Jamie Brown

JamieBrown

I am a middle aged, wannabe traveller.



Travel Blog Posts


Heaven Can Wait

Published: March 5th 2012Middle East » United Arab Emirates » Dubai
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JamieBrown
March 5th 2012

I know how Adam must have felt in the Garden of Eden. Anything you have ever dreamed of. Everything you could ever desire is here. But there is a catch, maybe two, the first is money. Dubai is basically in three sections. The first the old town, with the trading port and the creek flowing up the middle. This is Deira. Here is where we stayed for the first few days. Got the feel of the place, visited the museum and strolled through the old souks with a ride on a dhow (not quite as authentic as Morocco). Further along the coast is the business district. Woah! Skyscrapers reach for the clouds. The streets are full of expensive cars. The home to the Burj Khalif, the tallest building in the world, supposedly 834 metres tall, no ... read more



The Sands Of Egypt

Published: February 28th 2012Africa » Egypt » Western Desert » Bawiti
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JamieBrown
February 28th 2012

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel sake. The great affair is to move. (Robert Louis Stevenson.) After four nights in Luxor the place is becoming a little too familiar. For most people this would be good but I am getting itchy feet. The path we have chosen may not have been the right decision but procrastination does not sleep well with travel. Destination; The Libyan Desert. Now don’t get to excited it isn’t in Libya but also in Egypt. Driving west from Luxor passing banana plantations, fields of wheat and lucerne, sugarcane, potatoes and onions. Children walking to school and the general buzz of life. It soon comes to a halt where the reach of the Nile ends. It is literally a line drawn in ... read more



The Many Faces of Luxor

Published: February 24th 2012Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Luxor
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JamieBrown
February 24th 2012

If things are going well just wait it will change. (Murphy’s Law) I thought Catholics were weird; they have got nothing on Ancient Egyptians. These guys were serious about the afterlife and building monuments. The centre of Luxor has temples and ruins on every corner. One becomes rather blasé about them after a while. Our hotel, the El Gezira Garden Hotel is on the West Bank of the Nile, while the main city of Luxor is on the east bank. The Nile is not as pretty here as Aswan, but still impressive. Tombs ,temples and other assorted ruins on both sides. The famous Valley of the Kings is on the west side. It is amazing, stuck in the barren mountains. Each tomb has been incredibly constructed and decorated. Each seeming to surpass the previous ... read more



Luxor From Above

Published: February 23rd 2012Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Luxor
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JamieBrown
February 23rd 2012

Goooood Morning Luxor. The heat off the flame is keeping me warm as we all huddle together. Now is probably a good time to take up that last favour from Mary McKillop, I think she may be sick of hearing from me but I will try to squeeze one last favour from her. Several men are holding grimly onto the basket, murmuring comforting words to us with encouraging smiles on their faces, all in Arabic of course. One last burst of flame and we are off. Slowly we ascend into the sky, not a sound except the occasional burst from the burner. Looking down it feels like you are floating in the air like a Autumn leaf, where you go is in the lap of the wind. Underneath passes Hatshepsut Temple with the stark, orange cliffs ... read more



Abu Simbel

Published: February 22nd 2012Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Saqqara
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JamieBrown
February 22nd 2012

The best thing about Abu Simbel is it is situated 40 km from the Sudan border. I love places which seem faraway and Abu Simbel fits that criteria. A supposed police convoy is necessary to travel there from Aswan. We tourists collect together at a certain point and the police meticulously check all the cars, mini buses and coaches. Recording all the details. Finally we line up all ready to go, I’m expecting something out of a war movie. Hummers, soldiers and guns, but alas no I forgot for a moment I was in Egypt. These people couldn’t run a chook raffle. The first bus is waved off and then shemozzle. The vehicles jostle for positions as we squeeze out the gate. The fast vehicles passing the slow as we drive up the main street. Luckily ... read more



Aswan - The Nile

Published: February 22nd 2012Africa » Egypt » Upper Egypt » Aswan
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JamieBrown
February 21st 2012

Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order to smite. The sounding furrow; for my purpose holds. To sail beyond the sunset and the batts of all the western stars, until I die. (Alfred Lord Tennyson.) Ulysses. If Cairo is frenetic Aswan is tranquil. Nestled below the gigantic Lake Nasser it is charming and scenic. Aswan the main town on one side of the river and a Nubian village, where we are staying, on the other. The two are a contrast, one coloured brown the other painted shades of blue. The cultures are also different, with the aggressive Arabs versus the relaxed Nubians. Our house is a small eight roomed establishment with a view to die for (Beit Al-Kerem): to the front of us is the ... read more



The Pyramids

Published: February 21st 2012Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Giza » Saqqarah
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JamieBrown
February 21st 2012

They jut above the rooftops of Cairo (Giza) totally dominating there surrounds as they should. They are The Ancient Pyramids of Egypt. To get to them is (of course) not so easy, it never is. We have hired a car and driver for the day thinking naturally he will take us by car but to our dismay. Ha! Ha! He wants us to go by camel insisting this is the only way to see the pyramids. We stand our ground pointing out our hate for camels. He moves on to horses or maybe horse drawn carriages. Cost of course would be an additional 200 Egyptian Pounds each (6 to 1 conversion). We win this small battle and are driven right up to the first pyramid. Entry fee is 60 pound each plus 130 to go inside ... read more



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JamieBrown
February 21st 2012

Cairo is exhausting. 25 million people, driving 14 million cars all beeping their horns at once. So as you can imagine, this makes for some very interesting traffic. A visit to the RTA is not necessary to register your car. Every car is either missing a door, a backlight or a bumper. I never quite understood the meaning of bumper to bumper until now. Officially there is 3 lanes, but it appears that the locals think there is actually 6. Picking us up from the airport, our driver Siaid immediately runs into the back of another car, and then nonchantly proceeds to tell us “it is no problem.” The local buses are all old, dingy Volkswagens missing doors. No wonder! Within the first ten minutes in the city, we witness a collision between two of them ... read more



Saying Goodbye To Morocco

Published: February 17th 2012Africa » Morocco » Grand Casablanca » Casablanca
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JamieBrown
February 17th 2012

Today we are saying our farewells to Morocco and flying to Egypt, landing in Cairo. From El Jadida the road is a dual lane freeway to Casablanca. A toll even needs to be paid a nice change to all the other roads driven on in Morocco. We find a petrol station, find the airport and find where to drop off our car. All without too much drama for a change. The people and the officials are so friendly at the airport, although I am a little bit sick of hearing the word Kangaroo. When we go through all the checks, and there is quite a few, they just give us a smile and wave us through. I guess there is not a lot of Australian terrorists. We are flying Air Maroc not probably one of the ... read more



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JamieBrown
February 16th 2012

1) Always have a supply of alcohol on hand (NOTE: rule only applies if you have alcoholic parents). 2) Betty is a bimbo (GPS). Road signs are few, when driving you have to follow your nose. Directions are given but rarely understood... (leading to lesson number 3) 3) LEARN SOME FRENCH (and if possible, some Arabic and Berber, or at least ‘shokrum’ and ‘salam’) 4) Don’t underestimate the weather (the Sahara is NOT always warm), skimpy clothes NOT optional, dress warmly 5) If you meet a friendly local THEY WANT MONEY... (leading to lesson number 6) 6) Don’t expect change! (any extra cash you hand over will be considered a tip) Always carry little change. However, locals are honest, they won’t steal. 7) Toilets are surprisingly clean and usually supply toilet paper. Way beyond Asian standards. ... read more






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