Hello from Kathmandu! We made it here safely and leave for our 3 week trek in 2 more sleeps! :) We will post when we get back :) Steve says he'll have an Everest beer for everyone...so I guess he better start drinking now (they are one litre bottles!)
Namaste
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tour Egypt
Day one of the tour takes us to the first ever pyramid in Sakkara and the great pyramids and sphynx in Giza. The pyramids are incredible. It is believed by many that the tomb of King Cheops still remains in the great pyramid and the one ‘discovered’ is a fake. Unfortunately there are many hustlers and sellers at the pyramids. Steve was approached by a large arab man who said “I have a gift for you” and Steve kept saying “no money, no money” and the guy kept saying “its a gift, welcome to egypt” etc... So the arab pulls a white cloth/headband out of his bag. He puts it on Steve and its like an arabian head cover for the desert. His sidekick puts a scarf around my head and we pose for a photo with the arab. The arab proceeds to take Steves sunglasses off to show him his reflection, and then puts them on himself. The guy shakes Steve’s hand and tries to walk away- but Steve doesn’t let go of his hand. He takes his glasses back. At this point the Arabs side kick is trying to put the same thing on me and I insist no (remember the do not engage rule) so the guy puts it in my hand. I am trying to get to Steve but he is blocking me. I’m getting mad and calling to Steve “nothing is free!” The guy blocking me starts saying “Its a gift, low price, its a gift, low price”. Scammers! Steve isn’t buying from the arab so his buddy thinks I will?! I am mad now. I have been saying no and trying to return the rag in the bag but he puts his hands up and says “its a gift, low price.” GRR!! I see the big arab getting too close to Steve as he flicks his chest pocket, nobody touches my hubby. I feel that this is all getting too aggressive. Thats it. I drop the bag at my guys feet and push my way to Steve. I pull the rag off Steve’s head, stuff it in the Arabs shoulder bag, take Steve by the arm and drag him away. The arab yells “you lucky man!” Relentless!!! They just don’t give up! Steve was a little mad at me because he didn’t get his free hat. I had to explain through my clenched teeth that NOTHING IS FREE HERE and how his buddy was trying to make me pay for the rags! Besides, he agreed he would never wear it again anyway. I was actually getting nervous with it all- there are many tourist police around but I have a feeling these scammers can disappear before we can get help. Other people come up to us with crystal pyramids, postcards, and jewelery. I am getting impatient because I just want to see the pyramids! One woman is following us and won’t leave, I lose it and yell “just leave us alone!” I felt bad after- I don’t usually yell at complete strangers. I felt like crying. Steve took me to a quieter corner of the pyramid so we could get some photo’s. I have developed my technique of “veering left”. When people start walking to us I just veer extreme left. I think its an obvious signal to stay away from me and it gives me space so I can keep walking...it doesn’t always work. We all made it back to the van and shared out various hustler stories. Our guide is Wyall- he explains that the hustlers have a scam that goes like this: they offer a price, say “5 egyptian pounds” so you go to pay your five pounds and they say “no no, I said 5 hundred pounds” and once you’ve engaged, good luck getting away. Wyall advises that we ask him what the prices should be before we buy stuff and he will give us an idea of a fair price. We went to a view point to see the pyramids from some distance. We are warned not to snap photos of the camels nearby or the hustlers will demand large sums of money. I am only interested in the pyramids anyway. They are something else! Finally we go see the Sphynx, which is much smaller than I imagined! My camera dies so we borrow a battery from one of the Aussies to snap a couple shots. We are being harassed there too, so I don’t care that we leave after only a few minutes. We stop at a market to get dinner and breaky for our overnight train ride to Aswan. We return to the hotel to shower and I charge the camera battery. We head to the train station. A third class train is pulling out of the station- locals are jumping on as it moves, there are people stuffed between the cars and on the back. A second class train pulls in. Its a gong show. The train is packed, the sides appear to be covered in various liquids that have been thrown out the windows, its really gross. There is obviously no AC so the windows are opened as far as they go- maybe six inches, The windows are too dirty to really see in there so we only see arms hanging out the windows and peering eyes. I am relieved that tourists are not allowed to ride second or third class. The train pulls away and people jump on to fill the spaces between cars...
Our train arrives. The AC’d cabin is spacious, our chairs are reclineable, there are only tourists on board. We eat our snack dinner. We have really started to notice the chemical/preservative flavor in foods- our roomies called it ‘chemical bombs’. We have been eating mostly fresh breads and not much refrigerated or packaged stuff. We took a few bites of our cake and it was too chemically. The pretzels were nasty too. We each had an apple and hot dog bun for dinner. The train ride was uneventful but uncomfortable - we both tossed and turned.
We checked into our Awan hotel, showered, and were off to see the High damn of Aswan. We are stopped and inspected at a road check before accessing the damn. Its one of the largest in the world and spans nearly 4km. Although its long, it is only 111m high. Many people were displaced when this damn was built and over ten temples/ancient monuments were relocated. The damn controls water flow on the Nile but produces only ten percent of Egypts power. The international bank wouldn’t fund the damn (as it was displacing people so it would make them look bad) so the Soviets stepped in. There is a monument on the damn signifying the friendship between Egyptians and the Soviets...when all the ancient sites had to be moved before lake Nasr filled up the Egyptian government refused to fund the endeavor! So, UNESCO and western nations piled resources to save the sites! Later, when we saw these places I found it strange that the rest of the world paid to save these monuments and today Egypt is undoubtedly reaping the benefits. Scammers.
