Constant Change

I have been on the road 103 days and there has been some amazing and tough days.  Depending on how much of homebody you are, traveling by yourself can be more or less difficult.  For the last two days, I have been getting over a flu bug.   Laying in my cramped four bed dorm room unable to get up, I wanted to call it quits.  Being sick in a foreign country by yourself is the worst.  I wanted nothing more then to be home in my bed with one of my Boston Terriers cuddled next to me.  Although stricken with missing home, I knew once I made a full recovery I would be alright.

The other thing about traveling is that nothing is ever constant. You meet people and they typically disappear in one or two days.  Different plans and obligations keep people on a different path from me.  For this reason, its hard to have a close relationship with anyone.

The best thing about traveling is your opportunity to explore the world.  You grow as a person, as you meet new people and try new things.  I have snorkeled in the Red Sea, bathed in the Blue Lagoon, slept under the stars in Wadi Rum, attended two World Cup games, and hiked in the Drakensburg mountains.  I have met writers, photographers, entrepreneurs, journalists, surfers, and tons of students.  All these experiences help you grow.

Although my trip is open-ended and subject to change, I have a general plan for the next 1-2 months.  I plan to meet my friend Fidelis in Rwanda and travel with him to Tanzania.  After that I plan to go to Thailand, Cambodia, and Japan.  After Japan, I head home to San Francisco.  This will be sometime between August 15th and September 1st.

Tomorrow, I head to Cape Town.

Chris

South Africa: World Cup Fever

Four years ago, I was sitting on my bed watching France play Italy for the World Cup title.  At that moment, I promised myself that I would make it to the next World Cup.  When South Africa was picked as the next host country, I was even more excited.  It was the first time a African country would host this event and  I also always wanted to visit Africa.  I then spread the word to my friends, attempting to form a group to come along with me.  Initially, there was a lot of interest, but as 2010 got closer people began dropping like flies.  Girlfriends, money, and work were some of the reasons for not attending.  Lame!  I then I heard a bunch of people were going to Alaska.  Double Lame! So on June 8th I landed in Johannesburg with no friends, but two tickets to my name and a rental car.

Over the past week in South Africa, I have experienced World Cup fever.  It gets you as soon as you land.  The billboards, radio, television, jerseys, vuzuzelas, and swinging flags all participate in celebrating the largest sporting event in the world.  You can’t avoid it.  You drive down the street and see people selling flags.  You turn on the radio and Shakira’s new song, “This time for Africa” plays.  At night, you hear the vuzuzelas (blow horns) playing.  This vibrant energy is encompassing.

The World Cup has become more than just soccer.  Its a time of celebration and collectivism.  We throw away our differences for the time being and become one.  This positive energy spreads like a fever, touching us all.

My next game is in Durban on the 25th, where Portugal plays Brazil.  Should be fun.

Ayoba time!!

Chris

Middle East Part II: Jordan

Last Monday, I arrived in Jordan not sure what to expect.  A driver from the hostel picked me up at the airport and took me to my new home (downtown Amman) for the next three nights.  Alone again, with no map or clue, I began to feel down.  Where am I?  What am I doing in Jordan?  I felt lost and couldn't find any comfort to hold on to.  Eventually, I was in need of a meal and forced myself outside to find food.  The hostel recommended the Cairo Restaurant (ironically I just came from Cairo) and I found myself looking at a kebab plate surrounded by Jordanians.  The owner gave me a pat on the back when I left and I thought to myself maybe Jordan people are as hospitable as everyone says.

When I returned back to hostel and found myself in front of six travelers.  They were headed to 'Books@cafe', a place they read about in Lonely Planet.  One them asked me if I would like to join them.   I quickly said yes and ran upstairs to change and drop off my bag.  Things were improving.  My new friends were the Middle Eastern travelers.  They carried a free spirit and were willing to push boundaries.  Some of the countries they traveled were Israel, Syria, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Egypt.  After a nice night at 'Books@cafe' I learned some new tricks on how to get through Jordan and now owned the 'The Bean Tree' book by Barbara Kingslover.

