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March 25th, 2007
02:38 pm - Cairo
We spent a couple of days just exploring Cairo, and still didn't get to see everything. Our first stop was at the Mohamed Ali Mosque (a.k.a. Alabaster Mosque). We sat inside for quite awhile as Ayman explained the five pillars of Islam. It was really interesting; he told us that Muslims believe in Judaism and Christianity, and that the Koran is the third book after the Christians' New Testament. He said that Muslims believe that God made Judas look like Jesus, and that he, not Jesus, was crucified. My dad, of course, did not buy that theory, and he and Ayman had a lengthy theological debate about it.
 
 
This is the Egyptian Museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and had to leave them at the front desk. It was an awesome museum, you could seriously spend a week in there...it would take at least that long to see everything. Ayman showed us a few of the highlights and left us to explore the exhibit on King Tutankhamen ourselves. His tomb is the most famous because it is the only one that has been discovered completely intact. Ayman said the reason King Tut's tomb was never robbed is that Ramses's tomb was built over it; grave robbers had no idea there was another tomb underneath!
After wandering around the museum for a couple of hours we went to the Nile to take a few pictures.
 
This is Cairo Tower.
Here is some random back alley. Most of the alleys behind the stores were like this; everything was so old looking.
In the evening we went to a famous market, called the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar. Entering this outdoor market was like stepping into the Middle Ages. We headed for Fishawis Tea House, which is over 200 years old. The tea house is tiny, but very busy and really fun.
 
Here's the busy market street.
We had so much fun and spent several hours wandering around. Angela and I got a lot of attention from the Egyptian guys, and loved every second of it. The guys were so hot, and I don't care if their compliments were said in a joking way, I still enjoyed the attention. Sam was offered one thousand million camels for Angela. Some guy asked me if I was Shakira, and people kept yelling "Movie star! Movie Star!" at us. I was standing watching Teo and Sam bargain for pashminas when some guy pinched my ass as he walked past. When I looked at him he turned around and blew me a kiss. It was one of the most enjoyable evenings of the whole trip. We were also pretty exhausted by the end of it though. While it was all good fun, we had to bargain hard for every purchase. Anything we bought took at least ten minutes of haggling, but it was totally worth the hard work because I got a Chanel purse for super cheap.
The area around the market was nice too. This is from when we were waiting for our driver to come take us back to the hotel.
We spent our last full day in Cairo exploring the Coptic quarter. We visited the Hanging Church, which is considered to be the oldest church in Old Cairo. It was built on the ruins of two old towers that remained from an old Babylonian fortress at the end of the third century A.D.
 
After checking out the Coptic Museum for a bit, we were taken to the crypt in which Joseph and Mary lived when they were forced to flee to Egypt after the birth of Jesus. King Herod had ordered all children under the age of three to be killed, and they hid here to keep their son safe. We walked through some narrow streets and alleys to the crypt. It was really neat, I tried to ignore all the tourists and souvenir shops, and could really imagine being there 2000 years ago.
After that we just went back to the hotel and relaxed the rest of the day. We would be leaving for Canada early the next morning, and although the trip had been awesome, we hadn't had much time to just hang out and enjoy the hotel. I spent the rest of that day poolside, soaking up some of the wonderful sun.
I was so sad to be leaving Egypt and would go back in a heartbeat. We didn't have nearly enough time there and I have so much more to see. Here's the sunrise from our last day, on the way to the airport.
Current Mood:  mellow
Current Music: Bright Eyes
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02:02 pm - Alexandria
Alexandria is one of my favourite cities I've ever been to. It was so beautiful and clean. It's about two and a half hours from Cairo, and a vacation destination for local tourists. Ayman said that on weekends and in the summer the city gets super busy and is much more crowded and commercial. I guess it was nicer because we were there in the middle of the week in the winter, but I fell in love with the place.
First we went to a museum in Alexandria. It was pretty interesting because there was so much stuff from the Greco-Roman period. Ayman told us that Alexander the Great was mummified even though the practice wasn't common anymore when he ruled. He also showed us the spot where Alexander's tomb is believed to be. Another interesting fact I learned that day is that Cleopatra's palace is under water just off the shore in the Mediterranean Sea. Ayman told us that there was an earthquake which caused her palace to sink and that there are now plans to build a tunnel down to the palace and make it an underwater museum. That would be amazing to see.
These are some of the things we saw in the museum.
 
