Heading into a gorge
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This trail just headed into a canyon from behind the resthouse.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Government Resthouse
Government Resthouse
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
A pup tent, bed, and blankets was only 3 JD. What a steal!
Minibus to Wadi Rum
Minibus to Wadi Rum
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I was only in Aqaba for a night. I went to the bus station the next morning, but waited around for three hours for the minibus to show up. I ended up meeting Weng, the first Taiwanese backpacker I have met on this trip. He had just flown into Cairo five days ago to start his four month backpacking trip, but was sort of freaked out and heading to Amman. He decided to come along with me to Wadi Rum.
Fast ferry to Aqaba
Fast ferry to Aqaba
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This was the fast ferry from Nuweiba, Egypt to Aqaba, Jordan. It costs $50 plus another $9 Egyptian departure tax not required at any other exit point. Fortunately it only takes 1.5 hours as opposed to the slow ferry which can take up to 10 hours.
On board, there were loads of bus tourists. There were only a few backpackers travelling through, but no one was headed to Wadi Rum; they were all headed to Petra.
Comfy cushioned areas
Comfy cushioned areas
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
In Dahab, the waterfront is lined with similarly decorated restaurants and shesha bars. "Shesha" is the local term for the hooka pipe for flavored tobacco.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Absolutely fine in Jordan
Just a quick update to let you know I am in perfectly good health in Wadi Musa, Jordan, visiting Petra. I left Egypt as I planned and took a fast ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba, Jordan. I spent a night there before heading off to Wadi Rum the next day. I camped out there for a night and took a bus to Wadi Musa today. I heard about the Dahab bombing while I was on the bus. The Al Capone restaurant is place on the left side of the photo of Dahab at dusk on my flickr website.
I'll be here a couple nights before heading off to Kerak.
Jordan is great, but a little more expensive than Egypt. It is quite modern and friendly. Thanks for all the emails.
I'll be here a couple nights before heading off to Kerak.
Jordan is great, but a little more expensive than Egypt. It is quite modern and friendly. Thanks for all the emails.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
St. Katherine Monastery walls
St. Katherine Monastery walls
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
A church was initially built in the 6th century near the presumed site of the burning bush. Later a fortress was built to protect Sinai Christians. Later it was turned into a monastery.
St. Katherine Monastery
St. Katherine Monastery
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
We descended down the pilgrim's staircase to the monastery, which is pleasantly in the shade. I met a young student from Kyrgystan studying Political Science in Cairo. There are loads of Russians in Dahab and in Egypt.
Descending from the summit
Descending from the summit
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
It was an hour and a half later when the sun rose and the entire battalion of tourists descended the mountain (without the Ten Commandments).
Layered rock around Sinai
Layered rock around Sinai
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I was told by someone that Wadi Rum in Jordan looks pretty much like this place. I hope it's better than that, but then again, see the previous entry.
Tourist hordes awaiting the sun
Tourist hordes awaiting the sun
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The summit is around 2386 meters. It's an easy hike, if you don't mind the dusty trail, camel poo, and the last bit of stairclimbing.
Church at the summit
Church at the summit
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Having done so little in Dahab, I finally decided to check out the sunrise at Mt. Sinai. The minibus loaded with tourists sped away from Dahab at 2330 and arrived at the foot of Mt. Sinai around 0200. There were loads of tourists there offloading the deluxe coaches. Touts descended upon our minibus and demanded that we pay them 5 LE each for guide services, which was required. Well, it wasn't required, but we didn't know any better, and I didn't walk with a guide anyways. So goes another buck to baksheesh. I met a Russian kid on the hike up. We tore up the trail, trying to pass camels bearing tourists, eventually making it to the summit two hours later in (almost) solitude. There was a small church on the summit.
Camel cooling off
Camel cooling off
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I went for a walk along the boardwalk until it became sand. In Assalah, the small village north of Dahab City, Egyptian kids were playing in the water, fishing, and snorkelling. A dude brought a few camels over to the water to cool them off. I was impressed that one of the camels eagerly sat down, but then lost its balance and almost rolled over, so it quickly got up and walked out of the water, a little freaked out.
Diving in Dahab
Well, I haven't done much this week in Dahab, which is just as well. I went diving a couple times and the visibility was excellent, but it was a bit colder than I expected, and there weren't as many fish as I had seen in SE Asia. I was told that if the visibility is very good, there will be fewer smaller fish. Overall, I am a bit underimpressed with the diving here compared to SE Asia, however the weather is perfect and the prices are great.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Beer on the beach
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Beer on the beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Beer on the beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Adam's Bar near the lighthouse has 500 mL bottles of Stella beer for 5 LE -- less than $1.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Dahab's beach
Dahab's beach
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Dahab is a resort and vacation spot on the Sinai peninsula. It has a lot of dive shops and hotels, but it is mostly geared toward the budget crowd.
