Crazy Cairo and cameling it to the Pyramids

I just can not manage to get out of Egypt. The sun in this country just keeps me here. So though I am in Dahab on the Red Sea now; I did venture back to Cairo...yes that hectic city I love to hate...I went back and darted across the streets like George in that Frogger Seinfeld episode. Many times I just shielded myself between an elderly woman and a small child. Small children regularly roam the streets alone. Strange but True! This time I chose a quiet hostel in Garden City near the chaos but not in it like before. I had to renew my visa and experience the absolute madness of the Mogamma building. There are no lines or q's to arrange yourself into. Bribes are taken openly at the booths by those powerful few that hand you a visa. I proudly got mine in under 4 hours and for 11 pounds (about 4 dollars US) and praise be, I can stay here till either May 4th or April 6th....can't figure out which date arrangement they used :) But alas, I will only be here till mid January. Why creep into freezing climates and stiff bones when I can swim most days with box fish and chat with lil Nemo. Anyway back to Cairo. I attended a semi interesting belly dancing on a cruise ship dinner event, there was also a Sufi dancer....interesting is one word for the night, I need time to come up with the other words. I was a bit confused when the taxi driver began to dine with me, now I am no snob but I was just caught a bit off guard and wondered if I had been set up on some kinda date. Well either way he was a gent. :)

Pyramids!!!!! had a lovely camel ride to the pyramids with guides Alex and lil Mohommed. Amazing all the effort and death that went into those things, all for the afterlife. And yes the workers that built them were all thrown a big party then killed....what a way to say "Thanks".

Cairo Museum!!!! looks like some old man's garage full of priceless artifacts and dusty stone coffins. The gold room full of the king Tut things was really stunning. The place is really interesting especially cause there is just soooo much stuff cramped into a little space...hummm reminds me of my gypsy nest of a room I once had (and will have again). So after spending time in Cairo and Giza at the pyramids, I took a cheap flight (cause anything over a 3 hour bus ride is too much to cope with sometimes...especially in Egypt...and flights are not much more than a bus ticket and saves me money in wine purchases later on)So anyway I took a flight to Luxor and stayed at the classically chill and comforting Bob Marley House. And that will be another story.

Living in Assalah Egypt

So after I got back from Jordan I stayed in Dahab on the beach for 4 days in a really nice chill hotel called Sheik Salam, then I rented a room in a really sweet house in Assalah, which is in Dahab but in a local community, that is a bit quieter than the hustle of the boardwalk. The house is exactly what I would want if I owned a place; it is simple and all one level with a lot of outside space. The walls surrounding it are high which is nice; though we can hear all the baby screams, kids playing, trucks roaring and men talking...which is also nice. When I travel, I often like to stay away from the traveler circuit a bit and be in local communities, it has really enriched my experiences, especially in areas where I do not know the language. It can help to inspire communication and more interaction with the community...which really is the reason I like to travel. My days here are pretty slow and uneventful, I spend hours re-reading "The Shock Doctrine" and hours swimming and also contemplating life....which is such a privilege. I watch the strangely healthy looking stray dogs lounge about on the sand and wonder why the dogs here are so mellow while the ones in Bali and Fiji are all barkers and biters; (Sadly, one morning I attempted to stop a little boy from beating the sh-- out of a dog with a plank of wood) I think about how I overheard a European man (that now lives here) complain about the dogs and wants to have them all neutered or killed in the desert, I wonder if he has ever been to Bali and seen those dogs (most Bali and Fiji dogs have a bit of the napoleon complex thing happening....bark bark bark and maybe a bite or two)....cause the ones here are actually really affectionate and I have rarely even heard them bark at a person...though they do bark at each other quite a lot.... Funny, the man is also really into yoga...which I just thought was ...humm...ironic...is that the word I am searching for?... Anyway it is very interesting here, and I wish I could really get the Arabic language down...my big word is "Haram!" which basically means "sin"...It is a very useful word when someone is trying to rip you off, lying or doing anything forbidden by Islam. It worked really well in the taxi the other night when he wanted ten pounds for a 3 pound ride. My big drama is that I overstayed my visa and have to get an extension soon...but that is the drama for now (though there was drama later but that is another story). I going back to Cairo soon...ugh, a part of me really loves Cairo, it is beautiful and an interesting city, but really, I am just not feeling the big city vibe these days...and like I said before Cairo makes the busiest parts of NYC look like a quiet retirement community in Arizona...but I now know more people there so I plan to go out a bit at night and see the city night life before I leave.

