Off To See The World

Well, today was a slower paced day but it was pretty wicked none-the-less. Of course, John and I decided to sleep in this morning. We did wake up in time for our free breakfast that the hostel offers. I spent the morning (John was still sleeping) talking with one of the owner’s of the hostel. Coincidentally, he was born in Edmonton too! We talked about Egypt, traveling and he actually set up the Falluca ride for us down the Nile.

So, after lounging around for most of the day, we were off to a Felluca ride to watch the sun set behind Egypt. A felluca is pretty much a sail boat so at least there was no loud motor as we drifted down the Nile… it was nice and calm, interrupted only occassionally with a passing boat and the distant sound of car horns. It was a total different pace than the chaos of the city around us.

After the felluca ride, we came back to the hostel to meet up with an american guy who wanted to come to Khan Al-Khalili with us. We managed to catch a cab and get down to the market. The market was a lot like the souks in Morocco except they sold more pyramids, scarabs, tut’s head… etc… the other stuff was similar… sheesha, pagminas, etc. Of course, the 3 of us stuck out like sore thumbs so we were asked to go into the shops and buy everything. After a couple hours of haggling and frustration, we all left with a little something to remember Cairo. I’m pretty sure we all paid too much but it was the experience that we were there for.

It was pretty late by the time we got back so we just sat back and relaxed… tomorrow, we aren’t sure what we are doing but I’m sure it’ll be fun. Our flight leaves tomorrow night and we will be in Nairobi Saturday morning. I don’t know how my internet access will be there. If there isn’t easily accessible internet, this may be my last post for a while….

Well, we are in Egypt so of course we had to see the Pyramids and Sphinx in Giza. Our new friends Ahmed and Mohamed picked us up this morning and we headed to the Pyramids. There, we of course took lots of pictures as we walked up to the ginormous structures. We didn’t get to go inside the biggest pyramid but we went into some other tomb. Then, we actually rode horses into the desert!!

I’ll have to thank my Aunt Mary Ann for the riding lessons a few years ago… I was actually able to canter on the sketchy egyptian saddle. John on the other hand was being bumped around quite harshly… haha. It was awesome though, we rode out far enough to get a picture of all 9 pyramids together and we got to ride a camel for a little bit too. Actually we were hijacked by the camel guy and couldn’t return until we paid him 60 Egyptian pounds so that wasn’t so fun but we DID make it back. The rest of the ride was just plain fun. The only crappy part is that our tour didn’t include the side with the Sphinx so we only got to see that from a distance. Either way, today was awesome! I’ll have to apologize to Ahmed and Mohamed because we made them come along with us on this journey and I’m pretty sure they didn’t plan on riding horses in the desert today.

For dinner, we were invited to another nice restaurant by my Aunt’s friend Maged. He treated us to a nice Lebanese/Egyptian dinner and we thanked him for helping us around Cairo. I don’t think we would have had as much fun without the help we’ve had. Crossing the streets alone is a big enough turn off to keep us from leaving the hostel! Tomorrow, we are on our own so we will probably play it safe and go somewhere close.

Hopefully we will be able to find a place to upload some pictures but the USB ports are all broken on this computer.

Oh, I almost forgot, Happy very belated birthday, Barb! And Jos, I think yours is coming up right away so happy early birthday to Jocelyn and my cousin Ryan too. Hannes, I saw you online so that was your birthday wish… sorry if I missed anyone elses’.

So, John and I thought the traffic in Europe was bad… then we got to Cairo.

Our flight here wasn’t too bad… there was a small delay but our airport pickup dude was still waiting at Cairo International when we got there so we were still able to safely get to our hostel. I don’t know what we would have done if they hostel didn’t arrange a pickup… The hostel is very nice, the atmosphere is really relaxed. Everyone here, from the lady who makes your breakfast to the owner himself is very friendly and they seem to be genuinely interested in whether we have everything we need and whether we are having a good time… Its called the Canadian Hostel… hehe… Canada rules. We slept until noon today and then went to the Egyptian Museum. The security to get in and out of all tourist attractions is pretty intense. Metal detectors and bag scanners everywhere. There was a lot to see there but the layout was a little annoying.

