*disclaimer: purely for memory purposes.*
EGYPT TRIP
-went to egypt coz it was an exotic destination. never been there before. a fresh place instead of the usual aussie and other asian countries. the middle east is really a different place, with a totally different culture.
DAY 1
woke up at 3plus am to make my way to changi airport for a 7h flight to Doha, Qatar for another tranisiting flight to go to Cairo, Egypt.
and no, it was not singapore airlines. (whicyh further added to the agony of a long length of 7hrs)
i must say, the tour agency was not up to standard at all.
cannot mention the name la.. if not might kana sued. hehe.
so anyway, took Qatar airways.
No personal TV... (sobx..) only a central one. playing a lousy movie. In the end, i curled up in my chair reading up "basic driving theory" and " adult only joke book ."
doha airport.....
above: dutyfree shop.
above: exterior of doha airport
above: great pic with aeroplane flying in mid-air!
things started to look up during the flight from doha to cairo.
there was personal TV and so we could select any show we wanted to watch! (YEah!!!!!)
and so i watched.... sky high... and big fish
FINALLY.. after 2 boring flights, i touched down onto Cairo, Egypt. By the time everything was finalised (esp after some ppl went to baggage claim due to the loss of a wheel.. -.-"") , everything was delayed and as a result, we did not have time to make it to the Egyptian Museum which was scheduled on that day.
Cairo consisted of... the rich class, middle class and the poor class.
the poor class stayed in the city of the dead. which is somewhat like a place wjhere they build their homes over the tombs of unattended cemetries.
We went straight for dinner.
at a restaurant called... La Cuisine.
above: dearie! c the pic! c the dessert in the centre! its the very nice tingie that we ate the other time! hehe...
they taught us arabic too!!!!
thank you---pronouced as "shock-run"
No---- as "lak"
finally.. back to hotel.. intercontinental pyramids park hotel. according to the hotel, its 5 star. dunnu really 5 star international or cairo standards. hahha
above: hotel room
above: me hanging outside the balcony
above: breakfast the next morning!
anyway, the hotel was real cool coz it had so many channels.. including cable. i dun even have cable at home lor!!!
DAY 2
The middle class families lived in flates. (just like in singapore.. however, in must worse conditions than us. )
their flats were not painted coz u would have to pay tax if you painted the houses. also, many of the flats are not completed. this means that if the flat was originally meant to be 5 stories. they build it up to only 4 stories. that is why in ciaro, many of the flats are seen with steel bars sticking out into the sky, denoting the unfinished buildings.
this is because, in cairo, as long as the building is not complete, they do not have to pay tax. and this is how the middle income families(most of which working in tourism industries) avoid tax paying.
above: see the flat on the right side of the picture? the steel bars are still present. unfnished buildings.
first stop.
the ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MUSEUM
above: exterior of the museum. pictures not allowed to be taken in the museum .
We went to see the famous boy king, King Tutankhamen or more famously known as king Tut treasures.
king tut was not famous during his time but only after his death. he ruled egypt when he was 9yrs old and died at a young age of 18 yrs old.
he was famous because he was the only king whose tomb was discovered intact, compete with treasures and everything.
we even saw his underwear, which, at that time, was a loin cloth. can you imagine that?! hehe.. so cool eh!!
then i saw this guy who looked like Thomas Ong. and i thought.. wow././ of all places i meet thomas ong in egypt?! cool!!!!
but in the end, it turned out that he was just an ugly version of thomas ong.
we also paid L.E (egyptian pounds.) 70 to go into the Royall Mummies Hall where i saw the mummies of several kings and also of some cats.
the mummies where all balck and hard, with ewverything intact, including their hair.
second stop, pyramids of Giza. one belnging to the lkind, then his son and then his grandson. (all kings.
before visiting any of the pyramids, we dined at a restaurant serving egypian buffet right next to the Giza Pyramids.
sounds cool?
but not really. coz the place was really very dusty and sandy.
however, only one of the pyramids have a smooth surface, somewhat decorated like Fugi mountain. The smooth surface is made up of marble.
this is the only pyramid which was covered with marble.
originally, the pyramid was fully covered with marble with all its surfaces smooth. however, right now presently, only the top part is smooth because the rest of the marble was taken by a ruler in egypt (later times) who took the marble to build his mosque!! the name of the mosque is the Muhammed Ali mosque.
We also went into one of the pyramids. thanks to my size, it was not at all tough clibing underground. i had great fun! ventilation was not very good but if ure relaxed, nothing's the problem! my parents were very protective and were afraid my asthma would recur. but yeah.. think too much le. haven had asthma since primary school.
we then went closer to the Sphinx. the sphinx is a lion figure twith a humanb head. the sphinx serves to protect the pyramids which have the kings' bodies and treasures in it.
in the Giza pyramids, the kings there are those of the old dynasty . those in the new dynasty did not builkd pyramids anymore because it would be easily discovered by the robbers and thieves , who would then steal their treasures.
thus, they build the tombs of the kings of the new dynasty underground at a place called the valley of the kings, which is located at Luxor, another part of egypt.
pictures at the pyramids...
i took photo with the Sphinx!!! i even KISSED the sphinx. thanks to my own great idea@!!! but the mouth never touch yet!! the rest would be up to your imagination!!!
after the Sphinx, we took a camel ride. again, my paranoid mum insisted that i mjust take the camel with her , in case something happen. but actually,i enjoyed the camel ride very much and it was not scary at all. as long as you shook your body along with it. its really fun!!!!!! everyone should sit a camel!!!!!!
finally, chinese food for dinner. my dad and mum were elated. but, the food was not that increidble. i bet its an egyptian cook.
** in egypt... tipping is required EVERWHERE. evem in TOILETS.. thats why i hate going to toilets at public places coz we havre to give them tips. abt.. 1 pound (which is 33cents sgd.)**