TWO WEEKS LATER:
So I lived in the house for 2 weeks and well the house was lovely...I met some really interesting and warm generous people that live in Assalah. Just to name a couple of them; Francesca (the owner of the house) is a dramatically charismatic woman with 2 sons 18 and 21; She has lived in Egypt for over 20 years and is originally from Switzerland. She is a creative, carefree, intuitive woman who was very inspiring. Her son Omar was really sweet, and thoughtful and took me on a nice hike with his friends that was not too difficult and we had some lovely tea at a Bedouin camp, where I was so close to buying a traditional winter dress to keep me warm in NYC...but didn't have the funds...it was a great hike with views of the Red Sea and Omar was so concerned about my hip pain, he is studying massage....he is a mother-in-law's dream son. On the hike I also met an Egyptian from Aswan, Emad, who was telling me that many of the people in Aswan are proud to have locks and curls in their hair...so happy to hear it :)I also met another American woman Zel who has lived in Egypt about 3 years and in Dahab one year. It was so wonderful to hang with another woman about my age that remembers Legend of Billy Jean, and the original Fame...we even sang that song in Officer and a Gentleman...that one by Joe Cocker...anyway her and her dog Eartha (yes after Eartha Kitt!) were great to chill out with. Zel speaks about 4 languages and will curse a fool out in all of them when necessary...it is fun to watch :)I really loved Dahab but I wished that I could have seen more local women out and have had a chat with one or two; Zel knows a couple that she was going to introduce me to but it never worked out. Anyway I just have just found it really nice in my travels to chat with other people that are local and especially to other women. But I did bond with the Bedouin bracelet girls; they are fiercely smart young girls that sell bracelets on the beach, they usually speak 3 more languages) English, Russian and German mostly in addition to local languages. They are good little business women and I have a wrist full of colorful beads to prove it :)Zel is friends with retired bracelet girls, when they get older or as Zel says, when they get boobs :) they then are taken out of the bracelet business and likely plan for a marriage. Her friends now have about 4 kids and focus on family mainly. At night I would see more women out with their children or husbands and that was always comforting for me to see. Anyway I am in Cairo now, not as freaked out as before by the hecticness of it...though it is still hectic!!! I just cancelled my flight to NYC on Monday...I have decided that since I am here and since Zel is coming to Cairo for Thanksgiving, that I might as well stay a couple weeks more and go to the Nubian part of Egypt. So till next time :)

Jordan

So Rute (another traveler that I met in Egypt)and I jumped on a bus from Nazareth and headed into Jordan. The landscape is a bit bleak with square grey buildings jutting up beside piles of rubble. People walk down dusty roads and men sit outside of little shops. We head towards the big city of Amman. And Amman is bustling like Cairo but not as big or as intense (remember Cairo is like NYC on Meth...Cairo is CRAZY...at least for me) Amman is a bit more laid back and really it reminds me in some ways of NYC. In Cairo and in Jerusalem it is like people go out of their way to rip you off....really it is amazing....and I understand that people need to make a profit but ...well, Cairo, Jerusalem and Nadi have been my worse experiences with this type of thing....anyway Jordan is a pleasant surprise!) People are chill and tell you reasonable prices when asked. Even the stares on the streets did not linger for long and usually had a smile attached, its the little things that make me smile. There is even a fixed price for taxis which made the taxi experience actually pleasant (never thought I would use taxi and pleasant in a sentence together for a while) . Aside from the fact that we were made to sit in the "family" section of a restaurant (woman don't sit in the males only section, is what I concluded...but honestly, if that is the case, they can have their male only section cause I was quite happy with the families...of course Rute was pissed:) Anyway I really loved Amman and the hostel was great, Abissi Palace if any of you are going there. It is run by a lovely woman that seriously gets Hostess of the Year award, she is just so informative, pleasant and helpful....I wanted to stay longer and get to know her and her family more...but well, Rute and I had already discussed going to Petra. So ce la vie, we were off to Petra...and Petra is an experience, it is magical. But before Petra we go to the Dead Sea there we float to our hearts content. Seriously it is the most comfortable feeling, better than a tempupedic even!!!! LOVED it!!!

