Egypt Day 4

This morning we had to get out of bed and onto a bus at 0330 to travel to Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel was built for/ by King Ramses II. It measures 38m by 65m and was carved out of a single rock. The temple is amazing. The sheer size of it was breathtaking! Internally the walls were filled with carvings of scenes of the ancient times which were once brightly coloured with natural paints. The hieroglyphics tell the stories.

The second temple at Abu Simbel is the Temple of Hathor, wife of Horus, both Egyptian Gods, dedicated to Nefertari. This temple was also spectacular.

Both of these temples sit on the bank of Lake Nasser.

After the long drive back to Aswan, we boarded our Nile Cruise boat, “Melodie”, which was where we would spend the next 3 nights.

We ended our day with a Camel ride across the Dunes of the west bank of the Nile. This was meant to be sunset but sunset happened after we were back on our cruise boat... it was fun either way!

Egypt Day 3

An easy morning this morning showering, washing, and recovering from our night train journey. After this we then spent a fabulous relaxing afternoon sailing down the Nile on a Felucca. This was followed by a traditional Nubian dinner in a Nubian village on the west bank of the Nile. The Nubian people are a minority group who have Sudanese roots and still live a very traditional Egyptian/Sudanese lifestyle.

Egypt Day 2

The Giza plateau with the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx were first on the itinerary today. It is pretty amazing to be driving through a city of 22million people and amongst the buildings see one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world! The Giza plateau is desert, like all of Cairo that is not built up, and is the home to the amazing structures.

The pyramids are awesome!

Originally standing at 147m tall (now at 137m) the Great Pyramid was built by Cheops, the middle Pyramid was built by Chefren, and the third Pyramid, standing at 66m tall, was built by Micerinus. Our favourite was the middle Pyramid because you could still see the original smooth finish to the exterior surface. We also were able to climb down inside the middle pyramid - this was very cool - although extremely stuffy as there is no ventilation - funnily enough! 

The Great Sphinx is just 350m from the Great Pyramid. It is 73m long and about 5m high. The face is thought to represent King Cephren standing guard over his tomb.

We also visited the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It has a huge collection of artefacts from all the archeological sites around Egypt. The highlight of this museum was King Tutankhamon’s famous gold mask and his Sarcophagus.

Our last stop today was a Papyrus Institute, where they make Papyrus paper and hand paint

We boarded a night train tonight bound for Aswan. No beds like China but large relatively comfortable seats. Thankfully our carriage was quite empty so we were able to spread out and get as comfortable as possible for the 12-13h journey.

Egypt Day 1

Today was again technically our arrival day in Cairo for our tour but because we met our tour guide last night we were able to do a day trip to Sakkarah, the Step Pyramid which is the first Pyramid in Ancient Egypt. This pyramid is, as the name suggests, stepped on its edges rather than the smooth edges of the famous pyramids. At Sakkarah, there was also a small museum designated to Imhotep, a High Priest, an Architect, and great Doctor, who Pharaoh Zoser entrusted with the design and construction of his tomb, which is the Pyramid at Sakkarah.

We also visited Memphis, which was the first capital of Egypt. Memphis has a monument area with the Memphis Sphinx dating back to 1342 BC. It also has a large statue of King Ramses II (The Great) from the 19th Dynasty.

For lunch we tried Felafel’s in pita bread with salad - Egyptian fast food (restaurant - Felafela) - they were great - and only cost about 30cents (Aus)!  

After lunch we stopped off at an Egyptian carpet weaving house - very similar to the Turkish factory we visited except staffed predominantly by males who are commonly children. They work in 2 shifts giving children a way to earn money to help support their family as well as go to school. Brii also had a go at the knot tying but was told she was far to slow to gain employment... looks like medicine is safe :-).

Tonight we met Hazem again and the remainder of our group that we were to spend the next 8 days with - Sharon from Sydney, Darren from Darwin, Ali and Daniel from Perth, Gabriella from Sydney, and Sophie from Quebec.

We then enjoyed some amazing Sushi and Sashimi at Hazem’s favourite restaurant.

Turkey Day 14

Our tour ended today and we said our good byes to some good friends. 

We flew to Cairo and had a little rest to try to recover from an intense 14days before starting again.

Turkey Day 13

Anzac Day.

There was a light show at about 4.30am which was really moving. It was lights, music, interspersed with some gun fire indicating where the ANZAC’s came up over the cove and where the Turks were on the high cliffs.

