Nepal

Nepal

Hello everyone,
We are now in Thailand, sweating, and have been reminiscing about trekking around the cool, mountainous country of Nepal. A full account of what we got up to is below, as well as the highly anticipated announcement of the winners of last month's very popular competition.

Summary of Nepal: Big mountains
Carrie and Adrian

NEPAL
by Adrian

This account contains only 2 parts, as we only really did 2 things in Nepal: trekking and other. However, we nearly didn't make it to the country at all, as we'd heard about a good amount of civil unrest throughout the country. We decided to come, though many people have stayed away, sadly, depriving this very poor country of much needed foreign cash.


Prayer wheels. Each wheel contains numerous prayers, each written on pieces of paper, and when the wheel is spun, the prayer is said. The more wheels are spun, the more prayers are said

While we were in Nepal we saw and heard of several skirmishes and strikes which have been occurring sporadically now for several months. Two years ago the very unpopular King decided to sack the democratically elected government, which noone thought was a good idea (except him presumably). Also, an appreciable percentage of the country is not controlled by the government at all, but by the communist Maoists, who at least try to keep order and keep schools open etc (but they do kidnap and shoot people too). Somehow the country has not (yet) fallen into anarchy, but I feel it could happen at fairly short notice. As a peaceful way of protesting about the government and king's actions, there are regular "bandhs", or national strikes, which bring the country to a halt. Three of these occurred during the 4 weeks we were in Nepal, along with a smaller, Kathmandu valley only strike. (Some readers may find this summary a little cursory, in which case I'm sure there's plenty of places to find out more...)

Interesting fact of Nepal 1:The flag of Nepal is very unusual. It looks like a red christmas tree cut vertically down the middle.


A small stupa, in Kathmandu

Nepal is by far the poorest country we have visited and has virtually no natural resources of its own, and foreign aid makes up a large proportion of the national budget. Tourism is very important, but now with the widespread concern over unrest, many tourists, especially those who spend a lot of cash (ie not like us) are staying away. On our trek we stayed in several lodges where we were the only guests and we saw many that had closed due to lack of tourists. This is a shame as its such a wonderful country to visit, and I really hope the place manages to sort itself out before its too late.
One national pasttime we observed frequently was that of expectoration. This is done frequently, noisily and indiscriminately by the young, old, men, women, rich and poor. But, we didn't like it much.

Kathmandu (12-14March, 2-9April)

Our time in Kathmandu was split up by the trek and also by the series of strikes that took place in early April. As time went on the strikes did not seem to be 100% effective, and we were able to visit some sights and even do some shopping, and all in relative ease as the streets were empty of traffic.


Two of the numerous monkeys that live in Kathmandu

Kathmandu is an ancient capital and contains many Hindu temples dating back 500 years. The alleyways and buildings look old also, and seem to possess a timeless quality to them. The streets of Nepal however are not too clean, and some even rivalled those of Egypt! We visited the main square of Kathmandu - main squares are always called Durbar Squares it seems - several times and wandered about the collection of temples and shrines there trying to understand the Hindu religion and avoid the rickshaw touts.

The temples are made of bricks or stone with up to 5 pagoda style roofs on top. Around them they have many wooden carvings of people and gods, some of which usually show quite a bit of rude and athletic goings-on. This seems to be of interest mostly to tourists. The square also has a population of amusing rhesus monkeys that can be seen running about on top of the buildings and eating bananas etc.


Durbar Square in Kathmandu


Another square in Kathmandu

We visited several towns within a few miles of Kathmandu as well. Originally the area surrounding Kathmandu was split up into many different states, each with its own king and government, but they've been united under Nepal for a while. However, each one of these towns retains its Durbar Square and some are very attractive. We strode around Patan and Bhaktapur for many hours observing the carvings and decorations around the temples. Hinduism has many Shiva temples, but confusingly, Shiva has several different incarnations (some human, some animal), each of which have different personalities (angry, happy...). I found this very confusing, but was able to recognise several of them after a few hours of wandering about.

