April 21-23, Egypt

Monday 21st – Thursday 23rd April
Egyptian entrepreneurialism is taken to a new level. We wake to the rowdy sounds of a floating market. As our boat approaches a queue to pass through a loch, we are surrounded by small canoes rowing against the current to bargain and haggle. I’ve never seen anything like it. Kaftan’s and unwanted souvenirs are being thrown everywhere and the local men are shouting at the tourists to pay them! Hilarious. As a new boat full of guests pulls up, the small boats all chase the fresh prey!
Our cruise down the Nile takes us south to Aswan. It’s a beautiful trip as we pass by local farms and desert (though rather hot at 40 plus degrees). Along the way we stop at several temples such as Edfu and Kom Ombo, which are amazing but the experience is tarnished a little by the thousands of tourists surrounding us (bloody tourists).
A highlight was a trip to the temples of Abu Simbel, just 45 km from the Sudanese border. The temples have been cut into the side of a mountain and were built by Ramses the 2nd. At 40 metres in height these statues are magnificent. But what captivates us is that these temples were relocated by UNESCO in the 60’s due to a massive new dam raising the waters of the Nile. The project involved moving an entire mountain 200m back and 65m higher!
Later that evening we enjoy Nubian cuisine on a Felucca (local food on an Egyptian sail boat) but the wind is non-existent so we don’t get too far. After a good hour, the skipper gives in and pays another boat to pull us around the Nile to ensure we get the proper experience! Too funny! After being assured there are no crocodiles, Rich goes for a lone dip in the Nile ...... nobody else is game.

April 21, Egypt

Monday 21st April –Luxor

They say there’s no rest for the wicked so I’m sure that someone up there must know that I’m with Rich! It’s a 4am start to watch the sun rise and go hot air ballooning over the Nile. It is breathtaking and despite being 1600ft high, we get to see life for the locals as they start their day. Whilst I was a little nervous about taking off, landing the balloon was an altogether funny experience. As we got lower we had 10 men running after us to try to pull the balloon down. At the same time there was a very perplexed farmer (pictured) concerned about us landing on his crops and negotiating with our Captain for compensation! From here we hop on our ride to the Valley of the Kings, which is by donkey. It’s a lot of fun and Rich gets into the spirit of things (check out the picture) but his donkey won’t listen to a thing he says! We arrive at the Valley and it’s a little more difficult to walk! We visit four tombs, each slightly different and at different stages of preservation. It’s amazing to think that as soon as a new King comes into rule, they start preparing his tomb and valuables to for him to take to the afterlife!
With the combination of the early start and intense heat we are exhausted. We head to our Riverboat which we’ll be spending the next three nights on for a well deserved nap!

April 16 -18, Egypt

Thursday 16th- Friday 18th April Cairo & Train to Luxor

We arrive at the Cairo train station for our overnight trip to Luxor. I’ve been warned that the bathrooms are not a pleasant experience. One look at the florescent lights and our seats (which haven’t been cleaned in 10 years) confirms this is going to be another tough night on a train.

Sunday 20th April –Luxor Nevertheless, it’s worth the effort. We arrive in Luxor and head straight to the Karnak Temple which was constructed 3000 years BC. The “temple” is actually a large complex of timeless structures that makes our modern buildings seem like cheap goods made in China. What strikes you most about the Karnak Temple is how much culture, vision and purpose this ancient civilisation had. It is truly inspirational and makes me wonder why it is so hard for our government to think 5 years ahead! Everywhere you turn there are massive statues and hieroglyphics carved into walls and pillars. It’s so beautiful and no wonder that the Pharaoh’s made this their home! This is an absolute highlight!!! It’s even more amazing when you realise that they’ve only uncovered a fraction of the ruins here. It’s only midday but the temperatures hit 45 degrees. The heat is dry and debilitating so we head back to the hotel for drink and watch the sun set over the Nile.

April 17th - 18th Cairo & The Pyramids

They say you haven't experienced Cairo until you've experienced the traffic. Arriving at midnight we thought we'd have to wait till the next day to experience the real Egypt..... our taxi driver had other ideas and insisted on some high speed driving maneovures that had other drivers waving their arms in appreciation of his great flair and expertise. At least that's what we think they were doing!

