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Bali - Day 3
Posted on November 6th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
I had planned to go to see the volcano in Bali. Yesterday our driver discouraged us and say ‘there is nothing to see there’. But somehow, we did plan to go up north. And so we went: oh a 3 hour drive - along kampung roads. Hmm…I keep wondering: how come no highway?
Everybody become restless and most sleeped on the journey, including myself. Such a looooooong and draggy journey…………….
^^^^^^
Finally, the car drove up the hill, with roads similar to the old Gentings road. And there it is… the Volcano!
the sneak preview: Batur Volcano
Having never seen a volcano in my life, this is a breathtaking view! It last erupted in 1964 and still remain active. I was praying hard that it don’t show eruption activity (actually I was hoping there is! 
)
Wow…this is not a mountain but a volcano!
This peak is Gunung Batur at 1717m, and this is one of the 4 peaks of the volcano. Ah? there are 4?? Oh my god, this peak is resting on one BIG crater rim of 11km. GASP!
The crater lake:Danau Batur
This lake is very important to the local Balinese and the temple nearby worship Ida Batara Dewi Ulun Danu: the goddess of the lake. It is known that the goddess control the irrigation of water for agriculture (Rough Guide). Still, it is a stunning view from afar.
Could this be the lava flow of the previous eruption?
I did plan to climb up the volcano, but that was shelfed. But the view from afar is satisfying for me already. We couldn’t resist taking a group picture. haha!
All of us
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We headed for lunch after staying for about 1 hr. We came by this restaurant.
Hmmm looks interesting!! And there are lotsa people in there! Look like it is a popular restaurant.
The whole restaurant is about ducks. Really all about ducks. Even the entrance are lined up with stone craving ducks.
The toilet sign is not spared! But is cute!
My mouth watering lunch
Hmmm…..this is my portion. Yummy! Yummy! The best meal I had in days. The cripsy duck is similar to the one I used to have in England, but this is fresher. Ooooh…now make my mouth waters as I typed it.
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We now head on to the temple of Gunung Dewi (I think- gotta check the name again).
At the entrance
Purifying
Entering the temples have a strict rule. The need to purify, wearing sarong etc. We decided not to go in but took some pictures before we set off.
wow…one of the altars………look at the gold cravings!
Side entrance
We went straight to Sukawati market place to buy souvenirs. I bought bag for my niece A, 2 t shirts for my nephews D and S; and necklaces. Though the prices are bargainable, X told me that the prices have increased through the years.
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After a long day, we went back to hotel first to take shower and then head to Japanese restaurant for dinner. We ordered a bottle of wine, with courtest of J’s bro in law B and we all got tipsy after that. So much that……….we decided to take crazy pictures.
One of them………..
Ohhh….how I fear you…..
Bali - Day 2
Posted on October 21st, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
As we can’t managed to get more rooms in the hotel due to the peak season, 6 people would be sleeping in 2 rooms. So J, me and his sister X were sharing 1 room. Oh….I’m holidaying with J’s family - sisters, bro in law and friend.
Amazingly, I can’t sleep despite being so tired.
The highlight of the hotel - not me
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J’s eldest sister XX has hired a driver and car to take us around Bali. Today we are going to East Bali to visit the Tanah Lot Temple and water sports in Jimbaran Bay.
Bali’s town and surroundings don’t differ a lot from Malaysia, so I felt pretty quite at home. What are different: the ultra narrow road that can handle heavy 2 way traffic; the kampung area that do not have wooden houses and the sparsely dispersed shops and quite nicely decorated for some I have to say.
On our way
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We reached the area of Tanah Lot in late morning. I’m quite surprised that there are 2 lanes of ‘Domestic’ and ‘International’, which needless to say the latter would have more expensive entry fee. Haha….as J’s family are Indonesian, I just tagged along and keep mum that I become a local for that 5 min!
The fee entrance
Shops
Tanah Lot Temple is situated on the small island by the sea. Gosh, that is a breath taking view! The sea breeze is cooling, the stones and cliffs……..aww….