Next we went to the Roman Ampitheatre. It was discovered when the ground was being dug up for a new building. The workers found this in almost perfect condition, completely buried. The stage and seats are all original, and you can even go into what must have been the dressing rooms behind the seats.
After that we spent some time at Pompeii's Pillar. During the Crusades the soldiers mistakenly believed that the ashes of the great Roman general Pompeii were at the top of the pillar, and did not destroy it for this reason. The pillar was actually erected as a memorial to Diocletian between 284-305A.D. It is huge, standing 28 metres high.
Ayman showed us a tunnel, and I walked all the way to the end, until I was standing right under the enormous pillar.
At this point our tour of Alexandria, according to the itinerary, should have ended. However, Ayman thought we should see more of the city after driving all that way, and I definitely wasn't ready to leave. He got the driver to take us to the place where a lighthouse used to stand. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but fell due to several disasters. Now a citadel stands in the exact location where the lighthouse used to be.
We spent some time here wandering around, taking pictures of the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea.
 
This is the library in Alexandria.
Finally we went into a park where all the locals flock to on nice days. The beaches there were really nice, and I can understand why this place gets jam-packed in the summer. This is a bridge, popular for young lovers, according to Ayman.
The driver asked Dad to take his picture outside this old palace (I think it's a five star hotel now).
To show the driver up, Ayman got his picture with me.
Alexandria was really such a wonderful city. I loved the Greek influence on the buildings and, like everywhere else we visited in Egypt, the people were so incredibly nice there. How could anyone complain about a place as scenic as this?
Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: stereophonics
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12:39 pm - Memphis and Saqqara
After checking out the Giza Pyramids Ayman, our guide, took us to some other pyramids just outside of Cairo. First we went to Saqqara, which was the cemetery for Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt. The pyramids here are older than those at Giza, and are of a different style. They were built as steps, rather than the smoother design you see on the more famous pyramids. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside. Here's what the pyramid looks like.
This is a corridor we had to walk down to get into the pyramid complex.
After finishing there we went to Memphis. Ayman told us that the original city is actually underneath the present settlement. This makes it really difficult for archaeologists to do any excavating, since people's homes and businesses are over the sites they want to explore. We went to the Memphis museum, but it was so late in the day that it was just about to close. We got to go in for ten minutes and take a few pictures, but really couldn't enjoy it fully. This is a massive statue from the tomb of King Ramses.
These are a few other statues and things excavated from various tombs on display at the outdoor museum.
 
In the car we had a nice view of the Giza Pyramids.
Current Mood:  chipper
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March 20th, 2007
06:53 pm - Pyramids of Giza
Going to see the Pyramids of Giza was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Egypt is one of those places I learned about in elementary school and dreamed of visiting. I never actually thought I'd get to go there and even now it's kind of a surreal experience. I feel fortunate to have been able to see so much in the last couple of years, more than many people get to experience in an entire lifetime!
The Giza Pyramids are just a few kilometres out of Cairo, and we could see them when we were driving around, even when we came in from the airport. There are actually quite a few pyramids at Giza, which is basically an ancient cemetery, but the three largest ones are the most famous, and those are the ones we went to. When we first arrived at the pyramids it was extremely foggy out, and we were worried we wouldn't be able to get any good photos. Here's the best shot I could get from a distance.
Here are some pictures from a little closer.
 
