Friday, July 25, 2008
July's gonna be over soon.Fasting month, Eid, Work, Aidiladha....then 2008's over.
2009....dunno wat to expect. Just pray it would be a better year of health, wealth and love.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
BACK TO CAIRODay 10-13 pictures here
Day 10: 24 June (Tues)
The 9hr train ride from Luxor to Cairo wasn't as comfortable as when we were heading to Aswan. Why? It wasn't a smooth ride. The 'butler' (cos he look like one) didnt do a good job making the bed. And still has the cheek to ask for baksheesh (tips).
Anyway, when we reached Giza station, we kept looking out for a new tour guide. Cos according to Ahmad, he'll be busy with the Indonesian tour group. Surprisingly, we saw Ahmad! You dunno how glad we were to see him! He seemed equally excited to see us! Like old frens whom have not met for a while.
Ahmad: Hey guys! I've got a surprise for you two!
Us: ....errr...what?
Ahmad: (Ahmad dangling keys in front of us.) I'm driving you guys in my car. But warning..it's nothing. It's just been out of the museum.
True enough. It was an old Peugeot car, oceanic and sky blue in colour to quote from him. Hehe.
The car was bought by his dad and most of his brothers learn driving with that car. His eldest brother is 51yrs old...hmm...wonder how old is that car. Must be from the 60s or 70s.
We went back to the hotel and catch up on our sleep. After that, we went a few streets down to McDonald's. It wasn't really fast service. But the portions were huge! Interesting menu with kofta, salad and all.
Day 11: 25 June (Wed)
We visited Al Azhar Mosque. Some reno works in the main courtyard, so just managed to take a few shots.
Then it was off to shopping spree at the nearby Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Lunch was cheap and good at a cafe - falafel sandwich and beef shawarma sandwich with potato chips.
Day 12: 26 June (Thurs)
It was our last day to walk around town. So headed straight to the Bazaar. Grabbed lunch at the same place. Made a few friends whom I regretted not taking photos with them. At Downtown Cairo, we finished up our Egyptian pounds by buying the local nougats and ice cream (a must have!)
Last day: 27 June (Fri)
It's really time to go home :( I really feel at home in Egypt. Ahmad was on time to fetch us as usual. And insisted that we had KFC for snack whilst waiting for our flight. Though we've reminded him that we will have a heavy in flight lunch. We promised him we'll get the Malay book for him and he will send us the El Abd sweets in exchange!
Flight was full with Azhar students - Sporeans and M'sians coming back home for their summer hols. Food was great! I particularly love the caramel custard they served.
After being in a train ride for 12hrs, waiting for 7hrs and doing nothing, 10hrs flight seemed short. I didnt sleep at all. Instead, it was a movie marathon - Hindi, Egyptian, Chinese, Hollywood movies!
Touched down @ 5.45am.
Would love to go Egypt again...hopefully during their winter.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
TRAIN / CRUISE RIDE TO UPPER EGYPTUpper Egypt is hotter as it's nearer to other parts of Africa like Sudan. It's 40 degrees celcius when we there. The people are tanned, in comparison to their fellow egyptians from Alexandria and Cairo.
Day 5 -7 pictures here!Day 8 pictures here....and
Day 9 here.
Day 5: 19 June (Thurs)
We checked out from the hotel at about 11am and left our backpacks at the storage room. Cos we are going to come back on 24 June.
Together with Ahmad, we took a local cab (and yes, with my luggage on top of the cab!) We reached City Stars which is linked to Inter-Continental Hotel (which Hafiz stayed before - jealous!) The security was tight. It was almost like going into the airport. It was packed with teenagers who were having their summer hols. It was a huge mall with international brands like H&M, Virgin Music Store, etc.
We had KFC for lunch -he bought us 3 piece meals each. Cant finish it! We then went to Spinneys, a hypermart like Carrefour and was surprised when Ahmad grabbed a can of Pepsi from the fridge and drank it in the store. At the cashier, he just paid for it and they dispose the empty can for him. Interesting.
