After our exciting elephant treking and bamboo rafting we had a day off in Chaing Mia. Dad found a tuk tuk driver to take us around town. We started going to 2 more wats, and then went and saw all the different factory's along the Golden Mile. This is a big stretch of road that has all the traditional skills showcased for tourists to come and visit, to see how each traditional item is made, and then purchase it! We went and saw the Thia silk factory, umbrella making and painting, teak wood carving, and jewlery factories. Halfway through the day, I was getting food grumpy ( a phenomenon when i don't eat i range from being pleasantly straving, to weepingly desperate to enraged cow) I politely demanded we find food.... NOW. So the tuk tuk driver took us to the closest hole in the wall, which served heaping plates of food for a dollar per plate. It was the best Thia food i have had yet!!! Dad got Pad Thia, which is his favorite local dish, i discovered Ginger fried anything is amazing! You could serve me ginger fried big toe and i would eat it! It was the most fantastic meal i have ever had and it cost us $5 us dollars for 2 plates of food, 2 drinks, a big bottle of water and icecream!!
After our factory day ( i must say we did pretty good... i desperately wanted a teak dining room table for chirstmas but dad said no..... the chairs were each about 30-40 lbs... solid wood) we went back to Wat Chedi Luang, where they offered Monk Chat. This is where novice Monks come and talk with the public about anythign they want to talk about. Buddhism, Thai culture, Monk life, temples, etc. This not only educates the public, but also allows the novices to practice their english!
Dad and i sat down and talked to a Novice who was 22 years old, and had been practicing for 10 years. We talked about a lot of different things, and i really wish Dad and I had a recording of it, because mostly i got a gerneral overview of the topics. But it was really interesting to talk to him and learn about the Monk life and a bit about the Buddhist beliefs. He was as equally interested in our lives, cultures, and was bit confused as to how i was living in a different country than my father. We kept it simple just saying i had been going to school up there, but is shows you how different our cultures can be. Some of these countries are smaller than some US states, or Canadian provinces, and few ever leave their country, either from a lack of means, or just as it is not the culture to do so.
THe next day we had planned a tour to take us up to Chaing Ria, and the Golden Triangle. For those who were oblivious like me to what the Golden Triangle is, it is the border of Thialand, Burma and Loas. This is where a lot of the Opium from the 1970's importing during the Vietnam war and so on came from. Think American Gangster with Denzel Washington....
Anyways, not that i really wanted to mess with anything poppy related. Most of the Southeast Asian countries have big signs to let you know that drug trafficing is punishable by death, and the death penalty WILL be used!... Okay no poppies and dumping out my tylenol bottle. However i thought it would be interesting to see/learn about that history. What dad and i were painfully unaware of is that we had somehow ended up on a market tour, where they trick you into thinking that you are going to see a whole bunch of really cool sights and do some adventure things, hotsprings and long boat trips in to Burma and Laos, local Thai food lunch, drive to the most northern part of thialand and then go through the jungle to the long neck people's village..... ummm no. Instead the hotsprings, were hotsprings fountains which was the size of a pond you might put in your backyard, with a big Market, next was the long boat into the different countries, well you go 3 minutes up river and look at a casino on the river bank, OH your in Burma! THen backtrack 6 minutes down the river, and go to a.... Market, and Oh your in Loas. Then they take you to the most northern part of Thailand, where there is a big touristy gate saying "Most Northern Part of Thialand" and surrounding it is.... yes you guessed it a market. Oh i forgot to mention the lovely thia style lunch, well the resturant is called "A Buffet for Tourist Groups" No explanation necessary.. except the food sucked!
THe only really interesting thing was the local village, which unfortunately was not a local village, but a tourist stand set up for the villagers to sell their goods, and also to be "viewed" almost like animals at the zoo. I was completely uninmpressed by our tourguide as he would just walk up to each person talk about them, finger them or move them around never seeming to actually acknowledge them. They were lovely people though and although i wasn't able to talk to them due to language barrier, i made a friend with lady from the "big ear tribe" ( i dont know the real name of each tribe or village due to lame tour guide) but this is where they stick big rings in their ears and stretch their earlobes, similar to what some people do today. This lady's ear was streched with a ring big enough you could maybe fit a banana through!
All in all it wasn't quite what we had anticipated but we got to see different things such a beautiful jungles, traditional Loation "medicine" such as tiger penis, gecko, cobra, and scorpion whiskey! Um ew, i'll just be sick thank you very much.
The next day was really exciting where Dad and I went ripsailing through the jungle tree tops. This is where you are up in the canopies of the trees hooked onto cable lines in a harnass and "sail" from tree top to tree top. There were 17 cables lines, 2 sky bridges, nd 3 abisailing, where you go vertically down the tree via a rope. The longest cable was 120 meters, and the highest abisail was probably about 75 m up! It was such a fun day and dadand i had a blast! We were a bit nervous at first, and you just hold on to your harness as if somehow you are controlling wether that keeps you from falling, but by the end we were throughing ourselves off the platforms and "flying" (flapping our arms and kicking our feet) through the air. Dad and i raced down the last abisail together.
Our last Day in Chaing Mia was spent in a Thai cooking class where we learned to cook Pad Thia, curry dishes, different soups and appetiezers. They took us to the market in the morning so we could learn aout the different herbs, vegetables, fruits and spices to use. Half way through the class we had a break and dad decided to go for a 15 minute, 3 dollar hair cut. I giggled on the couch the whole time while this lady shaved dads head. He now looks like a military man!
We are now i Vientiane, Laos.. it is a little quiter than we first anticipated, but tomorrow we are going either kyaking or white river rafting, we're not sure which, they say kyak, but then show you a picture of white river rafting. Either way should be another great adventure.
Finally found a computer with a USB so look back for some pictures of previous trips!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bangkok and Chaing Mai
I met my Dad in Bangkok after leaving Egypt. He had been here a day already and had some things arranged for us, including a swanky hotel. SCORE!!
