http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/amyuyma/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from amyuyma en-us Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:58:55 BST Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:58:55 BST So it's been about 3 weeks since I last wrote. Really Sorry. I turned 23 in Bali with my brother. I turned 22 in London with a collection of my favorite Eurotrash. I turned 21 in Hong Kong with corporate expats who basically hazed me. I turned 20 in NYC with Americans. I realize that in my past 5 birthdays in 5 countries Fred is the only person to have been present at more than one. I can't dec http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-305665.html I think I'm doing pretty well at adapting to life here in Paris. Really upped the inefficiency cut back on the inappropriate jokes and yelling stopped smiling so much feign coughing fits as a result from 'smoking too many cigarettes' in order to cut the queues. But there is one thing I have fucked up on a weekly basis for three weeks now and this is the fine art of remembering to BUY your food http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-302918.html Did you know that in France they don't actually call it 'Bastille Day'. It's referred to as 'la Fte Nationale' and it consumes an entire weekend which can basically be summed up with two words exploding with heat and action fireworks and firemen. To cover my bases there are many things to love about Paris. And I do. I love many things about Paris. From the Eiffel Tower as cliche as that is l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-299119.html So I can't really do Cairo justice. We only have exactly one day 7am7am in Cairo and part of the morning is spent recovering from the overnight bus from Dahab. I don't take many pictures. Maybe it's a shame maybe it was all for the best but maybe I'll just use this as an excuse to only write about 2 topics the disappointment that are the Pyramids and an extremely creepy BellyDancing experie http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-294321.html Sure you and I run around all day yelling out to the heavens like silly children Paris je t'aime Paris je t'aime But have you ever stopped to wonder if you ever hear back Hey Amy Paris t'aime I don't even know if that's grammatically correct yet. Because I sure don't. There are many things to love about Paris. And I love many things about Paris but we've all probably heard this crap http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/-le-de-France/Paris/blog-294320.html There must be something in the water in Dahab. Something that makes your tongue tingle and dance that makes your mouth curl into a constant smile something that makes you want to forget everything else in the world and just coolly highfive every living creature within a 5meter radius. It's funny though I can't say that it was so much of a spectacular place descriptively I've been to nicer be http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Sinai/Dahab/blog-292998.html If I ever hated anybody enough I would wish upon them a border crossing via ferry from Aqaba Jordan to Nuweiba Egypt. A knee in the nuts and voodoo dolls frenzies just donrsquot cut it once yoursquove seen this.Picking up from where I left off last leaving Wadi Rum my brother and I get to Aqaba an hour and a half late. Our timetable says there is one daily fast ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Aqaba/blog-292993.html The only way to see WadiRum is with a guide. We book a 4x4 tour from the hostel in Petra but unfortunately it seemed like nobody else was going so we had to pay a slightly higher 45 JD per person for a private car. When we got to Wadi Rum however the guide had a Japanese couple that was to be in our group but since they couldnrsquot refund us any money we decided to demand a private car anywa http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Wadi-Rum/blog-292281.html After a day or two of Petra you will have developed a few new skills. You will be able to take on anybody in a camelanddonkeyshitdodging relay race. You can say ldquonordquo to cute 5yr old children faster than they can approach you with useless pieces of rock. However your tolerance for fat but scantilydressed foreigners will have regressed as you probably havenrsquot seen exposed c http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/South/Petra/blog-292266.html I admit that two years overseas have definitely compromised my competencies in a few ldquoAmericanisms.rdquo I canrsquot tell you who won the Rose Bowl and my March Madness bracket was unfathomably pathetic. I probably couldnrsquot even tell you what MLB even stands for anymore. I don't know which agnstfilled popstar did what where last week. Anchorman is affirmatively the last movie I c http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/West/Dead-Sea/blog-290853.html The serviced taxi ride from Damascus to Amman was looking to be a disaster. Picture a bigbellied driver a bigbellied Jordanian riding shotgun and me in the back riding thightothigh with two Jordanian men. Throw in a lack of AC in the Middle Eastern sun and a permanent stream of cigarette smoke the next 3 hours of my life crossing into Jordan were 3 hours I would have paid to skip. The man i http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-289587.html How I find myself at a 1500 year old Christian monastery in the Middle of Nowhere Desert Syria for 3 nights Irsquom not sure. I was planning on finally getting to Beirut after the football game but somewhere between Howiersquos portrayal of a wordofmouth secluded mountain hideaway and Victorrsquos description of lsquonot in the Lonely Planetrsquo desert adventure I decided to push http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/blog-289221.html A few things about Damascus Images of their fearless leader Bashar alAssad everywhere. When I pick up a pistachio croissant in the morning hersquos looking far off into the distance in a bold striped suit. When I walk through the souqs hersquos smiling down at me in a top hat. When I go to the bathroom hersquos got his arms around other militant leaders. Everybody is smoking sheesh http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-289206.html My entire trip to Palmyra cost me 26 USD. 2.5 hr bus Homs to Palmyra 150 SP taxi from Palmyra bus station to hostel 50 SP one night in Citadel Hotel double bed private ensuite 400 SP breakfast 100 SP entry to Palmyra ruins free entry to Temple of Bel 150 SP laundry 175 SP taxi from hotel to bus station 75 SP 3 hr bus Palmyra to Damascus 200 SPTotal 1300 SP 26 USD. And I w http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/East/Palmyra/blog-286943.html Irsquom currently sitting in a bus from Homs to Palyrma next to a woman in a full burka. She and about 7 men around us have been talking and smiling and pointing at me the whole ride. It really is as if they have never seen a foreigner or a laptop but I know that is doubtful. I took out my LP and used a few phrases but that was pretty limited conversation. The are still having a blast though. O http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/West/Krak-des-Chevaliers/blog-286942.html Some people love ancient ruins some people hate them some people are ambivalent.I thought I was in the ambivalent category but today may have converted me. I want to say ldquoEverybody has that special place. You know that place that when they first set foot in they knew they would never forget the feeling of just being.rdquo But for me that would be lying because before today I donrsq http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/West/Hama/blog-286919.html Eventually I get to Antaklya Antioch in one piece around 9am from Goreme. From here I am hurried onto another bus for Halep but first they collect our passports. This is the moment I have been dreading. On my bus are two girls from New Zealand who also donrsquot have visas. When the ticket man gets to my passport he looks and says ldquoAmerican Oh you will have to wait very long timer http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-286910.html Where am IMiddle Eastern Country 1 I walk down the street and get called out at by about 17 men in 3 blocks. Some ask to kiss me. A plethora of random Japanese words are thrown at me. I think there may be more tourists than local people. I get a random kebabgyroshwarma off the street it is not that great and I pay the equivalent of a Big Mac meal. I get one square inch of baklava for a doll http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/West/Hama/blog-286222.html Carmen San Diego would be proud.Now who were the Mole People really I mean I know thats a term thrown around in conversation usually jokingly but I actually have no idea who they really were. e.g. What happened to Jerry man Ever since he started dating Sally he's been MIA. Yeah dude he's turned into one of the Mole People... or something. A quick visit to Wiki yields that Mole People http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-285461.html Pamukkale is a threehour drive from Selcuk the majority of which I sleep right through. Irsquom not actually sure if the little town with nothing to do at the bottom of the mountains is Pamakkule or if the actual attraction is called Pamakkule but honestly I canrsquot be bothered right now. I start the walk up towards the calcium pools with a stroll or sweaty hike in the blazing sun thro http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Pamukkale/blog-285450.html