We enjoyed several days in Northern Wales. We managed
a few pints - Clive is always happy with a 'good cup of coffee' in the morning and a pint or 'real beer' later in the day. We managed some walking in Snowdownia - I went further than Clive when we went on a real hike - we did enjoy walking together most days, eating and a pint at the end of the day. Snowdownia and the Brecon Beacons both allow one to see for miles. It is grazing land for sheep and/or cows and there are footpaths about. All the reading says to be careful - weather changes, etc. But I felt safe and could see so far. However looking at the looming grey sky while a long way up Snowdownia made me think that fog as thick as peasoup might make it hazardous. Today it stayed in the distance and I got down safely. Going up some of the rock steps and the openness (though not the lack of steepness) took me back to Nepal for a few moments.
It was great to see everyone (almost everyone). It is wonderful to reconnect with family each time we go. We value each of the interactions and time with each one. There are lots of family members. As we get older and the children have children, the numbers fan out. It seems only yesterday we were having kids and now the kids just about have teens (some of them). It seems like we get a snapshot to be renewed and updated each time we go. We are getting older as I gues
s that we all are and we enjoy our good health on a daily basis. It was fun to watch cousins being with cousins and so on.Next off to Heathrow and the tension of finding the right road to drop the car off at. Heathrow always seems a long way - Reading, Slough, Didcot and then still more miles yet.
Then a nice relaxing time with latte and sunshine at the airport and then a wonderful flight with KLM on to Amsterdam and then Cairo. I love airports and travel and this was especially good in all aspects. I felt like I was at the beach here. The food and drink on the plane were even good! And then of course, I met an interesting university Egyptian student sitting beside me. This guy was returning from making a film in some Eastern block country, his dad a journalist and someone who apparently writes black comedy and says what he wants?? He suggested that I watch AlJazeera, an Egyptian movie. The name means island and he knew the star from his most recent shooting. It was a West Side Story kind of theme but what a lot of machine gun and the role of the subordinate female. These things show up every day in the Egyptian culture.
As we arrive at the airport in Cairo we see a big poster in English about H1N1 and staff with masks on and papers for us to fill out. Then there is the long line for customs and immigration and no sign as to where to get a visa. So we found a side counter to buy the visa and got back into the long line - we're about at the end and it is 3 or 3:30am. Enjoyed chatting with the young Eastern Canadian living in Jasper and off on his first venture with the love of his life - a young Oriental girl. She had not told her mother that she was going to Egypt - as she would worry too much. They had fake wedding rings - as they thought this would be better for travel (I am sure that is true in this society) and he so wanted to give her a positive experience. All this talk of growing up and travelling and thinking of someone else's needs above his own. Kind of fairy tale stuff and I loved it all....finally got through customs and got a cab to our hotel...such as it was.
The multi-level highways going into Cairo at this time of the morning and no traffic. The hotel was a disappointment - so much staff and doing nothing.... no room cleaning, no vacuuming,no changing sheets for new guests, etc. It was booked by the tour company and by our next visit here, we refused to stay again. Finally the tour guide realized that the hotel was not up to snuff - others complained as well. All the other hotels were great... or at least clean and fine.
We had 2 days at the beginning and two days at the end to explore Cairo. That was great fun, lots of walking, managing directions, finding out entertainment, getting taxis, finding restaurants and all that good stuff.
We enjoyed most aspects of the tour. We enjoyed that they had everything organized for us. They have all of the transportation issues sorted, the hotels are all booked and then they give you options to take advantage of in say an hours time. So it makes incredibly efficient use of your time and it takes no energy. So when I got back home this time, I did not need that time to recover by being in my cocoon for a few days as I usually am - I was pretty ready to pick up life here - except for maybe a little jetlag. and so I have not paused to reflect on our trip and written until now. I will definitely go on a tour again - it is just so easy. This was a pretty basic tour - I liked everything - almost - maybe one night sleeping out in the desert is enough (not two) and one night on a felucca (not two) is enough. This is where the food is not as good as when we are in 'real hotels'. However, it does allow some amazing countryside and great experiences. This is way better than the option of too much culture.
