Monday 31 December 2012

Happy New Year!

Our New Year's Eve excursion was to the Sound and Light show at the Pyramids in Giza.
We're pretty lucky to be able to just go hang out at the Pyramids on New Year's Eve.

There's not to much to say about the show. It's so pretty to see the Pyramids all lit up. Even with out the sound part, I could have just sat there and taken photos of all the different lights. They turned the Sphinx into a Pharaoh and made him talk! We liked that part. They gave a bit of history on how the Pyramids were made and the Pharaoh's who were buried there. Mostly it was just cool to watch the Pyramids and Sphinx change colours.

In the photos, we look like we're dressed for winter. It is winter here. This afternoon we walked to the mall and it was about 22 degrees and as soon as the sun went down we lost about 10 degrees. As you may know, I'm always cold, so 12 degrees in the dark with a breeze means scarf, vest and light gloves.




Saturday 29 December 2012

Desert Safari

Hurghada Day 3,  Dec 29th

Today was our desert safari trip. We were picked up at 12pm in a jeep and joined by a grandmother and her 4 year old grandson, Casper, from Norway and young couple from China that our guide called "made in China or Chinese".
The drive deep into the desert was long and very bumpy.
We rode 4 wheelers, climbed a small mountain, rode camels, visited the Bedouins, watched the sun set over the mountains, ate dates and bread and a full supper, played a few games and sang a song. Phew!! That was a packed full afternoon.

In the picture below the girls had just finished their camel rides. The camels are grouped in the background.

Friday 28 December 2012

Hurghada, day 2

Day two went something like this:
Breakfast
Trip downtown in the hotel shuttle for some shopping. We found some presents, a birthday gift for a special little boy turning 4 today, freshly squeezed orange and strawberry juice from a corner juice bar and some crunchy green imported apples. We also fought off some aggressive sales people that just can't leave us alone. I really hate that part.
We relaxed on the beach for the afternoon
Played uno on the balcony before dinner
Ate dinner
Enjoyed an after dinner cocktail
Watched the dance party from the balcony and headed to bed at 11.
Tomorrow ... Desert safari .....

Thursday 27 December 2012

Hurghada

We have arrived safely to our next destination. Hurghada was further away from Luxor than we expected and also a much bigger city than we imagined. The drive took almost 5 hours. Our little resort seems nice so far. The first thing on our list to do was find a market to stock our room fridge with drinks and fruit. At the market, the workers asked Bec if she would pose with them for a photo. She obliged but Bri wasn't interested.
The next item on our list - relax on a lounge chair on the beach. Done and Done.

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Luxor

Today was a long and wonderful 8 hour day of touring. Brianna is NOT feeling well. It was bound to happen but we came prepared with drugs. Unfortunately they aren't working very quickly.
Our first stop was the temple of Queen Hatshesput which is carved out of the mountains on the opposite side of the valley of the kings. Each temple we see is bigger and better than the last. Maybe the most interesting thing we learned here was not about the queen but about our guide. He was here in 1997 on Nov. 17 when the terrorists killed all those tourists. He was shot at. He managed to save himself and one of the two people he was guiding.
More on this to come when I am not writing on my little cell phone.
Next was the amazing valley of the kings. We visited 3 tombs; Ramses the 3rd, 4th and 9th. Because the tombs are not exposed to the elements we were able to see the colours painted on the hieroglyphics still as vibrant as they were 4000 years ago. When king Tut's tomb was found, it was in tact. The robbers hadn't got to it first. And his tomb is the smallest. They can only imagine what these much larger tombs might have held. It is believed that there are still two tombs that haven't been discovered yet and when they find them, the treasures will still be there. The last morning stop was the alabaster factory where we learned all about rocks and minerals and how they still hand make statues and candle holders and tourist souvenirs. We did some shopping here knowing that what we chose was made with real alabaster in Egypt and not an imitation made in China.
After lunch and leaving a still sick Brianna behind we headed out to see the last two temples on our program. First the biggest of all the temples, the Karnak temple with its massive and really impressive columns and lastly the Luxor temple. By the time we got to the Luxor temple the sun had set and it was really pretty to see all lit up. Before we got to the Luxor temple we visited the papyrus factory where we learned how they make paper. We did a little shopping here too.
Back on the boat we had a nice dinner and then watched a bellydancer!
Tomorrow we head to Hurghada.

The photo below is the view out our window when we woke up .... hot air balloons over the valley of the kings.

Christmas Day in Edfu

Merry Christmas!