Friday April 17th - Cairo

Many people warned us that Cairo can be difficult to travel through, but we found it's people to be generally jovial and the city to have a great vibe. We instantly fell for its charms. Walking through the city was quite peaceful and a pleasant breeze blowing down the nile, made for a relaxing walk after visiting the amazing Egyptian museum to take in the vast treasure of Tutankamins tomb. But, as darkness descended upon the city so too did a kind of madness and energy that gave us a much better appreciation for the real Cairo and its inhabitants ..... and we loved it. Everybody comes out at dusk, the traffic turns chaotic, vendors aand streeet bazzars spring up on side streets and the entire city awakens. The people are friendly (at least 1 in 4 is not trying to sell us something) and amongst others we meet Mahmoud, the air traffic controller who used to live in New York, Abrahim who works at the Opera House but also has a shop where he sells his sister's paintings and our tour leader, Mostafa, who is also a qualified Egyptologist and enthusiastic lover of Egyptian food.

Saturday April 18th - The Pyramids (Cairo)

The most surprising thing about the Pyramids is that the city is built up right to the foot of the sphinx but just behind it and the pyramids is the start of the desert. So depending on which way you are facing when you look at the pyramids you can feel like you're in a scene from an old Charlton Heston film or in a Bollywood backlot. The pyramids themselves are huge (the tallest buildings in the world until the 1850's) and awe-inspiring considering they have been standing for almost 5000 years. They estimate that the largest pyramid weighs more than 6m tonnes! It's wonderful to be here and we have to pinch ourselves every now and again to think we are standing in front of the last standing wonders of the ancient world.

April 16th - Reporting in from London

After a bit of technical difficulty we're back online again! (Please pass on the new URL)! We're now in London staying with our good friends Grant and Maria. We've had a great time here (back in civilization) and we're now getting ready for our 3 week trip to Egypt and Jordan (we leave tonight). We got in on Tuesday and that night Sav and Maria went to see a show Wizard whilst Grant took me to see the UEFA Champions league quarter-final (after a few warm up pints) between Chelsea and Liverpool wich ended in a spectacular 4-4 draw! Unbelievable atmosphere ...... Superb!
Below is an update on what we've been up to in Africa... we hope you enjoy and write to us if you get the chance!

April 7th -12th, Kenya

Tuesday April 7th – Diani

It's official. We are over Africa. The 3 days of hell travelling has pushed Sav over the edge and there’s a lot of discussion about getting out of Africa quicksmart! But one look at the beaches and a swim in the clear, warm waters of the Indian ocean calm us down and we come round to deciding to finish our time in Africa with some serious R&R on the beach. Our decision is reinforced by a superb dinner on the beach at a great restaurant for not very much.

Wednesday April 8th-Saturday April 11th: Diani
Beer and pizza while watching the cricket on the TV, you’d swear we were back home except I’m sitting under the thatched roof of a beachside cafe beside the Indian ocean. We had another relaxing breakfast and swim (Rich managed to step on the spikes of a sea erchant – no major damage) before we headed up to Mombasa to buy our tickets for the overnight train back to Nairobi on Sunday. Mombasa is busy, decrepit, and very hot. We stay for a bit of souvenir shopping in the old town before heading back to the beach.
The beaches here are beautiful... we spend a lot of time enjoying the sun. One of the highlights is a trip to Charlie Island with the owners of the hotel that we are staying at and their friends. They take us out on their 45 foot motor launch to a private island and we enjoy a lunch on the beach with lots of wine! A little bit of decadence is good for the soul! :)

Sunday April 12th - Monday April 13th: Mombasa to Nairobi

The overnight train from Mombasa to Nairobi is a bit of an adventure and a novelty. The train is pretty old and decripid and our first class cabin entitles us to a "silver service" dinner in the dining carriage. The dining carriage is a classic and we have a 3 course meal of soup, beef (probably goat) and pudding. We wash it down with some white wine which turns out to be local kenyan papayan wine (best served very cold with a beer chaser). The novelty soons wears off as our cabin is really hot and neither of us sleep very much. We arrive in Nairobi on Easter Monday only an hour late (quite a pleasant surprise) but find most things closed due to the public holiday so after a long lunch we head to the airport to wait for our overnight flight to London.

April 4th - 6th, The Trip from Hell

(No photos can do these 3 days justice)

