ROBS ADVENTURES

2006-10-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

AFRICAN UPDATE( half way)

2006-06-30T04:41:00.000-07:00

HALF WAY!!!!!!!!!!!

so,it's time for an update.

it's been 6 months since i started my trip from london and 3 months since updating my blog. even though i left canada last october and have been on the move, i'm calling it 6 months.i have up to dec to get home.looking forward to it!

so where to start... i flew into nairobi from cairo, via dubai airport,next to me was a lady from perth who was now living in nairobi, so i got a lift to my camp area.always a bonus.

driving to the camp was awesome. for years i wanted to come to africa and for one reason or the other hadn't come. now i was here. the country side was just as i had pictured it in kenya. lots of bright green from all the rain they had just had, a good thing because they were having a really bad drout, and rich red dirt,perfect to make mud houses from due to the stickiness of it and the vast grey african sky completed the picture.since then i have had some amazing, what i can only explain as african skys.like the photo of the trees in the serengeti, to the most star filled sky imaginable out in the middle of nowhere with the milky way forming a dome streching as far as the eyes can see either side of me.

i was a bit scared at first going into nairobi, after all the stories and warnings of safety, but the camp was well protected with a fence and 24 hr security, most places seem to have security.the city is very busy and very transient with it being a magor hub in to east africa. hence all the robberys.like all major citys in africa , you want to keep your wits about you and not walk at night. like i was doing with a dutch guy i met at the camp.

it also had some very big churches. i went to a couple of churches in nairobi, one had about 10 000 people and they go on for an average of 3 hours.

so then i headed out and climbed mt kenya. as you can see from the photos. a really cool hike and a lot cheaper than mt kili in TZ.lots of flora and on a clear day you can see in to TZ.it took 4 days to do a round trip.you climb to about 30m short of 5000m, the true summit is another 200m and you need technical gear. we had quite a bit of snow up there and the guide did not warn us what was ahead. it was me an israeli girl, guide and cook.it was lucky i had good boots cause on the last section of the hike, which you normally do during the night in order to see the sunrise,was a frozen sheet of ice,about30 degees.luckly i was able to kick indents into the ice to form steps for lily the israeli girl, who was not prepared and wouldn't of made it with out the steps,so we were not impressed with the guide.

at anyrate the top was amazing. i had it to myself, the guide and lily were behind, and i stayed up there for 1 hour.the photo of me smiling on the top of a mountain is just below the top of mt kenya the other peak is kili which i will get to.there is something about climbing to the top of a mountain and just sitting and admiring gods work, very peaceful.

so i headed to the coast after that and made contact with an orphanage i had mail prio,i got some contacts through a friend nikole in canada, only to discover confusion. it was hard because you don't know how to feel some times when coming into a new and very different culture.i was not feeling good about the meeting. the two people who myself and nikole thought were meant to be working together in the same orphanage, infact one had split up and started his own orphanage. i wont go into it to much, basically they were corrupt and were miss using funds, treating it like a business for them selves.they were getting funding from volunteers who would come and spend time with the kids through a organization who didn't do there ground work to well.the volunteers were pulled out. through it all i met a english couple, who had had history with the two guys and was able to visit a really cool school, orphanage and church they coordinate.then i met a local Kenyon, patrick, who was doing some work in a remote masi village, something that was very appealing to me. what an adventure that was.we stayed at a masi camp near the main road for two days,which is the photo of me sitting with the two men,due to the rain.the rain didn't stop and it looked like we weren't going to be able to continue by car and might have to cancel the trip in. i said to patrick i was keen to go no matter how. at first we were going to hike, i think 50km, then he said we could borrow the elders motorbike..... yes! thats right he's motor bike. i said to pat that i didn't ride well. in fact i'm scared of the things, unless they have 3 or more wheels.he said no prob i have ridden a couple of times. so, in the morning we packed the bike with food water ect and 10kg of nails, total of about 15+ kg on the back tray.the nails were for us helping to go and put a roof on a school, i should stick to cooking!! :-), so the bike is ready, we are in front of the elder(chief)and his brother and there wives and lots of kids, pat turns to me and says- ok! get on, your riding. all i can say is that it was quite the laugh. the good thing was i learnt how to sort of ride and push a road bike on the slipperiest dirt and mud road you can imagine. anyone who has been to africa knows what mud i'm talking about.we made it out and spent a few days with the masi,the other photos,i was amzed that some of them were christians. one impartially i met, abraham, wants to be a pastor.i thought that was very cool.

