Hello everyone. So I didn't make it to the Suez Canal yesterday (but maybe I'll make it there some other day), instead Alex and me went to the big tourist Marketplace called Khan Al-Khalili. Yes, that's the same marketplace that the 17 year-old french girl was blown up a couple days ago. I didn't realize it when we left to go there that it was that same market. The people at our hostel informed us that, that was the area to buy souvenirs when we asked them. Not until we had been there for a couple of hours was I informed that it was the same market where the terrorist attack had taken place a few days before. But that explained why there were cops checking purses and bags when we entered. It was a pointless attempt at making the marketplace more safe, because they only had guards at a few of the main entrances that only the tourists use, so I'm sure the terrorists would probably not use the tourist entrances anyways (I think they were just there to make the tourists feel safer). So basically I spent the day practicing my haggling skills, which if I do say so myself are 'amazing'! We headed back to the hostel after having completed our souvenir/gift shopping in order to grab our bags and head to the train station for our overnight train to Aswan.
The overnight train sucked. Originally I was planning on taking a sleeper train, but discovered that if I took this other train it would only cost me $20 instead of $50. Unfortunately the flaw of taking the train we ended up taking is that we only had reclining seats, not beds (and the seats didn't really recline, they were more like a little slant that was not quite parallel to the wall, but almost), so I didn't sleep very well (not to mention the car was freezing cold). But I've arrived safely in Aswan which was my goal, so I can't complain to much. TTYL. LoveYa.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Egyptian Museum and Coptic Cairo
Hello everyone. I can't write a very long message right now because I have to catch a train to Aswan shortly. It's a 14 hour train ride so I'll arrive in Aswan around 12pm tomorrow.
Yesterday Alex and me went to see the Egyptian Museum which is suppose to take up to two days to explore but it only took us a little under three hours. The best part was the King Tut section where we saw his mask and everything that was buried in his tomb with him (toys of gold, beds of golds, gold thrones, gold everything). After the museum we headed to Coptic Cairo, which is the old Christian area of Cairo. We walked around the area looking at the different christian churches built a long time ago and also visited the 'hanging church' which was originally built suspended over the Nile (but the Nile has since change areas and doesn't run along that area any more). After that we haggled with a taxi driver to take us to the Citadel, but upon arriving we decided not to enter (not worth the price of the ticket) so we caught another taxi to an island in the Nile to get some dinner. The restaurant was awesome. I've been trying lots of egyptian food while I've been here and I really like (but I don't think I could eat it everyday though). Every time I go out to eat I always try something new and so far I've liked all of it. TTYL. LoveYa.
Yesterday Alex and me went to see the Egyptian Museum which is suppose to take up to two days to explore but it only took us a little under three hours. The best part was the King Tut section where we saw his mask and everything that was buried in his tomb with him (toys of gold, beds of golds, gold thrones, gold everything). After the museum we headed to Coptic Cairo, which is the old Christian area of Cairo. We walked around the area looking at the different christian churches built a long time ago and also visited the 'hanging church' which was originally built suspended over the Nile (but the Nile has since change areas and doesn't run along that area any more). After that we haggled with a taxi driver to take us to the Citadel, but upon arriving we decided not to enter (not worth the price of the ticket) so we caught another taxi to an island in the Nile to get some dinner. The restaurant was awesome. I've been trying lots of egyptian food while I've been here and I really like (but I don't think I could eat it everyday though). Every time I go out to eat I always try something new and so far I've liked all of it. TTYL. LoveYa.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Aegina Island Pictures
The coolest Ferry I've ever rode on
View of the Temple of Apollo on Aegina Island
The Temple of Aphaia
View of other Greek islands from Aegina Island
Temple of Apollo
View of other Greek Islands from Aegina Island
Playing in the Sand
Hello everyone. Yesterday I went and visited the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqura and Memphis. We hired a personal driver to drive us around to all these places for the day. It only cost us 250 egyptian pounds, which is $50 (split between me and Alex, so only $25 for a personal driver all day in an airconditioned car). Things sure are cheap here. Our driver was great, not only did he drive us to different places, but he'd point out things along the drive and tell us the history of them. He also helped us find everything we needed to have a great day.
Our day began by being dropped off at a camel/horse stall to rent camels to take us to the pyramids. They were asking 480 for the entire three hour trip, but I talked him down to 420 (which is only 70 euros and that included our tickets into the pyramids and sphnix and personal guides). I've become quite good at haggling with everyone so I get really great deals on taxi rides and souvenirs. The trick is to state a price you're willing to pay, which is 10 pounds ($2), lower then what you are really willing to pay, if they don't agree with your price you start walking away and ignoring them until they yell the price you asked. But the haggling doesn't end there. When you turn around and ask them if they agree to your price, they will state they didn't mean it and state a price 20 pounds higher then your asking price, then its necessary for you to add the 10 pounds to your price so they feel like they beat you at haggling (I use this method with taxis all the time and I can talk down a 65 pound asking price to 20 pounds, yeah I'm that good). They day was the perfect temperature for the trek, but the sun was so bright it was almost blinding without sunglasses on. I imagine its like that everyday in the dessert. The pyramids were amazing and our guide explained how they were built and tons of other interesting facts. I ended up climbing the middle pyramid (even though its not allowed) and went about 12 levels up which was about 72 feet high, before descending to trek off to see the Sphinx. By the time we finished seeing everything by butt was killing me from the camel ride, but I wouldn't have missed that experience for anything (I named my camel Lorenzio, he was super cute).
