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Published: June 11th 2017
Ella in my suitcase
In the midst of unpacking.So, I am writing this on the couch, back home in New Westminster. The title is kind of a joke, since it is actually a lovely sunny morning. Not a cloud to be seen. However, it has been cloudy and rainy since we got back, and the forecast, after today, is for rain. A bit hard to take after all the sun and hot weather in Egypt and Jordan!
Our flight back from London to Vancouver (about 9 1/2 hours) was pretty pleasant. We managed to cram all our souvenirs into our bags (no mean feat!). We had several hours at Heathrow, and had no difficulty spending all of our remaining English pounds. We bought Hendrick's gin and Patron cafe tequila at duty free (a delicious coffee flavoured tequila), and I got a shopping bag at Harrods (to bring my work-out clothes to work), and we got
Ella again
I had barely taken stuff out of the suitcase, and she was in it! two Harrods mugs, and a couple of jars of marmalade. Then we spotted Swatch watches so I got a cute watch too (perfect for future travels).
I got a slice of "Victoria sponge" at a cafe (I had seen it in London and wanted to try it), which I had later on the plane. It was good and I'll buy it here if I can find it.
The plane wasn't full so we were hoping nobody would sit in the middle seat. You know how you keep watching the people boarding after you, hoping they won't stop at your aisle, and the happy feeling when the doors close and you have the extra seat? The doors closed and nobody had taken the middle seat, yay! In the row ahead of us only the window seat was taken so we weren't worried about the seats being reclined in our faces. I was in the window and could stretch out to the middle seat next to me. Turns out the woman in front of me never reclined her seat at all, so neither did I.
A friend of ours, Manny, is a flight attendant with Air Canada, and had
Morning in New Westminster
I guess coming home isn't so bad. notified a flight attendant he knew on our flight, so we got treated very well (by Monica). She bought us wine from business class and numerous little bottles of Bailey's to have with our coffee, as well as a few gin and tonics. I did the opposite of what you're supposed to do on planes, I ate lots and drank lots, but since we were heading home I figured what the heck.
A neighbour picked us up at the airport and we got home about 5 pm. We unpacked and couldn't keep our eyes open past 7:30. Ella (our cat) was very happy to see us and we were also very happy to see her; we missed her.
I can still barely believe we have been on this incredible trip and seen all the things we saw. As I've said before, going to Egypt was a childhood dream of mine, so I was absolutely thrilled to finally be able to go. We both loved Egypt. The big cities (Cairo, Alexandria) in Egypt are chaotic, polluted and grimy, but we still loved them. The people are friendly, the food is good, and the scenery and the sights are unmatched
Our version of Egyptian breakfast
It was yummy: foul, hard boiled egg, feta, olives, cucumber, tomato, lebany, and pita bread. Coffee in new Harrod's mug! I think, anywhere in the world. The monuments the ancient Egyptians left behind are unbelievably spectacular.
We felt safe everywhere we went in Egypt. The most annoying thing we had to deal with were the persistent vendors. They don't want to hurt you, they just want to sell you something! I would highly recommend visiting Egypt. You don't have to worry about the security situation. Don't believe the hype. Egypt is safe and this is a good time to visit because the number of tourists is much lower than before the 2011 Revolution. If you've been wanting to go to Egypt - go! You won't regret it.
One evening in Dahab we were walking back to our hotel and there was a call behind us. The boys who worked in the place where we had coffee and a sheesha were running after us. Susan had left her cell phone there and they were rushing to return it to her. This is Egypt.
Jordan was in many ways a different world from Egypt. Still a conservative Muslim country, but more modern. Cleaner. Jordan is an oasis of stability in the turbulent Middle East. It has absorbed a massive
Turkish coffee at home
The coffee (and mugs) we brought back from Jordan. Yumm! number of refugees, first from Palestine, and more recently from Syria. About 60-65% of Jordan's citizens have Palestinian origins. Jordan's population is only about 7 million, yet it has 1.5 million Syrian refugees. The country's economy and infrastructure can't possibly manage all these refugees, yet somehow it still does. As our guide Mohammed says, "we are happy to save their souls."
Although Jordan is very stable and safe, its tourism industry has also suffered. After 2011 tourism collapsed, and is still only about 50% of what it was prior to 2011. This is so unfortunate because Jordan is a wonderful country to visit. If you are leery about visiting the Middle East, consider Jordan. It too has wonderful, amazing things to see.
We have so many memories of Egypt: being awestruck everyday at a different sight (the Giza pyramids, the tombs at the Worker's Village, the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, to mention only a few), gobbling down koshary, enjoying Stella and Sakara beer (finally!), gliding down the Nile, gin and tonics on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel, riding camels in the Sinai desert, meeting wonderful, welcoming Egyptians.
We loved Jordan too and have many happy
Ella happy in her cat bed
She was very pleased to see us! memories. The first glimpse of the Treasury at Petra through the walls of the Siq, riding camels in Wadi Rum, floating in the Dead Sea (and covering ourselves with black Dead Sea mud), our photo shoot at the Citadel in Amman (!), chasing the truck with the camels in the back down the highway, and meeting wonderful, welcoming Jordanians.
I go back to work tomorrow (whaaat?) and will return to the routine of day to day life, but I feel changed somehow, enriched from these travels. Each trip is like that.
So, this is my last blog entry for this trip. I've enjoyed writing the blog and I hope you have enjoyed travelling with us! Until the next time ... maybe Peru ... maybe Morocco ...
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Tuula Pajak
non-member comment
Ella enchanting is wanting to be ready for the next trip