IT WENT LIKE THIS...

I don't know where to start, so I'll start on the end and work my way backwards...If you read Bree's blog, then you may already know this, yes she spilled the beans on the Shark's Bay Hilton Hotel. Nobody told us that this was going to be a place for all happy topless sunbathers when I booked this package. Thank you, Cox and Kings...I walked in our room, it was so nice, looked out of the window, and my mouth dropped open. What!!!! Yes, topless sunbathers. I grabbed the phone and called Ashley and Bri's room (It was so nice to have them out of my room for the whole trip...) anyway, I called Ashley and told her, tell Bree that women are topless here and don't go into shock, it's just a boob, and we (women) all have breasts (some of us one, some of us two). I guess the style is to have the pierced stomach jewelry going on, and tatoos everywhere. I didn't spot any nipple rings. Geez.... I don't want you to get the idea this was a nudist colony. No, that wasn't the case, but many women chose to go topless, and if my $$ was right I would have gone elsewhere, but by the end of the trip, we were cutting it close $$ if you know what I mean.

This is a place frequented mostly by Europeans, Swedish, French; not many Americans come here. I tried to explain to Bree about the different cultures, whether it's men peeing in the streets of India or bare-breasted women roasting in the sun in Sharm el Sheik, she has been exposed to quite a few different cultures. There were little girls, oh 8, 9, 10 years old, topless with their mothers. Little tykes scamping about bottomless, muslim women swimming in the pool in black long sleeve shirts and leggings...it was just one strange, huge cultural melting pot sitting there as I stared out of my window at the watering hole. Needless to say, there were waiters oggling the topless girls, tripping with drinks in hand, not watching where they were going.

Well, John and I went to the shore of the Red Sea to scope out the area for snorkeling, and low and behold, there was a topless, buxom Grandma coming towards us wanting to talk about the beautiful fish in the coral reef, camera in hand. Ya know, I just pointed out to her the most beautiful blue and yellow fish I had ever seen right near my feet in the water, and she chatted on about all of the beautiful fish she had pictures of.

Snorkeling was AWESOME, such beautiful sea life. Later I saw the signs warning or sharks there and the rip tide, swim at your own risk. No, I would not have gotten in the water if I had seen that first. Duh, I didn't even associate the hotel's name (Shark's Bay) with danger snorkeling there.

Enough said about that...let me tell you what it was like to climb Mt. Sinai. We left our hotel at about 11:00 p.m. heading three hours north to the mountain. There were many check points along the way, we had to show our passports constantly, all guards are armed. I decided to just "be cool" and roll with the flow. The guide let us know not many Americans come here...hmmm. I asked him had he ever been to America; he let me know rather snippily how difficult it was for anyone from Egypt to get a Visa to get in. OKAY...I had taken some herbs that unfortuneately had the effect of constantly having to go to the restroom, and I forgot to tell you, YOU HAVE TO PAY TO PEE HERE. They have you over a barrel. (I made constant stops, and these latrines were so filthy, I should have just gone behind a rock somewhere, really). We got to the bottom of the mountain, got our guide and I knew to get a camel, I didn't have the energy to walk that far up. Our guide, Mahammed was kind. We each had an escort to pull our camels or whack them in the rear which caused them to jolt forward in the pitch black night, or stumble close to the edge of the cliff on the trail. I asked Mahammed how many people had fallen over the cliff on this hike. He said he would tell us when we got down in the morning....(his silence spoke volumes to me).

