Tom Chun, northern Californian, scuba diver, wheeler, and now "International Man of Leisure", checks in from his around the world tour.
Dear Friends,Posted by rollingrains at July 26, 2006 02:40 PM
This email is a couple days late. Yes, I am still alive.
In Egypt, my brother and I visit the pyramids of Giza. I imagined it to be bigger, but nevertheless the pyramids are an amazing geometrical human feat. From Giza we take the 10 hour "sleeping train" south towards Aswan, and then another 3 hour bus convoy to view the temple of Abu Simbel on the border of Egypt and Sudan. The Abu Simbel temple was moved and raised a couple hundred feet from the river to avoid flooding. It is cool and peaceful inside away from the blistering heat. At our hotels, there are bomb sniffing dogs and guards with AK-47 and Uzi machine guns. From Aswan, we head up north to Luxor to view The Valley of the Kings/Queens (underground tombs), Hatshepsut (two tiered temple with beautiful view of the Luxor valley), Karnak (with huge giant pillars), etc. We rest well in a hotel with a pool overlooking the Nile. The ancient Egyptians were not the only sun worshippers!
From Egypt, we fly to Amman, Jordan where many Palestinians reside now. I see familiar names: Safeway, Burger King, etc. It's a mixture of traditional clothing and Western fashion. It's crazy knowing that a few hundred miles surrounding us, there is much conflict in Lebanon and Iraq. From Amman, we travel 3 hours south to Petra, an ancient city built by the Nabatean people, which later the Romans took over. It's a city forgotten for 1000 years built into and around the walls of the colored stone mountains, similar to Zion's Canyon in Utah. You may have seen it in the movies "Indian Jones and the Last Crusade" and the "Mummy Returns". My brother had to venture off and take photos because the paths are full of sand, highly in-navigable by wheelchair.
We are now in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The country of around 4 million is full of migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Phillipines, and all over. I feel like a mall rat, because there isn't much here to do except shopping inside the air-conditioned malls.
Next Dubai, still in the UAE...
Sorry, no pics yet. I still haven't found a great internet connection. Check back later at http://photos.yahoo.com/tompchun under "ATWorld 3".
Cheers,
Tom =)
"International Man of Leisure"