Luxor Temple
We enjoyed the cultural experiences from the pyramids in Cairo down to Luxor and Aswan for the other cultural experiences. We then enjoyed the more active things like walking in the desert, snorkelling in the Red Sea and climbing up Mt. Sinai and then visiting Siwa desert and going on a 4x4 and swimming in oases of different temperatures. We enjoyed that we could join the group for dinner if we wished when in bigger places or go out on our own. It is a more authentic experience when you go out on your own. You are open to the people around you and less involved with your own group. So we did a bit of both. The group was ok but we did not really connect all that much with them. So we enjoyed bits of them and then did our own thing. Of course, we like to find the restaurants in the Lonely Planet or some recommended eating place. There was another Canadian couple that seemed to view the tour the same as us. Take all the stuff you want - transportation, accommodation, tours and then do some of your own exploring for meals and drinks. The guide did not always choose the best - probably where he had the best kickback. But hey, we did not have any perfume factory, carpet factory or other junk like that pushed on us.
Food
Clive always started by finding a local coffee shop and having a turkish coffee. By the end of the trip, I managed to order a few. Training of a sip each day and finally I order my own muddy coffee! The food was not outstanding. However, we did manage a lot of good stuff. I loved the breakfast (unlike most Westerners) - it was always lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese and fresh pita bread. Actually I could have eaten this for every meal. Then turkish coffee or some kind of tea in the morning at a coffee shop. I loved the pizzas - Egyptian pizza or Italian both were exceptional. The Egyptian was similar to phyllo pastry and the nice strong soft cheeses and fresh green pepper and tomato encased in a package. I hate to think of the calories. The Italian had amazing crusts as well and great cheese topping and vegetables as well - or chicken, etc if you wanted. I stayed away from the canned mushrooms and opted for fresh stuff.
Dinner often started with appetizers like hummous, babgnsh (spelling?), or other oil based spreads and fresh pitas. Main course always had tomato and cucumber, often grilled chicken and rice and more pita if you wanted. We also enjoyed fish in Alexandria. We had lots of interesting experiences and by the second day in the desert enough of that.
We discovered the fast food of Egypt - pretty tasty and cheap. It is a bowl of noodles, mostly curved and a couple of spaghetti strands thrown in, then ground up beans on top (I thought it was ground beef looking at it), and then dehydrated roasted onion strands on top, with a small container of flavoured tomato sauce on the side (we had ordered extra of this). You stir this together and then add the liquid in a container at the table - it is vinegar or lemon based liquid (instead of gravy, I guess to moisten it up) and then a salt mixture that appears a little brown (I assume stock particles and salt together). So we enjoyed the fast food sometimes.
The food is really very good - the shortcoming - as usual is the variety of vegetables - but hey, I love tomato and cucumber and tomato and cucumber - sliced or diced and lots of it. So better than some countries where they don't even have the tomato or cucumber.
We ate at the best fish restaurant twice in Alexandria - choose your own fish and look out over the harbour. We found a few special places - one a wonderful house with each room into another eating area - the first time we tried there the electricity had gone out so we came back the next day. Then in Dahab by the Red Sea all of the great starters and again choosing your fish. Then those great pizzas like the one in Aswan or the taverna in Alexandria. By Alexandria we wanted to eat 5 times a day as there was so much good stuff. We tried desserts and lattes and beer. There was a shortage of beer (alcohol) in lots of places as Egypt is a Muslim country and thus socializing involves coffee and not alcohol. We enjoyed the lager beer when it was available.
Religion
Being a Muslim country (90% Muslim and 10% Christian) means that one should cover one's arms and legs. Clive even opted for long pants in the city. Lots of women have covered heads but not all in Cairo. Outside of Cairo, covered heads were really the norm. In the Siwa desert most women had everything covered - gloves on the hands and black mesh to see out and otherwise opaque black - heavy and hot in this climate. When the young girls get married out here (or anywhere) that is when the covered head and face,etc may come into place. In the Siwa desert there is less modernization though this somewhat remote area is going to change a lot in the coming years as a major highway from Cairo is being built and westernization will change things.
Coptic Christianity is the kind practised in Egypt. It is a Christianity that is ruled from within Egypt rather than outside nations. It seems that the Copts are often (from what I read) a wealthy or educated segment of the population). There is a Coptic area in Cairo and we visited a wonderful Coptic monastery on our trip to western Egypt.
