Where had the time gone? What had just happened? There we were on Mar. 24th, finally arriving in Europe. We had a quick layover in Amsterdam, where it was snowing! It was so odd to see the snow falling and feel that icy chill after being in a hot place like Egypt. Luckily it was just a layover, since none of our clothes could withstand that cold. What wimps we had become, already missing the heat of Cairo! We got onto the next plane and in a few hours, landed at our destination, Athens. The sprawling and historic capital of Greece, somewhere we couldn't wait to explore. Things were starting to look a little more normal once again, as we waltzed into the airport. We hopped a train to central Athens, where we planned to look ... read more

Leaving Luxor and heading off south to Aswan on Mar. 7th started out very well. We had our complimentary breakfast at our cheapie hotel, then sped out the door on the way to the train station. Five minutes later we were there, snacks in hand, all ready for a quick three hour train ride to Aswan. Things were going too smoothly to be true, and sure enough, nine am, our departure time, rolled around, and kept on rolling by. Minutes turned into hours and before we knew it, it was noon and still no sign of our train! A fellow traveller came over to ask if we knew why the delay, since we seemed so unconcerned. We explained that our train had been late from Cairo as well, so sooner or later we imagined that it ... read more

As predicted, when we arrived in Dubai on Feb. 18th, we were in for quite severe culture shock. How could we not be, coming from a place like India, to this. The huge luxury hotels, an indoor ski slope, the massive, modern shopping malls, all situated near the blue waters of the Persian Gulf. Dubai seemed to be the place that everyone has heard of, but few know more than these details before visiting the city. Though we hadn't had a wink of sleep all night, we couldn't help but notice how clean, modern, and nice the Dubai International Airport was, in comparison to Delhi's. Everything suddenly seemed so normal again. It was quiet and peaceful, almost like India was all some strange dream. All we knew was that we were there in Dubai for a ... read more

It was dark, cold, and way too early when we arrived by train in Jaisalmer on the morning of Feb. 5th. We had decided to call ahead and reserve a room, since we would be getting there at six am, and it was a wise decision. Our hotel offered to pick us up at the station for free, which was just fantastic. It was a bit scary waking up on a train in the dark, wondering if we were at the right stop, and then rushing off while hoping that we didn't leave anything behind. It makes for a rather stressful start to the day. But we were so happy to see a lovely Indian man at the train station, wrapped in a heavy wool shawl, grinning, and waiting for us while holding up a sign ... read more

India seems to be one place that when people know you're going there, they say one of two things. Either 'Wow, you're going to India, that's great, how exciting!', or 'You're going to India, why would you want to go there?'. Well, we were on our way, to the place where people are usually quite intimidated to visit for the first time, ready to expect the unexpected, bring on the challenges, and say hello to living life on the edge with sacred cows, on the crowded streets of New Delhi. From Bangkok, we set off on Jan. 21st, with another nice, short flight of four hours. This was the first flight where we noticed how loud everyone on the plane was. Indians arguing (or so we thought), singing, laughing, and drinking loads of whiskey. We just ... read more