Interesting fact of Nepal 2:Nepal is in a time zone of its own, 5hours and 45minutes ahead of Greenwich. This very strange difference is to separate it from India (5h30m).

Annapurna Trek (15March-1April)

We decided to do the Annapurna Circuit trek, which is by far the most popular trek in Nepal. It seemed to be the obvious choice as it does not backtrack, contains very spectacular scenery and has a somewhat difficult section which we thought we would have a go at: the Thorung La Pass, at 5416m about the highest we'd ever be likely to go. There were some reports of Maoist activities in the area, and some enforced "donations" to Maoist causes, but we didn't see anything of them.
The trek goes around the Annapurna range, a group of several peaks, the highest of which is one of the 14 in the world over 8000m. The whole time we were going around we kept seeing different peaks from different sides and saw clouds only in the afternoon. It was incredible to see such mountains all the day long, especially when they would rise above villages to an unfeasible height it would seem. Occasionally we would see a piece of rock floating way up in the sky, that looked like it was not possible for it to be joined to the land at all!


A hillside viewed from the trail


Carrie with a reflection of Machupuchare in her glasses. Quite clever as well I think

There were some animals and especially birds to see - though we failed to see the Himalayan Marmot. Most impressive were the mountain sheep which prefer to live on the most precipitous cliffs they can find, and move around on the in a very sure-footed manner somehow. As high as we went there were birds and even butterflies. The forests have a healthy population of langur monkeys which provide much amusement with their jumping about and cute behaviour just in front of guest house balconies.


A narrow street in a mountain village on the trail

Trekking in this area really is very straightforward. We were able to stay at "tea houses", locally built and owned hotels in nearly every village of the area. These ranged from simple but comfortable barns with beds in, to quite elaborate hotels with an extensive range of facilities and menu items. Considering that all the building supplies for these have to be carried by mule or person, it was quite surprising how many of these places there were. We typically had a room to ourselves, and ate the local staple meal - the famous "dahl baht". This is a plate of rice with a bowl of lentil soup and a bowl of potato curry and a bowl of some other substance, which we never touched. The main advantage to this (for me anyway), was that there seemed to be unlimited quantities of this produced, and it just kept on coming, provided you could finish the previous serving. After trekking all day, quantity is much more important that quality!

Eating the same food everyday did get a little boring so we did try other things, including apple pie, rice pudding, baked beans, eggs in any style and spring rolls. To drink there was tea or coffee, and even beer and coke, carried many miles again - and probably the empties carried back also (ed. note: yeah, right). Every night we had good sleep (except when very high), which made a real difference.


The Annapurna range


The Hotel Monalisa, typical of those we stayed at, close to Muktinath on the trail

Each day we trekked for between 4 and 7 hours, stopping at various places for lunch, elevenses, tea, etc, and were able to keep up a good pace. Fortunately we were quite accustomed to hiking, so found ourselves overtaking quite a few others, but we did keep seeing the same people every now and again. The trails are generally very good, and many of them are used for mules or horses so are a bit dusty, but there is no real danger of getting lost. The rivers are crossed by steel cable suspension bridges which swing backwards and forwards quite a bit in some cases. We saw a train of donkeys passing over such a bridge of maybe 60m in length by themselves, without a single problem!


Annapurna. Annapurna is one of the worlds 14 8000+m peaks and is the 10th tallest in the world. Here, it is 4000m from base to summit.


More praying

The hardest day was passing over the high pass of Thorung La. This involved a climb of 1000m to 5400m, then a descent of 1700m on the other side of the pass. The pass itself was very windy and extremely cold. Breathing at that altitude was hard work, and I had great trouble keeping up with Carrie under these conditions. However, on top of the pass we were able to take some refuge inside a small tearoom there and partake of some hot tea - surely the highest tearoom in the world. There was some snow at this height, but not much.


Close to our last night's accommodation near Thorong La (5418m), the highest point on our trek


A view back down the trail towards Machupuchare

On descending from the pass we entered the holy city of Muktinath which had a quite attractive temple site with prayer flags all over it and a steady stream of holy men, some of whom claimed to have walked there from India. They wore very colourful clothing and had long beards, so we believed that they probably had come from a long way away.