Saturday April 4th: Ngara to Mwanza
The trip had started so nicely with a visit to the local Saturday market in Ngara to pick up some snacks for the six hour journey ahead. The eight of us (yes 8) and our luggage are all loaded in Liz’s Landrover and we’re bumping along nicely on our way to Mwanza on Lake Victoria. That is until we “bump” into one of the locals on his bike. He’s lucky to be alive after veering in front of us at the last second and the crunch we hear gives us a sickening impression that the worst has happened. Luckily he’s alive with just a few cuts and bruises but his bike is a mangled mess. We take him into the nearest town and visit the police station (Liz agrees to pay for bike repairs and some cash that he dropped .... bill of $27 despite there being no way of Liz being able to miss him) and then the hospital. A short delay of four hours but we’re back on our way to the next town we’re we stop in at the local church for a late lunch and a look at the new church roof ...... another hour later and we’re on our way again.
I’ve decided a good time to visit this part of the world will be in 2010. That is when they will have finished the hundreds of kilometres of new roads that we are getting a great opportunity to see as they are being built. This means we’re on the temporary, windy, narrow, pot holed, bumpy, dusty road to the side of the new, flat, straight, smooth bitumen. Excellent.
Unfortunately our earlier delays mean we miss catching the car ferry into Mwanza by 30 minutes which results in us back tracking for an hour or so and then heading off to find another car ferry. Only now it’s dark and the lights on the Landrover aren’t working so well which means slower progress but still the inevitable massive crunches that bust the backside as we hit unseen potholes. We eventually arrive at midnight!
Sunday April 5th: Mwanza to Nairobi
We borrow the Landrover and head into town to find out about busses to Nairobi. There’s one leaving at 1pm and it will only take a very short 15 hours! When we arrive at the bus station the bus is jacked up with one of the wheels lying on the ground beside it .... the “coach” has seen better days. It is with a fair amount of trepidation and outright fear that we hug Liz goodbye and set off on the next leg of the “journey from hell”. Our fears turn out to be ......... well founded. One of our seats is constantly in the reclining position meaning we get a good view of the ceiling. We stop regularly to drop off and pick up passengers. As night comes, so does the rain and cold. There are only so many ways of shifting position on a bad bus seat and the knees from the person behind are a constant reminder that we have obviously done something very bad to someone, somewhere to deserve this type of punishment.
Monday April 6th: Nairobi to Mombasa to Diani
The odyssey continues. We arrive, exhausted in Nairobi at 6am. It’s cold and the rain is bucketing down. The bus (just another 8 hours we are told) leaves at 9am .... which turns into 10am and takes 10 hours. Yet another major highway is being built .... we get the crap bumpy road beside it. Mombasa is one big, hot traffic jam. We negotiate with a taxi driver to take us to the beaches south of Mombasa but first we must get on the ferry to cross the harbour in peak hour ..... we arrive at our final destination at 8.30pm, we left Liz’s place on Saturday at 8.30am, 3 days ago!

March 29 - April 3, Tanzania (Staying with Liz)

We’ve finally made it to my sister’s house. For those that don’t know her, Liz is my older sister and has been living and working in Tanzania as a missionary for the last 7 years. So finally getting to this part of the world and spending a week with her is something I’ve looked forward to for a very long time. Rather than a blow by blow of each day, I’ll give you some of my lasting impressions of life in Western Tanzania near the borders of Rwanada and Burundi:
Liz’s house: A small 2 bedroom, 1 study brick house with a tin roof, the house is very comfortable and everything you’d expect to find back home ...... with a couple of exceptions. Firstly, the kitchen has a wood fire stove which comes in very handy for the second exception; there is no running hot water. Which means you heat water up on the wood fire stove, carry it into the bathroom and have a shower from a bucket standing in the bath and pouring water on yourself using a jug. Needless to say, showers are quick.
Liz’s help: Liz has a night guard (who doesn't seem to reaally need his bow and arrow but whose main job it seems is to screen the many visitors Liz gets), a gardener (she has a beautiful garden with 30 different types of flowers blooming everywhere) and Fidea, her cook. Fidea comes in 4 days a week and does the cleaning, washing and cooking. The quality of the food is very good and we make sure we keep her very busy this week. The homemade bread is superb, lasagne delicious, pizza scrumptious and various scones, biscuits and other constant treats always very welcome.
Life at liz’s place: It’s relaxed (for us) and comfortable but Liz is constantly busy with her work and has a steady stream of people coming to the house to see her. This can include people such as the local pastor coming to discuss new bibles, evangelists Liz is training, other missionaries and western workers coming over to watch a DVD in the evening, locals selling fruit and vegetables, students Liz is helping by giving odd jobs to so they can help fund buying their text books and a whole host of others who are just popping in to say hi or wanting to talk to Liz about her work. There would probably be at least 20 per day!
Trips to meet the locals: We venture out regularly to meet the locals and its always interesting and entertaining. One of the most immediate feelings we always get is how happy and welcoming these people (who have very little) are whenever they see us. We’re also a bit of a novelty which means people (particularly kids) will never hesitate to stop and stare and regularly crack up when we speak a few words of Swahili that Liz has taught us. One day we head to the local market to do some shopping (“fresh fish” delivered that morning lends the place a unique “atmosphere”), the next we’re off to a village on the border of Burundi to watch Liz in action with the local church and the day after we’re helping out giving English lessons at the local Bible College. Everyone is extremely friendly although the number of questions we get about when are we having kids (and how many) leads me to believe that, despite appearances they have very little knowledge of English and no ability to phone overseas, they have been in regular contact with our parents
The environment: This part of Tanzania is beautiful. It’s at a fairly high altitude so it’s a constant temperature in the low twenties all year round. The vegetation is lush and dotted with lots of little farms in the rich orangey red soil. Liz’s house, local church, schools and hospital are on a hilltop overlooking a valley that leads down to the river which forms the border between Tanzania and Rwanda. Clouds often roll over the hill and into the valley masking everything below, giving the impression that you are on a plane as you look out to the not too distant hilltops of Burundi to the south and the more distant volcanoes in Uganda to the north.
Liz: What’s great about this place is seeing just how relaxed and happy my sister is. Not that her life is relaxing. She’s constantly working and her mobile doesn’t seem to stop ringing but she always makes time to welcome the many visitors to her house with a long chat on the veranda. Each of the locals we meet that can speak English goes out of their way to tell us just how good Liz’s Swahili is and there is a real affection for her within the whole local community. She’s loves her work and the people she works with and I get the very distinct impression that feeling is mutual. A walk with Liz in the afternoon is a slow affair as you can only make it about 50m at a time before we are stopped and welcomed. Everyone knows Liz and she has to explain who we are, why we’re here and that we do not have any children, we haven’t decided when we will and we don’t think we’ll have six. I’m tempted to ask Liz to explain that we try as often as possible (insert wink here) but remind myself that such humour may not be appropriate in this good Christian society.