After much walking aimlessly,we decided to watch a movie 'Prince Caspian - Narnia'. Sort of a GV without the holders for drinks and popcorn. About 1 1/2 hrs to the show, they stopped the movie and thought it was technical prob. But they actually have a break time for people to buy snacks or go the washroom.
We had to leave 30mins prior to the end of the show, cos we dun wanna miss our train!
Train station was packed with locals and tourists. Both of us seemed to be the only Malays. The rest are Spanish, Mexicans, Japs. The walk in the mall and while waiting for our train, gave us time to know Ahmad better. He had another group the next few days and might not be fetching us when we are back from Luxor. So, we exchanged email addresses.
The Sleeping Train finally arrived. We bought snacks - chips and my fav Yahoo Mango Juice prior to boarding. It was a comfortable 12-hrs ride. Manage to sleep half of the journey. Except you have to bear with the toilet condition. What do you expect, it's a train! And dont use the toilet when the train stops!
Dinner and breakfast served on the train was more than enough.
Day 6: 20 June (Fri)
We reached Aswan at 10.30am and was greeted by Said our tour guide who travelled all the way from Alexandria. We nicknamed him Bruce Willis wannabe. The way he tried to look tough with his sleeves rolled up. His jokes which most of the time are not funny at all. And he is afraid of the sun!
We visited Lake Nasser, a huge man-made lake and the High Dam. We then checked in the cruise and slept until lunch time. Lunch was a great buffet but gave me the headache hearing people talking at the same time - Mexican, Spanish, Indian and Arabic. The rest of the day was spent watching movies on Dubai One Channel. That's when I started gaining weight I guess! Dinner on board is at 8pm.
Day 7: 21 June (Sat)
We were up early for our feluccas ride to Aswan Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough wind to sail the feluccas, so we had to settle for a motor boat. Botanical Gardens was just alright. It was the vast dessert across the river that amazed me. It was then back to the cruise.
It was the few hrs after lunch, when it started sailing then we realised how boring it was on the cruise. TV aint working when it's sailing. Even if it's not sailing, the channels are centrally controlled i.e. if he feels like watching soccer, he would just switch the channel! Damn! Wished we had our IPOD, PSP or DVD Player. Thats when we went to the sun deck to enjoy the breeze, supposedly. But it was a hot breeze!!!
Kom Ombo Temple was our next destination. It's not the biggest temple. But well, being tourist and city people, it was quite a sight. It was more of a sight when we see street sellers taking their ablution/wudhu' at the Nile River and praying by the side, ignoring the hustle and bustle of tourists haggling for better price.
While we were sleeping, the cruise sailed to Edfu.
Day 8: 22 June (Sun)
From the cruise, we took a horse carriage to Edfu Temple. It was a more fun place for taking pictures. It's bigger than Kom Ombo definitely. The rest of the day was spent 'rotting' in the room and enjoying the sunset. And star gazing.
Day 9: 23 June (Mon)
The day that I've been waiting for ever since we've board the cruise! Why? It's the last day of the cruise, saying goodbye to our boring guide and we missed Cairo so much. We checked out at 8.30am. So we have no room for the rest of the day :(
We went to Colossi of Memnon, Temple Funeral of Queen Hatshepshut and Valley of the Kings. We were perspiring! Too bad, we cant take pix of the interior of the Valley of the Kings. We visited 3 tombs.
We then isited the largest temple - Karnak Temple. It was huge! We got lost when were taking photos. We used the obelisk as an indicator to find our way out. Phew!
It was lunch time after that, but we were more thirsty then hungry. So we gulped down a bottle of Coke. It was then time to say BYE to the tour guide. We alighted from the van. And saw the other cruises which were linked to our cruise 'Princess Amira'. We 'cruise-hopped' and realised that our cruise was not there!!!
