Egypt

Hello everyone

Well, I am currently in Cairo after spending 11 days travelling through this interesting country. Before I start I thought I would go back to the beginning.
After spending 3 weeks in Nairobi, I made the trip to Cairo. Ive heard so many reports about Egypt and how you will be swamped upon from the day you arrive until the day you leave. Well, it started as soon as I reached the airport even before I had time to get my bags. They were already on to me for taxis, tours etc. etc.. I knew how much I should pay (thanks Chris) so I attempted to find someone that would do it..well that was impossible so I paid a bit more and this taxi guy said he knew where to go.... he didnt..
We were in the car for about 1.5 hours when it should have taken 20 mins, he stopped along the way at least 3 times and then he tried to charge me more for taking so long to get to the hostel. We had a yelling match and the first of my Mexican standoff before I threw him the fare and went inside the hostel. It was a scary experience and it also showed me how hard Egypt is with the language barrier. Anyway, I made it here and I was a little shaken up but my whole thought of trying to backpack by myself slightly changed. The guys at the hostel gave me a package that involved everything I wanted to see and it seemed good..That night I did the dinner cruise on the Nile which was a full buffet and western and egyptian entertainment. It was a good night, only problem was I was by myself the whole night and it wasnt the sort of place that I could really meet anyone new (thanks Coachy :) ha) Anyway, the next day I started the tourist mecca of Egypt at the Pyramids. In the morning, I went to Sakkara, Memphuis and then to Giza to see the Pyramids and the Sypix. I had a guide with me who went through the whole history of these three sites and learnt so much as I knew next to nothing on Egyptian history. The guide was fabulous and gave me an understanding of the history, which made me appreciate what I was actually visiting. The highlight of course was the Pyramids, absolutely amazing..you have to see it for yourself..
I took a 2 hour camel ride around the pyramids through a back gate around the 3 Pyramids and the Sphnix. Besides being really hot (we are currently in Summer here and its hot very hot) it was just phenomenal, I cant describe the sheer size of them just blew me away. I took heaps of really cool pics and it was a great experience. (Except of course of the constant harassing of locals to buy everything and anything..this is a constant problem in Egypt as they get sooo many tourists through here even in low season)
We went to a few craft markets on the way home, which the drivers love stopping at as I think they take part of the cut. I thought in East Africa you have to bargin hard, its nothing compared to Egypt you have to be a complete arse to ensure you dont get taken for a ride... and trust me it happens all too often..they will bluff you/lie to you/ everything to ensure you part with your money. As someone that loves to haggle, it is a whole new level in Egypt. I had the rest of the afternoon off to explore Cairo. A city of 18 million people, is huge and Cairo certainly is that and its so easy to get lost..its happen too many times to imagine so far.
The next day I went to Old Cairo and Islamic Cairo during the morning, which I found really interesting. I had a new guide and he was equally informative. We went to mosques and took a tour around Old Cairo. (I cant remember the names of the places but they were what all tours visit) Then in the afternoon we went to the Egyptian museum, which to me is as good of a Museum as there is.. wow over 2500 pieces to see with the highlight Tutankhamun tomb. Having the guide with me as well explained all the main pieces before he left and wandered around in awe of how old these parts of history were that are in front of me. Im not a big museum fan but this was brilliant, as everything from the pyramids has been 'gutted' and now kept at the Museum. Afterwards, I got lost again trying to find the hostel and it ended with another taxi driver that had no idea of where I was staying. (Funny enough I saw him today when I was walking around..) That night I was taking the overnight train to Aswan which takes 16 hours and it feels like it.. I was in first class and I caught up with someone from my tour group who was also going through Egypt. It was nice to talk to someone who understands English fluently as there are not many backpackers in Egypt so Ive had the dorm room to myself most of the time.
I arrived in Aswan and went to my hotel room, which had air-conditioning..(thank God) . Cairo is like Antartica compared to Aswan, it is so hot there between 45-47 C...and you feel it..even as someone that loves the hot weather.
That afternoon we went to Philae Temple and the High Dam. Phila temple was really interesting on and then I went back to the hostel where I met some English students that were here to cycle from Aswan to Cairo. They were raising money for breast cancer research and were given a grant from their university in London. They were going for a 2 hour sunset felucca ride so I joined them. We cruised around all the little islands on the Nile and watched the sun set..we then had another Mexican Standoff as we paid for 2 hours but our driver just went for 1.5 hours and we said we werent paying the full amount. In the end he agreed and we were happy.. as I said you have to be a prick sometimes in Egypt otherwise they take you for a ride.
