So not long after I finished writing my blog update I go for a walk to try and find my camping mug.
While I'm walking I bump into a young man who introduces himself to me. His name is Aladin. He wants to know where I'm going.
"just for a walk" I tell him. Not really wanting any more marriage proposals from these Egyptian men.
He keeps chatting to me and because I feel like being polite I chat back. He is a Bedouin man, not from Cairo so that is a bit more interesting than the average Cairo man who wants to take me to his perfume shop. He's from somewhere just beyond the White Desert. He is not a guide, tells me he doesn't want my money, he just wants to practice his English.
Eventually I tell him that I need to find a mug because I forgot to bring my mug from home. And he is actually quite helpful and we go to four or five different shops until we find a perfect sized mug made from stainless steal. Perfect for camping. And only costs me 5 egyptian pounds (= about 1 AUD/1USD - love travelling when the dollar is so strong!)
Then of course he wants to have a cup of tea with me. I don't want to though (because tea with egyptian men never turns out to be just tea!) so I make some lame excuse about being very tired and needing to go back to where I'm staying. He wants to meet up again later but I apologise and tell him that maybe when he's in Australia and needs to find a mug I'll help him do that. I escaped successfully and hid in my room for a bit just because I get frustrated with all the men in this country.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Sudanese Embassy
Well the big plan for today was to get my Sudanese Visa all organised but it hasn't quite gone to plan. Last time it was done in a day, this time it appears it might take 2.
It's a bit of a mission to get a Sudanese visa in the first place - especially in Cairo. There's a complicated process. Here's how it works:
Step 1 - Line up in the line that says "PASPORTS" (nb: spelt with only 1 s)
Step 2 - Answer the mans questions about why you are going to Sudan. "I need to ride my bike to Capetown and to do this I need to ride through Sudan" I tell him.
Step 3 - fill in the form the man gives you and take it over to the photocopy man who will copy that and your passport and your entry visa for Egypt
Step 4 - take these forms back to the "PASPORTS" line and line up again in the line
Step 5 - Get the PASPORTS man to squiggle something in arabic in red pen on the form
Step 6 - Go line up in the "Cashier' line and give the lady 100USD
Step 7 - Take the receipt back to the PASPORTS man (you need to line up in the line again)
Step 8 - Come back at 1000am the next day and line up into the PASPORTS line
Fingers crossed I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow without any issues and it will all be processed when I go back tomorrow at 1000am.
I met a sudanese man who has a brother who lives in Perth. I tell him my sister lives in Perth too. He wants to take me around the corner for tea but I have never gone and had tea with an arabic man that didn't end up in either a marriage proposal, or him trying to make me pay a minimum of 50 egyptian pounds to buy some of his perfume. Only it's actually called "essence" rather than perfume I learnt yesterday (when I found myself having a cup of tea with a random Egyptian man I met on my walk who got offended when I tried to call it perfume!).
So I tell the man I have to get my visa first.
It's a bit of a mission to get a Sudanese visa in the first place - especially in Cairo. There's a complicated process. Here's how it works:
Step 1 - Line up in the line that says "PASPORTS" (nb: spelt with only 1 s)
Step 2 - Answer the mans questions about why you are going to Sudan. "I need to ride my bike to Capetown and to do this I need to ride through Sudan" I tell him.
Step 3 - fill in the form the man gives you and take it over to the photocopy man who will copy that and your passport and your entry visa for Egypt
Step 4 - take these forms back to the "PASPORTS" line and line up again in the line
Step 5 - Get the PASPORTS man to squiggle something in arabic in red pen on the form
Step 6 - Go line up in the "Cashier' line and give the lady 100USD
Step 7 - Take the receipt back to the PASPORTS man (you need to line up in the line again)
Step 8 - Come back at 1000am the next day and line up into the PASPORTS line
Fingers crossed I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow without any issues and it will all be processed when I go back tomorrow at 1000am.
I met a sudanese man who has a brother who lives in Perth. I tell him my sister lives in Perth too. He wants to take me around the corner for tea but I have never gone and had tea with an arabic man that didn't end up in either a marriage proposal, or him trying to make me pay a minimum of 50 egyptian pounds to buy some of his perfume. Only it's actually called "essence" rather than perfume I learnt yesterday (when I found myself having a cup of tea with a random Egyptian man I met on my walk who got offended when I tried to call it perfume!).
