Exotic Egypt
a land of 6000 years of history, Egypt is possibly the most diverse country in terms of history and culture.. the pharohs, the greeks, the romans, the ottomans, the british.. it was part of almost every reign known during the period of their power.. and because of this richness in history comes the wonders of this ancient land..
i have only written after a long time for me to be objective to this country.. it was undeniably an extraordinary experience for me, both pleasant and unpleasant, because of the people, place and the unexpected happenings.. again an unexpected and exotic tourist location, yet it never fails to amaze me..
the trip started out in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.. on the very first day we saw the Great Pyramids of Giza, traveled down to Memphis to see the second largest sphinx in the country, saw the oldest step pyramids, took the camel ride and saw the great sphinx guarding the 3 pyramids.. and i thought my trip to Egypt was all over.. I thought i saw it all in just one day and started to wonder what the other 9 days meant.. yet i was not disappointed because there is so much more to the country then just the pyramids..
the second day we traveled to alexandria, the port area which oversees the mediterranean ocean.. a beautiful blue sparkling under the bright sunlight, it was also the site of one of the ancient wonders of the world, the alexander lighthouse.. standing there now was a citadel built using the stones from the lighthouse which was destroyed during an earthquake.. i loved the city and saw the influence trade and port had on a place as compared to the inner lands.. alexandria was indeed a more modern and open city in relativity..
the egyptian museum.. one of the must visits because it houses the most valuable of relics from the pharoh periods.. it tells the story of the ancient civilisation, the culture, life and death.. it is also home to the treasures in the tomb of tutankaman, excavated in almost original states.. and of course there is a mummy room, which has the remains of mummys which are preserved amazingly well.. one very interesting trivia is the fact that egyptians boycotted the show "The Mummy" because of the far from factual interpretations of egyptian history.. and the flesh eating beetle in the show which i find the most fearful is actually a symbol of good luck in ancient times..
Flying from Cairo to Luxor was an early morning thing, of which interesting/appaling incidents on board the plane occurred.. nonetheless i was excited about Luxor, because it houses 25% of articfacts from ancient history.. it is the city capital during those periods, unlike popular belief that Giza or Cairo was once the major center of the empires.. Karnack and Luxor temples were just amazing.. it was like ang kor wat but an egyptian version.. of course less extensive and impressive in terms of size, but its art and architecture considering the times in which it was built was indeed an important factor for the awe.. i once questioned because i wasn't all that impressed with the great Pyramids to understand why people think it's built by aliens.. i decided to put the Great wall of China in comparison.. yet i didn't realise that by doing so, I was comparing 2 things in 2 different ages separated by almost 2000 years.. just like comparing technology now versus that of during the great Wall period.. now that indeed put things into perspective.. and the amazing thing is that colours were already in use and still preserved!!
The valley of the kings, a very nice name for the almost desert area in which housed the tombs of great Pharohs of the past.. we visited 3 tombs of which one of the most elaborate ones required us to weave up and down climbing stairs within the caves.. a sacorphagos within which a gold, a wood then the mummy lies.. of which no mummy really remains after excavation because they have all been moved to the museums.. but looking at the vast lands of yellow sand.. it amazes me how the ancient people found the place.. and it amazes me more how people of today found the tombs of so many years ago..
four days on a nile river cruise was a lot more pleasant than i initally expected.. moving upstream to Aswan from Luxor.. one full day was spent doing nothing.. except playing cards and mahjong (yes mahjong) on the deck of the ship.. not too noisy, but a very serene feeling if you just sit by the side and look at the banks of the nile.. its unique because you see mountains, the sahara desert.. then you see green and you treasure them so much more.. the sky is cloudless and the sun shines all the time.. passing the lock is interesting and it did occupy our time for a while.. because of the aswan high dam, ships crossing will come to a point where the water levels differ, therefore they would have to queue to get into a lock of which will close, pump water in to raise the water level, then let the ship move off into the new area enclosed by the dam.. it was indeed a long wait.. yet it was a never before experience..