Our next stop was the Temple of Philae located on an Island. It was beautiful, peaceful and secluded. We wandered in the quiet. We stopped by an ancient rock quarry to see the unfinished obelisk and then returned to the hotel. We took a boat at sunset to a Nubian village for dinner. Nubians consider crocodiles to be a symbol of good luck, so low and behold there was a young crocodile in the house- caged of course. One of the hosts took the croc out so we could each hold it. The first girl held it with out incident, then it was my turn. I was instructed to put my hands where the host had his hands- one on the body and the other around the neck and head. The croc was mad, and squirming, so when the host let go it thrashed and I freaked and let go of the head- apparently thats not a good idea. I was screaming and everyone took cover- I jumped back but I didn’t let go of the tail part- I didn’t know if the croc was going to swing around and bite me. It felt like one of those toy snakes where you hold the tail and the body slithers around. I wanted to drop it but I didn’t want to lose this families lucky pet. The host grabbed the neck and I let go and ran around shaking my hands and basically freaking out. The croc was just a little one (maybe 2 ft) but powerful! I try again. This time I hold further up the body and I clamp down on its ugly little head. I get my picture and give it back. I thoroughly scrubbed my hands after so I don’t contract salmonella or some reptile disease. Steve doesn’t even go near it- he hates reptiles. Dinner was delicious and we sailed back down the Nile to our hotel. But we only sleep a few hours, wake up call is at 0300hrs. We are heading to Abu Simbel and the “convoy” leaves at 0400hrs. Convoy? Yup. Convoy. I ask Wyall about the convoy, he sorta beats around the bush and says its for safety but more so to control the speed on the highway. Yeah right. I call bull shit on that. I asked if any other places needed convoys and he said “they used to, since ’97, but most of them are no longer deemed necessary”. No one in the group seems to show any concern. Apparently I’m the only one in the group aware of the attacks on tourists and because this excursion is optional I would like some details. I whispered to Steve “97 is when they killed all those tourists” we wait for the others to scatter and I press for more details. Wyall describes the disaster of 97 to us- where he was, its effects, and what has been done for safety. There is still a threat in Egypt, but the radicals “don’t have any weapons.” Wow, thats just great. We take the excursion. At 0400 we are lined up with dozens of other tour vans and busses. All vehicles are inspected. The convoy is led with armed guards and no one drives with their lights on. I don’t know if no lights is just how they roll here...but seemed strange considering it was dark out! The drive is 3 hours, I doze on and off but don’t really sleep. We arrive to Abu Simbel. This place is fabulous! We enter the temples, there are signs saying “no photos” but Steve and I sneak a couple flash-less shots. Its incredibly hot at this place even early in the morning, so we quickly tour then join an early convoy back to Aswan. The drive back was the worst ever. Our driver was a maniac. He was following the van in front of us close enough to not see the bumper. Thankfully we had seat belts and even more thankfully we never crashed. I don’t understand the driving. Wyall and most of the group was sleeping and I thought for sure we were toast. The driver would tailgate kitty corner to the van in front of us, sometimes he would drive up beside the van and they would exchange gestures and laugh. Other cars zoomed by and he would pull in behind the van. I should have said something...I told Wyall when we were safely off the maniac mobile that the driver was psycho and reckless- some of the others who saw the driving also complained. In Aswan our group was split in two. Four members were leaving to cruise the Nile on a small ship while the rest of us were sailing on a felucca. The felucca was spacious. With only five of us on board, a captain, his mate, and Wyall, we had plenty of space to lounge. The deck was one big mattress shaded with a sheet- we could not stand upright. Our bags were stored in a crawl space under the deck. We drifted down the nile for 22km. No washroom on board so when you had to wee you just told the captain and he pulled over. There were too many people on shore for me to ever feel comfortable enough to go, and when we did get to shore more people seemed to appear out of nowhere. We finally stopped for the night, the mate prepared us a delicious dinner, then we went on land for some nubian music and a bonfire. The classic dancing around the fire got under way. No wood to burn in the desert so dead palm leaves were used. The leaves produced an intoxicating smoke but it was all fun. We returned to the Felucca and slept on the deck. We were given blankets but they weren’t necessary with the heat- Egypt doesn’t really cool off. We slept soundly while the mosquitoes feasted.