So I tell the man I have to get my visa first.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Enroute to Cairo
Farout it's been a busy last few weeks with Christmas shenanigans, work, spending quality time with friends and family, moving house, and getting all ready to head away on my mission to cycle across africa for the second time (because doing it once is simply not enough!)
Managed to get away with a few moments of worry when the fire alarm went off at Brisbane International Airport and made everyone go stand outside for a few minutes until they decided it was only a falsey and the firies had reset the alarm.
As I step onto the escalator after saying goodbye to mum and dad (and thanks for the lift!) there's a few moments of nervousness where I feel a bit unsure, a bit lonely and a bit frightened. But it's nothing compared to the first time I travelled by myself over to Vietnam, and nothing compared to when I took off to Cairo in 2009. By the time I reach the bottom of the escalator I've taken a few deep breaths and the unsureness, the loneliness, the frightened feeling evaporates and gets replaced with extreme excitement!
I managed to get away pretty much on time and am now currently hanging out at Changi Airport, Singapore.
I have a 4 hour stopover here and then it's on to Dubai briefly to refuel and then finally to Cairo. I have organised for the man at the Australian Hostel Cairo to come and meet me and pick up me and my bike. Cairo typically shuts down on Fridays and Saturdays which is the weekend over there so I should be able to go and catch up on a few minutes of shut eye, head out for a wander, then go and sleep a bit more!!!
The only thing I realise I've forgotten to bring at the moment is my mess kit but I'm not too concerned as I should have time to figure something out when I get to Cairo without any issues!
Managed to get away with a few moments of worry when the fire alarm went off at Brisbane International Airport and made everyone go stand outside for a few minutes until they decided it was only a falsey and the firies had reset the alarm.
As I step onto the escalator after saying goodbye to mum and dad (and thanks for the lift!) there's a few moments of nervousness where I feel a bit unsure, a bit lonely and a bit frightened. But it's nothing compared to the first time I travelled by myself over to Vietnam, and nothing compared to when I took off to Cairo in 2009. By the time I reach the bottom of the escalator I've taken a few deep breaths and the unsureness, the loneliness, the frightened feeling evaporates and gets replaced with extreme excitement!
I managed to get away pretty much on time and am now currently hanging out at Changi Airport, Singapore.
I have a 4 hour stopover here and then it's on to Dubai briefly to refuel and then finally to Cairo. I have organised for the man at the Australian Hostel Cairo to come and meet me and pick up me and my bike. Cairo typically shuts down on Fridays and Saturdays which is the weekend over there so I should be able to go and catch up on a few minutes of shut eye, head out for a wander, then go and sleep a bit more!!!
The only thing I realise I've forgotten to bring at the moment is my mess kit but I'm not too concerned as I should have time to figure something out when I get to Cairo without any issues!
Friday, December 17, 2010
3 weeks to go!
It's been a while since I've updated this blog and alot has happened since my last entry.
I moved to Hobart and worked there for 10 months, got a little restless/homesick after spending such a long time in one spot so moved back to Brisbane. 2 weeks later I decided it was time for more great adventures so I updated my CV and sent it in to TDA. That was more than half a year ago.
In 3 more weeks (7th of Jan 2011) I will be jumping on a plane and heading back to Africa to do it all again - this time working as the tour medic. I am excited about the new challenges this will bring and excited about going back to the TDA lifestyle where you ride your bike all day, camp everynight, and live out of a truck. Doesn't matter what you look like, doesn't matter if you smell a little - no one else has had a shower recently either!
Leave without pay has been approved from work so I will *hopefully* have a job to come back to at the end of May. People at work ask me where I am going and I don't know how many people I have told about TDA and I think a lot of them think I'm pretty crazy but I tell them I've done it before and as long as you keep your head on strong that will help with the long days in the saddle. The medic part and tour support is all new and exciting though.
The Army Reserves are happy for me to start working with them when I return at the end of May too so that will be something new and exciting waiting for me to get back.
Time to sleep now, off for waterskiing/wakeskating in the morning if the weather behaves :)
I moved to Hobart and worked there for 10 months, got a little restless/homesick after spending such a long time in one spot so moved back to Brisbane. 2 weeks later I decided it was time for more great adventures so I updated my CV and sent it in to TDA. That was more than half a year ago.
In 3 more weeks (7th of Jan 2011) I will be jumping on a plane and heading back to Africa to do it all again - this time working as the tour medic. I am excited about the new challenges this will bring and excited about going back to the TDA lifestyle where you ride your bike all day, camp everynight, and live out of a truck. Doesn't matter what you look like, doesn't matter if you smell a little - no one else has had a shower recently either!