By the time we finished walking around the museum and grabbing a bite to eat, it was time to meet up with a friend of my aunt’s who lives in Cairo. 2 guys came and picked us up and we went all over Cairo… we went up the Egypt Tower and saw all of Egypt and Ghiza through a thin cloud of pollution. We then drove up a mountain where we saw the other side of Cairo from a birdseye veiw. We sat up on the mountain and had some tea and sheesha until dinner time. For dinner, we went to a really nice restaurant where we enjoyed an Egyption meal followed by a live performance by Egyptian Whirling Dervishes. It was really cool to get an insider guide to the city which even included an arabic lesson!

Tomorrow, Ahmed and Mohammed will be picking us up again to take us to the Pyramids and they promised us more Arabic lessons as well. I’m really looking forward to seeing the Pyramids but the drive through Cairo traffic scares me. At least they know what they are doing.
Mesaa El Kheer! That’s good night.

Well, it’s been 2 months and 2 days since we left Edmonton to embark on this journey around the world. This first leg of the trip started in London and progressed to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Satu Mare, Brasov, Bucharest, Istanbul, Athens, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Morocco, back to Paris, and then Geneva. For those of you counting, we stopped in 12 Countries (we actually set foot in 14 but only to change trains in 2 of them), and have been in 2 continents.

So far, we can still stand the sight (and smell) of each other but it is still early! For me, my favorite stop was Istanbul (and if it wasn’t raining today, I think Geneva would be tied). I think I liked it because it was one of the ones that was most different and new to me. I found it vibrant and a little bit mysterious at the same time. I think it helped that we met a great crew of people while staying there too. For John, his favorite stop of Rome because there was a lot to see and Ancient Roman History is something that he takes interesting in… oh, and the food was amazing. The least favorite for both of us was Brussels but that may have been because we didn’t stay there long but according to people we’ve met along the way, there really isn’t a lot to see in Brussels itself.

In terms of general observations and what not: (Ev) I’ve learned that I have it really nice at home… I can pretty much get anything I need at the store but here, it’s not always the case. And in some places in Eastern Europe, life is still rough… it’s strange to think that people in Western Europe are spending $3000 on a purse when families in Eastern Europe work day in day out just to raise a family… the countries aren’t even very far apart geographically but in terms of differences, they are worlds apart. I’ve also noticed how much I appreciate smoke-free environments. I can’t believe how many people smoke here… and it’s still a “cool” thing to do. It was almost difficult to eat sometimes with people smoking all around us. This one is going to sound corny but I also feel that I have come closer with family… not just the family I came to visit but the ones I have left behind. Yeah, you readers can all call me corny… but I’m traveling the world, and you’re not… so neener neener neener.

In terms of general observations and what not: (John)I have a greater appreciation for history… just being able to walk inside something that our ancestors built. I miss my parents too… almost as much as the chilli combo with a large double double from Tim Hortons… hehe. Note to self: come back to the Alps someday in both winter and summer (when it’s not raining). The trip so far has been pretty amazing… met lots of interesting people. It’s been pretty much what I thought it would be so far, plus much much more.

So that ends our section of Museums, Churches, Monuments… next up, Africa.

A quick synopsis: We are starting in Cairo (only 4 days), and then going to Nairobi to start a Safari that takes us across Kenya and Tanzania to Dar Es Salaam. From there, we fly back to Nairobi where we catch a flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where we will meet up with the Ethiopian Childrens Fund to volunteer for a month in Aleltu. After New Years, we will head back to Nairobi and make our way to Kilimanjaro, where we will spend 9 days (hopefully) climbing to the top. From there, we will fly to Dubai, then Delhi, where we will be spending about 3 weeks. Eventually, we will make our way to Columbo where we will fly to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year. We’re going to spend about a month in China/Tibet before we head down to Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia… then it’s off to Australia, Fiji, California, and then we’ll be home!