I had a early night as the next day I was getting up at 2.45am to go to Abu Simbel a three hour drive south of Aswan. It was worth the early start, just amazing; as good as the Pyramids to me. I met heaps of new people on the bus and a few of us got a pizza when we arrived back in Aswan. I then caught the late train to Luxor. What can I say about Luxor, it is the tourist mecca of Egypt and basically everyone in the town benefits from tourism in some way. I got in at 9.30pm and decided to go for a walk to get a bit to eat, on the way this young guy offered to take me to a restuarant. (No one does anything for you in Luxor without a price) He took me to a good restaurant and I had just enough money to pay for my dinner and a drink. I went to pay and the bill had another 10 Egyptian pounds on it.. apparently, the guy that brought me organised a taxi and I was paying for it.. I made it quite clear to the manager thats wrong and I wont pay for it.
We had another Mexican standoff and he just laughed it off and said thats fine. (In other words he just made it up to get more money out of me) You have to be on your game in this country. I should also say you bargain for everything to anything from gifts to restaurants.. it can be exhausting sometimes and I just wished they had prices on things.. There are two prices, Egyptian and tourists.
Anyway, the next day I went to East and West Bank of Luxor with a great group of people from my hotel. We had a fantastic day, checking out Valley of Kings/Valley of Queens and someone else that I cant remember the name.
Then in the afternoon we checked out East Bank, which ended a long day of doing the 'tourist' thing. It was fabulous though, and a few of us went out for dinner where the restaurant was trying to get us again..
The next day, after doing some shopping in the markets I left Luxor (thankfully) for the 16 hour bus ride to Dahab. On the bus I met a couple of English guys and 2 young Canadians. One of the Canadians can speak Arabic and is originally from Lebanon, he was telling me how they get Egyptian prices all the time which has saved them heaps of money. We played a few games on the bus and we realised we knew some of the people that Ive met on my Egyptian travels. As I said most people dont do the backpack thing especially during low season so you know everyone. Its really cool and we were all going to catch up in Dahab. After taking a sleeping tablet (the first one Ive taken in Africa) we made it to Dahab which is the party capital of Egypt. It is situated on the Red Sea and very laid back and cruisy compared to the rest of Egypt. On the bus I also met a couple of Swedish sisters that invited me to a Swedish party in Dahab to celebrate their national day. I dragged along my new friends and we went to their place for a BBQ and beers. It was a good night and then we went to the local bar for a dance. The next day a few of us went snorkelling at Blue Hole . Red Sea is the diving and snorkelling capital of the world..(well up there with the Great Barrier Reef) The coral and the sea life is just amazing, they swim right past you and the varieties and sizes are sensational.That evenıng İ took a sunset horse ride wıth a couple of the guys. It was better than what I thought actually, and for the fırst tıme I galloped on a horse. Thınk İ mıght have a change of professıon, I want to be a jockey now!!
İ had an early nıght after the horse rıde as tomorrow I was goıng dıvıng for the fırst tıme ın the mornıng. I wasnt goıng to go dıvıng, but I thought I had to ın the best dıvıng place ın the world. Joe and İ were doıng a ıntro dıve together, so we had our quıck dıvıng lesson before we got ınto the water. I was a lıttle nervous about beıng 12 metres under the water but as soon as you are down there swımmıng among the sealıfe you forget all about ıt. I had an absolute ball but ıt was all over so quıckly, and ıt has ınspıred me to get my dıvıng lıcence. Afterwards, we all caught up for lunch and a swım as we had a bıg nıght ahead clımbıng Mount Sınaı. I dıd some more snorkellıng ın the afternoon and then went out for a few bevvıes before catchıng the 11pm bus to Mount Sınaı. Thıs ıs where Moses climbed up and God spoke to hım about somethıng (I missed that bit). It was also where Moses came back down wıth the tablets that contaıned the Ten Commandments.
We arrıved around 1am and ıt took us 3 hours to climb up the top of this mountaın. We got up there and hired 3 matresses and a couple of blankets so the sıx of us shared them. It was like one bıg slumber party..heaps of fun and laughs.. the sunrıse was magnıfıcent from the summit and then we trekked down to St Catherınes Monastry whıch ıs at the base of Mt Sinaı. I had maybe 10 mıns sleep so by the tıme I boarded the bus I was faırly wrecked..
We all had lunch together one last tıme before I departed to catch the bus back to Caıro. It was sad to say goodbye to those guys as they were heaps of fun but Im sure I wıll cross paths wıth most of them ın the future. Arrıvıng ın Caıro that nıght, I had an easy day the next day before I boarded the 420am flıght to Istanbul to start my Turkısh adventure.
I hope everyone ıs well and post a comment... by the way I dont thınk havıng blonde hair was a good idea ın Egypt.. :) ha