The entrance to the temple
Tanah Lot Temple. Isn’t it amazing?
hehe…din expect to see this!
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After the photo taking session, we head off for lunch. Our driver introduced us to Kudeta.
A restaurant with a nice view facing the sea. The sea breeze greeted us and we don’t feel warm and sticky. Mostly served western food, but pity the food don’t quite fit with the ambience.
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We wanted to do snorkelling, but as it was all fully booked, we can only settled down for something else. Waiting for the photos to come!
While waiting for our driver, I came across this structure. Gotta wow at this
You can practically see this all over in Bali, no matter in houses or restaurants. It is evident that they incorporate their arts and religion in their daily lives.
After that, we went for Jimbaran Bay for seafood. They recommend this restaurant
The seatings are by the sea, admiring the sunset. It was quite an experience. However, we were quite disappointed with the service. J told me that the local restaurants look down on Indonesian themselves, and so they tend to serve the tourists 1st. Indeed, after a fruitless 1/2 hr wait, they decided to leave for another place.
So don’t come to this place!!
^^^^^^
We went to another restaurant further down the bay.
Here the service is much better and not so packed. B, J’s bro in law ordered the food and here are our feast!!
The seafood are yummy!!! Better than those served in Malaysia!!!
We heard the traditional Balinese music not far away. Oh my god, is the traditional dance celebrating someone’s wedding! Quickly went over to take pix
Dance
End of Day 2 - quite an exhausting day
Bali
Posted on October 20th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
Juz back from Bali!!
Yeah, it was a last min decision trip. J came to Singapore and ask me if I want to join them in Bali for holidays for 5 days. Well, why not? However, I’m worried about my leave as it was indeed last minute, but I still try anyway. No harm trying right?? AND HOLA!! They really approved my leave 2 days later for next week!! YIPEE!!! And they found a hotel to stay for 6 person! Yipee!! And all of us found air tickets to Bali! YIPEEE!!!
Date set: 15 Oct 07
^^^^^^
My flight was at 1630 and I was in the airport early, so I took a walk around. Didn’t know that there is a catus garden! Chey! How can I not know right??
Not in a desert
^^^^^^
I flew with Garuda Indonesia, and the journey time is 2 hr 20 min. Getting quite restless, so decided to have a wine this time.
Cheers
I were to meet J and the rest in Bali itself as they were leaving from Jakarta. I reached there at around 7pm. Alas…waste a day already..the said holiday was 5 days, but in fact is only 3 days as 2 days will be spent on travelling. But who cares?? I’m still on holiday!!! 
GOSH, till the time I have arrived in Bali, I still can’t believe I’m in Bali, and J also can’t believe that after 1 year, we were holidaying together in Indonesia!
After having dinner, we went for short walk around the area. As it was already at night, we can’t do much, so after a short walk we rejoined as a group and went to Hard Rock to listen to the band. Not bad, but the sound system is not really that good….eeks….
^^^^^^
At midnight, we decided to call it a day. Check in hotel: Hotel Kuta Paradiso
End of Day 1
Liverpool
Posted on April 15th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
I have promised Arlita and her husband Sherhan some while ago while I was still in UK last year that I will help them buy Liverpool football Club mechandises. And after some donkey months, I finally make my way there with T .
We planned a day trip there since both of us have to be back at work the next day. Off we went, at *forget-what-date*.
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As usual, we went there by train. Trains, it seemed are the only transportation we took to ‘faraway’ places. Coaches were cheaper but the timing were way too weird.
We reached there in the morning at 10am I remembered and it was a cloudy morning. Though we were kinda used to the gloomy weather, but heck what a bore when the day started with threatening dark clouds during summer period! We had KFC for breakfast and off we went to Liverpool Football Club before we set off to sight seeing.
aaah…….that man(Gerrad?) scored important goals in the World Cup for England!
After much debate what to buy, I decided to make long distance calls to Sherhan to confirm what he actually liked. Finally settled at 2 sunshades and 1 mini scarf. All for the car. Yeah, shopping done!
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We decided to start from the Wharf…aiyah…forget that name again.
