Moments...

Well both are right...anyways I used that strictly for rhyme...eleven - heaven :D My cousin had an early morning flight and so he left in the wee hours of the morning and me and my cousin, we both woke late and then had long baths and then packed and then went out for shopping!!! Khan e Khalili market is the most happening place in Cairo...do visit it once...it is situated amidst the old Cairo and one can catch a glimpse of the old Cairo which is beautiful. We went around and bought some soveneirs. Then we rushed to CarreFour because we wanted to buy some stuffs that we saw the other day. From there we rushed back to hotel...picked our luggage and back to Airport. Again had the flight from Cairo to Kuwait and then break there at Kuwait and back to Delhi. We reached Cairo and spent some 6 hours or so at Kuwait. It was amzingly cold at the Airport and sadly the Airport is not even heated so we sat their in some 9 degrees...I wrapped my feet in shawls and had my gloves and all...Finally w...

The final day of our trip at Cairo and we went to see the Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara and Memphis...Ok let me confess that me didnt know there are so many Pyramids...I always thought there was just one... Anyways we left first to Giza to see the Great Pyramid...At the Giza plateau stands 3 pyramids in decreasing height...OK we couldnt enter inside the largest one coz per day only 150 people are allowed in :( its some 70 meters long tunnel where you have to crouch and walk and then you enter into the room...it sounds fun and claustrophobic too :( but we got a chance to get inside the smaller one where we walk in just 25 meters and was fun...though you enter into a room with nothing inside but still you have the feeling of standing amidst a solid rocks above your head...you are inside those pyramids :D definitely worth a visit...then after the third one we went to visit the Sphinx and the temple... After that we headed to Saqqarra, saw the step pyramid...which is in complete ruins now...an...

Oh why on earth did we not spend all our time there...Its much much better than Cairo or any other city in fact...it was amazing... After a walk past the cornice last night, back to our rooms settled in for the night...after luxurious baths we went for breakfast and wow there were so many dishes laid out and the best part was the dessert - different types of cakes and pastries...we had too much of breakfast waiting for the guide to arrive...the guide was delayed by an hour so we enjoyed our breakfast till then... Well our Guide played spoilsport - first he delayed, next when he arrived he pushed us with another guests when we were supposed to be on an independent trip and most importantly he didnt know absolutely anything and gave us incorrect information about all the places....Anyways the beauty of the place didnt ruin our trip... We start with the Montazza Palace and the gardens...although you are not allowed to visit the palace because the President stays there...then we went to se...

After reaching Cairo back from the desert we checked into the hotel...Back to the room, my cousin tried and voila we had WiFi in there....he and his sis were smiling back as soon as they got Internet...everything forgotten for that time...anyways we took bath and got rid off the desert sands and went to bed...my cousin though stayed up late with his Internet...:D The next day we headed to the museum first which my cousin had missed...we used the Lonely Planet to tell us what we need to go for....and we did just that...it was great...and then we headed for a delicious local food... Felafel - deep fried fritters with sesame seeds...and then headed to the airport...My cousin spent almost an hour and finally he got his luggage back :D We then took off to Alexandria... Enroute it was amazing...we could see the sea and the lights playing on the waters and we reached our Hotel...with a sea side view :D A beautiful suite - we had a living room, lobby, and a bed room with a view of the cor...

Oh well its true first we would ourselves on our own in the strange land and then we had the greatest time which we relished just like the sumptuous dessert served at dinner!! We reach Cairo station at 4 in the morning and there is no one to meet us...finally my cousin goes searching and he finds our taxi...we lug our luggage and get into the taxi to find that there is no Guide and the driver doesnt know English....Excellent there we were at Cairo wanting to go the Airport so that we could G's luggage and this guy here didnt understand and to add to that there was no Guide when we had been promised....Finally after a series of calls we were told not to make things difficult for them and just carry on with the trip....now this was uncalled for I was very furious...finally we couldnt do anything so we moved on with the journey... We crossed the desert and reached Bhairriya Oasis - our destination. The passing landscapes were just repeat telecast....the same barren land on both sides ...

