Starting My Scuba Diving Lessons! Day 1

Today is the day I MAN UP and learn how to dive! Its such a crazy and foreign thing for me to do, especially since I'm not a good swimmer and am afraid of drowning. With these two things in mind, you would assume it would deter me from attempting to dive -- but, I guess I'm not an ordinary person, or I'm just an adventurous person who wants to test my own limits (if i die, i guess i died trying, right? ha ha). I'm not sure how I'll face up to this challenge, but obviously since I am writing about this now, I lived to tell the tale after my first day.

So what did I do today? It was all about tests and practical application of what I learned from books and video instruction. Btw, I had no idea learning how to dive would take so much time. You generally hear it takes about 3-4 days to become open water certified, but what I didn't realize is that its essentially an all day thing. You get a PADI instruction manual that you will have to comb through, or alternatively, you can pay close attention to the videos you are required to watch. After going through each chapter (5 chapters, and they are long), you are then asked to take a quiz at the end of the book, which is later followed up with another test conducted by your dive instructor. That's only the written tests! There are also 4 instructional dives in the water, where you will be testing your book knowledge in a practical setting.

So, today I completed my knowledge 1 & 2 tests (essentially, learning what positive/negative/neutral buoyancy is... equalizing pressure inside your body ... learning how to use the equipment and how it will keep you alive under water ... yes, breathe through the regulator! ... hand signals ... among many other things). I passed the knowledge 1 & 2 quizzes (seriously, its almost like i'm back in school - you have to review a 30 minute video for each chapter, then at night you read the chapters (um, you're supposed to) and answer the questions at the end. After all of that is done you then meet with the instructor to get quizzed again). I passed this phase and then it was onto the "fun" part - the confined water dive.

If you've snorkled before, you have some sense of how it is to swim with fins and also how it is to get water through your air hole (not pleasant). So think about that and now add on the "comfort" of swimming with an oxygen tank on your back, 5-10 pound weights and other gear ... its a lot more difficult. It takes some time to get used to all the equipment and even after a day, I'm still not that comfortable with it. Every thing was a new step and every step got harder as I continued on! The first was being able to try to stand erect in the water with all the gear and then being able to descend into the water and kneel. Oh yeah, lets just say I had to go up a few times before getting used to kneeling down on the ocean floor (all of this is a semi-confined water environment -- out here in the Red Sea -- its just a shallow part of the sea vs. in a swimming pool). I would say the most difficult thing I had to do today was alternating air sources through the snorkel and through the regulator while underwater. You have to BLOW out water from the snorkel and if you make the mistake of breathing in while water is in the snorkel -- you will instantly choke and feel that burning sensation from the salt water in your throat! ugh, extremely unpleasant and this can easily make you want to quit! After a few attempts I made it through this part -- but it made the following skill tests more difficult to pass since my mind was getting a bit "nervous" and "scared" which -- we all know -- prevents ourselves from advancing to the next level... And what I can gather from day one is this entire course is all about how confident you feel in your abilities (that makes sense since life is like this). I will admit I was a bit shaken with this part of the test... and as I moved on to the next challenge (5 step descent) ... I was a bit nervous underwater again and my next challenge was to take off my face mask and have it off for a minute. Needless to say, I had so many things in my mind that I couldn't accomplish this next task - my chest felt tight; my lunch felt like it was about to come up (mental note: do not eat too much before diving, but that all depends on how you are when you exercise -- i don't really eat); my mouth was extremely dry from all the dry air I was inhaling through the regulator and it tasted like salt; and to top it all off -- i had to pee (and regardless of what anyone says, its not that easy peeing in the open water even though its probably quite easy in the pool! ha ha) So, with all of that, I was just drained and had to call it a day. So I finished water confinement 1 and half of 2 -- which, I will complete the rest of 2 tomorrow.

So my friends, this diving experience will be a true experiment and a test of whether I can get over my fear of drowning and at the same time trying to do something fun and new! Its a WHOLE NEW WORLD down there... tomorrow is a new day (and ugh, still have loads to read for tonight!)

Pharoah's Revenge (Is the food in Egypt that Bad? -- Myth or Not?!)

You either clicked on this because you thought it was an interesting title about a Pharaoh plotting his revenge, or related the title to Montezuma's Revenge (ie getting bad stomach pains / diarrhea after eating something).

Well, I named this blog entry, Pharaoh's Revenge because of the latter comment. Many people have heard Egyptian Food is not good and can really do a number on your digestive system - but as Wilson and I have found - it isn't as bad as we heard or were told. : D Wilson and I have braved the Khan El Kahlili foods, some street vendor food, "local" restaurants and other foods that were offered to us - and so far so good (knocking on wood)! So, either Wilson and I have iron stomachs or the food here is really not that bad.

