shazlex's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member shazlex on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/shazlex en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:42:13 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com Conclusion and Summary — Wangaratta, Australia http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206673200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206673200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206673200/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:42:13 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Wangaratta, Australia

We had such a full and wonderful trip, seeing and doing so much. It was very tiring but extremely enjoyable. It was all great, but for me the highlight was not the pyramids and temples but the experiences and cultural differences. In particular I really enjoyed the innocence of the country villages. The people have nothing but seem so content and happy. Materialistic things just don't matter. I would love to go back with my husband and spend more time in the country villages.

I really enjoyed the surprised reaction when I spoke a bit of Arabic and the look of pure happiness on the kids faces when I handed out badges. If we go back, I will definitely learn more Arabic. It made such a difference.

Although I really enjoyed the experience, I couldn't live there.. It was so good to get back to open spaces, hot running water, comfortable beds, cleanliness, decent feeds of meat of vegetables and of course my husband and children. We are so spoiled. I hope that I can appreciate these simple things for some time yet and not take them for granted like in the past.

Mum has recovered well and the illness and tiredness will soon be forgotten as she remembers only the "Once in a Lifetime" memories and experiences she has had.

Until the next trip.......

Sharon
]]> My own Pyramids of Giza Mystery! — Wangaratta, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206626400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206626400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206626400/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:12:48 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Wangaratta, Egypt

My Camera had problems both times we visited the Pyramids of Giza. Not Before and Not since! A coincidence?

The second day of the trip we were at the Pyramids and the memory card that I was using stopped working although plenty of space remained. Lucky I had a spare.

On our second day at the Pyramids at the end of the trip, I thought that the camera and memory card were working perfectly. However, when I got home and tried to view photo's there are quite a few errors on many of the photo's taken at the Pyramids. Unexplainable and a bit spooky!

Over the trip, I used 4 different memory cards and the only time I had trouble was at the pyramids of Giza with 2 different memory cards. It is not all photo's and not sequential. The photo's taken right at the pyramids are fine but there is a problem with many taken at a distance from the pyramids.

In the first instance, the card did not work again so I can understand that the card was faulty (I could recover my photo's) but the second time, the card worked fine prior to and after visiting the pyramids. Strange!

Conspiracy theorists could have a great time speculating!

They say that digital equipments does not work inside the Pyramids of Giza. Well all I know is that I have never had camera or memory card problems previously or since the pyramids and twice is a bit too much of a co-incidence for me. 3 times counting the problems that a member of our tour group 2 years ago had!
]]> Cairo to Alexandria — El Giza, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206021600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206021600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206021600/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:24:57 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
El Giza, Egypt

I started the day very homesick but it soon turned to worry about Mum's health.

We were woken at 4am. Not happy. I was so tired and grumpy. Still dirty and no shower. The breakfast was as bad as last nights tea.

Someone has really smelly feet and the smell is going through the train carriage. I am about ready to throw up. I am missing Alex and the kids dreadfully. I so miss running water, my comfortable bed and pillow, spacious rooms and meat & vegies. I wasn't this homesick when we travelled for 3 months! Pure tiredness I think. I have not had this little sleep ever before.

My mood soon changed as I became more worried about mum. She had been sick the day before last but seemed fine yesterday but today she is so weak that she can barely stand. I had to carry her suitcase from the train and she had to stop several times from the train to the bus. She is so weak and even looks dreadful. I am so worried about her.

I could tell she was even worse than she let on as she was holding back tears. I think she could be dehydrated. I spoke to our tour leader Siobhan who agreed and said to give her the rehydration salts immediately. They seemed to make her feel a little better immediately.

We drove to Alexandria.

We saw a factory - Ceramic Sanitary Ware - I have never heard toilets referred to in this way before!

As we neared Alexandria there were lots of pigeon lofts. They look like cones made of mud (sometimes coloured) with the largest part of the cone at the ground. There are holes (often in pretty patterns) around the cone. Sticks are then inserted from one side, through the cone and outside the other side to make the perch's.

As we neared the Nile delta the surroundings changed from desert to swamp. Amongst the water there are bullrushes everywhere. There are humpy's amongs the bull rushes made of whatever they can find (rubbish). There are also fishermen, who are pushing their boats along with sticks. In places in looks like a maze of water channels in amongst the bull rushes.