Leave without pay has been approved from work so I will *hopefully* have a job to come back to at the end of May. People at work ask me where I am going and I don't know how many people I have told about TDA and I think a lot of them think I'm pretty crazy but I tell them I've done it before and as long as you keep your head on strong that will help with the long days in the saddle. The medic part and tour support is all new and exciting though.
The Army Reserves are happy for me to start working with them when I return at the end of May too so that will be something new and exciting waiting for me to get back.
Time to sleep now, off for waterskiing/wakeskating in the morning if the weather behaves :)
Friday, May 29, 2009
3 weeks later
Its been 2 weeks since I got to Capetown and I think it's time to update this blog again.
Now I'm home, everyone is pleased to see me and asks me "how was your trip". It's a simple question - yet the answer is complex. The words "good" and "fantastic" even "awesome" come out of my mouth - and even though I'm not lying, I know these words don't come close to being accurate. How can riding your bike over massive corrugation in 50 degree heat possibly be "good"? It's not - its hard work!!! There were times when my legs were tired, my bum was sore, times where we went up to 9 days in between proper showers.
But the people we meet, the experiences shared, the feeling of satisfaction as we conquered a tough day in the saddle… these are what make the trip what it is. It was a huge personal challenge, it was a journey as much about cycling, culture and landscapes as a journey of self discovery.
I was asked to speak at my scout group AGM (as the person to entice everyone to actually come along to the AGM!). I sat down at my computer to write my speech - and I didn't know where to begin. Ithink that was even harder - to put our journey into words to an audience that wasn't there, than to simply cover the required kilometres for a day.
We went through so many exciting moments that I could only pick out a few to share.
People expect riding a bicycle across Africa would be a life changing experience. I’m still the same person, and the world back home is still the same. Nothing has changed yet I see everything in a different light.
People ask me what I’m going to do next – and I don’t know the answer. I had my life back home set up so that I could come back to it and everything would be the same. But I know I don’t want this. I don’t want this to be the end of a great journey. I want it to be the start of the next adventure.
My eyes have been opened and I don’t want to close them. I’m looking around at all the possibilities – and there are seriously a lot out there!
One of my favourite quotes is something a Mark Twain once said:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Now I'm home, everyone is pleased to see me and asks me "how was your trip". It's a simple question - yet the answer is complex. The words "good" and "fantastic" even "awesome" come out of my mouth - and even though I'm not lying, I know these words don't come close to being accurate. How can riding your bike over massive corrugation in 50 degree heat possibly be "good"? It's not - its hard work!!! There were times when my legs were tired, my bum was sore, times where we went up to 9 days in between proper showers.
But the people we meet, the experiences shared, the feeling of satisfaction as we conquered a tough day in the saddle… these are what make the trip what it is. It was a huge personal challenge, it was a journey as much about cycling, culture and landscapes as a journey of self discovery.
I was asked to speak at my scout group AGM (as the person to entice everyone to actually come along to the AGM!). I sat down at my computer to write my speech - and I didn't know where to begin. Ithink that was even harder - to put our journey into words to an audience that wasn't there, than to simply cover the required kilometres for a day.
We went through so many exciting moments that I could only pick out a few to share.
People expect riding a bicycle across Africa would be a life changing experience. I’m still the same person, and the world back home is still the same. Nothing has changed yet I see everything in a different light.
People ask me what I’m going to do next – and I don’t know the answer. I had my life back home set up so that I could come back to it and everything would be the same. But I know I don’t want this. I don’t want this to be the end of a great journey. I want it to be the start of the next adventure.
My eyes have been opened and I don’t want to close them. I’m looking around at all the possibilities – and there are seriously a lot out there!
One of my favourite quotes is something a Mark Twain once said:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The journeys end
We got into Capetown yesterday and had a pretty over the top welcome! I can't believe how fast the last few days have past. I'm feeling weird. Excited and sad at the same time.
I haven't updated this blog in such a long time that I don't know where to start - I think there's been one or two opportunities but they were both on long pedalling days and I had time between getting into camp and our rider meeting to either do internet or yoga with Erin... Yoga won - I needed to stretch!
So Namibia, apart from being a great country to experience the feeling of riding naked in (due to very few people) was perhaps one of my favourite countries to bike through - although each country is so diverse that it is hard to say which I like the most!!! The landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but hard to describe. Beautiful yellow grass and nice little hills. And Mitch and I always prefer the dirt to the pavement.