The beach consists of rocks, but most people lounge in chairs. There is great snorkelling and diving just off the beach.
View of the Nile from the felucca
It was really quiet on the Nile. It's a great time.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Dahab!
I took an 18-hr bus journey from Luxor that brought me to the Red Sea coast, up to the Suez Canal, and down the Sinai peninsula to the Sea of Aqaba. I am now in Dahab, a few hours from Jordan, and a prime location for diving. Actually, there are a lot of dive resorts around here, and it is getting more and more crowded with the Easter break vacationers moving in for the week. Hopefully I will get some dives in and relax the Easter holiday away. There is cheap internet and cheap food here! Happy Easter!
Colossus of Memnon
Colossus of Memnon
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Actually, not "colossi" as this just refers to the statue on the right. The Greeks discovered it in pieces on the ground, shaken down by an earthquake. When the wind howled through the pieces, the Greeks thought it was King Agamemmnon's voice. The howling stopped when the statue was put back together.
These are the only remains of a temple built during Amenhotep III's reign.
Funerary temple of Hatshepsut
Funerary temple of Hatshepsut
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Queen Hatshepsut had this massive funerary temple built just for her mummifcation process. She ruled over Egypt, as many of the pharoahs, but creating a story for her lineage. She claimed to be the "son" of a God and her mother, and thus had a claim to the throne despite being a woman. Many of the pharoahs, despite not being from royal blood did similar things by changing the hieroglyphs in temples and having the high priests recognize them as the God-kings during holy festivals.
Al-Qurn, "the Horn and the Valley of the Kings
Al-Qurn, "the Horn and the Valley of the Kings
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
With the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, pharoahs were buried in pyramids, but with the Middle and New Kingdoms, pharoahs were buried in hidden tombs in the Valley of the Kings, on the western banks of the Nile. The west, where the sunset, was considered closer to the underworld, and with this great natural pyramidal peak of Al-Qurn, they didn't need to built a pyramid. There are some 68 tombs discovered so far in the valley, but all of them were robbed, including the tomb of King Tutankhamon, but his was still in the best condition as the graverobbers only stole perfumes. A new tomb was just discovered six weeks prior to my visit.
Mosque built on Luxor Temple
Mosque built on Luxor Temple
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Interestingly, this mosque was built over the existing Luxor temple back when most of the temple was buried under sand.
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The Temple of Luxor was built for three gods by several pharoahs and vandalized by them all, including Alexander the Great. Interestingly, there used to be two obelisks in front, but now one of them is in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Karnak Temple
Karnak Temple
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Built by several pharoahs for three gods, this complex was huge. It was also vandalized by succeeding pharoahs (overwriting their names, or cartouches, over the previous names) and fleeing Christians from Roman persecution.
Karnak Temple entrance
Karnak Temple entrance
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
From Edfu, I took a nice long bladder-empty ride to Luxor. The modern tourist city of Luxor is built around the ancient capital of Thebes from the Middle and New Kingdoms of Egypt. This was also the site of the 1997 massacre of 58 tourists at the temple of Hatshepsut.
For Luxor, we had an excellent tour guide, Gad, with Amigo Tours.
Temple of Horus at Edfu
Temple of Horus at Edfu
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I spent my time here searching for a toilet and ended up entering the temple through the exit for free. Sweeeet.
Knut, Adam, Neil, and Jon in Kom Ombo
Knut, Adam, Neil, and Jon in Kom Ombo
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The Temple of Sobek and Haroeris -- which we didn't bother visiting. We sat around for a few hours as the rest of the tourists got their fill of this temple. I made the mistake of drinking loads of water. I had to pee just before we left, and the driver wouldn't stop until we reached our next destination. We were travelling by armed convoy (a train of buses in tow) from Kom Ombo to Edfu and to Luxor. As a new low in my travels, I ended up peeing in a bottle in the minibus. Everyone was pretty cool about it, though, even the dude sitting next to me.
Sipping chai in Daraw
Sipping chai in Daraw
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
On the first day, we didn't anything but slowly tack up wind (down the Nile). At night, we tied up next to a beach (it was nice and warm next to the sand). We slept out on the deck (there was no other option). At night it was pretty cold (low around 60 F), so it was great having blankets to use. In the morning, we got up with the sunrise and drifted to the east bank to let the Texans off (they had signed up for a one night ride). We spent the rest of the morning drifting aimlessly in the excellent wind. I guess we didn't have far to travel that day because Captain Cool wasn't in any rush to put up the sail. Instead, we tied up on the shore for lunch and some of the others had a swim in the schistosomaisis-laden waters. Later we visited Daraw, a non-touristy town where we spent three hours doing nothing.