The day before while doing his own exploring he met Toy, a tuk-tuk driver (3 wheeled scooter with a covered canopy and bench seat in the back) Toy took us to some of the Temples or Wats. We first saw the Golden Buddha which is 5.5 tonnes of solid gold! The temples are all beautifully decorated with golded spires that ride op the roof lines like waves, and the front facades are decorated with intricately carved wood, gold paint, bright reds and deep sapphire blues, and have inlaid pieces of glass or tile to reflect the sun and make the whole place sparkle. Inside the Wats are the golden Buddhas which sit serenly in the back, often eyes downcast as if to look at all the offerings of lotus flowers, incense, glasses of brandy, and candles burning at its feet. Other smaller golden buddhas often surround the larger one. All of the temples have golden buddhas, some have many many many almost littering the temple grounds. They are not all solid gold, but a bronze or some alloy statue which worshipers (correct word??) will come and they can purchase a piece of gold lief to stick onto the statue. When they are all covered with enough gold they will be laqured and finished. The money will be used towards the temples or the monks.
After the Golden buddha we saw the Happy Buddha in China town. The happy buddha is happy i think because he is fat! Happy buddha is the typical round belly buddha that most think of. He is a Chinese version and there is a local Thia joke saying he is fat because the Chinese eat so much while the Thia are poor and devout! I like the fat Buddha, i like eating... ALOT!
After the temples we went to a canal river boat trip where we rode down the river that runs throuough the city. We saw a snake show where they whipped Cobras around as if they were play toys, and i came to find a whole new respect for the King Cobra which is the size of a python, but a freaking Cobra!!! Um please do not ever let me see one of those outside of a cage!
We saw the reclining Buddha (which we discovered later represents Buddha when he dies) and a million other buddhas (or so it seemed)
The second Bangkok day rocked! We went to Tiger Temple which is a Buddhist sancuary for animals. It has all sorts of boars, cattle, horses, and deer that have made their way into this sanctuary one way or another. In 1999 the first tiger cub was brought here and there are at least 12 there now.
My dad and I got to go up to full grown tigers and sit with them and have our pictures taken, and then go and play with 7 month old tiget cubs. It was not as exciting as walking with the Lions in Africa, but it defintely gave me respect about how much bigger tigers are than lions! The 7 month old tiger cubs were the same size if not bigger than the 14 month male lion cubs!
We also visited the Death Bridge cemetery which WWII buffs (you know who you are!) should know that was a bridge that linked Thailand to ship arms when the Japanese army was occupying Thialand. They used prisoners of war to build the bridge and treated them no better than the Nazi's to the Jews. POW's were worked to death and brutally treated.
That same day after a 12 hour excursion we flew up North to escape Bangkok and are now in Chaing Mai. Just like everyone i talked to about Thailand, if coming here, GET OUT OF BANGKOK. It is gross and dirty and busy... the North already after 2 days rocks!
Yesterday we went on a Trek. The day started with an Elephant trek where we rode elephants quite literally through the jungle. Everything was lush and green and full of spiderwebs that i somehow found myself covered in! EW! Fortunatley they were all abandoned.
After elephants we visited a local village where we saw a young girl weaving scarves. This paticular village is a real village. (not the tourist trap villages you got to where everyone pretends to be remote and then go into their "hut" and watch cable tv and make dinner with running water and gas stoves) Although they had electricity, 80% of the pop never goes to school, they speak their own dialect, are married at 13-14 and if their spouse dies never can remarry. It was really interesting to see.
After we hiked through rice paddys and more jungle (where i saw a spider the size of a softball--> OMG) to a beautiful waterfall.
The coolest thing for me was we finished with a bamboo raft ride down the river. I was expecting sitting on a boat and chilling out, nope, bamboo rafts are about 3 feet across and 30 feet long, held together by pieces of bicycle tires. They are manned by a driver at the front with a big piece of bamboo who pushed you off things on each side of the river, or pushed the pole down to the bottom. Because you are floating on a few pieces of bamboo when ever you go over the rapids the water splashes up all over you, but it doesn't matter because you are already soaking wet as the water comes up between the bamboo pieces. I wasn't aware that i was going to get wet, so tired in vain at first to perch myself up as best as possible. All the local guides laughed at my attempts to stay dry and within 30 seconds of the experience i realized why. There was nothing i could do but get wet and have fun. So i did.
I wasn't too concerned because i thought everyone else would be wet too..... wrong. They told my dad to pole at the back of the raft, so he stood up the whole time, dry and clean. No river mud all over him. The other people in our group were lame and didn't want to get wet so tried to stand or crouch the whole 25 minutes. They were wet, but not soaked from the waist down like me! LLAAME!!
All in all it was a great trip. We have had some wonderful Thia food, and are hoping to learn to cook some food in the next few days!
Having lots of fun exploring Thailand!
Will keep in touch!
LOVE!!!
The day before while doing his own exploring he met Toy, a tuk-tuk driver (3 wheeled scooter with a covered canopy and bench seat in the back) Toy took us to some of the Temples or Wats. We first saw the Golden Buddha which is 5.5 tonnes of solid gold! The temples are all beautifully decorated with golded spires that ride op the roof lines like waves, and the front facades are decorated with intricately carved wood, gold paint, bright reds and deep sapphire blues, and have inlaid pieces of glass or tile to reflect the sun and make the whole place sparkle. Inside the Wats are the golden Buddhas which sit serenly in the back, often eyes downcast as if to look at all the offerings of lotus flowers, incense, glasses of brandy, and candles burning at its feet. Other smaller golden buddhas often surround the larger one. All of the temples have golden buddhas, some have many many many almost littering the temple grounds. They are not all solid gold, but a bronze or some alloy statue which worshipers (correct word??) will come and they can purchase a piece of gold lief to stick onto the statue. When they are all covered with enough gold they will be laqured and finished. The money will be used towards the temples or the monks.