The Dawn service was lovely. Although we were both a little disappointed with the emotional impact that we didn’t get. It was a lovely service but not really that different from being at home. The service at Lone Pine later in the morning, which was entirely Australian, was far more emotional and patriotic for all of us.

Whilst waiting for the NZ service to finish (the services were all staggered so the dignitaries could make all of them), we explored a little finding some trenches which were still intact. The Turkish and the Australians were separated by a distance no more than a single lane road... crazy! 

We decided that we will return to Gallipoli at a time when there are no crowds or stands and explore the peninsular properly.

The day ended with a long drive back to Istanbul - along with the rest of the crowds from Gallipoli.

Turkey Day 12

Anzac Eve. We spent today travelling toward Gallipoli. We were meant to arrive on the peninsular around lunch time and tour around the sites before settling in for the long night awaiting the Dawn service... BUT ... the Australian Governor General and the NZ Prime Minister also thought they might like to practice their speeches and have a look around before the Dawn service so the entire peninsular was closed until mid to late afternoon!!! Apparently someone thought they were important and there might be a threat to their safety :-/.

Anyway, we eventually did make our way to Anzac cove and to the site where we would camp for the night awaiting the Dawn service. We found a patch of grass and made ourselves comfortable and then continued to get more and more cramped in with the incoming masses.

There was ‘entertainment’ all night on the big screen if you couldn’t sleep but we had no trouble catching a few hours.

Turkey Day 11

Driving north along the Aegean coast we visited the Roman ruins of Pergamon and its neighbouring Asclepion. The Asclepion is an ancient medical centre which was made more famous by some of the doctors it employed eg. Galen, and where some of the earliest forms of Psychotherapy were practiced.  Pergamon is another ancient city on the top of a mountain. It was also very impressive.

Turkey Day 10

Pamukkale to Kusadasi.

We visited the ancient city of Ephesus today which was established in 300BC. Although mainly ruins the layout of the city was still visible and some structures were quite well preserved and some quite well restored. The most impressive building here was the Library of Celsus which doubled as a library and a monumental tomb. The great theatre was also huge with a seating capacity of 24 000 people.

For lunch we stopped in a small village where we sampled some traditional (and very yummy) Gozleme (aTurkish crepe/pancake with savoury filling). We also were able to sample some local wine of which we bought a bottle for later. :-)

On our way to our hotel we stopped off at a leather factory...mmmm... uh oh. 

We were treated to a fashion parade to start with showing us an example of the selection and then we were let loose in the shop. Lets just say that Brii didn’t realise there was a second floor until it was time to pay! 

.... So Brii got a leather jacket for her anniversary present :-)... and Jack ... well he didn’t find anything he liked :-(!

Turkey Day 9

We left Fethiye this morning and drove toward Pamukkale. 

Pamukkale is famous for its natural mineral rich thermal pools. On the way to our hotel (which had its own thermal pools), we stopped at the pamukkale’s travertine source and thermal pools. This thermal pool is quite large and has a number of sunken Roman columns in the pool that you can swim around. Behind the travertine’s and pool is the Roman Heiropolis which we took a short tour through. The highlight of today was walking across the travertine’s (calcareous rock deposited from mineral springs).

Turkey Day 8

Today we had a free day to enjoy Fethiye. A group of us from our tour chose to take a boat cruise around the islands off the coast of Fethiye. Unfortunately the sun only made a brief appearance but it was still a lovely day out.

Turkey Day 7

We left Antalya this morning heading for Fethiye, another seaside town, this time on the Turquoise coast. Our first stop was for lunch at Saklikent Gorge which is believed to have been formed by an earthquake. We ate lunch on a platform over the icy cold waters that run through the Gorge - it was a fabulous picturesque location to have lunch!

En route we also stopped off at a carpet dyeing, weaving, and manufacturing house. This house was located in a small village and is staffed by the local village women. The carpet house was primarily for showing tourists the process from silk worms to silk, freshly shorn wool to spun wool thread, the dyeing process (all natural materials used for dyeing), to the carpets and the intricate knot tying that comprises the Turkish carpet. They then show you an array of the carpets allowing you to walk on them and feel the difference between materials.  The majority of the carpet making actually takes place in the village homes and a lot of the patterns are unique to the family who make them. These patterns are passed down through the generations and never shared outside the family.  There were a few carpets that took our eye but the one we really loved was of course silk on silk and rather large so therefore very expensive - needless to say we didn’t buy it.

