I don’t usually talk about the mechanics of running a travel blog while on the road. Most of the people who visit here are more interested in seeing photos and hearing stories of the the places I visit. Nonetheless, it is occasionally necessary to delve into the dirty underside of the business of running this …
Today was a pretty good day. I went diving in the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was the most unique dive I’ve ever done on many different levels: it was the coldest dive I’ve ever done at 15C (59F), the shallowest dive I’ve …
I spent most of today walking the streets of Alexandria. There is no better way to get to know a city than to walk around for a day and get lost in the process. In some ways, I find Alexandria really depressing. This is a city where almost every building is 100 years old and …
I’ve arrived in Alexandria. My first reaction is that I like it a lot more than Cairo. It isn’t as busy, dirty or crowded. Also, I have yet to have anyone “welcome” me to Egypt and try to sell me crap. I’m staying about 2 blocks from the Mediterranean Sea, in a hotel which would …
@cyberdyne Have you considered changing your twitter icon as you travel to represent where you are ? I made a conscious decision to keep my avatar the same. In fact, I use the exact same photo on every network I belong. People recognize images before they read names. The Easter Island photo I think is …
I haven’t really written anything since I’ve arrived in Egypt. Usually when I arrive in a new place it takes a while to adjust to things. That adjustment period can be as short as an hour or as long as a few days. Egypt has taken a lot longer than normal. While it is ostensibly …
My brief stay in Kuwait is almost over. I screwed up and accidentally booked a flight to Cairo at 11:00 pm not am, so I’m here for 12 hours more than I had planned. There isn’t a whole lot to see in Kuwait. It is a small country, it’s mostly desert, and there isn’t a …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Bahla Fort: The immense, ruined Bahla Fort, with its walls and towers of mud brick on stone foundations and the adjacent Friday Mosque with its decoratively sculpted prayer niche (mihrab) dominate the surrounding mud-brick settlement and palm grove. The fort and settlement, a mud-walled oasis in the Omani …
I was going through a bag of coins and small bills I’ve collected over the last several months. I thought it would be fun to compile a list of all the currencies I’ve had to deal with since my trip started. The conversion rates are all listed as the amount of the currency which can …