After the Golden buddha we saw the Happy Buddha in China town. The happy buddha is happy i think because he is fat! Happy buddha is the typical round belly buddha that most think of. He is a Chinese version and there is a local Thia joke saying he is fat because the Chinese eat so much while the Thia are poor and devout! I like the fat Buddha, i like eating... ALOT!
After the temples we went to a canal river boat trip where we rode down the river that runs throuough the city. We saw a snake show where they whipped Cobras around as if they were play toys, and i came to find a whole new respect for the King Cobra which is the size of a python, but a freaking Cobra!!! Um please do not ever let me see one of those outside of a cage!
We saw the reclining Buddha (which we discovered later represents Buddha when he dies) and a million other buddhas (or so it seemed)
The second Bangkok day rocked! We went to Tiger Temple which is a Buddhist sancuary for animals. It has all sorts of boars, cattle, horses, and deer that have made their way into this sanctuary one way or another. In 1999 the first tiger cub was brought here and there are at least 12 there now.
My dad and I got to go up to full grown tigers and sit with them and have our pictures taken, and then go and play with 7 month old tiget cubs. It was not as exciting as walking with the Lions in Africa, but it defintely gave me respect about how much bigger tigers are than lions! The 7 month old tiger cubs were the same size if not bigger than the 14 month male lion cubs!
We also visited the Death Bridge cemetery which WWII buffs (you know who you are!) should know that was a bridge that linked Thailand to ship arms when the Japanese army was occupying Thialand. They used prisoners of war to build the bridge and treated them no better than the Nazi's to the Jews. POW's were worked to death and brutally treated.
That same day after a 12 hour excursion we flew up North to escape Bangkok and are now in Chaing Mai. Just like everyone i talked to about Thailand, if coming here, GET OUT OF BANGKOK. It is gross and dirty and busy... the North already after 2 days rocks!
Yesterday we went on a Trek. The day started with an Elephant trek where we rode elephants quite literally through the jungle. Everything was lush and green and full of spiderwebs that i somehow found myself covered in! EW! Fortunatley they were all abandoned.
After elephants we visited a local village where we saw a young girl weaving scarves. This paticular village is a real village. (not the tourist trap villages you got to where everyone pretends to be remote and then go into their "hut" and watch cable tv and make dinner with running water and gas stoves) Although they had electricity, 80% of the pop never goes to school, they speak their own dialect, are married at 13-14 and if their spouse dies never can remarry. It was really interesting to see.
After we hiked through rice paddys and more jungle (where i saw a spider the size of a softball--> OMG) to a beautiful waterfall.
The coolest thing for me was we finished with a bamboo raft ride down the river. I was expecting sitting on a boat and chilling out, nope, bamboo rafts are about 3 feet across and 30 feet long, held together by pieces of bicycle tires. They are manned by a driver at the front with a big piece of bamboo who pushed you off things on each side of the river, or pushed the pole down to the bottom. Because you are floating on a few pieces of bamboo when ever you go over the rapids the water splashes up all over you, but it doesn't matter because you are already soaking wet as the water comes up between the bamboo pieces. I wasn't aware that i was going to get wet, so tired in vain at first to perch myself up as best as possible. All the local guides laughed at my attempts to stay dry and within 30 seconds of the experience i realized why. There was nothing i could do but get wet and have fun. So i did.
I wasn't too concerned because i thought everyone else would be wet too..... wrong. They told my dad to pole at the back of the raft, so he stood up the whole time, dry and clean. No river mud all over him. The other people in our group were lame and didn't want to get wet so tried to stand or crouch the whole 25 minutes. They were wet, but not soaked from the waist down like me! LLAAME!!
All in all it was a great trip. We have had some wonderful Thia food, and are hoping to learn to cook some food in the next few days!
Having lots of fun exploring Thailand!
Will keep in touch!
LOVE!!!
SHEESHA
So for those of you who are virgins to the world of sheesha, my parents and i have become addicted. There were two sections to our trip, one was Cairo and our great tour guide Eman. The next was everything after Cairo and our tour guide named Adel (not A-del, like a girls name but Add- del) Adel was.... well interesting. But he is for later. To connect these two parts of our trip was Sheesha! A flavored tobacco, with no nicotine, that is placed inside of a sheesha pipe, that looks like a giant bong, and you smoke it through a pipe. It was hilarious, and so much fun.
Our first night in Cairo I was introduced to Sheesha, my clean lungs had a fit and i coughed and sputtered much to the amusement and delight of the staff (and my parents). We even found beer at our favorite spot Christos's (Beer in a Muslim country is hard to come by!) By the end of the trip Brian was smoking Sheesha and blowing it out his nose, his lips never leaving the pipe. Apparently this is how the "pros" smoke said one man (however many locals laughed at this technique!) And I could inhale and everything without coughing!
After we left Eman, whom we came to appreciate even more after Adel, we headed out to Luxor, to get on our Nile cruising boat. These boats look like they should have a big waterwheel on the back of them. They are a big long rectangle. We were a little disappointed to learn that as we arrived so early (730 am) we would not be able to check into our rooms until 930-10:00. We were kindly requested to sit in the lounge for the next 2-3 hours. I was an unhappy camper as to arrive in Luxor at 730am we had to leave our hotel at 330am!! Instead of sitting in the lounge we found the pool upstairs and crashed on lounge chairs, bags beside us like homeless people!
Cruising the Nile is a lot of fun. You wake up every morning and instead of a beautiful new view outside your window, you look into some one else's. It is actually quite humorous as when you dock, the boats dock 5 across, so whoever's boat is on the outside, you have to walk through the lobbies of 4 other boats to reach land! It was really amusing. We always got to dock right at the port so i never got to go wandering through others boats....
The Nile is amazing. It is incredible how wide it is! I am used to rivers like the Elbow, widest part is really not that big (from what i really see or pay attention to) The Nile is Huge!! No crocodiles much to my disappointment, due to a dam. What really amazed me is how lush and green everything is beside the Nile. The Sahara desert rises up behind about 5km after the riverbed, but surrounding the Nile is a beautiful oasis that stretches down the rivers side.