after leaving them i headed to a island called lamu and just hung out.,in the north of kenya. very cool!!

coming into tanzania... i think we might not be getting into so much detail, i don't want to bore you. actually i hope your still reading :-)

so, i did the safari thing. i wasn't sure what to expect but to my delight i really enjoyed it.went to serengetti, lake manyara and ngorogoro crater.saw all the main animals except a leopard hang out at a chagga village with two crazy american girls who were volutarying there. it was how i got to go. we chipped in and had a party, one normally reserved only for special occasions. Turns out we were pretty special.we were expecting around 20 people and it turned out to be 100. the women from all over the village came together and prepared the acomplaments to the goat the men were preparing. i thought i would spare the before and after photos of the goat.i think it was becuse i was the male guest i got to carve the cooked goat meat and liver, then pass it around starting with the elder.something different hey!! emmily, especially enjoyed the liver wrapped in fat, still better than eating raw intestine straight out of the goats stomach as the elder did. he told me it makes you strong. from the blood they make a soup. hungry anyone......:-)

climbed mt KILIMANJARO!! as you can see in the photo. the first 3 days are really easy. then the fun begins.on the 3rd day at around 11.30am you get to the last hut,you have just come from 3700m, from there you have a light lunch, hang out then have more food at 5, try to go to sleep, very hard at 4700m and at 5.30pm. wake up at 11pm have more food and start hiking by midnight.to the peak, 5895m(19340ft),and back to the hut ,4700m, is around 8-11 hours then sleep for no more than one hour and go down to the second hut at 3700m. the hiking itself is not difficult but due to the way you do it and the altitude, it was the hardest thing I have ever done was so sick I could not even get my camera out to take a photo of the sunrise when I got to the actual summit I got it out gave it to my guide and past out not for long cause you have to go down. Your not allowed to stay up there to long.
the top of kill was the most amazing out of this world view. I don't have one photo of the fluorescent orange sunrise over the clouds at around 3000m,9000ft,shining against the 30-50 ft glacier walls on the top of the mountain. walking around the craters edge was the best and worst part of my trip so far.every step an agonising effort.imagine the worst sea sickness when all you want to do is curl up and go to sleep and then told to walk up some crazy mountain.still i'm glad i did it.

ok, i will try keep it brief now.

so i make it to the coast of TZ and over to zanzibar. a tropical island off TZ. with perfect beaches and skyscraping palm trees it's the place to be if your wanting a get away with the better half and go swimming in perfect turquoise coloured waters and amazingly fine white sand. Pity i got it rainy ha ha!!!

i spent a week with michael and his family. another contact i had.he is involved with youth development and a project for planting churches in remote areas.the hospitality i received was amazing i was feed really well, given housing and treated like an honored guest.the village had a school for church leaders and man these guys are committed. every morning they start the day at 4.30-5 am . i know they this because i heard them every morning, and believe me they don't hold back when worshiping. they start with worship then pray and i think a little study.before actually starting school.i was impressed.

i then took the train down to the malawi boarder. a pleasant 24hr ride.... i shared my cabin with two girls from the states and a 24 year old male Argentinean model,exotic dancer. he was a very good looking man to say the least.we had a good chat.a nice guy who has been blessed with good looks. he hopes to start a business with in the next two years and get out of his current line of work.i asked him if he had a girl friend? he tells me it's impossible for him to only have one girl friend at a time in his line of work.a different conversation to the others on my trip.

i make it to malawi. i've been here for 11 days. this chapter i will leave until next time.......

ohh!!! the world cup... for all the italian aussies, it must of been an emotional one for you guys.i was really gutted. still they did really good and played excellent.
tonight i have the porkos against the pomes. very exciting!!!!

so for now i say good bye,my pray of feeling homesick for the first time came true on this trip.i'am really looking forward to getting home and setting up shop. scary......but equally looking forward to what god has for me on the rest of this trip.
lots of love and blessing you heaps
keep in touch

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-30T03:47:00.000-07:00

the top of mt kilimajaro. take note of the sexy gloves.walking up to the top section of kili and some lake in tanzania.

