A surprise trip
Posted on Dienstag, April 21, 2009 at 5:28 PM by rhukari@rolmail.net"title="Send email to Reka the site author">Reka
I realized I haven't written anything about one of the most exciting things to happen to me in quite a while.
One of my best friends called me up about three months ago and said she had to talk to me. "Uh-oh" was my immediate response. She assured me it was nothing bad, and we made a date to meet at the wine bar the next day. When we got settled down with a glass of prosecco, she told me the couple they go to Egypt with every year was unable to make it this year and would I like to go with them? That floored me. Egypt! It had never been one of the places on my short must-see list, but who could turn down the offer of nine days with a private tour of Egypt?
Soooo, on Monday I am leaving for Egypt! We fly to Luxor by way of Cairo and spend a day there in the Valley of the Kings and Karnak. Then we leave for 5 days in the oases of Kharga, Dakhla, Fayoum, Farafra and Bahariya, passing through the Black and White Deserts and spending two nights in tents in the middle of the Sahara. We have our own Jeep, driver and tour guide! The last two days will be spent in Cairo and Gizeh.
Oh yes, and I will have my own private bodyguard! Apparently there are stricter security regulations concerning Americans in Egypt. My friend and I joked about me getting a bodyguard. Until our guide informed us that a policeman will have to accompany us through the desert! All that is missing is a huge sign on the Jeep advising any watching terrorists: "American on board!"
This will be my first trip to a Moslem country (the reason my friend didn't even bother to ask my husband if he wanted to go) and the first real trip for me to a country where I don?t speak the language. (I don't count our three day trip to Slovenia with Eduard's soccer team, which was not exactly one of culture and hobnobbing with the natives, if you get my drift!) Up to now, my five languages have gotten me around with no problem, but Arabic, in this case, is not one of the five! I am also a bit apprehensive about sleeping in a sleeping bag on cold hard ground (grumble, grumble). I do appreciate my comfy, though firm mattress. :-) But I am looking forward very much to a new culture. And new cuisine, for those of you who know how much I love to cook, and, unfortunately, eat! One of the things I am most looking forward to is the spice market in Cairo.
So here's to new experiences and to my return in May!
