Regarding The Bombings In Dahab

To all of those of you writing in to see if I'm okay and safe from the bombings in Dahab - yes, I'm okay. I missed being in the area by a day and a half. I feel very lucky since the area that was bombed was just outside where I was staying. They were places that I passed by many times during the day and night, places where I hung out. In fact, I still have friends there in town. I haven't heard from a couple of them and am praying that they are okay and safe, inshallah.

I must admit I am slightly in shock. I was there not too much before the explosions. I interacted with the shopkeepers, workers and locals of the places bombed. It's a place I was considering living and working for a bit. It's a very peaceful place full of people enjoying life and each other.

I don't know if it hit the U.S. TV news or if it was in the papers or what, but for those of you that hadn't heard of what's going on, here're some links to a couple of news stories:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/egypt_resort_attacks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060425/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_resort_blasts

Off these links there should be pictures of the aftermath.

Operation Smile - Amman, Jordan

I am in Amman with my friend from the Berkeley Free Clinic. It is really good to see her. For all you heppies, she looks absolutely fabulous! And boy, is it really amazing to watch and hear her speak in Jordanian Arabic!

Actually, not only with A, it is very cool to watch and listen to the Peace Corps volunteers here speak Jordanian Arabic. Also, it's amazing to see them in action with the Operation Smile mission going on here. (Here's a link to the operation currently happening: http://www.operationsmile.org/missions/reports/?country=JO. It's very cool!!!) They are working with the medical volunteers in coordinating the surgery schedules, answering questions and concerns from worried parents/guardians as well as talking and generally hanging out with them to keep them occupied and relaxed as much possible. They also play with the children and hold the babies to keep them entertained or to give the parents a break. It is so touching to see how gratified many of the adults are for the volunteers' efforts.

It has also been very heartbreaking at times. As mentioned in the link, most of the families were bussed in from Baghdad. They are mostly Iraquis but some are also Kurds. (A few of the patients are Jordanian.) On the way towards the Iraq-Jordan border, the bus was stopped by a group of Sunni insurgents demanding all Shi'ia or those from south Iraq get off the bus so that they may kill them. Although all the patients are from the south, someone insisted they were all from Baghdad. When an insurgent demanded to see his identificaiton, the man handed over his passport instead of his ID card which spcified the region of where he is from. The insurgents eventually let the people go but now they are very scared about what may happen upon their return as the insurgents threatened to keep watch for them. The volunteers are now trying to figure out how to get them safely back home. But how must the parents and guardians feel? I cannot even possibly start to imagine! The excitement and joy of having their child undergo a procedure that would improve one aspect of life just to face the strong possibility of having their child be killed shortly!!!

But the fear doesn't stop there. As one man related the politics of Iraq and its violent and deadly fallout to my friend, fear for their lives and even more so, fear for the lives of their family members and loved ones is a constant. As this man relayed, life was very bad before under Saddam. Despite his removal from power, life has not gotten any better. As told to me, the word chosen to describe the situation now is "bloodbath." How's that for the "War on Terrorism" in Iraq??!??

Oh. For those of you that are haven't heard of this, do please try it. Go to Google's home page. Type in the word "failure" in the Search box. Then hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Whatcha think??!

Ahhh...Woman Power

Ok. I feel so much better since my last post. I got in a nice long nap. Also, I had a great night hanging out with a new friend I met from my snorkelling adventure as well as some other really cool ladies. We had a great time relaxing, munching on chips and throwing back a couple of beers while sharing travel stories, details of our lives, and laughter. It was so nice to not have to have your guard up against the barrage of come-ons and constant "habibi"s!!

Speaking of good times with fellow female friends, i will be meeting up with my friend in Jordan with the Peace Corps. So for now, I bid Egypt adieu.

Quite Possibly The Most Stupid Thing I Could Have Ever Opted To Do In Egypt!!!

What could that possibly be, you might ask? Well, let me share that event with you. It's hiking up Mt. Sinai in the pre-dawn dark hours in order to reach the peak to catch the sun rising over many of the jagged mountain peaks of the area. Idyllic sounding? A somewhat mystical thing to do? NO! and NO! yet again!!! It was heinous.

Before I get into my rant, here's a little bit of background information about Mt. Sinai. Locally, it is known as Gebel Musa. Its peak reaches an elevation of 2285 m (~7541 ft.). Although disputed by some researchers and academicians, many people believe that Mt. Sinai is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

I wanted to hike up Mt. Sinai, not as a religious pilgrimage, but rather to scale a renowned mountain to check out its draw and to watch the sunrise from such a place. And I thought I would avoid the crowds for who the hell would be nuts enough to hike up a mountainside in the dark guided only by a headlamp? Not to mention I really wanted to do some hiking. Well, it seems that several hundred people also had the same idea! So, again with the massive herds of people (this time in the dark from 2:00 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.) along with several herds of camels and their Bedouin handlers, I trekked up a path not designed to handle that kind of traffic. The camels came in very useful to many of the tourists who were fearful of hiking in the dark or were not physically able to make the ascent.

There are several problems with this, however. The first is that those of us who chose not to ride a camel up are then stuck trying to sidestep the piles of camel dung and pools of camel urine as well as being careful to not be directly behind a camel to avoid being the recipients of these gifts. (Oh, and to avoid the jets of gas as well!) The second problem is to avoid being run over by these camels. While some of the handlers shouted "Camel!!" to alert the trekkers, other handlers will only cluck, hiss, or smack their lips together to alert the trekkers (which we were obviously expected to hear over all the noise) that they and their caravan of camels were bearing down on us. Despite doing this, they really didn't much care whether or not those on foot were knocked on their keister or trampled on.

