Part Duex

So after cutting the Sound & Light show short, we made our way swiftly onboard the Nile Cruise. The food was decent enough, but we were starving by then anyway! After dinner, we were treated to a belly dancing perfomance. Billy and I were dragged by the belly dancer to join her lol. My friend said one needs a bit of weight to belly dance... hmm do you agree?

Belly dancer pose

Next up we got to watch a whirling dervish performance, where the performer spins and spins non-stop for what seems like an eternity... I first saw it on Amazing Race and always wanted to see one in person! Granted, this one wasn't a 'traditional' one as it was a commercial cruise, but we were amazed nonetheless! (We did get to see the traditional one later during the trip). He even successfully poured himself some water and drank from it while spinning!

Colourful Whirling Dervish

The next morning, it was time to visit the Egyptian Museum. I'm not a big fan of museums but this one entertained me more than others. I was particularly interested in seeing the treasures of King Tutankhamun.. it's crazy how much stuff these ancient kings bury themselves with.

Egyptian Museum

King Tut Exhibit

Outside the museum

We then made our way to Khan El Khalili which is the local bazaar. It's kinda like a pasar malam.. only much grander lol. A better comparison would be the Marrakech souks, which I prefer but this has its qualities.

Khan El Khalili

Wares on sale

After a couple hours of strolling, we stopped by the Fishawi Cafe in the middle of the market for some mint tea and shisha. The decor and atmosphere in this over 200 year old cafe was beyond great.. it literally brings you back in time.

Toasting to mint tea

Fishawi Cafe

We then took an overnight train to our next destination, Luxor. This little city/town is so much different compared to the crowded and dusty Cairo.

Inside the train cabin

Luxor is situated among some of the most famous sites in Egypt including the Thebes Valley and the Luxor Temple. Just a little bit out of the town centre is the Karnak Temple, second only in historical significance to the Pyramids of Giza.

Karnak Temple entrance

Ancient art

Ancient sculpture

Karnak Temple

After a hot and tiring day, we went on a felucca trip down the Nile river. Feluccas are the traditional wooden, sailing boats that are still used today. We had a relaxing journey across the river while watching the sun set.

On the felucca

Sunset on the Nile

Rowing our way home

It was a fitting end to the day. We sure did not expect the workout we were about to do the next day!

Luxor Temple

1001 Nights in Egypt

How I wish! But I would if I could. Egypt was what I expected it to be and so much more. There're so many incredible memories from the trip and I'll try to share some of the highlights here.


Day One & Two.

Well, we actually arrived in our hostel at like 5am, 2 hours later than expected. We were stalled at the airport because.. surprise, surprise! they've never seen Bruneian passports!! Okay okay, maybe they have, but that's usually the reason I get held up at immigration. So after that little setback, I slept for a total of 3 hours (I think?) before we set off on our journey around Cairo!

The simple breakfast provided by our hostel =)

We planned to have a slow and easy day on the first day as 4 of our friends were only arriving later today. So first thing we did was go to the train station to get our tickets to Luxor for Day 3. The first thing I noticed was how crazy the driving in Cairo was! You have to be there to believe it!

Hand-written train tickets

One of the most important things to do in a new country is to try the local food. So we did just that for our first lunch in Egypt, and off we go to this little restaurant listed in the guide book. We had a koshari dish each, and the guys (Ryan and I) opted for the large size of course, haha.

Local dish: Koshari

Koshari is a local dish made from (get this!), pasta, rice AND lentils! That's basically the staple food from most of the world (Western, Asian and South Asian) all mixed in one dish!! Lol, it tasted alright.. kinda like fried rice without much taste. I was hungry so I finished all of it =D.

Abdeen Palace

After the sumptuous lunch, we arrived at the Abdeen Palace after a short walk. It was an old palace which is now used to house royal arms and gifts. The most interesting thing about the place wasn't what was on show, but that the security guards outnumbered the tourists! And they all carried huge machine guns! So we definitely felt safe... kinda...

The Citadel

After that we walked all the way to the Citadel, a beauiful mosque on top of a hill with amazing views of the whole of Cairo. You can even see the pyramids in the horizon (if you focus real hard coz it was really foggy)!

The Cairo skyline (with highlighted pyramids lol)

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The next day, it was all about the pyramids! We rented a mini-van to take the whole lot of us (9 in total!) to the pyramids around Cairo. First off was the Bent and Red pyramid, this was the intermediate between the Step Pyramid (see later) and the Great Pyramids of Giza (again, see later). It was an incredible experience to finally see the pyramid for the first time up close!

The Bent Pyramid was the first one that King Sneferu tried to build around 2500BC. It was thought that the pyramid turned out bent because halfway through the construction, the engineers thought the base was not very stable and so they built the upper half with a slighter slope. I thought it looked quite cool!

One of the many tourist police who love tips

But obviously, the King wasn't happy so he had his minions build him a proper one, which is now the thirt largest pyramid after the 2 great pyramids in Giza. It's called the Red Pyramid because of the light crimson hue of the granite rocks used to build it. We also got to enter the pyramid, which I have been looking forward to so much! Disappointingly, there wasn't anything left inside as all the treasures and tombs have been relocated to museums. But it was still incredible to have been inside a pyramid! We had to walk down a few hundred steps, with our backs hunched, and all the way back up. The next day, all our quads were aching like hell!