As we entered Alexandria, the first impression was how modern it was. Very similar to many western places. There are even trams. It is very clean. The corniche (main road) is 50kms along the coast. It is quite beautiful. They have really made an effort. There are lots of colorful tile mosaiics and water fountains.

As we got further into the town, there are alot of older buildings but it still looks so much cleaner than other places in Egypt.
]]> Cruising the Nile - Edfu to Luxor — Edfu, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205771220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205771220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205771220/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:29:38 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Edfu, Egypt

Another early morning. We left the boat at 6.45am to go to Edfu temple,which opened at 7am, to avoid other tourists.

Edfu temple is considered to be one of the best preserved temples in Egypt as it was covered for sand for so long. It is well preserved from a building point of view as the walls are largely in tact as is the roof. However there are alot better hieroglyphics at other temples. Many of the gods represented have been scratched out. This was done by Christians many years ago.

Egypt is fantastic and there is so much to see and do but unfortunately there comes a time when you have seen so many hieroglyphics, temples, tombs and heard so much about the gods and history that you begin to suffer overload. We have reached that point.

This morning we had green juice and green eggs at breakfast for St Patricks day.

Mum is really looking forward to a big meal of meat and vegetables. So am I. The food here is quite bland.

Mum is starting to feel a little squeamish in her stomach.

It was good to have a break and just sit and relax cruising along the Nile. In places it is quite smoky due to burning off of sugar cane.

The River Nile is very slow paced (like most things in Egypt except the traffic). It is extremely wide in places. Much wider than any river in Australia. There is a strip of green on either side of the Nile and then the rocky and mountainess desert. The grass and fields come right up to the banks of the Nile and often there are small (sometimes large) islands in the middle. In the fields you can see people working. It is all by hand. The most common crops are Corn and Sugar Cane together with Banana's and Date Trees.

We have also seen cows. However there are not many compared to Australia. The cows are often in the grass fields on the islands. I wonder if they swim or boat them across to the mainland when the Nile floods?

We have also seen alot of fishermen. No motors for these guys. They do it the hard way with oars. Some have rods and others nets. Some both. There are also women washing their clothes in the river and kids playing in the water.

Along the way there are many small villages, mainly mud brick homes. There are also a few larger towns.

We went through the loch at Esna. It is big enough to transfer 2 cruise boats at one time. The water dropped about 3 - 4 metres before we went through.

There are many many cruise boats on the Nile. As they approach each other, they sound their horn. When we arrived at Luxor (about 4pm) there were at least 40 cruise boats with the number growing each day. The boats moor side by side. We were the fourth boat out when we docked so had to walk through three other boats to get to shore. At points there were up to 7 boats side by side. Some of the boats are magnificant. Maybe the next trip???
]]> Bani Hassan Tombs and Tell El Amarna — Sohag, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205437260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205437260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205437260/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:26:57 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Sohag, Egypt

Last night I was worried that today would not be so nice. I had stomach problems and was worried as we were spending so much time on the bus. Mum and I have been very careful and used the antiseptic gel regularly but many people still get ill due to the different foods.

The chilli we had for tea got me but I was fine today.

As we left Minya, we saw tombs which looked like bee hives spread over the desert mountains. It is one of the largest cemetaries in Egypt. Unbelievable to see.

The bus was running low on fuel. They had tried 11 service stations in Minya last night but no one would sell them fuel. We got turned away from another on the way out of Minya. The police escort didn't help either. Evidently fuel in Egypt is about to go up by 100% to 200% soon. It costs about 1 pound at the moment (20 cents Aussie). Therefore everyone has been buying up, which has caused a shortage and the petrol stations don't want to sell large amounts like a bus needs as they will make a better profit if they wait and sell after prices go up.

It was a real circus trying to get fuel. We stopped at one place and caused a huge traffic jam as the road was so narrow that other traffic had difficulty getting around. The bus couldn't get close enough to the pumps so they filled jerry cans to carry in case we ran out of fuel before we could find a service station, which would supply the bus. We eventually found one and with the police escort jumped the huge queue. There were alot of very unhappy locals. I can understand it as imagine if in Australia, we were queuing for petrol and the police bypassed us and let a bus of overseas tourists go first. We wouldn't be happy either!

