The White Desert, called Sahara al-Beida in Arabic, is a plain of large calcite deposits covered in white sand. With the development of desert safaris, it has become a popular destination and even though it has been turned into a 300 sq. km Protectorate, many fear this is not enough to preserve its pristine condition. […]
Travels in Egypt: A trip to the White Desert – Part 3 Read More »
When traveling in Egypt, one of the best ways to get away from the hordes of tourists is to book a desert safari. Having reached Bawati, the largest village and administrative center in the Bahariya Oasis, our program consisted of one night in the White Desert and then one night in a hotel in Bawati,
Travels in Egypt: A trip to the White Desert – Part 2 Read More »
SMALL EVENTS HAVE THEIR OWN SPLENDOR AND THE MEMORY OF THEM LASTS LONGER WHAT WAS WRONG IN CAIRO? We spent six full days touring Cairo, covered five thousand years of history from the Pharaonic days to the present, but never developed an affinity for the city or its people and never became captive to that
Travels in Egypt: A trip to the White Desert – Part 1 Read More »
When you leave home, take along a romantic sensibility and a traveler’s imagination so you can conjure up an attachment to the places you visit and sympathy for the people who are just trying to survive. You should leave the confines of the hotel, get out there, roam the city, walk the walks, engage the
A Visit to the Camel Market – Egypt 2009, Part 1 Read More »
GETTING THERE – ARRIVING IN CAIRO On October 25, having said our good byes to the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, Donald and I left Kigali, Rwanda, our next destination, Cairo. We flew out on a Kenyan Airways Boeing 727, a plane no longer considered safe to fly in the United States. At least this plane
Our tour in Egypt – Part 1 Read More »
With our luggage on the trolley, we pushed through the usual crowd of people and saw our best friend in Cambodia, Jean Paul, rushing to meet us. Those of you who have been reading my Cambodian e-mails since 2002, may remember he is the Frenchman who offered Donald a place to set up his ultralight
Cambodia Travel Story by Alexandria – Part 2 Read More »
ARRIVAL IN PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA The day Donald and I leave Cambodia is the day we plan our return. Whether we leave a small part of our ourselves behind or take a part of Cambodia with us, we spend the rest of the year anticipating our next trip. This year we were scheduled to leave
Arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Travel Story by Alexandria Read More »
Midway between the Bhotia, or Bhote, Tibetan ethnic groups starting with the Baragaunle Bhote villages north of Marpha and ending with the former kingdom of Lo, the Mustang Kingdom of upper Kali Gandaki south of the Tibetan border, and the Chetri, Magar and Gurung villages downstream south of Tatopani, the last pure Hindu village, there
Don’t bring too much! When packing, I make a pile then eliminate, and I always discard any packaging at home rather than carrying trash into areas where it could pose a problem. I also consider the locals and what they need in their remote high-altitude world where weather and environment are challenging. My pack always
Travel and what to bring or not!? Read More »
Known as the largest religious gathering of mankind, the Kumbh Mela refers to a great gathering of Hindu pilgrims at auspicious locations. It takes place four times every twelve years, thus every three years, and rotates among four locations. The most auspicious of these is Allahabad, known as the Prayag, the legendary confluence of the
Kumbh Mela 2010 at Haridwar, India Read More »