The Wharf has quite a few attractions. One of which, was the Beatles shop; the art gallery; maritime museum etc.
While we were there, apparently there was a yacht competition that has just ended. The yachts were docked there to prepare to leave.
The yachts. I’m surprised to see Singapore Yacht there!
We took a short visit to the art gallery called Tates and the Beatles shop. But they don’t interest us though, so we left after spending a few minutes there.
The museum
Overlooking River Mersey
The cannon
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After the riverside visit, we decided to visit the city area. We took a long walk from the river to the Cathedral and Chinatown.
The Chinatown. The altar( is that what u called?) is the biggest in the UK
Not far from the Chinatown, there is the largest Anglican Cathedral in the UK. Wow. It is huge.
The Cathedral.
The Cathedral look like any other cathedrals from afar. But when you are at it, this is what
and how you will feel:
At the bottom. It looms over your head.
Very impressive in there, and the interior is unlike any other cathedrals I have seen. At least something new.
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On our way to another church, we came by these on the pavement.
Fake suitcases!
gasps! why are they there?!
Actually there is an explanation but forgot what it is la….:P
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Now we have reached another church, this time the mother of catholic churchs in the UK. It has a very modern design so much that, I don’t quite get used to it.
The mother of all Catholic churches.
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As the day went on, it started to get warmer and the sun is out!!!
After long walks to different places, before we set off, we wanted to go see this ‘Super Lamb Banana’. Strange huh, what is it…and we rushed to this place and we found it.
It is now situated in the financial district of Liverpool. Hmm…what a strange place to be in.
aarghhh….very heavy!
Finally it is time to go. We did managed to visit all the important places of interest, but we don’t have time for shopping!!! 
One thing we realised about this city, there were throngs of people walking all over the place, but there were not much noises and clutters! People are actually whispering to each other!
A good day overall for both T & me. Way to go, Liverpool!
Stonehedge
Posted on April 14th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
Towards the end of my stay in UK, I have been trying to arrange for trips that I wanted to go whenever time allows. This time, our Uni’s English department arranged a group heritage trip to the Stone hedge and off I went, on a Saturday!!
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I like archeology since I’m young. Stone hedge as I have read in books fascinated me and hence very curious to see how it is really like in real life.
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Before Stonehedge, our English Department also arranged to go 3 other places not far from the Stonehedge. Our first stop was Malborough (sound like the cigarettes name right? :P)
At the first glance, this little town is like no different from other towns in UK. However deep history lies here. This town is in existence since 1600s. Wow, and not only that, the buildings of 1600s are still around and SITLL in use. OOh…that is impressive.
The widest street
Malborough I heard used to be a big one- stop marketplace for trading. Hence this town has the widest road in the UK. See the pix? Not only that, the town is old, very very old. Evidence?
Evidence #1: The history
Evidence #2: Another history. See the date? Omigod!
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Next we arrived in Avebury. Here, we can find a circle of standing stones. Not sure what they are actually and not even sure why they are there in the 1st place. (oopss….supposed to learn heritage leh!)
The row of standing stones
With Felix
Somehow I like to take pix with stone to show how ‘tall’ I am.
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For the last 2 years’ summer in UK was a bit abnormal. When I first arrived in UK, the summer’s max temp was like 25 degrees. Now, the minimum is 32 degree and can shoot up to 38 degrees! Eh…at that point, I always wonder: am I in Asia or UK.
So that day, I remembered it was a very hot day and I started to get dizzy. Short nap in bus does help a bit, but the broken down air con doesn’t help. Alas…no air con in UK can be the worst thing that can happen cos the ventilation in buildings and vehicles are different from Asian ones and so can get pretty stuffy and hot.
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Stonehedge was our 3rd stop. I was quite excited when I reached the site. Stonehedge is at other side of the road and have to go there via underpass. Finally it loomed in front of me.
Seriously, I’m quite disappointed that there are barriers now that we can’t go into the site. rather, we have to circle round the Stonehedge. We have each a pre-recorded tape to provide more information of the Stonehedge.