PETRA and more BORDERS
I had never really thought much about going to Petra but I am SO glad that I went...thanks Rute:) Anyway it is beautiful as you can see from the photos. Many people there still live in the caves though most have moved into villages. The people in Petra are Bedouin. The men are mostly guides while the women sell crafts. Some of the guys pointed out the caves they were born in...and other pointed out the caves they wouldn't mind taking me to...flattering really cause they are all about 20. We had a dynamic guide named Harron that really...well, he is a charmer to say the least. Most of those guys are very charming and my Bob Marley T-Shirt was a definite hit with them. I would love to go back and do a documentary on these guys. You should see them jumping on horses, camels and donkeys, practically standing up while riding through the desert. They all speak about 4 languages, and the comedic timing of Harron was flawless....I had a flashback to my casting director days because many of these guys have that, dare I say "spark"....It is a trip...and well...if I was 20 I just may have taken a trip to the cave...ha ha...So Petra was great and the camel I rode has a special place in my heart. I love camels....feel much more natural to ride a camel than a horse for me...I wonder if I can get one in the US ?...I can buy one cheap in Cairo:) So a couple days after Petra, Rute and I parted ways, she was heading to Turkey and I to Egypt to swim again in the Red Sea. My last night in Jordan I got food poisoning and lost about 5 pounds in 5 hours, during this time I had to take taxis, buses and walk across 3 borders, Jordan, Israel and Egypt. I finally made it after I almost went off on a woman from a huge tour group. She wanted me to wait for her entire group to go first at a Passport Check Point because she did not want to be separated from them, basically I was standing in between her and her precious group. "Trust me lady your group is hard to miss...and how 'bout you let me go in front of all of you...how 'bout that ?" You don't want to mess with anyone with food poisoning....it could have been real messy.So now I am in Dahab, in a quiet part where I sip mango juice and swim everyday. I will likely rent a room in a huge house with gardens that is not far from the beach...all for $7 US a day!!!!!! I will attempt to learn some Arabic...but wow these words are tough to pronounce...anyway, till next time.

Red Sea Swimming and Borders

Oh what a relief it was to get to the Red Sea. I spend two days swimming in the calm waters and my second day I take a plunge into the magical Blue Hole. It is a spectacular diving site. But I snorkel and watch the divers around me plunge down into the deep blue lower depths. I snorkel among schools of fish and spot something big and blue that resembles a little shark (but it is not one) while free divers glide around like mermaids (free divers take one stomach erasing huge breath of air and go into the deep blue...without a tank, just a large fin connecting bother their feet) The little beach side town of Dahab is nice but I am looking for something a bit quieter. So I head to Nuweiba with another traveller Rute (a Portuguese Canadian woman that speaks 5 languages) We stay for two days in a lovely quiet Bedouin community on the Red Sea. We live in huts and savor the quiet. I LOVE it!!!!