Cheers
Troy

Egyptian pics

Egyptian Pics

Leaving Kibera and St.Johns Primary School

Good morning everyone

Yes the day that I have been dreading for the last few weeks.. saying goodbye to Kibera and the kids from St Johns Primary School.
It was with much sadness that I caught the matatu to Kibera on my last morning. I met with Jesse (a local young guy that has been volunteering his services for the last 6 months. One of the nicest guys you could meet) at our meeting spot and we did our daily ritual of walking the 30 mins through Kibera to St Johns. I arrived at school and went to teach my favourite class Standard 5 Mathematics...the students have really made some progress over the last couple of weeks and I can tell they really appreciate me teaching them. We then did a class of Science (another occasion where I was learning on the job) and then English where we went through our letters. Thanks to Marcia we have organised a school in the States for the students to write too, along with a school in Australia for the Standard 6s. As Ive previously said its so important to spread the 'web' of Kibera and St Johns Primary School. I then told the students that this would be my last day of teaching them and they were like 'no its not Mr Troy you must stay..' I said sorry I have to leave but I promise I will be back to see you all. They all finished their letters, which have now been sent to the US (thanks Marcia)
We then had a whole school assembly before the students went for lunch at the old school building. The Principal made a really nice speech about us and then invited us to make a speech. I just said how fortunate Ive been to teach at St Johns and to thank them for being so accommodating and making this experiences one of the best of my life. I also told them to continue with their studies and wished them all the best with their future endeavours. (Oh yeah, I said they must all support Australia in the World Cup)
Then a few students performed a traditional dance and song for us in front of the whole school.
I got up there to try my luck but not surprisingly I cant shake my 'booty' like those kids can.
It was then I said 'see you later' to St Johns and we went to a lunch at the Oasis Africa office. They put on a fine spread of food and Gladys (Director of OA) made a lovely speech about us and thanked us for assisting for the last few weeks. They also bought us a parting gift, an African wooden sculpture..(they must have heard that I love African artefacts) I thanked them for all their support and said I was very keen to assist with OA in the future . They are a wonderful NGO that are making some real progress in the community and deserve all our support.
That night we had a goodbye dinner at a local Ethopian restuarant, which was OK but nowhere nice as Kenyan food. So that is it, after two months Im leaving the real Africa..

