Luxor ...

Monday, October 22nd - Wednesday, October 24th

Despite the ever so aggressive taxi or carriage drivers and the private ferry boat hassles, Luxor is amazing.

The Hostel:
I have never seen so many pictures and posters of Bob Marley in my life. Every spec of every wall was like a shrine dedicated to the man. The funny thing is, during my stay I did not hear one Bob Marley song on their stereo ... it was usually just the Gypsy Kings which brought back fond childhood memories of early saturday mornings in the Pezeshk house.Upon my arrival I wound up meeting an English girl who was on holiday before finishing her last year of medical school; she became my partner in crime for the rest of my stay in Luxor.

The Sights:
The Luxor Temple, located right along the nile, is beautiful and well preserved. While walking through the ruins all I could do was imagine what the temple looked like in its original setting with the Avenue of Sphinxes leading right to the massive entrance. It must have been quite a sight to both the local and the passerby. The tombs in the Valley of the Queens was also quite impressive.

My favorite place however was the Temple o f Karnak. First of all, it's huge and with every turn there is something new and amazing to gawk at. I arrived just before sunset and had the pleasure of seeing the light of the red sun pass through the grand Hypostyle hall hitting the curves of the stone in all the right places. Although there was a sea of Eastern European tourists with many of the women in some quite scandalous outfits, my eyes were fixated on the intricate carvings of towering walls and columns ... well, at least most of the time. I'll tell you one thing though, to look up and always see an obelisk in the ancient skyline is quite a cool experience.

Overall: Luxor is much more laid back than Cairo but with just as much charm. I was able to relax and also see many things. Should I ever make it back to Egypt, I might just be obliged to make another stop here.

Desert Camping

Saturday, October 20th - Sunday, October 21st

I had overheard Amir, the manager of the hostel, talking to a Canadian couple about this trip to an oasis that involved camping in the White Desert. A bit intrigued, I inquired about the trip a little bit more and within a few minutes I was sold.

It is amazing how one's plans can change so quickly. No more than 5 minutes before I had never thought about camping in the desert and was more occupied with figuring out how to get to the train station to buy a ticket to Luxor leaving Friday night. The only word or phrase I can use to describe what I am enjoying is 'ultimate freedom'. But I digress ... back to the story shall we?

After a tiring day exploring the pyramids under the Arabian sun, the last thing I wanted to do was wake up at 6 to take a 5 hour bus ride to Bahariya (oasis), but I mustered the strength to roll out of my bed and get ready. I met the Canadian couple in the lobby area of the hostel for tea and bread and then our driver came to take us to the bus station.

Apparently we were running quite late because our driver was driving mad and decided to drive only down one-way streets ... in the wrong direction. He kept saying to me "If they ask why I drive like this I say I don't know, ya know?" and also "We're not driving the wrong way right?" to which I replied I don't know. We went back and forth like that for 3 minutes but it wasn't an argument, it was more playful because he was laughing while I held onto the shiesse handle and mustered a few "ha ha"s.

The bus ride wasn't bad actually. It was a decent bus and despite getting stuck next to someone suffering from a severe case of halitosis, I enjoyed the ride. Upon arrival at Bahariya, we were greeted by a small man who told us he was our driver into the desert and from there we (the Canadian couple and myself) hopped into his Toyota Land Cruiser and took off. Before we left the town however, we stopped for lunch and picked up another Canadian (they are everywhere I tell you).

The road was well paved and we were the only car on it as far as I could tell. After about an hour driving through the black desert, we pulled up to Black Mountain which I scaled. The view from the top is amazing (see video).

Next stop: White Desert

We pulled into the White Desert just before sunset. This former sea bottom left behind thousands upon thousands of white rock formations that look and feel just like chalk. As of yet, this is the most beautiful thing I've seen. The red sun setting in the distance and the last rays of light hitting the rocks in such a way that makes your heart stop. We all gathered on one mound and stayed silent for a few minutes just taking it all in (see video).

That night we camped under the stars in complete silence. No cars, no horns, no people, no pollution ... just beauty. Pure beauty.

We rose early the following morning and due to our needing to get to our respective places of departure that evening, we left just after breakfast leaving the peace and calm of the white desert behind.

Much love,

Ardeshir

Cairo ...