The village of Marpha

When we were nearing the end of this loop, we decided to join on another, shorter trek, the Annapurna Sanctury Trek, which goes into the middle of the Annapurna range. This was not as interesting of a hike, but the panorama from the sanctuary was fantastic. Mountains all around, including Annapurna 1, over 4000m above us. We looked around at all of the snowy faces, and read about various attempts to climb them over the years - some successful some not. This trek has turned out to be one of the highlights of the whole year so far.


One of the many impressive bridges


Springs near to Muktinath

Famous Nepalis (that I can think of)
1 - Sherpa Tensing Norgay.
2 - Buddha.

Pyramid Competition Results

There was considerable interest in our competition, and the entries are still flooding in, but we have to draw the line now! In the end the winner was determined to be (da, da-da DUM) Tall Paul Handley, writing from Tajikistan. The main problem answers were the mother of King Tut (Kiya) and the order of construction of the various monuments (pyramids are the oldest). The prize will be kept in the Carrie and Adrian safe until its troublefree transit can be assured - otherwise some of the valuable water or plastic sand might escape. Note: it does not come with a pen, so don't be too jealous.

Quiz Results

Hello entrants!

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses to our quiz! You will pleased to hear that the waiting is over, and the winner of the pyramid has been decided. It is Paul Handley, currently residing in Tajikistan, who was the only person to get all of the questions right! Obviously there is going to be some disagreement over such a valuable and prestigious prize, but I must insist that the adjudicator's decision is final (unless we get hold of another "prize"). Thank you for entering.



>1. Who was King Tuthankhamun's mother (probably)?
>a) Hatshepsut b) Cleopatra c) Siobhan from the Bangles d) Nefertiti e) Kiya

This was the hardest question, and the answer is agreed to be Kiya now by experts - and by us. Previously Nefertiti was considered to be his mother, possibly. But not any more.

>2. What is a felucca?
>a) an Egyptian snack served in a pita b) a small devotional statue with the
>head of an owl c) an olde-style sailboat d) none of the above, in which case you supply the >correct answer

Its a boat

>3) 10% of Egyptians are...
>a) Coptic Christians b) illiterate
>c) taxi or carriage drivers d) descended from the pharaohs

Christians

>4) A woman's headscarf is called:
>a) a naos b) a midan c) a higab d) a galabiyyah

The Higab

>5) Place in order of date of construction:
>a) Great Wall of China b) Pyramids at Giza c) Stonehenge d) Golden Gate
>Bridge The pyramids are the oldest, then Stonehenge, the Great Wall and the Bridge.

I think there might have been some evidence of construction at Stonehenge before the pyramids, but nothing that still exists.

>6) Which of these was not associated with an ancient Egyptian god or
>goddess?
>a) crocodile b) hippopotamus c) marmot d) jackal

Marmot - of course

>7)The streets of Cairo are covered with:
>a) crap and filth b) gizzards c) cats d) dead cats e) all of the above

Everything

>8) Elvis is buried in
>a) Giza b) Sinai c) Alexandria d) Memphis

Several entrants pointed out that Elvis is not buried anywhere, not being dead, but we think he's buried in Memphis.

>9) A typical Egyptian breakfast consists of:
>a) A big fry up, with plenty of strong coffee
>b) Fruit salad with fresh yoghurt and muesli/granola and orange juice
>c) Belgian waffles, whipped cream or maple syrup
>d) A couple of bits of dry hotdog bun with a segment of Laughing Cow cheese

We did not pose this question correctly it would appear, but the breakfast *we* most typically got (but did not really want) was d). And sometimes with a boiled egg

thankyou, Carrie and Adrian (in Thailand now)

Egypt

Egypt

Hello everyone! After a few months' hiatus, here we are again, with The Travels of Adrian and Carrie. We are still enjoying ourselves and we greatly appreciate your emails of interesting news and feedback on our newsletters. This time you can win win win with a pullout quiz section at the end of the message (details on the 'prize' there also).