Sam brought along the front page of the North Shore News so we could try and get our picture in the paper.
There were guys everywhere with camels, offering camel rides or a chance to get your picture taken sitting on the camel in full Middle Eastern dress. I sneakily snapped a photo when they weren't looking.
Behind the big pyramids were smaller "Ladies Pyramids" which were for the pharaohs' wives. Angela and I were saying that the men made their pyramids so huge because they were obviously compensating for something. The women didn't need such big pyramids because they already knew how great they were.
It was so cool going inside the pyramids. The large one is the most expensive and our guide said they all look the same inside. We followed his suggestion and went into the second largest pyramid, which was considerably cheaper. We had to walk through a narrow steeply downward sloping passage which abruptly sloped upwards. It was impossible to walk standing up and we had to waddle along in a crouched position. When we reached the chamber inside it was quite small and plain. There were no hieroglyphics or anything, just bare white walls. It was also really stuffy and humid in there. There were no treasures or anything; all the pyramids at Giza have been stripped over the years by grave robbers. We didn't spend a great deal of time in the pyramid, as it was quite uncomfortable inside.
From there we took a short drive down to the sphinx. According to our guide, all pharaohs had sphinxes guarding their pyramids, but this one is most famous because it is so big and perfect. I was surprised by its size; I'd expected something much bigger. You can really see how it has been eroded by the harsh weather and pollution. We got some awesome pictures here.
 
Current Mood:  full
Current Music: The Kooks
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06:31 pm - Good Times at Oasis Hotel
We left Delhi very early in the morning, and arrived in Egypt by about 2 pm. I think there's some kind of a curse on people who travel with me; in Ireland my luggage all arrived but my mum's was 3 days late, and then the same thing happened to my dad! At the airport we waited forever, and my dad's luggage never showed up. Luckily someone from the tour company was there to pick us up and he helped us out with the airport staff. They said they'd call us at the hotel as soon as his backpack was found.
At the hotel we met up with my dad's best friend Sam. He introduced us to Teo and Angela, a couple of people he works with. They travel all over the world recruiting students for their universities; coolest job ever!!! The three of them had been all over the Middle East and decided to end with a bit of vacation in Egypt (though unfortunately they had to work for two of the days). Anyway, the hotel was awesome compared to the places we'd stayed in India. It had a pool, complimentary breakfast, and all these nice little garden areas. Our group quickly claimed the table in the garden near our rooms and that was our nightly hangout for the next week. Once getting settled and unpacking a bit, Dad and I went out to join Sam, Angela, and Teo in the garden. Dad had bought a really cheap bottle of Jamesons at the duty-free and the others had brought some Jordanian wine from their trip through the Middle East. We just relaxed and drank for the rest of the evening. This is me, Angela, and Sam enjoying the alcohol.
Every night after our adventures (or after the other three worked) we'd meet up at the garden and talk about what we'd experienced that day. One night we decided it would be fun to smoke the hookah (shisha). There was a little restaurant beside the pool and you could buy some tobacco and use the shisha for really cheap. I wasn't very good at smoking it...I just did it a few times to get some good pictures.
  
