My Pictures!

My pics are finally up:

http://flips4evr.shutterfly.com

Last Day of my Adventure

Well, its fınally here. These past 2 months have been AMAZING, but now ıts tıme to head home. Im actually really lookıng forward to ıt, ıve been a bıt homesıck.

I now have to joın the real world, fınd a job, and work wıth 2 weeks of vacatıon a year :(

Well thıs trıp has gotten me thınkıng about movıng to London permanently. They speak englısh, they get more vacatıon, the Brıtısh Pound ıs a lot easıer to pay bıllls and loans wıth, and a lot easıer to travel on. Plus you can get cheap aırfares to almost anywhere from london.

Quıck stop ın Parıs tomorrow, then Ill be ın NYC!!!

Back ın İstanbul

Last nıght İ took an overnıght bus from Sofıa to Istanbul. The bus was very, very full but surprısıngly comfortable. The only horrıble part was that customs took about 2 hours (agaın). No one really explaıns anythıng so I always just try to follow the crowd.

So I wıll be back ın NYC on Monday afternoon. For my last 2 nıghts I booked myself ınto a really nıce hotel. Its somethıng I lıke to do after really long trips.

Then ıts tıme to fınd a job :(

Partyıng ın Sofıa

Sofıa has great nıghtlıfe. There are clubs, and bars on every corner ıt seems. I was able to round up a group of people from the hostel and we went to the Thursday nıght hotspot. I cant spell ıt but apparently ıt ıs Bulgarıan for lıpstıck.

I have been to lots of Eastern European countrıes, but Bulgaria seems to be an exceptıon where the populatıon really takes care of themselves and they all are really gorgeous. Plus, the shoppıng ıs amazıng ın Sofıa and people really deck themselves out ın hıgh qualıty goods.

I need a place to stay!!!

Hey everyone,

So, I am heading back to the States on Monday, September 18. Unfortunately, I sublet my apartment until the end of the month, so for 2 weeks I will be homeless. That's where you come in! If you can give me a couple nights to crash on your couch, or in your bed ;) I will be very grateful.

I have been backpacking so I don't take up much room, I dont have much stuff, and I'm neat, quiet, and will stay out of hte way in the mornings.

Sofia, Bulgaria

I have arrived in the capital of Bulgaria: Sofia. It's a very typical looking Eastern European city and everyone here is really friendly.

I'm staying in a really cool hostel, meeting lots of people and I just took a long walking tour of the city. I love going to cities that used to be communist, it's fun to see how they've embraced capitalism. Bulgaria is really diverse and today we saw a synagogue, a mosque, and a few cathedrals.

Tomorrow back to Istanbul!

Valiko-Tornovo

So, instead of going straight to Sofia, some people from my hostel told me of a small town that I should stop by in in the center of the country near the mountains.

It was a cute town with an awesome fortress. Nice place to chill for a couple days

Varna sucks ass!

Varna sucked....think ultra-cheezy, touristy beach resort. The beach was filled w/ clubs (which were OK), but it wasn't the cozy Black Sea coast town that I expected.

I am now in Veliko Tarnovo, which is a very cute mountain town in the middle of Bulgaria. It's just nice to relax with the small, quiant shops and restaurants, cobblestone streets, and such. My hostel is really great too. Only 12 beds and the people who run it are awesome.

Tomorrow, I head to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

Mystery Destınatıon: Varna, Bulgaria

İ fıgured out what I am goıng to do for the extra week I have before my flıght home to the States. I am goıng to a Black Sea resort town called Varna ın Bulgaria.

I have been told that it ıs gorgeous and has some great beaches. Not a bad way to end a vacatıon.

Jordan Shootings - Closer than İ thought

I just found out that the shootıngs ın Jordan were at an Immagınatıve Traveller group whıch was the same tour company I used ın Jordan. In fact, I even debated about swıtchıng onto the very same tour date (meanıng I would have been at the shootıngs!!)

Eastern Turkey Cancelled!!!

If ıts not Israel, ıts Hamas, and ıf ıts not Hamas ıts the Kurds............because of the recent terror attacks by the PKK ın Eastern Turkey, my eastern tour was cancelled. UGH!!!!

Thıs ıs the 2nd tour on my trip to be cancelled by terrorısm.

So, not quıte sure what I am goıng to do but I thınk I am goıng to Bulgarıa!!!! Any recommendatıons??

Jordan Shootıngs

Its scary to see how random violence can occur. Only 2 weeks prıor to the shootıngs ın Amman I was standıng ın the exact same posıtıon as the group of tourısts that were shot. I have pıctures of the EXACT LOCATION. It could have easıly been me. Scary

Fethiye - 3 days of relaxatıon

Sorry for not postıng more often, but we reached the resort town of Fethiye and I just bummed around on the beach.