And the summary: Lots of felafel and pita bread, calls to prayer resonating over the rooftops, filth everywhere, camels outnumbered only by donkeys, filth, fantastic Islamic architecture, intricate hieroglyphics, and did we mention filth?

regards,
Carrie and Adrian

Egypt
Cairo (7th to 12th February, 18th February, and 5-7th March)
by Ms. J.

We loved Cairo, which was far and away the most exotic place I had ever been and was completely new in so many ways that it was a constant experience just to be there. We were amazed by the sincere friendliness of the people, who everywhere greeted us with cries of "Welcome! Welcome to Egypt!" Even when I reluctantly admitted to being from the U.S. (having decided it was wrong to lie and claim Canadian citizenship) nobody gave us any flack. The children were far more outgoing than any we'd encountered in South America but, in Cairo at least, they were interested (rather than invested) in saying hello to us. "Which country?" they asked as we passed, or "What's your name?" We felt quite witty when our answers reduced them to gales of giggles. Just try and continue the conversation with a return question and their eyes grew very big. Many of the adults seemed to speak quite good English and, as our Arabic was limited to words such as "baksheesh" and "fatwah", this was a good thing too! I found it rather perplexing at first to be in a place where not only could I not communicate, but I could not even read the letters on the signs, but this contributed to the excitement of being someplace truly foreign.

We spent several days in Cairo in the course of our trip, and will follow the example of Darwin, who in his Voyage of the Beagle (our bedtime read aloud during this part of the trip), combined his several visits to one place into a single account, and do the same. Cairo is an immense city and it is crowded with lunatic drivers. There seems to be even less regard for lanes than in Ecuador, and the drivers do not turn on their headlights at night (except if they have fancy (and dim) blue ones which are quite popular). Crossing the street was probably the most dangerous thing we have done on our trip so far (eating blueberries belonging to a grizzly in Denali not excepted). While there were crossings and even signal lights, these were completely ignored by drivers, who careened along and around each other blithely. Pedestrians dodged their way across the street in a dance or a semblance of one of those early video games. Honking however was reserved as a means of communication rather than to signal irritation.


Standard Camel and Pyramid shot


A souq in Cairo, with Carrie in full theft avoidance mode

We spent hours and hours walking around the streets, listening to the arabic, attempting to distinguish voices raised in anger (uncommon) from voices raised in mock anger (much more common) or merely excitement (frequent). We puzzled over the arabic letters, and Adrian actually deciphered some; we noted a few different fonts, one of which was relatively plain and one of which we dubbed the "smelly" script because it had little accents/fumes rising from it. Adrian figured out the numbers by looking at the car license plates which displayed our "arabic numbers" as well as their's, and taught them to me.

The attire of the Egyptians varied quite a lot in Cairo, a modern city much influenced by the west, so we saw men and women in quite contemporary clothing (but with very little skin revealed) as well as many dressed in more traditional outfits. Many women wore headscarves, and quite a few had their faces covered demurely as well. We noticed that, although public displays of affection between men and women were all but nonexistent, it was quite acceptable for couples or trios of men or women to walk about hand in hand, or arm in arm.

After the rather unsatisfying fare (pastries notwithstanding) of South America, we were happy to find some good grub in Egypt, notably the local versions of felafel, tahina, pita, and babaghanouj. We ate out cheaply (spending around 24 egyptian pounds, or 4 u.s., or 2 English, per feast, including a generous tip) most nights, and devoured delicious oranges and bananas, and a date or two, during the day.


