TravelStream™ news feed for member penguinx on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/penguinx en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 03 May 2009 01:10:41 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/5/1240634700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/5/1240634700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/5/1240634700/tpod.html Sun, 03 May 2009 01:10:41 -0400 Washington & Oregon Coast

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Portland, Oregon, United States

Portland Or There is a deck at the hotel that over look the beach and the arch rocks... The arch rocks looks so different in the early morning light. After we check out we drove back to Tillamock then off to hwy 26 east to Portland. It's only a 2 hour drive. Head straight to the Oregon Zoo ... We visited the Great Northwest area feature Pacific NW animals like the black bear and cougar. Then the Penguins section, some ugly looking warty pigs. The best if the Asian Elephants where a baby elephant named Sam ( Samudra) born Aug 2008 follow other elephants everywhere.. We checked in to the Hilton Garden Inn in Beaverton for the night. Dinner at the Sweet Tomatoes Restaurant next to the hotel. I love Sweet Tomatoes restaurant. wish we have one at home.
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Oceanside, Oregon, United States

Oceanside OR Yesterday i heard the radio said clam digging season starts at 7:00 am. The diggers are out before that this morning.. I can see them from the balcony of our room... It is chilli and early... nuts! we went down to the lobby to have the complementary breakfast. A few people are already back from their clam digging. I saw buckets of them going by... big ones.. After breakfast we checked out and drove back to the beach. a number of clam diggers are still out along with a few people fishing... It is windy and freezing cold.. Took a few pictures and head out to the freeway. We stopped at the Lytle Oyster Shack just out of town. The girl there said they just pull them out of the bay. 2 guys in a distance is lifting them up and bagging them. 5.99 a doz she said for small or medium. We picked up some smoke oysters. Back to Aberdeen and back on scenic highway 101 south to Oregon. Once you reach Raymond Wa you are traveling the along the Willapa River. I spotted a sign that said South Bend, Oyster capital of the world... really, of the world?.. I spotted a diner called River View with a sign that said fresh oysters and a wood grill out front.... decided to turn back to see what that is all about. It was only 11:00 am the diner just opened. We were the first customers. The waiter (owner) was very friendly. We ordered the clam chowder and a doz grilled oysters. The chowder was good (not like the wallpaper paste last night). We had a table by the front window so we get to watch how the oysters are grilled. First the oysters are put on the grill. After a dew minutes, he took them off the grill and pop open with a knife.The top (flat) shell is disgarded and the bottom (cup) hold the oyster. Then he spread them with water to clean the sand off. Oysters are put back on the grill. After a few minutes hot sauce are brush on the oysters. Grill for a while then hot butter is put on.. Another few minutes, lemons are sqeeue over top.. What a production. The poor guy must have gone back and forth 4-5 times before this whole process is done. I tell you it was sooooo good.. The edge of the oysters were char a bit almost like carmalize. The oysters were big, fresh, hot and tasty. $14.99 for a doz was worth every penny. Back on the road... about an hour later we arrived at the 4.1 mile Astoria Bridge crossing the Columbia River. Quite a bridge ! The town of Astoria is fairly big. We stopped at a smoke fish place called Josephsons. We went in.. yup they smoke everything... salmon, oysters, clams, black cod, sturgeon. Hot smoke, cold smoke, canned...&nbsp; You can ask for samples before you buy. We bought some hot smoked Sturgeon. We saw a sign that said Annual Astoria Crab Festival is on.. So we decided to find it and see what is that all about. The festival is a few miles out of town at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds. After we get pass the confuisng traffic circle , we head out to the fairground. We did see signs about shuttle to the fairground but it's already 2 pm so we thought it can't be that busy... WRONG.. got there .... no more parking... being turn away to go back to the high school a few miles back to take the shuttle... forget it... may be next time. Next stop Tillamock Or.. for the famous cheese factory of course ! The drive is about 2 hours. The Tillamock Cheese factory is hugh! The vistor's center is great.. There is an ice cream shop, a cafe, gift shop and of course cheese shop. A self guided tour will give you the history of the town of Tillamock and the cheese factory, chees samples. Upstair there are TVs how cheese is made. You can see the cheese production below thru big glass window above. It was lots of fun... It was getting late so we drove into Tillamock to look for a place to stay for the night... Drove up and down the mainstreet.. nothing seems to be interesting here... I saw a sign about Cape Meares lighthouse.. So decided to head out that way... Oceanside sounds like a good name for a oregon coast town... Put that in my GPS and off we go... Oceanside is between Netarts and Cape Meares. Cute small place with houses built on the hillside. The 'main' road is narrow with vacation holmes right to the edge. We decided on an small older local motel along the beach. The inn keeper is some character.. the front office is the size of a closet.. he was telling story about past vistior .. The room is small... the bedroom is the same size as the double bed... seriously. A small kitchen, table &amp; chairs, full side stove and fridge, a futon and small TV... for $85.00 per night ... oh well who care.. we are on the beach! We went for a walk on the beach... cold...and windy.. but very scenic... quite a few people out for a walk with their kids or dogs. Took a few pictures.. what a nice place... would be nicer when it gets warmer... may be.. Dinner at the Roseanna's cafe next door to the motel was great. A table by the window looking at the 3 arch rocks while the sun is going down. A bottle of wine, clam chowder, poached oysters for main course. <i>
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Ocean Shores, Washington, United States