March 23rd - 28th, Rwanda

Monday March 23rd: Kigali Rwanda – FINALLY
What an ordeal! After a three hour wait, our flight finally took off from Johannesburg to Kigali in Rwanda. The flight was expected to arrive at 1.30am but we didn’t touch down till 8.30am the following morning! Just as we were about to touch down, we felt the plane ascending again and the plane landed in a neighbouring Burundi. It was a truly African experience! We were stuck at Burundi for another three hours as the pilot argued with the airport about the refuelling payment (They wouldn’t let us take off until we’d paid in full!). Poor Liz had been waiting for us to arrive for 8 hours! When we finally checked into our hotel we were spent and slept most of the day.
Tuesday & Wednesday March 24th and 25th - Kigali to Lake Kibuye
We started the day with a visit to the Kigali genocide museum which was a sombering experience. In the period of one and a half months, 1 million people were slaughtered. Apparently they are still finding mass burials through the country even today. It is chilling to think about what happened and how we could let it happen. Although Rwanda is a safe place now, I find it hard to look at people in the eye. I find myself looking at the scars on the locals and asking myself questions like “How many of their family members were killed? Did this person commit atrocities?”.
Afterward, we drive for several hours to Kibuye on Lake Kivu which forms the border to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a beautiful setting, but apparently this area was the worst impacted by the genocide. Just around the corner from our simple hotel is a church where 10,000 people sought refuge and were slaughtered in the church. In fact in many instances the priests were the ones who turned them in. It defies belief. Needless to say, I don’t sleep well on this evening.
The next day, after Rich and Liz take a short boat ride on the lake, we drive several more hours on rough dirt roads through forest of gum trees to the volcanos, which form the border with Uganda. It is from here that we trek to see the gorillas.
Thursdsay March 26th - Gorillia’s in the mist
It’s an early start to meet the rest of the trekking group. We are accompanied by two gunmen (in case we encounter poachers) and several trackers to get through the jungle. In the guidebooks they tell you to be prepared to get dirty. Good thing they do. The track (if there is one!) is very muddy often surrounded by Stinging Nettle. At various points of the walk, I am ascending at what feels like a 70 degree angle clinging onto vine leaves! We walk for about an hour before we spot our first Gorilla, which is an adolescent but then we set eyes on the Silverback - all 220 kilos of him. He is beautiful and majestic. He sizes us up before turning around and putting his back to us. We sit close and watch the gorilla’s while they eat and play. They are so human like. Truly amazing!
Friday & Saturday March 27 and 28th – Lake Muhazi
We drive for several hours to make our way back towards the other side of the country. Rwanda is the “land of a thousand mountains” and our drive is a bumpy one as we roll up and down different mountains in Liz’s old Landcruiser. We get to Lake Muhazi and spend a couple of days of chilling before we head to Tanzania.
The Tanzanians are so friendly...At the border check we are greeted by big grins and “Jumbo!” (Hello in Swahili.)