So far, here are a few things we've eaten (in order of appearance ... ha ha; RED says don't go, GREEN says go, WHITE means it was ok).

Kepta Sandwich (Khan el Kahlili) - Aka Liver Sandwich (cow). Sounds interesting, right? Would you try this? I'm Chinese, so I've had liver many times before so it was worth a shot. The liver was dipped into a flour-like dough and then deep fried in a wok of hot oil. After a few flips, the liver was ready to be eaten. The liver was weighed and then placed inside a pita-like bread. They provided some cucumber and tomato salad on the side and topped it off with a yogurt-like light brown sauce. We were ready to eat! It had a nice crunch to it and was de-lish-ous! A definite must try! Price: 2.5 Egyptian pounds, equivalent to approximately $ 0.50.

Beans Over Pasta (Khan el Kahlili; Koshary Pasta) - I have yet to figure out the name - Fuul Pasta? As you can see, its a simple dish. We saw many of the locals eating it, so it must be good. The dish is a mixture of macroni and spaghetti pasta covered with a light tomato and bean sauce. My initial bite and reaction to it was - its bland! But, I soon discovered that it was supposed to be eaten with some lime juice (which i found on the counter). After I added it, it was much much better. Not bad for a quick meal on the go. Price: 2.5 Egyptian pounds, equivalent to approximately $ 0.50.

Schwarma Sandwich (Giza, near Pyramids, Felfela Take-Away) - Lamb sandwich. Sandwich included lamb and a light brown yogurt-like sauce wrapped in a thin pita bread. You can order medium / large. Medium 7 egyptian pounds, Large 12 egyptian pounds. Bread was great,

Mixed Sandwich (Downtown, Felfela Sandwich Shop, 15 Sharia Hoda Shaaraw) -- It was a mix of everything. Falfafel, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, and french fries. Ahhh, just thinking about it is making me crave it. The refried beans mixed with the falfafel was an absolute hit! Crunch and mush doesn't sound appetizing, but wow, its great. It sort of reminds me of the days when I used to eat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza - the crunch and the mush combined together to make a delectable flavor. : D This lovely sandwich was enough to fill me up and it cost - you won't believe it - 2 Egyptian pounds (less than US $ 0.50).

"Chips" aka French Fries (Downtown, Felfela Sandwich Shop, 15 Sharia Hoda Shaaraw) -- Wilson loves fries and couldn't resist. Forgot how much this cost, but it was nice and crunchy. But you have to love the server behind the counter!

Oriental Rice with Meat Sauce (Downtown, Egyptian Museum Cafe) -- It was oily, but it was rice, says Wilson. Price: 40 egyptian pounds, approximately $ 8.00. Definitely overpriced, but we're eating at the museum.

Would definitely recommend eating elsewhere, if you have the time.

Chicken Schwarma with Fries (Downtown, Egyptian Museum Cafe) -- Eh, it was ok. Sandwich had cut up pieces of chicken with some bell peppers. Flavor was medi-ocre, but I didn't expect much from this cafe since it was at a tourist location. Price: 35 Egyptian pounds (approximately $ 7.00)

Mixed Grilled Meats (Emara Hati El Gish, 32 Sharia Falaki or 32 Falakay) - Includes Persion Kostalita (lamb chop - wow so good), sausage with rice (loved the tomato infused rice), grape leaves with rice (tomato infused rice, but grape leaves are too tangy for my tastes), kabob & kobta (salty) , liver (okay), and chicken (nicely flavred, not dry). Overall a great way to introduce you to a variety of prepared meats. The lamb and the sausage with rice was by far my favorite. Price: 54.90 egyptian pounds (approx. US $ 10)

Eggplant, Lemon, Tomato (Emara Hati El Gish, 32 Sharia Falaki or 32 Falakay): The dish included mini-chunks of tomato, lemon and topped off with grinded bits of eggplant. The little bits of eggplant was almost unnoticeable in taste. Price: 4.92 Egyptian pounds, less than US $ 1

Tobola (chick peas) - Metabel - Labana (Emara Hati El Gish, 32 Sharia Falaki or 32 Falakay): grounded chickpeas with some spices. It was ok, a bit too salty. Price: 4.92 Egyptian pounds, less than US $ 1

Sambisa with Meat (Emara Hati El Gish, 32 Sharia Falaki or 32 Falakay): Triangle shaped pastry dish that reminded me of an Indian samosa or a softer Spanish empanada. You can order this with meat or cheese. The meat sambisa was tasty. Price: 10 egyptian pounds, approx. US $ 2.