Our day started with breakfast on the boat. We met our guide at 8am and walked to the kom ombo temple. This was the first temple we saw that didn't have to be moved. The people used this temple to pray for health on one side and long life on the other. There were also doctors here who had already invented and practiced using stethoscopes!
This temple is also home to the Nilemeter which they used to measures the level of the water in the Nile and tax the farmers and the crocodile mummy museum. The Nile was full of crocks. They are now all living and protected in lake nasser.
Our boat sailed on to Edfu in the afternoon. Here we took a horse and carriage to the temple. Abdul likes this temple the best. It's very big. The people were separated into classes. 3rd class was outside and furthest away from the alter. Bri and Bec are standing in the 3rd class area in the photo below.
On our way out we bought galabayas for the party on the boat at dinner time.
Our Christmas feast included roast turkey.

Next stop .... Luxor

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Aswan

Today we met our guide Abdul. One of the first things he told us about himself is that he has two wives! He took us to the high dam first. Mike was very interested to learn about the 2nd largest dam in the world. Then we went to a little island by boat to visit the Philae temple. This is another temple that was underwater and moved. There was a lot to see and learn about here. Next we went to the essence house owned by the Alfayed family. We bought some oils and lotus flower essence. Our final stop was the unfinished obelisk. This giant granite pillar was worked on for 7 months until the day it cracked. Once cracked, it was no good. They decided granite wasn't strong enough for an obelisk and left it laying there on its side...unfinished.
After our tour, we checked in to the cruise. The boat is very nice. We spent the afternoon laying around in the sun. During supper, Santa came to visit with presents for everyone.
Merry Christmas!

Monday 24 December 2012

Abo Simbel

December 23, 2012
Abo Simbel is a town in Egypt just south of Aswan. Ramses II built a temple here for himself and another one for his favourite wife, Nefertari. He had 64 wives and 203 children but that's another story. When the high dam was built in Aswan and lake Laser was created the temple was submerged. So...they moved it to the top of the cliff. It's an incredible site.

Saturday 22 December 2012

Sleeper train to Aswan

Boarded at 8pm. Ate fish and rice for dinner. Now doing a little reading before bed. Yes, that's right, Becca Boo is reading a book!

P.s. No alcohol on this train.

Friday 21 December 2012

'Tis the season ...



Brianna's flight landed at 5:07am on Saturday the 15th. Seeing her come down those stairs to collect her luggage was a beautiful thing. She was so tired .... and couldn't wait to get out of the airport.

Christmas can come now .... she's HERE!!!




On Dec 22, we will board the sleeper train to Aswan to start our 9 day Christmas trip. I'm going to try and use my cell phone app to do updates on the go so you don't have to wait until we get back to see what were were up to.

And now for some upsetting news: On Monday the 17th of December, I was walking to the preschool at 7:45 am as usual .... a car pulled up behind me very closely and before I had time to register what was going on, the passenger in the car had too strong of a grip on my bag for me to pull it back. The car was a white taxi. They are supposed to be the ones you can trust. The man leaning out the window was Egyptian, in his early 20's. Dark clothes and short hair. But the car immediately turned right onto a very busy road and before I could even think about reading the licence plate or the cab number it was gone. My bag was gone. My cell phone holding all my passwords, contacts, e-books, addresses and phone numbers. My new little blue underwater dust/sand proof camera. The little speaker I use every day to dance and sing with the kids. My new wallet. My credit cards and bank cards. My 2 USB sticks. My keys to our flat. My special Creative Memories bag that I got this summer in Minneapolis. ALL GONE. I was freaking out - screaming and trying to breathe. The back of my arm was hurting but that was it. I wasn't hurt. I WAS NOT hurt. I went home .... no way I was continuing on to the school. I was SO thankful that Brianna and Becca were both home. (How else was I going to get into the apartment). I told them what happened. We used Becca's phone to call Mike. Then I had to use Skype to call the emergency credit card number. (You can not call collect or any 1-800 numbers from Egypt. Not very convenient when you're in a panic.) Skype worked perfectly. The people at MasterCard cancelled my card. They also told me that there was already a failed attempt to use my card! But because he didn't have the PIN, he did not get any money. (Mom and Dad, MasterCard and BMO are issuing me new cards which should arrive at your house next week.) Once that was taken care of, we unlocked Becca's Canadian cell phone, transferred over her SIM card and went to the phone company to get my SIM info switched from the stolen phone to Becca's Egypt phone. My phone number here has not changed. Becca's phone works ok but it's no HTC Incredible S. I've heard a lot of stories from Expats and Egyptian women alike who have all been victims of theft just like me. The only comfort that gives me is that I wasn't followed for days or watched .... it was completely random and it can happen to anyone at any time. I have heard all the lectures (walk facing traffic, have your bag on the inside or in front of you or under your coat). Last night, with the help of a shared bottle of wine, was the first night that I fell asleep without seeing his face.  ..... anyway .... now you know. This isn't something that just happens in Egypt. It can happen anywhere. It's just upsetting and a little frightening when it's the first time it happens to you. 