Ocean Shores, Wa Last minute we decided to take an extended long weekend to the Washington/Oregon Coast. Packed a small bag head out to the boarder early in the am. The wait was about 30-40 minutes. not too bad for a Friday morning. Driving down I5 spotted a sign for the Silver Reef Casino.. I recall it is one of the casino that Dave's mom stayed during her bus tour of the Casinos of Washington. So we took the turn off .. gotta love my Tom Tom GPS - enter the destination and took you there ... no problem. It is in the middle of a few industrial building, nothing much around. Casino is mid-size with hotel. Looks relatively new.. We stopped at the coffee shop for breakfast. Not too many people around.. lost my 20.00 in the slot.. head out. Back on I5 which is fairly familiar. Drive pass the Boeing Field and saw a few test flight over head. The sun is out and getting nice and warm. After we passed Olympia (capital of Wa) we turn west on highway 101. We really did not have any place in mind, just wanted to head to the coast and 'see what we see'. Hwy 101 is very scenic, pass by farms, small towns and arrived at Aberdeen. Aberdeen is a typical small old coastal town with one main street. Not much to see. Saw all kinds of&nbsp; billboards for vacation homes at Ocean Shores.. So punch in Ocean Shores in my Tom Tom and off we go. The drive is very nice, winding and right by the water edge at times. about 25 miles. Ocean Shores is mostly vacation homes, many many of them especially along Ocean Shores Blvd. It was very sunny but windy and cold. We decided to stay the night. Ended up at the Best Western Lighthouse Suites Inn. It is located across from an RV park and a short walk to the beach. There is a clam cleaning station besides the hotel, not sure that this is all about. Later we heard on the radio that tomorrow is the first day of razor clams.. razor clams? I heard of it...hummm The hotel staff was very friendly. The hotel room is very nice. Roomy with a separate sitting area, small fridge and a balcony facing the beach.&nbsp; After we check in we took a drive to the beach. You can actually drive on the beach. A number of cars, RVs are parked or cruising up and down the beach. A number of people are out for walk on the beach, flying kites or chasing the seagulls. We then head out to Mike's for dinner recommended by the front desk. It is a small local restaurant with seafood shop in front and a small restaurant at the back.Nothing fancy a few tables. I saw razor clams on the menu so I ordered it. We also ordered clam chowder. The clam chowder came - ahhh looks like wall paper paste .. tasted OK but could have use more water/milk... After we 'gum' down the chowder our dinner came. The razor clam is big, 2 6" clam meat lightly breaded and fried. Pretty good, you can't tell it is clam. Dave ordered steamers, they were fresh and good. After dinner we went to the Quinault Beach Casino and resort at close by Ocean City to have a look around. Play a few slots and went back to the hotel to rest. The hotel room is very nice. Roomy with a separate sitting area, small fridge and a balcony facing the beach.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225264020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225264020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225264020/tpod.html Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:27:23 -0400 Trip of a life time - Egypt & Jordan

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Amman, Jordan

&nbsp;The roof top restaurant is very nice, having breakfast while watching the sun rise in Jordan.. How cool is that! We met up with our guide Ayman at the lobby and boarded the mini bus to start the tour. There are 9 in the group. A couple from Pennsylvania Tammy &amp; Mike. 2 older couples that became friends after meeting each other from previous travel tour. They just came from a tour of Syria. And a Marian who used to lived in Amman and her ex-husband used to be a CIA agent stationed in Jordan in the 80's. The trip to Aljoun is about 90 minutes . We stopped at a spot by the Jordan River. The story here is very sad. Extensive damage to the Jordan River ecosystem due to dispute between Israel who built a dam that diverts water that provides water to Jordan. Then Jordan constructed a channel that diverted water from the Yarmouk River. Syria then built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters. Ayman pointed out a vendor selling Iraq currency. it was very cool, apparently Saddam decided to print his own money without actual backing. After the US invasion they are not worth anything but for 1 JD (Jordain dinar) each (about Can $1.50) they are great souvenir. The ride to the town of Ajloun takes you thru little villages with interesting local scene. Our guide Ayman stopped the bus and went into a local bakery. He came back with fresh flat bread with olive oil , thyme,sesme seeds and tumeric. They were fresh and yummy.&nbsp; After the wonderful detour, we also stopped at the bottom of the hill to get a view of the Castle we were about to visit. The road side is full of olive trees. Our tour bus reached the top of the hill to the castle. The air was cool and refreshing. The castle was made of blocks of stone, many passage ways and secret tunels. It has a very small but interesting meseum. On our way down we saw a factory with bags of crops out front. We asked Ayman and he said that is olive pressing factory. He then asked the driver to stop. He went inside and came back to say the owner said it is ok for us to visit. That was totally unexpected. Th bags of crop in small pile outside are full of olives. Each bag is marked with the name of the family that the olive came from. The factory then press the olives into oil by batch from each family farm. No money is exchanged, the factory keeps 1 out of every 10 tins of olive oil it presses. We get to go thru the small factory and watch the process. The smell was amazing ..wow.. At the back of the factory was even more interesting. The left over olives are transfer via some sort of belt to the back into a big pile. 2 workers were there to shuffle it into sacks.Then they will be pressed into logs for heating. Nothing is wasted and the smell is incredible. So friendly and hospitable people. they did not ask any money in return and encourage us to take pictures. If this was Egypt we would have to pay and pay and pay. Next stop Jerash. On the way we saw refugee settlement camp where over 1/2 million Iraq people flee after the US invasion . Also Palestinian camps are also here and been here for over 40 years. These camps has no wall around them, they are just there, tents after tents with colourful blankets outside. We arrived at Jerash around noon. We walk pass the ruins where the Roman town used to be. Stopped for lunch at the only restaurant inside. Arabic buffet with salads, flat bread and Mansaf - national dish of Jordan - a big platter filled with rice on the bottom then lamb on top with&nbsp; yogurt-like sauce , onions , tomatoes and nuts on top. Very tasty. After lunch unfortunately it started to rain. We all got tickets to the Roman Army and Chariot Experience (RACE)show at the hippodrome. There were&nbsp; legionaries in full armour in a display of Roman Army drill and battle tactics, gladiators fighting "to the death" and several Roman chariots competing in a classical seven lap race around the ancient hippodrome.OK the show was a bit cheesy and predicable. BUT we are sitting on the exact same seats built over 2000 years ago where the Roman's once sat to watch the gladiators fighting and chariots races. So you just go along with the show and cheers when you are suppose to . The rain stopped just as the show was over. We spent almost 2 hours exploring Jerash. Suppose to be one of the largest and well preserved site of Roman Architecture outside of Rome. Walking along what's remain is very impressive. You can see Greco-Roman writings and designs everywhere. The Oval Plaza is big, surrounded by columns. The colonnaded street marks where the city center used to be with shops on both sides. You can see holes at the sides of the street drained rainwater into the sewers. - first manhole must be invented here. The stone road was done in a diagonal pattern - so that the wheel of the chariot won't get caught... clever! The south theater has many levels (steep) with acoustics in mind where the speaker at the center fo the floor can be heard by the entire auditorium. To demonstrate this there is an scottish pipe band dressed in Arabic outfit (don't ask me why) playing in the theater. Several temples remains with very detail decoration of stone carvings. One of them high up on the hillside you can even see the remain of the mosaic floor. It's about 4:00 pm&nbsp; as we head back to Amman. The group stays at different hotel. When the bus dropped of some people at the Kempinski hotel we noticed a number of shops and restaurants closed by. There was no place to eat outside the hotel so we decided to walk up the street where we thought was where the Kempinski hotel was. We took a worng turn and got lost. It was getting dark and I was tired. We saw a few shops next to a Mosque so we went to see if we can get a cab.No luck , store were close or closing and no taxi near by. Just as we were about the give up we spotted a taxi as the driver was just getting out. We ask him for direction, unfortunatly he did not speak English. He tried but we just don;t understand what he was trying to say. Then he pointed to the Mosque. We realize he was on his way to pray so we smiled begin to walk away. He then waved us back into his taxi.. Unexpectedly he drove us to the hotel.. During the trip he said he is Palestinian when we told him we are Canadians. He&nbsp; dropped us off as close as possible pointing straight.. He wasn't going to even charge us, we gave him 2 dinar anyway. We picked a local lebanese restaurent, a few tables, old TV with some soccer game on. Friendly people, not much English.. Meal was great, cheap and enjoyable.Caught a taxi back to the hotel.. ready for the next day.. Petra here we come. <i>
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Kom Ombo, Egypt