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

sunsets in zanzibar and in the mountains of tanzania

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

climbing mt kenya

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-29T05:10:00.000-07:00

some masi friends i hang with.abraham, the one with his arm around me wants to be a pastor. cool hey!!!!

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

the serengetti and some more masi friends.the hut in the background was where we stayed for a couple of days.quite the experience.

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-29T04:46:00.000-07:00

safari photos......... the lake is in the ngorogoro TZ filled with pink flamingos.very cool!!

AFRICA PHOTOS

2006-06-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

more safari photos. here kitty kitty.....

ISRAEL PICS

2006-04-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

the top is a tomb believed to be where jesus was buried. below is some pics of the dessert of israel

ISRAEL PICS

2006-04-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

more dessert, some yummy pastrys and mountains at the dead sea. my tent at the dead sea.

ISRAEL PICS

2006-04-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

a picture on the wall the jews are building around the west bank,the army,the western wall and part of the city of david

ISRAEL PICS

2006-04-01T21:45:00.000-08:00

visiting a un camp,an old tank at the syria boarder, a bombed mosque from the 67 war and the jordon river with a person being baptised

2006-04-01T21:43:00.000-08:00

2006-04-01T21:41:00.000-08:00

ISRAEL HELLO AND GOOD BYE!!!!

2006-03-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

hey there,
time for an update. 5 weeks have past and i wonder where they have gone.so many things to say and i don,t know where to start. i should have been doing this as i go but you get that.

so i have been all over the country. the best way i think to visit israel is by car, if any one is thinking of coming.

i started in jerusalem. lots to see here as i had mentioned in my last post.went into the west bank a couple of times. a real contrast to the rest of the country.much poorer and a sense of unease in parts. i,m planning to go to hebron today, a slightly higher conflict area.i pray for no difficulties and safety.

went down to the negev, which is israels dessert area,visited the dead sea. which is a real funny feeling floating in water that is 33% solid and the lowest spot on earth being 400m below sea level. some nice hiking around there to. with lots of natural fresh water springs to cool of in. also went down to martesh ramon. the worlds biggest natural crater. it is a cool place to camp, did i say! i bought a tent and stove,and hike. with lots of different types of rock and and colored sand from the layers of the earth.the good thing is that it sits next to a military firing area so first thing in the morning you have the chance to be woken up by a large bang and the earth underneath you vibrating.

i have met lots of really friendly and welcoming and giving locals, to many to mention.i took up an offer to stay at this couples place i met on my way down to the martesh. in the end i had my own studio, with my own bathroom.a really nice bonus after camping.did some more hiking around and met some of there friends. also went to a potluck.ginger sweet potato mash i made.mmmmm!!!

i hitched up into jerusalem, seems lots of locals hitch,and i met more interesting people that way. usally people who stop are people who have traveled them selves or have kids who have travelled.i did meet one artist lady who had been to australia and said that she preferred the kiwis over aussies. she found the kiwis more friendly, so we have to step it up guys. mind you every one else i meet love australia. we are very lucky to be living in a country of safety, stability and richness with a reputation of g day mate!!!!!!!. here group's don,t go anywhere with out an armed guard. every major bus stop in the city has a person scanning for bombs, any government building or shopping complex has a xray machine, metal detector and guard at the front. lots of kids doing there army dutys with machine guns. it,s clear that the israelies are ready for what every comes there way. the Palestine have a real hard time also.with being surounded by a great hugh concrete wall and Apparently the kids and some females get hasseled from the Israeli soldiers. at any rate, for us who live in a peaceful country, we are pretty lucky.

televiv is rocking!!! very liberal. it feels like another country. it,s the place to party.

