The morning of September 11, 2001, is well ingrained in my memory. Within a few days of the attack, I called Adventure Center and verified my October trip was still scheduled, which meant I had to decide whether or not to head for the Middle East. My parents definitely did not want me to go. […]
Egypt
Booking the Egypt Trip & Finding Airfare (2001)
After I had enough money for the initial deposit, I called Adventure Center back. I spoke to the same woman as before, Maz. Since my trip is one of the least expensive, the $300 deposit was more than 3/4 of the total cost. I planned on paying the remaining $90 in another few weeks. I printed […]
My Egypt Trip (2001)
Preface: 9 years ago, I was actively planning a trip to Egypt for the first time. I started documenting the process on this site (long before this blog), however my plans would come up against the shocking events of 9/11. This is a four part series, with the first three parts having been written in […]
Final Thoughts – Egypt
The perfect day in Aswan and Egypt’s Nile Valley starts with the usual breakfast of coffee, bread, and egg. Progress onward to further readings of Paul Theroux’s “Dark Star Safari” while the symphony of Egyptians’ daily lives delight the ears. Honking taxi horns punctuate the call to prayer sounded over mosque loudspeakers. Glancing up from […]
Couchsurfing Cairo
My last day in Aswan was all about killing time until the night train back to Cairo. Normally I could occupy myself for hours on end with a solid internet connection, but I had been informed that high speed access was down throughout the country. The 1st class ride back to Cairo was much more […]