Inside the (relateively new) mosque of Muhammad Ali


Inside the old mosque of El Azar


Minarets over Cairo

In Cairo, we were the most awed by the beautiful Islamic architecture and designs. We spent several days wandering around in the streets of Islamic (or Fatimid) Cairo, where there is a warren of alleyways consisting of souq (or bazaar) after souq and ahwa (coffee house) after ahwa. Along these streets are many mosques and a few old houses, and we stopped into some of these. We visited the Mamluk era house called Beit Suyhami (beit meaning house) and gazed entranced at the intricate woodwork and especially the detailed repetition of tile patterns covering the floor. At the Citadel, on a hill above the city, we saw the enormous mosque built by the 19th century leader Mohammed Aly, and another, smaller mosque the ceiling of which was covered with beautiful painting, elaborate arabic letters entwined with designs and shapes to make a wonderful tapestry above our heads. Islamic art cannot have depictions of animals or people, and the resulting abstractions are quite enthralling. We also spent a long time in the mosque of Al Azhar, where the oldest university in the world (founded in 970 AD and hosting learning to this day) is located. We were proselytized mildly by our tour guide there, and I was provided with a head shawl for the duration of our visit inside. Every day, of course, was punctuated by the regular calls to prayer by the local muezzin, who now rely on amplification rather than standing in the minarets to sound the chant across the rooftops. The cacaphony of different melodies was magical, particularly in the evening as the lights came on.

We went as well to Coptic Cairo, where the oldest bit of the city still remains, surrounded by remnants of the ancient Christian church. Nestled close by a few very ancient chapels and monasteries was a Greek orthodox church, a gorgeous synagogue, and several mosques. Coptic Christians believe the holy family spent quite some time in Egypt after fleeing Herod, but have not cashed in on the tourist possibilities yet. We were not so wowed by the Christian architecture as by the Muslim work.


Up a minaret of a small mosque in Cairo

Of course we also visited the Egyptian museum in Cairo, and were impressed by the sheer number of artifacts there, if not by their presentation. Some of the rooms in the place resembled warehouses, or somebody's attic, with statues lying about, a nose or an arm missing here or there. We spent six hours wandering amongst the sarcophagi, statues, and jewels, lingering a long time amidst the truly fantastic treasures of King Tuthankhamun's tomb. The mummies, while fascinating, did not lure us so much.


The "Step" pyramid of Zoser - one of the earliest constructed

Of course, no visit to Cairo would be complete without a visit to the pyramids at Giza and the sphinx, but we also had time to go to the less-well-known Step Pyramid of Zoser, in nearby Saqqara. We found the three pyramids at Giza (Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure) rather disappointing up close, as their limestone covering was removed in the 19th century for building in Cairo, leaving them vulnerable to crumbling. From a distance, across the haze and with the sprawl of Cairo in the background (they are pretty much part of Cairo now), they are quite monumental, and we were able (read: suckered into) to appreciate them from the vantage of camels' backs as we wandered the dunes with our faithful camel driver whom we will call Ali. We found Saqqara and the pyramids nearby, the Bent and Red pyramids, much more interesting. As these are a little bit off the tourist track, we hired a taxi for the day to take us around, and were very happy with the excursion. Our taxi driver was called Hassan, and he was very friendly and quite entertaining. A newlywed, he dismissed his muslim brethren with more than one wife (they are allowed as many as four) as not being capable of sincerely loving each of them equally. He was quite a romantic and an enthusiast, and we felt lucky to have landed in his rattly car for our trip. Saqqara is the oldest pyramid in the world, dating from 2667 (or so) B.C. and showing early pyramid technology. The neighboring Bent period is remarkable as an example of architects switching gears halfway through, and also notable because it retains most of its original covering and thus shines smooth in the sun.

Port Said and Suez (13th and 14th February)
by Adrian


French style building in Suez


The Suez canal

We had intended to have a look around the Sinai peninsula, but only got as far as Port Said and Suez, both next to the Suez Canal, and neither of them were attractive places we thought. The canal itself did not have any impressively dimensioned ships going up and down either, and it was cold, so we left after only 2 days.

