May 6 – 7:30 pm
Just got off the computer. Sent two long message to Dad and Darcy. My inheritance money was finally deposited in my account - what a relief! So I shouldn’t have any more worries for the rest of my trip. But I need to go to a bank and then pay Cathy. I’m sitting by the N.H. Cyber Café in the Nile Hotel Mall. Very posh for Cairo and it feels like being in a mall back home.

May 7 – 11:34 am
I feel great as I have money although I haven’t made a withdrawal yet. Will go to a Thomas Cook place in Dahab. I’m back on “The King’s” bus but this time I have a normal window seat with air conditioning! Also stocked up on water and cookies (two and four items of each respectively) that cost four dollars Canadian. Had an excellent breakfast this morning - the Fontana Hotel had excellent facilities that rivaled the Shady Hotel in Luxor. I had free tea, orange juice, scrambled eggs, buns with butter and jam and orange bread. Delicious! I had not had a filling breakfast since I left home on April 20. After interneting last night we went back to the hotel and met others on the hotel’s penthouse. I took a few puffs from a shisha that was passed around. It was very mild smoke and I could taste the fruity nicotine but I won’t likely try it again. We’re now waiting for a few more people to pick up at the Santana Hotel…

May 8 – 11:45 pm
Yesterday was a full day of driving to Saint Catherine’s Monestary and hiking up Mt. Sinai. Very difficult hiking at night and me having no flashlight! But I managed to follow the rocky path while walking behind a couple who had a flashlight. The silhouette of the mountains at night was incredible and night sky spectacular! The mountain peak was not large and by sunrise was jam packed with tourists. Many were singing religious hymns while others, like myself, just stood in awe as the sun rose above the craggy peaks. Soon after our group began the long, hot, and dusty decent to Saint Catherine’s Monetary. Upon returning we toured the monestary. The chapel was quite dark and gloomy and full of trinkets and various religious items. There was much chanting and genuflecting in the church. I’m not a religious person but I appreciated the historical significance of the monestary. I also touched what was said to be the famous Burning Bush. Just came back from a bathroom break and washing my white clothing. I’ll wash my colors tomorrow and try to get rid of the red dust.
Anyway I’m looking forward to a relaxing day of reading, swimming, sunning and shopping. I need to use up my Egyptian money by the end of the day before we enter Jordan. I bought Darcy a bracelet and my first ever ring. Later on I walked back to the Green River restaurant and was quickly surrounded by school age girls wanting to make string bracelets. They were competing against each other to get my business – very cutthroat tactics but also business savvy at such a young age! The oldest girl and me disagreed over the price of the longest string for my glasses. We finally negotiated for 3.50 pounds. They were all persistent and used shrewd tactics. Once they finished their work and were paid they scurried away to seek other unsuspecting and gullible tourists like myself. Our hotel room is literally a grass Gilligan’s Island like hut. We had to pay 50 pounds extra for a private bath and shower. But it was worth it! I’m very tired now and must sleep and be ready for a new day…

May 9 – 1:30 pm
I’m relaxing again at the Green River restaurant. Those bracelet making kids just came through again. It’s hot but windy so it’s bearable to sit in the sun. Very laid back atmosphere here – you’re not pestered by shopkeepers to buy things! Bob Marley songs are played quite a bit. My friend and roommate Josh just got a bracelet made. Now the restaurant is playing Leftfield – I’m impressed! Had a good breakfast of pancakes with honey and bananas. Then I went to a barbershop for a VERY close shave. Then he took what looked like sewing thread, and with two fingers and his teeth, he scraped/exfoliated hair off my ears and around my eyes and eyebrows. It hurt a bit but was worth it and it only cost ten pounds. I bought a neat Dahab t-shirt that has a scarab design. Finally I bought myself a jewelry ankh with a scarab and hieroglyphics. It took me a long time to find this design as I shopped in many stores and compared designs and haggled with prices! It was a deal for only for only 30 pounds that included a leather chain and a free tiny silver scarab. I need to cool off in the Gulf of Aqaba!

May 10 – 10:00 am
We’ve arrived at the port where we take the ferry to Aqaba, Jordan. The trip will be four hours long – goodbye Egypt, hello Jordan. I was in Egypt for twenty days. The only other country where I’ll spend as much time will be the U.K. Last night my roomie Josh got horribly sick with food poisoning. He had fish that I almost ordered. I waited a long time for breakfast because the restaurant had to make my pancake without coconut. My pancakes with fruit and ice cream cost $3.00 Canadian or 7 pounds. I stocked up on water (four bottles) and bought eight packages of cookies at .$60 each.