Today was pretty neat. My Aunt, John, and I packed up some fresh local cheese, carrot sticks, tomatoes, and chocolate and went of a car ride around Lac Leman (This is the Lake that Geneva sits on the tip of). So we headed up the north side of the lake stopping in Lausanne to see the Olympic Museum. Some of the exhibitions were closed so it was a little disappointing. We then got back on the road to make our way towards Montreux.

Normally, this drive would be amazingly scenic with the autumn colors, the beautiful mountains in the foreground and the amazing Swiss Alps in the background. However, today was sooooo rainy. We haven’t seen this much rain on the whole trip… I don’t think I’ve seen this much rain in Edmonton even in a long time. So, we could basically only see the outlines of the mountains nearby and the everything was some shade of grey. Regardless, it was easy to tell (even through the shades of grey) that this area had the potential for the most amazing scenery.

As we rounded Montreux, we zipped through many nice little towns and you could see amazing chateaus up the sides of the mountains… this was definitely areas for the rich. Despite the rain, the drive along the coast was very nice… it was starting to get dark so you could see the lights of the houses across the lake.

During the drive we ate our snacks and talked about everything… it was like those family roadtrips you took when you were 12 and you munched on carrot sticks all day. We did however stop for some bread and it’s like my aunt could read our minds: not only did she return with bread, she bought 2 fresh-made (still warm) chocolate croissants for John and I… mmmmmmm.

Soon, we were in the little town of Evian. That’s right, the town where Evian water is made… we drove around for a looong time to find the Evian plant where you could get free water from a rock outside. It took us forever but we found it… and wouldn’t you know it… they turned off the water. I guess not very many people go to Evian when it’s not tourist season so they turned off the pump. How disappointing! John and I took pictures of ourselves pretending to fill our water bottles anyway so those will be up next time we get a chance. We ate dinner in Evian and then made the way back home. I could really see myself living in Geneva other than the fact everything costs an arm and a leg… what’s a limb here and there anyway? I think I will definitely have to return someday… perhaps to work?

Tomorrow, my aunt has to work so John and I are going to check out the city itself before we catch our flight to Cairo in the evening…. I guess that will conclude our Europe leg of the trip… wow… We’ve been gone more than 2 months now! I’m going to make a separate post summarizing Europe… so see you on the next post!

Well, the day didn’t start off so great for John because my Uncle thought it would be funny to make John eat the same thing I eat so John had eat vegetarian fried rice for brunch before my uncle drove us to the train station.

The train ride was uneventful… other than the slightly funny fact that our bags now take up the space of the luggage for 6 people! At the train station in Geneva, my other aunt picked us up and we went on a mini tour through Geneva. This tour included the supermarket where we picked up some REAL cheese and some sausages for John.

This is where it starts to get good for John… After we dropped off our bags at my aunts house, she took us to a place called Cafe du Paris… basically there was only one thing on the menu… its almost like my aunt has known John for years or something… The only thing on the menu was STEAK COOKED IN BUTTER. The steak is brough out on a metal dish with a small flame under it which makes sure the butter melts so it can get soaked up in the steak…. it was like a heart attack waiting to happen… hehhee. John was in heaven…. smiling ear to ear. He almost ate the whole dish that came out (it was for 2). I was left to eat the salad and fries that came with the meal.

Oh, I almost forgot! My aunt brought back salt and vinegar Miss Vicki’s chips….. mmmmmmmmmmmm. John dove right into those but I won’t lie, I took a good chunk of those too! MMMMM…

Afterwards, my aunt took us for a walk around the Rhone River… it was very nice at night with watch and bank logos everywhere. We passed by the main shopping street… stuff in Geneva is EXPENSIVE!!! Anyway, tomorrow we are driving down to walk around Lake Geneva and then drive to Evian to take in the view of the mountains. Its good that my aunt lives here because I don’t think John and I would have been able to afford anything. That and we’d have to change our money to Swiss Francs (which is actually very colorful, but the bills are reallllly long… they don’t even fit in the average wallet). Anyway, hope all is well with everyone. I have gotten many photo invite requests so I’m going to assume you all suck… haha… just kidding. Make sure to let me know before I get into Kenya so I can actually invite you to the photo list.