Alexandria (15th to 17th February)
by Adrian


Our balcony in Alexandria


In Alexandria, again

This city was reckoned by most people we spoke to, and the books we read, to be a bit of a disappointment, but we quite liked it! Notably, it was the site of our betrothal (outside a complex of catacombs), but we also felt it was a pleasant sort of a Mediterranean town with a very attractive seafront. It was very important in ancient history, and Alexander was supposed to be buried there, but very little remains of the old city at all. We did explore an underground cemetary used by the romans - and discovered when a donkey fell into it; a common method of ruin discovery it would seem - and tried to find the old lighthouse, but could not. Most of the tourists here were Egyptians from Cairo, but it was a group of Alexandrians for some reason that wanted to have their picture taken with us, standing next to the very fancy new library that has been built there. We stayed in a wonderful old pre-revolution hotel with a lobby full of stuffed pelicans and the like, and a faded old room with wicker furniture and a balcony on the corniche with a blue view of the Mediterranean spreading below.

Luxor (19th February to 24th February)
by Adrian

Luxor is in the middle of Egypt, on the Nile, and is the center of the tourist trade and used to be the center of the ancient world when the pharaohs power was at their greatest. Most of the large, well preserved temples and tombs are here, and its easy to visit them. We had intended to visit the city of Asyut, midway between Cairo and Luxor, but on getting off the train, the Tourist Police were present (with guns), and they very politely, but firmly, suggested that it would be a good idea not to stay in Asyut, but to go elsewhere. We were sort of expecting this, as there have been religious troubles in the town and the government is terrified of tourists getting hurt, so it was not a surprise. Our personal guard sat with us in a cafe for 4 hours and made sure we got on the next train. This was an interesting experience and we hypothesized that the danger to tourists was really not great, but had to be taken seriously by the Egyptian government as tourist money is such a pillar of the economy.


In front of the impressive-from-a-distance Temple of Hatcheput


Carrie (R) and Horus


Some hieroglyphics, closeup


People are always not allowed on the antiquities

The city of Luxor itself was very irritating. Buying anything in Egypt involves haggling, and we came to the conclusion that everyone in Luxor is out to rip tourists off, which was not very pleasant. This was not the case in the rest of Egypt as a casual conversation might be just that, but anyone saying anything in Luxor turned out eventually to be a ruse for selling a taxi, a tour, a boat or what-not. This was even the case for buying water or an orange, where the price would always start at say 10pounds, and eventually get down to 1pound, but only after a lengthy bargaining period. I suspect the locals do not have to go through this procedure.

Anyway, we embarked on an arduous week of tomb, temple and remains visiting, which got a bit much after a while. The temples and tombs are fantastic, and I shan't try to describe them - you've seen the pictures - but could go on about some of them at length in more personal correspondence. The tombs of the lesser people were a little more interesting to me as I thought the subjects were more humane, not just "person with head of bird gives round thing to jackal headed person with sun on head" type thing of the pharaohs. In fact, the art is not what I'd call beautiful at all, but the larger sites are quite moving, especially when the sun goes down and the hieroglyphics which cover every surface become shadowy and much more visible. We're now able to spot some of the gods and identify what might be going on in some of the scenes depicted in the friezes, but it's all a bit baffling. We saw many new excavations, including a massive underground tomb complex right next to where Tutankhamoun's tomb was discovered.

Cruise on the Nile (25th to 29th February)
by Carrie "Agatha" Johnston

The characters: A young engaged couple too cheap to buy any of the tat offered on board and thus regarded with suspicion; a loud, boisterous tour hostess; an unctuous, affected guide; an older, South African couple, a Dutch pair, and a large group of British package tourists, among whose number are a pair of ruthless Scrabble mavens

The boat: The Nile Commodore, a jaunty green and white affair with four star accommodations and enough goofy after dinner activities to drive anyone to drink (in plentiful supply aboard, for only three times the going rate)...or worse!

The setting: Egypt, the Nile, between Luxor and Aswan, four nights at the end of February. Lighting should be bright and merciless during the midday hours, ambient and cool in the evening, with the dark of the water lit up by gentle reflections of the boat's lights...

The tension: Develops as a result of a heated Scrabble game one twilight on the deck, as the waters swirl softly by and the papyrus sways in the breeze. A great blue heron alights in some alarm as voices are raised over the legitimacy of the word "benj." But when a camel-bone letter opener is purchased later on board a feluca, the Scrabble victor feels a stir of fear...