Maybe because of that, I can’t feel and share the same sentiments and pride as the pre-recorded introductory tape of Stonehedge. I mean, they must have spent a lot of effort based on their enthusiatic voices. But sorry, I can’t relate to myself how Stonehedge was built, and imagined myself in there. Somehow, they are like normal stones to me.
Nonetheless, it still provide a good background for photograhy.
The Stonehedge.
^^^^^^
After Stonehedge, we set off to another place called Salisbury. Here is another historical site. We visited the Cathedral and the town.
This Salisbury Cathedral is unique due to their weak foundation of the building. Still, the building managed to stand firmly for few hundred years. Wow!
Salisbury Cathedral
AH……..world’s oldest clock mechanism?
The world’s oldest clock mechanism
Didn’t even know such thing exist!
Woah…what is this? U mean this dropped to earth 1 billion years ago?
As we walked out of the cathedral, we came by this. A sundial.
I don’t understand how come this is at somebody’s house?The below note is for the sundial
The error …ooops
And, a final note:
See how old this building is!
This end our journey for the day. Quite a tiring day. Ok la…not too bad for £13.
Scotland
Posted on March 4th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
Today is Good Friday and I’m off from work. In my line of job, it is rare to get off days from public holidays. So this 3 day weekend, I must really make full use of it! One of them: update my blog!
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My housemates & I planned a trip to Scotland in August 2006. Since we did not want to join tours, we planned the trip ourselves. Our finalised route for 5D4N after much debate and changes: Glasgow - Fort William - Skye - Inverness - Edinburgh. (quite a hectic schedule I must say!)
We took Virgin train from Birmingham and the journey would be around 5 hrs.
that carriage of the train we took
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Our 1st stop: Glasgow
We were a bit disappointed with Glasgow as it is no different from Birmingham, so much that once we see the skyline our 1st thought: Are we still in Birmingham? As you might guess it: disorganised, dirty etc. Lucky we did not plan to be there for long! We planned to have lunch there.
The Square (forgot its exact name)
We bought take away and had lunch in the square. There have had lots of birds: specifically sea gulls look-alike and pigeon. Can really see who is the king amongst the birds as they fight for food available for them.
The little boy being the centre of attraction
As there are a lot of pigeons, the locals loved to share food with them. TT took this sence and the little boy was really cute!
While having lunch, I can’t help but notice this.
white ‘hair’ on statues’ head!
Every statues in every corner of the square have birds on their head. Poor thing as the birds decorated their head white! The statues are really suffering in silence. tsk tsk
After lunch, we took a short visit to the city centre and after that we headed off to our next destination.
The 3 of us
A touching scene in the bus station
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Our 2nd Stop: Fort William
We reached Fort William in the late evening. Wow…what a vast difference as we stepped into the world of Nature. Mountains, trees and lake all in one. A nice welcome after being in cities for so long.
Ok…I kind off spoil the whole scenery right?
TT, being the shutter crazy one, took this pix
After we explore the town, we then realised the intensity of the WWII that happened here.
Didn’t expect to find this here!
We spent overnight here.
^^^^^^
Our 3rd Stop: Skye (prounouce: sky)
The next morning we went to Skye, a island offcoast north western of Scotland. This is a much recommended place to go in Scotland, and so we went. Once we get there, it is ideally a place to relax, but very ulu place. Due to my mistake of reading the map, we landed in an ultra ulu place there called Uig, where there is not much transport services and the Youth hostel is way up the hill. *sweat*
Up the hill
Since there is no where we can go without transportation, we decided to roam around the nearby hills.
Animals we met on the way up.
They don’t hesitate to warn you if you are in their way. *eyeroll*
XC and TT were disappointed and complained to see the hills as it was not as magnificant as told by the people in the youth hostel and as compared to the ones in China. Ok…I’m neutral with that and not going to argue with them.
We ate instant noodles for dinner at the hostel and played card games to amuse ourselves. One thing we noticed in the hostel: 80% of the people are females.