May 10 – 11:15 am
Well, we’re relaxing at the Habiba Camp on the beach. We’re just north of Dahab. The ferry’s been delayed until 3:30 pm so we drove to this place to wait. It’s a beautiful area – we’re camped out in a hut just a few feet from the water. A restaurant is beside us – quite relaxing here with a nice breeze. Too bad that the fog/dust is obscuring the Saudi coastline. Here comes a Bedouin riding on a camel! On the bus ride earlier I saw what seemed to be a wild herd of camels galloping across the rocky terrain. The geography is similar to southern California except that there is less vegetation here. The brown craggy peaked mountains are accentuated by clear blue skies. I saw many little crabs yesterday on the beach. I think that I’ll get my feet wet…

May 10 – 3:15 pm
I’m finally on the ferry and off to Jordan. There’s air conditioning above me – feels nice! I’ve had a headache all day and Cathy, our tour guide, is very sick. Otherwise I’m comfortable and will pass the next four hours reading. The only irritant is that the ferry is playing Arabic elevator music too loudly. A footnote is that the two figures on my ring re probably the Sun god Amun and the goddess Nephthys.

May 11 – 7:30 am
We arrived at Aqaba about 6:30 pm and quickly passed through Customs. Jordan looks much more developed and Westernized than Egypt. However, the Dinar (Jordan currency) is terribly expensive and is on par with the British Pound. I’ll try again this morning to withdraw money from an ATM. Dinner last night was passable (Arabic pizza that consisted of dough and cheese and a tiny bit of mystery meat). I realized that the Arabic diet, or at least what I’ve eaten so far, is full of carbohydrates. Lots of bread, pasta but very few fruits, no milk and little juice unless you order it. I don’t like their tomato and onion salads. This morning we’re back to the hard boiled egg, tea, cheese and pita bread breakfast. Hardly filling! I hope that once we get on this truck that we’ll be eating a bit more. Since the south-bound Kumuka group is here as well, everyone is packed like sardines on mattresses on the top floor of the hostel. Communal living is okay for a day or two but no more! Only piss off is that I need to pay $6.00 (U.S.) for each country that we enter. The reason is that because I have an individual visa and Kumuka wants a group visa. It sounds trivial but I spent a lot of time money to get the individual visas before I left Edmonton. I could have saved a lot of money if I had known this beforehand. There is a nice view of the harbor and neighboring city of Eliat, Israel.

May 12 – 11:20 am
I’m sitting by an entrance carved in sandstone in the ancient city of Petra. It’s an old city that once held 35,000 people – it’s amazing that so many of its stairs are still functional! The high point is arguably the famed Treasury that is featured in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It seems like it’s getting hotter every minute. Anyway I just ate a good bag lunch and had cereal with milk this morning – very rare! We had a good buffet dinner last night so the meals have gotten better since we landed in Jordan. The blue Kumuka truck is a blast too with a commanding view of outside. Our room last night was hot because it had no air conditioning and no open window! I’m feeling tired now…

May 13 – 2:00 pm
I lost my f**cking Egyptian ring - don’t know what the hell happened to it. Luckily it only cost $9.00 but it will take me a while to get over the loss. The Dead Sea swim and mud pack were fun despite the salty feeling. We’ll be in Amman in a few hours. I’ve chosen the CDs that I want to order once we arrive in Syria. Maybe that will cheer me up.

May 13 – 6:00 pm
We’re settled in our hotel in Amman. We have a spacious room with a/c but unlike the hotel in Petra, there are no English television stations. I’ll miss watching CNN! It seemed like a short drive today – terrain was very hilly though. Amman looks fairly modern – like an older area of Edmonton. Just as we arrived I realized that my Kokopelli charm was gone. (It turned out that while I was swimming looters came by and took the ring and my lucky kokopelli charm on my backpack).

May 14 – 4:50 pm
We’ve stopped at the Syrian border – we shouldn’t experience long delays or problems. Dinner last night was good along with the dessert (ice cream and fruit plus a large mango banana, strawberry drink). Then we went to an Irish bar – it had good music but I was tired and didn’t drink or dance. Breakfast this morning was crap – an egg, pita bread and tea. FINALLY got to a bank and converted some money and paid Kathy. Three passengers left the tour yesterday but we picked up two newbies. (One of the new members was Tony who I’ve kept in contact). The grocery store by the bank had a good selection of items and was the first modern store that I’ve seen since I left Edmonton. So I splurged and bought one water, three packages of cookies, one bag of chips, and nine oranges for six Jordanian dinars.
Jordan’s currency is rather confusing because it has one extra denominational set (fils to piastras to dinars). The large sightseeing event today was the ancient city of Jerash. It was built around 2000 B.C. with the current ruins dating around 100 A.D. The place was spectacular and had amazing engineers at that time! The amphitheatre held 5,000 people and due to the compact size had steep stairs. The Temple of Artemus had impressive swaying massive stone pillars. There were two long stone cobbled streets with underground sewers and stores alongside the road. There was an important intersection that had archways that pointed north to Damascus, south to Arabia, west to the Mediterranean Sea and east to Baghdad. Jerash is considered the most well preserved Roman Empire city in the Middle East.