While we were filling up, I was the centre of attention. All the men were staring. They don't see white people often nor blonde hair. I had kisses blown at me and all.


The farming area around Bani Hassan was just georgeous and the ladies wore very bright clothing. Lots of red, orange and aqua. I got some great photo's of the girls riding donkeys laden with mint.

We went into 4 tombs at Bani Hassan. We had to climb a long way up the mountains - at least 300 stairs. The tombs have been built into the limestone cliffs and are from 1600 BC. The inside of the tombs are very well preserved. One tomb in particular had very detailed pictures carved into the wall and the color was astounding. I would have loved to have taken a photo but it is not allowed for obvious reasons.

As we got back to the bus, there was a group of children waiting. They were looking at me quite expectantly so I gave them badges. They seemed to know that I was handing them out. I don't know how as the last lot I handed out was miles away. Maybe the police escort told them as he also asked for a badge after he helped explained to the kids what I was doing.

We drove very quickly through several more towns. We had police in front and behind us and they really enjoyed using the lights and sirens to make way for us. There were alot of unhappy towns people by the looks we received. I don't know if it was us or the police that caused their nasty glances.

We then left the big bus and got on a ferry to go across the Nile to Tell El Amarna. The police escort came on board too. There were at least six policemen all fully armed with machine guns and shot guns.

We had to go up more stairs to get up to the tombs. I could hear mum thinking "Oh NO. Not more steps"! Mum will be glad if she never sees another step ever. Both of us have very sore legs. At least it was a track down.

We finally got up to the tombs, which once again were built into the cliffs. We visited 4 tombs and the main difference was the secret underground tunnels. Tombs were sealed from the inside and then the workers (normally dwarves) escaped by tunnels which came out miles away. These secret tunnels were then sealed and covered to avoid detection.

Upon getting back on the ferry, there were many children selling woven baskets. They were very pretty but we wouldn't be able to get back into the country. The children were so poor. It really tugged on the heart strings. A few of the kids tried to stow away on the ferry. They were caught and chased off by a man with a big stick. All of a sudden about 6 more kids jumped out of their hiding places and raced to get off the boat. It was very funny to see. A common game by the shrieks of laughter. You had to be there.

One managed to stay on the boat. I gave him a kangaroo badge and in return he gave me a Pyramid necklace he had made out of sugar cane I think. Mum was also given a lucky charm. We couldn't bring back into Australia but I took photo's.

Then we commenced the long drive (3 ours) to Sohag. We had the police escort again with their lights and sirens blaring. The overtaking was unbelievable. If a car was in front, the police would put on their lights and sirens and overtake even if a truck, bus or car was coming the other way. We were expected to follow. Several times I thought we were going to have a head on collision but there is enough room on the road for three vehicles abreast.

We didn't arrive in Sohag until 7pm. We are staying at the El Safa Hotel, which is right on the Nile. It is huge compared to the last one. We went out to buy some water and supplies for tomorrow and the police guard did not want us to go out without an escort. After much discussion with the desk clerk (which we couldn't understand) they eventually let us outside alone on the understanding that we would be straight back and not go anywhere but the supermarket.

Well time for bed. We didn't get much sleep last night as the traffic kept us awake until all hours.
]]> Abydos and Dendara Temple — Luxor, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205498040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205498040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205498040/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:02:09 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Luxor, Egypt

As we left Sohag it was very (and unusually) quiet. There was next to no one in the street (cars or pedestrians). Today is Friday and the weekend for Egyptians. It is the main prayer day for Muslims.

There are beautiful tiled mosaic walls in Sohag but as we were on the bus, I couldn't get a photo.

We have really enjoyed our time in these rural villages, where there are not tourists everywhere. That sounds hypocritical when we are tourists too! I can't really explain it but it makes the different culture and experiences seem more real and interesting.

I want to give you a picture if I can, of some of the dwellings we have seen. The poorest dwelling would be four sticks in the ground with a roof woven together with sticks and the with sugar cane husks and leaves places on top for the roof. Some have sugar cane leaves and stalks tied together to make a wall with the entrance remaining open. This type of wall is also used for pens/fences for their animals too. In many places the animals seem to live in the same dwelling with their owners.