We had a little breakfast on the felucca and were then headed to Luxor. This would be our hottest day in Egypt. In the 48 degree heat we visited Kom Ombo and Edfu temples. On the east bank of Luxor we visited the massive Karnak temple, here we could see some interesting hieroglyphics. Steve was occupied by an ancient calendar dating 4000 years. It was the first discovered and the calendar we use today is based on it. I liked the carvings depicting ancient surgical tools. After this stop we were too darn hot and visited the Luxor temple from the comfort of the air conditioned van. I can’t explain the heat of this day! We were sweating profusely, just like in spin class, minus the exertion. The wind was hot and it was torture when it blew. We couldn’t sit on anything- even in the shade the stone was burning hot. Wyall explained that people are allowed to go home from work if the temperature reaches 50 degrees, so at 48 they stop gaging it :-) I told Wyall how our school closed at -40 degrees and that was shocking for him...This hot day also happened to be Canada Day! We went to an Irish pub to play pool and rehydrate. The next day we toured the west bank of Luxor which included the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. We started the day early to avoid the intense heat but even at 0800hrs the Valley of the Kings was HOT! This valley was chosen for its dry climate and hidden location. We were permitted to enter three tombs. We were amazed at the condition of the paintings and hieroglyphics in them! The colors were beautiful. All the temples in Egypt were originally painted but the weather and time has taken its toll. To see the colors and work in the tombs still remaining after 3000 years was super neat! I mentioned earlier how no pictures are permitted in the tombs. Other than the “no photo’s” sign there is no warning of what will happen to you if you break the rule...Wyall explained if you get caught your camera is taken away and you have to pay to get it back from the guard (no set fee, its a bribe). Then the perpetrator is usually marched to the tourism police where they charge you 50 egyptian pounds per photo and erase them off your camera! If you bribe the guard enough you can avoid the police action. Steve and I decided it wasn’t worth sneaking any photos in any more tombs. Our group was busy admiring a tomb when it happens- a flash goes off! We all give eachother the ‘oh shit balls’ look and rush to see who broke the rule. We saw a european woman and her man...an egyptian security guard was running to her. He basically lunged for her camera. She bent over to hide the camera, he was reaching over her shoulder trying to snatch it from her hands. She was yelling “its my camera and my photo!” The struggle continued and her man tried to block the guard too. The guard isn’t wearing a traditional uniform, he is in a blouse robe that reaches the floor and a white turban so I don’t know if the couple knew he was a guard. After a few minutes we started to leave but they were still fighting- the guard was yelling for back up, as we walked by I told the man he has to pay... I found the physical aspect of this episode surprising. If a guard did that to me I know Steve would jump in and help me-probably kick some ass! We left the scene and went to a tomb higher up in the rocks. We had to climb a large stair case into a crevasse and then climb down into the tomb. It was sweltering in this tomb. After a few minutes my legs were too wobbly and the thick hot air was barely breathable. I had to leave- by the time I climbed out I was drenched and sweat was running down my face, arms, legs...the air outside felt better. Its amazing how the heat penetrates the rocks and the rocks retain the heat- that tomb was like an oven. The Hatshepsut Temple was incredible too! But holy moly the heat!!! We did a quick visit and bailed. Hahaha! I look back at my photos and wonder why I didn’t take more, but then I remember that unbearable heat. You breath in and feel the hot air in your lungs. There aren’t hustlers in the perimeter of the sites in the south which is a relief. But from the exit to the parking lot you have to push through a gauntlet of people shoving things in your face to buy. I have concluded that these people go to the same hustler school because they all use the same lines! They always ask “where you from?” we either ignore them (which makes me feel rude) or we say Canada- they all reply “Oh, Canada Dry!” and then “welcome to Alaska.” Everywhere they said this. Steve finally has enough and would say “you don’t even have Canada dry here anymore.” Sometimes we just say “no english” so then they try spanish. The men really like Steves beard and compliment him endlessly. They also inform him “you lucky man” because he has me- and I agree and rub it in how lucky he is :) And then they ask “how many camels?”
Later in the afternoon we drive 3 hours to the city of Hurgada located on the Red Sea. We go out for a seafood dinner and are soon in bed. The next morning we board a large ship and head out for a day of snorkeling and swimming. The water is beautiful- deep shades of blue, turqoise, and green. The water is clear and we see many fish among the coral. We have the next day to do as we please...we opt to sleep in! Later we all decide to hit up the Hard Rock Cafe. Wyall flags us a cab and tells us it will cost between 15-20 pounds each way. No problem, we can manage an unescorted outing. Steve and I pound back a plate of nachos and they were soooo good! We should’ve stopped at the nachos, but no, we share a brownie with icecream and we are so bloated and full we just want to go back to sleep. We have to get back to the hotel. The cafe is a little out of the way so some time passes before a cab appears. Steve tells him where we are going and says ’20 pounds’. We all pile in. The cabbie drives 130km/hr at one point. His meter is ticking away- in piasters, which are cents. We make it to the hotel after a few wrong turns. The meter says 896 piasters. We all get out and Steve is left to pay the tab. Now, 896 piasters is equal to almost 9 pounds, but the cabbie says “896 pounds.” Steve says “No, its in piaster” the cabbie argues and says “your friend said you pay in straight egyptian” whatever that means...so Steve says “no, you get 10 pounds” and the cabbie didn’t move or say anything, Steve knows it should cost 15-20 but he wants to scam this scammer. Steve finally threw 20 pounds over the seat and got out. Imagine paying $200 CAN for a 10 minute cab ride!!!
We leave Hurgada at midnight and drive to Cairo. We arrive at 0700 and have a nap before heading to the museum. We saw the goodies from King Tut’s tomb- the only one in the Valley of the Kings discovered to be completely intact. It was incredible! King Tut’s mask is unbelievably beautiful. Some estimate it to be the single most valuable item in the world. We see more really ancient stuff and some mummies of the animal and human kind. We also see a copy of the rosetta stone. For some reason the original is in the British museum. We also visited the old city of Cairo and saw the area in which Mary, Joseph, and Jesus hung out for 2 years while hiding from King Harod. We finished the day at a bazaar- nothing like a big hassle in the heat!
Overall, we enjoyed our time in Egypt but have decided its a “been there done that” kind of place. We found it to be a constant hassle, I couldn’t handle the people anymore- we cannot recall meeting one single nice genuine person in Egypt. Sorry, but from what we experienced there are too many scammers who constantly stare and hustle- women are not equal. I won’t even write some of the comments that I heard...At this point in time I am not interested in ever going back. Ever.