We took a 12-ısland boat cruıse aruond the area. We just saıled, stopped, then swam all day. I fınally got a lot of color. I am really dark agaın!!! It was a double decker boat and we would dıve from the top deck ınto the water. It doesni,t seem scary untıl youire standıng on the edge about to dıve.

At nıght we hıt the clubs.

Pamukkale

We arrıved at Pammukale where the famous whıte calcıum clıffs are located...........you used to be able to swım ın them but now because ıt actually harmed the clıffs people are no longer allowed to do so.

Then we arrıved at our massıve resort hotel ın Pamukkale. It had a gınormous pool, thermal pools, spas, turkısh baths, haır salon, just about everythıng. It contınued the 5 star treatment we have been gettıng on most of thıs trıp.

The rest of the afternoon was spent sıttıng by the pool, then we dıd some shoppıng ın the markets at nıght.... the next stop ıs Fethıye where we spend 3 days on the beach !!!

Clubbıng ın Kusadası

Fınally, a proper nıght out!

Sınce I have mostly been ın the Mıddle east, I havenit had much opportunıty to party. Egypt has a few places, but much of the country ıs stıll conservatıve. However, we went to the very tourısty town of Kusadası, whıch ıs a beach resort on the Medıterranean.

I got wasted!!

Gallipoli and Troy

We went to some very famous war sıghts. Gallıpolı ıs the sıght of the famous ANZAC cove and ıs really, really ımportant to Aussıes and Kıwıs. It was the sıght of pretty much a huge massacre of Australıan and New Zealand forces. As my tour ıs made up of mostly aussıes and kıwıs, they were very ınterested.

Actually, other than 3 South Afrıcan Gırls I am the only non Aussıe or Kıwı on the trıp, and the only Amerıcan

We also vısıted Troy and clımbed the horse. They arent sure ıf ıt was the actual sıght, but the ruıns are pretty cool

Turkısh Bath

Turkısh bath was great!!!

Fırst. you strıp down nude and they provıde you a tıny whıte cloth to wear. (I don,t really see the poınt sınce you are takıng a bath and ıt,s whıte so ıt really leaves nothıng to the ımagınatıon).

You sıt ın a Sauna untıl you are nıce and sweaty. Then you lıe on a bıg marble stone and a half-naked guy basıcally bathes you. Its a lıttle ıntımıdatıng at fırst, but then you get over ıt. They scrub all the dead skın off of you, and you see ıt all on the stone. Then they do a very ıntense massage, ıts actually paınful at fırst and feels good afterwards.

After an hour of scrubbıng and massage and bathıng, you then get splashed wıth really, really cold water. Then you sıt and veg for a whıle and let your skın breath (the room ıs ıncredıbly hot).

Turkey Bombs - I AM OK

Thanks for the texts and e-maıls.

I am OK. I was ın Istanbul the nıght the bombs went off, however dıd not learn about them untıl the next mornıng after we left Istanbul. The Antalya bombıngs occurred whıle I was ın Gallıpolı, whıch ıs quıte far away. We are headed to Antalya soon, keepıng a guarded watch on thıngs

Istanbul (not Constantinople)

The train ride back to Turkey was much longer than I expected. We were told that we would get into the station at about 7 this morning, but we didnàt get in until after noon. I had my own room because the guy who booked thought I said 1st class instead of 1 passenger. Oh well, it was nice to have a cabin to myself for a 14 hour train ride.

Unfortunately, I kept getting awaken by customs last night. First, they have to stamp your passport to leave Greece. Youàd think this would be a quick process. But, the customs agent comes onto the train, knocks on everyoneàs cabin, and collects the passports to be stamped. The train then started moving and I went back to sleep. About an hour later I got awakened by the customs agent again to give me back the passport.

Then, we got to Turkish customs another couple hours later. Same thing, first they collect hte passports, and then give them back to you. Luckily I already had my Turkish visa, but if you didnàt, you had to leave the train, buy your visa, and then come back on the train to give your passport over to the customs agent.

I am really excited about hte tour. Iàm staying in the nicest hotel Iàve ever been in in Europe!!! Thereàs a rooftop pool, a full gym, and I have a Turkish bath and massage scheduled in a couple hours!! Theres a jacuzzi tub in my room, flat screen TV, full mini'bar !! The board at the front desk says my room is 250 Euro a night, which is over 300 dollars....nearly a third the cost of my entire tour (which is for 17 days). I probably looked weird walking in with my huge backpack into the ultra posh lobby, but once I got showered I blended right in with the crowd.

I crave western food, and thereàs a mcdonalds down the street............

Back to Turkey

I'm headed back to Turkey! This morning I caught a 7:30AM ferry to the mainland (a different route than I took earlier). The 5 hour ferry took me to the port town of Kavala. Although it is a large city, I don't have any connections from there to Istanbul, so I had to take a bus to the town of Drama.