Here's Angela...
And Teo...
And lastly, Sam, who seemed to be an expert at smoking the shisha.
We had a great time hanging out around the hotel and I'd go back in a second. I stuffed myself at the amazing breakfast every day. I really looked forward to our evening meetings over wine and whiskey each day.
Current Mood: full
Current Music: Kings of Convenience
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March 10th, 2007
02:10 pm - Haridwar
After going back to Delhi (after the oxcart incident there was no way we would make it all the way to Haridwar by nighttime) and spending a day there, we finally did go to Haridwar, but with Rakesh, the other driver. It was such a relief to see him, not Mahesh, picking us up. We had another long day of driving, but it was worth it. We got to Haridwar and went straight to the river. Haridwar translates to the Gates of God, and is the place where the Ganges emerges from the Shivalik Hills. We were lucky enough to witness the ceremony of Ganga Arati. The Hindus believe that the Ganges(Ganga) is a goddess. It was really cool ceremony, with priests along the ghats waving lamps and people lighting little candles and putting them in leaf boats on the river. Rakesh took us to some priest who blessed us and said prayers for our family and friends, before lighting one of those candles for us and sending it down the river and giving us bracelets and bindis.
After the priest blessed us, my dad decided to bless him and Rakesh. He explained that he's a deacon in the Anglican church and that he'd like to share his faith with them, as they'd done for us. He went on and on talking about his religion, and I really don't think they understood most of what he was saying, but it made him feel good to try to share the Christian faith. Rakesh just stood there looking really confused, but I think the Hindu priest enjoyed it.
Here we are, pretty gangster with our new bindis and bracelets.
This statue was right by the river; it is massive.
Before going back down to Delhi to catch our flight to Egypt we detoured north a bit to visit Rishikesh. This tiny town is the point where the Ganges crashes onto the plains below the mountains in Garhwal. There wasn't much to see here; just a lot of new age hippies. Like Dharamasala, this is one of those towns where there seem to be more white people than Indians. It's a really popular place for doing yoga retreats and a good base point for trekking and mountaineering.
From there we went back down to Delhi and spent our last day shopping and packing. Although I had a great time in India and learned a lot, I was definitely not sad to leave. I hope to go back some day, but I think seeing the north once is enough. There's so much of India to explore, and I want to see it all.
Current Mood:  groggy
Current Music: Slow Hands - Interpol
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11:48 am - Driving Mayhem
From Varanasi we set out for Lucknow, a city most famous for a siege in 1857, during which time the British and loyalists here held off mutinous sepoys for five months. My dad was really eager to explore the city, particularly the residency, where the British garrison was stationed. Unfortunately, Mahesh had other plans. We arrived on a stormy evening, and went straight to the hotel. Because of those wasted days 'resting' in Khajuraho and Varnasi, we had to leave the next morning, as our time in India was winding down and there were still a few more cities to see. I was not impressed with the hotel staff here; they didn't even try to hide how eager they were to take our money. The restaurant was being renovated so we had to order room service. They asked for a tip when they brought our food and when they brought us back our change from paying. They also ripped my dad off. I was in the bathroom when the man gave him his change. They shortchanged Dad and took the generous tip he gave. I don't know why this surprised me. All through the trip people tried shortchanging us, but I usually noticed and called them out on it. I know it's not a lot of money in Canadian dollars that they're trying to keep, but it bothers me that they don't find it morally wrong to steal. Of course, most people weren't like that, but I found it upsetting that this system of corruption should be so accepted at all.
The next day we were supposed to go to Hardiwar, but ended up back in Delhi. Mahesh took what was supposed to be a short cut, and we ended up having the most disastrous driving day of the whole trip. First thing in the morning we were driving on a long stretch of road. There were only two lanes, and ours was full of massive transport trucks, which were all stopped for some reason. Mahesh got pissed off and decided to go into the oncoming lane to pass them all. He started speeding along when up ahead a huge truck suddenly appeared, coming at us. Although it was pretty far away and not going very fast, Mahesh slammed on the brakes, which caused our car to skid sideways on the muddy road. We ended up sliding into one of the big trucks that was parked in the lane we should stayed in. Luckily we just slammed into the tire; had we been a couple of feet forward we would have hit the gas tank. The front of the car got all dented, but by that point the car was so smashed and dented from all his other minor mishaps (backing into poles, driving into a wall, hitting a cyclist, etc.), that it didn't really look out of place.
Later on that day Mahesh decided to cut through some little village. We saw a sign for Haridwar, but he knew a better way supposedly. We ended up on a dirt road, that was now a mud pit thanks to the days of continuous heavy rain. I would not drive a truck on that road, let alone the little car we were in, but if you can't tell yet, Mahesh is kind of an idiot. Not surprisingly the car got completely stuck in the mud. We sat there for awhile as he talked to some farmers, trying to figure out what to do. Luckily some guys came along with an ox pulling a cart. They tied the ox to the back of the car, and it pulled us out of the mud. The whole day was just so ridiculous, all we could do was laugh at the situation.
Current Mood: groggy
Current Music: Belle & Sebastian