Assortment of Appetizers (Part of our Bahariya Oasis Tour Food with Select Egypt) - This was what we were served at lunch. Cheese and Tomato (pass), Tuna from the can (pass), Cheese paste with tomato and cucumber (pass), Cucumber and tomato salad (ok), egg and tomato (yum!), Bag of Lays cheese potato chips (yum) , pita bread, and bananas. Overall, it was an interesting spread ... Most of the foods I could do without, but the egg and tomato dish was my favorite (probably because I used to eat something similar to this when I was growing up)

Chicken with Vegetables and Rice (Part of our Bahariya Oasis Tour Food with Select Egypt) -- Wilson and I agree that this was by far one of the best meals we've had (aside from that Mixed Sandwich with the refried beans!). The rice was loose and extremely flavorful (have no idea what was put in there - fat lard? Since there probably wasn't any butter). The vegetables also had a very good taste to it. The carrots, onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers were cooked to a perfect softness and had a richness to it that was something I haven't had. If I could have this everyday, I would become a vegetarian! But since I can't have that everyday, I'm still an omnivore. The chicken was freshly "prepared" (ie killed) that day. Our driver seasoned it with salt and lime juice and threw it on the barbecue grill. Delicious. Everything in this meal was fantastic. Definitely worth it.

Thus far, these are the highlights of my food adventures in Egypt! The food has been better than expected and I hope to taste more of the culinary treats of Egypt! and finally, I hope I won't experience "Pharaoah's Revenge"

Until the next Egyptian food tour ...

En Route - EgyptAir experience ...

I flew EgyptAir to Cairo and before hopping onto the plane, I had a lot of preconceived ideas about how EgyptAir would be. Many of the reviews I read re: EgyptAir were bad, I mean really really bad! So bad, I was tempted to pay four times as much for a direct flight on another airline, but that would be wasteful. So instead, I flew with EgyptAir and it didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would (at least not worth paying 4x as much for!).






Here are a few online reviews I found about EgyptAir.

• One star service rating


• From NYC to Cairo, bathrooms are unkept and dirty (I guess on a 11-12 hour flight – you would expect that, right? No wait a minute, even my 15 hour Cathay Pacific flights to Hong Kong are clean).
  
• Food was horrible


• Airline ticketing of your plane ticket in the US is a long process

My review of EgyptAir's Flight and Service

• Probably the most annoying thing about EgyptAir was purchasing the ticket. If you live in New York, I would highly recommend reserving your ticket online and then going straight to the airline ticketing office to make payment (45th street and 6th avenue, I believe). Or else, you'll have to face the wrath of the "bad telephone lines" at EgyptAir's booking/ticketing office. Just to give you a glimpse of the horror I went through -- In total, I spent more than two hours booking my ticket on the phone (probably 15 minutes including wait time) and then the rest trying to pay for the ticket via the ticketing hotline. Lets just say I was in for a rude awakening -- i called the ticketing agent four to five times and each call grew more frustrating as I was asked to be put on hold, then forgotten; or picked up and then hung up on; or the best one yet – put on hold, then picked up, and then connected with someone else that was waiting for a ticketing agent! Oh, and the fun doesn't stop there, but I won't bore you with the details. Just trust me when I say its worthwhile to go directly to the ticketing office to pay for your ticket. There was no wait, just four people sitting there on the phone answering people’s calls (btw, did I tell you those four people handle all of North America’s EgyptAir flights? Yes, that explains the long hold times!). The transaction to pay at the ticket office took less than 5 minutes! p.s. you can book your tickets via Orbitz or some other travel site ... but when I booked my ticket the prices were about $200 higher than purchasing directly through EgyptAir.
  
• Btw, while at the Egypt Air office, they mentioned that their phone lines were not working correctly (duh, i could have told them that!) – but apparently the phone system automatically hangs up on people after a certain amount of holding time. The ticket agents are fully aware of it and have informed management, but to their surprise, management has not fixed it over the last year!

Ok, back to the flight and how it compared to the review.

• Toilets. Toilets were not as bad as I read about and was like any other long-distance flight.
  
• Food. Tolerable and as expected. High caloric intake with not much flavor. Do not order the beef - it was disgusting. My neighbor had the fish and said it was good. Also, do not expect to get any snacks during flight. Just bring your own.
  
• Seats were old, but due to wear, it was broken in - so slightly more comfortable. Not that cramped in the seats, but I’m 5’3 and medium build.
  
• Service was nothing to rave home about – they came when you called them, they delivered food at the right hours. Do not expect service with a smile.
  
• Poor Flight Communication. Our flight was re-rerouted to Sharm El Sheikh due to a sandstorm in Cairo .... but our pilots decided not to inform its passengers until after we landed in the new airport, which was a hour later. You can imagine the guests were not too happy about this. Picture on the left is of everyone standing around the plane, waiting for the pilot to announce that we're heading back to Cairo.
  

