Blogs from Alexandria, Mediterranean, Egypt, Africa - page 9

Travelling to Alexandria was tranquil in comparison as we had a driver ( Mr Sammy) who seemed quite sane. We stopped for a couple of hours at Wadi Natrun, the site of salt lakes that when dried out produced the salt used in mummification. There are also several monasteries dating back to the 4th century. We visited Deir Anba Bishoi and were given an extended tour by one of the monks. Spiritually refreshed, we drove on to Alexandria where the traffic is again chaotic. The Plaza hotel is supposedly 4 star but there is a huge difference in the standard compared to the Nile Hilton. ... read more

Up early and on the road, with the comical hope of missing the insane traffic of Cairo. The traffic here makes Dubai seem serene - it's insane. They can fit four cars and a motorcycle abreast in a two lane road and seem to consider traffic lights (and their attendant traffic officers) as decorative. Mayhem to the soundtrack of horns. The driver told us they "Toot and Come On." He laughed every time he said this. Crossing the road was too traumatic to report without extensive therapy first. We made our way slowly out of the city then zoomed to Alexandria where we admired the Greek influences on the country, caught up on ancient history, and admired even more Ramses II feats and body parts. Ultimately we paced outside the new library, frustrated by the fact ... read more

Willie Nelson said it best...sometimes you 'just can't wait to get on the road again'. So we hit the road again on Mar. 14th, back up north to Lower Egypt, back to Cairo. The ten hour train ride was right on time, and with the help of a British couple chatting with us, the ride went pretty quickly. We desperately tried to find a different hotel this time around, but the ones we wanted were either full, or too expensive. We ended up back at the old hotel that we had previously stayed at, with our good friend Mohammed greeting us at the door. Right away he remembered us, and was even happier that we remembered him. He even pretended to 'accidentally' brush against Christine's hand when closing the door (yuk!). It was better this time ... read more

It is now the 1st March and we are headed back to Kathmandu in Nepal to get ready to set off on the South East Asian leg of our round-the-world journey. Due to a lack of time and reasonable Internet facilities I am over a month behind in our blog so you'll have to wait to hear about our adventures in one of the most fascinating countries I've been too - anyway, back to Egypt (it's a good thing I've also been keeping a written journal). Leaving the smog, dirt and noise of Cairo behind we made our way through a variety of landscapes - farmland, desert and strange walled, yet empty army installations - to the seaside city of Alexandria. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, Alexandria was built to be the capital ... read more

Salut tout le monde ou plutot "salam aleykoum"! Nous avons enfin vu les pyramides cette semaine, wow, elles sont vraiment impressionnante et tres nombreuses. Encore plus impressionnant est la façon dont ces merveilles sont presentées au public. Sur deux des trois sites, nous pouvons monter directement dessus...au détriment de leur conservation, sans compter tout les déchets qui s'amassent tout autour et sur les pyramides en plus des tonnes d'excrements de chameaux et de chevaux. Quel dommage! Véro Boudreault: Nous te confirmons qu'il n'y a pas de Wal-mart en face des pyramides (ouf!). Nous commencons lentement mais surement à nous familiariser avec la culture egyptienne, nous sommes un peu moins naif, nous sommes capable de traverser les rues (tout un exploit) mais on a encore des croutes à manger : la preuve, nous acheter des billets de ... read more