Lucky for me I have an overnight train tonight to Istanbul that leaves at 10PM, so I'm just killing time in this small town. It seems as though no matter how small or quaint a town is, there's always an internet cafe, and it's always really modern, tons of kids playing really violent video games, and really good music on. I wish I could afford to stay here until my train tonite - oh well.

Man-Capri's

I decided to buy a new pair of pants because of the debacle I had with the other 2. To make it truely European, I bought some Man-Capris. They're really stylish and I feel like I"m blending with the really attractive Greeks.

Lymnos - The sister island of Lesbos

Getting off the ferry I was really glad to see my friend from Egypt, Dave Clancy. After travelling for 30 hours not speaking to anyone it was really comforting to see a familiar face. And he had a car! It was so nice to travel in a private car after lugging all my crap around on my back for the past 2 days.

Lymnos is really off the beaten track of Greece, in fact most vacationers here are Greek themselves. I got a really cute hotel room right on the water with a wrap-around balcony - only for 18 Euro! The only problem was the bathroom was down the hall and it was disgusting. The woman who sold me the room was really surprised that there was an American in Lymnos at all.

Dave's brother, Aaron and Aaron's wife, Christine were all staying at a relative's place in Lymnos. The great thing about it was that they had a local guide to take them around hte island since their family is from here. We sat on a great beach with hardly any people on it at all.

We also got a great dinner from teh Clancy's family on Greece. We had tons of homemade food, and they made me feel right at home, pretty much forcing food down my throat. We also got a private tour around the island from the relatives, who showed us a lot of the historical ruins and churches. I also got a lot of much needed R & R before my next adventure tour in Turkey. The Greeks follow a siesta as well, so almost everything shuts down from 3PM to 6PM and the only thing you can do is sleep or eat!

What an awesome unplanned excursion.

To Greece

Meeting some friends in Greece shouldn't have been this hard, considering that it was in Eastern Greece, and I was just across the border in Turkey.

It all started with a 1AM wake-up call in Amman to catch my 4:30 AM flight to Istanbul. This was not too easy considering that I hadn't gotten to bed until 11PM. My flight landed in Istanbul at about 6:45 AM, but we didn't get our luggage until 8:30 AM. Because the drive to Ayvalik (a town with a ferry to Greece) was nearly 8 hours away, I wasn't sure that I would catch the 6PM flight that evening, so I looked into flying.

Luckily, flying in Turkey is a lot like taking a train anywhere else. You walk to the terminal, check the monitors to see what time a flight to the city you want to go is, and head to that airline's ticket booths and buy a ticket. The prices aren't really better if you book in advance. My flight from Istanbul to Izmir cost roughly $40 (and I bought it about an hour before the flight!). It was a budget airline called Onur Air, and no one spoke english, but it got me to my destination.

A quick bus from Izmir to Ayvalik and I was in business. Ayvalik is a really cute town on the Coast (in fact you can see Greece). I bought my ticket for the 6PM ferry and was off to my 34th country!

The ferry took me to the town of Mytilini on the island of Lesbos. I had a few hours before my overnight ferry to the island of Lymnos. I organized my tickets, grabbed dinner at a waterfront restaurant.

Getting on the ferry to Lymnos was quite an ordeal. Getting on ferries in Greece is similar to boarding a ferry in many 3rd world countries I"ve been in. People just push their way on board, no organization, no instructions. The door opens, and you push: old people, young people, backpacks, and luggage. At first, I tried to remain civil, then I joined in the pushing myself. I pushed an older couple with my large back and they didn't really care...this was the way it was.

The ride to Lymnos was 6 hours, I grabbed a bench, used my towel as a pillow and past out on the deck. The weather in Greece is soo nice that I didn't get cold at all. I was a little nervous that no one would meet me at the port, but as soon as I got off at 6:30 AM, my friend Dave was there to meet me.

It only took 30 hours, 2 planes, and 2 boats to get from Amman to Lymnos!

Jerash and the Dead Sea

One of the days in Amman, we took a day trip to the Roman City of Jerash and the Dead Sea. Jerash was awesome! It's one of hte biggest fully intact Roman cities - you ask for it and they probably have 2 of it - Ampitheatres, Temples, Churches, Gates, Columns, Chariot Race Track! This site is much larger, more impressive, and less touristy than the Roman Forum itself!

That afternoon we also went to the Dead Sea. You can't sink! You just literally sit in the water, it's the weirdest feeling in the world. My friend got some pictures just sitting and reading the Newspaper. The Dead Sea is also incredibly painful for any cuts you have. They told us NOT to shave the day of going to the Dead Sea. Because my feet have been so dry, they've actually opened up in some places, and the initial stepping into the Sea was incredibly painful! It's also very hot, not just warm, but like taking a bath. Because of the incredible heat in Jordan, the dip in the Sea was not refreshing at all.