Things I wont miss: -
- mosquitos
-trying to sleep with a mosquito net
-mosquitos flying around you when you are trying to sleep
-people trying to swindle money from you
-constantly bumping my head in matatus
-stepping in the river when I walk to get to the school
-taking malaria tablets..they are partly to blame for me having 2 bouts of food poisioning
-not being able to walk around at night, due to crime..though it didnt really stop me

Things I will miss in no particular order:-
-The Kenyan transportation system..you never know what to expect and the ride is half the adventure
-The Kenyan food and hospitality. I really loved the food in Kenya
-How quickly it is to make friends in Kenya.
-The African markets..they are so much fun and sometimes I just go there for a bit of fun cause the guys there love to have a chat with you.
-All the friends Ive made at St Johns PS, Oasis Africa, Flora Hostel and the Youth Hostel
-The Kenyan sense of humour and easy going nature. Very easy place to me and make wonderful friends. You meet someone once and they will forever remember you.. I had many experiences of this throughout my time
-Everyone thinking I need a taxi
-Random people saying hello to you
-Walking through Kibera hearing 'Mzungu, how are you?'
-My soccer (sorry football) skills improving in the games I played with the kids
-Trying to learn Swahili (I love their language and I think over time it would be easyish to pick up)
-Everyone asking me if Im married and if I have children
-Throwing the young kids up in the air, they would constantly ask me this at the breaks.
-Most of all I will miss the kids from St Johns, they made my very short time special here in Kenya..and it didnt matter what mood I was in- as soon as I walked into the classroom they put me on a high. They are sooo priceless and I wish all of them the best of luck in the future. They all deserve the same opportunities that I have had in my life.

So that is it, Im now off to Egypt for a totally new experience.

Ive had a wonderful experience here in Kibera and I would totally recommend anyone that is coming to Africa to take some time out from their holiday to assist in a school like St Johns. You wont be disappointed and it will leave you with a life changing experience. The time you put in with the students will be paid back a million times over.

I hope everyone is well and post a comment.

Kwaheri (Goodbye)

Troy

Some final pics from my time in Kibera and Oasis Africa

Some pics from my time in Kibera

Week 2

Good afternoon from Nairobi

I have just come back from experiencing peak hour transport in the city..( I think I will never complain about Melbourne's public transport system again... actually yeah I will!)
Well on Monday we had an extra few helpers, Coachy (Adam), Dave and Hayley came along for the day to help out at the school. The Headmaster was rapt to see even more support for the school and we went into each of the classrooms so the 'new' people could be introduced and for them to meet the students. We all then split up into our classes, after we went to each class the Headmaster asked the students who they wanted to teach them and they all wanted Hayley..
It was cool to be split between the classes, Coachy had the job of teaching Maths to Grade 4s. By all reports, he said they were attentive for about 5 minutes before they started talking and throwing pens.. After the break, I organised with the teachers to take the Grade 4-6 to the sporting field to play a game of soccer for the boys. The girls had frisbees and skipping ropes that were donated by an American company.
Unfortunately, the children dont play sport on 'fields' very often as its a 30 minute walk to get to the dirt field. The walk itself is quite amazing as it gives you a great view of Kibera and shows the sheer size of this slum. We split the boys into teams, Coachy was on one and I was on the other.. lets just say we were the Japan as we scored the first goal and they returned with 4 of their own.. Coachy and the rest of his team were giving it to me as well.. (I think the Socceroos players have no worries about me taking their spot with the skill or lack of I was showing on the soccer pitch... An 8 year kid made me look very stupid..)
After soccer we went back to the old school for a traditional African meal.. the food here is really grown on me here..I will need to get the receipe so I can make it when I get home.
After lunch, we all went to the local pub to watch the big game.. well what can I say that hasnt been said in the papers back home.. it was absolute magic and we made sure the whole pub knew who we were supporting.. (I think I made the big call to everyone at the pub - 'Bring on Brazil')
Today, we had another day of teaching in the morning. (I was also talking up how good Australia were last night as well to all the students) I think they were surprised by our form after the 'form' I was showing on the pitch. After lunch I had a meeting with a Manager from Food for Hungry International as I was keen to learn more about the food shortage issues that are currently facing East and North East Africa. Nairobi is the home of NGOs in Africa. She was so informative and I had no idea the issues they are currently facing with the drought and a shortage of food donors. She also used to work for the UN World Food Program and told me the greatest hurdle facing them in getting the food to the needy is the Kenyan Government.. (unfortunately, this is not at all surprising)
I then made a quick trip into town to visit my last African market to pick up a few more gifts before I posted them all back to Australia. As Ive said a few times, Im going to miss the haggling with the African market sellers.
Anyway, that is it for me today. I will post some pics tomorrow.
Hope everyone is well. (by the way today is my 2 month anniversary in Africa- how quickly time has gone)
Troy

End of the first week

Good morning from an overcast Nairobi

Well, I have finished my first week of teaching and I feel exhausted but also very happy!