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Our next stop: Inverness
We have to leave early to catch our coach as we can’t afford to miss it! There we make our way to Inverness, the land of Loch Ness.
the first thing u see when u come out of the station
After loading our stuffs in the hostel, we took a quick walk around the city area, and came by this castle. The statue is Flora MacDonald (not that McD). Apparently this family’s history is rather famous in Scottish history but I have forgotten what it is.
Flora MacDonald
After that, we went to visit the Loch Ness. Bus again.
The castle at Loch Ness
The most beautiful lake by far - Loch Ness. oh, FYI, No nessie in there
How real this is….I’m not sure. the mythical Nessie
By the time we came back, it is dinner time and after that, we took a walk in the city. We tried to take night shots…but all in vain. stupid cameras.
This time we have 10 people zzz in the room with us. Quite noisy but what can we ask for when we are on budget?
^^^^^^
Our last stop: Edinburgh
Now we are taking a long trip back from Inverness to Edinburgh. Seriously speaking at this point of time, we get rather sick of nature and wanted city life back. We yearn for modern buildings and restaurants, cars and buses, the bustling of city life.
Edinburgh didn’t disappoint us. It is a nice blend of nature and city, all in one. It happened to be a beautiful day and we took the tour bus to explore Edinburgh. Nice. It is also conincide with the International Arts Festival, and so the city is full of people and performers. We loved Edinburgh so much that we decided to ditch our plans for the last day and come back to the city instead. There are much to be seen here and so I only list out few important ones.
Part of Edinburgh
We also visited the kilt’s factory and see how they are made. Yes, that is where scottish men wear skirts. But they look so cool in it!
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Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle was built on volcanic rocks and that makes it unique stand oh mighty on the top of Edinburgh.
View from the top
Some of the few things that we saw up there.
And this we saw it when we get down the castle.
Notice the Royal Mile?
The Royal Mile is actually a exact mile long road that link the Edinburgh’s castle to the city centre. This is used in the past by the royals when they wanted to go up the castle.
How I wish I’m this thin and tall
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We took a visit to the Royal residence of the Queen. Due to the incident about the liquid bombs, there was last changes to the security checks that no water bottles to be allowed. Aiyah~
The Entrance
What attracted me to this: the Unicorn
The Palace
I try to merge 3 in1..not too bad huh?
No photography is allowed in there. Brief description inside: full of treasures of the dead kings and queens; the photographs of the current Royal family members. There is also a damaged chapel nearby.
The damaged Chapel.
There will have such statues all over the palaces and UK
That basically end our Royal journey.
^^^^^^
I have long heard about the loyal dog that stayed faithfully at his dead master’s grave for 13 years. I never knew that such story is actually in Edinburgh! We went head searching for the dog’s statue. This dog’s devotion has touched the life of many people and they decided to erect this in his memory. His devotion also touched mine and he reminded me of my long deceased dog.
That is him!
That end our trip to Scotland. Well, not too bad a trip as it is meant for relaxation, but because Scotland is still in the UK, the layout of the cities are similar to England ones, so we get a bit bored because of that. Nonetheless, the nature did revitalised all of us.
Good day, Scotland!
Aberystwyth
Posted on March 3rd, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
As I’m bidding goodbye to my student lifestyle in 2006, I started to plan more trips to make full use of student’s benefits and discounts before I start my work after I go back to Malaysia. In April, I went to Egypt. I had a new housemate T coming in in June. And we plan to go to Aberystwyth together in July. YEAH!! Another partner to join us!
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Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth was the very 1st town I have lived in when I first come to the UK in 1999. I attended the University there for one year. I suggested to XC and T about the beautiful surroundings and the sunset by the seaside. A perfect place for relaxation during the hot summer season. And we planned a 2D1N trip there. Date set: 17 July 2006
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We arrived there in the afternoon. Aberstwyth is still a same old town, other than a few changes of shops. The cool sea breeze greeted us as we strolled toward the sea…Ahhh what a nice feeling. Didn’t realise how much I miss this place until now.
Abertstwyth, the main road leading to the University
After we checked in, we had lunch. After that we set off to the beach in Borth, famous for their sand dunes.