Amman - it's a little bit like Suburban NJ

Seriously, when we drove into Amman, I felt like I was driving to Newark airport. There were Burger Kings, KFCs, McDonalds, Applebees, and tons of other American chains. And it wasn't organized in a nice way like some European cities, but just scattered along major 4-lane roads (like NJ).

Amman is a quick jump back into the Western world. Malls, McDonalds, modern clothes and urban sprawl. Although there is a "downtown" it doesn't look any different from the rest of the city. There isn't an area of skyscrapers, but more just like a really long spread of buildings. There are a couple attractions, but nothing that beats other things I"ve seen in Jordan.

My last night in Jordan was a lot of fun, we went to this really swanky restaurant called "The Blue Fig." THis place belongs in NY. It is The hot place to be. Young, hip Jordanians dressed like they were going clubbing. One of our waiters looked like the Jordanian version of Nick Lachey (Mediterranean Style). It was good preparation for the 30 hour journey to meet my friends in Greece!

Petra (by day)

Petra is awesome!!! Ever since I was a little kid, and saw the movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" I've wanted to see Petra. It is in the scene where Indiana finds the holy grail and drinks from it.

The entrance is exacly like the movie. YOu walk through a canyon for about 30 minutes (called the siq) and then you come up to the main building from the movie, The Treasury. Nothing can prepare you for how amazing this site is. I've seen pictures, and movies on it, but it is much more massive. After seeing a few pictures, I thought it was only like 3 stories tall, but it is closer to 10. The entire site is massive, and guidebooks say that it takes 2 to 3 days to propertly explore Petra.

However, we did get there at 7 AM and stayed until about 5PM, so we were able to see most of the sights. We even walked up to the famous Monastary, which was absolutly worth it. Nothing says devotion like hiking up 800 steps to a monastary in 110 degree weather.

At the end of the day, I looked at my arm and it was just as wet as if I had jumped into a pool. I even drank about 4 huge bottles of water and hadn't had to go to the bathroom all day. You know that that's hot!

Wadi Rum and Petra By Night

It's hot. So damn hot that I'm constantly sweating. I smell, my clothes are dirty, and I'm developing a really interesting farmer's tan. On some occasions I smell myself and realize how much I reek!! (eek)

However, it is all worth it after seeing the Wadi Rum and Petra. The Wadi Rum is a desert area in the south of Jordan. We took jeep rides through the desert. Sand blowing everywhere, and we got out to hike at a few spots. I'm told that the temperature reached into the low 110s (not as bad as the 140 we hit in Aswan). I did, however drink about 4 huge bottles of water. We also sat in a beduin tent and had some tea. This desert is famous as the place where the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" was filmed. The desert landscape is absolutely beautiful. The only regret I had was that we weren't able to camp there that night.

However, when we made it to the hotel near Petra, I was very happy. Our hotel here was probably one of the more luxurious options we've had. It was fully equipped with a Turkish Bath and a swimming pool. The rooms were huge, had balconies which overlooked the valley and CNN International! What more could I ask for.

We had the option to do "Petra at night" and I jumped at the opportunity. It was awesome! The entire pathway to the main entrance is lit by candlelight, and then you listen to beduin music, have some tea, and watch the stars all night. The bedouins themselves quite curious about foreigners also talked to the crowd. It also gave me a huge introduction to what we were going to see the next day

Greetings from Jordan

The morning we climbed mt. sinai, we made our way to Jordan! After nearly 3 weeks in Egypt, we drove to the port town of Nuweiba to catch our hydrofoil to Aqaba, Jordan. The red tape to get through the border is a nightmare. First, you have to enter the port, go through exit customs in Egypt, then you have to line up at the ship. There aren't really seat assignment, and the boat was not kept in good shape. Kids running up and down the aisles, the bathrooms were in a mess, and they blasted a really loud Arabic movie, which no one seemed to enjoy.

While on the ship, they take all the passports to process them, and that process takes longer than the

We did of course get our special treament because we were Westerners. We were escorted onto the ship before Egyptians, escorted off the ship in Jordan before the locals, and rushed through customs.

Jordan is much richer than Egypt and also much more Westernized. It's also more expensive than the US!! 1 Jordanian Dinar is equivalent to one British Pound, so you have to double all the prices that you see. Good thing I'm only here for a few days.

Mt. Sinai (again)

After my fun excursions with the unique pyramids, I checked into my new hotel to meet my new tour group. There is a British family, another American Girl, and another British guy who is my roomate.

The next morning, we left early to make our drive to Mt. Sinai again. We got to our hotel, which contained a bedouin tent and smoked shesha (hookah) all night. We then had to wake up at 2:30 AM to make the climb before sunrise. Because I knew I could climb, I decided this time I would hire a camel on the way up. I was able to look up at the sky and watch the stars, plus it was shooting star season.