I had probably the most enjoyable day of teaching on Friday, I decided that Fridays would be sweet day.. so I bought two big bags of lollies and I went through revision of our weeks work in Mathematics for the Standard 5s. The principal has told me a few times that the students are really grasping the concepts I am teaching them in Maths, which is really pleasing. This is also slightly disappointed as they have so much potential and I have to leave on Friday, I really feel like I am abandoning them as we are making some progress.
Anyway, I should have realised that 11 year olds and sugar based lollies just dont mix! Its amazing how much more attentive the students are when there are lollies on offer for getting the right answer. In the end I had the whole class right in front of the blackboard yelling out answers..many were just wild guesses hoping that they were right! :) It was heaps of fun and it showed me how much they have learnt and how much more work they need to do, especially in their free time. (I should add that as soon as you have lollies, word travels very quickly around the school yard as every class I went to wanted to be tested with sweets as the reward) I had to continually explain that Fridays were only 'sweet day'. Hopefully they are this attentive on Monday.. but I think not !
We left the school very satisfied of our first week, it has been tiring and exhausting but totally worthwhile and rewarding. Its amazing you might be in an average mood before you get to class but as soon as you walk into the class the kids just brighten up your day.. (especially mornings, as this is normally not my favourite time of the day)
On Friday night, I did what I think the rest of the world was doing - watching the World Cup.
On Saturday, we went to the local post office to post a box full of gifts back to Australia. This is never an easy job and two hours later it was posted.. lets just hope that it actually arrives!
In the afternoon, I went to the Masai market in town which is full of bargins. Like any markets in Africa, you have to have your wits about you and be very firm. Ive been to so many markets I enjoy the challenge of trying to get a good deal, but saying that I still get ripped from time to time.. (though in the context its only a few dollars here or there)
Later the afternoon we caught up with the guys from our tour that arrived back from Uganda. They had been on the 10 day guerilla trek, which by all reports was just phenomenal.. though I wouldnt swap anything for the last week Ive had at the school.
After catching up with them, I met a teacher from the school who was going to the local rugby ground to watch the World Cup Qualifier between Kenya and Tunisia. It was heaps of fun, the crowd were right into it, though the standard from my limited knowledge of rugby was fairly sloppy. But Kenyans know how to support their time, at one point I caught myself on my feet cheering for them when they scored a try. (For the record Kenya won 24-21 in a tightly fought game).
The tour group went out for dinner at a local pizza restaurant before we all went back to their hotel bar to watch the World Cup. It was when we left the hotel to catch a matatu in town back to our hostel that all the 'fun' started. Leaving the hotel, the streets were eerily quiet and very dark (street lighting doesnt really exist!) . We had barely walked 100 metres when out of the blue three young guys ran from a shop enclave and snatched Nats bag.. they were so quick I barely noticed them until I heard her scream and the guys went running into the park.. It was a scary experience but that wasnt the end of it, we still had to get to our matatu... we decided after that to walk in the middle of the road and before I knew it another guy was following us (he was much older so I thought I had him!! ha ) He ended up walking off and we got into the more 'safer' part of town and besides being heckled by prostitutes along the way and getting asked for money from every beggar in town we found our matatu. He overcharged us but I didnt really care I was just keen to get home.. I didnt lose anything and Nat just lost $10USD and some loose change in a old bag she was carrying. (Basically nothing, just shoke us all up..) I guess it was only a matter of time before Nairobi became Nairobbery...
Anyway, it was just another 'African' experience and I think we all need to be more aware but sometimes like last night there isnt much you can do.. (don't stress Mum!!)
Anyway, its about lunchtime and Im going to a guy from works place for a traditional Sunday lunch...
I hope everyone is well.
Cheers
Troy

Some more pics from Kibera