Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Luxor
Two nights ago my group took the night train from Ciaro to Luxor (its in southern Egypt) to see the Valley of the Kings, Temples, etc. The train was....interesting. I took some pictures which hopefully will one day make it onto this site. We have heard horror stories about this train for the last two years, but it was surprisingly pleasant...or at least in comparison to the nightmare that we had envisioned. We didn't eat the food cause we didn't want to be sick, but its REALLY hard to get people to accept the answer 'no'...they harrass you consistantly. So me and my roommate Lauren told the food guy that we were "fasting"... he got all worried and in shock and was like "WHY!?" so I said we "were fasting for religious reasons". Funny cause we are the two most sacreligious people on this whole trip, but they take fasting pretty seriously so that made him leave us alone. The person in charge of our train was this old man that was missing almost all his teeth...he kinda looked like a character off of Alice and Wonderland. When he found out we were studying arabic is ran off to get his phone and call his daughter whom he put on speaker phone so that we could talk to her. Then he showed us all his pictures of his family...he was very friendly...and was super hyper.
The Valley of the Kings was amazing! All the really cool stuff that I see they won't let us take pictures of....so when I finally get my pictures up I don't think they will be impressive at all. The tombs were extremely well preserved. They are around 6,000 years old and the details are amazing. The color is all there too...well about 75% of it. They used black, blue, yellow, red...these places are extremely colorful. Its hard to get my head wrapped around what I am seeing. The coolest thing i've seen is something that I had never even heard about. Its this boat that they found in the ground outside the largest pyramid. It was for the Pharaoh so that when he was resurrected he could sail to the sun....or something like that. Anyways this boat is about 4000 years old (I think) and when they found it it was so well preserved that they could put it back together. so they have it assembled in this museum 2 feet away from the pyramid. This boat is so detailed and beautiful, its wierd but that was more impressive to me than the pyramid. ...maybe cause i've seen the pyramids so many times already in pictures and movies.
I really like Luxor, it is so beautiful and we are staying right on the Nile. And the Nile is actually pretty here. In Ciaro it is gray and full of trash. Luxor doesn't have the pollution and overwhelming amount of people that Ciaro does. Its this oasis in the middle of this ugly ugly desert. There are a ton of Europeans here...all in saggy bikinis and speedos. They are very comfortable with their bodies. I swear if I see another 300 pound bald man with orange wrinkley skin in a speedo I will dig out my eyes with a spoon myself.
I have to go soon so here are some quick bullets of other things
- I get told that I look like i'm Egyptian a lot...I wish I could say though that they think that I speak like an Egyptian haha
- I rode a bedoin camel by the pyramids...that was the most fun thing that i've done so far...love the camels.
- Learned how to play Texas Hold'em and I definitly suck at this game.
- People do not use trash cans here...the world is their trash can.
- I ate at a Pizza Hut here in Luxor and it was a sit down restraunt with a waiter and everything...pretty nice place except that the airconditioner dripped onto my pizza so i'm pretty sure i'm gonna die. Muslims can't eat pig and so the pepporoni was made from beef...it tasted pretty much the same though.
- I think i'm slowly over coming my germophobia...or at least thats what I keep telling myself.
The Valley of the Kings was amazing! All the really cool stuff that I see they won't let us take pictures of....so when I finally get my pictures up I don't think they will be impressive at all. The tombs were extremely well preserved. They are around 6,000 years old and the details are amazing. The color is all there too...well about 75% of it. They used black, blue, yellow, red...these places are extremely colorful. Its hard to get my head wrapped around what I am seeing. The coolest thing i've seen is something that I had never even heard about. Its this boat that they found in the ground outside the largest pyramid. It was for the Pharaoh so that when he was resurrected he could sail to the sun....or something like that. Anyways this boat is about 4000 years old (I think) and when they found it it was so well preserved that they could put it back together. so they have it assembled in this museum 2 feet away from the pyramid. This boat is so detailed and beautiful, its wierd but that was more impressive to me than the pyramid. ...maybe cause i've seen the pyramids so many times already in pictures and movies.
I really like Luxor, it is so beautiful and we are staying right on the Nile. And the Nile is actually pretty here. In Ciaro it is gray and full of trash. Luxor doesn't have the pollution and overwhelming amount of people that Ciaro does. Its this oasis in the middle of this ugly ugly desert. There are a ton of Europeans here...all in saggy bikinis and speedos. They are very comfortable with their bodies. I swear if I see another 300 pound bald man with orange wrinkley skin in a speedo I will dig out my eyes with a spoon myself.