Turkey Day 6

After a sleep in we went to explore the Roman ruins of Perge and Aspendos.

We enjoyed our first kebab today for lunch - it was great! Then we enjoyed a 45min boat ride out along the Antalyan-Mediterranean coast line. The scenery was gorgeous. After our boat ride we wandered through the old town, the streets were narrow, paved and lined with shops and market stalls. It was very cute.

Antalya is a charming friendly city.

Turkey Day 5

This morning we departed Cappadocia, unfortunately for another long bus ride. We headed towards Antalya via Konya. We travelled along the ancient Silk road and visited an old Caravanserai which is where the trading caravans and their camels would stop for the night to take shelter.

We arrived in Antalya in the late afternoon but could get a feel for this very nice seaside city.

Turkey Day 4

This morning we got to see the stunning landscape that is Cappadocia. Cappadocia is characterised by interesting rock formations that are the result of harsh climates and extremes in season changes, combined with erosion. The interesting landmarks are the ‘Fairy Chimneys’, Pigeon Valley, and Goreme Valley. The Fairy Chimneys are quite phalic in appearance. Pigeon Valley and Goreme Valley consist of rock houses and villages all built into the rocks. People lived in the houses in Pigeon Valley until the 1980’s when the government relocated them because of a concern for safety. The world heritage listed Goreme Valley is characterised by an abundance of Byzantine churches, chapels, and temples built into the rocks. People lived in Goreme Valley until the 11th century AD. The churches, which were carved by Christians facing persecution between the 1st and 10th centuries AD, have paintings on the walls depicting bible scenes/ stories - they are Fresco style paintings but not called Fresco because the mortar was dry when they were painting on it.

This afternoon we stopped in at a family owned and run Turkish ceramic factory. The owner gave us a demonstration and explanation about techniques used to make the ceramics. All the ceramics are hand painted in the factory as well. He was trained by his grandfather and he has taught other male members of his family. They make an amazing array of traditional Turkish ceramics including plates, tiles, and Hittite (an ancient civilisation of Turkey) wine jug and goblets. Brii fell in love with the wine jug and spent much time weighing up the pros and cons of trying to ship one home - she eventually settled for a small version which fit in her pack!

Our dinner tonight was a special “Turkish Night” show which entailed a traditional Turkish meal and a variety of Turkish dances from each of the regions in Turkey. Overall it was a fun night, especially when they dragged members of our group up to dance with them. The finale for the night was, of course, a Belly Dancer. She was amazing!

Turkey Day 3

Today we travelled to Cappadocia, a very long bus ride via Ankara, the capital of Turkey. 

In Ankara we visited the Ancient Civilisation museum which gave us an introduction and insight into the history of this great nation. Our tour guide, Bilge, is a qualified archeologist so the information about history, culture, and ancient civilisations is extremely thorough.

We finally arrived in Cappdocia around 8pm, had a quick dinner at the hotel and went to bed exhausted after sitting on a bus for 12h.

Turkey Day 2

With Jack resting in bed dosed up with a drug concoction to make all proud, lots of water, and 2 cans of sprite (opened in the fridge to go flat), and with nothing left to evacuate, Brii went out with the tour group to explore Istanbul.

Today we walked a small part of this large city, visiting the Hippodrome area, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the underground cisterns (the historic water supply), and the Topkapi palace. 84ct Diamond

Turkey Day 1

We arrived at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul at 0545 this morning filled with angst as to whether our bags would have successfully made the journey from chaotic Kathmandu with hand written luggage tags, through the busy Bangkok airport, transiting from a Thai airways flight to a Turkish Airlines flight, and to Istanbul. Our fears were soon realised when we arrived at the baggage claim for our flight and after 45min our bags had still not arrived.

We then sat in lost and found for 2h while they searched for our bags and were told they could not find them so have sent a message to Bangkok to look there. As you can imagine we were not looking forward to trying to replace our entire pack contents in Istanbul.

At the 2h mark there was a frantic call to the man who was helping us to say that they had located our bags.... in Istanbul! We were relieved!! 

We then had to hope that our airport transfer was now still outside customs waiting for us! And he was - thankfully!

The rest of the day went well, a short exploration of the local area visiting the Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian spice market, a rest, and a long hot shower, we were feeling well. Well, that is, until around 7pm, when Jack started feeling a little off colour! We went to our tour introduction meeting and by the time that finished Jack wasn’t feeling very well so we headed up stairs for an early night. Jack then evacuated his entire stomach contents from both ends through the night.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 17 April 12, 2010.