FOR ME THIS TREK WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE EVENT. It got really cold climbing the mountain. It was pitch black, save for the bright stars twinkling above, and as we rounded the curve of the trail, the FULL MOON glowed so brightly, it was almost like receiving a kiss from God. It was so serne, so peaceful. Thoughts of Moses raced through my mind, thoughts of God actually coming to this mount to communicate with him...AWESOME. Well the camels could only go so far, and then we had to hit it on foot. SUNRISE THERE WAS BEAUTIFUL. Yes, I tripped and fell twice, twisted my ankle, but not badly. One lady had an asthma attack, and Ashley ran to help her with Frankencense essential oils we had purchased in Cairo to clear her sinuses. She spoke broken English and Spanish, and it seemed like people were just standing around her watching her gasp and cry. She kept crying "Don't let me die on this mountain"...I was too weak to go to the top, and Ashley had stayed with me. John and Briana went to the very top. People were singing up there to God and reading their Bibles. One girl fell near John, and broke her foot. John told me later she didn't have $$ to get a camel down, and he paid the guide to find a camel and take her down. Johnnie is a good boy...(Don't get me wrong, I kept a close eye on him when we were in the pool area at the hotel, ha. Reminds me of our 10th anniversary in Cancun with Dorothy and Perry, but that is another story). The walk down was hard, and we had to get a camel for Bree, she was getting dizzy. Needless to say we cancelled the bedouin lunch. I was over ambitious in planning, and YES, I am still sore today from this trek.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO TELL. I loved the NILE cruise. We met such friendly people. The food was good. Our group was small, and some were from Chennai. We had a good friend from Austrailia on the Cruise. (HI ROBIN). She was just so very knowledgeable, she reminds me of my sister, Joanne. We had such fun laughing at the belly dancer stories. John was too tired to come watch that evening, but boy did we have a good time.

Going into the tombs and temples were simply amazing. I love ancient history, and didn't get to do any research prior to the trip because I was just too busy. I ran and got volume 1 from Will Durant's History of Civilization, my Bible, the complete works of Josephus, books on Egypt which I had bought there. I read of the Rosetta stone, what triggered the French explorers to go and map out Luxor and Karnack, what they found in the early 1800's. So I am thinking, 50 years later or so, we were having our civil war, and they are just digging these temples out then, as old as they are, like no one remembered they were there? How did all of this get swallowed up by the desert? I want to read more about Carter (CURSE OF THE MUMMY) who unearthed Tut's tomb. OH THE TREASURES THAT WE SAW IN THE MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITY...I wanted to know who was in power when Moses was placed into the Nile? Which king ruled when JOSEPH came to Egypt. I saw scratchings of Greek in some of the temples where the early Christians were hiding, I tried to freel their angst, anxiety, courage. This was my trip of a lifetime.

I am so thankful I felt good enough to take this trip with my family. It basically went without a hitch. I am sick of charter planes. We flew so much...Chennai to Bombay(Mumbai), to Cairo, to Aswan, to Abu Simbel, back to Aswan, to Luxor, to Cairo, to Sharm el Sheik, back to Cario, to Mumbai and back home to CHENNAI. Next time, a simple cruise will be just fine I think...

Ashley let me know that I'm writing too much about Bree in the blog and not enough about her, so let me shift gears and talk about A*S*H*L*E*Y.....Ashley had a great time. From an African American point of view, we were loved. I'm telling you, it was amazing. Cries from men "COUSIN"...Ha. Yes, Egyptian people are very attractive and Ashley was elated (and Bree) to have so much positive attention showered on them. You have so many cultures that have ruled in Egypt...Nubians, Greeks, French, Romans...Arab/Muslim influence which took over after Christianity had a foothold there...(I've gotta read through my history books to get it all right). But don't get me wrong, this is a tourist economy in Egypt, and it didn't take John long to come up with the diddy, Egypt, "means He gyped you"....We got taken several times, but it wasn't that big of a deal. There is much love and kindness shown to us in Egypt. Go, if you can...go.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES...

Actually, it really was the best of times. I am so exhausted. I'll put more stories up tomorrow, just wanted to get the pictures up today. Wished I could put all 200 of them on, but I'll figure it out later. It was really, really so amazing, spiritual, awsome.

Stay tuned.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN GET A PRAYER THROUGH...