We spent more time visiting temples, and tombs, museums, and sheesha cafes. It was such a wonderful time. It was awe inspiring to see technology and knowledge that was so advanced in a civilization that is over 5000 years old. They had hinges at least 3500 years old that quite literally looked as though it had been purchased at home depot! Where did this knowledge go! We went to perfume, papyrus paper, oriental carpets, and cotton factories. Yes Egyptian Cotton. You can buy 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets for the mere price of 400USD!!! Right. Unfortunately could not convince the parents to shell out! What the heck do you need 1000 threads per square inch below you anyways?? I am quite content with my 150, everyday layman's cotton thank you very much!
Now i must share with you our guide Adel. Although the man had a good heart, really tried to make sure everything on the tour was taken care of, he was the worst guide ever! Firstly he informed us that we was going to name our group Isis, for the god of love, beauty and music. Okay i thought, kind of lame that he is naming us, but i thought it was just a cute-sy tourism thing. No... wrong. Let me introduce you to the "clapper". The most annoying toy invented. Parents of young children i will take you on about this. Envision what looks like a cheap Chinese toy hand on a stick. There are two plastic sides of the hand, and when you shake it, it claps. Doesn't sound so bad? Imagine attached to this toy is the arm of a man who has a incessant clapping tick. The moment he steps off the tour bus, he feels the overriding urge to "clap". So he claps and claps and claps, waving the damn toy around as if without it, we would scatter and loose ourselves in the abyss of ...... the temple?? In addition to the OCD clapping, he also calls out ISIS..... Isis, come here please. Isis... Iiiisiiissss! Closer, closer please. Come closer. When we are all surrounding him, and he is explaining, he unconsciously taps the clapper against his leg causing it to... CLAP!
Within 15 minutes of our first tour with him i had my own overriding urges. One: to inform him that i was a person, not a lost puppy. Two: DESTROY THE CLAPPER! Come to find out everyone on the tour was also plotting their own demise of the clapper. We briefly discussed a coup, but realized he had all the tickets to the temples, and we would not be able to enter with out him.
Adel was a very nice man, but just wasn't meant to be a tour guide. However we took what we got from him, supplemented ourselves with a lot of books, and had vicious discussions between Brian and I about which god was on the wall, or which flower was being represented on one of the pillars. Fortunately we had Sheesha to bring us back together each evening.
Our first night in Cairo I was introduced to Sheesha, my clean lungs had a fit and i coughed and sputtered much to the amusement and delight of the staff (and my parents). We even found beer at our favorite spot Christos's (Beer in a Muslim country is hard to come by!) By the end of the trip Brian was smoking Sheesha and blowing it out his nose, his lips never leaving the pipe. Apparently this is how the "pros" smoke said one man (however many locals laughed at this technique!) And I could inhale and everything without coughing!
After we left Eman, whom we came to appreciate even more after Adel, we headed out to Luxor, to get on our Nile cruising boat. These boats look like they should have a big waterwheel on the back of them. They are a big long rectangle. We were a little disappointed to learn that as we arrived so early (730 am) we would not be able to check into our rooms until 930-10:00. We were kindly requested to sit in the lounge for the next 2-3 hours. I was an unhappy camper as to arrive in Luxor at 730am we had to leave our hotel at 330am!! Instead of sitting in the lounge we found the pool upstairs and crashed on lounge chairs, bags beside us like homeless people!
Cruising the Nile is a lot of fun. You wake up every morning and instead of a beautiful new view outside your window, you look into some one else's. It is actually quite humorous as when you dock, the boats dock 5 across, so whoever's boat is on the outside, you have to walk through the lobbies of 4 other boats to reach land! It was really amusing. We always got to dock right at the port so i never got to go wandering through others boats....
The Nile is amazing. It is incredible how wide it is! I am used to rivers like the Elbow, widest part is really not that big (from what i really see or pay attention to) The Nile is Huge!! No crocodiles much to my disappointment, due to a dam. What really amazed me is how lush and green everything is beside the Nile. The Sahara desert rises up behind about 5km after the riverbed, but surrounding the Nile is a beautiful oasis that stretches down the rivers side.
We spent more time visiting temples, and tombs, museums, and sheesha cafes. It was such a wonderful time. It was awe inspiring to see technology and knowledge that was so advanced in a civilization that is over 5000 years old. They had hinges at least 3500 years old that quite literally looked as though it had been purchased at home depot! Where did this knowledge go! We went to perfume, papyrus paper, oriental carpets, and cotton factories. Yes Egyptian Cotton. You can buy 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets for the mere price of 400USD!!! Right. Unfortunately could not convince the parents to shell out! What the heck do you need 1000 threads per square inch below you anyways?? I am quite content with my 150, everyday layman's cotton thank you very much!
Now i must share with you our guide Adel. Although the man had a good heart, really tried to make sure everything on the tour was taken care of, he was the worst guide ever! Firstly he informed us that we was going to name our group Isis, for the god of love, beauty and music. Okay i thought, kind of lame that he is naming us, but i thought it was just a cute-sy tourism thing. No... wrong. Let me introduce you to the "clapper". The most annoying toy invented. Parents of young children i will take you on about this. Envision what looks like a cheap Chinese toy hand on a stick. There are two plastic sides of the hand, and when you shake it, it claps. Doesn't sound so bad? Imagine attached to this toy is the arm of a man who has a incessant clapping tick. The moment he steps off the tour bus, he feels the overriding urge to "clap". So he claps and claps and claps, waving the damn toy around as if without it, we would scatter and loose ourselves in the abyss of ...... the temple?? In addition to the OCD clapping, he also calls out ISIS..... Isis, come here please. Isis... Iiiisiiissss! Closer, closer please. Come closer. When we are all surrounding him, and he is explaining, he unconsciously taps the clapper against his leg causing it to... CLAP!
Within 15 minutes of our first tour with him i had my own overriding urges. One: to inform him that i was a person, not a lost puppy. Two: DESTROY THE CLAPPER! Come to find out everyone on the tour was also plotting their own demise of the clapper. We briefly discussed a coup, but realized he had all the tickets to the temples, and we would not be able to enter with out him.