Luckily, having backpacked around a couple of countries with a 30 kg pack for about 2.5 months has put me in decent shape. Consequently, I was able to escape my group from the microbus and, not needing to take rest brakes, I was part of the few people who made it up to the peak first. This was a good thing since I got an excellent seat on one of the boulders to catch the sunrise. Many were not so fortunate. There were also a good number who completely missed the sunrise as I found hiking back down the mountain. Since I wanted more solitude and to avoid the slow shuffle back down, I fast-walked it down after quickly looking around at the peak. It was nice having the path mostly to myself and the peace I was able to enjoy in the parking area before everyone else showed up was pretty nice.

Trying to leave was a different matter. The driver threatened not to leave until everyone paid the "guide fee." Everyone of us on the microbus was extremely upset about having to pay extra money for a guide (who basically did nothing except stop for rest breaks and pocketing out money). All of us fought against it, some of us eventually paid and a few escaped. Those that escaped were the ones being hassled. Outrage and anger in all of the passengers mounted until the driver and the "guide", in pissy frustration, gave up so that we were able to finally take off.

I guess I could wax philosophical about this nightmare by correlating the crowded climb up the mountain to struggling through life to be rewarded with the sense of acheievement/accomplishment, light, fresh start, renewal, yada yada crap but right now I'm too tired and too grouchy. Maybe some other time.

http://acs2.aucegypt.edu/hekman/sinai.html
http://www.ehabweb.net/mount_sinai.html

The Beautiful Deep Blue

So today I went snorkeling in a couple of places. It was kind of weird in couple of regards: 1) To take my clothes off (outer ones, that is) in public after having so consciously made efforts to ensure that I was appropriately covered for almost 3 months now in the Islamic countries with long-sleeve shirts and long pants/long skirt (not to mention having been covered for many months before that due to the cold weather back home!), and 2) To wander to and from the water in my swimsuit, albeit it is a one piece, racing-style. (There was no way I could bring myself to bring a two-piece...) Granted I was more fully covered than many of the other women but I felt so completely naked, so to speak.

Anyhow, one of the places I went to is called the Canyon and the second place is called the Blue Hole. Both are locations that the scuba diving outfits in town take newbies (the former) and those looking to get more experienced (the latter). There are so many diving clubs! It's very big out this way in the Red Sea as well as the Sea of Aqaba as there are many beautiful reefs to check out. Unfortunately, as I'm informed, many of the diving spots are gradually being destroyed by the overwhelming number of tourists looking to obtain their diving certifications and the government hasn't made too much effort to controlling the overuse and destruction of the diving spots.

I got a chance to see some of this snorkeling at the Canyon. The area where the divers and snorkelers are supposed to wander into is not a rock area but actual reef that is now dead from all of us trampling in and out of the water. Away from this there are still some very nice marine life to watch. Very similar to other areas that I've snorkeled in.

The Blue Hole was something completely different, though. Although I have really wanted to learn to dive (and had thought I might be able to on this trip), snorkeling around the Blue Hole reefs has really firmly blown that idea up in my head. There was so much color and designs, immense marine flora and fauna, and such mystery from the walls of the sea canyon that seems to just drop away infinitely. It's like something straight out of a National Geographic/Discovery/Animal Planet/etc. marine show! It was also very cool to watch the divers taking pictures of some of the tunnels burrowing into the reef, learning new dive techniques and just generally having fun. The bubbles that they release tickle as you swim over and through them. Some of them are so big that they almost look like some kind of jellyfish. A dive master that was snorkeling with me freedived down about 10 meters or so to touch this porcupine fish. (Here's a link to a picture of the fish I'm talking about: http://www.divegallery.com/porcupinefish.htm.) It was all so completely incredible! As I've mentioned before, I have always daydreamed about learning how to dive but have been lazy about following through...now I am going to actually going to do it! As a matter of fact, I received a serious offer from the owner of the hotel I am stayed at to become a dive master so that he can try and capture the small but growing number of Chinese tourists as well as to head up the development of massage therapy services to be offered by the hotel! Things that make you go "Hmmmm...."!

Here's some links to websites with some pictures to give you an idea of Dahab and the bodies of water in the area:
http://www.divernet.com/travel/0602dahab.htmt http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/
http://www.anatol.org/images/egypt/dahab_all/index.html
http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/dive_ site_red_sea_dahab_reef_the_blue_hole.html
http://www.sinaidivers.com/redsea/diving-dahab.html

An Ordeal That Ultimately Provided A Beautiful Reward!

Thinking that I would be able to not have to deal with the heat of traveling by bus during the day as well as to save on lodgings for the night, I opted to take a bus from Ismailia to Dahab (located on the eastern side of the Sinai peninsula by the Sea of Aqaba; it's name is Arabic for "gold").

BUT WHAT A LONG AND EXCRUCIATING BUS RIDE!!!

It wasn't because it was a night bus. It was simply because I was traveling via a bus. And I've been on much longer bus rides in Morocco but for some reason, this ride really hurt.