We left the Giza pyramids and our driver took us to a perfumery shop that showed us how the glasses are blown and let us sample all there scents and explained how each one treats differents things (aromatherapy). Then we were driven to a papyrus museum to be shown how papyrus was made and we ended buying our own legit papyrus pieces of art. From there we headed to Saqqara to see the step pyramid and some other tombs. Here we were actually able to go into the pyramids, climb through the tunnels and different chambers and look at the hieroglyphics and drawings. We weren't suppose to take pictures, but our guide let us take some for a small 'fee/tip'. Upon Leaving Saqqara, we headed to Memphis which was mildly disappointing. What had once been a major hub in Egypt was now nothing but a few statues and lots of stalls selling souvenirs. Our driver then drove us to a restaurant to get something to eat. They brought out a pita bread type thing that is cooked in a wood stove and many types of dips to dip it in. They were all delicious and by the time our food (chicken and beef kebabs) arrived we were full (but still able to finish most of it). The restaurant was great! We sat outside but under a tent and a band was playing Egyptian music and you could watch the bread being made in the wood stoves. It was a very charming atmosphere. After lunch we returned to our hostel.
When we returned to the hostel we were planning on resting, but we soon got chatting with the people who run/own this hostel and ended up joining them to a hookah cafe to smoke and play dominos (I was taught a new way to play dominoes and I'll make sure to teach you all too). After returning to the hostel we played some egyptian card games with them and taught them some American ones, before turning in for the night.
I'll post some pictures and tell you about today later. Tomorrow we're talking about going to the Suez Canal and in the evening we catch an overnight train to Aswan. TTYL. LoveYa.
Our day began by being dropped off at a camel/horse stall to rent camels to take us to the pyramids. They were asking 480 for the entire three hour trip, but I talked him down to 420 (which is only 70 euros and that included our tickets into the pyramids and sphnix and personal guides). I've become quite good at haggling with everyone so I get really great deals on taxi rides and souvenirs. The trick is to state a price you're willing to pay, which is 10 pounds ($2), lower then what you are really willing to pay, if they don't agree with your price you start walking away and ignoring them until they yell the price you asked. But the haggling doesn't end there. When you turn around and ask them if they agree to your price, they will state they didn't mean it and state a price 20 pounds higher then your asking price, then its necessary for you to add the 10 pounds to your price so they feel like they beat you at haggling (I use this method with taxis all the time and I can talk down a 65 pound asking price to 20 pounds, yeah I'm that good). They day was the perfect temperature for the trek, but the sun was so bright it was almost blinding without sunglasses on. I imagine its like that everyday in the dessert. The pyramids were amazing and our guide explained how they were built and tons of other interesting facts. I ended up climbing the middle pyramid (even though its not allowed) and went about 12 levels up which was about 72 feet high, before descending to trek off to see the Sphinx. By the time we finished seeing everything by butt was killing me from the camel ride, but I wouldn't have missed that experience for anything (I named my camel Lorenzio, he was super cute).
We left the Giza pyramids and our driver took us to a perfumery shop that showed us how the glasses are blown and let us sample all there scents and explained how each one treats differents things (aromatherapy). Then we were driven to a papyrus museum to be shown how papyrus was made and we ended buying our own legit papyrus pieces of art. From there we headed to Saqqara to see the step pyramid and some other tombs. Here we were actually able to go into the pyramids, climb through the tunnels and different chambers and look at the hieroglyphics and drawings. We weren't suppose to take pictures, but our guide let us take some for a small 'fee/tip'. Upon Leaving Saqqara, we headed to Memphis which was mildly disappointing. What had once been a major hub in Egypt was now nothing but a few statues and lots of stalls selling souvenirs. Our driver then drove us to a restaurant to get something to eat. They brought out a pita bread type thing that is cooked in a wood stove and many types of dips to dip it in. They were all delicious and by the time our food (chicken and beef kebabs) arrived we were full (but still able to finish most of it). The restaurant was great! We sat outside but under a tent and a band was playing Egyptian music and you could watch the bread being made in the wood stoves. It was a very charming atmosphere. After lunch we returned to our hostel.
When we returned to the hostel we were planning on resting, but we soon got chatting with the people who run/own this hostel and ended up joining them to a hookah cafe to smoke and play dominos (I was taught a new way to play dominoes and I'll make sure to teach you all too). After returning to the hostel we played some egyptian card games with them and taught them some American ones, before turning in for the night.
I'll post some pictures and tell you about today later. Tomorrow we're talking about going to the Suez Canal and in the evening we catch an overnight train to Aswan. TTYL. LoveYa.