Adel was a very nice man, but just wasn't meant to be a tour guide. However we took what we got from him, supplemented ourselves with a lot of books, and had vicious discussions between Brian and I about which god was on the wall, or which flower was being represented on one of the pillars. Fortunately we had Sheesha to bring us back together each evening.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Egypt
I am limited on time, so this may have to be a quick blog... will update again.. soon?
There isn't much else to say about the Greek Islands. I had a great time with my friend Nancy, and really hope to visit her next summer at her home in Chicago. I am having a more diffucult time trying to persuade her to come to Canada and visit me in Kelowna, or Calgary or where ever the heck i will be living in 9 months. The only other adventure was the almost pickpocketing! We were on the train back to Athens when some jerk-a-ma-holic next to me decided it would be a good idea to try and open my purse and have a free for all with my belongings. Fortunately i noticed the 5 finger discount happening and yelled at him on the train. After perfuse denial, he and his friend made a quick exit at the next stop. I am lucky that i caught him, and he didn't make off with anything! That had me quite riled up, i was ready to tear some heads off once i got over the initial shock, but i have had a good 10 days to get over it!!
The next stop was Egypt where i flew into Cairo and met my Mom and Brain at a beautiful hotel just across the street from the pyramids!! How can you be disappointed in that. They were sitting by the pool waiting for me to meet them. The hotel is called the Mena House Oberi, and has been there since the 1800's!!! They have done alot of updating, but you definatly get the old time feeling and it is very Egyptian. It was so beautiful and i really didn't mind the pampering they provided me with. You couldn't stand in the reception lounge for more than 45 seconds before about 2 or 3 people are rushing you to see what they can do for you. The economy relies very very heavily on the tourism industry, so they actually have their own police force for tourism and antiquities!!! The roads in Cairo are somethign to be seen. It is the definition of organized chaos, only the only form of organization is only apparent to the locals. People swerve around one another, a series of quick honks or beeps, and the flashing of headlights the only signal that you are planning to swerve into oncoming traffic, or between two cars on a one lane road!! It is facinating to watch, with a slight cry from your own mortality as you sqeeze between a bus, a dump truck and then blast through a group of people trying to cross the road, entering the chaotic highway with a hand stuck out to signal their crossing and hoping that someone will not hit them.
On my way to the hotel to meet my family i kept watching these people standing in the middle of the highway, one arm stuck out, and hoping that i didn't have to postpone my trip to help some poor soul who had been flattened on the highway. I just kept saying ABC's, airway, breathing, circulation....
We have seen and done so much here in Egypt. We had the most fantastic guide in Cairo, a lady who is raising 3 children, has her degree in archeology, and was currently trying to be a mom, tourguide, wife, and write her masters thesis on Egypology. She used to work down at one of the pyramids translating hyroglyphics!!! She was a master!
We visited the steps pyramid, the 3 great pyramids, the museum, the citadel, the Mohummad Ali Mosque (not to be confused with the boxer!), the Cairo Musuem, and saw so many absolutely amazing things!! Eman (pronounced Ee- maun) was so thorough in her descriptions and pointed out so many incredible things on the carvings in some of the tombs we saw. We were amazed to see 5000 year old hedgehogs carved into the walls! The artists even had humor and she would show us some of the ironies or humor that was carved onto the wall. We learned alot about the history and the culture of the ancient egyptians.
We even got to go into the Cheyops pyramid, or the pyramid designed byt Kufu! It was completely amazing. You have to climb up this tunnel which is only abotut 4 ft tall, and you are going up this long, dark tunnel that has no air, and no end in sight. Finally you reach a small room, only to have to go up another slanting, short tunnel. There is only one way in and out of the pyramid so you are trying to sqeeze yourself up against the wall when you are already scruched down, so it is not the place for anyone with claustrophobia! Finally you reach this room that is pitch dark besides the one light that they have placed in the room. It is made of black granite, and the only thing that was found after the tomb robbers was a granite sarcophagus, which the pyramid would have had to be built around. You can hear yourself breath the musty air in the place as it is all surrounded by granite. It literally smells like "old". It was amazing. Brian and I were bad children and as we were in the tomb by ourselves for about 5 minutes jumped in and layed in the sarcophagus! Eerie!
We have done and seen so much. Been in places that are over 5000 years old, seen paint and art in forgotten tombs that has survived for 3000 years, still beautiful in its colors and astounding in the definition and beauty that has been given to the carvings! I have loved this time here and will write much much more about my adventures, but have to go. Leave tomorrow to meet my dad in Thialand! Very exciting!
Only 6 more weeks. Am already sad to leave!
Love you
There isn't much else to say about the Greek Islands. I had a great time with my friend Nancy, and really hope to visit her next summer at her home in Chicago. I am having a more diffucult time trying to persuade her to come to Canada and visit me in Kelowna, or Calgary or where ever the heck i will be living in 9 months. The only other adventure was the almost pickpocketing! We were on the train back to Athens when some jerk-a-ma-holic next to me decided it would be a good idea to try and open my purse and have a free for all with my belongings. Fortunately i noticed the 5 finger discount happening and yelled at him on the train. After perfuse denial, he and his friend made a quick exit at the next stop. I am lucky that i caught him, and he didn't make off with anything! That had me quite riled up, i was ready to tear some heads off once i got over the initial shock, but i have had a good 10 days to get over it!!