and then it was followed by many temples and many bazaars.. and many more temples again.. and of course the crazy attempt to wake up in the morning at 3am to drive 4 hours there and another 4 hours back to see this place known as abu simbel.. a very reluctant 4 of us decided finally to make the trip there to see the wonders of this temple built by ramses II, one of the greatest pharohs in the 18 or 19th dynasty, put on par with the great Pyramids and ang kor wat by one of our guide books.. well i did manage to catch the sunrise upon the sahara desert.. which was a sight rendering about 20 shots on my camaera.. it was really beautiful.. abu simbel didn't quite disappoint me.. built near a lake so peaceful and having astromy knowledge so amazing.. the most sacred of places in the temple is the statue of 3 gods with ramses himself, and only on 2 dates of the whole year, one which is his bday and another his coronation date would sun shine upon 3 of the statues, leaving the god of the dark literally in darkness.. and the building was just magnificent that it awes..
my egypt trip was extrordinary because there were so many ups and downs in the trip.. and it was one of the trips i barely had time to rest at all.. disco nights on board the ship.. gala baya party which totally amused me yet at the back of my mind i knew that the next day i had to be awake by 2.30am.. i was never sleeping after 5am for the whole 10 days in the country.. i think i lived as if i was still back in singapore considering there was a time difference of 6 hours.. and i even wake up before 9am singapore time sometimes in egypt.. and i asked finally the tour guide once.. do egyptians ever sleep? and his answer with a grin.. no.
i felt many things of the trip.. some i can't wait to forget.. the anger and the fear.. some i wish to forget yet i wish to hold on at the same time.. the many wrong things.. and some i just don't ever want to let go of.. the feeling of being special and the wonderful memories.. the many new things.. and the many new people..
the story of Valentine
as all of us celebrate wonderful love on Valentine's day, few would probably realise the legend behind this romantic ocassion.. well the special edition on my blog's 3rd anniversary shall reveal the story of Valentine.. and this came from a rather unlikely source - a magazine on board Egypt Air during my flight from Aswan to Cairo...
February 14th is a date to commerate Saint Valentine, a priest who stood against the laws to prohibit marriages by Roman Emperor Claudius II who believed that single men made better soldiers in times of war. The priest Valentine believed in true love and performed secret marriage ceremonies for couples in love. When the Emperor found out about it, he arrested and priest Valentine put him in jail. Before his execution, he wrote a note to his beloved in which read "From your Valentine". Hence this day represents the triump of love, and became a tradition for expressing our belief in love.
to all those in love.. happy valentine's day! to all those who yearn to love, i'm sure there is a special one out there for you.. as for me.. i try to recuperate from a trip to Egypt so extraordinary it tires me both physically and mentally.. and as my hopes of stopping the inevitable are dashed as night falls upon the land of the Pharohs, i can only try to rationalise my emotions once more and let time sweep away what's left..
random thoughts of the week
top on my mind now is my recent interview with merrill lynch on my possible internship opportunity in hong kong this summer.. it's not like me to continue thinking about what i should have or should not have said after 2 whole days.. but that perhaps was the closest i ever had to securing an internship through an interview.. i never told many about my first interview with merrill thinking that it would probably have come and gone.. i didn't prepare very much, but i thought i did well because i threw in a lot of knowledge i learnt from corporate finance in NY.. i was truly inspired by Prof Damodaran anyways.. and it was definitely relevant stuff considering that the nature of the job is private equity.. and another call 2 days ago to tell me to do my 2nd round interview with 3 people in the team on that day itself.. i hardly had time to prepare for the interviews that took me almost 2 hours.. half an hour or more each plus waiting time in between them calling me.. it was a gruelling 2 hours after which i was so tired both mentally and physically..
i'm truly trying not to hope and trying to tell myself that i should not expect much anyways.. but it's really hard sometimes.. it's hard to block out the fact that if i actually did well in that interview, i might have put myself on the path of a career towards a prestigious investment bank based in NY.. i might have a chance of doing my internship this summer in hongkong and have everything paid for for me.. and it has always been something i wanted to do since i went on exchange - to work overseas for a period of time.. and most importantly i can for once stop my searching for internships so early in the year.. but i'm seriously not certain at all what my chances are.. so many times i wanted to ask but i didn't get down to doing it.. i'm afraid of heightened chances actually, to prevent heightened disappointments.. not intending to shut off my other applications though i'm really sick of the process.. but i really hope i get some reply soon, whether good or bad news..