REMEMBER ME...(AND MY FAMILY). I hate flying, but Lord knows I need to get out of here for a while. Lilly is going to be on her own for several days, but the gardener will take good care of her for us (She just turned 3 yesterday). This has been the craziest week. Bri's school didn't start Monday. We got there and were told to go home, come back Wednesday. It was problems with the high gas prices...no riots broke out...so, "WHAT THE PROBLEM IS?" (movie: National Security). This may sound crazy, but John is a movie buff. He's seen hundreds, and our favorite movies, well we've got them memorized. Anyway, are we the only ones who talk like this, when ever a situation calls for it, he quotes the line from the movie, and I have to guess or finish the sentence. Does that make sense? Like if he breaks into a rendition of: "I GOT NO PLACE LEFT TO GO!!!" How many of you would say, "Aha, Officer and a Gentleman". Well, trust me, my obsessive, impulsive guy once we get on the plane, will then run down every airplane memory movie...Here's another test..."I'll have the GAFILTA FISH"... Did you get it? Did you yell RUSH HOUR 2??? It's not just movies, it could be anything. Last Sunday, in the car John started obsessing on the word GRASS... How many ways could he use the phrase "grass"...then it started again...the GRASSY knoll....Teddy PenderGRASS....it goes on with a few others that I just can't mention. Anyway, I guess we are wierd. We were laughing so hard, our driver thought we were cracked.

I guess in closing I'll tell you how awful I felt for Bri this morning. You know Bri has a full, thick head of hair, and like me we sometimes get this slight mustache going. Well, I recall from days back that friends had used hot wax to remove the hair, and since threading was so painful for her, I throught, okay let's get our eyebrows done and facial hair removed before the trip/school encounter. Well, the wax broke Bri's face out, it even pulled a small area of skin off her upper lip which showed a scar this morning. To go to school the first day with your face broken out and and a scar on your lip...Bri was such a tropper, she didn't seem too upset. I felt awful. I used bad judgment in letting her get the hot wax. Oh well, I tried to make it up to her and boy did I cook today. Yeah, one last great meal before we get on this plane. My special crock pot chicken with the lipton onion soup and secret spices, my peach cobbler...you know I think this is the best one I have ever made. It is simply delicious, I can't stop eating it, greens and Bri's favorite corn pudding. And this Indian bread called "alabar paratha", yummo....Anyway, one last good meal from mom before take off. (You know I made an awsome banana pudding the other day. Mom would have been proud of me, Papa too.)Vendan will go get her in a few minutes. Hope she had a good first day...our bags are packed and we'll be ready to go...

Okay, back to playing the crazy game, what did Mr. T do before he got on a plane?

COUNTDOWN TO EGYPTIAN ESCAPE

Well, we got Bri enrolled in school today. No, she didn't wear the funky green hat, although she has become an avid hat collector as of lately. This was the most difficult feat I have encountered since I have been here. Did I have a melt down...yes. But rather than deal on wasting my energy fuming...I am just gonna exhale, release that negative fury and think happy thoughts.

ISN'T IT GREAT ABOUT BARACK!!! I download Randi Rhodes every day and Keith Olbermann and Hardball everyday on Itunes, check Drudgereport every morning...(Hi Shelly...I know you do too) ..so I am keeping up with our American politics...and so is the rest of the world. I bought some cheap snorkeling gear yesterday to practice in the pool with the girls and John. I started packing. Well, we were charged an additional $200 a piece for gas increase in the air faire. (I'm sure they'll find something else to tack on to this trip before we get off of the ground, John has already contemplated canceling the trip at least once...). Let's just say, this is another learning experience booking a trip through Cox and Kings...bottom line, never again.

Oh yeah....what do you visualize when you hear the phrase: "drives like a bat out of hell"? Meet Vendan: my driver. Okay, he has slowed down since he got that speeding ticket the other day, and he is a lot more cautious now, despite the girls egging him on and applauding when he busts a move, weaves, and practically has the car flying on a two-wheel turn. (you know I am exaggerating...right?). John is still mercilessly teasing him about his motorcycle accident, which we never got the full details on...it went something like this: John asked Vendan to put his seatbelt on, and Vendan complained about his shoulder hurting, then John said, "Oh, did you have an accident on your motorcycle..." Yeah, that chesire grin glared back from the rearview mirror. (John is so intuitive, it's scary). Vendan is going to come to the house every day and walk Lilly and make sure she is being fed and the house is not ransacked and all of that good stuff. Vendan is going to take Bri to school every day and pick her up for me...and Vendan helps me out running to the store for me, dragging in electrician friends, and peering over the shoulder of anyone coming onto the property, making sure we are not taken for a ride. It's funny, when anyone comes to visit, the gardner, his wife, the security gaurds, Lilly..they all surround them. It's really kinda funny.