We wanted our itinerary to be done over 2 days. But as usual the tour operators dont listen / explain. So I suggest if you take a cruise reach a day earlier to Luxor and visit the West Bank on your own and then get to the cruise. Or take an extra day there after the cruise drops you. In the West Bank, there is the Valley of the Kings - a place where you can spend the entire day. And then the Valley of Queen and the Hatsheput Temple. And the Colossi of Memnon - 2 life size statutes which is better to be watched from a distance and will be enroute to the Valley of Kings and all in the West Bank. It takes just a few minutes to take pics of that place. Then is the East Bank which has the Temple of Karnak and Luxor . You should spend an entire half at the Valley of Kings or even more time and can then visit the Valley of Queen ( I dont know whats there though coz we didnt visit the place) and a trip to the Hatsheput Temple. Another day, you should spend at the Karnak Temple. Its a ...

At night we docked at Kom Ombo and in the morning, we simply walked through into the gates of the temple of Kom Ombo . It was amazing. We even saw a mummified crocodile. BTW, this temple is dedicated to the crocodile god of the Nile - Sobek . Back we had break fast and sailed to Edfu . We docked there at noon and take a horse carriage ride to the temple of Horus. This is the most well preserved temple and is worth a visit. Back in cruise, we have a Gallabiyya - traditional dress party - which neither of us joined. After dinner, me and my cousin went to the deck to get a view of the Esna lock - water transport gates. But we were still waiting for our turn. I got so tired of waiting that I went back to the room and slept away. My cousin, who had been sleeping while we were loitering around, woke up around mid night and went up the deck and saw the Lock :). Anyways he got pics for us and explained us how the entire things happened. We woke up the next morning at Luxor.

Ok now let me tell you, the Nile Cruise in Nile river doesnt give you the feeling of being in cruise because the actual sailing time is just 5-6 hours from Aswan to Luxor. The rest time is spent on the docks. Actually they must be better called as Flotels - Floating Hotels. So the next day we left 4 ish to reach the convoy reaching to Abu Simbel. Let me also share with you that after the 96/97 attack at the tourists, there has been restrictions on the movements of the tourists. So in order to go to Abu Simbel, one has to join the convoy which leaves at 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning to the temple and then be back at 10:00 AM from there. Ok another insight, our tour operator packed us in a mini van, it was 2X1 seater, thats what it looked like, but after we all boarded the corridor in between also had extra seats which was unfolded from the side rest of the seats. I hope you get what I mean, that we were packed into the bus. Ok there are other luxury buses with WiFi, Video, and even WC (n...

The train rocked us and dropped us by noon @ Aswan. OK let me warn you if you go with a tour operator, generally they wont come to receive you at the station but would be waiting for you outside. So, you have to pick the luggage and make your way out. But will definitely come to drop you at the station till your coach. So we reach Aswan and board our car to be driven to our cruise which was close by . OK another thing to look for, the boats are docked one next to the other belonging to the same company. So if you want to enter your boat you pass through the lobby of others. And that what we did to reach ours - the 4 th one. In spite of our repeated requests of booking us on top deck they gave us a room at the lowest deck. We were insistent and told the agent to take us back. Finally they gave us a room - a huge cabin for the 3 of us on the top deck. :D We quickly changed had lunch which was great and then left to take a tour of the Aswan High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk. It was t...

In the morning after a wonderful continental breakfast, we started our tour but sadly sans my cousin...we got the info that he would be joining us by noon... Our tour guide Heba made a plan so that whenever my cousin joined us he wouldn't miss the Egyptian Museum - which is the best in all. So we started off with the Coptic Cairo - Its the most beautiful part of the city with many churches built there in a small area. You get to walk below the street level to enter these churches. Restoration work is also in progress which is trying to reduce the water level which had submerged most of these building due to Nile flooding. First stop was the outside of the Coptic Museum....which we didnt enter because it wasnt open then....but saw the Nilometer - used to measure the level of the Nile river to warn against the floods and the state of harvest. We saw similar Nilometer at other monuments too. We then entered the Hanging Church dedicated to Virgin Mary. The wooden stiles and the ro...

I hate the winters because though I covered myself in layers of woollens I still shivered....now why am I talking about winters here when I am supposed to narate about my trip... coz I had to stand in a queue at 2:00 AM outside IGI airport... The queue was there because there stood just one security personnel at the door who couldnt possibly clearly see or must have forgotten his specs back home for was squinting his eyes and trying to read through the e-tickets and the passports....he actually took 3-4 minutes per person :( We stood a good half hour braving the chills and fighting our place in the queue (for people starting getting in between us as if me and my cousin were invisible creatures) to reach indoors...Finally Reached the airlines counter....and while standing in yet another queue noticed that for an extra kilo weight people had to shell out money both of us got very tensed....for we were over weight...we were in fact carrying 25 Kgs of food stuff... now thats another s...