Well, our time in Paris is up… we`ve actually done a lot of relaxing and what not. The laundry is done, we`ve sent home our purchases from Europe, and we are ready to head to Geneva to visit my other Aunt.

After that, we will be off to Cairo!

So I have loaded up 800+ photos onto www.flickr.com/photos/mushu. I`ve started putting titles on them but I highly doubt I will finish anytime soon.

I still don`t like the idea of making these all public (They were public when I posted them and people were already creepin`…)…. so if you have a flickr/yahoo account, let me know and I`ll send you an invite. If you don`t, and do not want to set one up (psh, lazy bum… I upload 800 pictures and you can`t set up an account)… then send me an email/comment and if I`m feeling nice, maybe I`ll let you use Fonzworth`s Flickr account.

Make sure to let me know before I leave Cairo (November 24th) because I dont know what kind of internet access I might have after that.

It`s funny… when I don`t have easily accessible internet, I always make the effort to make a post every chance I get but now that I have unlimited internet at my aunt`s house, I haven`t made an update for a while.

So, we arrive in Paris in one piece. On the first day back, we went to the Louvre. I consider myself quite ignorant when it comes to art so the Louvre was a challenge to walk through for so many hours. I mean, I recognize that each piece is a great piece of work and some pieces would wow me more than others but after about the 3rd hour, they started to look the same. We did however get a chance to see the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo. Of course, we weren`t allowed to take photos of the Mona Lisa… it`s quite heavily guarded. The Louvre pretty much took up the whole day… we picked up some supplies for the second leg of the world trip with whatever time we had left and called it a night.

On the next day, we headed over to the Arc De Triomphe. At the time we went, the traffic was pretty sparse so we didnt get to see the crazy traffic circle in action but traffic in general is quite crazy here. It was only 2 days after Rememberance Day so there were actually still some flowers under the Arc… unless those are there all the time? After checking out everything under the Arc, we made the ride (not the stairs) to the top of the Arc. On top, there is a great veiw of Paris. You can see pretty much everything… the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysées, The big square building with the hole in it… everything. We took a bunch of pictures and then it was off to the Eiffle Tower.

As we got closer and closer to the tower, it seemed to get bigger and bigger. And yes, the Eiffel Tower is quite massive… I`m glad we decided to wait until November to see it because it was still very busy in September. There was a really short and quick line-up to get up on the elevator and the view from the top was spectacular! Again, we took many pictures from the third and second levels and of course, got a little souvenir. They have these little collector coins in Paris for their main attractions so we just get those when we can. I think we have 8 or so now.

Anyway, sad to say, that`s all we`ve done… we spent yesterday doing a whole lot of nothing other than cleaning up our stuff and packing a box to send home. It felt nice though because, after the Louvre, I`m definitely museum`ed out… which is unfortunate because Paris has sooo many to see. Oh well, looks like I`ll have to return someday.

Oh, I set up a flickr account yesterday too but I didn`t want the pictures to be public so I have to send invites or something like that… which means you have to have a yahoo/flickr login or something like that… it seems like a big pain in the ass but I don`t want creepy randoms checkin out the pics… so if you have a Yahoo account already, send me a comment or email and I`ll give you permission for the pics. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mushu)

We are in Paris now… wooooo.

We don`t have too much space on the blog so we had to pick and choose pictures. There is at least one picture for each post now, I think. If I have time, I will try and set something up on Flikr as well.

You`ll have to go through the posts to find the pictures… hehe, sorry.