After three nights in Amman, I went to the bus station and found my new American friends Chris and Daniel already on the Jett bus headed to Petra.  When we arrived, I spent most of day with them exploring the ancient Nabataeans ruins.  The next day, I went back to climb to the top of the monastery, while Chris and Daniel left to Wadi Rum.  The whole Petra experience was quite rewarding.

The next morning (Saturday) I headed to Wadi Rum unknowing what camp I would be staying at.  Wadi Rum is a desert valley cut into massive sandstone and granite rock formations.  In Wadi Rum most tourists stay with a Bedouin camp for a night or two.  During the day your camp will take you on a trek through the desert via 4x4 vehicle. During my ride to Wadi Rum, I began talking to three people from another hostel.  After some friendly conversation, I thought it would be best to go their camp, the 'Bedouin Meditation Camp'.  At the camp we explored the desert, ate with Bedouins, played the drums, and slept under the stars.  I especially enjoyed this part of my trip.  Away from all chaos of the city and one with nature.

At the conclusion of my Jordan trip, I realized the importance of traveling in the Middle East.  By Westerners traveling in the Middle East it breaks stereotypes and generalizations.  The local people have direct contact with tourists like myself and have many opportunities to ask questions.  It helps separate people from their governments.  As a Middle East traveler you are a ground level mini-ambassadors for your country, hopefully leaving a good impression on the people you visit.

Sitting at the Cairo airport with a long layover before South Africa.

Chris

Welcome to the Middle East: Egypt

Although Egypt is part of North Africa, it is considered part of the Middle East.  Like Morocco, Islam is the official religion.  For this reason, the countries share some of the same values and traditions.

I arrived in Cairo, Egypt on May 21st and planned to stay for one week.  This part of the trip I was lucky enough to have Natalie join me in Cairo.  It was  nice to have someone from home traveling with me in Egypt.  In addition, she brought cards from each of my parents, a needed baseball cap, and sweets.

For the first four days we stayed in Cairo visiting a number of sites.  Natalie through a mutual friend connected us with Tony Leone.  Tony is a American ex-pat living in Cairo who teaches at the American University in Cairo.  On Monday, Tony showed us some important sites.  We saw the Hanging Church, Coptic Museum, Ben Erza Synagogue, Sultan Hussan & Rifaii Mosque, and Khan el-Khalili (Cairo‘s giant souk).  Independently, Natalie and I saw the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egyptian Museum, and Cairo tower.  We also went for a felucca ride on the Nile River and visited a lot of stores…

Most of my expectations were exceeded in Cairo, but I was a little disappointed with the Great Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum.  When we visited the Great Pyramids, we spent a lot of time getting hassled.  It started with the taxi and continued with are walk up to pyramid.  Note that pyramids sit right on the edge of town (300m from KFC).  When we finally arrived it was hard for us to enjoy the scenery.  The magic just wasn’t there.  If we had more energy, we would of took Tony’s advice and walked behind the pyramids deep into the desert away from all the distractions.  The Egyptian Museum has a wealth of artifacts, tombs, and sculptures.  Shockingly, none of these precious pieces are being taken care of.  You can touch almost anything and nothing is incased.  Again, I imagined a well put together museum, but it looked more like a unorganized garage.  More than half of the pieces didn’t even have descriptions.

On Wednesday, Natalie and I flew to Sharm El Sheikh.  Sharm El Sheikh sits on the tip of the Sinai peninsula.  We stayed at the luxurious Grand Hyatt, miles away from my usual twenty dollar hostel, but it was nice to be spoiled for a couple of days.  A major attraction to Sharm is snorkeling and diving.  The red sea has a number of amazing coral reefs.  Our hotel sat right above one of these.  For three consecutive days, Natalie and I went snorkeling and saw an array of beautiful fish.  Besides snorkeling, we went down a waterslide, laid out, and ate well.  It was quite a relaxing three days.

We returned to Cairo and were lucky enough to stay at Tony’s house for two nights.  He lived in section of Cairo called Zamalek.  It’s a island surround by the Nile River.  These last two days we explored his neighborhood and took the elevator to the top of the Cairo Tower.  From this vantage point, we could just make out the Great Pyramids, which was stunning from a distance.

Reporting from Jordan.

Chris