Here are some more pictures of Cairo. Phil Dunn and I came back from Dahab to go on a felucca boat with couchsurfers, but it was rained out. We had some good times though, we went to the Citadel (and the military museum there) and the Egyptian Museum. You’re not allowed to take pictures inside the latter place, which is annoying. There is a midcentury Indiana Jones feel about the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
We stayed at the Australian Hostel mostly, until Phil got sick of the dogs barking upstairs and I got sick of them turning off the internet at 11. Phil moved to the confusingly-named Dahab Hostel, and, since there were no more rooms, I stayed at a place downstairs that was pretty sketchy.
Things I should have photographed:
- Tahrir Square
- The altercation in the street
- Super-Gad
- The couchsurfing dinner at Farfela
- Old men smoking sheesha
After Cairo, we took a long bus ride out Dahab on the Red Sea. We hiked Mt. Sinai and went scuba diving and snorkeling. Saudi Arabia was visible across the gulf. I learned that when renting a bicycle, you really want to make sure the tires are already inflated. If they have to inflate them for you, that means they’ll probably deflate before you get there.
Things I should have photographed:
- Sam, Erin and Christian
- Phil running the tables at Tree Bar
- Anything, you know, underwater
- The knockoff liquor stores (John Warner’s red-label whiskey, for example)
- The huge street fight near the coffee shop
Phil Dunn and I met up in the Cairo airport first thing in the morning on February 2nd. We were both totally jet-lagged, and Phil had just witnessed an epic fistfight right before I got there. We spent an hour or so in the Airport sorting out cellphone contracts and hotel reservations, it was all pretty surreal.
After one night at an overpriced hotel, we found another one downtown. We discovered some amazing food, such as something I’d never heard of before called Koshary. We visited the Pyramids, of course. On camels.
But the highlight was meeting up with some people from couchsurfing.org and going on a day-trip with them out into the desert. It was about half Egyptians, and half expats. Everyone was really fun and friendly.
I spent a week or so in Zanzibar, mainly in Stone Town. It’s a beautiful and ancient, but a bit touristy now. Stone Town is characterized by it’s tiny twisty streets that are too small for cars. Also lots of ornately carved doors. I stayed at Warere Town House which made up in friendliness for what it lacked in elegance.
I went on a tour of a spice plantation, which was educational and got me out of the city for a day. If I had been more ambitious, I would have taken a dala-dala bus to see more of the island.
Freddie Mercury is from Zanzibar, which is something they won’t let you forget.
Things I wish I had photographed:
- my tour guide, Omi
- the guys at Warere, esp. Chi Chi
- trivia night at Mercury’s bar
- the old women watching The Expendables subtitled in Chinese and dubbed in Arabic on the ferry
- the late-night scene at the Dar Es Salaam airport
Lately I’ve become obsessed with a Facebook app called The Travel List Challenge.
Now I don’t agree with their choices at all, but, that notwithstanding, did you know how poorly-traveled I am compared to my friends? Jill Diamond wins with 36 places, followed by Minu Aghevli with 34 places, and Maryka Baillie with 33. I, on the other hand, have a comparatively pathetic 18 22.
I’m even below “Average User” who has 23.
There are a few near misses, for example:
- The Eiffel Tower: Yes, I went to Paris with Buxton AES, but not to the Eiffel Tower.
- The Sears Tower: Noah, Dorothea, Megan, Irwin, Tony and I played hooky from school one day and went to the top of the Prudential Tower in Chicago a la Ferris Bueller, but no, it wasn’t the Sears Tower.
- The Statue of Liberty: Have I seen it 100 times? Have I sailed past it on my way to Ellis Island? Sure. But no, I haven’t been to the Statue of Liberty.
There’s only one thing to be done about this sad state of affairs!
At the jump is the complete list.
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I went to Zimbabwe in January to see Victoria Falls. They are beautiful, the land is beautiful, the economic situation there is tragic.
ATMs dispense US dollars, because the local currency is worthless. If you buy something, you can expect the $1s and $5s you get back to be extremely worn and faded, but never torn, which I suppose is the result of a lot of very careful handling. The $10s and $20s are, on the other hand, pristine.
I spent six days in Cape Town, with gracious hosts Ewald and Jenny Wessels. I visited the District Six Museum, the waterfront, Kirstenbosch, Table Mountain, among other places. Die Antwoord was not playing a show, unfortunately. I think the highlight was driving this car around Cape Town and learning my way around.
Things I should have photographed:
Jane’s father Hugh took us all out on another game drive after we returned from Mozambique and this time we didn’t get caught out in an epic rainstorm. The highlight of the drive was seeing a Cheetah having dinner. It seemed very anxious that a larger animal was about to show up, but that didn’t happen. It hardly noticed us a few feet away watching.
Jane, Lu and I drove to Mozambique for a few days in Jane’s green car, which developed a penchant for honking randomly at the least (or most) opportune times. We went to Maputo and Praia do Bilene. Here are some photos:
Things I wish I had photographed:
- The scuba shop owner with the toe tag tattoo
- The “Africa” nightclub in Maputo
- The two sketchy guys who followed us around Maputo after the nightclub
- The old islamic teacher I met from Swaziland
- The border crossing
- Jane and Lu
- The green car
Jane’s parents Jo and Hugh took us for a game drive through the Karongwe Game Reserve. We saw lions, zebra, buffalo, rhinoceros, wildebeest, and lots of other strange-looking animals.
The lions were particularly spectacular. It was hard to photograph them, because we were instructed not to stand up in the game car, since that would be interpreted as a threat.
The main thing this gallery is missing is an audio recording of Jane’s niece Sophia and her continuing narrative about what candies would be available in her ‘paradise.’ She’s going to freak when she reads Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
