From Egypt to Asia

Returning to Egypt after our few days in Jordan was, though not without some delay, a breeze compared to the marathon it took to get there... In fact, rolling into Dahab felt in many ways like a homecoming of sorts: we recruited a bunch of backpackers on the ferry to share a taxi with us for the 2 hour drive back from the port (Many of which had not yet been to Egypt), ended up with a group of 13, became the chief negotiator for hiring a minibus and successfully got everyone piled in for a reasonable price... Rolled up to The Penguin Village (Hotel) where everyone greeted us with smiles and "how was its?"... saw all of the various friends made the week before within a matter of a few minutes... And, before long, were exchanging pleasantries with the host of our favorite restaurant, comfortably sipping on a cold hibiscus tea welcome back drink, and eating dinner with the group from the minibus (by now they thought I was Egyptian and just pretending to be a traveler since everyone we saw in sequence from exiting the taxi we knew)!

My remaining days along the shore of the Red Sea were spent, well, actually under it! Since getting certified my last year of university and exploring the under water world of Palau, Micronesia (near Guam & the Philipines) with my dad on a father/son trip in 2003 I had not scuba dove and was excited to blow some bubbles. The Red Sea is considered one of the worlds top diving spots and it did not disappoint! With little wave action or rain run off (it rains only an average of 10mm every 5 years in most of Egypt), the underwater world lays home to a host of some incredible corals and an abundance of colorful fish that inhabit them. The crazy looking "Lionfish" was my favorite find of the several dive sites I explored. The days that I didn't go scuba I free dove with a snorkel...

While counting down to the continental shift I was surprised to run into several travelers I had met months before from various countries hundreds of miles away... Including Bernie, Karen, Mattias, and Emilia (The Canadian family who I had first met in Turkey)! Unfortunately we didn't have the opportunity before to say a proper goodbye so it was nice to run into each other for another hello! After a hard day of diving/snorkeling the family and some friends (Thomas - who Danica and I met during our felucca boat trip on the Nile and Nico - who we first met exploring Petra in Jordan) all met up for some of the famous "Thickshakes" at the 'Same Same But Different' Restaurant and, as you can see, they translated to BIG SMILES all around :)

After nearly a month in Egypt, and 4.5 months on the road, the time had come for me to bid farewell to my Egypt travel buddy (Danica from Germany) and make the big leap over to Asia. 32 hours and 5 timezones later I found myself far far away from desert sands, turbins & camels and suddenly surrounded by Pad Thai stands, tuk-tuks & coconuts! Stepping off the plane and into the humid tropics was a welcome feeling and, after Cairo, Bangkok was like a walk in the park: Clean, green, and friendly!

I have been fortunate to run into and rendezvous with friends from home in almost every country so far and, in Thailand, I just happened to catch my friend Shane and his new wife Wendy in Bangkok in the middle of their Asian honeymoon! Though a bit taxed from the long commute I was still able to muster up the energy to meet up with Mr. and Mrs. Oberg to enjoy a full course Thai meal, live entertainment, and some dessert!

 

With little to no plan at all for how to start my Asian travels I simply took a few days to rest, get my bearings, and try and fight off a little cold I picked up somewhere between Kuwait and Bangkok settling into a routine of buying a coconut (for coconut water) from a nice thai lady in the mornings, exploring a little bit of the temples around the city each day, and making my way stand-by-stand and dish-by-dish through the food carts just across the street from my accommodation for dinner... Thailand has all kinds of "interesting" food concoctions and, so far in my opinion, is the contender for the country with the best food in the world! At 50 baht a plate and a 30-1 exchange rate it is also cheap!

After making friends with my dorm mates at the Niras Bankoc Cultural House (my accomodation) a group of us, including Ross & Megan (Megan grew up in Kona!) went to the "Worlds largest outdoor market" on the opposite side of the city and, along with Ashley from Portland, took in a late night of attending Muy Thai fights at the stadium. The market had available everything under the sun with just about every type of animal you could imagine keeping as a pet and/or eating: Snakes, lizards, worms, dogs, cats, spiders, rodents, exoctic fish etc. God only knows what they keep "in the back" for special buyers!?!

And as far as the fights are concerned? Let's just say that those young boyish looking men know how to throw down!

Feeling well adjusted to my new climate the dilemma of where to go from here lingered... head north Into the jungles towards Laos or south to the beautiful Thai coast? After much debate, thought, counsel, and a quick look at interasian flight fares I decided that 5 months of surf deprivation was enough this Kauaian could handle. The decision was made to head south for a couple weeks and then fly to Bali for some waves thru Christmas and New Years before coming back to do the northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam travel circuit!