Christened Baby on Saint's coffin for blessing
Children here were climbing on the case that contains the dead body with skin intact under all the coverings and robes - so the monks say. On a certain day each year, the monks oil the body and say that the skin is in good condition. The monk with his cotton robe and hat with a string under his chin was so revered by all his visitors. They kissed his hands and he touched their heads...all the while giving us a personal tour (for nearly an hour) and not letting anything go by. We had to see old relics, learn about the alphabet - Demotic - Ancient spoken Egyptian but with 7 Greek letters added to the old hieroglyphics, try chanting and making noise with the triangle and stuff. It was very interesting to see so much life in such an old place - and this climbing on the clear plastic encased saint was different than one usually sees.
People
We found the Egyptians very pleasant, helpful and pretty communicative on this trip. Of course, language issues affect this a lot and sometimes a few words are all that are possible. We had fun in the markets and found the cab drivers fine to negotiate with. We found everyone friendly and helpful. Thirteen years ago when we were here, we found them to be extremely aggressive and we were reluctant to look at anything that they might sell then. At that time, they would chase the tour bus and hold the wares up to the window. Not this time. One could usually talk to them and enjoy the interaction and not feel too much pressure. The wares were mostly in the bazaar outside the attraction. I did notice some people at the pyramids had a tough time with the sellers however I guess that we just avoided eye contact and did not respond to them and they lost interest in us.
Clive even got on an all female streetcar (with me - so does that make him more harmless) in Alexandria and no one set him straight. We figured it out later that some cars are female only but I guess that the rule did not apply to a foreigner. When we told our guide that we got on the wrong streetcar, he was horrified.
Our guide also let us know that he did not have to do the mandatory serving in the army because he is an only son. I then asked if women were in the army and he was absolutely aghast at such a suggestion. So the gender gap is definitely wider there than here! The coffee shops are a place for men only pretty much - even the one that we visited with younger people (students) had no females there. At the coffee shops, there are lots of people smoking from water pipes. You can order various tobaccos with flavors such as apple. You then get a little charcoal fire with a small metal plate of tobacco that burns. Then you inhale through a water pipe connected to it all. I did try a suck when near the pyramids one day when chatting to a young Egyptian and again one puff with our tour guide. I was more concerned about the hygenics of the equipment than the prospect of liking smoking (at my age!).
I was also embarrassed to see some tourists inappropriately dressed. After 3 weeks of longs sleeve and long pants, I was also staring at little tank tops and wondering how people can show so little respect for the local culture.
Roads and construction
The roads in Egypt are amazing. Good paved highways everywhere that we went and usually not too busy. On some routes there are lots of checkpoints where you go over 'sleeping policemen' (road bumps) and around barriers and then through the lift up barriers. Of course, they usually wave you through but sometimes they check the destination and credentials and chat to the driver.
I saw two construction sights that amazed me. Someone was digging a big trench with a shovel so one man was pushing the shovel down into the dirt and three more were the weight of the shovel out with a rope attached to the stick of the shovel. Ingenious!!
On a building construction site, we saw a team of two getting the bricks from the ground up to the next floor. The one on the ground throws the brick up and reaches for the next while the guy above catches it and puts it down. The next brick is in the air whilst the guy on top is still stacking the last one! It was such a synchronized manoeuvre. They carried on and looked at us as we watched them. Just such a team operation!
Driving
Driving in Cairo and Alexandria was nuts! There is always more lanes of traffic than there are painted lines on the road. As soon as the density of the traffic increases the cars shift a little to the left or right and create more lanes. Insane. I don't know how you drive with so little space - and such precision. If the traffic decreases in volume, then you might go in the painted lanes. As I watched the traffic from the balcony of our room in Alexanria (a lovely old building restored with high high ceilings and mouldings) and a view of the harbour - I found myself more interested in the traffic patterns. The number of vans that are stuffed to the gills that stop and start also make up a large percentage of the traffic.
In Cairo, we road in a cab that blasted on empty highways in the middle of the night. Then another evening going to Islamic Cairo for our evening at the wonderful only mosque (they are everywhere), we sat in a cab and sat in the traffic for a very long time. I could never be a cab driver - or driver for that matter. The traffic is constantly at a stop or snail's pace for a very long time. There seems to be constant traffic everywhere in Cairo. If you time it right, it can be less. I found myself feeling sorry for anyone that was trying to get anywhere in a hurry in a car.
There is a metro line in Cairo and I guess that it will expand one day ...still pretty car dependent.
The layers of highways in Cairo reminded me of roads that I had seen in Texas.
Turning left or right on major roads required an experienced driver. Somehow to keep the traffic flowing, you always end up going backwards and making some huge loop to somehow enter the road going a different direction. Very complex, but still moving.