We panicked cos our luggage was in there! Alhamdulillah one kind soul recognised us and told us that Princess Amira was finding another 'parking space'.
While waiting for our 9pm train, we sat at the lobby, at the same seat for 7hrs!!!
At 8pm, finally another guide came to fetch us and we are on our way back on a 9hr train ride!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Day 4: 18 June 08 (Wed)See the Day 4 photos here!
One of the days I've been waiting for - to visit more mosques & Salahuddin's citadel.
Love it when our van drives over the bridge, and I get to see a great view of the Nile River, mosques' minarets, apartments dusted with sand...simply breathtaking. I felt as though I was on top of a hill overlooking Cairo. I felt as if I was in 'Arabian Nights'.
The citadel overlooks the city of Cairo from Muqattam hills. I could almost imagine his army always ready peeping through the windows which look like pigeon holes from far.
Mohammed Ali Pasha Mosque was designed by a Greek architect in Ottoman style in 19th century. With the tall, slender minarets, it reminded me of the Blue Mosque in Turkey. From the courtyard, you can have a magnificent view across the city to the pyramids of Giza. Too bad, it was foggy that day..couldnt see the pyramids.
Next was Gawhara Palace, built by Mohammed Ali in 1814 to house his guests. We are not allowed to take pictures. There were amazing treasures like portraits (there's one with eyes following you - same effect Mona Lisa portrait has), costumes and expensive furnishings...just love the huge bed!
We also went to the military museum and police museum, where Ahmad (tour guide) showed me a photo of a personnel who later became an actor after retiring from the force. I didnt believe him and he actually googled on his Nokia to prove to me.
We then went to Imam Shafie Mosque which is very small. It used to be a madrasah only. His maqam is also housed here. Sad to look at its condition. And on the wooden floor, said to be a Prophet Muhammad's footprint. Wallahualam....Couple of female beggars bugging us...they are professionals who are actually not poor, according to Ahmad.
Sultan Hassan Mosque a short drive from citadel, it was founded by a Memluk ruler. This mosque acts as a 'madrasah' accomodating the four main Islamic school of thoughts (mazhab). Above each door indicates the diff mazhab and has 4 diff areas for assembly of students. The imam recite a prayer with the lights off in one of the halls. His voice echoed and give me the chills. No microphones needed...just the dome and 'half domes' supporting it. The cornices, the stained glass windows....I cant find these in Spore!
Refaie Mosque is located beside Sultan Hassan Mosque. Both mosques are still used for prayers. Imagine Friday prayers at 2 mosques side by side.
Subhanallah...simply awed.
It was time to part from Jaafar, our Indonesian tour guide.
Dinner was different. Ahmad brought us to a Chinese restaurant, Peking, just a few streets down from our hotel. It was odd listening to the Egyptian waiter who look like a Caucasian, trying to make us feel at home. As he served our food, he'll say the Malay words he know 'ayam, ikan, pisang, teh, terima kasih, sama-sama...'
We will have more than half a day free tomorrow so Ahmad volunteered to bring us to City Stars Mall. We willingly agreed.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Day 3: 17 June (Tues) @ Alexandria/IskandariyahFor Day 3 pictures, click here.
Heard from my friend that when you are in Alexandria, you'll feel as though you are not in Egypt and it's diff from Cairo. She was so right!! Why?
- There's the beach...facing the blue mediterranean sea.
- Traffic lights are working and there are law-abiding drivers.
- Blue trams as their public transport
- Cool weather, very breezy
- It's peaceful
- More seafood served in Alexandria
- It's clean
Alexandria, is about 4-6hrs drive from Cairo. Poor driver. All of us were snoring away.
Passed by King Farouk's palace and Montazah's Garden. King Farouk wasn't well liked by his people as he loved to gamble, a casanova, build unnecessary things like the garden, etc. He escaped from his enemies by going into an underground tunnel he had built which leads to the spot where his boat was and left Alexandria, for Italy. (2 days sail from Alexandria)
Then, another place which I'm dying to visit - Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the new library of Alexandria. Superb architecture and a magnificently, gigantic library.