The next stop was Egypt where i flew into Cairo and met my Mom and Brain at a beautiful hotel just across the street from the pyramids!! How can you be disappointed in that. They were sitting by the pool waiting for me to meet them. The hotel is called the Mena House Oberi, and has been there since the 1800's!!! They have done alot of updating, but you definatly get the old time feeling and it is very Egyptian. It was so beautiful and i really didn't mind the pampering they provided me with. You couldn't stand in the reception lounge for more than 45 seconds before about 2 or 3 people are rushing you to see what they can do for you. The economy relies very very heavily on the tourism industry, so they actually have their own police force for tourism and antiquities!!! The roads in Cairo are somethign to be seen. It is the definition of organized chaos, only the only form of organization is only apparent to the locals. People swerve around one another, a series of quick honks or beeps, and the flashing of headlights the only signal that you are planning to swerve into oncoming traffic, or between two cars on a one lane road!! It is facinating to watch, with a slight cry from your own mortality as you sqeeze between a bus, a dump truck and then blast through a group of people trying to cross the road, entering the chaotic highway with a hand stuck out to signal their crossing and hoping that someone will not hit them.
On my way to the hotel to meet my family i kept watching these people standing in the middle of the highway, one arm stuck out, and hoping that i didn't have to postpone my trip to help some poor soul who had been flattened on the highway. I just kept saying ABC's, airway, breathing, circulation....
We have seen and done so much here in Egypt. We had the most fantastic guide in Cairo, a lady who is raising 3 children, has her degree in archeology, and was currently trying to be a mom, tourguide, wife, and write her masters thesis on Egypology. She used to work down at one of the pyramids translating hyroglyphics!!! She was a master!
We visited the steps pyramid, the 3 great pyramids, the museum, the citadel, the Mohummad Ali Mosque (not to be confused with the boxer!), the Cairo Musuem, and saw so many absolutely amazing things!! Eman (pronounced Ee- maun) was so thorough in her descriptions and pointed out so many incredible things on the carvings in some of the tombs we saw. We were amazed to see 5000 year old hedgehogs carved into the walls! The artists even had humor and she would show us some of the ironies or humor that was carved onto the wall. We learned alot about the history and the culture of the ancient egyptians.
We even got to go into the Cheyops pyramid, or the pyramid designed byt Kufu! It was completely amazing. You have to climb up this tunnel which is only abotut 4 ft tall, and you are going up this long, dark tunnel that has no air, and no end in sight. Finally you reach a small room, only to have to go up another slanting, short tunnel. There is only one way in and out of the pyramid so you are trying to sqeeze yourself up against the wall when you are already scruched down, so it is not the place for anyone with claustrophobia! Finally you reach this room that is pitch dark besides the one light that they have placed in the room. It is made of black granite, and the only thing that was found after the tomb robbers was a granite sarcophagus, which the pyramid would have had to be built around. You can hear yourself breath the musty air in the place as it is all surrounded by granite. It literally smells like "old". It was amazing. Brian and I were bad children and as we were in the tomb by ourselves for about 5 minutes jumped in and layed in the sarcophagus! Eerie!
We have done and seen so much. Been in places that are over 5000 years old, seen paint and art in forgotten tombs that has survived for 3000 years, still beautiful in its colors and astounding in the definition and beauty that has been given to the carvings! I have loved this time here and will write much much more about my adventures, but have to go. Leave tomorrow to meet my dad in Thialand! Very exciting!
Only 6 more weeks. Am already sad to leave!
Love you
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Greece
Started in my Greece adventure in Athens. The first day was dedicated to having clean clothes, things could have grown legs and walked away i think. I did my second official "real" wash,in a washer and dryer.... in 2 months! Please do not assume that my clothes have only been washed twice, i have done lots of sink and shower washing, but it just isn't the same. The washer and dryer is the best invention ever. I don't care what you think, it was!! Forget TV and internet, WASHER AND DRYER!! I don't think i have ever been so happy as when i was folding my clean clothes. Not even when i saw the Mona Lisa!
The next day was possibly less exciting then clean clothes, but definitely more educational!(just joking) I joined onto a tour that walked me through Athens. We saw so much that it is really impossible to tell you everything, but as a list we saw: Changing of the gaurd (halarious!!), parliment building, the ampitheater which was build for the first official olympics in 188osomething, the rich guy who build a bunch of stuff free for Athens house, the temple of Zeues ruins (incredible!!!), the Acropolis, amazing rock hill that apparently one of the important scholars was tried and condemmed to death on, yummy resturant in crazy flea marked, icky icky meat marked (to be called meat market not only for the dead animal carcasses, but also for the jeering cat-calls of the butchers), a whole bunch of other places and other ruins!
On the tour there was 3 Aussies, one other Canadian, and an American. One girl who was also my roommate was on her last day of a 3 month trip, and had just spent a month in the Greek Islands, so as this is where i was going next, was sharing tonnes of information with me. The American girl and I also hit it off, she was on her first day of a 4 month trip, and was trying to soak up as much info from other traveller as she could. She also was headed to the Greek Islands the next day, and by the end of the tour, we decided we would go together.
The next day we met VERY early at the ferry station, and boarded an 8 hour ferry to Santorini. This Island is exactly what you think, when you think of Greece. Stark white buidling, with smooth rounded edges, bright blue shutters and doors, contrast sharply with the perfect clean white buidlings, but are perfectly matched to the sky and ocean that surrounds the little crecent moon shaped island. White churches with dome roofs painted the same brillian blue, have little 3 tiered bell towers that are the perfect overlook to the sea, and bright orange and red sunsets. Outside of the stucco heaven cheery towns, the land lies in sharp contrast with dead dusty hills, and rocky cliffs. Little green bushes grow up, as if trying to escape the dusty ground, but then bow back down, and scatter their vines along the dirt. On closer inspection you realize they are actually grape plants, and rather than be given long stalks and string fences to grow and spread out along, they are little clusters on the ground.
Donkeys march up and down the high steep hill which leads down to the old port. They are clad with colorful blankets under simple saddles and have bridles decorated with beads, tassles, and bells so you hear them as they clamber back the back streets in the evening and early morning to and from work.
The ocean is a brilliant sparkling royal blue and they have black, red and white sand beaches depending on where you venture to on the Island. Nancy (the amerian girl i am travelling with) and I rented ATV's yesterday and cruised along the island visiting a bunch of beaches and towns, before heading up to Oia, to watch the sunset over the ocean. This is the town where every picture that you have ever seen of the sun setting over a blue domed white church is taken. Ever single postcard in the city is taken from this town!
