Sharm El Sheik

To get to Sharm El Sheik, or better know as 'Sharm' by the locals, we took a quick flight from Cairo.  It was a one hour flight that got us to Sharm and it was a 20 minute ride to the hotel.  We arrived on Christmas Eve so after we checked in we got ready for the Christmas Dinner.

Christmas Day we started off with traditional festivities, the kids opened presents.  Jig took the lead and got a bit of goodies for the kids and some stockings and we packed them up with a bunch of little things.  We did not want to get too much b/c we would have to lug it around with us.  Mira and Milan got the Zhou-Zhou pet hamsters.  I had never heard of them before, but apparently, they are the big thing back home.

After Christmas Morning, we decided to venture off 4-wheeling in the dessert.  OK, not quite as adventurous as it sounds, since we were in a group and not able to really 'let-loose'.  Milan was the lucky one to ride with me.  Whenever I would speed up, he would get scared and tell me to slow down!!  It was cute!!  We were all bundled up to keep the sand from creeping into ever crevice of our body, surprisingly, we were still so dusty when we were done.  We had to clean our selves with a 2-step process.  First the pool, then the shower!!

The next day started off with a little snorkeling off the beach from the hotel.  It was very nice.....  Then we took a boat ride into the Red Sea, the boat had windows below the water.  They called it a 'submarine ride', however the boat never went under water.  It was a bit misleading...  The view was nice, the fishes and the reef were really pretty.

The last day (Dec 27), we took off for the next stop in the journey to Istanbul.  This was a flight back to Cairo, a lay over, and then a flight to Istanbul, it basically took the whole day in traveling.

To sum it up, Sharm was great.  A nice relaxing break in the middle of the trip.  Some people say that Sharm is better than Maldives wrt to the reef and the fishes, however, I think Maldives is much better.  But, don't just take my word for it...  go experience both and tell me what you think!  : )

Cairo.... the details

Trip started off with 2 flights to get to Cairo.  We then made our way to the hotel which was the Mena House Oberoi which overlooks the Giza Pyramids.  Soon after we got settled into the room, we realized that Vim accidentally picked up the wrong bag.  Now since this was a long trip with many stops, we decided for each person to have their own bag....  so, now guess who's bag got caught up in the mix-up....  any guesses???  Yep, the person that caused the mix up was the victim (Vim)!!  He then had to make his way back to the airport and try to switch bags....  in the end (by the next morning) it was all sorted out and Vim had his bag.  Phew....

The first day we just relaxed at the hotel.  Our friends were recovering from jet-lag since they travelled across many time zones.

Day 2 we took a trip to the pyramids.  We started with a horse and carriage ride from the city center of Giza to the main Giza pyramids, these pyramids are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that are essentially still intact.  It was breathtaking!!!!   The main pyramid was in Giza was thought to have been built around 2551 BC.  It took 20 years to build.  The pyramid remained the tallest man made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, only until the Lincoln Cathedral was built in 1300.  Really hard to believe how OLD it is!!!  How they were actually built and with such precision is still being debated.  From there we went to see the Sphinx. There are many theories on who built the sphinx, and when it was actually built, but fact remains...  it is the worlds largest and oldest statue...  How about that for a day's touring!


Day 3 we went to Memphis (no, not Tennessee!!) to see the statues of the Ramses and we also went to see the Sakkara Pyramids.  This was nice, but not nearly as amazing as the Giza Pyramids

Day 4 we went to see the Citadel and Egypt Museum.  The Citadel is the Palace area that was used by the rulers during the 1300's.  At the Egypt Museum we were able to see pieces that were in King Tut's tomb including the famous 'gold king tut's mask'..  Did you know King Tut was only 9 when we was named king.  He served for 10 years.  Can you imagine that...  Mira is 9...  could she run a country???  .

On our many journeys thru the city we would pass over the Nile River as it cuts thru Cairo.

Day 5 we were off to Sharm el Sheik.

Cairo in a nutshell is a bit like India.  The streets are littered with garbage.  Drivers are crazy, they don't follow any traffic rules.  There are a lot of pedestrians on the road, that do not follow simple pedestrian rules.  The shop owners (and cab drivers) will try to take you a ride if you are not on guard.
In many ways, we felt at home!!  : )

The next blog will pick up from Sharm el Sheik.

A view of the Giza Pyramids from our hotel

Citadel

The Citadel

A view of Ciaro from the Citadel

Sakkara Pyramids

Ruins in Sakkara

Statue in Memphis

Citadel

Citadel

Home at Last.....

We are home now...  (OK, the Bangalore home....).....

It is nice to be home....  Unpacking is done, laundry is done, and it is off to work tomorrow (yuck!)....

I will post all about the trip over the next few days....  There is so much to share....

FYI....  guess what our first dinner at home was?

Yep.....  kitchari.....   mmmm, mmmmm, good!!!!! 

Happy New Year!!

We rang in the New Year in Dubai....  What an amazing city....  kind of what I expected in many ways, but so different in many ways...  hard to really describe.

We watched fireworks over the Jumeriah Beach.  The kids has a blast!  We are in a 3 BR suite, with plenty of space so the kids are really enjoying all of their bonding....  They were playing superheros just a few minutes ago.  Do I need to tell you who dressed up as Captain Underpants???  Right now they are playing hide-and-seek.  So cool!

Sadly, the trip will come to an end on Sunday evening when we head back to BLR and our friends head back to ATL.  The trip has been GREAT!!

I will post pictures of the trip once we get back.....

Happy New Year to all of you!  Hope 2010 is filled with wonderful things for you and your family.