This morning we woke in anticipation of having to walk to a bus stop to catch a ‘tourist bus’ to the airport as there was meant to be a political strike happening from 6am-6pm. This strike prevented all cars etc from driving which meant our airport transfer could not happen. 

Thankfully when we went downstairs to check out we were informed that the strike had been cancelled - a sigh of relief - so our airport transfer would happen as previously arranged.

We arrived to the chaos that is Kathmandu airport (well that is Kathmandu really) and checked onto our flight to Bangkok and through to Turkey. Then spent the next few hours killing time as one does in small international airports - drinking coffee, watching TV, wandering the 2-3 shops.

We spent a few hours in Bangkok airport between flights catching up on internet etc and trying to get our seats changed on our Turkish Airlines flight so we could be together rather than 10 rows apart, or with Jack at least having an exit row seat because the flight was over 10h. This all seemed a little to difficult for the staff at the TA counter in the airport because there were apparently large Thai tour groups on the same flight. Anyway, when it was time to board, we arrived early and asked again at the gate, and thankfully we had someone who helped and at least sat us together.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 16 April 11, 2010.

We flew back to Kathmandu this morning. We were up early as we were told we were on the first flight not realising that this first flight actually consisted of 12 flights (4 phases with 3 flights per phase) :-/. Thankfully we were on the 5th flight not the 12th!

We spent the afternoon in Kathmandu doing laundry, and cleaning everything - trying to get rid of all the dust from the trek. 

For dinner we returned to our favourite non-Nepalese restaurant “K-too” for our long awaited STEAK!!

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 15 April 10, 2010. (Day 11 of trekking)

The final day of our trek started early because we had quite a long hard day ahead of us. Today we would walk the final 10km which may not seem a lot except it was “Nepali flat” with 2 rather long sections of up hill climbs. So it was in fact quite a long difficult day which was probably made worse because we were tired and just wanted to get back to Lukla for a hot shower and a beer or 2... as well as being one day closer to a steak! By this stage of the trek, as sad as it is, most of our spare time was spent thinking about something other than noodles with tomato sauce, fried rice, dahl baht, and chapati (Nepalese flat bread), something like a rather large piece of meat!!

We reached Lukla at about 15.30 and were overcome with relief. Our legs certainly started hurting by the time we reached our hotel. 

Whilst waiting for our porters (we needed our gear to be able to have a shower), we enjoyed our well deserved beer.

Our final night in the mountains was celebrated with a communal dinner with our porters, sherpa, and guide. All through the trek our porters stayed separately, and our sherpa and guide always ate after us with the other Nepalese people at whichever lodge we were at. 

We enjoyed a traditional Nepalese style banquet and ate with our hands. The food was great and the experience was fun. Carrie and Brii polished off a bottle of Spanish red wine and Jack enjoyed a beer or 2 (plus some wine). Dinner was followed by much dancing and laughter. It was a great way to end the trek.

Altitude: 3445m to 2800m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 14 April 9, 2010. (Day 10 of trekking)

Another long walk today from Pangboche to Namche Bazaar with a considerable amount of up and a few very steep descents making the tired legs and knees complain.

Everyone says that you go faster on the way down, and we must have because we made good time arriving in Namche with enough time to enjoy a Lavazza coffee and a relax for the afternoon.

We also enjoyed our last bird bath/ wet wipe wash... hot shower tomorrow!!

Altitude: 3985 to 3445m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 13 April 8, 2010. (Day 9 of trekking)

We rose before dawn this morning to climb Kala Pattar for sunrise. We only made it half way up to approx 5400m before we decided that our legs were too tired and breath to short to go much higher, especially since we had an eight hour walk ahead of us to start our descent.

The view from where we were standing was magnificent! Rising behind Mt Everest, the sunlight hit individual mountains almost one at a time - it was truly spectacular and worth the frozen hands and toes, and early morning exertion.

After breakfast we started our descent and travelled from Gorak Shep to Pangboche.

On the way down we visited the Pheriche Himalayan Rescue Association post which is staffed entirely by volunteers. The HRA is responsible for staffing 3 medical posts including Everest Base Camp and arranging helicopter retrievals within the region. They also treat the local communities as well. The waiting list for volunteers to get a job is currently 2yrs!