Our train arrives. The AC’d cabin is spacious, our chairs are reclineable, there are only tourists on board. We eat our snack dinner. We have really started to notice the chemical/preservative flavor in foods- our roomies called it ‘chemical bombs’. We have been eating mostly fresh breads and not much refrigerated or packaged stuff. We took a few bites of our cake and it was too chemically. The pretzels were nasty too. We each had an apple and hot dog bun for dinner. The train ride was uneventful but uncomfortable - we both tossed and turned.
We checked into our Awan hotel, showered, and were off to see the High damn of Aswan. We are stopped and inspected at a road check before accessing the damn. Its one of the largest in the world and spans nearly 4km. Although its long, it is only 111m high. Many people were displaced when this damn was built and over ten temples/ancient monuments were relocated. The damn controls water flow on the Nile but produces only ten percent of Egypts power. The international bank wouldn’t fund the damn (as it was displacing people so it would make them look bad) so the Soviets stepped in. There is a monument on the damn signifying the friendship between Egyptians and the Soviets...when all the ancient sites had to be moved before lake Nasr filled up the Egyptian government refused to fund the endeavor! So, UNESCO and western nations piled resources to save the sites! Later, when we saw these places I found it strange that the rest of the world paid to save these monuments and today Egypt is undoubtedly reaping the benefits. Scammers.
Our next stop was the Temple of Philae located on an Island. It was beautiful, peaceful and secluded. We wandered in the quiet. We stopped by an ancient rock quarry to see the unfinished obelisk and then returned to the hotel. We took a boat at sunset to a Nubian village for dinner. Nubians consider crocodiles to be a symbol of good luck, so low and behold there was a young crocodile in the house- caged of course. One of the hosts took the croc out so we could each hold it. The first girl held it with out incident, then it was my turn. I was instructed to put my hands where the host had his hands- one on the body and the other around the neck and head. The croc was mad, and squirming, so when the host let go it thrashed and I freaked and let go of the head- apparently thats not a good idea. I was screaming and everyone took cover- I jumped back but I didn’t let go of the tail part- I didn’t know if the croc was going to swing around and bite me. It felt like one of those toy snakes where you hold the tail and the body slithers around. I wanted to drop it but I didn’t want to lose this families lucky pet. The host grabbed the neck and I let go and ran around shaking my hands and basically freaking out. The croc was just a little one (maybe 2 ft) but powerful! I try again. This time I hold further up the body and I clamp down on its ugly little head. I get my picture and give it back. I thoroughly scrubbed my hands after so I don’t contract salmonella or some reptile disease. Steve doesn’t even go near it- he hates reptiles. Dinner was delicious and we sailed back down the Nile to our hotel. But we only sleep a few hours, wake up call is at 0300hrs. We are heading to Abu Simbel and the “convoy” leaves at 0400hrs. Convoy? Yup. Convoy. I ask Wyall about the convoy, he sorta beats around the bush and says its for safety but more so to control the speed on the highway. Yeah right. I call bull shit on that. I asked if any other places needed convoys and he said “they used to, since ’97, but most of them are no longer deemed necessary”. No one in the group seems to show any concern. Apparently I’m the only one in the group aware of the attacks on tourists and because this excursion is optional I would like some details. I whispered to Steve “97 is when they killed all those tourists” we wait for the others to scatter and I press for more details. Wyall describes the disaster of 97 to us- where he was, its effects, and what has been done for safety. There is still a threat in Egypt, but the radicals “don’t have any weapons.” Wow, thats just great. We take the excursion. At 0400 we are lined up with dozens of other tour vans and busses. All vehicles are inspected. The convoy is led with armed guards and no one drives with their lights on. I don’t know if no lights is just how they roll here...but seemed strange considering it was dark out! The drive is 3 hours, I doze on and off but don’t really sleep. We arrive to Abu Simbel. This place is fabulous! We enter the temples, there are signs saying “no photos” but Steve and I sneak a couple flash-less shots. Its incredibly hot at this place even early in the morning, so we quickly tour then join an early convoy back to Aswan. The drive back was the worst ever. Our driver was a maniac. He was following the van in front of us close enough to not see the bumper. Thankfully we had seat belts and even more thankfully we never crashed. I don’t understand the driving. Wyall and most of the group was sleeping and I thought for sure we were toast. The driver would tailgate kitty corner to the van in front of us, sometimes he would drive up beside the van and they would exchange gestures and laugh. Other cars zoomed by and he would pull in behind the van. I should have said something...I told Wyall when we were safely off the maniac mobile that the driver was psycho and reckless- some of the others who saw the driving also complained. In Aswan our group was split in two. Four members were leaving to cruise the Nile on a small ship while the rest of us were sailing on a felucca. The felucca was spacious. With only five of us on board, a captain, his mate, and Wyall, we had plenty of space to lounge. The deck was one big mattress shaded with a sheet- we could not stand upright. Our bags were stored in a crawl space under the deck. We drifted down the nile for 22km. No washroom on board so when you had to wee you just told the captain and he pulled over. There were too many people on shore for me to ever feel comfortable enough to go, and when we did get to shore more people seemed to appear out of nowhere. We finally stopped for the night, the mate prepared us a delicious dinner, then we went on land for some nubian music and a bonfire. The classic dancing around the fire got under way. No wood to burn in the desert so dead palm leaves were used. The leaves produced an intoxicating smoke but it was all fun. We returned to the Felucca and slept on the deck. We were given blankets but they weren’t necessary with the heat- Egypt doesn’t really cool off. We slept soundly while the mosquitoes feasted.