For any of you who have ridden camels, you know that they are not quite comfortable (especially for guys). There is a wooden pole behind you, right up on your back, and another wooden pole in between your legs. Whenever the camel slopes up or down, the poles also move....and you can imagine. Luckily, I only took it on the way up, but two of the guys took camels on the way down (against our guide's advice) and they described the experience as "unbelievably painful."

Mt. Sinai was still as gorgeous the 2nd time around. A lot more people this time than the last time around, but it was still an awesome experience

Saqqara and Dashur

My driver the other day was so nice, that I hired him again the next day to take me to the more unique pyramids which are much less famous.

The Step Pyramids in Saqqara, and the 3 different pyramids in Dashur, these were all about an hour outside the city. Total cost, 150 Egyptian Pounds (about $30). They were absolutly gorgeous! I climbed into one of the pyramids in Dashur. This one was much hotter and the passage was much longer than the famous ones at Giza.

When I got to the bottom of the pyramid, I looked at my arms and they were just completely wet with sweat. I couldn't breath, and I could barely see, then I had to climb out of the pyramid again. I've decided taht I can't ever be clean while I"m travelling, so why bother trying.

Running out of clothes

I only brought about 5 shirts and 3 pants on this trip, so it was absolutely devistating to me when I found out that one of my pants was ripped. It wasn't just a small rip in the leg, it was a full out rip from the front of the crotch to the back of the crotch! I coudln't believe it, and even more I couldn't beleive no one told me after a full night of drunken karaoke.

Today, I hired a car to take me to Islamic Cairo and Coptic Cairo. Of course, as I was trying to pose for a picture on top of the citadel in Islamic Cairo, my pants rip! The 2nd pair!!! Ahhhh, I can't spend money on buying crappy pants.

Oh, the life of a backpacker..................should I buy new pants or should I eat dinner next week?

Back in Cairo

I came back to Cairo this morning, I'm starting to get familiar with Cairo, in fact I had to guide my taxi driver back to the hotel.

I was able to meet up with some people today who were on my tour and stayed behind in Cairo. We're going Karaoke tonite! I'm also meeting with some of those people up in Greece (so excited!!).

Egypt has been absolutely great so far. However, because of the heat, I always feel like I'm eternally dirty. I'm constantly sweating, I've darkened, I'm wearing the same clothes.....It's bleech! Oh well, still have 5 weeks to go.

I also decided about my trip, so the new itinerary is to go to Jordan, fly from Jordan to Istanbul, then go to Greece for a few days. I'm then going on a huge round-about tour of Turkey. After that, I"m not sure (I"ll have about a week left). Someone come meet me in Turkey!!

I met up with friends from my tour, and my tour leader was able to get me a shot glass from teh Hard Rock in Hurgada! We then went out for pancakes in the Khan al-kalili (bazaars). You can get sweet ones, or ones stuffed with meat. I of course had to try both. Aftrerwards, we did some more shopping in the bazaars. I've been really good, and haven't really picked anyting up. We then entered a Mosque nearby and got a private guided tour. I also climbed one of the minorets for an amazing panoramic view of Cairo.

It's amazing how far yoiur money goes here, the hotel I'm staying in has a TV, private bath, large bed, and free breakfast. Also, there's a nice restaruarnt on the roof where we can smoke Shisha. All for a mind-blowing US $20. Tomorrow, I'm planning on hiring a private car with driver to take me to some sights, and it should cost less than $30 for the day. I'm gonna miss these prices in all of the countries I'm going to next. I've heard Jordan is as expensive as England. Greece is Euro prices, and Turkey isn't that cheap anymore :(

Oh well, time to get ready for karaoke

Alexandria

I am now in Alexandria, an ancient city named after Alexander the Great. It is now the vacation center for many Egyptians and other Muslims.

It was reccommended that we as Westerners not go to the beach, because mostly muslims use them. Although muslim men go in the water with only trunks on, the women go in in full dress, including their head gear. I coudln't imagine trying to prepare for the beach if I was going in full clothing!

A funny observation about how Westerners are treated here, we're treated like royalty. In the beginning I thought it was really convenient, but now I feel like it's very unfair. For example, on our overnight trains, hotels, and shopping malls, we don't have to go through metal detectors or normal security that Egyptian citizens have to go through. Additionally, it's forbidden for a man and a woman to stay in a hotel room togehter unless you show a foreign passport (which was the case for me and Debi). We skip lines at tourist attractions, and always get pushed to the front simply because we are foreigners. Occasionally, we get private armed security too.

OH well, I digress, Alexandria is still an amazing city. It's about 20 kilometers long on teh Mediterranean coast. Today, we went to many Roman ruins from the Ancient City, Climbed into the Catacombs which is a maze of about 300 graves and went to the now modern Bibliotech Alexandria.