Weather : Sunny 31 C Another great day to be expected. I still can't believe I woke up on a cruise ship on the Nile! After the pretty standard breakfast buffet we head out on the bus to Philae Island..It's about 7:00 am. First we arrived at the dock where there were hundreds of boats ready to take you to the Island. It is crazy ! the boats are bumping each other trying to dock to pick up passengers, street vendors everywhere selling post cards, maps, jewelries, shirts and other tourist junks. The strong smell of diesel from the boats will make you sick easily. Our group got on a boat arranged for us for the 10 min ride. On the way a vendor hopped on board selling jewelry hand made by the locals. They were very cheap, I bought 2 necklaces for about $4.00 each... The temple at Philae Island is another one of many temples being relocated due to the building of the Dam. You can see the Dam from a distance. The sun is shinning, the sky is clear and blue ,&nbsp; you see the temple entrance in the distance with the first pylon on one side and these awesome columns covered with hieroglyphics dating back over 3,000 years ago. What a fantastic sight! Looking closer the craving seems to be 'erased' or scratched out.. This was done sometime after to 'denounced' the God. The temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis is covered with craving of Isis and offerings to her by others. The row of columns over the West Colonnade are very impressive. Every column was craved with different hieroglyphics topped with flower like cap on top. There is also 'graffiti' on them . saw one that said&nbsp; 'Romana 1841' which obviously is not 3000 year old also the 'christian Cross' ..and Greek symbols... kind of shame that the original column/walls were 'vandalized'. We followed our tour guide to different parts of the temple and listen to him explaining the craving and the stories.. I don't quite heard all the pieces because I was too busy looking at all the craving in awe. The 'gauntlet', that's what Mohammad our guide calls the vendors lined up at the exit before the parking lot where our bus is waiting.&nbsp; Sure enough after our short trip back from the island, they are waiting for us. 'Canada Dry !' they yelled as they saw my Canadian flag patch on my backpack.. I was walking along with Dwane ..'Obama !' they yelled at Dwane who is a black dude from NY.. It was funny...We kept looking straight and walk quickly toward the bus. I spotted a white cotton embroidered shirt,&nbsp; I barely made eye contact the vendor already saw me and came out yelling '50 pounds !'...&nbsp; Irene stopped as well as we were both looking at them.. We do need to get back to the bus quickly. '40 pounds I said, the vendor then 'pretended' to be insulted, I started to walk, another vendor came out agreeing to 40 pounds. I got one and so did Irene. I am sure I paid too much but it is Can $8.00 .. oh well. Next stop the Aswan Dam. The story of the Dam is very similar to what is happening in China now. Build the dam to control the annual flooding of the Nile and to create more land for agriculture. This was completed in the 60's. The result is that the ancient temples will be underwater. Not all of them were moved especially the Nubian ones. The Nubian is a group of people that is more related to the black Africans. Nubia was invaded and enslaved by the ancient Egyptian.. (yes that the history behind the Broadway play 'Aida').The Nubian villages were relocated as well. This is very much like what is happening in China where the new 3 Gorges Dam will control the flood of the Yangtse river but thousands of villages will be relocated along with temples that are thousand years old. BTW the rules in Egypt does not always make sense. You can take picture here but no video or news camera.. AND no zoom.. huh? Oh make sure you check to see if you can take pictures first ahead anywhere. Back on the bus after a short stop at the Dam. We headed back to the city of Aswan. Next stop the Aswan Quarry. The granite used to build the temples came from Quarry like this and often had to travel a long way to the location. No one really know how this is done but they believe they are transported using the Nile during the annual flood. The unfinished obelisk is what we come to see. 120 feet long&nbsp; and would have weighted nearly 1,200 tons was left on the ground. It was uninished because a crack was found midway, so it was left on the ground. This gave great insight on how the obelisk get craved out of the ground. The stay here was not very long but yes you have to face the 'gauntlet' again as you exit.. The merchance here are less aggressive.. They kept saying "No Hassel " as they gesture you toward their store. The El Sultan Palce Perfumes factory is our next stop. First you watch a demo on how the bottles are made, then into the show room where you sit and get serve tea while the owner explain how it all work. I never knew that most perfume in the world uses the esscence - flowers grew along the Nile as main ingredient. Alochol is mixed in to make perfumes but here is where they sell the undiluted essence. To demonstrate he lights a match to it, if there was alcohol it would burn but it did not.Then the girls bring around the some sample to put on your arm to smell. Very interesting! You get a list of fragrances where they tell you what the name brand perfume is made from. I remember Lynn liked Oscar de la Renta so we got her a small bottle of essence as well as a perfume bottle that shaped like a camel. We were back on board by 1:00 pm and start set sail north while we have our lunch. We sat on the top deck to relax and watch the great scenery as the boat makes it way to Edfu. There is a lot of activities on the river, many small fishing boats with fishermen using traditional method to fish, felucca, kids playing soccer on the beach, men riding on donkey and horse drawn cart carrying farm products. We arrived at Edfu around 5:00 pm. This morning we went to a temple at sun rise, now a differnt temple at sunset, how great is that! The temple is just a short walk off the dock. The evening sun hits the temple making the building glow in a lovely orange colour. Not everyone from the group went to the temple. A number of them went to the market to shop for something to wear for Egyptian night on the boat. Who cares! you come this long way and you go shopping for some tourist crap instead of visiting history...! The temple is not very big and it is not in the best of shape. It is however on the original site, i.e. not moved because of the Dam. The cool thing was there is a display of 2 mummified crocodiles in a small buiding. Yes it smelled like something is dead inside.. creepy... you can see the teeth. Apparently the Egyptian liked the process of mummified stuff so much they started to do their pets and whatever they can think of. We took a number of pictures and have to head back to the boat by 8:00 pm for the Egyptian dinner. Dinner was not as good as I thought it could be... I was thinking we are going to get lamb but there was no lamb. Some stirred fried dish which we all thought it was beef/lamb with veg.. it turned out to be liver.. yuke!. The soup was good and the dessert as well. It was quite fun to watch some of the people from our group 'dressed like an Egyptian' to dinner. After dinner there is a 'tacky' Egytian theme dance at the lounge. We stopped by for a while , had a beer , got group pcicture and head back to our room. It has been a long, full and wonderful day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225437000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225437000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225437000/tpod.html Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:54:35 -0500 Trip of a life time - Egypt & Jordan

