting...

I can't believe it's been 2+ months since first setting foot in India. MC's been doing the bulk of uploading the photos which is a huge task since we've taken so many...but we're having such a good time going back and checking out all that we've done. Quite unbelievable at times. There are moments when I don't even think it's all real - or I don't recognize things. "Wow - that place looks cool!" - and yes, we were there and I actually took that photo. It's been a whirlwind. I'm going to copy in what MC wrote since it talks more about the wonderful city of Kochi and our great experience there...and talks more about Goa.


WorldTrek 06/02/2005: Leaving India
Hi everyone -

Hope you are well. We're back in Mumbai (Bombay) for a few days before
we fly out of here and head to Egypt. Deanna and I are both a bit sad
to leave India but with the monsoon rains starting very soon and train
tickets completely booked by all the Indian families traveling during
school break, our original plan of heading north to the Himalayan
region to pal around with the Sikhs and the Dalai Lama (Ladakh,
Amritsar, McLeod-Ganj) was looking to involve over a week of actual
time on buses and we just couldn't do it. Next time though...

When I last wrote, we were deep in Southern India. From Varkala, we
traveled north to Kollam where we caught a boat through the backwaters
of Kerala. While in Kollam, we were in an auto-rickshaw driving to the
boat jetty when we were forced to stop for what looked like a parade -
a parade of horrors that is! When Deanna and I looked more closely at
the marchers, we saw a gentlemen pulling a large sled/chariot and
seeming to be a bit "crazy" - the man was connected to the sled (as we
found out later) by hooks through his skin. He was followed by several
gentlemen walking on "shoes" which were a bed of nails. And following
them were a line of marchers with their mouths open with both cheeks
pierced with a thin wooden "spear". The finale really took the cake
though - it was a man suspended from a wooden structure by hooks
through the skin on his back...ouch. According to the Discovery
special we happened to catch a few days later, it's a Hindu festival to
show their devotion and apparently as some of the participants enter a
trance they don't bleed and don't hurt.

After the excitement of the parade, the backwaters boatride was very
relaxing indeed. Many people don't take the public boat - they hire a
houseboat and just spend 2-3 days floting down the river lined with
palm trees, small huts, and friendly local people going about their
business. Having spent a LOT of time floating on boats in many places
during this trip, we decided 8 hours on a boat was enough for us
although I would have liked having a cooler of beer and a personal chef
on-board. If you've never done this kind of trip however, Kerala is
absolutely gorgeous (I'd have to say the most beautiful place in India)
and is highly recommended.

In Kochi - which is a really great former Portugese fort city - we had
a wonderful time. We went to see a performance of the local dance form
- Kathakali - which I had very low expectations for but the
demonstration beforehand was actually quite interesting. We also went
to see a local martial arts demonstration. Deanna and I were the only
guests and therefore sitting rather near the stage - a great view until
they demonstrated a weapon which is best described as a hand-held whip
of helicopter blades. I was trying not to flinch, but as safety tends
to be a bit lax over here I admit I was nervous.

From Kerala, we headed northwards to Goa...stopping along the way in
Mangalore to break up a very long bus journey. Nothing of note except
that we went to see the new Star Wars movie. I should have suspected
something was up because of the hand-drawn black marker signs
advertising the theater, or when the driver dropped us off in front of
an office complex rather than a theater...but it finally became
apparent George Lucas wasn't getting any royalties when the movie came
on and the film time-code was emblazoned across the top of the picture.
Other than the poor sound, poor color, and the film time-code blocking
our view - the movie was better than I thought it would be.

After another overnight bus, we reached Goa. Just in time to close it
down...literally. In the three days we spent in Goa, all the
beachshack restaurants closed one by one...our waiter actually asked
"do you want another beer? we close until October after tonight". It
was really sad to watch everyone board up as if a hurricane was coming
- but I understood better when we got caught in the heavy rain (on a
scooter no less) and the first truck that passed us completely deluged
us in their tire-spray from ankles to eyes".

me: "Deanna...do you see the turnoff for the hotel?"
D: "I can't see a thing with this water in my eyes!"
me: "me either" (gulp)

Good times.

Well...a farewell to India then. We're in Mumbai and outside of
arranging our tickets (a bureaucratic, inefficient mess between
Northwest, KLM, and Emirates Air), we're planning to eat good Indian
food and watch one last Bollywood flick before we leave on June 5th.

Wishing everyone the best.
Michael

Deanna again! Mumbai has been a great place to end the trip. It's such a cosmopolitan city - and with it come big city prices - but all very much worth it. We ventured to the cinema a couple times, got our fix of Bollywood films (there just so much fun to watch - the singing and dancing is just so good), ate some good Indian food, walked around and took care of getting our tickets to Dubai and on to Cairo. I have to admit that was one of the more arduous tasks I've taken on during this trip. Northwest/ KLM and their partners really need to get on point with how they deal with travellers on the round the world ticket. So much confusion between NW/ KLM and Emirates (although I'm quite excited about travelling Emirates despite their incompetencies on the administrative front). But I won't bore you with all the details...just the facts about my trip out to visit the NW/ KLM office in Bombay. So while MC was working on the photos I set off to master the public train system in Mumbai. Heading out I was fortunate enough to sit in the "Ladies compartment" - it was relatively empty and the women were all very helpful. A very lovely experience and not something I had expected in light of a recent report in the papers of women arguing and physically fighting in the trains and a security officers hitting one of the pregnant women involved.... (Not nice stuff but the public reaction was priceless...50% felt the pregnant woman deserved it!!!)
But things got more interesting in the afternoon coming back in to town. The express train was packed and as I was running down the platform a "nice looking man" (about my age) runs behind me telling me to get on the car as soon as possible. The train has started to move. As I step up on to the overcrowded car my shoe falls off! Do I get off and save my flip flop that cost me 50 cents or do I stay on the express train and try to survive my short walk home with only one shoe? Big decisions...but ones that I didn't really have to make because this "nice" gentleman grabbed my shoe for me and jumped on the train behind me. Now this train was wall to wall men (I saw one other woman further down the same car), really packed in, but somehow this "nice" man managed to pass me my shoe and still wedge his hand directly on my boob!!!! I'm not kidding. And he kept it there until I was able to force my elbow down on his arm. It was the strangest thing.
Slowly the masses descended from the train but I was heading for the terminus and it looked like the "nice" man was too. So he starts talking to me - wants to be my friend, escort me around town, be his American friend...I shouldn't be scared....since we both love Jesus I shouldn't be scared (NO IDEA WHERE THAT COME FROM!!!)....I shouldn't be scared because he would never touch me (ahem...that was already done!)...etc. It was all very awkward and while I insisted I was meeting MC, had enough friends, didn't feel comfortable, etc. he still persisted...until finally he got off the train. From now on MC is coming with me on all such "adventures." Once again - these guys are just lucky there are arranged marriages in this culture.
Well that was an interesting ending to a very interesting trip. Now I can't wait to hit the Middle East. I think we're both quite excited about this change. 9 hours left....
But what's even more exciting, and I can't believe I'm saying this, is that I'm getting closer to home!!!! I spoke with Erik, my brother, yesterday. It was his birthday...and he and Tobey announced that they are engaged. I guess I found out a little later than the rest of you - but that fact just made me miss everyone so much more.
More later from another time zone and country.
Love
D