Attah in his kitchen
Attah in his kitchen
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is all the space that Attah had for cooking up the food for us -- fantastic, considering how limited his resources were.
Seven happy passengers on a three-hour tour, a three-hour tour...
Seven happy passengers on a three-hour tour, a three-hour tour...
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The others on the tour: the Texan couple (who insisted they were siblings), a Norwegian (doing his Masters thesis in Cairo), and three North American students on Easter break from Bible school in the UK. It was a very unlikely group, but it was a good time.
Lunch on the felucca
Lunch on the felucca
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
After Abu Simbel, I returned to Aswan for my felucca ride. Four of the other passengers had spent the morning visiting the islands in the Nile at Aswan. We started off with a nice simple lunch of pita bread, feta cheese, mixed vegetables, and a tomato/egg curry. Very nice!
A felucca is the traditional sailboat used on the Nile. It actually was one of the nicest things I had done in Egypt. Food and bedding was provided for us for the two day/night trip down the Nile. The boat was crewed by two.
No photos inside
No photos inside
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Just inside the temple at Abu Simbel. Many of the wall carvings were in color. You could actually see grafitti from the 19th century, when this temple was discovered.
Inside the Temple of Philea
Inside the Temple of Philea
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This is a rare case of when I could actually take photographs inside a temple. For that reason alone, it was worthwhile coming out to Philea.
This dude's gonna ask for baksheesh
This dude's gonna ask for baksheesh
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Ah, bakhsheesh -- or tipping. Now I understand how confounded Europeans feel with tipping in America. In a few countries, namely India, Pakistan, and Egypt thus far, people will ask for tips for doing almost nothing. It is ridiculous, and I think it's the same as the children begging for money, candy, or pens on the Annapurna trek. These folks that work closely with tourists are so used to packaged tourists that throw away money, that they'll ask anyone. When they do ask for money, they do so with a smile on their face because it is almost a game to see if they can get anything for doing almost nothing. It is a real shame because the baksheesh tourist encounter is different from that which Egyptians actually experience.
Anyways, I took a picture of this dude and gave him 19 paistres, which was all the loose change I had.
Temple of Philea courtyard
Temple of Philea courtyard
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This temple is dedicated to Isis. That's what my book says.
Island temple of Philea
Island temple of Philea
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
On the first afternoon, we were herded into a minivan for some sightseeing. I met a couple other Americans (Texans, actually) in the minivan so we passed the time talking about their experiences in Egypt. I later found out that the dude only ate at McDonald's while he was in Egypt. Nice one.
Anyways, we first visited the High Dam, which was not so much of a tourist sight, but a place of national pride for Egyptians, I guess. There are two dams along the Nile that powers much of the area, a lower dam and a high dam. We had to pay 8 LE to "see" the high dam. Imagine my utter boredom. It is not much larger than the smallest dam I have ever seen. It's actually on par with a reservoir wall. How pathetic.
The second visit was to the island temple of Philea. This had to be moved when the dam was created, as part of a massive UNESCO project. This is actually not unique to the Philea temple.
The temple was in good condition with good examples of hieroglyphics and carvings on the limestone. Our tour guide was of no use whatsoever unfortunately so I can't tell you anything about this temple.
View of the Nile from the Hotel Memnon in Aswan
This is the rooftop view of the Nile River in Aswan. The Lonely Planet says the view here will satisfy even the most road-worn traveller, and it was right. From here, felucca tours and cruise barges head down river toward Luxor.
View from my room in Aswan
View from my room in Aswan
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The overnight train ride to Aswan was fine. In fact, travelling in the massive first-class cabin was excellent aside from the young Brit that wouldn't shut up. It was cold enough at night for me to break out my raincoat and my long-sleeve shirt that I had bought in Cairo earlier that day.
I wasn't "picked up" at the train station so I walked half a mile to the hotel that I was to check in at. The problem was that it was closed for renovations. Uh-oh. I ended up calling my contact number and they picked me up somewhere downtown and took me to the right hotel. They said they couldn't find me at the station (but that was a load of crap). I had a sinking feeling about this package trip already and things weren't getting better!
I was given a nice enough room with a good view. There was even a pool on the rooftop, so it wasn't that bad.
Naively, I signed up for an additional trip to Abu Simbel, a temple out in the desert, for more than double what I should have paid for. I was getting more and more pissed with this package tour, but more pissed with myself for getting duped.
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