Back from my International Vacation although I didnt feel that I went abroad...everything was similar...hawkers sold their stuff at the road crossings - the same Santa Claus cap with the lights and all... Nevertheless it was a trip to remember... The highlights of the trip were in the order: Hot Air balloon ride Desert Safari Light and Sound show at Phillae temple and even Giza one was good National Library @ Alexandria Getting inside the Pyramid Nile cruise Our suite @ Alexandria with a view of the Sea The Pizza party way back to Cairo from Alexandria Falafel - The Egyptian Vegetarian food "Yummy!!" The breakfast @ Alexandria suite :D The worst ones were My cousin's fiasco - flight delays - spending 2 nights at airport, lost luggage - nothing more could go wrong for him Kuwait airways The train journey - was actually rocking!! The Aswan Dam - :( what was that The Tutankhamon mummy - what a waste Local tour of Bahariya Oasis - the worst of the lot

A sweet story about love, trust, politics... set in the impending World War by Emily Grayson When you read the story it reminds of Manmohan Desai formula...people who have watched his movie will know what I mean... ...it was possible to get over a trauma in one's life. The leaves changed every season because they were constantly in flux,....this was a reasonable way to view life...

13 sites I loved to visit - http://www.bossbitching.com:81/ Boss Bitching is a user driven social content website that allows anonymous postings of stories about bosses. http://www.handwriting.org/archives/98mar_01.html Here I found handwriting analysis done of our Father of Nation - M. K. Gandhi. http://memeaholic.blogspot.com/ Meet someone who is addicted to meme and does all memes that are available in the blogosphere. Wow!! http://www.mathcats.com/explore/age/calculator.html This one calculates the age to the last seconds...and even tells in how many days, hours, seconds is the next birthday coming up! http://www.flocabulary.com/hiphop.html This one talks about interesting rhymes for words. Very funny and interesting! http://www.bored.com/excuselist/ This one contains a whole lot excuses...and I love reading it from time to time...you never know when you need to use them and thye can be very handy http://www.bored.com/drawthings/index.php Another one from bored.com; you can draw a ...

...If you wouldn't mind, please take a little time to explain how you manage to succeed so well at this aspect of your life. :D The spirit score is a number that captures the elusive quality which is found in one's faith, one's attitude, and philosophy on life. This is the result of Rate My Life Quiz that I took a while back :D Its a 2 page questionnaire, after answering a few questions in the first page, you seem to wondering whats this all about...but the second page is much interesting... You get your score, like the way I got it... This Is My Life, Rated Life: 6.6 Mind: 7.2 Body: 7.2 Spirit: 8.2 Friends/Family: 2.9 Love: 1.4 Finance: 7.5 Then there is this analysis also and also a compare feature that tells you where you are as compared to others of your age and gender...Here's mine...

It was a good read...first time read of any of John Mortimer's work...he has this Rumpole series to his credit...simply heard about it but never got a chance to read it :D The story revolves around how wrong some people go trying to do right in life...You simply cannot put it down once you begin reading it... Written as a diary, narrating the life of 2 people who take turns to be praeceptor - guide, philosopher, and friend to each other. " And that's where this story begins..."

I finished with the Ambler Warning a spy thriller...although this is not exactly the work of Robert Ludlum....its posthumously written and published using the author's manuscript. The same author who brought to us the Bourne Identity and Supremacy... This one too can be turned into a thriller...or maybe already has been...who knows... As I was reading it...I was actually visualizing a movie... Some of the lines sounded amusingly overdone...like the doe-frozen-in-the-headlights-look and the white hair and a face as wrinkled as the shell of the walnut ...but a good read when you have nothing better to do... "Nothing ever goes according to the plan. Revise and Improvise..."