As with the buses in India, they play movies at the start of the trip. At a very, loud volume. (I can't tell you what the movie was about as I was able to constantly drift off to sleep...as far as I can tell it involved men beating each other up, gun fights where no one is able to hit each other and lots of yelling. Then again, they could just be talking in really loud voices...who knows?) But that wasn't what made the bus trip so hard. What took so long were the numerous number of stops that were made. Other than two restroom breaks and one to wait our turn to traverse the tunnel that goes under the Suez Canal, the rest (10 or so?) were for identification checks. For a trip that I don't think should take that much time, it took about 8.5 hours or so because every time we entered a "new zone" (city limits), we had to present our ID. Other than the first ID stop, all the other ones had the guards/policemen pulling some of the passengers off the bus for a check. As I understand it, Egyptians must carry ID cards that have a scan code on it. Once that is scanned in, all their personal information is pulled up: personal stats, marital status, crimes, travel movement within the country, employment, education, etc. I wasn't sure why certain men were chosen to be checked - whether or not it was random or something didn't sit well with the guard/policeman. I thought it best that I didn't get too terribly nosy about these things although the really nice woman I was sitting next to was happy to explain things to me and help me out during the bus ride by letting me know what was up. (She has the most beautiful children, one of which was only barely two. Egyptians really do love children as some of the men around played with them, feed them, and held them. What was even more amazing was the complete ease with which the mother let these strangers hold and play with her kids. Other Americans I've met have commented about this complete faith and trust that we don't have regarding our children!)

Despite the ID checks and the seemingly painfully long ride, it was definitely worth it as we approached Dahab. There are peaks after peaks of mountains, all noticeably bare of any flora. In the early morning light they are truly breathtaking, reflecting the increasing sunlight in shades of reds, browns, and greenish-grey. There were very few people left debarking by this time so there was no rush or crowding. The taxi ride had me in the back of an open pick-up truck/jeep. This was great as I was able to get 360 degree views approaching the little beach town. After the taxi driver helped me find a cheap enough yet decent hotel, I settled in for a nice nap.

Here're some links with pics and some info on Dahab:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahab
http://centre4sinai.com.eg/environment.htm
http://centre4sinai.com.eg/galleries.htm
http://www.travelsinparadise.com/egypt/dahab/index.html

Ismailia

My travel companion and I took a second-class train to Ismailia. Although it is NOWHERE near as bad as the local second-class train of India (then again, I don't even think anything could be as bad as that), it was still interesting. The train itself wasn't too bad but the tracks were in terrible condition. Those that connect Cairo to Alexandria (as I'm told) and to Luxor and Aswan (as I've experienced) are pretty decent. Totally different than the other routes within the country. I don't think that there is as much care and maintenance invested into them as not that many tourists use those trains. Consequently, you are being rattled to death on them. Although I didn't think that anything was going to really happen, there were a couple of moments when the thought that the train was going to rattle itself apart or into derailing did cross my mind!

Anyhow, Ismailia is a smallish town between Port Said (located on the Mediterranean Sea) and Suez. Despite it's proximity to the Suez Canal, I did not get a chance to watch some of the boats manuevering their way through. I was just so completely pooped. So I ended up sleeping quite a bit here.

I did get a chance to explore parts of the town on foot for the afternoon and early evening before I took off for Dahab. The town is really laid back with more of a developing modern city feel to the northeast and the quaint colonial charm of the south. There weren't any other tourists that I could see. As a matter of fact, especially in the northeastern part that I roamed around, there were very few people that could speak English. But they were very patient with me and my few horribly-chopped up Arabic phrases. They were so nice! It's clear that the tourism industry hasn't spoilt the charm, grace, and generosity of the people here. But it is a shame that tourists don't see this side of Egypt. For the most part, many only get the hassle of the touts, demands for baksheesh and the price-gouging of shopkeeps. Which really is too bad as the people that I've had the pleasure to meet have been so wonderful. It certainly was a relief for me as I was getting a bit grumpy from the hassles as well as being shuttled around in herds. It's definitely coming back to what I enjoy and have grown accustomed to from the earlier parts of my travels.

A Day of Firsts

It was pretty nice to be back in Cairo. This time I stayed in a different part of town called Zamalek. It has a lot of colonial-style buildings, lots of trees, and is much quieter than in downtown. Reminds me of parts of New Orleans.

Anyhow, due to my bad luck of not being able to catch an early enough train back, I wasn't sure that I'd have time to visit all the pyramids that I wanted to visit - Giza, Saqqara and Dashur.

Just to make sure that I would at least get in one set, I set off to those at Giza - Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), Menkaure (Mycerinus) as well as the Sphinx. As with many locals that cater to the tourist industry, my taxi driver "had a friend" that had horses that people could take to visit the pyramids and the Sphinx. Not really into it but agreeing to at least check it out, I assented.

And boy. Am I glad I did.

After haggling for a decent price, I took off with my guide. It was my first time riding (I don't count the one time I did it when I was like six) and I was a bit nervous. But looking around at the desert around me completely took my mind off of my anxiety. It was so completely incredible! There were very few other people out on horses or camels so it was really quiet. You weren't shepherded in with the hordes of visitors pouring out of the tour buses.

And what a way to approach the pyramids and Sphinx! You come up from the back side through the nearby village called Nazlet as-Samaan at a slow walk to get accustomed to riding (for the newbies) which was pretty cool in and of itself. Then you go over a couple of small dunes. On top of the larger ones, looking behind, you can actually see the other pyramids at Saqqara in the distance with the flat desert in between. To your left is the huge metropolis of Cairo. Standing like this you had the pyramids behind you not too far. I can't even begin to put into words how phenomenal the whole landscape was!

And the pyramids and the Sphinx!!! They were so immense and grand! Woo-hoo! Another life dream turned into reality!