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Wadi Musa, Jordan

The long awaited for visit to Petra is finally here. Seeing Petra at night was amazing but I can't wait to see it during the day. We had breakfast at the hotel. A buffet with all the usual fair exception for one thing... Peanut Butter. I found a jar of PB by the bread section next to the jams and honey.. It was heaven... I could have just have that and I would be happy. yes Nutella is just not the same. We waited at the lobby to get picked up by Aiman.. could have just meet at the entrance since it was only a few feet away. Since the group is staying at difference hotels we have to somehow get everyone together. We get to the entrance and then waited for Aiman to get the ticket. While there of course I have to take a picture of the 'famous' Indiana Jones Snack shop. A cat came out of no way and started to hang out around my backpack. Sorry kitty can't take you with us... Aiman came back with our tickets and also he has to arrange for a buggie ride for some of the people in our group who has trouble walking. We ended up with just me, Dave, Mike and Tammy guided by Aiman to walk the Siq. Each section has rule about transportation. You can take the horse drawn buggie from the entrance to the Treasury the whole way. From the entrance to the beginning part of the Siq, there are only horses allowed. From the beginning of the Siq to the Treasury, only horse drawn buggies . 2 passengers and the driver squeeze into the small seats thru the very bumpy path. You can ride the horse from the gate to the entrance of the Siq. Horses don't get pass that point. From there you will need to walk if you are not on the horse drawn buggie already. There is a lot of activities around, horses, carriages, tourists, tour groups speaking all different languages are all here.The rocks formation along the way is amazing. reminded me of Arches National park except a lot of the formation were man made. Big Nabatean blocks call Djinn can be found everywhere. You can also see tombs craved into the mountain side. The first one you will see if the Obelisk tomb and many smaller tombs along the way. We arrived at the entrance to the Siq. The path is very narrow with tall rock face on both sides. Sunlight barely pass through. Along the Siq you can see water channel built by ancient Nabateaian to gather water to the city. There are also water basins along the way for the traveler to wash/drink. These channel are all dried up now.&nbsp; You really need to walk the Siq to appreciate all the history and the view. The path of the Siq still have many patches of cobblestone road remained , possibly over 2000 years old. You can see markings of chariot and wagon wheels have worn into the stones. Along the walls of the siq are many small niches containing block gods of various kinds. There are also many places for pray and offering. I wish I can stop longer to take more picture but have to keep up with the group. Very soon we arrived at end of the Siq where you can peek through just to see the beautiful Treasury glowing in the morning sun. You really should try to be here as early as possible. Because the rock face is so high, very little sunlight can come through. The sun only shines on the Treasure in the early morning. I love taking the 'peek-a-boo' picture from the Siq looking at the golden Treasury. What a site! We met up with our group who were waiting for us since they took the buggie ride in. Aiman explained the history of the Treasure, how it does not have any Treasury it is really a tomb for a Royal Family. The top of the Treasury has an url which was shot up by bullets. Some believe it was were the 'treasure' was hidden so they tried to shot at it hoping to 'break it open. It is just craved out of the mountain, there is nothing 'inside'. We then walk toward the city of Petra passing other tombs along the way. We stopped at a cafe to rest , use the washroom and have a drink. Lots of vendors selling souvenirs, little kids following you to try to sell you postcards and jewelry made by their mothers. You can take a camel ride or a Donkey ride to the city.. No buggies or horses allowed. We passed by the one of a kind theater that is cut out of solid rock instead of build with rocks. It is not a Roman theater as some guide book may say, it was built by the Nabataean long before the Romans arrived in Petra. Above us on the hill side are the Royal Tombs. These Tombs were built high on the mountain side, and requires climbing up a number of flights of stairs. We were told that if time permitting we can do this on our own later. &nbsp; The Colonnade Street runs through the center of Petra. You walked on cobblestone path and imagine this was once the main street of the city of Petra.&nbsp; You walk thru the gate way and soon you will see what's left of the temple of Dushares.. not much is left really. Ahead is where we stopped for lunch. There are a few places to eat, we are having lunch at the Crown Plaza restaurant where the smoke from the BBQ chicken wings filled the air... smelled wonderful. We had lunch - a buffet with lots of salads as well as the traditional Jordain food. After lunch we are free to visit and will find our own way back to the hotel after. We decided to make the track up to the Monastery. I heard it is not an easy path, all uphill with over 800 steps. I had to stopped a number of times to catch my breath.. The path is full of Donkey pooh so you really have to watch your steps. You can take he donkey ride up but I really wanted to say I made it on foot.. There are a number of vendors along the way selling crafts and other tourist junk... The view is fantastic... You also have to dodge the donkey going up and down the path.. It is pretty crazy. The funniest part was I moved aside to let some donkey riders pass by then I realize the riders were the people from our group who said they are 'walking' up ... It seems like forever until we reached the top... took over an hour. It was worth it... It is amazing... The monastery was not craved as detail as the Treasury but the location made up for it. We found a high spot which gave us a great view of the Monastery. We just sat there for a while to enjoy the view. Time to walk back down I can feel my legs are getting very tire with the constance pounding. We wanted to get a chance to go back to the Treasury and take more pictures before it gets dark. We also do not want to be walking thru the Siq in the dark as there is no light at all. I did remember to pack my flashlight, so I am not too worry. I really wish we have more time (and energy) so that we can walk up the Royal Tomb but I don't think my legs are going to make it and still walk the 2KM back to the hotel. I really hate to leave here.. but as the sun's going down, we started our walk back. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was pretty dark. After we cleaned up a bit we decided to walk up the street to find someplace for dinner. By accident we spotted Petra Kitchen. We heard about it and saw it on the TV show Departure. We walked in and a small group of people were already there drinking wine waiting for the lesson to begin. Petra Kitchen is like a cooking class that they teach you how to make local dishes. We were greeted by the same guy we saw on the TV show.. He explained how it works and we decided that we would try that..Each table has the ingredients and receipts to make a dish. My station has the lentil soup and salad.. I was asked to chop onions then in charge of the lentil soup. It was fun, you get to cook, taste and serve the dishes.The table we were at has other travelers from Australia. They were telling us about their travel and we all had a great time.. &nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224657960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224657960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224657960/tpod.html Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:28:07 -0500 Trip of a life time - Egypt & Jordan