i am taking new communications and media as a module, and its really interesting to realise how communication and technology has changed over the years.. mobile and internet technology has progressed so fast that i can hardly remember those years when i was a kid before internet and mobile phones started out.. have you ever wondered what the world would be like without them? learning would be so different, information sharing, news, television, music and movies would not have been redefined.. perhaps schools will expect less from students since getting information is a lot harder than it would have been.. communication through email and sms and online chats revolutionised.. and shopping would never have become so easy across borders now..
i feel like a part time student and a full time traveller.. going to the exotic Egypt in two days time for 10 days.. then going to Western Ontario for another 9-10 days for the case competition in Ivey in March.. I'm looking forward to that actually because there is high likelihood that i'm going back to NYC!!! it's really exciting to go back.. i really miss the place so much.. and i want to watch the Sampras and Federer legendary game! hope things will work out..
i'm stuck with an addiction for House.. i'm watching it online with an average of 2 episodes per day.. and i'm just so amazed by Hugh Laurie and his ability to portray such a miserable and cranky American doctor when he is actually no where near his screen character.. not a doctor, not miserable, not cranky and not American.. that means that every word he says is a conscious effort on his part to act.. because if you attempt to listen to any of his interviews when he appears as himself and not House, he speaks in a perfect British accent.. just so amazing..
Sweeny Todd.. the demon barber of Fleet Street.. i made it a point that I would watch it once it started screening in Singapore.. because back in London on the free tour it was a finale story the tour guide told us outside Fleet Street.. and of course because it was Johnny Depp.. i was took by surprise actually because the show was actually a musical, but i believed it added a lot more value.. i liked the songs and loved the acting.. oh and the judge in the show is actually professor snape in harry potter haha.. he has a very unique voice.. though the ending was really quite perverse and depressing.. and the whole killing spree was rather explicit and gruesome.. i would still recommend it actually, though some might not agree with me..
my blog's second
Europe
this post is specially for two friends who are in need of tips on europe.. hope it helps u gals and hope it paints a picture of the fabulous time i had in europe after year end.. by chronological order after my dramatic story about my plane and my luggage, here are the cities before you!
Berlin
I was totally charmed by this city because it houses the richest history of the 20th century. Evidence of World War II and The Cold War are all around the city, including Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust and Jewish memorials. We spent our first meaningful day in Berlin on the free walking tour by the company called NewBerlin. They work on a tip basis and they are generally very good at giving the tour. Make sure you are fit for walking though, coz it's about 3 hours of walking outside in the bitter cold for us. It would be much better in the summer though.
We spent our 2nd meaningful day in Berlin at a concentration camp in Sachsenhaus. It was a full day tour which brought us to the concentration camp about 45 min away from town which costs us around 14 euros. I thought it was a very good experience because it is impt for us to understand that part of history which reminds us about the horrors of war. It was not a fun tour obviously, sends chills down the spine when you almost feel that u can imagine what went on on those grounds. I just felt so fortunate that I was able to turn back and walk right through the gates out of the camp at the end of it all.
we stayed at Meininger City Hostel. It was a very nice and cosy place actually, close to the metro, service was really quite good. no compliants about the place :) bus and metros are usually free... just dont get caught! pork knuckles, sausage and beer are the German foods which we tried. We did lots of Christmas market shopping and eating too with Christmas wine, but there are cons for summer as well i guess.
Venice
One of the most looked forward cities personally, but one of the most disappointing as well. But it is still a must go! though it really isn't sinking as fast as we think.. venice is separated into mainland and the island, so the highlight is often the island area where there are the classic small streets and canal.. get a good map for the area though i doubt there really is one.. the streets are really hard to spot on the map and we always get lost around the area especially when they are all in a foreign language.. but make sure you don't miss the main square in Venice!! which we almost did.. its a large square in Venice beside the Grand canal, with many pigeons in front of a very majestic church.. and walking along the grand canal is indeed quite a beautiful sight.. maybe i wasn't too impressed because we missed out on the main square and kept getting lost in the intial few hours.. in my opinion the gondola ride is overrated.. but somehow it seemed like a must do in Venice.. so negotiate with the gondola riders! we definitely paid a lot more than we were supposed to.. but i believe they could have given a much better price like half of what they quote.. i would have to say that i can imagine its glamour in the 14th century, with the fine arts and craft work which they sell along the streets which are very unique to venice and italy.. but i guess its just that all its glorious past has become history..