P.S. I never got to see the other pyramids which definitely calls for another visit to Egypt. Also, by the end of my tour of the area by horse (which was named Mickey Mouse, by the way!), I was able to ride at a gallop - no problem! Can I just tell you just how incredibly fantastic it was to have the wind in my face, hair streaming behind as I said good-bye to Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure and the Sphinx while my guide and I raced across the desert flats?! (Well, okay. I was kinda racing to get away from my guide!)

3 Cities and 3 Stalkers Later...

Okay... Brief update as far as where I've been.

On the 15th I met up with a British traveler that I had met in Aswan. After hanging out and doing our own thing on the 16th, we traveled back up to Cairo on the 17th so that I can get a look at one set of Pyramids (the ones at Giza). Then we traveled on the 18th to Ismailia on his recommendation. After that, I took off on the 19th on the night bus for Dahab. Details on all this to come...

Some Tidbits of Interest

1. Sugar cane fields are not allowed to be grown closer than 400 m anywhere near roads that tourists travel by. This is because terrorists have used them in the past as places from which to ambush and to which the run through to escape capture and possible death. Only very short crops such as clover are allowed grow within the 400 m.

2. Almost all buildings throughout Egypt look to be in perpetual construction. This is to accommodate families as they expand. Construction then predominantly grows upward. Also, as long as the buildings remain unfinished, the tenants/owners are not taxed. Once construction of the building is completed, taxes that run about 40% of the value is then assessed - a very huge amount that is impossible and crippling to many.

3. After the 1997 massacre, the number of tourists visiting Egypt has dropped tremendously. This drop was exacerbated by September 11th. According to numbers that I was given, the number of tourists once ranged at about 6000, dropping to an a low of 800 on any given day (during high season, of course; I'm told only the Spanish are crazy enough to brave the 50-55 degree Centigrade temperature during the summer months). It has recovered somewhat but now because of the war waged by America against Iraq the number of tourists still has not recovered. Hmm... another reason for the Americans to be so disliked?

3. General "impressions" I was told that Egyptians have of the tourists (as a joke but with some seriousness thrown in):
* English - beer in one hand and an arm thrown around a partner
* Aussies - beer in both hands
* Japanese - camera in one hand and an opened umbrella in the other
* Canadians - packs always decorated with the Canadian flag to be distinguished and separated from being identified as American
* Americans - packs decorated with the Canadian flag to be mistakened for Canadian
* Spanish - hands and packs always holding food being consumed
* Dutch - beer in one hand and a sack of weed and other drugs in the other

4. The Egyptians really want their treasures that are now languishing in other countries back. Badly.

5. Despite latitude given to tourists to dress as they please, it's really not appreciated by most Egyptians. Some secretly take it as a sign of disrespect. You know, the attitude of "when in Rome" is preferred. Those that take that into account and also try to learn a few phrases in Egyptian Arabic is hassled much less.

The Dead of Thebes (Luxor)

Today I took a tour of the west bank of Luxor, once known as Thebes, again with a great small group of people. Places visited:
Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Kings (tombs of Ramses IV, Ramses VI, Ramses I), Valley of the Queens (tombs Khaemwaset [44], Titi [52], and Amunherkhepshef [55]) and Deir al-Bahri (Temple of Hatshepsut).

You know, watching some of the public television shows and seeing the experts wander around and work in these places I've always wondered what it would be like to walk in the same places as they've walked. Now I know! And can I just say? It just gets more and more incredible. In a previous blog, I had mentioned that it was a shame that not more of the color has survived because what little I saw, in my opinion, added more dimensions, richness and details. Well, that became so much clearer in all the places that I visited today for so much more color was extant here. AMAZING, FABULOUS, JUST SO DAMNED INCREDIBLE!!! One is able to see the different types of clothing that different persons, whether priests, royalty or god(dess) wore and the colors that the ancient peoples attributed to them. Yellow, blue, red, black, red, white - all painted on. They are mixtures of ground up stones and minerals with egg. Malachite, lapis lazuli, iron oxide, limestone, carbon, alabaster. The details are so fine and precise. So accurate. Since I can never do this justice with words, here are some links with pictures (not complete but to give you an idea):

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/thebes/colossi/colossi.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/memnon.html
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ramessesvit.htm
http://touregypt.net/featurestories/ramessesi.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/khaemwasett.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/Amenherkhepshef.htm
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Egypt/Luxor/Hatshepsut/

So. My mantra for Egypt thus far is ... Wow!...

Ripped Off Horoscopes For Ya

(The following was something I ripped off from the Cairo Jazz Club...)

"The horoscopes were compiled by chanelling the spirits of Nermal the cat, Mighty Mouse, The Transformers, and other loser cartoon characters throught the gay Teletubby."

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 21)
Take a great big deep breath early on in the month, and prepare for a severely heavy workload. This will be a blessing in disguise, because you need the work to get your mind off your personal life. Take care of your finances though; don't be tempted to blow a hole in your wallet just because it's there. Forward thinkg is key!

Taurus (Apr 22 - May 21)
You need to do some serious thinking about your long-term goals, and where you see yourself five or ten years down the line. Even though you're very successful now, what's your ultimate goal? What are the costs and benefits of going for it? Big questions that need big thinking. It's time to make use of your analytical skills, and apply them to your life.