To the beach
We spent our time taking photos, strolling along the cool sea and play around with water. After that, we took a nap on the pebbles. Ah……a perfect way to wind down and relax, and as a result, we all got a really ‘good’ suntan.
^^^^^^
We rushed back to Aberstwyth to catch in time the sunset. Aiyah..forget to check the train times and being a small town, the trains schedules are limited. In the end we waited for nearly 1hr before the last train comes..
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I was told by A that the best place to view the sunset is to climb up the Constitution Hill.
Up at the Constitution Hill, the Cliff Railway and the town of Aber
The last time I was here was in 1999. Now, I’m back again. Here we can see the full view of Aberystwyth and Borth. As it was already 6pm, the hill top was empty and we had the whole place for ourselves, enjoying the scenic beauty in the serene silence and in the cold!
Ah, isn’t it romantic?
We headed down and had a take away dinner for our dinner. My favourite take away store was closed and so had to settle for the next one. After that, we headed back to zzz after a long day.
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The next day
We checked out and decide to explore Aber b4 heading back. We visited the ruins of the Castle of Aber. There is a playground with adult swings facing the sea. It is still there after 6 years! That was the place I usually go when I need a quiet moment.
The Castle ruins
and the Old College, where the University of Wales, Aberystwyth was first situated in the 1800s.
The Old College. It used to be a hotel!
and of course not forgetting the Marine Parade of Aber!
The weather was very hot: 37 degrees. We are really too lazy to go anywhere else, so we decided to go into the forested area. The leaves and trees rejuvenated us and our spirits.
^^^^^^
We decided to catch the train at 1600, so meantime we decided to sit by the pier to enjoy the sea breeze and the cool water. Shame we didn’t have our swimsuits, so the best alternative, take off our shoes and dip our feet into it!
Does the water looks inviting?
Finally it is time to go. Alas…we really don’t want to go back home!
^^^^^^
PS: The pictures shown are all the works of mine, XC and T
Egypt 11th April
Posted on February 8th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
Flashback 11th April 2006
Today marks the official end of our holiday, and we’re not doing any visitation, but rather, ‘travelling’ day. After a whole day rest yesterday, XC felt much better and gained some strength. We have bought some bread in the Aswan Bazaar last night that would last us our breakfast and lunch today.
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We left Aswan at 6am and embarked on what I called the longest train journey of my lifetime: 14 hrs from Aswan all the way back to Cairo. *sweat*.
saying goodbye to Aswan
Our plan is to get dinner from Felucca where we had our meal while in Cairo (1st day), and catch the bus to the airport. By this time, XC has totally lost his voice. alamak~~ what happened???
Taking a quick snap of Cairo town
Though it is unfortunate that XC got sick, but we considered ourselves lucky cos he actually felt sick towards the end of the holiday and not at the beginning…hohoho…if not I sure gotta strangle him! OoooOOops.
at the Airport
Our flight was at wee hours of the morning. Despite not doing any visitation today, we were surprisingly tired and zzz once we board the plane bound for Amsterdam.
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We finally reached home in the afternoon, and actually felt good to come home to the chilly England. Now is the time to sort out laundry, thesis and work to earn back the money I’ve spent.
Overall
I’m pleased in how the trip has turned out: worthwhile, successful and within budget. I have learnt a lot more of Egyptian history. Not only that, I have also gained experience in overall planning and management. So far, I have visited the more important places. My next trip, I would like to visit those less famous places, like the Amarna.
Going to Egypt by ourselves gave us the chance to see and experience the local lifestyle. While we get to experience the bustling of the city life and the warmness of the people, we also get to see the poorest of the poor. Seeing them make me realised that I have been living too much in comfort and laziness!
Three positive things that did happened to me were, firstly, I didn’t develop any allergies (I’m puzzled cos I am allergic to dust mites), and secondly not once have I experienced any gastric pains to the local food (that is strange as I can have gastric pain with some ‘outside’ food i had in UK, Msia and Spore) Thirdly, this trip has renewed the vigour in me to exercise to build up my stamina. Before, I was always postponed my exercising schedule to ‘tomorrow’ and ‘tomorrow’.