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Abu Simbel, Egypt

Weather: Sunny 30 C It seems that I have just gone to bed and have to wake up... oh yeah I did... to catch the 6:30 am flight to Abu Simbel. The tough part is we also have to check out so we have to get every thing packed up. Got to the lounge area and saw a single server there.. thank goodness he is serving coffee... grab a cup of coffee while Dave is checking out. A few people from our group arrived.. we are all saying this same thing... it is EARLY!. We get a box breakfast from the hotel... yup, Egyptian sure likes bread... there are a few different kinds of bun/bread/cake..all very dry.. Ate my hard boiled egg and that's about all I can handle. Since the hotel is on an island, we first have to take the little boat across the Nile.. then on to a bus to the airport. The Aswan airport looks fairly new..The flight is very short... no sooner after you sit down you are ready to land. We got very excited when we spotted the lake and part of the temple from the air. The&nbsp; Abu Simbel airport is small but also looks fairly new. We have to hop on a bus to get to the site. The bus is not provided by our tour, it seems that it is like a airport shutter bus. There were many many other tour groups trying to get on as well. The bus ride was short ... We waited in line while our tour guide went to get the ticket. Muhammad told us that he cannot go into the temple with us, he can only give us the information outside. That's the rule. There is a lot of rules.. he has to tell us each time what you are allow or not allowed to do. Like you can take pictures, video outside the temples but no pictures/video of any kind inside. You definitely cannot take pictures of the tourist polices or the locals (of course if you pay them that's different). Got to the front of the temple and saw many press were there. Muhammad just realized it is he 22nd of Oct. The temple was angled so that twice a year, the inner santum of the temple would be hit by direct sunlight Feb 21 and Oct 21. Ramses II's birthday and his ascension date. However because the temple was moved to a man made hill higher up Lake Nasser to escape the rising water as a result of the building of the High Dam and erosion, the sun now hits the inner temple one day later... TODAY.. Luckily most of the press and other tour group came early to see this during sunrise arround 5:45 am so they were ready to leave. &nbsp;There are 2 temples carved out of the mountainside&nbsp; by Ramesses II in the 13th century BC. They are suppose to be monument to himself and his queen Nefertari to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh. Some historian said that there are no record of him winning of this battle, he just claimed he did. The temples were build at the boarder of Egypt and Nubia.The giant size of the statues were build to claim Ramsesses as a God and to intimidate his neighbors. The whole complex was relocated in the 1960s piece by piece to the current location. After briefing from Mohammad, we went into the smaller, less known temple of Nefertari. There are big status of her infront and inside the carving on the walls are amazing.. We then visit the Ramese Temple where 4 giant status of him stood as high as a small mountain. One of the 4 had lost his head due to an earth quake shortly after the temple was built. Apparenty Ramses never knew about that. like no one would risk telling him in fear of may be get their head chop off ? Inside the temple, more status of Ramses and side chambers. This inner sanctum is very cool. It has 4 sculptures: Ra-Horakhty(Horus God of Sky with a falcon head) , Ramesses, Amun Ra (Sun god) and Ptah . Ptah (god connected to the underworld) was situated in a way that it never get sunlight.. even on Feb 22 &amp; Oct 22. I saw that, I wish I can take a picture but I can't. On my way out of the temple one of the security guide spotted my Canadian patch on my backpack.. Canada Dry he said with a smile.. I get that a lot... he pointed to my camera and said 'picture' , he then pointed me to stand at the entrance way, he took my picture... It was so great since you can't do that on your own... I was expecting him to ask me for money but he did not... ' Shukran',&nbsp; I kept saying 'shukran' - thank you in arabic, he smiled and seemed very happy that I tried to speak arabic.. There really isn't a lot of time that you can spend here.. 2 hours went by so quickly. We kept taking pictures while we head back to the vistor's center to meet up with the group. I spotted the entrance to the 'fake' mountian.. saw that in a travel show. so I quickly took a picture. Time to head back to the bus, back to the airport and Aswan... We landed in Aswan around 9:00 am...yes it is only 9:00 in the morning and we have already done so much... Back to the hotel where we picked up our lugguage and off to the crusie ship dock. The dock was quite far from the town. If I have known that I might have considered going into the town of Aswan the night before. We quickly checked in , got our room and off to lunch. Lunch is buffet style, all the meals are... Lots of nice salads, cheeses, main dishes and desset.. It was great.... We elected not to take the optional tour of the Nubian village so while others head out we rested on the upper deck of the boat... It was very relaxing... first time in a long while we are not rushing to get on and off the tour bus..&nbsp; A few tables were assigned to our group at dinner. It was nice to chat with others in our group to learn about them.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224657360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224657360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224657360/tpod.html Mon, 26 Jan 2009 03:01:04 -0500 Trip of a life time - Egypt & Jordan

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Aswan, Nile River Valley, Egypt