Tuesday, October 16th - Friday, October 19th

I cannot really think of how to best describe Cairo. I suppose if I had to, the words/phrases would be as follows:

dirty
a hassle
deadly cab rides
brilliant

The Hostel:
I am so grateful to the great staff of the Desert Safari for making my time in Cairo as memorable and hassle-free as possible. I wound up getting placed in a private room at the dorm rate. The fact that I had the room to myself wasn't the best part, it was the balcony overlooking the madness below (the busiest roundabout in Cairo circling the Egyptian National Museum ... see video) that made it the best room I could have asked for.

While staying here I met some great people as well starting with this Canadian guy who had been traveling on and off for 5 years now. He gave me some great tips on how to teach and also good places in South East Asia to teach English to make some money. He also told me of his few months in India and his time in Rajastan (the state/province I am teaching in) in which he took a 3 day camel safari out into the desert ... something that I now must do.

The Sights:
The Citadel, an old fort built on a high point in Cairo as a lookout point and to protect this city, is amazing. The Mohammad Ali mosque in the center dominates the hill. Surprisingly, this was the first time I happened to walk into a mosque. It was beautiful. The domes were decorated with intricate designs and lights were hanging from the ceiling ever so gracefully. While walking through I noticed a stairway leading to nowhere. Although I am not sure, I think the stairway is in the direction of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the stairway is to symbolize Prophet Mohammad's ascent into the heavens. The courtyard outside was amazing as well with the tile floors glistening in the sunlight. I wish you all could see it.

Sadly, despite the history and significance of the al Azhar mosque in Islamic teaching, I did not find that it was quite as beautiful as the Mohammad Ali mosque, but still it was cool to walk inside the empty classrooms (they were on holiday or break) and around the surrounding corridors.

The Egyptian Museum which houses the Tut exhibit was quite cool. There were so many brilliant stone structures and sarcophagus's. The displays, although poorly lit and many without descriptions, were also captivating. The highlight, of course, was the Tut exhibit and his magnificent headdress that was truly immaculate.

I spent my last day in Cairo visiting the Pyramids. They are just as majestic as they look in the pictures. They tower of the slum, oh I mean town, of Haram and it is completely crazy that these testaments of architecture and time are still standing.

In the end, my time in Cairo was an experience that when looked back upon I'll remember fondly.

Brrrr ... Zurich ...

Monday night, October 15th - Tuesday morning, October 16th

There is only one word I can use to describe to describe this night; gnarly. The following is how my night proceeded ...

It turned out the 'ozzie' boys I met in Barcelona were going to be in Zurich as well but were leaving on an earlier flight. I said I would email them before I left asking for the name and directions to their hotel.
9:45 PM - I landed in Zurich and found an internet kiosk to check my mail. Mike (one of the 'ozzies') had wrote me inviting me to chill with them at their hotel and listed the directions from the main train station in Zurich. I jotted the directions down on a postit and hopped on the train from the airport to the city.
First, what a crazy station ... it had a beer hall inside of it! Second, I must be a complete idiot because I couldn't find their place after I spent 30 minutes searching for it. I then spent another 10 minutes trying to find an internet kiosk at the train station which I eventually found. I emailed Mike back hoping he was online so I could ask him to either meet me or give me the name of the hotel, but to no avail.
Then for some reason, thinking trains would run all night back to the airport, I decided to walk around Zurich for a bit. It is a sleepy town at least in the area surrounding the train station minus the McDonald's and one bar. After walking around a bit in the cold (like the idiot I am, my jacket was in my checked luggage which was being transferred to the next flight and would have be fine except for the fucking cold and my jacket being packed) I start walking back to the bar only to find that my head phones broke and that the last train until 5 Am had left for the night.

12:38Am - I got to that one bar by the McDonald's in hopes that they would be open until at least 2, but no, they closed at 1. After talking to the bartender a bit and finding out that Mondays were dead (as if I didn't find that out already) and that no all-night cafes existed anywhere I could get to, he told me about this club, Xtra, that puts on this thing called 'Cool Mondays' where they are open until 4 or 5 AM.

I thanked him and left after finishing my beer and headed out for Xtra. Once I got outside however, I decided it was too cold and I would just set up camp in the mall area underneath the actual train station (see video).



After I was starting to get comfortable although still cold, two security guards told me that the station was closed and I had to leave. The station reopened at 4 and my train left at 5:02 on track 9 (see video).



1:30 AM - I start making my way to Xtra with new found haste because it was definitely around 50 degrees or something like that. After wandering a bit due to my being unable to discern the illegible directions, I asked this one guy walking down the street while rocking out to his iPod. Being the awesome guy that he was, Thomas actually walked me to the place despite it being out of his way. It turns out that a few years prior, he was traveling the world (and did it for 2.5 years). The whole walk he kept telling me these crazy stores and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Upon arrival, I asked him to come in for a beer because, well, that was the only real/tangible way I could think of thanking him. We talked a bit more and he bought the next round of drinks because I only had a few francs left. He left around 2:20. I hung around a little while longer to find that the place closed promptly at 3. Yay ...