Today we hiked down the side of the cliff to the old port, where you can take a ferry out to a volcano which is just next to the island. However the wind was so strong today, all the ferries were closed. So we jumped on a bell clad donkey and had them hike us back up the hill. I had the crazy donkey who refused to let any other donkey pass him, so weaved back and forth up the trail like a drunk driver. Any donkey who tried to pass was immediatly kicked at or bitten. Not the donkey one wants when on a big cliff! But i made it up alive unscathed! I cannot say the same for any donkey who came near us.
Tomorrow we are going to head off to Mikynos, another Greek Island. After a few days there i am going to leave Europe and try my luck in Egypt.
To all of those who have sent Emails, thank you so much! I love them. I am sorry i am so bad at getting back to you, but i will try very soon! Thank you thank you.
Hope all are well! Missing you!
The next day was possibly less exciting then clean clothes, but definitely more educational!(just joking) I joined onto a tour that walked me through Athens. We saw so much that it is really impossible to tell you everything, but as a list we saw: Changing of the gaurd (halarious!!), parliment building, the ampitheater which was build for the first official olympics in 188osomething, the rich guy who build a bunch of stuff free for Athens house, the temple of Zeues ruins (incredible!!!), the Acropolis, amazing rock hill that apparently one of the important scholars was tried and condemmed to death on, yummy resturant in crazy flea marked, icky icky meat marked (to be called meat market not only for the dead animal carcasses, but also for the jeering cat-calls of the butchers), a whole bunch of other places and other ruins!
On the tour there was 3 Aussies, one other Canadian, and an American. One girl who was also my roommate was on her last day of a 3 month trip, and had just spent a month in the Greek Islands, so as this is where i was going next, was sharing tonnes of information with me. The American girl and I also hit it off, she was on her first day of a 4 month trip, and was trying to soak up as much info from other traveller as she could. She also was headed to the Greek Islands the next day, and by the end of the tour, we decided we would go together.
The next day we met VERY early at the ferry station, and boarded an 8 hour ferry to Santorini. This Island is exactly what you think, when you think of Greece. Stark white buidling, with smooth rounded edges, bright blue shutters and doors, contrast sharply with the perfect clean white buidlings, but are perfectly matched to the sky and ocean that surrounds the little crecent moon shaped island. White churches with dome roofs painted the same brillian blue, have little 3 tiered bell towers that are the perfect overlook to the sea, and bright orange and red sunsets. Outside of the stucco heaven cheery towns, the land lies in sharp contrast with dead dusty hills, and rocky cliffs. Little green bushes grow up, as if trying to escape the dusty ground, but then bow back down, and scatter their vines along the dirt. On closer inspection you realize they are actually grape plants, and rather than be given long stalks and string fences to grow and spread out along, they are little clusters on the ground.
Donkeys march up and down the high steep hill which leads down to the old port. They are clad with colorful blankets under simple saddles and have bridles decorated with beads, tassles, and bells so you hear them as they clamber back the back streets in the evening and early morning to and from work.
The ocean is a brilliant sparkling royal blue and they have black, red and white sand beaches depending on where you venture to on the Island. Nancy (the amerian girl i am travelling with) and I rented ATV's yesterday and cruised along the island visiting a bunch of beaches and towns, before heading up to Oia, to watch the sunset over the ocean. This is the town where every picture that you have ever seen of the sun setting over a blue domed white church is taken. Ever single postcard in the city is taken from this town!
Today we hiked down the side of the cliff to the old port, where you can take a ferry out to a volcano which is just next to the island. However the wind was so strong today, all the ferries were closed. So we jumped on a bell clad donkey and had them hike us back up the hill. I had the crazy donkey who refused to let any other donkey pass him, so weaved back and forth up the trail like a drunk driver. Any donkey who tried to pass was immediatly kicked at or bitten. Not the donkey one wants when on a big cliff! But i made it up alive unscathed! I cannot say the same for any donkey who came near us.
Tomorrow we are going to head off to Mikynos, another Greek Island. After a few days there i am going to leave Europe and try my luck in Egypt.
To all of those who have sent Emails, thank you so much! I love them. I am sorry i am so bad at getting back to you, but i will try very soon! Thank you thank you.
Hope all are well! Missing you!
Venice (not to be confused with Vienna!!)
After my adventures in Napels, I headed up to Venice. As the title of this blog states, DO NOT confuse with Vienna. When I went to book my reservation on the train, I went to the ticket desk and kindly asked for a ticket to Vienna. Now in defence of my blondeness, Venice in Italian is called Veinza, sounds suspiciously close to the Austrian counrty! So the ticket guy promtly looked up the information and informed me that the train was full for today but could get me on a sleeper train. A sleeper train!?? But i am in the same country?? As i was throughouly confused and concerened as i had to get to get to my hostel or pay a fine, i looked at his computer as if to will it to magically find me a spot on the train, when i read Wein, Wein is the Austrian name of Vienna (for some reason in North America we have changed all the names of the cities in each country and insist on confusing the locals when we call them by our name. Its like someone deciding San Fransisco should be called Wonderland, and insisting on that is its real name!? Why are we so wierd!) Realizing my blonde blunder i quickly informed the man of my confusion and assured him that i really wanted to go to Venice, in Italy. He found me quite amuzing and laughed with me at my stupidity! I insist that he laughed WITH me, and not at me. He may have laughed a little harder than me though...
Either way i was lucky the train was full to Vienna, so i could go to Venice, and not accidently end up in the Austrian city. I arrived in Venice and immediatly found the city to be beautiful, bustling, and touristy! Just what i like! Filled with shops that are brimming with Venician Masks, i felt like i had fell into the 1800's and should be preparing for a masqureade ball! They were lovely with fans of feathers, shimmering with glitter, and lined with ornate cord or lace. The canals stretch out before you with twisting grace, snaking through the city and bridges with thick marble banisters arch over them, so boats and gondolas may pass beneath.