There are also mud brick homes. Sometimes the bricks are visible and at other times they have been smoothed to give a rendered type finish. The roof is primarily made of sticks and sugar cane husks as previously described. Sometimes it is piled high and doubles as the feed storage. The windows don't often have glass in the poorer areas and are normally shutters for privacy.

Then we have the homes made of white limestone with mortar. Some of these are rendered with what looks like concrete and some are painted. It seems that the sugar cane/fodder roof is the most common as it can be easily removed and another level built easily if the family expands.

So what did we do today?

With police escort behind and in front, we continued on the Abydos. It is a beautiful temple where alot of the original color remains.

We had to wait until after 1pm to leave as the main prayer was still going. We had Falafel (not real sure of spelling) for lunch. It is a pita type pocket filled with what initially looked like meatballs. However, once you bite into it, it wasn't meat but bright green. They vary what goes into it but I think ours was celery, parsley and some type of bean, which had been rolled into balls then fried. It was quite nice.

From now on we travel in bus convoys so wont be the only tourists at sites. The police escort has been increased. We had two police cars in front (we were the first bus) and there were two motorbikes, which moved up and down the convoy and another police car at the rear of the convoy.

Mum was tired and had a Nanna nap on the bus. After all, she is a Nanna!

Next stop was Dendara, the temple to Hathor. There were great hieroglyphics. The second level of the temple also remains. We were walking on huge paving stones/rocks which had no pillars of support to keep them up! Architectural magnificance. This temple is also called the "Revolution Temple" unofficially as none of the cartouches contain names like normal and many of the hieroglyphics speak very badly about the Romans who occupied Egypt at this time but could not understand hieroglyphics. You can see that the Egyptian sense of humour has been around for some time!

Sal got very annoyed with another tourist group at Luxor. There were a group of French tourists and they were taking photo's with flash and leaning on the walls. Unfortunately it didn't make a difference. They had no respect.

We arrived at Luxor at about 6pm. We went out for tea. Mum's chicken was so tough that she couldn't even cut it. When they came to collect her untouched plate and realised she wasn't happy they gave her free Apple Pie. She would have preferred not to pay. Mum is even less adventurous with food than me!

Mum is having a great time. Even better than she expected. She also especially enjoyed seeing the farming areas.
]]> Overnight at Minya — El Minya, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205349360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205349360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205349360/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:23:26 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
El Minya, Egypt

We were only overnight at Minya and under heavy police guard.

The population of Minya is approx 1.8 Million. Minya is on the West bank, which is normally for the tombs. Most of the main cities are normally on the East Bank.

Driving into the town was an experience and very humbling. The outskirts are so poor. We saw ladies washing clothes and dishes in stagnant green water, which stunk so badly that I had to get my perfume out for mum and I to try to cover the smell.

My first impression of Minya was that it is a "mini" version of Cairo but not as dirty.

We went for a walk around town but needed to have a police escort. He got quite annoyed if we lagged behind. He was often giving mum and I dirty looks as we were often at the back of the pack.

While travelling in these rural areas, there is really no where that we can buy food, which is suitable to our stomachs so we need to stock up on water and food at major towns prior to travelling.

We went to a supermarket and bought supplies for the following day. For 2 X 1.5 litre bottles of water and 2 packets of dry biscuits, we paid 6 Egyptian Pounds, which equals about $1.20! Mum dropped her water bottle and cover in the street. Two young girls came chasing her and calling "Madame". She hadn't realised that she had dropped it. The majority of people are really quite honest. I gave the two young girls Aussie badges. They kept smiling at us.

I handed out quite a number of badges as we walked around and always received a favourable response.

We seemed to be the only Westerners in town so we really became the tourist attraction and everyone stared.

If we leave the hotel, we need to be in pairs but no more than 3 people or we need a police escort.

The room we are staying in, is the smallest yet. There wasn't even enough room to put the suitcases on the floor and we need to be contortionists to get into the bathroom. As mum said "You can sit on the toilet and wash your feet in the shower"!