We had a little breakfast on the felucca and were then headed to Luxor. This would be our hottest day in Egypt. In the 48 degree heat we visited Kom Ombo and Edfu temples. On the east bank of Luxor we visited the massive Karnak temple, here we could see some interesting hieroglyphics. Steve was occupied by an ancient calendar dating 4000 years. It was the first discovered and the calendar we use today is based on it. I liked the carvings depicting ancient surgical tools. After this stop we were too darn hot and visited the Luxor temple from the comfort of the air conditioned van. I can’t explain the heat of this day! We were sweating profusely, just like in spin class, minus the exertion. The wind was hot and it was torture when it blew. We couldn’t sit on anything- even in the shade the stone was burning hot. Wyall explained that people are allowed to go home from work if the temperature reaches 50 degrees, so at 48 they stop gaging it :-) I told Wyall how our school closed at -40 degrees and that was shocking for him...This hot day also happened to be Canada Day! We went to an Irish pub to play pool and rehydrate. The next day we toured the west bank of Luxor which included the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. We started the day early to avoid the intense heat but even at 0800hrs the Valley of the Kings was HOT! This valley was chosen for its dry climate and hidden location. We were permitted to enter three tombs. We were amazed at the condition of the paintings and hieroglyphics in them! The colors were beautiful. All the temples in Egypt were originally painted but the weather and time has taken its toll. To see the colors and work in the tombs still remaining after 3000 years was super neat! I mentioned earlier how no pictures are permitted in the tombs. Other than the “no photo’s” sign there is no warning of what will happen to you if you break the rule...Wyall explained if you get caught your camera is taken away and you have to pay to get it back from the guard (no set fee, its a bribe). Then the perpetrator is usually marched to the tourism police where they charge you 50 egyptian pounds per photo and erase them off your camera! If you bribe the guard enough you can avoid the police action. Steve and I decided it wasn’t worth sneaking any photos in any more tombs. Our group was busy admiring a tomb when it happens- a flash goes off! We all give eachother the ‘oh shit balls’ look and rush to see who broke the rule. We saw a european woman and her man...an egyptian security guard was running to her. He basically lunged for her camera. She bent over to hide the camera, he was reaching over her shoulder trying to snatch it from her hands. She was yelling “its my camera and my photo!” The struggle continued and her man tried to block the guard too. The guard isn’t wearing a traditional uniform, he is in a blouse robe that reaches the floor and a white turban so I don’t know if the couple knew he was a guard. After a few minutes we started to leave but they were still fighting- the guard was yelling for back up, as we walked by I told the man he has to pay... I found the physical aspect of this episode surprising. If a guard did that to me I know Steve would jump in and help me-probably kick some ass! We left the scene and went to a tomb higher up in the rocks. We had to climb a large stair case into a crevasse and then climb down into the tomb. It was sweltering in this tomb. After a few minutes my legs were too wobbly and the thick hot air was barely breathable. I had to leave- by the time I climbed out I was drenched and sweat was running down my face, arms, legs...the air outside felt better. Its amazing how the heat penetrates the rocks and the rocks retain the heat- that tomb was like an oven. The Hatshepsut Temple was incredible too! But holy moly the heat!!! We did a quick visit and bailed. Hahaha! I look back at my photos and wonder why I didn’t take more, but then I remember that unbearable heat. You breath in and feel the hot air in your lungs. There aren’t hustlers in the perimeter of the sites in the south which is a relief. But from the exit to the parking lot you have to push through a gauntlet of people shoving things in your face to buy. I have concluded that these people go to the same hustler school because they all use the same lines! They always ask “where you from?” we either ignore them (which makes me feel rude) or we say Canada- they all reply “Oh, Canada Dry!” and then “welcome to Alaska.” Everywhere they said this. Steve finally has enough and would say “you don’t even have Canada dry here anymore.” Sometimes we just say “no english” so then they try spanish. The men really like Steves beard and compliment him endlessly. They also inform him “you lucky man” because he has me- and I agree and rub it in how lucky he is :) And then they ask “how many camels?”
Later in the afternoon we drive 3 hours to the city of Hurgada located on the Red Sea. We go out for a seafood dinner and are soon in bed. The next morning we board a large ship and head out for a day of snorkeling and swimming. The water is beautiful- deep shades of blue, turqoise, and green. The water is clear and we see many fish among the coral. We have the next day to do as we please...we opt to sleep in! Later we all decide to hit up the Hard Rock Cafe. Wyall flags us a cab and tells us it will cost between 15-20 pounds each way. No problem, we can manage an unescorted outing. Steve and I pound back a plate of nachos and they were soooo good! We should’ve stopped at the nachos, but no, we share a brownie with icecream and we are so bloated and full we just want to go back to sleep. We have to get back to the hotel. The cafe is a little out of the way so some time passes before a cab appears. Steve tells him where we are going and says ’20 pounds’. We all pile in. The cabbie drives 130km/hr at one point. His meter is ticking away- in piasters, which are cents. We make it to the hotel after a few wrong turns. The meter says 896 piasters. We all get out and Steve is left to pay the tab. Now, 896 piasters is equal to almost 9 pounds, but the cabbie says “896 pounds.” Steve says “No, its in piaster” the cabbie argues and says “your friend said you pay in straight egyptian” whatever that means...so Steve says “no, you get 10 pounds” and the cabbie didn’t move or say anything, Steve knows it should cost 15-20 but he wants to scam this scammer. Steve finally threw 20 pounds over the seat and got out. Imagine paying $200 CAN for a 10 minute cab ride!!!