Brianna is here ....

.... And we're working on the blog! This is a test update from my phone.

Friday 7 December 2012

Ain Sokhnah







The golf course is beautifully kept, with excellent greens, tees and fairways. As you might expect when golfing in the desert, many sand traps but few trees. The traditionalist might claim that without tree-lined fairways it’s not a good course but since none of us are pro-level players, we really didn’t mind. Along the left hand side of several fairways were buildings, some already built and some in the process. We had a few slicing lefties playing with us and those buildings were definitely in play for those guys. Most of the guys don’t like to golf without a beer in their hand and since most of them are 25 years younger than myself, I didn’t try to keep up with them. It was a great experience and we will definitely return to Stella Di Mare.






http://www.stelladimare.com/golfHotel/default-en.html


Wednesday 28 November 2012

zamalek, chicken and a protest



Here is a map from our building to Zamalek. Sequoia is at the very tip of the little island.


We have started to count down the days until Brianna's arrival for Christmas. We are currently sitting at 17 .... so exciting!  (This photo was taken a few days ago. We really are updating it daily.)

Some puppies taking a nap along the side of the road.



This is the package on a frozen chicken we bought. LOL
You may have heard that last night - November 27th - there was a large gathering in Tahrir square. The school closed at 1:00. All the kids and teachers were home safe and sound. Actually, Becca went to a friends house for the afternoon and we went out for dinner with our friend Jason for his birthday. We watched tens of thousands of people pack the square on TV. When I saw a guy walking through the crowd selling bags of cotton candy I hoped that was a sign that everything was remaining peaceful. Becca was hoping for a day off school but that didn't happen. Everything was quiet. There was hardly a word mentioned about it on the news this morning. So ... everything carried on today as usual.

Next update ... Ain Sukhna .....

Tuesday 20 November 2012

A Birthday in Egypt



Birthday cell phone self portrait 
Wednesday the 14th of November was my 38th birthday. Although there was nothing special about the day, it was my first in a foreign country and that makes it memorable.
Ethan in his Galabeya
I’ve started spending my mornings at a preschool with 2 and 3 year olds. As I was walking there I was thinking that this was my first birthday outside in a t-shirt and bare feet seeing flowers and green leaves. The air was a pleasant 23 degrees with a high of 25. I spent the morning cutting, pasting, playing, singing, reading, dancing, cuddling, painting, colouring and wiping runny noses. Ethan wore his galabeya to school and I let the 2 year olds take a few photos with my point and shoot camera.  At 1:30 I went to costa coffee to pick up my new favourite coffee – a mocha with skim milk then headed home to relax.  At 4:30 I met Mike at Cilantro for another coffee. (Two in one day! What was this, my birthday?) At 5:30 we headed across the street to Deb’s place for drinks (Deb is a teacher at the school). She was trying out a new Egyptian wine and I really liked it! Becca met us there. She stayed after school to play tennis and took the late bus home. For dinner, we decided to try an Egyptian restaurant that was recommended to us by another teacher because it had a nice atmosphere where you can sit outside and order a beer. Unfortunately because the 14th was the eve of the Islamic New Year, no beer was being served. BOO   No drinks at the restaurant on my birthday. Disappointing.  I did have a very good meal with enough left over for lunch. Becca enjoyed hers. Mike wasn't especially excited about his meal and his body rejected it at about 3am. We won’t be going back there any time soon.