Weather:Sunny 34 CThe train stopped briefly at the Luxor Station as the sun is rising. Not many people at the station. The land scape have changed to lush green all along the river. No more smog. There are farm land after farm land, small villages , small towns one after another. The view is fantastic. At first we are not sure about taking the overnight train. Now&nbsp;I would not&nbsp;change this experience for anything. I went outside our cabin to watch the view from the other side of the train. Talking to Heather from the next cabin, she also agreed that she&nbsp;was not sure about taking the train and she&nbsp;is so glad she did. Breakfast on the train is nothing to write home about. It is bread-fest as we called it. You get 4 small pieces of different pretty dry bread with coffee. I just can't eat this much bread especially they are pretty blend and dry. Glad I saved my 'green' orange from dinner for breakfast. You do get spoiled by the buffet breakfast at the hotel.The&nbsp;train is slowing down as&nbsp;we approach Aswan station. it is around noon, only 3 hours late ! Got off the train to meet up with the group. It was nice and sunny out, much cleaner air with lots of trees around.&nbsp; We were told that we will be changing to the Movenpick hotel instead because the&nbsp;hotel on our original itinerary , the New Cataract Hotel is under renovation. To get to the hotel, we took a short bus ride, then a boat across as the hotel is located&nbsp;on an island in the middle of the Nile called Elephantine&nbsp; Island . The hotel was newly renovated, sits on beautifully landscaped grounds. We sat in the hotel lobby to rest and was welcomed by serving us&nbsp;pineapple juice. Our rooms are not ready so we are off to a felucca ride on the Nile. According to our itinerary, we are not suppose to take the felucca ride until tomorrow. But because our train was late, we have to jiggle the activities a bit. Some people choose not to go on the boat ride as the train ride did not agree with them. The felucca - traditional wooden boat with sails, steered by a skillful Nubian along the Nile and around the Elephantine&nbsp;island. The ride is wonderful. One side if the Nile is almost dessert like with tombs along the river and up the hill side. After the ride we went back to the hotel. Unfortunately not all the rooms are ready. We have to sit in the lobby for a while before we finally get our room. The room is great. All new furniture, balcony with the view of the Nile and the town of Aswan on the other side. The grounds around the hotel is full of flowers, trees and grass land. We quickly dropped off our stuff and head out for a walk. We walked along the river to take pictures. The resort is wonderful I think the best hotel we stayed yet. High tea is at 4:00 pm at the bar on top floor of the hotel . It is fantastic ! you get 360 view thru full length windows. We were served sandwiches, cakes and pastry with tea. Just realize we never have lunch. We chatted with our fellow travelers. Went around the bar to take pictures. We took some great pictures as the sun is setting. Sunset at the Nile. How cool is that.We went back to our room pretty tire. Did not feel like going to the hotel restaurant so we ordered room service. We ate our dinner while looking out our hotel room facing the Nile and night light of Aswan.Better go to bed soon, we have to be up by 3:00 am check out and to catch a plane to Abu Simbel.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224484440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224484440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1224484440/tpod.html Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:52:46 -0500 Trip of a life time - Egypt & Jordan

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Aswan, Nile River Valley, Egypt

Weather: Sunny 30 COvernight train from Cairo to AswanAfter breakfast we packed up and checked out of the hotel.Today we are going to visit the Alabaster Mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo.The Citadel is located just outside the city, so it was a nice drive just to get out of the tourist area. On the way the bus passed thru Muslim cemetery where each family has their own little courtyard like area..The Alabaster Mosque is not the biggest, according to our guide, but it is the most beautiful one. The Alabaster Mosque , also known as the Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha&nbsp;was commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848.After we passed the entrance, the usual useless pointless security check and thru the metal detector that beeps no matter what and no one cares, we walked uphill toward the Mosque. Yes our guide Muhammad was right, it is beautiful. The mosque was made with limestone &amp; white Alabaster. We have to take off our shoes before entering. One of the ladies from our group was wearing a sleeveless dress who was quickly covered up with a long cloth wrap around by one of the Muslim ladies out front before entering. We carried our shoes or for 1 pound you can get a bag to out them in to carry. The shoes are removed to keep the mosque clean, not to bring dirt from the outside inside. We gathered in the central courtyard where Muhammad explains the history of the Mosque to us. We then was able to enter the Mosque itself. The central dome is beautiful with so much details. Stained glass windows, The tomb of Muhammad Ali Pasha was transfer&nbsp;to this mosque sometime in the 1857.We wonder outside the Mosque for a bit. You can see the city of Cairo but with the smog, you can hardly make out the buildings.I quite enjoy the bus ride since it passes thru a lot of local areas. The ride back took a long time, partly because of traffic, partly because Muhammad said some people asked to go to shop for Egyptian linens. We ended up stopping at a shop called 'Funky Brothers' .. The place is full of shirts, scarves, table clothes, linens and other Tourist junks. Dave got some t-shirts as well as an Egyptian pattern short sleeve dress shirt.&nbsp; We pop back on the bus, it was almost 4 o'clock and we are all starving.. We never stopped for lunch yet. Luckily I carried some snacks. We got dropped off at&nbsp; Gas station and we went inside the 'On the Run' snack shop to grab something to eat on the bus. Not the best place but I was happy to get the last of the pizza and some cookies.It was getting darker as the sun begin to set. We turned around and realize we are just a few blocks away from the Pyramids. More traffic on the way back to the city. Finally we made it to the Nile Hilton were we get a chance to use the washrooms, rest up and get some food for the train ride. We can see KFC, Arby's on the other side of the large traffic circle from the hotel. Getting there , well, it is not an easy task. We figured when in Rome... so we bravely tried to cross several lanes of traffic , seems to come from all directions. It was scary.. We watched the locals do it then we decided to follow a local.&nbsp;The local was very friendly, he told us to come along and we managed to cross half way. He asked where we are from and as always ended up asking us to go to his store to look around. You get asked that a lot, they always has some business/store they want you to visit or they know someone with a store, a friend, a relatives. We just kept saying no thank you, they eventually will give up. Crossing the other half was not as bad. We made it to the other side of the traffic circle, picked up 2 big bottles of water and sandwiches from Arby's. We decided to go back to the hotel via the underground where the subway station. We read that on the Internet that you can cut across that way thru various entrance/exit of the subway which is underneath the traffic circle. We know the Hilton is beside the Museum so we just keep looking for the sign that lead to the museum exit. You have to go up and down a lot of stairs, then long walk ways.. Eventually we found the Museum exit. From there it an easy walk back to the Hilton.Some people also venture out to the KFC but most of them stayed at the hotel and had something to eat at the hotel coffee shop.At 6:00 pm we got back on the bus to catch the 8:00 pm train to Aswan. Traffic was again crazy. We were a bit concern that we will not make it.We arrived at the train station around 7:45 pm. Muhammad arranged for the porter to take our luggage off the bus to the platform while he went to get our tickets.We waited, and waited on the platform with no where to sit for a few hours. It was very crowded. A group of French speaking tourist decided to start singing to pass the time. They even got the locals to joined in.Finally a train arrived, we were told it is for the locals, it is not our train. Thank goodness, it was dark, crowded, not so clean and all the locals rushed on with all kinds of boxes, big bags. There was a lot of screaming and rushing. Some of the cart don't even have seating, looks like cargo or for the animals and there were people jam in.&nbsp; I miss the train in Japan... organized, on time and clean. This is the exact opposite.Finally after hours our train arrives. We were standing under the sign that said #8 which is where we were suppose to be. yeah right, the train does not stop at the platform matching the sign... big surprise. Our group got separated in to 3 different cart. No one seems to know if we are suppose to wait for the porter or carry our luggage ourselves. The guys in our group decided to take action. They started to carry everyone's luggage on the train as fast as we can, we then just pass them down the corridor. At least we can all get our stuff on and can sort it out later. We all got on and settle into our assigned cabin.The little cabin is not bad! There is a place to put your luggage (very high above), a small closet door that opens up to a sink with towels. It is typical train sleeper cabin small but cute. No sooner then we take off, the porter came around to take our drink order. You can get pop, juice or beer. Then he came back to setup our trays and brought dinner. The dinner , we were warned by our guide not to expect too much which is why he told us to pick up food by the Hilton Hotel. In his words' it is barley edible'There were little container covered up in tin foil. Some kind of beef.. smells funny, some kind of grounded meat casserole (I think) , not too bad,&nbsp;some kind of meat in pastry...a &nbsp;bun with butter with some kind of dip that may be hummus and an orange that is green. I tried it but it was not the best tasting thing...We quick took out out Arby's sandwiches and forget the 'train meal'. The porter came back to picked out the tray and setup the bunk beds. I venture to the train's washroom and surprising quit clean.(compare to what it was like in Cairo).&nbsp; It has been a long day. I had no trouble falling asleep. Actually the rocking motion of the train is quite nice. I woke up around 4:00 and realize there was some kind of mosquito that came along. It was biting me all over. After 15 minutes of trying not to scratch I managed to kill it. By this time I could not got back to sleep.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225523580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225523580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/penguinx/4/1225523580/tpod.html Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:23:33 -0500 Trip of a life time - Egypt & Jordan