We leave Hurgada at midnight and drive to Cairo. We arrive at 0700 and have a nap before heading to the museum. We saw the goodies from King Tut’s tomb- the only one in the Valley of the Kings discovered to be completely intact. It was incredible! King Tut’s mask is unbelievably beautiful. Some estimate it to be the single most valuable item in the world. We see more really ancient stuff and some mummies of the animal and human kind. We also see a copy of the rosetta stone. For some reason the original is in the British museum. We also visited the old city of Cairo and saw the area in which Mary, Joseph, and Jesus hung out for 2 years while hiding from King Harod. We finished the day at a bazaar- nothing like a big hassle in the heat!
Overall, we enjoyed our time in Egypt but have decided its a “been there done that” kind of place. We found it to be a constant hassle, I couldn’t handle the people anymore- we cannot recall meeting one single nice genuine person in Egypt. Sorry, but from what we experienced there are too many scammers who constantly stare and hustle- women are not equal. I won’t even write some of the comments that I heard...At this point in time I am not interested in ever going back. Ever.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Just Call me Nefertiti
It was dark as our plane flew into Cairo. This city is unbelievably huge- all we could see out the windows of the plane were city lights dimmed by a thick cloud of pollution. I read about the pollution in Cairo and how it is damaging the pyramids, I believe it! I can’t say that I’ve ever been able to see pollution at night. We landed at 2230, and headed for the visa stand- we have yet to pass a bank machine and we are broke! Ha! We do have some euro and US dollars stashed in our packs, but our packs are to be picked up on the other side of customs! We literally have 5 cents. We go up to the counter and are required to pay 30 US dollars for our visa’s. Steve asks “do you take visa?” The guy raises his eyebrows and gives us a sour “no”. I don’t panic- as if we are the first ones to show up to visa with no money? Steve says “we have no money” and the guy is laughing- in disbelief I guess. And whats up with having to pay in US dollars?? Apparently they like the greenback and the euro. Another agent says something to him and he directs us to a cash machine. We get cashola and pay for visa’s in Egyptian Pounds- now was that so hard? We passed customs and met our ride. We have signed up for a tour with a company here in Cairo- we decided Egypt would be more enjoyable and much easier if we didn’t have all the responsibility of doing it solo. We were out of the airport at just past 2300 and the temperature outside was thirty one degrees! It was muggy and the air was thick with nastiness. As we got onto the highway, the pollution was like fog in the headlights. The traffic is unreal and I can’t tell if there are traffic rules here- there are lines painted on the roads but drivers hover on them and appear to ignore them completely. I don’t understand this! The horn, high-beams, and handsignals are used as part of the driving- different honks and flashes have various meanings. Despite being late at night on a weekday, the roads were still congested. People drive fast here- at least in Morocco the driving was slow and crazy, here its fast and crazy! The barricades along the sides are full of holes where cars have crashed through and gone off overpasses or down embankments. I was a wreck while Magan and Sam (our driver & guide) drove us across the city to our hotel...we arrived to the hotel where armed guards sit at the gate, then another one at the entrance where we must pass through metal detectors. I don’t know what to think of that- is it great because we are safe? Or is it because something went down here and I don’t want to know...there is nothing really around our hotel and it feels like we are in a compound. Our room is spacious and actually very nice. We strain to see the pyramids and finally in the dark we can see the outline of one off in the distance! I use all the locks on the door and jam a chair under the knob and we are off to sleep.
We woke up the next morning, pulled back the curtains and could see three pyramids- through a thick fog of pollution of course. Magan and Sam picked us up to have a meeting with the tour manager. This required a drive into downtown Cairo. This is the ugliest city I have ever seen. All the buildings are cement or brick- it looks as though some of them had been painted at one time, but they are all a grayish brown color due to the smog. Most windows on the buildings have huge air-conditioning units hanging out them and massive satellite dishes are randomly attached to the walls and any available roof space. There are unfinished projects everywhere I look. Most buildings have long sticks of rebar sticking out of the roofs which we assume are for future development. There are half built overpasses and roads that have never been completed. There is litter and rubble everywhere.
The meeting with Hany goes well...Hany warns us of street hustlers. He explains that egyptians are usually shy, and if people approach us in the street they are likely to be hustlers. A couple hours later we are hustled. Hahaha! They are really smooth here and we didn’t realize it was happening until it was too late...but here is how it went down.
-We leave the compound in search of a place to eat
-We are walking on a busy road
-Suddenly a young guy is walking with us and we begin chatting
-He is on his way home from work at a hotel
-He tells us the restaurants don’t open until 8pm
-Its only 630pm
-He knows a convenience store where we can buy a drink
-We go there and get overly screwed on the prices but don’t realize it yet
-He says its customary to invite people for tea and suggests we come over while we wait for the restaurants to open
-We go to his family’s business for tea
-Its a perfume store
-Oh shit
-They sit us on couches and we get the whole spiel on how they make the perfume oil from flowers (122kg of petals for one litre of oil!) etc
-Oh and the bottles are blown glass
-I’m loving it and Steve is not
-The recipe’s for egyptian queen’s perfumes were written in the tombs
-I buy a little bottle of Queen Nefertiti’s perfume
-The hustler gives me blown glass bottle because egyptians think nurses are angels
-We leave and so does the young guy
-We see him go back to where he met us to wait for the next tourist
-We forget about eating and go back to the compound
Neither of us could believe how smooth this dude was! When we got to the perfume store we knew what was going down. Its somewhat awkward trying to get out of those situations...they know every angle. I don’t regret the experience though- I actually really like my new Nefertiti oil. But we are more aware now- a new country with new tactics!