Thursday was a holiday! I lazed around the apartment catching up on some TV shows on-line. (specifically Parenthood, How I Met Your Mother and Modern Family) Mike wasn’t feeling the greatest and he had a pile of report cards to work on. By about 4:00 Becca and I decided we needed to get out of the apartment. I haven’t gone to a movie yet in Egypt so we decided to go out for dinner and a movie. “The Words” was playing at the Bandar Mall in Maada – fantastic. A movie at the closest theater to us in English and one that both Becca and I thought we’d like to see.    
The Bandar Mall isn't a real “mall”. It doesn't have stores. It has 2 restaurants, a café, an arcade, a kids center and 3 movie screens. One of the restaurants was a Chili’s that I was looking forward to trying. They advertise margaritas and I LOVE frozen strawberry margaritas so this was going to be my birthday drink.  We picked up a cab very quickly. We could have walked but because I’d never been there before and it was already dark at 5:15 we thought it best to take a cab. It cost all of 6LE to get there ($1). Becca and I were seated at a table right away at Chili’s. It was a nice atmosphere with lots of people around and music playing in the background. Our waiter was really nice, and as most waiters do here – he gave Becca a LOT of attention. Guess what? - they had the margarita mix but no alcohol. So I ended up with diet Pepsi.  Oh well – strike 2. Our food was delicious. 
Deep fried cheese with dip
Brownie with ice cream
Casadia with
rice and beans
After our meal we went upstairs to the movie. The movie theater was freezing. It was the coldest I've been here – even colder than the passenger waiting area in the Sharm el Sheikh airport. Movies in Egypt have 10 minute intermission. It gave us an opportunity to get a box of popcorn and warm up a little. The movie wasn't fantastic but I enjoyed being at a movie. Jeremy Irons was excellent – he was my favourite part.
On Friday Mike was feeling more human again. After a day of report card writing he was ready to get out. We booked a “driver” to go to the largest mall in Egypt, City Stars located in Heliopolis. Heliopolis is on the other side of Cairo. We read that this mall is super-sized with lots of selection and Becca was excited to go.
View of the front doors from the car window

Inside the mall
It took about 35 minutes to get there. The mall was as expected – huge, clean, expensive and full of Egyptians. We noticed very few expats, not nearly as many as we see in Maadi. Becca was happy to see stores like American Eagle (where she bought a shirt and scarf – NOT on sale) and H&M (where I found a top that was on sale). We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (where there isn't any alcohol – Strike 3; I give up).  The mall was so big we spent most of our time just wandering around to see what was there. 

At Ruby Tuesdays
When we got home, the screen man came to put screen in our living room and dining room windows. The air is cool enough now to turn off the air conditioner and leave the windows open.  The screen is necessary to keep the flies out. Flies in Egypt stick to you. They’re awful. It's always a bit of a challenge when a worker comes to the apartment. They don't usually speak English. It's a good chance for me to put some of the Arabic I've been learning to use.  And if all else fails, we call the landlord who speaks English and he will talk to the worker.
Becca's favourite
homework spot
Saturday was Becca’s day to finish her homework. Mike and I bought some groceries and had them delivered.  My Arabic class is in the afternoon. (Saturdays from 4-8 until Christmas) Mike finished his report cards and Becca skyped with Brianna while she made supper. (Mashed potatoes might be her new specialty).
It was a nice weekend! Turning 38 wasn't painful at all. 


Report cards due on Sunday









And now for another side of reality:

Unfortunately we saw some of the dangers of Egypt in the past few weeks through events that happened to school staff. The school electrician was killed crossing the road. (Mike was told by a fellow teacher that 13 people a day are killed in Egypt trying to cross the road.) One of the young female hall monitors was hit by a molotov cocktail during a street fight. She was just an accidental victim in the wrong place at the wrong time but she now faces expensive plastic surgery. http://chemistry.about.com/od/firecombustionchemistry/a/molotovcocktail.htm

Saturday 3 November 2012

Eid in Dahab


Eid al-Adha – Feast of the Sacrifice - October 26 – 29 2012

This was on the side of road 119 on Oct 31/12 (leftovers?)

This Islamic holiday is observed by Muslims around the world in commemoration of the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his young and firstborn son in obedience to a command from God. Celebrations include the gathering of family and friends for meals, wearing new clothes and giving gifts. Observances include Eid Prayers, sacrificing a sheep, cow, goat, buffalo or camel in the name of God, giving away one-third of the meat to friends and neighbours and donating one-third or more of the meat to the poor and needy.
Because the school observes Muslim holidays, this meant a 5 day weekend for us and another opportunity to explore Egypt. We decided to go to a resort in Dahab on the Red Sea.  
There are two ways to get there from Cairo. We could take a 9 hour bus ride or a 1 hour flight. We chose the flight. A one hour flight actually turned into a 6 hour journey but it was still faster than a 9 hour bus ride.
ü  1 hour to the airport.
ü  2 hours sitting around waiting. The airport was very relaxed. We did go through a metal detector. They did check our passports. We did not have to take off our shoes or belts or take the laptop out of the bag. The security guard did ask us if we had a gun. That was about it. This was the first plane that Becca and I have ever boarded in the middle of a parking lot. The doors of the terminal open, you get on a bus, get off the bus in the parking lot and walk up the stairs to the airplane. Becca thought it was pretty neat …. Just like on TV.
ü  The flight was 1 hour. 
ü  1 hour to get off plane and secure a taxi. We were told that a taxi should cost us 250LE MAX and that the taxi drivers would try and get more from us. They were right. They started at 400LE. Mike was very calm and negotiated down to 250. I was very impressed.
ü  The cab ride through the desert mountains to the hotel was another hour.