Gemini (May 22 - Jun 21)
Things are coming apart at the seams, but you are still holding the fort. You've never been a quitter, so anything less just wouldn't become you. In the same vein, there will be change aplenty this month, both good and bad. However, when you do your accoutning at the end of April, it'll all come out balanced, and you'll be amazed at what you've been able to navigate through yet again, consider the extremely rocky ride.

Cancer (Jun 22 - Jul 23)
Your recent career change has proven to you that bureaucracy and bullshit is pervasive no matter where you go. You can run, but you can't hide! But since this pays better, enjoy the heavy pockets until you get sick of this too and decide to move on again.

Leo (Jul 24 - Aug 23)
Your health is your Achilles heel this month. A spate of ill health is going to follow you around, and just when you thought you'd got over that bad spell, it'll catch up with you again. Don't worry; you'll eventually be rid of it. On the upside, you'll be the centre of attention for a while!

Virgo (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
Strange cravings will overcome you this month. You'll yearn to do things that are just not your usual fare, and you'll be into things that people would have never expected you'd even be interested in. You'll have fun pursuing these new avenues, so go for it. You're only going to live once.

Libra (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
Expect a surprise visit from someone you wouldn't have thought you'd see again so soon. April is going to be something out of the ordinary for you. Your comfortable routine will be pushed off its tracks in a big way, but just keep your cool. It could turn out to be great.

Scorpio (Oct 24 - Nov 22)
You need some focus in your life, and soon. Shifting about aimlessly isn't going to make things happen for you. Take a trip, change the scenery, do whatever you have to do to get your creative energies flowing again, and focus them on your life. It's definitely makeover time!

Sagittarius (Nov 23 - Dec 21)
You have turned a new page in your life, and you feel exhilarated. Take full advantage of the upcoming free time to think and reflect on what it is you want to do, and what path you want to take. The worst thing you can do at this point is rush into something new without really giving yourself a chance for thought and reflection.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 20)
Even though work will not be all-consuming this month, you'll find that you'll be kept completely busy finishing up little takss that you've had on your to do list for ages, and that you need to finally get done. You're also feeling bored with a place where you spend a lot of your time, and it's stifling you. Rather than throwing in the towel and moving elsewhere, see if you can give the place a makeover. It might do wonders.

Aquarius (Jan 21 - Feb 19)
Your mind is wandering to places it really shouldn't be wandering to. This means you have to take another look at a personal relationship and see where things are not right, and fix them. If you don't have the inclination or the courage to do that, the honest thing to do is to move on and not string people along.

Pisces (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
The sprawling metropolis that is XXX has become all too small for you, giving you a serious case of claustrophobia. The only thing for you is to become a serial vacationer. Which is just as well since you desperately need to meet some new people anyway.

Lazy Days On The Nile

11 April 2006 -
Had a short felucca ride to visit a couple of the islands in the Nile within the city limits of Aswan - Kitchener's Island and Elephantine Island. It was a really cool intro as to what I would be on for the next 3 days and two nights. Nothing fancy but the nice thing was again meeting other fellow travelers. Now I have a connection in El Salvador who is more than happy to have me and anyone else I know visit El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Particularly to do outdoor adventure sports like trekking, surfing, and diving. Yay!! I also met up again with the two ex-UCSF Med students who will be a part of the longer felucca ride up the Nile.

To explain, a felucca is a truly barebones sailboat. But it's enough to do a completely memorable trip along the Nile. (There are other ways to travel up and down the Nile such as in cruise ships which are similar to the larger versions that haunt the seas.) Anyhow, the felucca will take up to 8 passengers so the companionship is much more intimate, true, and laid back. Meals are simple, and restroom breaks allow you a quick visit with locals living/working along the Nile!

Along with the UCSFer's, there were three absolutely lovely ladies from Spain, and a really sweet couple from Taiwan (now living in the Czech Republic). We played card games, told riddles, talked about each others traveling/lives/plans, and just plain relaxed. As the evening hours approached we docked along with eight other feluccas in an area, had a basic dinner and then listened to each other sing songs. A group of the felucca captains came to our felucca to sing some Nubian songs accompanied by drumming. What a completely awesome night this was!!!

12 April 2006 -
Just a really, really lazy day. I realize how much I enjoy these days - so much more so than those days when I'm in a big city or at a tourist site crowded with hordes of other foreigners. Ah...I think the nature-side of me is screaming to be let out! Anhow, we stopped off by this really small village called Daraw. We toured through it by taxi and also visited the camel souq. It's where they keep all the camels that are brought up from Sudan. (I'm informed that it's approximately 1500 km of which they walk most and are trucked in part of the way. They journey supposedly takes about a month since the walk is only done in the morning hours as the afternoons and early evenings are much too hot.) By this time only the 3 Spaniards and I were left. Since we really wanted to just to sail and enjoy the tranquility of the Nile we really didn't want to hang out for too long in Daraw. So off we went again.

13 April 2006 -
Our felucca journey ended near the village of Kom Ombo. From there we, along with a massive number of tourists visited the Temple of Kom Ombo. Here're a couple of websites that I found that has some decent pictures (the second link has more):
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/kom_ombo.htm
http://www.horus.demon.co.uk/Nile/photos/KomOmbo/html/index.html

From Kom Ombo, we again traveled in a police escorted convoy to the next stop, Edfu. (We even had a policeman complete with a very nice big rifle in the microbus with us!) At Edfu, we stopped to visit the Temple of Horus. Here're some links:
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/edfu.htm
http://www.sights-and-culture.com/Egypt/edfu-horus-temple.html
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nicholson/egypt/temples.html

It is just how amazing the detail of the artistry that adorns these ruins. They are not just sporadic but rather cover completely the entire complex, even the ceilings! (It's amazing how many tourists don't look up, especially since the carvings run from the ground all the way up onto the ceilings!) In some spots you can still see the coloration that was applied to the carvings. It really is a shame that not much more exist for they really do add many details of the jewelry, clothing and decorations of the carvings, providing them with greater richness and fullness of the artisans perspective and royal demands. How just absolutely INCREDIBLE and awe-inspiring these monuments must have been in their day!

