Out of Egypt....

Well, long time since I've written, been WAY busy making the Exodus out of Egypt via the Red Sea and the Sinai.

As all of you know there have been many troubles in Egypt and I was glad to get out. Though when this has all been going on, I was near Dahab in the Sinai.

Not much went on there. Our internet got shut down and we didn't get it again till Jordan. Had barely a clue as what was going on, except the guy at the front desk kept saying "Oh don't worry, Cairo is safe. The Government has quelled the riot." BULLSHIT....
Now, I HAD a flight out of Cairo, but decided that would NOT work, so I after getting to Jordan I decided to fly from Jordan to Bahrain to get my flight there to Bangkok. Hoping that'll work seeing as my flight is tomorrow.

Anyway, as a day trip in Egypt on our last day I think, we "Me, Bill, Mel and our friends from the Nile boat trip, Dan and Claire" went to Mt. Sinai where God was supposed to have given Moses, THE yes THE Fifteen.... I mean TEN commandments. After getting their we went to the nice monastery setup at the foot of the Mountain, but it was rather crowded and not marked out.

Though, there was a corner with a couple bushes and a fence taking photos. thinking they were taking photos of a building I took little notice. However after a few minutes I was told by Bill, that he just found out that the bush "Which really wasn't bush like at all" was THE, yes THE burning bush, or it was at least related. Some less famous burning bush or son of.
But... what was next to it! "LO! And I beheld that next to the most holy plant on earth, and most famous for burning too, had, what... A fire extinguisher." Yes you heard me right folks! I swear to god, right next to the famed burning bush was in FACT, a fire extinguisher in plain sight.... Oh boy! Safe to say, many a joke and pun was cracked about that.

The walk up and down were far less exciting and the route was littered with rubbish on the foot of the most holy Mt. Sinai. The views from up top were amazing however. Took about 3 hours up and 2 down, partly in the dark.

After a rest, we made our planned trip to Jordan, which gladly was planned at just the right time.
If it wasn't for my friends Bill and Mel heading to Petra Jordan and my Aunt Connie for adding funds to my bank, I would have been in the Nile valley as I speak, and trying to get the hell out of Egypt in a stressful way! Instead we took a quick bus trip to the ferry, went over and took a mini bus to Petra and booked a night.

Petra is just... well just amazing! You have to have been there or seen photos. It was very magical and would put you in awe if you saw it. Though it is hard to describe the true beauty of it. So I'll let Wikipedia handle the most of it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra
Petra, though very pricey to get in, is kept up FAR FAR FAR better than anything in Egypt and people clean up the rubbish. This I think adds to it greatly. Something Egypt could take a lesson from.

So after Petra I sadly parted ways with Mel who'd be around since my first day in Egypt. Dan and Claire since the Nile boat trip. So now the gang went down to, Me, Bill and a Croatian girl called Jasna who'd been around since we first got to the Sinai.

The bus trip to Amman here went smooth enough and we checked out the city yesterday and today some old castles. The People of Jordan are so different then the Egyptians. FAR more honest, FAR more truly nice. They will get you tea or let you go to the bathroom without money. Not been asked for "Backsheesh" ONCE... Backsheesh meaning Tips, Alms, money for nothing.

I really like the people here, though it does cost more here, it is more what I'm used to in nations from Ireland to Bulgaria. Though, admittedly the city streets aren't as full as much life and don't seem out of National Geographic or the 1800's like Egypt. But at this point I want to meet nice non creepy people and walk on level streets!

Now however is the end of the Middle east for me, and just in time since the problems in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen could spread. Hopefully not to Jordan since they got their shit together here pretty much compared to the other nations close by.

But now I'm off to Bangkok starting tomorrow and I'm on my own again till I get back to the states. Kinda sad really. Going to miss all my pals.... Oh well, for future trips!

Next post, BANGKOK BABY!

P.S. I have ridden on or in a camel, donkey, horse, horse cart, row boat, motor boat, sail boat in Egypt and in Thailand I shall have an elephant ride and go in a tuk-tuk too. That way I'll cover most of the strange and exotic transport of the world! Also by the end of the trip I will have added 16 nations and Asia to places I've been. Wow, 29 Nations... North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. What a trip!