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Cairo, Egypt

Wadi Run RJ507 20:00- 21:30 Today is our last day in Jordan... After breakfast and check out of the hotel we will be taking a 2 hour drive to Wadi Rum&nbsp; Valley of the moon..-where Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T.E. Lawrence based their headquarters during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in World War 1 .. Yes I watched the l-o-n-g 3 hour movie of Lawrence of Arabia before the trip to find out what the story was about... After we boarded our bus and on our way to pick up Marilyn at the Movenpick hotel on the hill , I asked Ayman if we can stopped by the view point I spotted when we first come into Petra. The view point is awesome, you can see the town and Petra . Ayman pointed out where the valley and where the Siq is located and where we went thru to Petra..Wow that is far and my legs can also tell you the same. After we picked up Marilyn we head west on the dessert highway back to the King's highway then turn South to Wadi Rum.. Finally saw the turn off sign for Wadi Rum. Got off the visitors center where Ayman went to get our tickets. Very nice place with a few stores selling arts and craft by local women. Ayman lead us o the other side of the visitors center where a jeep is waiting. Not really a jeep but a 4x4 truck with seats at the back of the box. He introduced us to the driver a Bedouin called Yosef, a good friend he said. Very short man I am sure he looks young for his age. He drives 'smooth' we were told. There were only 6 seats at the open part so 4 will have to sit inside. We waved to other Jeep that went by I think they go off road may be not so 'smooth'. Sitting in open air driving on the sand while watching the awesome landscape went by was something to experience. Wadi Rum is not just flat and full of sand but with great granite and sandstone ridges formed thousands of years ago. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of these pillar formation. The 4 other people sitting with us in the open part were talking about recycle bins at home... who cares? You are on vacation in the middle of nowhere dessert in Jordan thousands of miles from your recycle bins? Stop talking and enjoy the view already... !!! We made a few stops,, Yosef was on the cell phone, not sure what for but I can't belove you get cell signal in the dessert and I can't get signal at the mall where the Roger's head office is located at home... 'Come on .! And yes he is talking away... We stopped a few times to listen to Ayman pointing out things to us and a chance to take pictures. One of the stops we watched Ayman and Yosef picked some leaves of some kind and they did not tell us what they were. Another stop we looked at animal tracks left on the sand and watch birds flew by. We can see locals riding camels from a distance, where we started to yell.. hey Lawrence !... We stopped by a herd of camels with their Bedouin keeper. Some of us wanted to ride the camel so Ayman made the arrangement for 3 dinar each for a few minutes... Dave's camel did not want to cooperate.. It was eating and made a lot of noise when the keeper tries to make the camel go down on the ground.. The rest of the group got on but I was having trouble... leg is too short , camel is too big around... Help I said... Ayman came over, grabbed my arm and pushed me on the camel... I can tell my arm will get a a bruise but don;t care... going to be on a camel in Wadi Rum like Lawrence of Arabia... !&nbsp; It was a short ride but was fun... One of the stops Yosef came up to be and started to spread some powder on my cheeks he just picked up of the sand. He said to be 'Bedouin&nbsp; makeup' he spoke very little English.. I can tell I look like monkey's ass but what the heck, it is all for good fun as I turned to the group saying 'Don't I look good?'..Judging from their faces, yup I look like monkey's ass on my cheeks... We stopped at a Bedouin tent where the craving of TL Lawrence head is located. We were welcomed in the tent and was served tea.The tea is a mixed of black tea and herbs where you can buy at the tent. The host welcome us and said enjoy tea as much as you like... Yosef started to make the tea at the open fire pit while we sit around the tent. Then Ayman pointed to a bowl just outside the tent where he said the bowl has water that made attrack birds... no sooner he said that , one flew in to take a drink... quickly I got a picture of it... Tea is wonderful, what a setting. Tammy from our group got called aside by Yosef. Soon you see her in the full Bedouin woman outfit, all covered except her eyes are showing... We all laughed and took pictures.. 'I don't know why I smile for the picture' said Tammy as all&nbsp; you can see were her eyes peeking out...funny.. We stayed a bit as Ayman tried to show as some more birds... He likes birds, animals a lot. There is no charge for the tea but we were told to leave a tip of 1 Dinar each ahead of time. Off to a Camp site called Moon Valley where there are 2 types of tents.. Ones that looks like tents,and the other like little huts.. It is very basic, there was no campers around so we took some pictures.. The main area has an area with a fire pit in the middle of seating. I guess this is where the campers gather in the evening. There is a big tent near by and is where we were served lunch. Lunch is not included with the tour so it is optional if you like to eat. We paid ahead to Yose thru Ayman for a BBQ lunch for 10 Dinar each... salads, bread, rice, chicken &amp; lamb. Half the group elected not to have lunch. After lunch we went back on the track to head back to the visitor's center. The drive back to Amman takes 4 hours.. we were just relaxing on the bus.. listening to our music and watch the road pass by.. We are the only 2 that are catching a flight out. The rest of the group are leaving tomorrow. Some has other spot like Dubai, others Israel and London. We got dropped off at the airport . Ayman called ahead and the same rep that greeted us when we came in was there waiting. He remember us he said.. Say goodbye to the group, Ayman and