I felt more energetic than before, and it is true that a holiday break does good to people, like me. Yippee~~ my next holiday destination: Cambodia, sometime in the near future.
Some statistics
No. of photos taken: 400+
Air ticket: £285
Overall expenditure per pax: Egyptian pound 1180 (= £131)
Knowledge and experience gained: priceless
Egypt 10th April
Posted on February 8th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
Flashback 10th April 2006
Today is our last day in Aswan. The southern most town in Egypt, Aswan is a very clean small town when compared to Cairo and Luxor. Even the bazaar is clean! As XC is seriously ill and weak, he spent most of the day zzzzz.
Oh well, as I don’t fancy going out alone, I spent most of my afternoon reading at the hotel’s rooftop, enjoying the breeze from the Nile and admiring the scenery.
Up at the rooftop
The backyard of the hotel
No, I didn’t stay up there for the whole day!
End of the day
A very boring day but had a very restful rest and compensated us of the lost zzz from the last 3 days. Mixed feelings that my holiday is finally coming to an end.
Egypt 9th April
Posted on February 8th, 2007 by GracyBee.
Categories: Places.
Flashback 9th April 2006
Our schedule today was Abu Simbel and the Temple of Philae. I woke up at 3am to prepare to go. Our bus would come at 6am, and the hotel has prepared take-away breakfast for us. Off we went finally at 6.30am. Why this early u might ask. Well, it took 3 hours drive there to Abu Simbel, and in order not to be scorched by the sun that is, when visiting the temples~
I was sitting on the left side of the bus, and I happened to see the sunrise over the desert. I have never seen sunrise over a desert sea. Quite an experience in the midst of the desert!
The Ramses II’s Sun Temple in Abu Simbel is the most extraordinary monument I have seen so far in Egypt. It was such a magnificent structure that no others can beat this. It is being moved to higher grounds after the newly built Lake Nasser threatened to drown the temple.
The Sun Temple. Isn’t it magnificent?
The cravings on the walls were very realistic and were so much nicer than the ones we saw in other temples. Also, the sun only shone through all the way into the temple only twice a year: 1st on Ramses’s birthday and the 2nd, on the Coronation day. Superb calculation! It was delayed by one day after the shift to higher grounds.
The only craving that I can take outside the temple
Really, I have to marvel at this. 1st, obviously is their skills and engineering feat that built such remarkable temple. 2nd, is the UNESCO’s dedicated efforts to move the temple to higher grounds. It is not even obvious to naked eyes that this is actually been moved b4!
wow! wow! wow! This is really two thumbs up.
Nearby is the Queen Hathor’s temple, the wife of Ramses II. A much smaller scale but no less magnificent.
The Temples. Queen Hathor’s Temple on the right
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It was nearly 11am, and we need to set off to another destination. We can see the desert sea on both sides of the road. Even we are in the comfort of siting inside the aircon bus, we can feel and see that IT IS HOT. Not just hot. EXTREMELY ULTRA HOT. Just a bland white sand all the way to the horizon, nothing else in sight. *sweat*
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Our next destination is the Temple of Philae which was also being moved to its new current site. It is on the island, so we need to catch a boat to go over. Bargaining time again. It can get annoying sometimes to argue about prices. *ARGH*
Temple of Philae
This temple is one of the few very well preserved temples. Hence based on this, we can easily imagine how Luxor and Karnak Temples would have looked like in the past, on a much greater scale. We don’t stay there for long since we only have 40 min.
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It is a very hot day that we really got restless. These few days our sunblock is working overtime. Our last stop is actually the unfinished obelisk, found among the bed of rocks that are also used to build temples in Luxor. Due to the hot day, nobody wanted to go down the bus. That end our journey in the late afternoon.
End of the day
A tiring day, due to not enough zzzz and a hot day to complement it. As a result, my housemate was not feeling well. Oh dear, hopefully after a nap, he would get better.