we stayed at Hotel Centrale, this two star hotel on the mainland. it has quite a good location with shopping streets around the neighbourhood, no major compliants about it too. foodwise its pastas and pizzas all the way in italy.. bus and river taxis are usually free too.. again the same rules apply.. don't get caught
Rome
One of the most highly rated destinations personally, Rome is a amazingly beautiful city housing the best in culture, history, architecture and the arts. Three full days in Rome was not able to do justice to the fantastic city, but I should be revisiting it anyways. Get the Rome pass which is definitely worth the while because it covers transportation costs on the metro (this is not free anymore) and entrance free to 2 main museums. It is best actually if you read first about the history of Rome and the famous and glorious Roman empire, because it is all the magnificant structures and Bernini fountains all over the city. It is almost like you are in the Roman empire, just that the fact that everything now is pretty much in ruins or commercialised.. yet there is still the air around where you can sense the wonders of the anceint empire.. it is hard to imagine that the world famous sites are so accessible all at one go.. the Trevi fountain which is the famous wishing fountain.. pls remember to turn around back facing the fountain before tossing the coin to make the wish! the piazzas full of history, the Pantheon which marks the Pagan history of Rome, the ruins of fotresses of Caseser and Cleopetro, the Colosseum which housed the most gruesome entertainments in history, the most eclectic Castle Saint Angelo and the bridge full of angels along the way.. one can prob never finish exploring the city and understanding fully the Roman past, but it feels good to start somewhere..
Vatican city and its beauty lies in the art and the mystery.. and definitely the most impressive architectures in the world.. Saint Peter's Basilica with the Michelangelo's masterpiece - the Pieta.. and the indescribable richness in the Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel.. they are definitely the must visits if you are there.. the art pieces within the walls of the Vatican city is also one of the most precious, Raphel's famous paintings, Michelangelo's sculptures.. it enbodies so much culture and history and I believe that even a layman is able to appreciate the essence of it all.. Vatican is known for its queues actually.. the trick is actually to pay for a tour into the Vatican museum which I think it's necessary actually because it really tells the whole story.. that will do the trick to skip the queue and it can get u into Saint Peters Basilica thereafter without queuing too..
We stayed at Village Roma.. it is a little way off town but it's a very cozy place because it's somewhat like a caravan or chalet but it has many of the necessary facilities in place.. they have probably the best exchange rate from US to Euros in the entire world too.. the only problem is the lack of heater in the bathroom and the bedrooms.. which shouldn't be much of a prob in summer.. it's cheap for a place in Rome though.. highly recommended except for the traveling time.. there is a lot of chinese food and of course traditional Italian food in Rome..
Milan
Didn't stay too long in Milan, so we technically had a day over there.. Visit the Duomo, the most impressive Gothic Church which I believe lives up to its name actually.. try to get at the top of the church to get the view of the city.. which we didn't really manage to do because everything closes early.. The next highlight in town is the Last Supper.. yes the famous Last supper by Leonardo Da Vinci is in Milan.. but remember to book this in advance! According to the hotel reception, since Da Vinci code, the average time to book in advance is about a month.. so we didn't get to see the masterpiece.. well other than that, shopping! which we didn't get to do much either.. there's this rather famous castle which we visited, which I would strongly discourage because it's just museums and nothing much of the castle to see.. we became more interested in christmas market.. again..
We stayed at the Best Hotel.. a two star hotel which was almost in front of a rubbish dump and is a lot further than the website suggests.. no specific thing against this place but i wouldn't recommend it either..
Paris
Indescribable! as my friend suggests, there is something about Paris that charms one.. yet one does not really know what it is.. perhaps it is just the atmosphere of the place that is so appealing.. the Seine river that flows across Paris, the roads with buildings of the French architecture, Eiffel tower in a distance, the Arch De Triomphe with roads radiating out of the centre, evidence of Napolean's victory and the French power in history.. the famous Louvre pyramid musuem which houses one of the finest arts within that it attracts even those who does not really understand it.. and Mona Lisa which is much smaller than you think it is.. the Champs-Elysees shopping street that is so classy I have never felt that every department store or shop along the way seemed like its branded.. of course LV shopping was good there.. its really cheaper back in its hometown.. Visit Versailles as well, a little way off town but its has a good collection and display within the palace walls of the old monarchy.. its worth a go but to prevent queuing for the tickets which may be extremely long, try to get an audio tour or get tickets elsewhere.. same fo the Louvre musuem.. buy it through a tour agency or some shops near the metro..