I have to go soon so here are some quick bullets of other things
- I get told that I look like i'm Egyptian a lot...I wish I could say though that they think that I speak like an Egyptian haha
- I rode a bedoin camel by the pyramids...that was the most fun thing that i've done so far...love the camels.
- Learned how to play Texas Hold'em and I definitly suck at this game.
- People do not use trash cans here...the world is their trash can.
- I ate at a Pizza Hut here in Luxor and it was a sit down restraunt with a waiter and everything...pretty nice place except that the airconditioner dripped onto my pizza so i'm pretty sure i'm gonna die. Muslims can't eat pig and so the pepporoni was made from beef...it tasted pretty much the same though.
- I think i'm slowly over coming my germophobia...or at least thats what I keep telling myself.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Highlights so far...
1. We were eating at this restraunt (like the one we ate at in Mexico, run by the Mayans) and i went to the bathroom and the girl selling toliet paper was so nice. I'm guessing she was about 9, and I talked to her in arabic for awhile while I waiting and then she put flowers into my hair. When I left she kissed me and said that she loved me. It was very cute. Pretty much the highlight of my Day.
2. I just went to this grocery store and there was this little girl in a full burka (minus the face part), she was about 4 and she was with her Dad. He got for her this minature cart that was her size and let her do the shopping and he showed her how to pay. It was really cute. And very different. The Dad was in designer jeans etc and looked very modern and then his daughter was dressed extremely traditional. I'm guessing Saudi. She was a very happy little girl though, so excited to feel grown up.
3. I'm really glad that i have such modest clothing. I feel so much more comfortable. When we go to tourists places there are a bunch of Europeans and some are dressed like sluts...seriously in the U.S. they would be considered slutty. Obviously they didn't get the memo about this being a conservative country.
4. Drivers dont know how to use lanes...i'm pretty sure they try and line up the center of their car with the white line. haha Its crazy! And they don't have pedistrian crossing and so we have to cross streets that are packed with cars driving pretty fast or at least a lot of them (the traffic here is worse than NYC) and so what you have to do is walk into it and then just pray they don't hit you. Picture walking across Montono or 528 or Southern during a very heavy rush hour. Its hard to explain so i'll just make a video for you. Its nerve racking but kinda exhillerating...like riding a rollar coaster.
5. I saw Sakara (The Step Pyramid) and went into a tomb, went to the Eyption Museum and saw all King Tuts stuff. I still can't figure out how to get my pictures from the camera to the computer and so I don't know when you'll get to see them.
6. At the pyramids we saw the funniest sight...a guy with a broom. They have a sweeper in the middle of the desert. haha. We tried to get a picture but he disapeared before we dug out our cameras.
7. I like it here. Its pretty neat.
2. I just went to this grocery store and there was this little girl in a full burka (minus the face part), she was about 4 and she was with her Dad. He got for her this minature cart that was her size and let her do the shopping and he showed her how to pay. It was really cute. And very different. The Dad was in designer jeans etc and looked very modern and then his daughter was dressed extremely traditional. I'm guessing Saudi. She was a very happy little girl though, so excited to feel grown up.
3. I'm really glad that i have such modest clothing. I feel so much more comfortable. When we go to tourists places there are a bunch of Europeans and some are dressed like sluts...seriously in the U.S. they would be considered slutty. Obviously they didn't get the memo about this being a conservative country.
4. Drivers dont know how to use lanes...i'm pretty sure they try and line up the center of their car with the white line. haha Its crazy! And they don't have pedistrian crossing and so we have to cross streets that are packed with cars driving pretty fast or at least a lot of them (the traffic here is worse than NYC) and so what you have to do is walk into it and then just pray they don't hit you. Picture walking across Montono or 528 or Southern during a very heavy rush hour. Its hard to explain so i'll just make a video for you. Its nerve racking but kinda exhillerating...like riding a rollar coaster.
5. I saw Sakara (The Step Pyramid) and went into a tomb, went to the Eyption Museum and saw all King Tuts stuff. I still can't figure out how to get my pictures from the camera to the computer and so I don't know when you'll get to see them.
6. At the pyramids we saw the funniest sight...a guy with a broom. They have a sweeper in the middle of the desert. haha. We tried to get a picture but he disapeared before we dug out our cameras.
7. I like it here. Its pretty neat.
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