Day Three

After a rather unpleasant 13 hour overnight train south, we arrived at our beautiful hotel in Aswan, directly overlooking the Nile. We were met by our new agent and tour guide, who took us first to the Aswan high dam. It was fascinating to learn about the dam's history, since it curbed the floods that were an integral part of Egyptian history for thousands of years. Random fact: there are no longer crocodiles in the Nile after the dam, because if they're lucky, they can't make it past the nets before the dam. If they're not lucky, they can't make it past the turbines...

After the dam, we took a motor boat with a sweet Nubian captain out to the Philae Temple, located on a little island in the Nile and dedicated to the gods Isis, Horus, and Osiris. Our guide explained to us how to read the hieroglyphics inside the temple, as well as how to recognize common symbols such as the gods' crowns and lotus and papyrus plants.

In the evening, we walked around in the Aswan bazaar, which was an experience. First of all, tourists get hustled like no one's business--you're just a walking dollar sign. Second of all, women get hassled an extraordinary amount. I'd say my friend an I got attention from 50% of the men we passed. In the market, Hannah and I scoped out the popular wares, like the paintings on papyrus paper, glass and wooden scarabs, Egyptian cotton tunics, and perfume with colorful glass-blown bottles. Good thing I had Hannah with me, a ruthless bargainer that perfectly complemented my hesitant haggling. I couldn't believe the deals she worked out for us.

Finally, our agent, a young man about our age, took us to dinner at an Egyptian koshary, where you get a bowl full of macaroni noodles, spaghetti noodles, some kind of rice thing, lentils, fried onions bits, chick peas, and a tomato sauce kind of thing. It was an odd combo that turned out to be delicious and tourist-stomach friendly. After that, we met up with his friend at a cool Egyptian outdoor cafe type thing, where the Egyptians go to smoke shisha and drink Arabian coffee or teas. It was a very interesting experience--we were the only women there, as it is considered in very bad taste for Muslim women to smoke. Hannah and I had a really eye-opening discussion with the two young Muslim men about their culture and answered questions about our own. It was fascinating to find that while I could disagree fundamentally with them on so many levels, I could respect what they had to say and see that they were sincere, good people.
Hotel in Aswan
Nubian boat captain
Philae Temple


Nile sunset
Koshary
Bazaar
Smoking Egyptian shisha outdoors

Egypt Adventure

The French schools have a little "vacances d'hiver" in February, so my friend Hannah and I decided to take the plunge and go to Africa. Being so centrally located in Paris, we just figured this was the chance of a lifetime. We booked with a tour group for the 8 day "Egypt Overland Tour", not having any idea what to expect. It was such an amazing experience, I really need to get down some details to remember forever. I'll go day by day with some photos. Enjoy!

DAY ONE:
Hannah and I caught a flight to London Heathrow, then on to Cairo with British Airlines on a 4.5 hour flight. Stepping off the plane at midnight Egypt time, I was a little terrified that the Tour was a sham and that we would be completely abandoned in the middle of Cairo airport. But sure enough, there was our first agent, holding a sign with our name. We got a sweet looking Egyptian visa and proceeded to a private car; from there, it was a 30 minute drive to our hotel in Giza. Ahmed, the first agent, taught us some useful phrases in Arabic and gave us a preview of the fast-paced week ahead.
London's Heathrow Airport--nicest one I've ever seen.

DAY TWO:
First full day in Egypt, going straight for the classic day of sightseeing. We got up early and carefully selected the non-threatening carbs from the breakfast buffet, where we met the English family that we'd be spending the day with. It would actually be the only time during the whole trip that Hannah and I didn't have the whole tour to ourselves. We met our tour guide for the day, who, like all the others, was certified as a tour guide after studying Egyptology for 4 years in a university.
First stop was the great wonder of the ancient world, the pyramids at Giza. The busy Cairo skyline is an odd contrast to the stark megaliths, surrounded by camels mingling with tourists. Hannah and I took a little jaunt on a camel, something I've wanted to do my whole life. My first impression was to be taken aback by how tall they are! I almost fell right off when my camel stood up, back legs first.
From there, we went to the sphinx, another classic sight that looks surreal in person. After Giza, we were driven to Memphis and Sakkara, where we saw some a great statue of Rameses II, a larger-than-life character that kept popping up throughout our trip. While I loved Memphis and Sakkara, I especially enjoyed the drive out to them, through the countryside. We saw the real Egyptians, riding carts loaded with produce and pulled by donkeys, playing soccer in the dust, smoking shisha outside on doorstoops.
In the evening, after a full day, we returned to the hotel and relaxed for a while, smoking a hookah with our agent, waiting for our overnight train to Aswan, which I'll update tomorrow.

Birthday Weekend

Legal at last! Regardless of the fact that I've been able to drink legally in France for 6 months, I'm finally officially 21. We celebrated in style this weekend, with drinks at the mojito bar at Le Curieux Spaghetti in the Marais, and a champagne toast at my friend's apartment near Bastille. And of course, any excuse to get something delicious from LaDuree.
My friend Hannah in the bar in the Marais

Champagne chez Emma
On Sunday my French friends and I celebrated Chinese New Year--apparently the parade in Paris is always the Sunday after the actual event.
The parade in Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year
Senbei!


Tang Freres: The Asian grocery store that has everything from frozen dim sum and mochi ice cream to senbei and li hing mui.