Over the Border to Israel and Palestine:
So we (I travel with Rute for a little while) take a taxi to the border and are greeted by sweet but stern faced 18 year old (looking) soldiers (and it is a TRIP to see all these young folks with big ole guns...makes me think that maybe a good solution to war would be to have only people over 50 be required to fight...I could see it, people complaining of arthritis and hip pain..., then calling some kind of truce and borrowing each other's Bengay:). Wouldn't that be a sight....Rute's idea is to get rid of all borders in the world...and when I think about it, as idealistic as it may sound...wouldn't that be kinda nice?....I know I know, in a perfect world...but shit it sounds better to me at this moment than the walls, check points, guns and dividing up land over and over....and I know it is all complex and historical (but truth be told, I don't know much about the biblical references, I was raised mostly with Hinduism and the most biblical I ever got was likely reading "The Red Tent"...so I don't know much about all that)...but with the religious significance being the case, isn't that even more of a reason for there to be dialogue, and more love put into peacefully working it all out...or more of an attempt to anyway......and I know, some will say, it is not that simple, it is really complicated.......but then again sometimes I think......is it? Oh the humanity!.....sorry I digress, so we arrive in the country and within minutes we are lied to by a taxi driver (yes again...remember Fiji and Cairo, this what happens when entering most new countries...ce la vie...but I believe in karma...Rute doesn't :) and we take a 5 hour bus passing thorough vast desert lands with random multiplex hotels....then we get to Jerusalem where we stay at a cramped but interesting ancient hostel. The roof view is amazing and I consider sleeping there but opt for the 9 bed dorm. At 5 am a girl decides to make a shit load of noise organizing her clothes in a plastic bag and chomping on an apple...I tell her that that is a No NO...and really she should know better :) but I say it nicely...well, as nice as I can be at 5 am. Anyway, Jerusalem is way too intense of a city for me (how am I gonna deal with NYC? and LA?:), cobblestones are everywhere, big guns,traffic, people, and just vibes...but anyway we try to enjoy it and really do at times, (a million thanks to the lovely man that insisted I use his store's restroom rather than the public one ...oh and the food was great...eggplant in a falafle is an amazing thing...wow did I spell that right?:)...but we have been insulted on the streets one to many times (by these young guys selling things....now that does not encourage me to buy) to really get in a huggy frame of mind,...anyway Rute is really pissed off about it and when she is pissed most everyone knows :) as for moi, I try to find a chill hammock frame of mind...for some space of time anyway, but lets face it, that is only me for but so long:)but it does help me to go to to the roof and admire the beautiful views....anyway ....so we meet up with another traveler (we had met in Dahab) and head to Bethlehem. We immediately meet a man who is nice enough to give us a free tour; we then meet two women at the museum that live there and they talk to us for an hour. We have a delightful and informative time and soon head to Nazareth. The bus ride is lovely, through hills and valleys, I think about trying to couchsurf there and envision staying in a kibbutz or picking olives...but well, my day dream ends but in a nice way because I am in a sweet town of Nazareth. The small cities are warmer and just more my thing nowadays. We have a lovely stay with Ramzy, a police officer, police officers in Nazareth even drive the elderly to their doctor appointments...nice huh?... (Ramzy is an older man that has converted his 700 year old..or was it 300?...anyway it is a crazy old family home into a hostel). He is a sweet man that makes us endless cups of Turkish coffee; but Rute and I leave in the morning for Jordan.....and Jordan is where I am now, so if you have the interest, time, or are just bored off your ass, tune in later for more about it :)

Soft Ground : the Bahariya Oasis and the White Desert

So you can likely tell how much I LOVED the White Desert. Both the Oasis and Desert was a much needed experience. It began with a 5 hour bus ride out of the hazy city of Cairo. The cheerful Bedouin (Bedouin are Indigenous people that are usually nomadic desert dwellers) guide and owner of the camp, Badr picked me up at the bus station and we drove to the camp site in the Oasis. His camp is sweet, simple and inviting, everything is made from the palm trees and other natural materials. I did not see metal or plastic...that is what I have really appreciated most about some of the places I have been lucky enough to see this year...Anyway, we then went to a spring and had a soak (and yes I wore a one piece...for these occasions is why I bring it). I asked him if I should wear a shirt over the bathing suit, but he said I was okay so I quickly jumped in the water, Badr is very interesting, he has lived all over Europe and speaks about 5 languages, he has been married 4 times, but not all at once, like his father:) He missed the desert while living in Europe so he moved back and opened his camp. Badr introduced me to several Bedouin men that prepared the "best" tea. The community is known for their tea and tea time usually is accompanied by a puff of the sheesha (really nice fruity flavor) pipe. Badr then drove us to sand dunes where I was beyond happy to feel the soft sand beneath my feet. We stayed till sunset then cruised back to camp for dinner...and yes I was his only guest for much of the day, but at night a group of about 5 young men from Israel showed up. They were great fun to chat with, we talked about politics, tea, gas :) and even the series Dallas...it was nice to have more company, but they just stayed the night, they had been in the desert for a week and had to get back to their studies. The next day Amy showed up, she is a young woman that also stayed at the same hostel as I had my first night. So in the morning her and I headed out into the White Desert with our 2 young Bedouin guides (not Badr...these two are Zeeko and Mohamed); we don't speak Arabic and they spoke about 20 words of English...but we all managed to communicate rather well, especially Zeeko with his very obvious crush on Amy. But he kept it as professional as any 20 year old with a crush can :) We had a great time driving through the luminous white sands; it was spectacular. The desert is a special place for me, I have always loved it and could have stayed for days. I saw the moon rise at about 3 am, and the sunrise at about 6am. I could smell the wind and the sand and the freshness of the earth. The only thing I wished for was a toilet :) but of course I got over that. Shukran
White Desert!!!!