Again I made it just on time :D My brother to keep me busy as if I am not...has given me books to read... The complete short stories of Ernest Hemingway The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum True Believers by Nicholas Sparks Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston Brandenburg by Henry Potter Kill the messenger by Tomi Hoag Night train to Lisbon by Emily Grayson Sight unseen by Robert Goddard Gifts Differing I already have my Egypt Lonely Planet Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat Apart from these I have something more important to do... 12. I have a client deliverable and I have to do this so that I can ensure that I can fund my vacation :D 13. And Have to do my project for my MBA class :D - I have to do this coz so that I can clear the MBA and get the degree :D Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thi...

Lemme confess this - me not at all excited about it...I am going on a vacation to Egypt...EGYPT!!! Maybe coz I am getting old...yeah maybe thats the reason why... I keep trying to tell myself....An International Vacation...Woa...but nothing happens....My cousins with whom I am going are all excited....When I told my friends a month back they were all excited and me now that I am leaving in a few days am not at all excited...:( To keep myself pepped up, I bought the lonely planet book - Egypt....I thought maybe I read about the tourist places and other things, I might get excited...Oh this reminds me I gotta share an interesting incident that happened when I went to buy the book... My Last exam...I went to the mall to get gifts for my folks and in there I saw the book and picked it up...it costed some where approx 160...went through a little and then decided to buy it...At the counter, I gave the book and my card, and then I got busy in seeing something - I dont remember what, but s...

Yeah me realised this when today I encountered the Man issuing Visas at Egyptian Embassy. (My next post will tell you why I was there :D) Man I had been watching him standing at queue and dreading my turn...He used to hurl away the applications saying - in fact shouting and yelling at times... "Why do you need Multiple entry?" "Here this is missing" "Here this here its incomplete...fill it and then come" "I dont accept white colored notes...get the yellow colored ones...now dont tell me you dont know I have seen you here often many times... "- he shouted this to an agent. Woaa...my palms were sweaty in the freezing winters...(OK I heard it the nearly freezing winters...Ok Ok according to me the nearly freezing winters....now dont digress me and try to concentrate on the story next)...I started counting my notes and checking their color...thankfully I assumed that the VISA would be very expensive and had bought extra money, the agent behind me e...

After Zahir, and the Alchemist, I read The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho - philosophical, talks about simplicity and the journey of life... BTW I also found this here ... The Road to Saint James is an interesting trekking of approximately 500 miles. I had watched this movie - Shadows of the Sun...In which while explaining how to write effectively to his protege - He says that you need to first experience to be able to write...Its so true...I could feel that Paulo Coehlo has actually experienced the entire thing hinself and then he is sharing the same with us...It makes it so eruditing... These are few abstracts from the book... Don't lose sight of your objective. Almost always that people who are fascinated by details forget what they are after. When you are moving towards an objective, it is very important to pay attention to the road. It is the road that teaches us the best way to get there, and the road enriches us as we walk its length. Changing the way you do routine thi...

My pirate name is: Bloody Bess Read Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr! Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com .part of the fidius.org network

Thats how Antony Hopkins tells his daughter that she is going to meet the one who is going to seep off her feet and then same is echoed by Brad Pitt, a happy go lucky charming young man, whom her daughter meets the same day.... Meet Joe Black is a tale of life through the eyes of death...Death is this case has decided to take a vacation before going off with the 65 year old Antony Hopkins, Parrish, the media tycoon. Even with Death approaching the old man...he still keeps his calm, composed, stately manners... "I'm Death." "No you're not... you're just some kid dressed in a suit." "The suit came with the body I took." Brad Pitt as Death is too good...the boyish charms and the naivety with which he journeys trying to learn and experience the emotions of mortal beings. He is surprised and confesses: "I can't believe you people. I come for you, and you want to stay, I let you stay and you want to go." Antony Hopkins is the best part...

I made it just on time :D My theme is my poor old and the smartz new cell phone and the Great Service Provider Ok as you already know I lost my cell phone and got a new one too (What a perfect timing....lost it on the eve of Bday ) So next, I try online to debar services of the lost handset....to avoid misuse but each time get the irritating message...Keep trying Later... Finally my cousin went to the office and got the message conveyed Because of my Postpaid membership, I got the SIM card replaced by paying some charges, which I received through courier I was excited to use my new phone and as soon the SIM landed I called up my friends :D I was busy trying to check out the features of the phone but my happiness ended even before it turned to elation My calls were debarred... because they received the complaint to debar calls off my old SIM now (how it all happened is a BIG QUESTION MARK..."?", so they did what they were asked to.... afterall they believe in prompt servic...