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March 8th, 2007
07:36 pm - Varanasi (Benares)
Varanasi is the most holy of cities for those of the Hindu faith and one of the oldest cities in the world. It is situated on the Ganges River and the waterfront is lined with ghats, which are stone steps. People come here to bathe, pray, wash their clothes, and carry out general daily activities.
The drive from Khajuraho to Varanasi was terrifying. It had recently been raining, but this didn't slow Mahesh down. He drove at full speed over bumps and through road work, with no regard for the dangerous conditions. The car even went airborne repeatedly, and we nearly rear-ended massive transport trucks countless times. I noticed a huge increase in car accidents during our journey to Varanasi. People in India don't seem to understand that you can't drive so crazily when the weather's not good! At one point it was so foggy we could barely see the car in front of us, but Mahesh was still going at full speed. I don't know how I'm still alive!
I didn't really enjoy Varanasi much. I stupidly ordered fish on the first night (it wasn't caught from the Ganges though, thank goodness) and felt quite ill. Our room was also full of mosquitoes, and they all ignored Dad, choosing to feast on my blood instead. We also wasted a lot of time there...we pretty much lost a day "resting" because Mahesh didn't want to drive.
We did nothing once we arrived, pretty much just sat at the hotel and read. The next morning Mahesh took us to the slum. He told us to wait in line at a Muslim temple. It had been a Muslim temple originally which was destroyed by the Hindus. Then the Muslims destroyed the Hindu temple that was built over top, and put a Muslim temple back in place. We stood in line for an hour in a crowded alley full of pushy people. We weren't allowed to wear shoes and the ground was seriously disgusting; we were standing in muddy water, full of garbage, piss, and God knows what else. When we finally reached the temple the guards went through our bags and pockets and said we couldn't take any electronics in the temple. They also wanted to take away my hand sanitizer. HAND SANITIZER!! What the fuck?? Are they scared I will be too clean and germ-free inside the temple? I refused to leave our very expensive mp3 player, cell phone, and cameras outside, so we didn't even end up going in.
From there we walked through a slum to the ghats. I was shocked by slum life. The air smelled of urine, and you couldn't take a step without walking through muddy garbage. Beggars and amputees were everywhere, among people selling fruit, vegetables, and souveniers. It's hard for me to even describe the standard of living there. I don't know how people can stand to wake up every morning and face a life in the slum. I admire them for having the will to keep going...I just couldn't live like that. The walk through that area really reminded me how lucky I am to have been born here in Vancouver.
On the edge of the slum the ghats lead down to the river. It is absolutely vile, and it amazes me that thousands of people actually choose to bathe and wash their clothes in it every day. Upstream factories dump chemicals and people throw their garbage into the river they claim to worship. Mahesh was telling us that the government is making efforts to clean up the Ganges and prevent further pollution. Unfortunately, however, fining offenders doesn't really work since most of the police are corrupt and pocket the money, rather than it going into any environmental programs. We took a boat ride on the river, but were careful not to touch the water itself!
Because it is not yet monsoon season much of the river is dried up. We were able to stand right in the middle of the riverbed, which will be covered with water by the summertime.
These are the ghats, covered in worshippers and slum dwellers. There were also a few wedding parties(we happened to be in India during the wedding season, so seeing weddings was a daily occurrence for us), sending the newlyweds off in boats.
Here's G Rock, hardcore, as always, after his first ride in an auto-rickshaw (or tuk tuk, as veterans of South East Asia would say).
After finishing up at the river we waded back through the slum and caught a rickshaw back to the hotel. Then it was time for more resting. I was pretty pissed about that. It was only about 11 am and we could easily have driven to the next city. It was probably a combination of fatigue and frustration with the crappy weather, but I was really becoming annoyed with Mahesh, and increasingly eager to get out of India and move on to Cairo.
Current Mood:  cranky
Current Music: Emily Haines
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07:00 pm - Khajuraho
Khajuraho is the site of some of the coolest temples I've ever seen, and luckily Mahesh took us there, even though neither Dad nor I really wanted to go at first. It was built between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and was abandoned by its builders soon after completion, not to be given much mainstream attention again until its rediscovery by the British in the 1800's. The temples are dedicated to several Hindu gods and the sculptures are so detailed that they appear three dimensional. It took awhile walking around before we noticed that they are also extremely erotic. Pretty much one of the most awkward places I can think of visiting with my very religious father!!! Here's the first sculpture that we noticed the sexual nature of. Yes, that is a man having sex with a horse while another guy is about to stick his dick in its mouth.
Here's a small sample of the lovely sculptures around the temple complex. You have to look really closely at some of them to figure out what the people are supposed to be doing. In most of the statues the bodies seem to be entwined in impossible positions. Historians aren't sure what the point of them is. Some link these images with Tantric cults or argue that they were inspired by the Kama Sutra (there were a ridiculous number of people selling books on the Kama Sutra in the streets around town). Other researchers believe that these images were created to entertain the gods. I certainly found them to be pretty entertaining! Enjoy!
 