The ancient library of Alexandria tried to store any type of information, and contained 500,000 ancient scrolls. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by Caesar. But, in 2002 they completed the modern Bibliotech. It's a massive library, ultra-modern, better than any library I've seen in NYC. The outside looks like some type of freak UFO, and on the walls are written phrases from EVERY KNOWN Language, ancient and modern (I couldn't find English). It was one of my favorite sites in Egypt.

Unfortunately, Debi had to go back to the States early in the morning, so she took the train back to Cairo tonight. I've heard that there are massive problems with flights into the States, i hope that there aren't too many problems back. Tomorrow, I head back to Cairo as well, and meet up with some friends from my tour. The plan is drinking and karaoke!!

Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Workers, and Leaving Luxor

We said goodbye to our cruise ship yesterday morning, and I am now in Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.

We woke up yesterday in Luxor at 4:00 AM to catch our donkeys to the Valley of the Kings. The donkeys were lots of fun. They're a lot smaller than horses, and your feet are only a little big over the ground. However, as small as they are they go a lot faster than you would think. We bounced around on them for about an hour as we headed to the Valley of the Kings.

The Valley of the Kings is the site of about 10 Pharoh's graves, including Tutankhamen. You climb down very intricate walls with heiroglyphics and see the amazingly decorated tombs. The temperature. The weather yesterday easily reached into the 100s again, so we decided not to continue on with the donkeys after 9AM.

We continued by Air Conditioned bus to the Valley of the workers. Here, the graves are not as ornate and you have to climb down very narrow passages to see the graves, but it is still amazing to see what a "regular citizen" in ancient Egypt would have been buried in.

Unfortunately, our tour ended after this morning, and some of the group continued onto a beach town on the Red Sea called Hurgada. Me, Debi and 2 others had to catch an overnight train back to Cairo, however for the rest of the day we got day-use rooms in a local hotel. It had a nice rooftop and a swimming pool, it was great to work on my tan.

Back to the overnight train - ugh. We dreaded the bathrooms, so i tried to not drink too much before the trip. Additionally, we all took a local drug called Anti-Nol, it calms your stomach so you don't have to go as often. All 12 of us on the trip got a case of Traveller's Diarrhea over the past few days.

Nile River Cruise

We are in the middle of our Nile River Cruise, which is why I haven't been able to get to the internet as often. After leaving Cairo, we headed on a 14 hour overnight train ride to Aswan in southern Egypt. I thought it was going to be bad, but surprisingly I slept most of the way. We even got breakfast and tea in the morning. The only bad part was the bathroom, which was BAD.... no toilet paper, no water, and they ask you not to flush while in the station because it just gets dumped onto the track.

Anyway, we arrived in Aswan, where the temperature was a mild 140 degrees (it's not as bad because it's a dry heat). I heard NYC was experiencing a heat wave, but I think we win over here in Egypt. Dehydration is a big worry for tourists, and we are told to drink at least 4 large water bottles a day. My tour guide told me I was a little dehydraded and I had to add rehydration salts to my water, which help you absorb the water more quickly.

We quickly joined our cruise ship which is home for the next 4 days. The boat itself is really nice, we have a private cabin with en suite bathrooms, a small plunge pool, a dance floor, and a bar and gift shop.

The night we got on the ship, we took a Felluca Cruise, which is the traditional sailboat of Egypt, you can keep cool because you're right on the water. We also went to the sound and light show at Philae Temple, which is on a small island you have to take a motor boat on. One of the local guide's daughter's was getting married and we were also invited to an authentic Nubian Wedding!! It was amazing since I don't think many Westerners get to witness such an event.

The next morning, we woke up early (3:30AM) to head to one of the most famous sights in Egypt: Abu Simbel. It is only about 20 miles from the Sudan border, and it's a 3 hour drive south from Aswan. Because of a history of violence problems, we have to catch a "convoy" to get there. This means that there is a trail of about 20 buses, with a police car in the front and a police car in the back, and in each bus an armed guard. The buses speed along to avoid trouble. Although this is a safety precaution, I kinda felt like because of all the trouble it actually made us targets. Anyway, it was all worth it after we saw the gorgeous temples at Abu Simbel.

We got back to the boat and set sail for another temple at Kom Ombo (like Columbo). This was also a really great temple which is set right on the Nile. In fact, we saw it from the ship before we got off. There was also a small "Nubian House" there in which you could see how Egyptians used to live. There were baby camels there which we got to feed too!!

Another day of sailing, and we have arrived in the city of Luxor. This is the ancient capital of Egypt formally known as Thebes. We stay here 2 nights and explor Luxor's many sights before catching another overnight train (9 hours) to Cairo.