The Red Sea (Dahab is where we stayed) was extremely relaxing and the snorkelling amazing. I saw a lion fish twice - one each day - something immediately different from any fish that I have ever seen before. After the first time, I mentioned it to a tour company where I saw it in a poster. The 20 year old salesman showed me his scar from this fish. I couldn't have caught it anyway... but after my encounter with a stingray a couple of years ago, I have learned to look and not touch. I was pleased to see the same beautiful species of fish the next day at the blue hole - about 8 inches long and brown in color with white stripes and lots of fins at the front and back. I totally enjoyed the eel garden - I didn't even recognize it the first time that I saw it. I went back to shore and asked from women with babies (local tourists) where the eel garden was. They then explained what to look for. It looked like single strands of grass on the sandy bottom of the sea. When I dove towards them, they disappeared into the sand. When I looked carefully, I saw an eye at the top that turned around a bit. It was so cool. I had so much fun renting the equipment, talking with locals and tourists and then the fun part of snorkelling just finished off my experience. ....thank goodness for the Lonely Planet.... the tour guide was not interested in giving any information about this, none of the others on our bus were interested in going with us (because we were going tomorrow to the blue hole). I ask you, how can you be at the Red Sea and not go snorkelling or diving especially when the water is like glass. So that is the kind of thing we could do on our own instead of sit at the hotel pool.
Mt. Sinai
This was another amazing experience. We arrived by noon and had the afternoon free in this small town in these rocky, barren, semi-smooth surfaces. I loved it. Clive and I wandered the town and found ourselves sitting with and enjoying a group of 9 young people from the Czech Republic. So vibrant and enthusiastic and polite. They all seemed to be into mountain hiking and were travelling with some sponsorship on a shoestring. The trip of a lifetime for them, I am sure. Most seemed to be ski or outdoor instructors or something related. They seemed to meet at university and some had very good English. Their 2 vehicles were filled to the gills - they had dehydrated stuff for the Sudan and other areas. They plan on hiking Kilimanjero, Mt. Kenya, some mountain in Ethiopia and Mt. Sinai later today - so that they can sleep up there and be there for the sunrise while the rest of us hike up early in the morning.
We started our hike up Mt. Sinai at 3 or 4 in the morning. It was dark and the headlamp was useful. So many people going up - just like in Nepal, Taiwan, Chicen Itza. All over the world it seems there is a place to hike up in the early morning and watch the sunrise. I love the sunrise but I see the throngs of people as part of the experience. Not quite the same as a quiet morning in the Rockies. Mind you at sunrise here, it is too cold for me to be up and instead I enjoy my warm sleeping bag. So in far off places, I leave the comfort of my hotel room and walk with the masses. I do like the aerobic workout. Clive does not. So this time, he went part way up and stopped. I do admire that he knows when to stop. Then I boogied all the way up and loved it all. I love the sun and the rocks, I loved the walk down through the towering rocks, I love the fresh air, and again I do love rocks - my souvenir from every holiday (heavy and cheap)! I like feeling healthy and confident in my footsteps and breathing in that air.
I met the Czechs up top and they were all toasty in their sleeping bags. One was pretty annoyed at all the people and the experience. He offered me schnapps from their yogurt bottle - I didn't understand initially but then I got it. Those east Europeans and drink - so different from the Muslim country that we are in. I enjoyed photographing and I enjoyed feeling the warmth of the sun as the day came. So imperceptible is it the change from night to day. There was no moon to speak of this night. I was glad for all of my warm clothes during the trek up and waiting for morning at the top. I know how to dress for altitude!
Donkey taxi rank Siwa in the Western desert
Old town/fortress Siwa. Abandoned in 1920's after earthquake
The desert was another interesting experience. I loved to wander off on my own and see how the waves in the sand resemble the waves left from the sea. I like to see it in the changing light and I like the wind on blowing on me and the sun shining or going down or coming up. This is when I prefer being on my own as opposed to following the rules of the tour director. Stay with us - don't wander off. I like to go up and down the hills and look around. We did this in Eastern Egypt between the Red Sea and Mt. Sinai and then again in the west at Siwa.
Islamic Cairo - Mosques, narrow streets and markets
Cairo Street market
Step Pyramid - the First Pyramid built
Sufi Dancers in Cairo
Buskers in London