After Edfu, we finally stopped off at our various accommodations in Luxor from where I am posting this blog.

There are two things that I'd like to comment about visiting Egypt. More often than not, you are "sheep-herded" to visiting many of the tourist places like the temples I've mentioned above by being forced to travel in these police caravans. Yes, there are ways to get around it but for the most part, the majority of the tourists are subjected to this process because of the 1997 massacre that happened in Luxor. (Here are some links as to the event:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/32179.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_1997_Luxor_massacre
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/18/egypt.attack.on/
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/18/egypt.attack.mubarak/)

Anyhow, it would seem that after the amazing pharaonic treasures of Egypt, the tourists are the next prized possession. Consequently, the Egyptian government is taking very serious measures to protect this resource of theirs. It also works in that you have a completely captured audience. Anyhow, it's very interesting to be a part of this.

The second thing that I wonder about is just how truly the Egyptians feel about the tourists and the tourism industry they are so heavily reliant upon. Yes, you have your usual hassle from the touts, shopkeeps, and street vendors (that are really just young boys). And there are a LOT of tourists and visitors. There are some Egyptians that appear to make a very good living off of them but what about those that are roped into providing services for the tourists? They smile all day and it's "yes, sir...yes, madame" and then it's back to a home that houses an extended family - struggling to make ends meet while all these other people are enjoying themselves. Even though I am chosing to travel "on the cheap," the fact that I still have enough disposable income to travel... Well. It doesn't really matter to them, does it? How does this truly affect the psyche of the Egyptians that I come into contact with?

Lovely, Lovely, Lovely!!!!!

Can I just say right now I am having a FABULOUS time in Egypt? I know it's only been 3 days but yeah...

Here's the scoop:

7 April 2006 -
What a Fantastic introduction to Cairo! Met an expat (she's from the SF bay area/just finished doctorate's from Cal) and her partner from Barcelona waiting for the bus. Ended up catching a taxi to the proposed hotel. Hit if off wonderfully! As we where driving into the city from the airport, I just kept mentally thanking the gods and goddesses for how clean and not noisy (relatively speaking, of course) Cairo seemed to be. At 20+ million people, I was really dreading it! But it's NOTHING compared to India!

At the hotel, met a girl from SoCal trying to see if she can make it to a year of being a Cairene. We spent the afternoon hanging out, with her showing me around the downtown area and providing me with some tips about Cairo. Also got some great tips from these two older Brits (Dudley) about where to hit in Egypt, places to stay, what to watch out for, etc. Wonderfully kind gentlemen! Later that night, I met up again with the SoCal girl along with 2 other long-term visitors (a Swiss-Italian and another SF bay arean-NBayer), and 3 locals. We all went to the Cairo Jazz Club, hung out, danced a bit, and talked a lot. One of the local guys had a car so he ended up taking a me and the Swiss-Italian for a quick drive-through of central Cairo after dropping everyone else off. Finally got in around 4 a.m. extremely tired (I had to get up at 4 a.m. 24-hours earlier to catch my flight from Mumbai to Cairo) but excited and happy.

8 April 2006 -
Slept in some. Spent the day re-orienting myself to central Cairo. In the evening I met some more people (2 UCSF med school grads and 3 Brits). We went to Khan al-Khalili (pronouced kan ahl-kahleelee), an area of town in east Cairo - had some Egyptian pancakes, toured around the marketplace a bit, had some mint tea and sheesha at Fishawi (pronounced fee-show (as in ow)-wee) Coffeehouse. Afterwards we took a long walk (through smog and exhaust that you can literally see at night!) to grab a quick drink at the After Eight Club before grabbing our bags to catch the midnight train to Aswan.

9 April 2006 -
Long train ride but it was nice...very different from that of India. In Aswan, I am staying in a room that has a balcony. Consequently, I have a beautiful view of the Nile, the feluccas and other boats that traverses it and of the west bank of Aswan. (I can see some ruined tombs, Tombs of the Nobles. It really is quite spectacular.) After settling in, I took a public ferry to the largest of the islands between the east and west banks of Aswan called Elephantine Island. I took a quiet and pleasant walk through the two Nubian villages there, Siou and Koti. Heading back to the east bank, I made my way to the Nubian Museum where I met this taxi driver. After realizing that he wasn't going to get a paid trip from me, we got to talking in earnest. He ended up taking me around the southern tip of Aswan and to the Nubian House Restaurant (lol - all for free!) where we had a very pleasant time talking and enjoying the sunsent over the city and the river.

10 April 2006 -
Okay...I am not getting enough sleep! I got up to be ready for a 3:30 a.m. (yes, A.M.!) pick-up to sojourn down south to Abu Simbel (roughly a 4-hour ride each way). Because there is concern that the area between Aswan and Abu Simbel may still be fraught with potential violence, all the tour buses had to wait so that a police convoy could be made. I counted about 60 tour buses ranging from our size (a microbus with max capacity of 14 persons) to luxury double-deckered vacation buses that made up the tourist portion of the convoy! The caused me to be concerned that if someone really wanted to make a statement by targeting tourists we would have, as a convoy, been the perfect target!! Anyhow, because it's rather peaceful lately we didn't have to stop but still had to drive through several checkpoints where there were at least a dozen of armed soldiers at each. Licenses of the buses were noted down and permitted passage as we were accompanied by more armed soldiers. (BTW, Abu Simbel is the temple that has the 4 images of Ramses (with one being damaged) on the outside...it's shown in "The Mummy" movie.)