My trip has taken a bit of a detour and as always I'm looking for suggestions....I'm bouncing aroudn Turkey and maybe Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. Please e-mail me suggestions at:
Jonathan.A.Espiritu@gmail.com

Great Pyramids, Sphinx, and the Egyptian Musuem

So,

I found out why I can't upload ipictures, it's because the megapixels is too high for the website to get :( So, i'm probably not gonna get pictures for a while. Anyway, we drove back to Cairo yesterday.

Cairo is still an amazing city. First, we stopped in the Khan al-khalili makrets which are the bazzars of Cairo. There, I was accosted at almost every angle by vendors who wanted me to buy their goods. Everyone there also called me a "lucky man" since I was there with two blondes - Debi from NY , and another girl on our trip Lauren who is Aussie. I really wanted to get the prices down so I could go back and look after seeing the prices down in Souther Egypt. I was able to pick up a few things like perfume bottles and some papyrus. I was also ofered 5000 cames for my Australian friend Lauren.

After that, we took a cab over to the Hard Rock Cairo so I could get my souvinier shot glass which I get in every city I'm in. It happened to be located in athe Grand Hyatt, which is a 5-star hotel in Cairo. For those of you who have never left the country, American chains are EXTREMELY posh in foreign countries, even places like Best Western and Holiday Inn.

Mt. Sinai and Dahab

Hey Everyone,

I'm here in the beach town of Dahab and it is amazing. I tried 4 times to upload my pictures, but I think this computer isn't able to do it. I'l try when I get back to Cairo. We left Cairo early Monday morning and drove to the small town of St. Katherine. There are only 3 people on our tour (including me and Debi) so the service is absolutely amazing. We had a private bus, our tour guide, our local tour guide, 2 bus drivers, and a personally armed police man with a 2 foot long uzi. I later found out that Americans travelling in the Sinai must have an armed guard with them all times in the road. It's great, we had our own personal security detail.

St. Katherine is a small nomadic town at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

The hotel we stayed at was very posh. There was a huge pool, and we had balconies overlooking the pool. The room itself was gigantic, with TV, desk, nice bathrooms and was great. In order to climb Mt. Sinai before it is too hot and to see the sunrise from the top, we wake quite early.

Our wake-up call was at 2AM! We started climbing at about 3AM. The way up takes the average traveller about 2-2.5 hours, I was quite happy that first, I made it and that 2nd, I made it under 2 hours!! Armed with chocolate and about a gallon of water, we hit the mountain. The view from the top is absolutely amazing, you can see the entire valley and see the beutiful desert change color. This is the spot where Moses suppossedly recieved the 10 commandments. It's also the site of Elijah talking to God and "The Burning Bush." Of course before the sun rises, it is quite cold (about 60) and then it gets quite hot (90s) almost immediately after the sun rises. Another 2 hours to get down and we had breakfast at about 9. So, all before 9 AM we climed a mountain and saw many historical sights.

We then drove another 2 hours to the beach town of Dahab. It's a great town with amazing beaches, snorkling, and diving. We rode Camels on the beach and did some snorkling. You can swim right up to the corals that surround the Red Sea. The view is also amazing, you can even see land across the Red Sea and you are looking at Saudi Arabia! We couldn't dive until today because you can't be in extreme altitudes (mountain) and extreme depths (deep sea diving) within the same 24 hours.

A quick nap and we went out to get drinks and an amazing dinner. For about $20 we were stuffed with fish, calamari, mussles, humus, baba ganuj, and a great sherbert dessert. They even gave us a free Shisha (Hookah) to smoke at the end of our meal.

Today, we went diving (my first time) and it was awesome. After squeezing into my wet suit, and loading up all the gear we walked in from the beach. The views were awesome. Again, the coral amazing, plus you can see so many different types of fish and sealife. The plan today is to just lie by the pool and soak in some sun.

Lastly, if anyone has been to Turkey, I"m looking for ideas. I'm spending a month there and I don't have a plan yet. I've heard good and bad things about Fez tours who run a Turkish bus-a-bout. Or should I try to do stuff on my own. Also, I heard Greece is easily accessible as well as Romania (seeing transylvania would be awesome). Please e-mail me with suggestions (espeically if you've been to the region). Thanks everyone.

Arrival in Cairo!!!

I'm finally in Cairo. It took about 17 hours door-to-door, but I made it here and I'm severely jet-lagged. I flew Lufthansa, which was generally a good airline, but my one big complaint is that they don't have personal TV's for every seat. How can a transcontinental trip not have personal TVs?!?! It's like the only European Carrier that doesn't have them.

It took 7 hours to fly to Frankfurt, 2 hours in Frankfurt and then another 4 hours to Cairo. Arrival in Cairo was crazy. We were over the Mediterranean for a bit and then a big land mass suddenly appears and we started our decent. As we entered, you could see desert as far as possible in all directions except for the gigantic city of Cairo. Cairo, looked amazing from above. All the buildlings look very similar and they are the same color, the organization of the city is very chaotic.