the driver. The rep took care of everything...carry our luggage thru security and customs.. We were told it will cost 5 Dinar each for departure but no one asked for it.. Unlike most airport the security to the gated are not opened anytime. It opens just before there is a scheduled flight since this is not a busy airport.. So we waited, got some tea, exchange our Dinar back to Egyptian pounds.. The flight to Cairo is very short. After the plane landed and we get bus to the terminal I saw like hundreds people all over the custom area. It was a nightmare ! You can barely get inside the building it was that packed. As I said before Egypt is not big on signs. When there are signs, it makes no sense... There are 2 side to the custom areas. One side said baggage carousel 1-4, the other 5-8. BUT, we just came in and our flight is not yet listed on the screen which baggage carousel it will be.. So how are you suppose to know which side to line up? duh... We decided to just pick a side and hopefully it is the correct one. If not may be there is a way to get to the other side after.. It is nuts, there are people every where no knowing what to do, tour group leader holding signs with of passenger they are suppose to pick up going up an down all the lines looking for them. The place is so jammed the ac has no effect. Hot, no air, people bumping other people everywhere... I guess Sat night is where all the flights come in to start the tour - we started on Sat as well except we came in the afternoon from Frankfurt. I guess flights from North American, Australia and Asia properly comes in Sat Evening. Luckily we have multi entry visa, otherwise you have to first find the line to buy the visa then the 2nd line for custom. The line is not moving at all.... A man started to talk to us at the line up. He just came in from San Francisco. I figure he in on business and here for the first time. He is comparing this with the train station in China.. Then we saw our flight posted on the screen. Of course we are in the wrong line... oh well too late .. Just hope there is a way to get to the other side after we are through.. Seems like forever until we went thru Passport Control. Yes there is a way to go around to the other side after Passport Control , so I am not sure why the sign tells you to line up based on baggage carousel number... I said it before and will say it again.. Egyptian are not big on signs and they don't make sense even when there are signs... Whew... finally got out luggage and out in the arrival area. This is the part where we have concern - how to get to the hotel... We saw counter labeled Limo Service,so we went their. One of the guys waved us over and asked where we wanted to go. Dave said Conrad Hilton.. He said the Nile..? Dave said yes... He wrote it on a slip and we asked how much. He said 140. I made sure I ask - or 2 with luggage..? He said yes of course.. I have a bad feeling that he wrote down Nile Hilton not the Conrad (which usually is not called Hilton) Him and another guy carry our luggage to the parking lot , it is a zoo... so many people so many cars, taxi, mini buses honking everywhere... Finally a kind of beat up mini van pulled up and our luggage is loaded on.. The fun part begins... Dave gave him a tip he said that's 'Piastre' . Dave looked at it and said no it's pound... I think he meant what Dave gave him is like loose change.. He kept asking ' you have to give me something' Dave said I did. after a few rounds he said something to us in Arabic in a tone that you know he is saying something like may a thousand camel spits on your shoes or something like that... Too bad.. it's been a long day we just wanted to go to the hotel and crash...The driver's English is not too good but he told Dave that the Tourist police will ask him for his name during exit of the airport. Not sure we fully understood. We stopped at a check point and sure enough a tourist police with a clip board ask for Name . Dave said 'David', the police said something in Arabic,wrote something down and wave us by.. What exactly does that do? not sure.. You are not stopping terrorist this way for sure... Like I said before it is to show. nothing more...Ah Saturday night traffic in Cairo... a long way to go before I get to sleep... Traffic is heavy. The driver pointed out various spots to us as we pass by... As we are getting closer I can tell he is going to the Nile Hilton when he turned instead of o straight. I quickly pointed it out before he gone too far... We have to say it&nbsp; few times.. but I think he understood (I hope).. I can see the Conrad Hotel.... sleep is in sight... Got off the 'Limo' i told Dave to give him a tip... here we go again... not enough...he kept saying you have to give me something.... I am so tire it is not worth it... I pull out another 10 EGP which is all the small bill I have and handed it over. I said that's all I have... Finally he smiled and go back to the Van...So you think&nbsp; we are home free.... No way.... All those tour groups at the airport will eventually get thru custom and have to check in hotels... yup they are now at the lobby trying to check in...The tour leader kept trying to butt in... Finally we cut in like everyone else...I notice there is a black woman behind the check-in counter that looks out of place. She looks American.. Sure enough it would seems that they are switching to some new system and front desk clerks are all struggling using the new system. I guess she came from head office for the roll out... Our clerk kept apologizing as he tries to check us in using some new system.He seems to have trouble finding a room with one king bed.. I am so tire I really don't care... 2 beds will do jokingly I said anything .. by the laundry room may be? I guess he did not get the joke... I will find you nice room he said.. Then he has trouble with my credit card...I don;t know how long, seems like if it takes another 5 minutes I am going to fall over asleep...Room on the 12th Floor facing the Nile... Not bad at all... ! !&nbsp; Too tire to care right now... off to sleep...
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