Anyhow.

W.O.W.!!!

Wow. I'm speechless. Even if I had a camera, it wouldn't do the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor justice. I wish I could have you all here with me so that we could share in the grandeur and enormous scope of it all!!! Lake Nasser (the largest man-made body of water of the world) is right there as well. It's such a grand combination of a herculean work of artistry of an ancient past and the indescribable beauty and splendor of nature...absolutely gorgeous! To get there and back we drove over the Aswan Dam. In the afternoon we went to check out the High Dam. Afterwards, we took a ferry ride to Philae (pronounced fee-lay) Island to visit the Temple of Isis. I need a thesaurus to come up with more words to describe what I'm actually seeing with my own eyes! I hit it off with 3 of the people that was in the microbus with me (two Londoners and a Japanese from Osaka) which added even more to the experience. Having not eaten pretty much all day, I ran off after the tour to one of the restaurants along the Nile and had a huge, delicious meal of kofta and kabab (halal-style). Afterwards I met another lovely Brit and chatted away the late afternoon and evening.

Anyhow, here's a link to a website I found with some great shots of Abu Simbel:
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/abus.htm

and of Philae:
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/philae.htm

and of Aswan (very generally):
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/aswan.htm

Tomorrow I'm off to sail up the Nile on a felucca (those sailboats in the picture of Aswan) to Edfu. Should be interesting!

And She's Off!

Yes! I am finally able to leave Mumbai! Tomorrow I will be flying off to Cairo. YAY! I am excited for many reasons. One is because I am going to continue on with my trip and visit two more countries of the world. But mostly it’s because I am able to finally leave India.

It isn’t because I have not enjoyed my time here. I have. Tremendously. Well, except for this last part. This part I hated, feared, and dreaded. But even throughout this excruciating ordeal I have been able to experience some rather incredible things. Like the forex owner pressing on me Rs. 1000 without asking for securing against it or even knowing my name – only trusting that I will repay him. Like the care and attention given to me by the staff at the hotel I’ve been staying at this past week and half here in Mumbai (Have you eaten? Here, have some chai. Take the water!) Like the friendly greetings or waves of acknowledgment from street vendors and neighbors of the areas I pass through almost on a daily basis to replace all the official documents permitting me departure and entry into countries (even my own!). The generosities of smiles, kindness and spirit have done much to counteract the loss of all things taken from me (not only that which was stolen…).

I can see why people have said that most visitors come away from India either loving it or hating it. Or both. Traveling in India is definitely something that you have to work hard at if you want to get to the treasures she harbors. I do not say this because of how I have chose to travel throughout India. For most people, this would be true (in my opinion) even if you were to have everything pre-arranged and guided. For even trying to make your way through some of the markets and chowks to buy souvenirs or gifts to yourself requires patience, endurance and unflagging enthusiasm. But with tempered perseverance and faith, one can be rewarded with the most splendid of things, places, people and views.

INDIA - Brief Comments (On-going)

1. After Maaza, I am addicted to cane juice. I had forgotten how refreshing this drink was until one day I followed this rhythmic clank to a street vendor. Extremely hot and thirsty, I chanced my stomach and possible threat of traveller's diarrhea for a glass. Ah! What sweetness! (Bonus: No upset stomach...)

2. The open air market (Crawford Market, Mumbai) is much like those of Morocco with types of things being sold clustered mostly together in a specific area. Although no less chaotic, there is a greater hint of orderliness to its chaos as compared to the Moroccan souqs.

3. Local buses are extremely cheap (Rs. 5-7, approx. 1-2 pennies) and convenient. It's not a bad way to go locally, providing if you can get a seat/bus isn't too horribly crowded and traffic flows well enough to catch a breeze through the opened windows. (BTW, there are a few rows of seats up towards the front of the bus reserved "for ladies only.")

4. When asking for directions, it's a good idea to ask several people. Oftentimes you get conflicting or differing responses. Earlier in the trip K and I experienced this in Chennai. At one corner, asking one person we were told to go left. Another person informed us to go right. A third person adamantly gestured for us to continue on straight ahead. A cruel joke on the tourist? A random answer thrown out better than not providing an answer? All correct but varying ways of getting to the final desitnation?

5. The darker I get (despite the liberal use of sunscreen), the more I am believed to be from the northeastern states of India. I've noticed that I'm greeted more and more in Hindi...

6. Officially, there appears to be a strong aversion to acknowlediong the theft of my bag as such. Not even with the preface of "alleged." No. I've just reported "the loss of" my bag, oh she just "lost" her bag, her bag was "lost", etc. Hmmm...

7. Some of the people that I have come into contact with all like their music, TV, and movies played at VERY LOUD volume! What?! What was that? No, I can still hear you! Turn it up! Yes, I can still hear myself think! LOUDER!!