We have a balcony, which looks over the Nile and when the sun went down, the view was magical. The whole town is lit up. There are flashing colored Christmas lights along the street and near the traffic lights (which are mainly ignored), there are lights on the pavement which change from red to green with the traffic lights. Of course there are the street and car lights as well. The lights are all reflected in the Nile river and make streaks across the whole river. They have also put spotlights on the desert hills across the Nile, which look like mysterious clouds. It was really beautiful. You also had the silhouette of the Felucca's (local sail boat) as well. The whole thing was like a giant carnival and the noise wasn't much different either.

The Nile here is more than half a kilometre wide. There is an island in the middle, which is about 200metres wide and 3 km long.

There are more motorbikes here than other places. We saw one, where a family of five was on board.

In the main street it is normal to see donkeys pulling carts laden with produce. The old style carriages, which we only see in museums are still used too.
]]> Memorable Meidum - Loved it! — Meidum, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205352540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205352540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205352540/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:29:42 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Meidum, Egypt

A day full of special memories. The childrens joy and appreciation of receiving badges and climbing in the mastaba were experiences that I shall remember for a long time.

I woke this morning to the call to prayer at 4.30am. It continued for at least 1/2 an hour. I couldn't get back to sleep due to mum's snoring so when I heard the birds, I got up and went out on the balcony to watch the sun rise. I watched the men taking their boats out on the lake fishing. The majority of them are big row boats. Not easy work!

As we were leaving, a group of 5 small children were trying to sell necklaces that they had made of shells. They were so poor. They were so dirty and wearing rags. It's sad. When I went to hand out the badge saying "Leaki" for a girl and "Leak" for a boy, meaning "for you" they went crazy, grabbing and clawing at me. I think that they thought there was only one and they all wanted it. Lucky that Saleeb (our guide) was there to speak to them and calm them down. I showed them how to put them on. They were so happy and even after I got on the bus they stood under my window smiling and waving. They were all comparing badges and smiling and yapping away. They were so appreciative and happy over such a little gift. They had no idea what a kangaroo or koala is. It makes me want to help them.

As we kept driving, we saw mothers and children scavenging through the rubbish along the road and in the desert (tip?). They were carry tins to collect things in and had bags balanced on their head. I have no idea what could possibly be in the rubbish that they would want.

We soon stopped at another police checkpoint and picked up another vehicle of armed police. Now we had a vehicle in front and one behind. This made 9 or 10 armed police for 13 tourists and 3 guides! We got a bit closer to the truth today. The tour guide spoke about how the area was closed after the Luxor bombings in 1997 (she didn't tell us that the extremist were from this area even though everyone in the tour group already knows it) and how it became even poorer without any tourists and that they don't want this to happen again so are over protective of tourists.
First stop was Meidum Pyramid. It was originally 8 levels but now 4 due to an earthquake. There are many artifacts buried in the area (located by ground and vibration xrays) but they have not commenced excavation. They have armed guards here 24/7 who have orders to kill anyone attempting to locate or take artifacts. 7 people have been shot to date.

I We went firstly into the Mastaba to Queen Phartu (not sure of spelling). We had to crawl down a narrow 47 metre corridor, balance (crawl) across boards, cross over a hole and get down a very doubtful ladder (made of two strips of wood with panels hammered across) into the tomb. Not many people tried it. Mum gave it a miss. Inside the coffin remains. It is bigger than the entrance and it remains a mystery to this day how they got it in there as they can't find another entrance and the tomb was dug into solid earth with the Mastaba laid on top. There must be another entrance somewhere.

I was glad that I was one of the first to go down as it got very dusty when we were all down and it would have been terrible in the tiny corridor. You could take photo's in this tomb but it was a mistake as with all the dust, it got into my camera and when the lens cover closed, it scratched the lens.
Alex wouldn't have been able to go into this tomb as it was too narrow and small and I don't think the rungs on the ladder would have supported him. It was real Indiana Jones stuff! Lots of fun. It felt real, not touristy!

Then we went into the main Meidum pyramid. It was easier than the one yesterday but mum gave it a miss as her legs are hurting too much. This one didn't require bending and it wasn't as far down, as you could see the lights at the end of the shaft. The cavern at the end has a fake wall which leads to the main tomb, where there are still treasures remaining to be found. That's what we were told anyway but I think that it would have been opened already if they really believed there were treasures inside! Who can stop themselves opening a present?

The police escort was with us all day but after leaving the Meidum area, it dropped to one vehicle again.

