Egypt

Hello everyone....

Just wanted to give you one last update before I head home, which is in two weeks from now.

At the moment im in luxor, the valley of the kings and queens. Kar has gone today on a bike to explore the valley, but unfortunately I've had to give it a miss and nurse my sore stomach instead. I don't know if it was the water or all the street food that i've been eating, but last night I spent a significant portion of my time hunched over the toilet and now the only thing i can do is hide in this internet cafe and kill my time online. I've probably caught up with everyone on facebook and googled all the latest events in the world. I would have preferred to have read a book somewhere, but its hard to find a peaceful place in this town and escape the constant hassling from the locals. Luxor is considered to be the hassle capital of Egypt, and I think I would go as far as to say it is probably up there in terms of being one of the top places you will always be hassled in the world. So when your not feeling well, I couldnt think of a worse place to be. However, when your feeling well it can extremely entertaining to sit in the numerous cafes and watch the tourist loose their cool on the locals who have been following them forever, "madam, why not a carriage ride, madam"...and so on.

Before coming to luxor we spent a couple of days in a town just outside of Cairo. We stayed with a friend of Kar's, who provided us with great hospitality. He cooked us our meals, organized everything for us, and provided us with amusement as he is probably the biggest talker I have ever met- he has a story for everything. The town is very neat and it gives you a good perception of the true Egyptian life. There are tons of apartments with a few streets intertwining between. The kids stay up late playing ball on the streets,while all the men gather at the one tea house to drink tea and smoke hookah. A number of the girls stopped by the apartment to meet us when we were there. I personally felt a little awkward with the girls because they idolize the western world so much, and look up at you as if you were some celebrity.

Cairo is such a cool city. I really loved it. Its the kind of place where you can walk the streets all day and eat yummy food on every corner (i would be afraid if I had to spend any more time in egypt as the street food is so good- its hard not to always have some kind of food in your hand). You cant find a single beer in cairo, but there is plenty of tea and hookah to smoke.

Tonight we are heading back to Cairo and then making our way slowly to the oasis to spend a couple of days in the desert, and then we will head on through to the red sea to go on a diving excursion. I think the next two weeks will be very enjoyable, and will be a perfect way to end our trip.

I cant wait to see all of you!!

All the best