Carrie Agatha Johnston

Thanks to my parents, we were able to take a four-day trip aboard a Nile Cruiser, and it was a bit of luxury in our otherwise budget existence. We continued our schedule of temple-visits with less rigor than is our wont, and found time to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere and friendly conversation aboard the boat. We were delighted (not to mention stuffed) by the yummy, ample food, and less impressed when we were charged for any drinks consumed at lunch or dinner. It was fun to hear a bit more detail and background on the ancient sites than our guidebooks were affording, although our guide was more than a bit campy in his presentation. It was a treat to take a break from independent traveling, and a treat to return to it again.

Aswan and Abu Simbel (Feb 29-Mar 1)
by Adrian


Abu Simbel

Having got off the boat full of food we reverted to our usual meager existence, but were able to go for a day or so without further eating, living off the reserves from our time on the cruise. Aswan seemed to be like a smaller and more pleasant version of Luxor, with some of the hassling but also some places to escape from it. We saw both the Old Dam (built 100 years ago by the British) and the High Dam (built by the Russians in the 60's). Neither of these was as spectacular as the Hoover Dam because they are very wide and not very high, but the Egyptians are very proud of them. The High Dam was built to contain the annual flood of the Nile in Lake Nasser, and provide a steady year around supply of water to the Nile Valley. This has worked, but the Nubians - the inhabitants of where Lake Nasser is now - were not very pleased about it as their villages all got covered up. However, the government "kindly" moved them to new villages and paid for things for them, so there doesn't seem to be much ill-feeling, although such nuanced political issues were beyond our understanding anyway, since we could not pick up anything through eavesdropping or scanning newspapers.

Several ancient sites would have got covered up also had not the international community stepped in. Many of the temples were taken apart and resited above the level of the lake, and as recompense a couple of smaller temples were given away to countries that helped out. We saw a museum that made out that this rescue operation was a great success and that it was to the credit of the Egyptians that the temples were "saved". We saw Abu Simbel, which is close to Sudan and the largest of the resited temples. It is huge, and was carved directly into a mountain. Four 20m high statues of Ramses II sit outside a temple - which is inside the mountain - and the whole lot was moved to a new site. Even an artificial mountain had to be built to provide a backdrop. This temple was perhaps the most impressive we saw in Egypt.

The Western Oases (Mar 3-4)
by Adrian

We'd had enough of the Pharaohs by this stage, so wanted to see some of the desert that takes up most of Egypt. There are several oases, and we went to Bahariyya, which is the one closest to Cairo, as we didn't have time to go to Siwa which is reckoned to be the best. We got a bus from Cairo which drove across 300km of sand with nothing in it at all to arrive at the oasis in the afternoon. It was hot and somewhat windy, but depressingly, it looked just the same as the rest of Egypt! Not quite so many dead animals, but there were some, and plenty of plastic and cardboard blowing around. Not even big sand dunes or views of palm trees around small pools, but instead dust and sand blowing everywhere and insects swarming around. Not impressed at all, so we decided quickly to get out and return to Cairo. This turned out to be difficult as the bus was "late" and we sat about in the street getting covered in a protective layer of dust waiting for any form of transport willing to take us, and several other foreigners, out. Never did we think that Cairo would look like a clean place to be.

The editors are pleased to introduce a new feature section of the Newsletter(TM)

