Monday, November 30, 2009
It's official!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Everything's bigger


Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Eid

Sunday, November 22, 2009
Coolest. Mall. Ever.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
I nearly lost a contact lens in the Arab Gulf
Then we headed to the beach where we met up with Tamr and Angelica (who commented that she hadn't been to the beach in about seven or eight months because it's just too hot for the beach during most of the year). The day was perfect. The air temp was about 28C, water temp about 25C, and just enough of a breeze to keep it from getting too hot. We all got into the water right away and it happened almost immediately that I nearly lost my contact lens. Now, I've worn contacts for 15 years and have gone to the beach and swimming pools throughout this time, so this was a pretty unusual occurrence. Luckily, I caught the lens as it popped out of my eye, made my way back to the beach (holding the lens between my thumb and finger above the water), and put the lens back in. My eye and I can now officially attest to the salty-ness of the Arab Gulf!
By 8pm we were all at the restaurant and ready to eat (yes, even me lol). The restaurant was a place called The Rotisserie and it was at the Arabian Court. The Arabian Court is part of a huge complex that is now a hotel. As it was told to me, within the last 10 years or so, a very rich businessman built this palace for a woman that he was in love with. Ultimately the relationship didn't work out (did she die? I can't remember) and the palace was given to the hotel. As you can probably imagine, this place was incredibly beautiful and amazing looking. The Arabian Court is only one of four courtyards and each courtyard supposedly looks completely different.
Dinner was another buffet meal and again there's a huge variety of food to choose from: various traditional salads, fruits, cheeses, seafood, duck, veggies, quiche, beef, you-name-it-they-probably-had-it. I know it sounds like the exact same foods that we had at brunch, but they were completely differently prepared. You'll just have to take my word for it. :-) It was very good, but again I ate til I nearly burst. And it wasn't just the food that was good. The company was equally as good. We talked about all kinds of things and the laughs were plentiful.
Today is the last day of the weekend and I'm not sure what's on the agenda. More beach time perhaps? And I'd like to get a pedicure, so that's a possibility. Just a lazy weekend in Dubai, but I'm digging it so far.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Questions?
Did you ever get/use the Flushette thingy? Please forgive me if this question is too personal. Nope, didn't get it (and it's actually called a Freshette), but so far I haven't really needed it because I've only seen western toilets. It may be a whole other story when I actually get to SE Asia.
Which do you like more the “couchsurfing” thing or staying in Hostels? I mean aside from the cost issue. CSing and hosteling both have their pluses and minues, but I like CSing better. With hostels you only meet other travelers, but with CSing you meet locals who actually live in the place you're visiting.
How are the “Ex Officio” undies working out for ya? LOL! Sorry, I had to ask! The Ex Officio undies are working fabulously, thanks for asking! They are super quick drying which is a life saver when you're washing them in a sink.
Oh, not a question, but a word of warning from my Army days….Drink lots of water while you’re on the Doxy! My unit’s medics said it can play hell on your liver if you don’t flush your system out! I know about this because I went to Honduras, but I think I told you this already? Thanks for the Doxy advice, I will be sure to load up on H2O. One of my hosts in Barcelona told me that he stopped taking his malaria pills because it gave him horrible nightmares. . .and then he got malaria and almost died. So. I'll take the pills AND drink water and maybe the water will lessen all of the side effects.
Ok, so I’m interested in the Hibiscus flower and 7-Up drink! Tell me more. I’ve also heard that Chrysanthemum tea was great, too! I don't think there's really much more to tell about the hibiscus flower and 7Up drink. It was cold, a very dark purple color, ever so slightly carbonated, and tasted pretty sweet, like a mix of different berries. Chrysanthemum tea is good, I've had it before and it's also pretty sweet.
Are you planning to do another one of those “By the Numbers” posts soon? That was pretty telling for me. I probably will do another by the numbers post, but probably not for a few weeks or so when I have some more stats compiled.
One think I was kind of unclear on: the Cemberlitas Hamam – the Turkish bath. Did you get to do it or not? I read where you got there 30 min before it closed and that they did not take your credit card, but you described the belly rock and bath pools with greater detail than someone who just read about them on the advertisements. Yes, I did go to the Turkish bath. The first one wouldn't take a credit card, the second was the Cemberlitas Hamam (the one I went to).
Alright, so now's your chance to ask your questions. Got any? Let me know in the comments and I'll answer in an upcoming post.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Egypt: A public service announcement for Americans
So what was my experience? I am not exaggerating at all when I say that Egypt has some of the warmest, friendliest, most generous, selfless, and nicest people I've ever met. At every turn, people went above and beyond the call of duty for me and I'm not just talking about people who were friends of friends; I'm also talking about complete strangers (and, let's face it, even the friends of friends were strangers to me who didn't have to help me).
One thing I found interesting is that Egyptians have a really high sense of fairness and justice. More than one person told me that if someone tries to grab your bag and run off, just yell the Arabic word for thief (haramy) and an entire crowd will go after that person, detain them, and get your bag back for you. They just feel that people work hard and it's not fair or right for someone else to profit from that work. Make sense? I'm probably not doing a good job of explaining it. Just know that this is part of the Egyptian psyche.
I also mentioned before that there were two things that happened on my last day that I needed to expound upon. First thing: On the plane to Cairo from Sharm I was talking to my seatmate, Tarek, about work and travels and such, and I said that I hadn't yet arranged for my transportation from Cairo to Alex even though I needed to be there that same day. Tarek said that once we landed, he'd have his driver drop us off at Starbucks for coffee and then send him to the train station to check the schedule and buy my ticket for me. There was a lot of traffic, more than usual, in Cairo that day because of the soccer match that was being played. (Have you seen my video of the aftermath?) Tarek couldn't wait with me for the driver to get back, so he said goodbye and was off. The driver eventually arrived and took me to the station. I asked him how much the cab ride was and, in very broken English, he told me that Tarek had taken care of it. Are you sure? Yes, he was sure. Then I tried to pay him for my train ticket (50 Egyptian pounds) and he indicated that had been paid for, too. I thought maybe he didn't understand so I showed the ticket to him. But no, Tarek had paid for that, as well. The driver wouldn't even allow me to give him a tip because all of it was to be taken care of, I suppose.
Second thing: Islam was the friend of a friend who was to pick me up from the train station in Alexandria. He didn't find out until 9am on Saturday that I was arriving at 8:30pm that night, yet he was there waiting for me (for an extra half-hour, even, as the train was late). We only had a few hours til I had to be at the airport for my flight, so we drove around Alex for a whirlwind tour. Islam showed me all kinds of things and made it better with his narration and stories. We went out for dinner (I was told I HAD to eat seafood while in Alex) and whole fish, calamari, and various salads were ordered. The bill came and Islam refused to let me pay, even though he didn't even eat since he's on a diet. ("Don't you know that women don't pay in Egypt?" "Well, I was starting to get that impression, yes, but you didn't even eat anything!" "It doesn't matter. I'm paying.") We got to the airport and by this time it was about 1am. Islam waited with me and we chatted some more because he didn't want me to be alone for too long waiting for the plane.
These are just two examples of scenarios where people went above and beyond for me, expecting absolutely nothing in return. So the public service announcement that is the point of this whole post: if you are a person who has stereotypes in mind of what Egyptians specifically, or Arabs in general, are all about - rethink them. The hospitality and kindness I experienced was at a level I'd never experienced before. To all of my new Egyptian friends: thank you from the bottom of my heart for an amazing time. I hope to meet each of you again in the future.