Advertisement
Published: July 31st 2006
Edit Blog Post
I wanted to write an entry to let everyone know that I'm safe and still having a blast. Some times have been hectic and crazy but I'm making the best of every opportunity and keeping and optimistic attitude (someone even commented to me that I'm the "always smiling American"). Some here's an overview of the last weekish:
On Wednesday the 26th I left Syria in the evening and headed for Amman by taxi. The border crossing was a little crazy but not a very big deal and went almost as smoothly as I would have hoped. On Thursday I took buses and hitched rides to and from the Dead Sea and then from Amman to Petra. "Swimming" in the Dead Sea was an intersting experience because you can't swim, you just float on top. Also being at the lowest point on earth was pretty neat. Then, like I said before, I ended the day in Petra.
Friday the 28th I actually saw Petra. It wasn't as long as I had wanted but I saw it from about 7am to 2pm. All I can say is that it's really beautiful and really really big (I'm still sore, seriously). Then Friday
night I got a ride to Aqaba in the south of Jordan on the Red Sea to take the ferry to Egypt. Well, after about a 12 hour stay in the port waiting for "boat complications" to be fixed we left in the wee hours of the morning for Egypt. In my waiting I met a professor at a college in Philiadephia and we kept each other company and so fourth until we parted ways in Egypt.
On Saturday morning after getting no sleep I arrived in Nueibaa, Egypt. From there I got a ride to Cairo which was about 6 hours or so crammed in a van with 10 or so people. It wasn't very comfortable but it got the job done. When I got to Cairo I was exhausted from getting no sleep and so fourth and just wanted a hotel. Well, the driver had decided to drop me in an old run down part of town where the nearest hotel was probably at least 20 minute walk. So I got a taxi to take me to a decent hotel then had the luxury of arguing the fair with him and the price of the hotel as
well when all I wanted to do was sleep. So I finally checked in, dropped my things, got a quick bite to eat, and crashed for the night even though it was only evening.
On Sunday, having changed my flight to Monday, I was off to the pyramids. I wasn't going to go to Cairo just to take my flight, so I cut Istanbul from two days to one and I was determined to see the pyramids. I found out how to get there from a nice local and was off to the bus station. The bus ride there was nearly 2 hours and that was just to get across Cairo, such a big city! Anyway I got there and got a horse tour with just me and a guide. We went there through some back entrances and bribed some police or something but it was fun. My guide thought it was funny to scare my horse into galloping away when I wasn't expecting it but then was surprised when I knew how to ride and didn't jump off. He said most people jump off when he does that so I was proud of myself. 😊 After the pyramids
I headed back to the hotel on the bus. When I got off the bus it came to my attention that I was being followed. I walked around basically in circles for almost an hour, slowly heading back to my hotel and making sure I stayed on main streets where there were lots of people. When I got to the hotel I told the front desk and the police man that stays at the front door that someone was behind me and had been following me for an hour. I waited and pointed the man out as he approached and then stood in front of the hotel waiting for me to come out. He waited for a few minutes and then walked away and made a call on his cell phone to someone. I on the other hand went upstairs and to bed for a few hours.
I got up around mindnight this morning and left for the airport around 1am. The Cairo Airport was so packed I was amazed. I made it to my flight and arrived in Istanbul around 6am. I wandered around a little bit in the neighborhood where I new the hostels were and I
ran into 2 Czech. girls my age. We decided to look for a place together since we wanted a really cheap one. Eventually we found one that we were happy with and left our things and set out for the day. We wandered around Istanbul seeing the must-see things in the old city such as the Blue Mosque. The city is very beautiful. Now it's almost 10pm and I'm going to bed soon so I can catch my flight in the morning. If you don't know where I'm going then I guess you'll have to wait to read my next update.
P.S. Pictures are going to be a no-go for now since my card reader seems to not be working. Hopefully I can upload soon but I have a feeling it may not be until I get home before I can do it.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.04s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0179s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb