My Southern journey is almost over—I’ve arrived in Awasa and expect to get back to Addis Ababa tomorrow afternoon. During my trip around the South I saw zebras, hippos and massive birds. I drove by a naked boy painted white walking on stilts and was kissed by a teenage Hamer girl at a traditional Hamer…
I’ve arrived in Addis in one piece. The weather is beautiful and the air smells much nicer than Cairo. The flight was uneventful, half full and arrived early. Luckily in the parking lot I met two other travelers, both Americans living in Cairo, to share a cab to the city. This morning they decided to…
My flight to Ethiopia is in a few hours and I don’t feel ready. Somehow when I travel overland the transition is easier. When I fly I feel like I’m just thrown in the middle of things and have to quickly figure everything out. I printed my Oanda cheat sheet so I know that the…
This morning I casually walked into the Egypt Air office and bought a one-way ticket from Cairo to Addis Ababa. Who buys a one-way ticket to Ethiopia, let alone only four days in advance? Huh, me, I guess.
The other day on my way home from dinner in Luxor I ran into a wedding party—literally—they were standing in the middle of the road. After about 15 minutes of horns and drums and a little uninspired dancing the couple went inside a photo studio. I had my little camera so I took a video.…
I left the cramped dorm room and free wifi of Cairo on an overnight train to Aswan almost a week ago. Although the lights were left on all night the first class car was the nicest train I’ve traveled on in a long time. Many things people have told me about Egypt have turned out…
I finally went to the pyramids today. I took the bus there which helped me avoid the taxi touts. I hate to say this now, before I’ve been to Luxor, but Egypt isn’t such a hassle. I mean, it is, but nothing compared to India. Generally if you ignore everyone they will leave you alone.…
I was all ready to go to the pyramids today but it was raining. Who hears of rain in Cairo? I stopped by the Ethiopian Airlines office this afternoon when I realized that tomorrow is Friday. Everything is closed in Cairo on Fridays and I have a night train booked to Aswan. If I fly…
I’m in Cairo, only about 10 kilometers from The Pyramids of Giza. Only I haven’t seen a single pyramid yet because I’ve been running around renewing my student card and checking into flights to any country South of Egypt. Spending six hours in the tour group-packed Egyptian Museum was not stressful compared to figuring out…
Now, firmly settled in mainland Egypt I bring you plenty of site updates. It only took a few extra days in my $3 plywood and wicker bungalow in Dahab to get done: Route I’ve updated the route page. India’s map has been filled out and there’s a complete map of Jordan. Finances I’ve painfully calculated…
Thanks to some kind readers, I have been alerted to the fact that some goofy stuff has been going on with my last post. I’m sure hundreds of you were hoping to post comments on my Dead Sea post but were hampered by this technological problem. In any case, I’ve cleaned up some code and…
Day One: Rainy Day at The Temple of Doom Petra is an ancient city carved into the faces of the mountains of Southern Jordan. It went through many reincarnations as trade routes and invaders came and went. When the Romans found it they contributed a colonnade street and extended the theater and some early Christians…
Two things about Jordan have surprised me: 1. Jordan is cold in February 2. Jordan is expensive The cold was the most surprising. Even though it is winter, I figured winter in the desert is still hot. I had looked at weather reports for Egypt and expected Jordan to be as hot as Egypt this…
After three days in transit from Bangalore, including a 24-hour train ride, a 1am airport appearance and a brief layover in Kuwait, I have finally arrived in Jordan. More importantly, I got out of India. I don’t think I’ve talked much about my frustrations in India here, because when I was so angry I had…
After a few more days at the ashram where we got as far as the headstand asana (position), I was ready to leave. Staying would have been good for me, sure, but the possibility of squeezing in a few more towns before heading back to Mumbai for my flight was too enticing. I had to…
Many people come to India to experience it’s spiritual side, either Hindu or Buddhist, meditation or yoga. I thought this trip was the perfect opportunity to take a crash course in yoga from the masters. After a few failed attempts to reserve a spot I finally arrived in Sivananda Ashram on the 31st. It’s a…
I’m on day three in the Ashram. The yoga is still pretty basic but good. We wake up at 5:20 and don’t eat until after 10am, that was quite hard to get used to. My stomach was grumbling all of day one and two. It’s hard to meditate, listen to chants and do two hours…
I just uploaded six new locations to The Gallery, bringing it up to Mumbai. Don’t forget to look for page two in the gallery, which shows the last three locations. At the moment I have things set so that only 15 sub-galleries show per page and I’ve hit my limit. The sketchbook section now includes…