8. At the cinema, they play a snapshot of the governmental approval prior to the trailer or feature film they are about to show. Sometimes it is in Sanskrit and others it is in English. Also, right before the feature film starts they run a short film of the Indian flag at which the audience immediately stands up and sings the national anthem.
(By the way, if any of you haven't seen "Crash" yet, I highly highly recommend it. It was kind of weird sitting in an Indian theater absorbing what's going on in the movie while contemplating if the audience realizes that what happens in the movie [which is a worthwhile representation of reality, in my opinion], transcends all kinds of boundaries be it nationality, ethnic, religious, value-systems, and beliefs.)

9. There is no such thing as "moderation" here in India. It is my perception of extremes.

10. Dogs rule here in India. As opposed to Morocco, I've only seen 4 cats during my entire 6 weeks here.

11. During "rush hour" here in Mumbai, the police ties a rope to the light post and holds the other end. This is so that he can prevent people from trying to cross against the light by pulling it taut. When people are allowed to cross, he just drops it down until the next light change.

12. People jaywalk/cross against the light constantly here. I've picked up the habit and have gotten very adept at it (patting myself on the back)!

13. The wealthier people here not only own foreign cars (such as Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Hundai, Mercedes) but it appears to be a must to have drivers for them - drivers that wait around all day to take you to wherever whenever you need to go.

14. Despite being a huge supplier of IT/computer-related brilliants, there is not a single website available for people in India to book a ticket on-line.

15. The more expensive larger vehicles do not have a simple repeated beep that sounds when they put the vehicle in reverse. No, no. That would not do! Too boring! So, in lieu of that, they have horns that play some melodic/musical fragment of songs. Really.

16. Although it has been difficult for me to become completely vegetarian with my diet in the States, I have slipped into one here very easily. In fact, I've eaten beef only a couple of times.

17. My backpack, upon leaving the States, weighed in at 22 kilos (~48.4 pounds). I believe that it is now up to about 27-30 kg and has gained about 6 inches in height. Yes, it has been christened "Ganesh" although K honors it with "Vishnu"!

18. OMG!!! The air pollution is so completely horrible here. And I hate how my mind works sometimes because I started thinking of all the dry particulates that I'm breathing in; in addition to vehicular exhaust, you have spit, spit with betel juice, piss, cow dung, dog dung, horse dung, garbage, evaporation of waterways clogged with garbage and sewage, urine from everyone and everything...ugh.

19. The pictures that I have taken will not do India any justice for they fail to also capture the smells and sounds of India.

20. Bollywood: Where are the dark-skinned actors? Things that make you go 'hmmm...'

21. When my travel partner and I laugh, we laugh heartily - from the belly. And we laugh loud. Which is something that India women do not do so we often get the entire area within hearing distance craning around to see the source of the laughter and the cause of it. Jeez...it was how a new friend of our found us/our hotel room in Darjeeling - by following the sound of our laughter!

22. The screeching of the birds in Mumbai gives the growing number and volume of vehicular honking a total run for their money in the mornings.

23. Spitting is the thing here. Often with betel nut juice. YUCK!

24. Drivers of Mumbai utilize any and all space available on the road much more efficiently than any other drivers on the road. You get so close to the other car that, as my travel partner put it, "you can almost smell their mouthwash!"

25. I'm not that good of a salesperson. I was trying to sell my watch (band included) for 800 Rs. to the street vendor trying to sell me a small drum. The sale didn't take...

26. I am SOOOO LOVING the music that Indians play here...whether it's in English or some Indian dialect, they all have SUCH great beats!!! I am in great danger of spending much of my money on ripped CDs.

27. Strolling the pathways/roads/alleys with cows have gotten to be a very commonplace thing.

All Things Ubiquitous In India

1. Spitting.

2. Spitting betel juice.

3. Men peeing. Like just "right there"...!

4. Men teaching their sons to pee "right there"...!

4. Dogs.

5. Cows. (They get free rein in India to go whereever they please...the train platforms, the temples, crossing busy streets, hovering near a shop... Notably, though, they were completely missing in Darjeeling.)

6. Honking. (Good grief but for one motor vehicular ride - one walk down a street! - without the incessant honking!!)

7. Question of "Where from?"

8. Question of "Taxi?" "Rickshaw?"

9. Question of "Married?" followed by "Why not/never married?" after the initial shock/disbelief/puzzlement upon finding out that I'm 37.
(By the way, I found something in "The India Times" newspaper that may be apropo to insert here: "Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience." ~Anonymous Somehow, though, I don't think the people who've asked me about my non-marital status would be satisfied with that answer...

10. Lack of personal space/boundaries. They take literally of "give an inch, take a foot."

11. Chinese food. Everywhere. It is served everywhere. I kid you not.

12. Power outages.

13. Lonely Planet's India Guide.

14. Garbage, piles and mountains of garbage, alongside the train tracks. It's so unnerving to watch people just toss out their wrappers, plastic bottles, etc. out of the window. A huge bummer of this is that the deeply impoverished people that live along the tracks within city boundaries that are the recipients of this garbage dumping...

15. Did I mention spitting?

Overwhelmed

Here's the latest update:
No passport yet. So with fervent hope I am praying that it will be available on Monday. This is so that I can leave India for Egypt on Tuesday. For if I am not able to complete the crazy obstacle course I am currently challenged with, then I am staying until next Saturday before being able to leave.

As you've probably picked up in that last paragraph, I have decided to continue on with my original destinations of travel. Reading all your emails and comments, I am sitting here in this inet cafe utterly overwhelmed by all your support, encouragement, and love. You have no idea how much it all moves me and how extremely comforted I am now - how grateful I am to have you all a part of my life.

Thank you.