More Athen Pictures
Ruins of Hadrian Library
Tower of Four Winds in the Roman Agora.
Keramikos Cemetary
Changing of the Guard ceremony. Check out the pom-pom shoes!!
The Panatenaic Stadium where the 2004 Summer Olympics held the Track and Field Competition.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Cairo, Egypt
Hello! So yesterday I arrived in Cairo and I thought I'd fill you in on my day and first impressions. Upon leaving the airport I was immediately attacked by taxi drivers (like vultures on a carcus), trying to get me to take a taxi to downtown Cairo. However, I had already decided I would take a bus into town, because it was cheaper and more adventurous. Probably not the smartest move on my part however because public transportation isn't the most sanitary form of transport in this town (somebody send me some PURELL!!!). Upon finding the bus depot (after circling around the airport twice while everyone on the shuttle bus glared/stared at me) I boarded a bus that was absolutely disgusting and crowded (it reminded me of the carnival ride 'the gravitron' because it smelled like burning oil/dirt and had the same blue color decor). Luckily it had air conditioning, because it ended up being an almost two hour ride. My search for my hostel started off badly (a random youth randomly walked by me and yelled 'f*ck you!' right in my face), but I finally asked some young adults for assistance and they were extremely obliging. They didn't know how to get to the hostel either but they asked around until they found out where it was at and then escorted me all the way there (I should have just taken a taxi to avoid all the hassle it would have cost me 65 egyptian pounds, but thats only $13). I was hesitant to leave the hostel after my more then unfriendly welcome into the country, but decided I'd give Cairo one more try. The attempt failed miserably. I returned after 45 mins, because I was tired of being harrassed by shop owners and random guys on the street (I had my headphones on and music blaring, but they still wouldn't leave me alone, even after I claimed not to speak english) and being stared, glared and pointed at (I stick out like a sore thumb with my white skin, red hair and gender), but my last straw was when I boy followed me ten blocks back to my hostel trying to talk to me and me only speaking in french saying I didn't speak any english. My first few hours in Cairo had been a disaster. I'd never felt more uncomfortable, scared and unwelcomed in all my travels. Upon arriving back at the hostel I was afraid to leave again and was planning on talking to my hostel people to see if they could arrange an escort for me everyday, but thankfully I got a roommate half a hour later and it was a male (he sticks out like a sore thumb too, because he's white and 6'6"). I was no longer afraid to enter into the dredges of the city, because I now have a permanent escort around Cairo and Aswan (he's headed to Aswan at the same time as me). We headed out in search of a restaurant for dinnner and wandered for hours finding nothing but kebab shops and hookah cafes (we stopped in one for rest and enjoyed an apple flavored one that actually tasted like black licorice). We did end up finding a place to sit down and eat at, but what I ate exactly I'm not sure (rice/grains/spaghetti/fried onions/tomato sauce mixture). We then tried to find our way back to our hostel, but were completely lost. We asked a lady for directions and she was so helpful that she got us on the correct bus (apparently we had wandered a very, very long way from our hostel, so it was necessary to take a bus back) and even paid for our bus ride. We finally arrived back at the hostel after midnight (with are feet exhausted from walking to much).
I discovered a lot about Cairo while wandering around. For one thing not everyone is unfriendly (or maybe they approved more of me, when I had a male escort) as I originally thought. Another thing is that its very apparent that Egypt is a third world country. There was garbage all over the streets (not just a little litter but massive amounts piled everywhere and broken down cars and buildings just left to decompose themselves). The city is extremely dirty, I actually saw rats running around on the streets (which with the amount of stray cats in this town its remarkable that any have survived). The houses are all five stories or taller and have hundreds of satellite dishes on top of every roof and lots of the buildings aren't finished but people are living in them still. Every other street seems to have a mosque on it (I'm actually listening to a pray right now, it can be heard all over the city five times a day). The people drive like maniacs around here (the only traffic laws they've heard of are all in jokes), I've already been hit by a car once. Tell you more later. LoveYa.
I discovered a lot about Cairo while wandering around. For one thing not everyone is unfriendly (or maybe they approved more of me, when I had a male escort) as I originally thought. Another thing is that its very apparent that Egypt is a third world country. There was garbage all over the streets (not just a little litter but massive amounts piled everywhere and broken down cars and buildings just left to decompose themselves). The city is extremely dirty, I actually saw rats running around on the streets (which with the amount of stray cats in this town its remarkable that any have survived). The houses are all five stories or taller and have hundreds of satellite dishes on top of every roof and lots of the buildings aren't finished but people are living in them still. Every other street seems to have a mosque on it (I'm actually listening to a pray right now, it can be heard all over the city five times a day). The people drive like maniacs around here (the only traffic laws they've heard of are all in jokes), I've already been hit by a car once. Tell you more later. LoveYa.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Egypt
Hello tout le monde! I've arrived safely in Cairo. Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I'll write a big note tonight to fill everyone in. I'm headed off to the pyramids of Giza, right now, so I'll write more later, just wanted to let you know I was okay (mom please don't call the cops, I'm fine). LoveYa.
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