We have a couple days before the tour starts and decide to take a trip to a famous church. This outing requires another adventure through Cairo. The church is known for the story dating from 929AD. The king found a passage in the bible indicating that mountains could be moved by prayer. They decided if this could be proven than Christianity was legit. So they told the Christians they had 3 days to move the mountain and they could keep their church and religion. Long story short, St.Simon the Tanner led the prayers and moved the mountain/church. This is our destination. Megan mutters that we have to go past “the dump”. We don’t as questions. As we approach, Sam says, “this is the Christian quarter”. And we are driving past a mountain of garbage- an actual dump in the city of Cairo. We don’t get far though, the road is flooded with nasty deep dump sludge water. We back out and have to find a new route. There are dogs eating garbage and some sort of large animal carcass on the side of the road. Evil looking dogs...we begin to weave our way through the streets surrounding the garbage mountain and I am appalled. It’s the most horrible place I’ve seen. People are living among the garbage, they sort through it separating recyclables. The streets looked like part of the dump with bugs and garbage and dogs everywhere. The car barely fit through the roads because they were so blocked with garbage, people, animals and old cars. There were children covered in dirt and wearing rags. I felt guilty for having money when they clearly had none. Megan cracked the window to ask directions and we all began gagging- we had to hold tissues over our mouths and nose. We made it out of the garbage and to the church. It was impressive, an outdoor amphitheater type church that can seat thousands of worshipers. We saw a carving of the Madonna in the rock that apparently appeared spontaneously. It was all very interesting but I mostly thought about how we’d have to drive back through the Christian quarter. It was just as horrible driving out. Our next stop was in the “rich part of Cairo” to see the city view from lookout. The rich part didn’t look much different from any other part...garbage and rubble, half built buildings, cars driving like crazy. We got to the lookout and had a vast view of the city. Cairo is massive, we could not see the pyramids because of the smog. As we were taking photos and gazing, a man walked to the edge of the cliff and emptied a sac full of garbage off the bank. Unbelievable!!! It disgusts me. We drive to another lookout, Megan gets out of the car and throws rocks at the stray evil dogs, then its safe for us to get out. More polluted city views and more garbage. I can’t wait to leave Cairo. Our final stop for the little excursion is at a family run hole in the wall for some traditional food. We have our first “coucherie”. The place is tiny and part of the charm is a few inches of mystery sawdust covering the floor. The food is being prepared at the front of the shop in big pots. Our coucherie arrives to the table in stainless steel cereal bowls. We are given a stainless jug of water and one stainless cup for the four of us. I thought maybe this was how prisoners ate. Steve ordered us a bottled water. The food is fantastic! Our first real egyptian food- made of rice, macaroni noodles, beans, a tomato sauce, some kind of oil, fried onions...mmm! Steve loved it- which is saying a lot considering it is a vegetarian dish. We are safely returned to the compound...I am liking the compound more and more.
The next day we venture into town. We get directions and the address to the hotel written in arabic. We leave the compound and a few minutes later we are walking by some men on the side of the road. They say “taxi?” and Steve says “yes”. One of the men pulls a car out of the garage while the other gets out two plastic lawn chairs. The car pulls away and we sit on the side of the road in the chairs. Soon a taxi pulls up following the other car. These dudes got in their car, to go tell their taxi driving buddy that they found him customers?? We make it to our destination- a store to get some sunscreen and shampoo. We walk around to find some lunch and are constantly approached and stared at. We know better and ignore them. We find a pizza place and have egyptian pizza for lunch. We flag down a cab and the driver uses the directions to aim for our hotel. We miss the turn but the driver finds a new way- the driver doesn’t speak english- so he shows his appreciation for the directions by kissing the paper and laughing. Steve is laughing in the front seat. Out of nowhere there is an oversized speed bump. BRAKE! The tires squeal but we still nail it hard- I hit the seat in front of me as Steve braced himself on the dash. Ugh. Once again, I am happy to be back on the compound. That evening we meet with the rest of the tour group and our guide. There are five Australians, two from Singapore, and us.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Three Cheers for Turkey!!!
Most people say Canadians are “nice”, but the Turks blow us outta the water! They are really nice. We encountered people willing to assist us without ulterior motives. Any time we were looking lost with our map in hand, someone came to our side. Our time in Cannakale was short but enjoyable. The town is right on the water. We wanted to see Troy with out paying for a pricey tour, so we found the local dolmus bus stop- conveniently located under a bridge and beside a market. The bus was hourly so we wandered the turkish market which was selling mostly clothes, shoes, and vegetables. We went back under the bridge and sat like trolls until the bus came. We finally got the dolmus and it took us through some villages on the way to Troy. I like seeing the villages and trying to catch a glimpse of how people live...anyways I was a little bummed out with Troy. There wasn’t much left of the great city and I wasn’t in the mood to imagine what it once was- I think the heat impedes my imaginative abilities and my patience isn’t that great when I’m sweating profusely- hahaha. I’m finding that some places just don’t tickle me...and thats ok! Steve did remind me that the ruins were from before Christ even walked the Earth and that is pretty cool...