Fish was served at lunch. A good change from the usual fare of lamb and chicken.
Visited Maqam Nabi Daniel and Loqman al Hakim at a mosque. Female beggars were following us. Apparently, according to my guide, these 2 women are well-off. One of them wasnt happy that we walked away so she knocked hard on our van windows.
First taste of local Mango Juice! It's good..more like mango puree!
Prayed at Morsi Abu El Abbas Mosque.
Head back to Cairo for dinner, by the Nile River. Beautiful sunset. THE LAND OF THOUSAND MINARETS - EGYPT (15 - 28 June)
Day 1: 15 June (Sun)
Touched down @ 7.30am Cairo time.
Culture shock: the passengers on board clapped their hands to show how thankful they were when the pilot landed the plane safely. I joined them!
Saw our Egyptian tour guide, Ahmad, even before the immigration counter, ready with our visa for entry. That's fast! Introduced to Jaafar (Indonesian tour guide) and Majdee (Egyptian driver).
Part of their hospitality, they gave my bro and I roses. Already fascinated with Cairo's interesting mix of modern looking buildings and sand-dust buildings and minarets. What a view when we were on their 'highway' bridge overlooking 2 extreme (the old and new cairo; and the Islamic and Coptic Christian area) I felt like I'm in a diff era.
Early check-in @ Cairo Khan, located at Downtown Cairo (like Bugis in Spore or Bt Bintang in KL) Breakfast at hotel: toasted bread, 'ful' with wheat homemade bread, huge tomatoes and cucumber and warm milk with 'terigu'.
After a 3hr rest, we made our way to the reason why we are in Egypt - pyramids and sphinx! Thankfully, there was a strong breeze..a bonus under the hot scorching sun. Lots of photo taking but we gave camels a pass. I heard how uncomfy it can be!
Lunch was great - salad, very sweet desserts, pasta with tomato sauce, chicken, lamb... salivating now just thinking of it.
Visited a papyrus factory - where they make papers from a plant called papyrus. Bought a papyrus paper with Ayat Kursi on it.
Had dinner @ the hotel, which got me craving for the lentil soup every single night.
Risk our lives by crossing the road. An achievement when you get to the other side ALIVE! There are traffic lights but it keeps blinking amber. So it's just a non-functional fixture. Traffic Police to ensure some sanity. Drivers keep horning to warn the pedestrians and to tell other drivers to make way! Peugeot, more than 20yrs old, are still on the road. Even the taxis! They have this meter (for show only) which looks like the parking meters at the road side. It was a sight indeed.
Day 2: 16 June (Mon)
Mummies-viewing day! Egyptian Antiquities Museum wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Read reviews that it wasn't properly labelled, etc. It certainly is helpful to have a hilarious tour guide.
Too bad we are not allowed to take photos/video in the Museum. I can't hide from the many Tourist Police and museum staff.
What fascinated me was the mummified Ramses II whom was said to be THE 'Firaun' or Pharaoh during Nabi Musa a.s. As mentioned in the Quran, that God would preserve to show others (cant remember which Surah)....Ramses II was definitely the most intact. The hair, the nose, the teeth, fingers, nails (like he had done manicure and pedicure).
Hillary Clinton of Eygpt 'Queen Hetshepsut', mummified from crocodiles, cows, cats to baboons, jewellery, gold coffins...
After lunch, we went to Khan El Khalili Bazaar. Met a very nice salesperson and we knew that we would definitely come again during our free days (if we can find the place). My bro bought a medium-sized shisha for 40 Egyptian pounds (S$10 only!)
Went to Hussein Mosque where we visited the Mausoleum of Hussein r.a. Lots of people! And when you donate to the mosque, if they feel it's not enough, they will demand more. Be firm but hey, IKHLAS!
View photos from the 1st 2 days here!