 
From a distance the temples looked pretty normal, and not all of them were so sexually explicit.
 
Near Khajuraho is a wildlife reserve. We got up at 4:30 the next morning to check it out. We went in an open jeep and pretty much froze to death from the early morning chill. We had a great guide who was full of enthusiasm. We saw lots of deer, birds, and a bear, but sadly, no tigers. I think the guide was more upset about it than we were though. He kept apologizing and I seriously thought he was going to cry. He was a pretty funny guy. He stole my camera and started taking tons of pictures of the deer, going on about how "lovely" his pictures were. I deleted most of them.
We stopped at the ranger's station when it started raining and went inside their hut. Once again the guide went crazy with our cameras. He took a bunch of pictures of my dad and me, making us pose in different areas around the station and with the park rangers. Everybody was laughing at him and it was a fun way to wait out the rainstorm. Here are a couple of his masterpieces.
 
Unfortunately the rain didn't let up much and most of the animals were hiding. We ended up going back to the hotel and resting for the remainder of the day. Dad and I wandered around the town, which didn't fill up much time considering there are about 4 streets. I also got my laundry washed, which was pretty traumatic. When I went backpacking before they always charged by kilo, but here they do it by piece. So, there these guys were in the hotel lobby, counting out my clothes, pulling out all my panties. It was so embarassing, having like six Indian men, plus my poor father, standing around staring at my g-strings and bras. I was pretty happy to be leaving the next day after that humiliation!
Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: Weeping Willow - The Hush Sound
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March 6th, 2007
11:48 am - Agra (Taj Mahal!)
The Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1653 by the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan. It was built to house the body of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal after she died in childbirth in 1631, and later Shah Jahan was buried beside her as well. It is a magnificent building, and both the building and the surrounding complex are completely symmetrical.
People told me that the Taj Mahal should be viewed at different times of the day, to see the light reflect on the marble as the sun hits it from different angles, causing it to appear to change colour. Even in the best of times it is difficult to capture the greatness of a place, and pictures just can't do this building justice. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side on the day we visited. It was an extremely cloudy day, which, coupled with the extreme smog, made the white building appear to fade into the greyish sky. Despite our bad luck with the weather, however, the Taj Mahal was still quite magnificent. The building is huge, and so intricately carved, and the grounds are beautifully maintained, creating quite a stunning atmosphere.
 
 
The attention to detail, and how well the details have held up through all the pollution struck us as amazing. Everywhere we looked there were beautiful carvings and colourful inlaid stones on the walls.
For us this was sort of the climax of the trip. We still had over a week to go and many more interesting things to see, but at this point we were ready to get to Egypt. Dad saw what he'd really wanted (Golden Palace), and for me Dharamasala was the main highlight. After the Taj we kind of just lost some of the enthusiasm for sightseeing.
Current Mood:  hungry
Current Music: Down and Out - The Academy Is...
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