March 2013
9 posts
Last Day in Egypt
Today was my last day in Egypt, but did that mean we took it easy? Of course not. The day started relatively late for this break — at 10am — and Robin and I had to get up and get out the door to go Robin’s friend Jack’s apartment in Zamalek for an Easter brunch. The brunch was delicious — Jack had real ketchup which apparently is valuable! — and I managed to...
Back to Cairo
Today we started off with a nice continental breakfast with real cheddar cheese (as if it’s been that long since I’ve had that) in Alex. Then, we got ourselves together and headed to the catacombs, a rare site in Alexandria that Robin had never seen before. For that reason, neither of us really knew what to expect but it was actually incredible! First, our cab driver there started a...
Vacation in Alex
Today marked the day that Robin and I finally got to leave Cairo and go to Alexandria. I say finally not because I’d been in Cairo too long or seen too much of the city (you can’t really see all of Cairo), but cause Robin hadn’t left since early January! Alex is only a 2.5 hour train ride from Cairo (assuming that the Egyptian trains are functioning), but in order to ensure we...
Class Day Two
Today was my second day heading to AUC with Robin to chill while she went to class. Consequently, there’s not much to report beyond eating my second Cairo Kitchen koshary, and being entertained by the school cafeteria kittens :D
The PYRAMIDS
Today was supposed to be a very exciting day - today was the day Robin took me to the pyramids! However, even before going, I was already completely jaded about the pyramids at Giza, because literally every person I met in Robin’s program told me that visiting them was miserable. Furthermore, getting to the pyramids is no trivial task, involving a 20-minute metro ride, the miracle of getting...
School Day One
Today there is not much to report. In light of the absurd amount of exploring we did yesterday (recap: we were in Islamic Cairo from 11am to 8pm with no breaks!), I took it easy today while Robin was in class. I did get to meet many interesting Arabic scholars on Robin’s program, CASA, however, and tried my first non-Jordanian ful, which was just as regrettable as Jordanian ful....
Islamic Cairo
Robin and I started our day by taking an absurd cab ride from her apartment to Islamic Cairo. The reason it was so absurd is because the cab driver had absolutely no idea how to get to the Ibn Tulun mosque, even though it is a GIANT CEREMONIAL MOSQUE BUILT 876 AD!! So instead, he tried to drive us to another mosque 1km away to ask for directions. Luckily Robin doesn’t suffer fools lightly,...
Day Goog in Cairo
Robin and I took our waking slow this morning (okay okay, Robin woke up wayyy before me) before heading out for a “relaxing” exploration of Cairo. Our first stop was Zamalek, which is an island in the Nile that separates Doqqi (where Robin lives) from downtown Cairo, etc. Zamalek is also the home to an American University in Cairo (AUC) campus, where Robin studies.
The weather here is...
Day Wahid in Cairo!
I have to say that it feels as if it’s been way more than 7 months since my last Micmax post from Jordan last August, and it’s good to be back traveling (even if I’m breaking my 30-year desert moratorium). I landed in Cairo early last evening which was an otherworldly experience. At least from the air, Cairo makes Jordan look like a rainforest, and due to the pollution (and...
August 2012
18 posts
Ma3 salaama
Our last full day on our great adventure began with a taxi ride to the border crossing to Jordan, so that Robin and I can take our respective flights to Cairo and JFK tomorrow. The taxi driver (surprise, surprise) proposed to Robin, though he kept it interesting by first telling Robin that he was going to try and get a rise out of me by doing it, and second, telling me that a female Israeli...
Last travel day
Today is officially the last travel day of our trip, though considering the amount of touring we did today we should probably say that yesterday in Bethlehem was the real last day. Before we could even not tour, though, Robin and I had to move once more from our awesome apartment to a hotel in downtown Jerusalem, right on Yafo St. As usual, this sounds really simple, but due to a wild bus driver...
Bethlehem FTW
Today was supposed to mark the day we left Jerusalem for Bethlehem, but Robin and I have been enjoying Jerusalem so much, with all its people, charm, and restaurants, that we’ve decided to spend our last two nights in Israel in Jerusalem instead of in Bethlehem. Full disclosure, from reading online and from talking to friends, it also sounded like there was nothing to do in Bethlehem. But,...
Yad Vashem and MaHane Yehuda
Today is a day we took no pictures, though not because we were traveling to a new city or were just being lazy. We spent most of the day at Yad Vashem (Hand and Name), the Israeli Holocaust museum that is in the forest just outside of Jerusalem. The museum itself defies description, but was in turn horrifying, educational, infuriating, thought-provoking, and uplifting (particularly the stories of...
The Old City
We started today early and got out the door quick because we heard that the Temple Mount — the holiest site in Judaism as its where the Temple stood, and also home to the Al-Aqsa mosque that Moses visited on his “Night Journey” — had been closing early over the previous two days, due to either/both security threats and Ramadan. The Temple Mount is in the heart of the...