A security guard with a rifle. Buses waiting to take us to our plane. Our hotel coming into view. Camels on the road!
The hotel, Daniela Village Hotel http://www.daniela-hotels.com/pages/dahab/, was very beautiful (for Egypt), all white against the blue water with the mountains in the back ground. Our “triple” room was as we expected – 3 single beds. It had air conditioning, a fridge, no TV, big windows and patio door.  The staff at the hotel should teach classes in hospitality. They were super friendly and anything we asked for was delivered to our door very quickly.  We arrived just in time for dinner. The hotel provides a buffet breakfast and dinner to all guests every day; a nice bonus.

The hotel at night. No Camel & Horse sign on the boardwalk in town. The view from the restaurant in town. Becca Boo!
Our hotel ran a shuttle bus to “town” which was just a few kilometers away. The shuttle didn’t leave until 9 at night and returned at 11. I suppose the lateness of this trip is a result of supper being served between 7 and 9 p.m. As we arrived at the tourist strip in town, what we were hoping would be a relaxing stroll along the boardwalk quickly deteriorated into a nightmarish pressure cooker. We had taken approximately 8 steps along the boardwalk when we met the first of many high pressure entrepreneurs attempting to get us to either buy one of their products or eat at their restaurant. They aren’t nearly as aggressive/intimidating as the folks at the pyramids but their determination and persistence is remarkable. These people really won’t take “no” for an answer.  In a way, it’s a nice change from many North American eateries where you sometimes feel like you’re doing them a favour by entering their restaurant. They could learn a great deal about customer service from the Egyptians.  Finally we decided to go in to one of the restaurants and have a drink but when we noticed that there were no alcoholic drinks on the menu we decided to leave. Our waiter (I don’t think we’ve seen even one waitress in Egypt) quickly had us sit back down and disappeared to another establishment and returned with our beer. They weren’t about to let a little thing like no liquor license get in the way of making a sale. 
Later on, the ladies in the group decided that they would purchase some Dahab pants (see picture)  but after at least half an hour of trying on pants and then trying to agree on a price, they left empty-handed. The talks between the NHL owners and the players’ association would pale in comparison to these pants negotiations. We did return the next day where the pants were purchased for the original asking price. Score one for the Egyptians. Mike decided he wanted to purchase a souvenir, something that really captured the essence of this great country, “the cradle of civilization”, with its marvellous history of Pharaohs and pyramids ---- so he bought a t-shirt with a picture of a camel smoking sheesha on it.

View of the hotel from the water. Our lounge chairs. Becca in the Red Sea. My view for most of the day.
Mike with his new friend - he named her Penelope. 

The next morning we got up bright and early for breakfast. They had a chocolate fountain! Becca and I had crepes with chocolate and an omelet. After breakfast – the moment I had been waiting for since we booked the trip – it was time to read my book while relaxing on a lounge chair on the beach wearing anything I wanted (bathing suit or shorts or a tank top – anything goes at the resort). Aaaahhhh ……… BLISS. It was a lovely relaxing day.


The hotel has about 10 resident cats who are very well fed thanks to patrons like Amanda. Becca on our patio.

On Saturday afternoon Becca was looking for something to do so Mike booked us on a 4-wheeling trip through the mountains to a Bedouin camp for tea. Becca was pretty excited about driving her own 4-wheeler. This was Mike’s 1st adventure on a 4-wheeler.  It was fun and I’m so glad we did it. When we got back, Mike and I went for a swim and I ordered my very first swim-up bar cocktail. It was delicious!

View of Dahab from above. Becca and Mike with their 4-wheelers. Camels resting on the mountain path. 

Lizard at the Bedouin camp. Our guide thought it would be funny to put it on our heads. A sandy beach section ..
... to bad it was dark. Becca returning to the hotel with the guide on a motorcycle after returning her 4-wheeler.
Sunday was another relaxing day on the beach. Unfortunately it was very windy and the glass bottom boat we wanted to go on to see the reef and fish and such was delayed so we couldn’t take it. We should have taken advantage of snorkeling off the shore on Saturday morning … oh well …



We made it home safe and sound late Sunday evening.  I read the final page of my book (The Friends of Meager Fortune) as the plane touched down.