The riding through South Africa was less exciting and has been more about just getting to the end.
Dad says from reading everyone elses blog that everyone else seems to be reflecting at this stage and I admit I have been purposefully avoiding it, as there's people at work that might be reading this blog and I haven't been so keen to go back.
The "what next?" is constantly on my mind and something I think about quite often as I pedal along. Since arriving in Maun, Botswana I suddenly decided that I didn't really want to return to 9B, the medical ward at the MAH. I miss working and having something to think about - and have especially noticed it in the last 3 weeks. The thought of going back to showers, bedpans, and changing pads is not something I want to be doing forever. And I know if I returned that its too easy to just get back into the old swing of life, get back into the old comfort zone. But then I thought that it would be nice to have an income again soon after I got back so I told my boss that I was still keen to come back. I am however thankful that he has finally emailed me back and basically told me that he's got too many staff at the moment and I would have to be redistributed to another part of the hospital... But the thought of being unemployed and starting something new really excites me. Suddenly I'm unemployed and I don't think anyone else has been so excited about being unemployed before! "What next" for me means going back home for a few weeks at least, and then finding a new job in an emergency department. I don't know where - maybe Hobart or Alice Springs I'm thinking. Or Darwin. The plan is to apply everywhere and see what comes up.
Anyhow, there's more to write but I'm out of time - I'm meeting up with some friends to walk up to the top of Table Mountain watch the sunset and have a picnic.
Happy Mothers Day Mum! Look forward to seeing you and Dad and Janey on THURSDAY!!!!
I haven't updated this blog in such a long time that I don't know where to start - I think there's been one or two opportunities but they were both on long pedalling days and I had time between getting into camp and our rider meeting to either do internet or yoga with Erin... Yoga won - I needed to stretch!
So Namibia, apart from being a great country to experience the feeling of riding naked in (due to very few people) was perhaps one of my favourite countries to bike through - although each country is so diverse that it is hard to say which I like the most!!! The landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen before, but hard to describe. Beautiful yellow grass and nice little hills. And Mitch and I always prefer the dirt to the pavement.
The riding through South Africa was less exciting and has been more about just getting to the end.
Dad says from reading everyone elses blog that everyone else seems to be reflecting at this stage and I admit I have been purposefully avoiding it, as there's people at work that might be reading this blog and I haven't been so keen to go back.
The "what next?" is constantly on my mind and something I think about quite often as I pedal along. Since arriving in Maun, Botswana I suddenly decided that I didn't really want to return to 9B, the medical ward at the MAH. I miss working and having something to think about - and have especially noticed it in the last 3 weeks. The thought of going back to showers, bedpans, and changing pads is not something I want to be doing forever. And I know if I returned that its too easy to just get back into the old swing of life, get back into the old comfort zone. But then I thought that it would be nice to have an income again soon after I got back so I told my boss that I was still keen to come back. I am however thankful that he has finally emailed me back and basically told me that he's got too many staff at the moment and I would have to be redistributed to another part of the hospital... But the thought of being unemployed and starting something new really excites me. Suddenly I'm unemployed and I don't think anyone else has been so excited about being unemployed before! "What next" for me means going back home for a few weeks at least, and then finding a new job in an emergency department. I don't know where - maybe Hobart or Alice Springs I'm thinking. Or Darwin. The plan is to apply everywhere and see what comes up.
Anyhow, there's more to write but I'm out of time - I'm meeting up with some friends to walk up to the top of Table Mountain watch the sunset and have a picnic.
Happy Mothers Day Mum! Look forward to seeing you and Dad and Janey on THURSDAY!!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Namibian Nude Mile
It had to be done.
And Erin and I had to out do the boys.
So we ride a full 10km completely naked instead of just one mile (1.6km).
And then another 27km topless.
Namibia has been an awesome country - maybe even my favourite TDA country. Nice dirt to ride on, not many cars (hence the nudity).
The internet place is about to close so I can't finish this entry today but its been ages since I've posted an update so here it is - will update again ASAP!
And Erin and I had to out do the boys.
So we ride a full 10km completely naked instead of just one mile (1.6km).
And then another 27km topless.
Namibia has been an awesome country - maybe even my favourite TDA country. Nice dirt to ride on, not many cars (hence the nudity).
The internet place is about to close so I can't finish this entry today but its been ages since I've posted an update so here it is - will update again ASAP!
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