Farewell, Tel-Aviv. Hello, Jerusalem!
For the second time this week, we had to pack up our things in a beautiful apartment to head to a new city, unsure of what lay in store for us. With heavy hearts, we summoned our strength to move our bags down to the bus station, where we set off for the arduous one-hour ride to Jerusalem. As in Haifa, our accommodations in Jerusalem were booked via AirBnB, though this time we have a private room...
Lazy Sunday
Our day began with another slam dunk breakfast of Frosted Flakes (“Frosties”), Greek yogurt, and a cheap McDonald’s cappuccino. Since the main museums in Tel-Aviv were closed, we decided to go and explore some smaller sites. Our first stop was Shouk HaCarmel (HaCarmel market), which was a decent walk to the south of where we are staying. Along the walk, though, we found a...
Touring Tel-Aviv
After waking up late for the first time on this trip (!!), Robin and I ate cereal and yogurt for breakfast and then headed out for HaYarkon park. HaYarkon park is north of where we’re staying in the center of Tel-Aviv, and directly south of Tel-Aviv University. Our understanding was that the park is Tel-Aviv’s Central Park, and consists of a bike/walking path that leads to a larger...
Home Hospitality
Today we got up real early once more so our host could begin an (ill-advised) bathroom renovation project. That put us on an early train to Tel-Aviv, where we spent the first part of our day with Robin’s cousins, Uzi and Ongi. Unbeknownst to anyone, Robin’s cousins had secured us their son’s amazing apartment in downtown Tel-Aviv, which — I’m sorry to say — is...
Bahai who?
Another morning, another amazing breakfast concocted by Robin on our finicky two-burner camp stove! Don’t worry I did the dishes and prepped the toast. We got an early start today on a long bus ride to the University of Haifa. The university did not offer the charm of either suburban/rural or urban American universities, but sitting on the top of Mount Carmel, it afforded us brilliant views...
Next Stop Acre!
We started today in a way that would make anyone — traveller or not — proud: with a delicious tomato, onion, and egg scramble sandwiched between quality toast, a pot of coffee, and pomegranate juice!
Feeling invigorated, we decided that instead of doing a tour around Haifa, where most of the attractions are within walking distance of our flat, we’d set out to the nearby...
All Quiet on the Northern Front (of Haifa)
After eight hectic days in which Robin and I saw basically everything in Jordan (Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom, remember?), we made an executive decision to take a break from touring and just enjoy some of the benefits of traveling. After waking up and enjoying the view of the water and a cappuccino, we spent a few hours at the BEAUTIFUL beach swimming and reading. In the afternoon, we were...
Leaving the Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom (and...
Another morning in Amman, another 6:30am wake up followed by another breakfast of pita and butter / jam / cheese. But this morning was dfferent, in that we were heading to the Allenby Border Crossing (aka King Hussein Bridge) to head into Israel! Even more different, we had a taxi driver who didn’t talk or propose to Robin!
We got to the border crossing before it opened at 8am, and fumbled...
Jerash and Chinese food / Goodbye, Jordan!
We decided to spend our last full day in Jordan visiting the old Roman city of Jerash, north of Amman. Getting there was a cinch: we took a taxi to the bus station and took a minibus full of Jordanians and Germans. To our surprise, we were at the Jerash city center a mere 45 minutes and 90 cents later!
Jerash itself far exceeded our expectations. Jerash has Roman, Christian, and Islamic periods...
The Dead Sea and Back to Amman
We left Dana this morning to head back to Amman. On our way though, we decided to stop by the Dead Sea and see what all the hubbub was about! Our trusty driver of many marriage proposals had put together what we thought was a pretty affordable package to do some sightseeing on the way to the Dead Sea, and then drive us back to Amman. But when we went to the hotel breakfast this morning, he was...
A day in Dana
As you can imagine, after spending a day and night in Wadi Rum in the sand and blazing sun with no amenities, Robin and I were ready to relax and take it easy the following day. Too bad we’d booked a night in the small village of Dana, on the outskirts of the Dana Nature Reserve! Our trusty driver from the day before picked us up at Wadi Rum at 9:30am, and Robin bit the bullet again and...
The incorrigible Wadi Rum
We spent today in the desert outside of the village of Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is in the south of Jordan, and is close enough to Saudi Arabia that you can see into it from some of the mountains. It’s known for being spectacularly beautiful, and being home to many Bedouins. We spent a whole day and a night in the desert, so be warned; this is a doozy of a blog post.
We arrived at Wadi Rum from...
Petra, Part II / The Monastery
Learning from our trek halfway through Petra at around noon yesterday, we set off for Petra from Wadi Musa this morning at around 7:45am. Our goal? Climb to the top(ish) of Petra, where at ~1100m sits the great monastery.
The trek itself started off extremely pleasant. Basically everywhere we had walked the day before was in the shade thanks to the low morning sun, including the Treasury below...