FIVE hours packed on a Minibus speeding through the desert:
Now the 5 hour minibus ride back to Cairo was a different story. So I am told that the big air conditioned bus is full. So I must get on the local minibus that is crammed with people. I wonder "do I believe this guy" "is this some crazy scam?" "Well I am not giving up any loot so what could he have to gain from a scam like this?" So I get on the bus. I am the only westerner and the only woman with skin showing and there are only 4 of us women in a van of about 10 men. And just when I thought more people could not fit on the bus...the driver picked up about 6 more (I had flashbacks of Cape Town minibuses...except the music on this bus was not Beyonce or Techno, it was all Arabic melodies emanating from Adam's cell phone which he insisted on holding up so we could all enjoy...frankly though I wonder if some folks just wanted to sleep...the two ancient gentlemen in front of me looked far from thrilled by the music) Ce la vie...So I sit in between two men, one very nice guy named Adam, the DJ, he is so sweet and helpful, and another guy, about 18 a bit too excited about sitting next to me :) I had to push away his hand multiple times...until Adam traded seats with me when we stopped...thanks Adam :) Anyway the ride was an experience to say the least, I was moved when at sunset we pulled over and the majority of the men got out to pray...it was a really beautiful sight...and well I was really glad they prayed especially because the driver drove like a maniac and Adam and the 18 year old bonded in laughter over my facial expressions and my random nervous giggles...but I was not alone, an old man in front of me kept mumbling "Allah" After 5 hours we made it to the insanely chaotic streets of Cairo where the bus driver tried to pull a scam on me by telling me to take a taxi that he stopped rather than one I would stop...see it is likely that he would put me in his friend's taxi and try to get me to pay more...of course when I asked him the taxi rate he quoted it a 3 times what I knew it should be...so I gave him the "get the f*** outta here" look and hailed my own taxi. A lesson to ya'all if you don't already know, get taxi rates quoted to you from reliable sources beforehand, and get directions written down in the local language especially if the letters are different. .....Anyway, I made it back safe and sound....and soon I will head off to Dahab, the Red Sea and hang around Sinai.

Ku Waits....in Kuwait...and Kuala Lumpur

So I am now in crazy Cairo with it's fast laneless traffic and beeping symphonies. It is a tough pill to swallow for me considering that I have been chilling beside rice paddies and beaches for so long....but change is good...I guess. Anyway the changes all began with a wheelchair. Yes Kuala L kicked my ass! My hips were insanely sore, between the pavement and the damp weather, my hips said "peace out gurl, you are crazy, have you forgotten about the 2 surgeries and the fact that it is bout time for 2 more?" (no I have not forgotten, it is called denial:) So yes I ordered a wheelchair at the airport; and was I happy I did. The KL airport is HUGE! So I got pushed around and stared at for quite sometime...and then when the flight was delayed, the stares and pushing would all begin again the next day...but I was happy about the 5 star hotel they put us in. I went to the gym, dangled my feet in the pool, lounged outside, took 2 baths, watched cable, ate 2 buffets, and slept, I accomplished a lot in those 12 hours. So after the bumpy ride to Kuwait where we were put in a -5 star hotel (but the staff was nice) where I laughed at the smells and the views...and the gym, the gym had 2 ping pong tables and a bunch of chairs...and a man sleeping on a couch. So what more can I say, except feeling the dry arid desert air was nice, hearing the familiar names and sounds was an unexpected treat for me. Sometimes I take it for granted the multicultural environments that I have been a part of. As a child many of my friends were from Iran; and though I know Kuwait is not Iran, there are many of the same names and sounds; so it was comforting to hear them and get carried back to some childhood memories. And now I sit here in Cairo where the sounds are not that familiar and the alphabet entirely different...and where the stares last longer than the usual 5 seconds....sunglasses are a big help...that and hiding my curly hair (makes me miss the Afro Pride of Fiji!)aside from those two things, many seem to assume that I speak Arabic and am part Egyptian. But the food is delicious, many people are very friendly...oh and the jeans and the shoes here fit me!!!! Anyway, I will venture out to an oasis and then a desert in the next couple days. Cairo is very interesting, exciting, and challenging...so far I have couchsurfed with a family, stayed at the sweet Bedouin Hostel, and now staying with a friend of a friend at the American University of Cairo......and I will share more later...after I come back from the desert :)

and the photos are of the massive mall in Kuala Lumpur, KL airprt and me, on kuwait airlines with Bippy, Simo smoking in the Bedouin Hostel, me with Noran, her husband and brother, me at the biggest mosque in Egypt, views