we stayed at a hotel not worth mentioning because it was minute.. as in extremely extremely small.. it could hardly house 2 people, not to mention 5.. so the movement within the hotel room was largely limited actually.. there is a lot of different kinds of food around the city.. try Long Huan restaurant for cheap and good chinese cuisine! and you must try their pastry breakfast and desserts.. they are fantastic! of course the baget as well!
Nice/Monaco
A very serene and relaxing city, nice feels like a small town, separated between old and new.. go to the beach area and it is a breathtaking sight from there.. the bus ride from nice to monaco is about half an hour.. try to get your directions right first before you board the bus, coz you would need to know where to alight and when you have actually reached monaco.. the bus ride is the best value for money you can get for a one euro ticket.. it follows along the cliff of sea among the residential area amongst the terrain.. its like cape town or the high end part of the peak in hk.. but nicer.. it would bring us on the F1 racing track which is hard to believe.. and if you find yourself suddenly seeing many good cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis than probably you are in Monaco already.. you can sense that in the latter city, everyone seems very rich and every shop seemed branded.. security is very much better in monaco as compared to nice.. visit the famous monte carlo casino, though there is an entrance fee of 10 euros where the place you see if indeed not very large and it seems even less worth the money if you don't gamble.. but the fine decor in the casino itself and the essence of the culture in the classic French flair is indeed unique to Monte Carlo.. perhaps that is why people like to film high class gambling there.. btw i felt completely underdressed when I was in a shirt and pants.. everyone there seemed to be in suits gambling at 25 euros minimum bet.. also visit the palace of the current monarchy.. its another breathtaking sight from the cliff towards to sea.. except that we were at the same time fighting the horrendous winds from the typhoon to be over there.. sort of got distracted from truly enjoying the place..
we stayed in Nice Home Sweet Home, a bed and breakfast place within an office building, and its the best place i have stayed in for the entire trip.. the room is huge and it's almost like home, with tv and dvd players and everything you need.. except for the lack of hot water in the mornings and after a lot of people finish bathing.. but its still highly recommeded.. try to eat in nice instead of monaco, because it is really expensive in the latter..
London
You gals probably not going to London.. since it's really really expensive anyways.. but i'll say that it is another one of my favourite cities in the world.. I love it because of the British accent of course, but also because of its resemblence to home.. It was very fun to take the Tube because the street names are all so familiar to me.. through playing monopoly since I was a kid.. exploring the streets were easy because street names were in English, navigating and moving around was a lot simpler too because there wasn't the language barrier.. and of course the evidence of London's rich culture and powerful empire in the past.. Go on the free tour by the same company as in Berlin but this one is NewLondon.. it has a Royal Tour and an Old City tour.. We didn't manage to go on the former but we went on the latter, which is supposedly less exciting than the first but still it was fun and informative in getting to know the city much better..
Buckingham Palace which is symbolic and majestic, Tower of London which is interesting but a pity we didn't have time to go in, London bridge which is a lot less pretty than you think it.. instead tower bridge is nicer.. Big Ben of course.. Westminister Abbey and Cathedral, London eye was a nice though expensive experience.. you could get it for cheaper with the Oyster Card (like our EZ link) and you MUST visit Harrods.. one of my regrets is that I didn't have enough time to shop in Harrods, because it is so amazing that a shopping centre could be so big and so diverse.. the decorations in different rooms are also very interesting to explore.. if you can, watch a musical in London.. it feels different and it really makes the whole experience more memorable..
We stayed at Globetrotters Inn.. actually I like the place a lot though initially the lobby was very noisy because of rowdy youths.. but it does have a very cozy and private place within the hostel room and its very clean.. transportation is very expensive so buy a day pass and try to use as much as you can.. it's very easy to travel by its Tube system actually.. when you are not carrying luggage.. foodwise, well try Papa John's Pizza there.. it's really really good! there is no lack of chinese food and if you want you can get good chinese food in china town..