July 2012
2 posts
Petra, Part I / Our First Glimpse
Our 6:30am bus ride (and 5:30am wake up) was as uneventful as one could hope for. However, arriving at our hotel in Petra to see all the furniture wrapped in plastic, all the artwork stacked on the reception desk, and the only occupant being a confused cleaning lady was understandably disconcerting. It made more sense once they told us the HOTEL WAS CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS, and had been closed...
Meeting in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Robin and I both flew into Amman, Jordan from Cairo and JFK, respectively, this afternoon. My flight was pretty painless, although the Jordanian seated next to me sounded completely incredulous when he asked me why I was vacationing Jordan, which wasn’t a good sign. Also, the entire row I was in (me plus a Jordanian plus a UAE-ian) were strangely all computer scientists!
After we got to our...
July 2011
77 posts
Be Back Soon, Hopefully!
So I flew back to the U.S. today, marking the end of my 43 day journey abroad. As such, I won’t bore you with the boring stories of my travels. However, a guy working at my hotel did, as I was packing my clothes up, come into my room and say, “Max… Could you please give me a T-shirt?” He was always kind of an interesting guy, but I did think we were friends despite the arguments me, Robin, and he...
Chilling at AST
Today was remarkably similar to yesterday, the main difference being that I knew all the other people at Robin’s school by now, and that we ate at different places. We also encountered our second giant cockroach, which made trying to sleep our last night in our hotel (alhamdulila) more interesting than I’d hoped.
Here’s a picture from Robin’s school. It doesn’t really do it justice, but I felt...
A visit to the American School in Tangier
Robin has class everyday until 1:30 at the American School in Tangier, so today during that time, I just slept in and went to a café for a delicious croque. Once she got out of class, though, my activities didn’t really change, as she had a speaking partner and a ridiculous amount of homework. Luckily though, the school is beautiful, has a pool, A/C, WiFi, and acres of grass and shade, so it...
Thriving (Surviving) in Tangier
I started today off by heading to Café Rain Sky, a small café recommended to me by Robin near her school, the American School of Tangier. As anyone who has traveled with me extensively knows, I don’t respond well under pressure when dealing with misunderstandings in another language, so when I tried to order a crepe and was told they didn’t have them but that I should order a bghira, I just said...
Back in the Maghreb
I’m back in Morocco as of 11:19am this morning. For those who don’t know, my girlfriend Robin is studying Arabic here in Tangier as part of the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship program. Due to arbitrary schedule changes, I’m on my own in Tangier until tomorrow night when she and the rest of her program get back from a mandatory field trip around Morocco.
Anyway, quick aside, I...
Going Solo Again
I left Balazuc early this afternoon for Marseille, where I’ll spend the night before taking an early morning flight to Tangier, Morocco. To do this of course, I had to take a bus to a train in a journey that took over 5 hours. But luckily, John (Chris’s dad) and some other French folks nice enough to use their English (rare) helped me find my way.
I got to Marseille around 5pm, so I had plenty of...
A visit to the Pont d'Arc in Vallon
Today was a throwback to my old touring days. We got up at 9, headed to the outdoor market in Ruoms where Chris and I tried all the samples we could find (like a delicious French outdoor Costco!), and drove to the Gorges in Vallon. Just to remind you, Vallon is home to caves with some of the oldest cave paintings ever found, from 30,000 years ago. They’re the subject of a famous documentary...
Spelunking
It’s always hard to do these posts without pictures, but unfortunately the main activity of the day — spelunking a cave near Chris’s village — was too wet an activity to bring my phone, let alone an iPhone. Anyway, Chris, Tom (the “expert”), and I went to this cave by hopping a fence. It’s right above the river (see pictures from yesterday). Once we got up...
Exploring Balazuc
Didn’t do much today except walk around Balazuc and head to the “beach” along the river, where Chris bro-ed out with a Swiss woman throwing a stick to her dog. Also had more amazing French food, i.e. tarte de flet, chevre and bread, good coffee, rhubarb tart.
A shot of the river from a spot that Balazucians go cave-diving from. It’s right above the deepest...
R & R en France
If you weren’t jealous of my trip before, you’ve got to be now. We didn’t really do much today but eat (ham, egg, and cheese sandwich; potato and chevre tart; tanjeen couscous; tomato, basil, and prosciutto tart), sleep late, and go to this river (just try to ignore the toxic looking algal on the opposite bank). Then there was a dinner party, and a traditional (or so French Tom...
Bienvenue en France
Today was my second-worst travel day remaining, besides the trip home from Tangier next Thursday. First, I flew to Marseille from Palermo after an hour and a quarter bus ride to the airport. Then, I took an hour and a quarter bus ride from the airport to the Marseille train station. Then, I waited in line to print out my train and bus tickets because the stupid self-service machine doesn’t like...