The next bus ride was to Selcuk- a great little town full of locals and cafe’s. We got off the bus and were met with people trying to get customers into their hostels. We already had a reservation at a place but we didn’t know how to get to it, one of the other hostel workers lead us all the way to the front door. We offered him a small tip and he completely refused...We just so happened to arrive in Selcuk on the day of the weekly market- and the market was on the same street as our hotel- weeee! We bought a kg of the most red, plump, delicious cherries for 3 lira- approx. $2. A kg is a heck of alot of cherries- its half a grocery bag full! We saw the guy who led us to our hostel and gave him a bunch and shared the rest with others at the hostel. One of the main sites near Selcuk is Ephesus- and what a sight!!! Its an ancient city but much of it is excavated. Marble columns, roads, statues and walls. There were ancient toilets which- like every other tourist- we found amusing. There is also a massive theatre in Ephesus. In this place, St. Paul preached to the people in his effort to convert them from pagans to Christians. The crowd got mad and chanted for three hours for him to leave. He left. On our lastnight in Selcuk we ate at a restaurant and asked about a glass circular blue symbol we had been seeing everywhere- its called an evil eye...the waiter instructed us to return to the restaurant the next day and his dad would have one for me. Hmm...seriously? We went back, the restaurant wasn’t open yet but the servers dad was there with a package for me! We chatted with him for a bit and left with the gift. It was wrapped in shiny pink paper with silver stars. It was a terra-cotta pot with an evil eye on it! It was also cracked...but the thought was sooooo nice!!! I took the evil eye off and got rid of the broken part. As we were boarding the bus to leave Selcuk, I realized I didn’t have the travel pillow! I forgot it at the hotel! Ah!!! Steve said “oh well- too bad” and I thought NO! NO NO! I asked the ticket agent how much time we had, he said three minutes...I told him I forgot something at the hotel- he said to run and get it- I was giving Steve my purse to hold and the ticket agent said “no, he run”- obviously selecting the faster one for the mission ( good idea). So Steve ran back to the hotel, saw the pillow on the maids cart, snatched it, and double timed it back to the bus! He was my hero...so now we have the “4 P’s” check which includes: Purse, Pillow, Pack, Passports.
Next stop Pammukale to check out the calcium travertines- which were the most fantastic formations!! We walked up to them in the morning before the bus loads of Russian tourists showed up. We spent the day at the top where there are ruins of an ancient city called Hieropolis. We found shade and played chess. We also “people watched”...Neither of us could get over the posing. The russian girls were in ity bity bikini’s and copying sports illustrated models. Quite the site! No smiles, just serious model poses- very serious. I was in the minority of one piece suits....I felt awkward wandering around the travertines in a bathing suit- it was like hiking in my undies- and everyone else hiking in their undies. By the afternoon the place was Packed! The clear crisp pools of water from the morning hike had turned into sludge holes and we even saw blood on some rocks...so Steve got all freaky about getting hepatitis or athletes foot from the water (you must go barefoot), and at the end of the day he tried very hard to avoid all still water- I was a little sketched out too, but was amused by Steves antics.
We get to another bus station and while waiting we spot a couple we once saw in Selcuk. We chat with them and have a good laugh at the fact that they saw the russian posers in Pamukkale too...we are all catching overnight bus to Goerme in the Capadocia region. Capadocia means “the land of beautiful horses” but we weren’t there for the horses. We were there for the land. This place has to be one of the most amazing places in the world! Its unreal! The scenery is like nothing we have ever seen before. I won’t try to explain how this place got like this (involving volcanoes and wind and certain plants...) because I know I’ll mess it up. Basically, there are valleys with “fairy chimneys” - which look like chimeny’s. People created cave dwellings by carving their homes into the chimneys. There were also monestaries and churches carved into the stone by early Christians. We rented bikes for a day and explored a nearby village and some valley’s. It was fun and we were satisfied with the amount of ground we covered on bikes... on another day we took a tour. The tour involved a visit to an underground city that was dug out so people of Capadocia (a highly sought after region) could hide when under attack. This city was eleven stories deep and could house between 5 and 8 thousand people! They had water and 30 thousand tonnes of food stashed in it. In later years, christians used the underground cities to hide from persecution while preaching and worshiping. We ate lunch in a little hut on a river and then went for a 6km hike through a beautiful valley, we visited some more sites and finished the tour at the mandatory jewelry and quartz shop...it was a good day. The tour guide was pretty funny- he cracked a few islamic jokes involving 40 virgins and even had a blonde joke.
Before our overnight bus to Istanbul, we treated ourselves to a hamam. I loooooved it! Here is the lowdown:
-We enter and put on our bathing suits and are given sarongs. Steve is convinced he should go naked, but I insist he wears the trunks.
-we go into a steam room that smells like lavender and steam for a while
we are taken to a room with a large marble slab in the middle and sinks all along the walls
we lay on the stone which is nice and warm
we each have a hamam girl, they take our sarongs and I wonder if Steve is thinking “glad I listened to Beej and wore the trunks”
they start pouring water over us and it feel so neat!
we are scrubbed down with a glove that feels like sandpaper on the skin- front and back
I see grey balls of dead skin all over me. ew.
another rinse
the girls get large pillow cases and dip them in some sudsy stuff, then they fill the case with air, as they squeeze the air out thick bubbles form
we get covered in a layer of bubbles
I look over at steve and all I see are his feet and head- he is in a bubble sleeping bag!
we are rubbed down- front and back
one last rinse!
The hamam was glorious! Like a pedicure for your enitre body...
Our final days in Turkey were spent in Istanbul where we visited the blue mosque, aya sofia, the crazy bazaar, spice market, and underground cistern. Istanbul is a huge city- and soon it was simply just another massive city. We preferred the smaller places around Turkey....what an amazing country!!!
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