I wound up making my way back to the heavily fortified train station but found a crack in the fence by the crazy beer tent. From there I was able to get into the tent to find the stage still with all the instruments from earlier ( a band was playing when the beer hall was open). I was stoked. I mean c'mon ... shelter, bathrooms and GUITARS!!!

Before I grabbed a guitar I had to use the restroom. After walking back out of the bathroom area, I found myself face to face with a policeman and his trusty German Shepherd ... he then kicked me out of the tent.

3:20 AM - After leaving the tent and leaving the guard inside, I realized I was locked IN the station. I wound up choosing a corner to sit down out of the wind and cuddled with my backpack in an effort to stay warm.

3:30 or so AM - My eyes open to find myself, now eye to eye, with the German Shepherd from before. I told the guard of my plight to which he paid no mind but then actually helped me scale a big gate to get back out. From there I found a few others on steps nearby who were also waiting for the station to open up. I sat down next to them and just hung out.

4:00 AM - The same guards who kicked me out hours earlier welcomed me back in the train station. I went back to the bench, or makeshift bed if you will, and lied down. I had never been that cold before ( I later found the temperature had fell below 50) ... the concrete and steel just suck all the warmth out of you. After about 20 minutes with periodic gusts of wind, I found a phone booth and just sat there. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't windy.

4:50 AM - I exit the phone booth and hop on the train that was conveniently equipped with great A/C that also happened to be running.

5:02 AM - I left for the airport where I would wait for 4 hours before boarding on my flight to Cairo.

I know of only one person who has seen Zurich and hated it ... me.

Barcelona ...

There are few places in the world which when remembered do nothing but bring a smile to one's face. Barcelona is one of those places.

The Hostel:
To start, the hostel I stayed in was amazing. It was clean, in a great location and had a great staff. More importantly however are the fellow travelers that just happened to be staying there as well. I met a great group of girls taking a week off from their studies in England, two crazy Icelanders on a journey around the world (next stop for them is a two week rafting trip in Nepal) and a four crazy 'ozzies' who felt like owning the world (check them out at www.mymacjacket.com).The Nightlife:
So yeah, Barcelona is ridiculous. I went out one night night til 3:30AM and felt that was late until I met these Americans in Park Guell and they invited me to meet up with them at night and go out. Well, after far too many drinks and my dancing shoes wearing down to their soles, we stumbled back to our respective hotels. Time of departure: 5:30 AM. I'll tell you one thing though ... it was truly a great night.

















The Sights:
I saw many things in Barcelona and as far as architecture is concerned, this is Gaudi city. La Sagrada Familia is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. I do not know how any one man could have conceived that design and still can't believe the detail that be illustrated in stone. Park Guell is another beautiful highlight. The views from the top by the cross are phenomenal and the mosaic architecturewill leave you breathless.The Farewell:
I spent my last day in Barcelona cruising on my own with the destination being Place Espanya. The castle, located at the bottom of Montjuic, is beautiful. I cannot remember blinking as I made my way down the promenade and stairs leading up to it. From there I relaxed at the hostel recanting a few stories with the Icelanders, Hinni and Stani (sp?), before I threw on the backpack and made my way to the airport.

In all, Barcelona was amazing and is definitely a place that I would not be opposed to returning again.

Note: Should you wish to see the whole load of pictures, you can email me at pezeshka@gmail.com and I'll send you an invite to the album on ofoto.com

Me

Before I start posting, I feel it to be necessary to introduce myself to all of you (although "all of you" essentially means my friends who already know me, but hey, just in case right?).

I'm Ardeshir. I am a dreamer, a traveler, an optimist, a devil's advocate, a talker and a "doer". I tend to be bold and shameless but am slowly learning about this thing called 'tact' as I grow older and become more conscious of those around me.

I am more concerned with whether or not I believe in myself than whether or not I believe in God. I believe in people and often feel that we test ourselves less than we should; we are far more capable than one might think.

I plan on changing the world.

I am confident although sometimes cocky and hope to learn a little more humility.

Lastly, I hope to become a man. A man that others are proud to call their friend, a man that my child/children (when I have them of course) can look up to and most importantly, a man that my sister, mother and father can be proud of.

This is my story ...