• Overall, EgyptAir wasn't as bad as all the reviews made it out to be (except the ticketing portion). I made it safely to Cairo, so I should be happy I lived to share it with everyone. :D

12 Hours to Cairo!

Day One - Getting Ready to Leave, December 15, 2009

Its 3:30 pm, wait, now its 3:45 pm … crap, its 4:00, I really have to get a move on it if I want to make my 6:30 pm flight at JFK. I now have 2.5 hours to get to the airport (and no, there is no online check in with Egypt Air. It takes about 40-50 minutes, door to door, to get to the airport via LIRR. I also know at a minimum, I must be there 45-50 minutes prior to departure, regardless of international travel, if I wanted to check-in and check-in a bag. So I have to be there before 5:40 pm (or else the ticket agent will see me groveling and pleading with them! Not a pretty sight – haha!)

So if I leave now (um, not ready yet), I will get there around 5:00 pm. Plenty of time (you getting skirmish yet?) , so, I tell myself, I will make it (yes, I’m notorious for cutting it close to departure time). I caught the 4:22 pm LIRR Jamaica outbound train and made it to the check-in counter at 5:10 pm. Not bad – phew, what a relief! So with one hour and twenty minutes to spare – what can I do? Shop… No, I made my way to the gate (afterall, I didn’t want to miss my plane after cutting it so close). I also used the remaining time to call my credit/debit cards to authorize usage in Egypt and Jordan (definite must, so don’t forget to do it on your next international travel!) and texted a few friends before I left. Ah, the hard part is done, now I can relax and sleep on the plane!

If you’re curious about my preparations, read below… If not, wait for my next blog posts on Egypt!

Excitement Level: Low. For some reason, I don't usually get excited until I’m am at my destination. It doesn't feel until I am there and witnessing it. :D

Mental Preparation: None. Though, I do admit, I am a bit nervous to be a woman traveling in Egypt (thank goodness, I’m traveling with my brother, which reminds me -- should I pretend that we are married? sick thought, i know, but apparently married woman here are not accosted as much!).

Physical Preparation: Limited. Ankle is still hurting a bit. - I expect to do my own physical therapy while on the road. Gym? I went a few times to get my body ready for some scuba diving (though, I had no pool to see if I'm capable of swimming a few laps – so let’s hope I don’t drown!)

Planning: A lot. My brother determined our route and I obliged. I figured out all the hotels and made reservations via email. I used Lonely Planet Egypt, Lonely Planet Middle East and tripadvisor.com to find reputable and clean hotels. For the first few nights, Wilson and I will be staying at a 5-star hotel (he is returning from a 42 day safari -- so he needs to slowly readjust back to society.) No we aren’t staying at 5-star hotels the entire time, just 3-stars (or whatever I can find). Took a week or so to get email confirmations from most of the hotels (sounds easy, but really isn't).

Packing: Not so bad. Packing my clothes was easy -- I packed one carry on suitcase for a 38 day trip (I checked it in), one side tote bag filled with camera stuff and another sling shot backpack with my camera equipment. Lots of camera equipment and I already feel as if I've packed too much!

Purchases: Drove me insane. Tested three cameras and six lenses within a week. At the end of the week long camera trials (sounds like a lawsuit!), I chose the 7D and equipped it with 24-70mm F/2.8L lens and 70-200mm F/4.0L lens. Btw, I have some new friends at B&H, though I do admit they probably hate me at the return counter. :D But, if I’m about to spend THAT much on equipment, it better be good and perform well under certain stress tests! (future blog about camera purchase to come)

Last Minute Thoughts

I made my flight and with 45 minutes to spare! phew! I can't believe I'm on my way! The excitement is slowly building. (ha ha, the photo of me on the left is me writing this part of the blog!)

I can’t wait to see what Egypt has to offer and I can’t wait to explore and live day to day, not knowing what to expect next. Every day will be a new challenge, whether finding a way to our destination, haggling with Egyptians over their wares, or finding a clean bathroom! Whatever it is, I love the newness of traveling and the unknown. Traveling is probably one of the only times where I find myself in a heightened “survival” mode – where I depend on my gut instincts, my common sense and my ability to talk to strangers. I love it! I really can’t wait to interact with the locals to find the good food and the hidden gems! oooh and all the beautiful photos I will capture (cross your fingers!) So, on to my adventure I go!

I will have limited internet access while on the road but these are the countries I will be traveling to on this adventure -- Egypt and Jordan ; if enough time, perhaps Israel or Syria (if we can get visas!) with my brother.