Yes, we definitely need to get away, I just hope I've got this planned fairly well and don't run into any serious problems...Did I mention that Bri's teacher was furious that Bri would miss the first week and a half of school? She'll get over it, Bri will get caught up (cough/cough), such is life.

A LITTLE BIT OF THIS AND THAT

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE INTO JUNE. WE WENT TO SEE INDIANA JONES AND THE CRYSTAL SKULL LAST NIGHT. LET ME JUST SAY I WAS AN INDIANA JONES FREAK. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK WAS MY FAVORITE MOVIE WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, AND I THINK I'VE SEEN IT A THOUSAND TIMES. I HAVE IT ALL MEMORIZED. THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT, I WAS SO OVERWHELMED AND EXCITED AND WILD THAT THE PEOPLE SITTING NEXT TO ME TOLD ME TO...(WHAT'S A NICE WAY TO SAY THIS...) CALM DOWN, YEAH.
WELL, THIS WAS LIKE A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE, KINDA LIKE THE BRADY BUNCH REUNION...CORNY BEYOND BELIEF, BUT STILL...I HAD A GOOD TIME. THE KIDS? BRIANA WHINED ABOUT HOW BORING IT WAS...ASHLEY...WELL NO COMMENT, SHE'S STILL MAD ABOUT A CONFRONTATION WE HAD EARLIER IN THE DAY (SHE'LL GET OVER IT)...
JOHN GAVE A LESSON YESTERDAY ON LOVE. EVERY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH HE GETS TO BRING A SERMON/LESSON ON WHATEVER HE WANTS. HE'S REALLY GROWN SPIRITUALLY A LOT. AS MUCH AS I GRIPE ABOUT THINGS, I AM GLAD TO SEE HIS GROWTH.
I STILL DON'T HAVE THE INTERNET SET UP ON MY MAIN COMPUTER WHICH I WILL HAVE MY VONAGE ON, AND TODAY I'M DETERMINED TO GET 'ER DONE. I HAD ALL MY FAMILY'S NUMBERS ON SPEED DIAL, AND THEN A LOT OF NUMBERS STARTED CHANGING...SO JUDY'S IS THE FIRST NUMBER I'VE GOT MEMORIZED...ANYWAY WE WENT TO A COOL RESTAURANT CALLED 601 WITH MY FRIEND DANIE, FRIDAY...(DANIE IS REALLY SPECIAL. SHE HAS WRITTEN A BOOK ON EXPAT LIVING (THE EXPAT ARC) THAT EVERYONE TAKING ON AN ASSIGNMENT LIKE THIS SHOULD READ -- I WILL LIST HER BLOG IN MY BLOG-HANG-OUT-SPOT. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME I SAW BRIANA REALLY HAPPY EATING A HAMBURGER THAT WAS THE SIZE OF HER HEAD...(maybe not that large).
I AM GETTING OFF TOPIC AGAIN...YEAH, I TALKED TO JUDY FRIDAY. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I SPOKE WITH ANY OF MY FAMILY -- ANYONE FROM HOME-- SINCE COMING HERE MARCH 29TH, 2008. DO YOU KNOW WHAT A MELT DOWN THAT WAS FOR ME... I HAD TRIED SEVERAL TIMES AT OTHER FRIENDS HOUSES, BUT COULDN'T GET THROUGH, BUT FINALLY...JUDY ANSWERED THE PHONE. THANKS A BUNCH, DANIE. YOU REALLY MADE MY DAY!!