Contest rules: All participants in the quiz who write in with their answers will be remunerated with the correct answers. The winning entry will receive a beautiful and topical prize, to be delivered when we have completed our trip (at some future date...).
1. Who was King Tuthankhamun's mother (probably)? a) Hatshepsut b) Cleopatra c) Siobhan from the Bangles d) Nefertiti e) Kiya
2. What is a felucca? a) an Egyptian snack served in a pita b) a small devotional statue with the head of an owl c) an olde-style sailboat d) none of the above, in which case you supply the correct answer
3) 10% of Egyptians are... a) Coptic Christians b) illiterate c) taxi or carriage drivers d) descended from the pharaohs
4) A woman's headscarf is called: a) a naos b) a midan c) a higab d) a galabiyyah
5) Place in order of date of construction: a) Great Wall of China b) Pyramids at Giza c) Stonehenge d) Golden Gate Bridge
6) Which of these was not associated with an ancient Egyptian god or goddess? a) crocodile b) hippopotamus c) marmot d) jackal
7)The streets of Cairo are covered with: a) crap and filth b) gizzards c) cats d) dead cats e) all of the above
8) Elvis is buried in a) Giza b) Sinai c) Alexandria d) Memphis
9) A typical Egyptian breakfast consists of: a) A big fry up, with plenty of strong coffee b) Fruit salad with fresh yoghurt and muesli/granola and orange juice c) Belgian waffles, whipped cream or maple syrup d) A couple of bits of dry hotdog bun with a segment of Laughing Cow cheese

Spain, Ireland and UK

These "bonus" countries were slotted into our busy schedule mainly because of airline ticketing reasons, though it was very good to see my family in the UK. It was a brief opportunity to travel in Westernised countries, where we didn't look any different and had to spend real money. After this, we went to Egypt, but first, the stopovers in the West:

Madrid (January 11th-13th)
by Carrie

After our time in South America, we found Madrid very, very cold and very western. It was a bit of a culture shock, even after relatively affluent Chile, to be in such a beautifully-looked after city, surrounded by such obviously wealthy people. The number of furs (or fake furs) on passers-by was shocking! We also found ourselves in a bit of shock over the Euro, which is worth so much more than the peso, but we managed to enjoy ourselves anyway. Madrid is a gorgeous city, with lovely old buildings and delicate balconies. Even in the winter the Plaza Mayor is a sight, and it was very nice for Carrie at least to have some really decent coffee. The notable expedition of our few days in Spain was our trip out to the Escorial, King Philip's mausoleum/castle complex. It was obvious to us that the place was meant as a summer residence, as the winter temperatures in the expanse of stone were very chilly, but we could still appreciate the place's grandeur. It was fun to see olde maps of South America and reflect that much of Spain's wealth at the time was derived from imperial holdings in the very lands we had recently traversed!


In the extreme cold outside El Escorial, close to Madrid

Dublin (January 14th-18th)

We went to Dublin solely to visit our friends Martha and Tom. We thought Dublin must be a great place to spend a few days but it was frigging freezing when we were there, so we did not spend so much time exploring the streets as we might have done in less inclement weather. (Perhaps a return trip is in order sometime in the future!) We did visit a fantastic museum collection of beautiful old manuscripts called the Chester Beatty Library. We were awed by the detailed, painstaking artwork done by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians of earlier days, and marvelled when, months later at the temple of Philae in Egypt, we overheard a Spanish-speaking guide mention a papyrus displayed there--a connection between three of our cultures! We also took a hike on the hills in nearby Howth and mostly enjoyed the comforts of Martha's home, notably her cooking (delicious as ever) and the conversation of old friends.


University College Dublin

England (January 18th-February 6th)

England was a similarly relaxing time. It was very good to see many of Adrian's relatives and to visit several of his friends as well. We had some logistical stuff to do in arranging for the next legs of our trip but we also managed to fit in some good recreation and relaxation (recovering from all the rigors of our trip, poor us!). It was lovely to eat lots of fruits, homemade bread, vegetables from Mum and Dad Martin's garden, desserts prepared by Adrian's mum, and Tesco humous (we consumed our weight in this in just a few weeks). We fit in a few games of Scrabble with Adrian's mum, took many long brisk walks in the countryside, and did some reading. We also found time to check out the British Museum, where we located the "best" moai, missing from Easter Island and notably well preserved due to its place inside the hallowed halls (we were interested to note that the piece was attributed as a gift of "HM Queen Victoria"--nice of her). The museum also gave us a preview of some of the things we'd be looking for (in vain) in Egypt and sites farther east. We had such a nice time in England that we hardly prepared for the impending trip to Egypt, and we arrived in Cairo quite unprepared for the bustle and excitement.


In the Hop Fields of Kent