We continued on our way to Minya where we shall stay overnight.


]]> Fayoum - Lake Qarun — Shakshouk, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205265000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205265000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1205265000/tpod.html Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:55:15 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Shakshouk, Egypt

We were stopped at a baricade at El Faiyoum. There are 4 smokers and we got off the bus and we became the tourist attraction. They do not see tourists very often in this area. They were staring at my blonde hair and at Mum, Lily and I smoking. Females in Egypt rarely smoke.

The women here are covered from top to bottom with many having only the eyes visible.

The kids were shy to start but after I spoke a few Arabic words they came closer. Very soon we had a crowd. Too many to hand out badges.

Finally our police escort was arranged and we were off again. There were 6 policeman in a ute and they were fully armed with machine guns. The tour guide told us that it was to ensure a quicker passage as they could flash their lights if anyone got in our way. The horn on the bus seemed to work perfectly fine so we didn't believe for a minute that this was why we needed an escort.

We arrived at the lakeside town of Shakshouk (This was the name on the front of the Hotel) but they call the area the Faiyum Oasis. Lake Qarun is the largest lake in Egypt (about 22km by 5km). It is salt water.

Our hotel is right on the lakeside. One half of the lake is built up with towns but the other half is desert. We had a great view of the lake from our room and watched the sun set with background music, being the call to prayer. In the country it is not recorded and you could hear the chanting echoing all around the lake. It was really quite beautiful.

The room here is huge (suitable for a family). It has a real medditerranean feel to it. Alot better than Cairo accommodation.

Oh, I don't think that I mentioned previously that you can't flush toilet paper anywhere in Egypt, their pipes get blocked if you do! Good thing that we brought the nappy sacks!
]]> Alexandria — Alexandria, Egypt http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206022620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206022620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shazlex/3/1206022620/tpod.html Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:34:13 -0400 HELPING A DREAM COME TRUE - TAKING MY MUM TO EGYPT ..................... Mum has always wanted to see the Pyramids. Follow our journey to see how she copes with the adventures and challenges of Egypt
Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria is different to the other parts of Egypt we have visited. The Greek and Italian influence can be seen in the people and they speak with a different accent to other parts of Egypt. It is not as English friendly. The people seem to speak even less English and there are less signs in English.

Mum got very upset trying to order a sandwich. I was having a shower (cold but not by choice) and sent her to get a chicken sandwich for lunch. She was given the run around and nobody could understand her. When she finally got a menu, she thought it was in arabic (she left her glasses at the hotel) so came back without lunch and I could tell she was upset. The illness is getting her down and we really need some sleep.

The roads are very busy here too. We were warned not to try to cross the main road and to use the subways, as unlike Cairo the traffic here will not stop and will instead run you down. It was quite entertaining sitting in a cafe and watching the traffic. A car clipped a cart and the donkey driver was thrown off. The cart ran over him and the donkey took off into oncoming traffic. Luckily the donkey and driver avoided major injury as the traffic did stop.

We went to a very boring museum. At one stage Mum sat on the floor as she thought she would faint. I gave her more rehydration salts but she remains weak and faint.

It is a strange feeling to worry so much about mum. She has always been such a strength to me that it feels so strange for me to be worrying about her the same way I would my children.

We then went to Pompeys Pillar and the Roman catacombs. There was a spiral staircase down to the catacombs and I was once again surprised by Mum's stamina. The catacombs were very interesting. Pity we couldn't take photo's. It looks like a huge morgue built underground. The bottom layer is in water (ground water has risen) and they pump it out to preserve the catacombs. The engravings are a combination of Roman and Egyptian.

Today is Mohammeds birthday so a public holiday. The town really came alive at night.

The Beaches here are pristeen, so white and clean. To go on the beaches you need to pay 10 Egyptian Pounds or $2 Aussie. Paying works as there is a big difference in cleanliness between the free beach and where you need to pay.

Mum has learnt the Egyptian numbers.

I can't remember if I have previously mentioned the "Pound of Pee". This is a saying our tour group use alot. Everytime you go to the toilet in Egypt, you need to pay One Egyptian Pound. Hence the Saying!

We went to a local restaurant and had a lovely tea. I wanted Mum to try Shisha but she feels so unwell that she doesn't want to do anything that could make her feel worse.
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