The city is filled with people wandering through, bustling about, or marching over the unfortuante tourist who has stopped on the wrong side to snap a photograph. Even though the roads and pathways are without cars or scooters, you still stay to the right, as if driving, otherwise risk being run-over by an agressive buisnessman in a hurry, and a scowl!
The hostel I was staying at rocked as it offered cooked dinners of pasta everynight at 8:30. As i was patiently starving, i met a girl from Belgium who has also just arrived, and had not been impressed by the slew of 19year old americans who were showing they could drink just as well as....., well , an alcoholic. As the wine bottles became emptier, the volume became louder. Annemere, the Belgian girl and i struck up a quite conversation and waited for dinner. We decided over shoveling pesto pasta into our mouths as if afraid the american girls would spot us and steal our food, we decided that we would wander the canals and streets of Venice the next day.
And that is what we did. Venice is a perfect city to get lost in! It is pointless having a map, because the roads and addresses don't make anysense unless you are on a boat. So you just wander the streets and when you come to a dead end, which is where the path ends at a door, or a dock, you turn around and try again. Eventually all paths lead to major squares, and even when you have seen the major squares and are trying to go somewhere else, you end up back at the major squares. It is only until you are trying to find your way home, that you discover a whole other side to Venice, that you didn't see, and at the end, didn't care to see because you just wanted to sit down, or eat! Have i mentioned yet that all i did in Italy was eat. And when i was not eating i was thinking about eating. Even when i was eating I was thinking about what i wanted to eat next, or how my current meal compared to a previous one...
We wandered all day, found our way back to the hostel, bought some wine (i also bought some pastries!!) and ate dinner, chatted with another 2 Canadains who joined us, and rested our tired feet.
Annemere left the next day, and i was taking a train out to Milan where i was to fly out the Greece, but first i went down to Murano, one of the Venician Islands where they make all the pretty glass. It was really fun to wander the island, but i soon realized that all of the island was dedicated to touristy glass shops. I found a demonstration where they were making a vase and blowing the glass, and then another artist, took the bit of molten glass that was left from the original mans vase, and pulled (and i really mean pulled) a horse out of the glass by using some mega sized tweezers and a clamp. Within 3 minutes he had made a horse, and the other man took about 20 minutes to melt, roll, pull and blow a vase. It was all pretty crazy!
I controlled my impulse purchase desire and only 2 pieces! Yey me, then i made it back to Venice, and forgot my control and bought a bloody Venician mask that is delicate so i have to carry it around in a seperate bag, and keep blowing up the first plastic bag that it is wrapped in so the art and feathers dont get all squished. Damn impulse buying!
I made it safely to Milan, where i stayed only a few hours before i flew out to Greece!
PS Went to Capri, It was Beautiful!!
Either way i was lucky the train was full to Vienna, so i could go to Venice, and not accidently end up in the Austrian city. I arrived in Venice and immediatly found the city to be beautiful, bustling, and touristy! Just what i like! Filled with shops that are brimming with Venician Masks, i felt like i had fell into the 1800's and should be preparing for a masqureade ball! They were lovely with fans of feathers, shimmering with glitter, and lined with ornate cord or lace. The canals stretch out before you with twisting grace, snaking through the city and bridges with thick marble banisters arch over them, so boats and gondolas may pass beneath.
The city is filled with people wandering through, bustling about, or marching over the unfortuante tourist who has stopped on the wrong side to snap a photograph. Even though the roads and pathways are without cars or scooters, you still stay to the right, as if driving, otherwise risk being run-over by an agressive buisnessman in a hurry, and a scowl!
The hostel I was staying at rocked as it offered cooked dinners of pasta everynight at 8:30. As i was patiently starving, i met a girl from Belgium who has also just arrived, and had not been impressed by the slew of 19year old americans who were showing they could drink just as well as....., well , an alcoholic. As the wine bottles became emptier, the volume became louder. Annemere, the Belgian girl and i struck up a quite conversation and waited for dinner. We decided over shoveling pesto pasta into our mouths as if afraid the american girls would spot us and steal our food, we decided that we would wander the canals and streets of Venice the next day.
And that is what we did. Venice is a perfect city to get lost in! It is pointless having a map, because the roads and addresses don't make anysense unless you are on a boat. So you just wander the streets and when you come to a dead end, which is where the path ends at a door, or a dock, you turn around and try again. Eventually all paths lead to major squares, and even when you have seen the major squares and are trying to go somewhere else, you end up back at the major squares. It is only until you are trying to find your way home, that you discover a whole other side to Venice, that you didn't see, and at the end, didn't care to see because you just wanted to sit down, or eat! Have i mentioned yet that all i did in Italy was eat. And when i was not eating i was thinking about eating. Even when i was eating I was thinking about what i wanted to eat next, or how my current meal compared to a previous one...
We wandered all day, found our way back to the hostel, bought some wine (i also bought some pastries!!) and ate dinner, chatted with another 2 Canadains who joined us, and rested our tired feet.
Annemere left the next day, and i was taking a train out to Milan where i was to fly out the Greece, but first i went down to Murano, one of the Venician Islands where they make all the pretty glass. It was really fun to wander the island, but i soon realized that all of the island was dedicated to touristy glass shops. I found a demonstration where they were making a vase and blowing the glass, and then another artist, took the bit of molten glass that was left from the original mans vase, and pulled (and i really mean pulled) a horse out of the glass by using some mega sized tweezers and a clamp. Within 3 minutes he had made a horse, and the other man took about 20 minutes to melt, roll, pull and blow a vase. It was all pretty crazy!
I controlled my impulse purchase desire and only 2 pieces! Yey me, then i made it back to Venice, and forgot my control and bought a bloody Venician mask that is delicate so i have to carry it around in a seperate bag, and keep blowing up the first plastic bag that it is wrapped in so the art and feathers dont get all squished. Damn impulse buying!
I made it safely to Milan, where i stayed only a few hours before i flew out to Greece!
PS Went to Capri, It was Beautiful!!
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