This is for all the travelers looking for recent info about getting a indian visa for a US passport in Cairo. The indian consulate I went to was at 37 talaat harb street in downtown cairo... found on most tourist maps and right across the street from McDonalds. Its on the 3rd floor, consulate hours are 830am to 1130 sunday through thursday. I filled out my applicaiton on Monday, Feb 4th and paid a 30LE deposit. I needed two passport photos and a copy of my flight itinerary. I was told to come back wedneday , the 6th, pay another 360 [View Full Entry]

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Dahab... it used to be the low key beach hang out where the diving was spectacular and the intoxicants abundant.... Now in 2008, the commercialism is in full swing, the hotel and waitstaff are out for blood, and the trashbags blow into the ocean. But, if you can find a quiet haven, it can be a relaxing and beautiful time... and you can trick yourself into thinking its 1968. I crossed the border from Eilat to Taba on the 28th- the visa was easily arranged at the consulate in Eilat that morning (65 Shekels and 1 passport photo) then I got [View Full Entry]

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Hey all - another traveler info entry: My experiences with Israel borders I crossed into Israel on Jan. 11, 2008 from Jordan via the King Hussein/Allenby bridge... and did not get an exit stamp from Jordan- standard procedure at this crossing. On arrival, I asked that they not stamp my passport. When asked why and I made up plans to go to Damascus, Syria. I had no ticket or any documentation and it still worked fine. They stamped a piece of paper instead. .. which I soon lost. ... but that turned out to be no problem. One the way out [View Full Entry]

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I've been in Israel for just over 2 weeks and this is what I've seen-- Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Zfat, Qazrin, Menahamya, Eilat... Lots of old buildings, religous sites, and very friendly people... haven't paid for a place to sleep yet!! and... normal people eating hummus for a main course... with NO MEAT! a 6 yr old and an 80yr old talking on their mobiles(cell phones)!!! everyone has one - and no coin payphones... telecard only The first rain in a month.... and an educated couple that didn't know how to use the defrost function in their car!! not much need for [View Full Entry]

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My first day in Israel was an eventful one. After lots of trouble with closed borders on the 10th, we backtracked from Aqaba in the far south of Jordan, to Amman, in the north. Figuring out the bus situation was another ordeal, but we finally arranged three tickets on the 7am bus to the King Hussien Bridge/ border crossing. I had no trouble crossing, and even managed to get my stamp on a piece of paper, instead of my passport. (most Arab countries won't let you in if you've been to Israel, and don't allow Israelis in at all). Pema and [View Full Entry]

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Great day in Petra today checking out all the ruins. Lots of great pics. Going with the girls to a Turkish bath house tonight for a $20 massage, soak, scrub, and scrape...whatever that means. Tomorrrow we check out and head to the desert for the Wadi Rum Bedoin tour.. first by camel, then by jeep, and sleeping in a tent in the desert should be cool too! I'm keeping an eye out for those infamous camel spiders!! Ok, well my Jordanian adventures have come to and end, so now I'll summarize: The Turkish bath was interesting... a nice treat, but it [View Full Entry]

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Back on land after a fabulous week diving in the Red Sea. Over the course of 7 days I completed 19 dives, and an Advanced certification course. The course taught me skills for deep, wreck, night, and drift dives as well as underwater navigation. The night dive training was especially useful for the New Years Eve dive.... an old british military cargo ship called the Thistlegorm. It was definitely the most thrilling of the dives, as the current was pretty intense. We were even able to pull of the classic Titanic pose on the bow! So yes, the diving was fantastic [View Full Entry]

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Well I made it- First to Amsterdam yesterday, and today to Egypt. I got into AMS just in time to catch up with another guy from the trip, and our new friend Steve, the Rabbi in training. I was Aron's first time in the "freeland" so we did the usual Red Light district stroll... girls in windows, dodgy dudes in the shadows (even at 10am!) and the ubiquitous smell the city is know for... good ole Mary Jane. Other noteworthy Amsterdam sites- rusty bikes galore, the sex museum, complete with penis shaped salt and pepper shakers, and my new favorite... the [View Full Entry]

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So here it is- after much consideration (and hesitation) I decided to go ahead and start a travel blog for this upcoming trip. In the past many of you have suffered through the group emails, and while I still think blogs are a little pretentious, I'd rather give you all the freedom to unsubscribe at any time. So please, exercise that freedom if you want to. It won't hurt my feelings. I probably won't even know. And beside- what do I care- I'm going to EGYPT! So here's the trip plans- December 26th I leave the states for Egypt. I'll meet [View Full Entry]

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