Hands down Petra was THE best ancient city I have EVER seen. It pretty much shat on Macchu Picchu, Ephesus, Pompeii, every Egyptian monument and the underground cities of Cappadocia. It's an incredibly well preserved 2,000 year old mega city in which over 20,000 people once lived. They lived in a city carved out of the same candy striped multicoloured rock we hiked through at Dana NAture Reserve. We loved it, and can't possibly capture it on film or with words. Impossible! But the people we met along the way today, and those that FOLLOWED us along our way, had us [View Full Entry]

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I think Brooke and I have completely squeezed the most out of Jordan. I'm back in Cairo exhausted after sleeping approximately 8 hours in the last 3 nights. Too much to see only possible by starting at sunrise every day. Gladly. It's been an incredible destination and more sandy sojurns are definitely on the cards. The open space of the landscape sunsets, late cave nights out with locals and the hospitality of Jordanians has finished this trip beautifully! Brooke and I have also spent the last fours days with the most travelled person I've ever met - a Swiss guy called [View Full Entry]

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A different rythm and pace has settled over the last piece of my journey. No longer part of a group but travelling solo with my buddy Brooke means a fresh perspective. Independence suits both of us! We are similar in the sense of knowing exactly how and what we want to experience. Remote nature, village life, and culture - with some history for good measure. As soon as Brooke met me in Cairo we have set a cracking pace. We've decided we can sleep when we get home :). A revisit to the pyramids and a mooch around the main bazaar [View Full Entry]

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With only one day to spare for the town of Alexandria both Kate and I agreed, history could take a side step for the all important tour of the taste bud! la Gastronomique Tour da force was the obvious choice. Drawing a long walking loop from the train station along the coastline and back we chose prudently. Of each circled on the map establishment we had to either eat, drink, smoke or inhale something from the menu. Street food was also fare game. Historically significant monuments where purely an additional bonus for the day. Museums where totally off limits - to [View Full Entry]

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Mt Sinai has absolutley scratched my Mountain high itch! After leaving Cairo we endured a very bumpy 7 hour journey East to the Asian part of Egypt - Sinai. An incredibly dry lanscape with high granite peaks flowed past our first glimpse of the azure Red Sea. Named the Red Sea because apparently at night the granite cliffs reflect and turn the sea a reddish colour. So here I am on the coastline of that sea looking across to Saudi Arabia so clearly on the horizon. A tranquil little town called Dahab is to be my home for the next few [View Full Entry]

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After the past few days felucca bound I feel like an absolute crusty slug! :) Could it be possible to be more rested and fed? Basically the small traditional sailing boat is one gigantic floating bed. A bed for eight people with ample room to starfish. Delicious endless time to read and just fall asleep with no restrictions is ALL we have done. Lying back and listening to the Nile lap the boat is the only thing I have HAD to do. At times as the book chapters merged into one I thought 'I really must turn over to see if [View Full Entry]

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I have been literally floating through a blissful desert space. The ocean of sand is so open it has cleansed my mind completely. After leaving Cairo and the hustle behind we travelled further into a new found chilledness. The Jeep transporting us with miles into a stress free zone. After much sighing and gazing across the vastness, the Black Desert turned to White. A fairy like fantasy beyong my expectations and imaginings. White on white limestone and sand. A merengue and honeycomb space akin to a gigantic pavlova. The wind exhaled my mood. As the sky turned pink and the silence [View Full Entry]

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It's not every day you wake up and think 'I'm off to visit the Pyramids today'. But how cool is that? So with much excitement and years of preconception we headed to the the last remaining ancient wonder for a good look around. I have learn't that expectation can get you into all kinds of trouble. And the pyramids at Giza are pretty surreal for want of a bigger superlative. They are massive, they are sand blown, and they are swarming with people. I know it's not de riguer to slag the pyramids but overall I felt a little underwhelmed by [View Full Entry]

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Talk about hit the sand smiling! After a better than normal flight enduring a chronic nose clearing man seated next to me from Singapore, I was pleasantly greeted by a jovial and rather rotund Wajit. Flying in over the vast desert - a study in beige unfolded below. Quickly I was whisked through to the central city of early sunrise morning and my buzz started to build. My limited Arabic learnt affectionately from my ex-mother in law Elly flooded back. My few words where met with such enthusiam that Wajit insisted on taking me for breakfast - food being one of [View Full Entry]

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Everyone loves a tiger. Especially tigers you can pat in person and hand feed. It’s been debated A LOT. It’s been written about A LOT. I had to find out if the Thai Buddhist Temple near Bangkok really was a nature experience or a shonky hideaway profiting from animal incarceration. I would love to say that it is all incense and jungle, with one happy and majestic tiger lounging atop an altar while saffron robed monks fan their feline companion. But no. It’s a burgeoning, themed, touristy destination with all the potential of an animal freak show. Yes, there are plenty [View Full Entry]

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