The inside... are the ancient Egyptians really short?

Us trying to jump on cue @ the Red Pyramid

Next on the list was the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara. This is one of the most significant architectural revolution as it was the first time six successively smaller mastabas (an ancient tomb structure) was placed one on top of another. And the remarkable architect was of course the great Imhotep.

And finally we reach Giza. Here, we rented camels and horses to bring us through the desert and approach the pyramids from the West. And I am very glad we did that! We get to be free from the hordes of tourist coming off the tour buses right near the pyramids and sphinx, and instead we were able to enjoy the camel/horse ride whilst taking in the amazing view in all its glory!

On our way towards the pyramid!

My trusty ol' camel!


The Giza Pyramid Complex


Getting upclose with the Sphinx

After this unforgettable experience, we slowly made our way back to the stable, where we sat on the rooftop to enjoy the Sound and Light Show from afar. Our hostel owner, Ramadan, helpfully told us to do that so we don't have to pay a hefty price.

The Sound and Light show at night

Also, we had plans to leave half-way for a dinner on the Nile cruise! And I'll leave that for another post. =)

Zanzibar

Arghhh... this job application business is driving me crazy! I keep changing my mind on which foundation school to apply as my first choice.. the only thing I am sure about is that it's gonna be a London one.

Essentials: Guide book and food!

So to get my mind off that for awhile, I'm going to post some pics from my trip to Zanzibar. I'm sure many people have not heard of this place before (I didn't!.. or maybe I'm just ignorant?), but these legendary spice islands are well known for one of the world's favourite honeymoon destinations. Maybe that's why I haven't heard of it yet lol.

Old Dispensary

I only had time to visit the main island, Unguja (or just Zanzibar). I flew from Arusha to Stone Town after doing the safari. Stone Town is the heart of Zanzibar, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim. This old town is so unique as it has influences from the Arabs, Persians, Indians, Portuguese and British. The central part of the town consists of building built close together with narrow alleys that join to become something like a maze! On the coast, you get the grand buildings with such unique architecture like the ones above and below:

I can't remember what this one's called! Paiseh..

Skyline of Stone Town, from the House of Wonders
Arab Fort in the foreground.

What I found interesting is that the buildings in Stone Town all have huge, intricately carved doors like the one below. Apparently the door was often bought first and the house built around it! Most of the buildings are usually plain on the outside, with zinc roofs, not dissimilar to the ones found in Brunei.. but packed much closer together.

Beautifully carved door surrounded by worn walls.

Dhow-building is an ancient yet flourishing craft on the islands.

Local artist at work

What's so great about Zanzibar is the range of attractions it offers.. from the historic Stone Town, with its spices and unique culture, to the most beautiful beaches in the world! All in the space of a tiny island =)

Sailing on a traditional dhow

I was spoilt for choice when it comes to beach time. I ended up going to Nungwi beach, where I was told it was more crowded and lively than the rest. And to my pleasant surprise, it's nothing compared to Bali and Redang in terms of being congested! There were long stretches of powdery white sand and clear blue waters. Why can't a medical school be in a place like this!?

Door to Paradise?

Nungwi beach

Picture perfect!

And to top it all off, the food is great and cheap too! The Forodhani Gardens in Stone Town come alive at night with food stalls and souvenir sellers. Here you can try local favourites like spiced tea, Zanzibar pizza and even shark kebabs! Yumm =)

Forodhani Gardens

Safari

Safari in Swahili means 'journey'. Since being incorporated into the English language, it is now generally used to mean an expedition or adventurous journey. And what an adventure it was. I'll use the pictures below to tell the story...

The jeep and our luggage was all set and we're ready to go!

Our first campsite, with dinner being set.

Just outside, Maasai traders selling their goods.

A sign at the Manyara Lake National Park entrance. ;)

The colourful agama lizard.


The plentiful, but beautiful impalas.

The mighty giraffe.

Car trouble #1.. Before the journey started, the car we were supposed to use had already broken down. The replacement wasn't in great condition but our rookie driver decided that the Defender can handle a 1-foot tall rock in the middle of the road by driving straight over it (!?). The cylinder which connects the back wheels to the steering wheel fell off about 100m ahead. Thus, we continued our journey as a 2-wheel drive..

Acacia tree, a common feature of the African landscape. This was taken in the Serengeti National Park.


The very distinctive topi.

Campsite #2 - This was actually in the park itself without any barriers. We were told to make sure that food was safely kept as the animals come looking for food at night.


Hot-air balloon safari? Maybe when I'm a bit richer next time =)


Big, tall Ostrich.


Storks resting on an acacia tree.


Final campsite near Ngorongoro Crater -
I actually saw wild pigs in the middle of the night wandering around!


A Masaai 'village', just at the edge of the crater.


Descending into the crater.. considered by many as the 8th wonder of the world. Pictures don't do it justice.

Oh did I mention it was cold?!

We saw a huge line of jeeps in the distance..
what could they be looking at?

Nothing but the King and Queen of the jungle.
(They were quite far away!)

The majestic elephants.
They came really close to our jeep & doesn't seem to be bothered at all!

Alas, our trip had to be cut a few hours short as our car broke down for one last time =(

And we thought it was all over.. Surprise, surprise! The car that picked us up had a puncture along the way. What else can we can do but laugh..