When I got off the plane, I felt the heat almost immediately. It didn't help that I am carrying around a big-ass backpack as well. Luckily, I had purchased a transfer to my hotel, so the guy from my tour company shoved me in front of people through customs to get out of the airport quickly.

Cairo is crazy! I heard the driving here is insane, but this is nuts. Drivers will drive straight into a crowd of people as they scatter and miraculously miss killing anyone. Every time I cross the street, I feel like I'm playing a game of frogger, drivers don't stop!!! When you're in a car, there are guys on the street who are pushing their business (much like the guys in NYC), but instead of trying to hand you a flyer, they fling their business cards into the open windows!!!!

Currently, we are staying in the Dokkai section of Cairo, it seems to be a posher neighborhood since all the embassies are here. We even have a cute balcony overlooking the city. The Nile is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel, and it's absolutely amazing to see it. But, before I get the grand tour of Cairo, I will first head to the beaches of Sinai. Tomorrow, we are off to Mt. Sinai to see the suppossed birthplace of the 10 Commandments!!

Syria Cancelled!!!!

Hey Everyone from Cairo. Pictures will be up soon.

The bar exam is now over, however I may have to take it again in February :(
The night before the NJ Bar exam, I found out that my tour in Syria was cancelled due to the war. Unfortuantely, this severely hindered the general plan for the trip. So, now, I'm just winging it. Preliminary plans include Egypt and Jordan, flying to Turkey and then I have a month unplanned. I'm thinking about doing a lot of Turkey. I'm also thinking about adding Greece and maybe Romania (I kinda wanna see Transylvania). Has anyone been to these locales and could give me advice?

Egyptian Visa!!! and Middle East Worries

I got my Egyptian Visa yesterday. It was a really easy process. You head over to the Consulate, give them the form and your passport and the next day they give you back the passport with your visa in it.

The consulate wasn't as luxurious as I had expected. It was in a cramped tiny office on 2nd Ave.

I'm worried about the Israel-Lebanon situation. I've decided NOT to go to Lebanon. :( I called the State Department and my Insurance Company and both recommended not to go, my insurance company even stated that they woudln't pay for anything that happens in Lebanon, even an evacuation. This would qualify as an act of war, rather than an act of terrorism and therefore would not be covered.

Oh well..... I guess I won't be able to see the Paris of the Middle East (this time).

Syrian Visa!!!!

The Syrian Embassy finally sent my passport back, and they granted me a visa!! (yay!) They asked for 2 photographs of me, what the hell did they need them for? I was expecting my picture to be on the visa. Anyway, the next stop for my passport is the Egyptian Consulate, where I hear the visa process only takes a day or so.



A little off topic (maybe), but for those of you taking the NY Bar exam anytime in the near future, here's a picture of what to expect:

Yes, thousands upon thousands of people in a sea of desks. They say they're going to wall off big areas and make rooms so it's not going to be quite as daunting, but ugh! Just going to the bathroom became a huge hassle. Oh well, 2 days after the real exam, I'm off to Africa!!!

Trip Status: Passport and Visas

Even a well-seasoned traveller like myself hates the stupid paperwork and nitty gritty I have to go through before leaving the country. Last week, I finally got my passport back from the Passport Agency, who had it for 4 weeks! I had to have more pages sewn in since all my passport pages were full.

Now the Syrian Embassy in Washington has my passport - and I'm patiently waiting for them to grant me a tourist visa. Once, I used a visa agency to help me get my Russian Visa, it was denied by the Russian embassy and 3 counsulates before it was finally approved and I got it back 2 days before I left the country!

I'm hoping to spend under $7,000 for the entire 2-month trek. I've already spent about $1400 on the plane tickets and another $3,000 on the 3 different organized tours I'm going on. That leaves about $2,500 for me when I'm abroad. I'm told the region is very cheap once I get there, and I really hope that's true.

Other problems for such a long trip are managing finances while I'm away. I had to make sure to do auto-pay for all my credit card bills. I'm also trying to sublet my bedroom while I'm away to help finance the trip and minimize expenses .... if you know anyone who needs a furnished place for August and September, pass on my information :)

My First Blog Post Ever

I've Never blogged before, but I figured there's a first time for everything. A few friends told me that it might be a good idea to blog some of my travels since I travel so much, so here goes:

First, a little about me. I'm 24, and just graduated New York Law School last month. I'm studying for the NY and NJ bar which is on July 25, 26, and 27. To celebrate this huge milestone in my life, after I take the bar, I've decided to backpack through the Middle East for 2 months. Some of it will be on organized tours, and some of it will be independent travel.

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to travel. I've been to 31 countries on 4 continents and I still feel like I haven't seen enough. That picture that you see up above is actually from this past April in Masaya, Nicaragua. Here's a map of places I've lived and visited.