My First and Memorable North African Adventure- Egypt
I'm here
But my thoughts seem to be
A million miles away
I'm there
But not physically
Only in my dreams
My sweet and distracting day dreams
I don't understand
How a mere reality
A mere occasion
A string of events
An only place
Could make me fall
And hard
In just a matter of three and seven days
I don't easily fall
I'm too proud and self-righteous
But she made me gape in admiration
She humbled me
Now that I
Have unwillingly detached myself from her
I miss her badly
I miss her so much
I miss the crowded, littered streets
The urban idiosyncrasies
The millennia-old stories
The mesmerising tales
The captivating trails
The disarming scenes
The heart-melting day light dreams
The sunny days
The extremely cool nights
The harsh rays
The colourful lights
The legendary sea
The all-knowing mountains
The rooms that heard everyone’s secrets
The ancient civilisation river
The modern-day traffic
Not your average fairy tale
The successive presentations
On Power Point, voice and paper
The ever-replenishing shouts and screams
The unique, within-the-moment connections
The heartfelt conversations
Intellectually honest exchange
Barter of ideas, visions and dreams
My thoughts are not straight
I babble on and on
Maddeningly raving
In my mind and in my words
About my mundane travel through time
So simple and un-otherworldly yet surreal
Oh, beloved
I’ll cross the same seas
Once more
Just to see you
And even more
Even more strikingly
I think I fell in love with you
Even more
Because of all those hearts and souls
Within those three and seven days
I willingly and unwillingly got to know.
-28th March 2009, the morning I realised Egypt definitely broke my heart
On the 12th until the 22nd of March, 2009, I was in Egypt for what I would boldly and cheesily call, the experience of a lifetime. It's not just the fact that it's most people's dream to go to Egypt; the place is just so rich in history and intrigue. Though modern-day Egypt is crowded, noisy, dusty and dirty, it has a unique and indescribable charm that makes you fall in love. And fall in love with Egypt I did.
I went to Egypt as my belated birthday gift to myself. By plane, I flew to Cairo and by coach I rode to faraway and breathtaking Sharm El-Sheikh. By another coach, I travelled to very adventurous Dahab, and by coach again, I returned to Cairo to see the pyramids, a citadel and go shopping at an Arab-style bazaar! And both times in Cairo, I got to land my eyes on the legendary Nile River, which from today's modernity is now surrounded by buildings and cruised by modern-day boats.
It was a modern-day fairytale indeed. The above photos show what I experienced on my 9th day there. L-R: Far left photo- At the causeway of the Sphinx. + Middle and far right photos- At the infamous Giza pyramids. -- Giza, Egypt. Saturday, 21st March 2009. (Photos taken by Sam Tansley and Walter Liu.)
~ + ~
.
Of course, I just had to play the piano while I was there. ;)
Triumph Hotel. Cairo, Egypt. Friday, 13th March 2009. Photos from Walter (left photo) and Mazzan Al-Farsi (right photo).
Well, whaddaya know? I was piano-ing at a hotel in Cairo on Friday, the 13th!
Regrettably, I wasn't playing and singing the song, "Fire in Cairo" by The Cure.
After weeks and months, I have finally started blogging about my momentous journey to the land of sun and ancient history. It was also my first time in Africa, making the trip even more milestone-making. And contrary to popular belief, it is not extremely hot in Africa. It was quite the opposite when I was there.
Once I successfully, and finally, finish sifting through the tremendous loads of photographs, I will come up with the first of my Egypt travel-chronicling series. More to come. ;)
Happy 10th year anniversary, by the way, LJ!
But my thoughts seem to be
A million miles away
I'm there
But not physically
Only in my dreams
My sweet and distracting day dreams
I don't understand
How a mere reality
A mere occasion
A string of events
An only place
Could make me fall
And hard
In just a matter of three and seven days
I don't easily fall
I'm too proud and self-righteous
But she made me gape in admiration
She humbled me
Now that I
Have unwillingly detached myself from her
I miss her badly
I miss her so much
I miss the crowded, littered streets
The urban idiosyncrasies
The millennia-old stories
The mesmerising tales
The captivating trails
The disarming scenes
The heart-melting day light dreams
The sunny days
The extremely cool nights
The harsh rays
The colourful lights
The legendary sea
The all-knowing mountains
The rooms that heard everyone’s secrets
The ancient civilisation river
The modern-day traffic
Not your average fairy tale
The successive presentations
On Power Point, voice and paper
The ever-replenishing shouts and screams
The unique, within-the-moment connections
The heartfelt conversations
Intellectually honest exchange
Barter of ideas, visions and dreams
My thoughts are not straight
I babble on and on
Maddeningly raving
In my mind and in my words
About my mundane travel through time
So simple and un-otherworldly yet surreal
Oh, beloved
I’ll cross the same seas
Once more
Just to see you
And even more
Even more strikingly
I think I fell in love with you
Even more
Because of all those hearts and souls
Within those three and seven days
I willingly and unwillingly got to know.
-28th March 2009, the morning I realised Egypt definitely broke my heart
On the 12th until the 22nd of March, 2009, I was in Egypt for what I would boldly and cheesily call, the experience of a lifetime. It's not just the fact that it's most people's dream to go to Egypt; the place is just so rich in history and intrigue. Though modern-day Egypt is crowded, noisy, dusty and dirty, it has a unique and indescribable charm that makes you fall in love. And fall in love with Egypt I did.
I went to Egypt as my belated birthday gift to myself. By plane, I flew to Cairo and by coach I rode to faraway and breathtaking Sharm El-Sheikh. By another coach, I travelled to very adventurous Dahab, and by coach again, I returned to Cairo to see the pyramids, a citadel and go shopping at an Arab-style bazaar! And both times in Cairo, I got to land my eyes on the legendary Nile River, which from today's modernity is now surrounded by buildings and cruised by modern-day boats.
It was a modern-day fairytale indeed. The above photos show what I experienced on my 9th day there. L-R: Far left photo- At the causeway of the Sphinx. + Middle and far right photos- At the infamous Giza pyramids. -- Giza, Egypt. Saturday, 21st March 2009. (Photos taken by Sam Tansley and Walter Liu.)
~ + ~
.
Of course, I just had to play the piano while I was there. ;)
Triumph Hotel. Cairo, Egypt. Friday, 13th March 2009. Photos from Walter (left photo) and Mazzan Al-Farsi (right photo).
Well, whaddaya know? I was piano-ing at a hotel in Cairo on Friday, the 13th!
Regrettably, I wasn't playing and singing the song, "Fire in Cairo" by The Cure.
After weeks and months, I have finally started blogging about my momentous journey to the land of sun and ancient history. It was also my first time in Africa, making the trip even more milestone-making. And contrary to popular belief, it is not extremely hot in Africa. It was quite the opposite when I was there.
Once I successfully, and finally, finish sifting through the tremendous loads of photographs, I will come up with the first of my Egypt travel-chronicling series. More to come. ;)
Happy 10th year anniversary, by the way, LJ!