Altitude: 5200m to 5545

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 12 April 7, 2010. (Day 8 of trekking)

We departed Lobuche early this morning heading to Gorak Shep, a small village at the base of Kala Pattar and closer to Base Camp. 

After an early lunch we set off for Everest Base Camp the ultimate end point of our journey! The walk to base camp was difficult. A combination of weariness, altitude, the terrain (loose dirt overlying glacial ice with many ups and downs), and the fact that one can see the tents (camp) very early in the walk, made it challenging. 

BUT we made it!!!! And it was a fantastic feeling! 

We stayed here for a little while to rest and enjoy the achievement then made our way slowly back to Gorak Shep for the night.

Altitude: 4900m to 5364m (Everest Base Camp) to 5200m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 11 April 6, 2010. (Day 7 of trekking)

Today we travelled from Dingboche to Lobuche, stopping at Tukla for lunch. At Tukla we were amazed to find Lea Perrin Worcestershire sauce... so we took a photo for you Ivan!

After lunch the first part of the walk was through the memorial area. This is an area where monuments are erected for all the people who have died on the mountain. The families are usually responsible for erecting these with the blessings of the monks. 

Stupa’s (Buddhist monuments) are dotted along the entire length of the trek these are for monks from monasteries in the mountains and create a certain serenity.

Altitude: 4200m to 4900m

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 10 April 5, 2010. (Day 6 of trekking)

This morning, to help with our acclimatisation, we climbed a steep mountain near our lodge. The day was extremely chilly but beautifully clear, so we were graced with magnificent views!

The altitude was making us all feel quite awful, Brii with a bad headache and some mild nausea, and Jack with shortness of breath and a mild headache. The acclimatisation walk to 4800m did us the world of good.

Altitude: 4200m to 4800m to 4200m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 9 April 4, 2010. (Day 5 of trekking)

Today we travelled from Tengboche to Dingboche. The walk was quite pleasant with only a few ups and downs and intermittent views of Mt Everest.

The altitude started having mild effects on all 3 of us with headaches all around, thankfully we were to spend 2 nights here to acclimatise and prepare for our final couple of days and the 1100m ascent to base camp.

We also splurged on a hot shower here, which cost extra, but was well worth it!

Altitude: 3780m to 4300m to 4200m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 8 April 3, 2010. (Day 4 of trekking)

Today we travelled to Tengboche, the home of one of the most important Buddhist Monastery’s in the trek to Everest. People who are climbing Everest always visit this Monastery to with offerings to the God’s of the mountains asking for safe passageway to the top.

Our day consisted of steep descents and climbs finishing with a long steep climb to reach Tengboche.  We were rewarded with our rooms having views of Mt Everest.

After a few hours rest we went for a short walk up to 4000m to help us acclimatise. We were pretty stoked as when we reached 4000m we finally got to say we were on a mountain! (Up until 4000m, in Nepal, it is just a hill!).

Altitude: 3800m to 3780m to 4004m to 3780m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 7 April 2, 2010. (Day 3 of trekking)

Usually a rest day we had a sleep in this morning and a relaxing wander around Namche. We also enjoyed a Lavazza latte... our first latte in a number of weeks... very exciting!

However, because we lost 2 days in the airport we set out for Khumjung, our next destination. On the way we visited the world’s highest 5 star hotel, The Everest View Hotel, for a hot chocolate, we also saw Nepal’s and possibly the world’s highest runway which predominantly services retrieval aircrafts. The highlights of the walk today were visiting the school at Khumjung that Sir Edmund Hiliary set up and then visiting Kunde Hospital which also was set up by Sir Edmund Hiliary and, as it receives no Government assistance, relies solely on donations to survive. The hospital mainly services the local communities but also helps any trekkers who require assistance. The hospital is staffed by 2 Nepali GP’s and 2 Health workers, has 2 clinic rooms, one of which doubles as a delivery room, a 2 bed short stay ward, and a 15 bed long stay ward.

Altitude: 3460m to 3790m.

Everest Base Camp Trek Day 6 April 1, 2010. (Day 2 of trekking)

A long 6-7hour day today travelling from Phakding to Namche Bazaar. After lunch saw us embark on a steep climb, commonly known as ‘the destroyer’, which took about 3hours. About half way up though we were rewarded with our first glimpses of Everest!

Namche is a 300 person village (quite big relatively speaking) set into a hillside which is a common path for all Everest trekkers and climbers so is the place you can find almost anything. 

Our views from our window were spectacular.

Altitude: 2620m to 3460m.