i made my way up the coast of israel stopping at different cites and towns.the coast line is really cool. i was planning to do a 4 day hike from sea to sea. it starts at the Mediterranean and ends up in tiberias on the sea of Galilee. around 70 to 80 km with a really mix of terrain.
i had found two girls to join me, cait the aussie and amber the canadian, so they bought a tent and sleeping bag and with in a few days we were off.it started off so nice walking on flat terrain through banana orchards, having some good laughs along the way. camped the first night , had a good camp fire and toasted marshmallow, a must apprently.the second day took us into a national park. walking through this canyon type area. having lunch by a spring filled with trout, swimming in the spring filled with trout and having your toes nibbled at by trout. all in all things are going well. i had this topography map of the area, all in hebrew just the way i like it.and we had around 6 km to go before caqmping. the problem was that there where no trail markers in this section of the canyon.so instead of going up and around i decided to walk up the dry river bank. a lot slower than on the trail.it was basically rocks with over grown trees and shrubs. at that stage i wasn,t one hundred percent if it was the way to go but, i knew it would get us to were we wanted to go. of course with no markings it told us that this section hadn,t been maintained and we didn,t know how the river bank would be like up a head or where exactly we were and how long it would take us to come out. i had a bit of an idea, i knew we were walking one km an hour, and with no areas to camp and the water supply going down fast and the sun setting things weren,t looking to good. the girls were not enjoying the rocks, i will leave it up to them to tell you what they thought in the comment section.
with about 20 mins to sunset we found a spot to camp. we had to stay in the river bank for the night. the girls were not happy. still, things were positive. i think......
the next day we continued. amber twisted her foot and cait is in her thongs because her shoes gave her blisters. still, they had big heavy packs on and kept going. tough chicks!!!!

we made it to this drews village and once we got our selves organised. we relooked at were we where. the girls had had enough it was our third day and we were way behind. the problem was we had a time limit because we wanted to hire a car together. so the girls went and i had to make it to tiberias in another two days to meet them.i wasn,t sure if i could do it i was around 50 km out and there wasn,t just one trail. i had to navigate through a number of trails in and around and over mountains to get there with a map that was in hebrew. well, i wanted an adventure!!!! any way i continued for a few km that day and camped. i woke up to rain. not happy, but still i wanted to test my tent. i had a 30 min window to pack and get on the road before it would start to rain again. at this stage i,m really happy the girls are not with me, there would of been tears.any way the rest of the day was an adventure. hiking with water filled boots and way to much weight on my back i managed to push for 11.5 hours to make it to tiberias in one day early. around 40km of ups and downs and some beautiful terrain.

so, the last leg of my travels was hiring the car and going into the golan hieghts, the area that israel gained control of after the 67 war. the north part boarders with syria and lebanon. lots of rolling green mountains.we stayed at a locals place we met.it,s intersting the people in the golan hieghts are not israeli nor syrian.he showed us around the area the next day including the UN campsite, were tourist are not allowed. we had lunch in the cafateria with the soldiers and saw the remains of towns after the war.

so i better get on going.i hope every one is doing well. keep in touch lots of love rob

ISRAEL

2006-03-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

so, we have a two thousand year old olive tree .some 16 century graffiti, a picture of jerusalem from a church on the mount of olives,ty, an american hebrew student i met and me in a water tunnel in the city of david

SYRIA

2006-02-28T08:10:00.000-08:00

so,i thought i would start posting photos of some of the wonderful people i am meeting.then hopefully they can feel loved and e-mail the info they said they were going to.we have starting on the right omar from the states who never stops smilling. lawrence the geezA. annika the swedish blond, haha, the big swed nicklas in the corner and me. they are studing arabic in syria, i was tempted to stay. then we have golan heights a town that was taken by the israelies distroyed and given back to the syrians. israelies aren't liked very much around here.

SYRIA AND ISRAEL

2006-02-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

hi all,
well, i'm in israel.i said i was going to up date more regularly.aahhhh....... who am i kidding.:-)

as you can see i have some more photos up.i dropped my camera in syria at a monastery i was staying at.i wanted a new one but not like this. i ended up getting the latest canon. it seems to take really good photos.

syria.i enjoyed syria, i didn't do many touristy things. i mainly hung out met some nice people and spent our time eating ice cream drinking banana milk and warm custard filled pastries. here i could put on weight, mind you israel is also really good for sweets.

i went to a small town called mallula just outside of damascus.set on a mountain it has really cool tiny back allys with lots of weaving under houses. the people speak aramaic, the language jesus spoke. i met some locals and was invited in for tea and cake. cake, how can i say no. it was really cool. we communicated via sign language a little english and some french. quite the picture.

another high light was staying at a monastery. mar musa in syria. it was were i broke my camera. set in the mountains over looking the dessert it's quite the get away. really cool to see different church services.

bringing me into israel.every one had told me about the boarder and how many hassles they had. well, like syria, i must of come on the right day. i had no probs mate!!!!! came in, was greeted by pretty young girls,i was told about them, waited about 30 mins and was in. i think both male and females here do military service. so you see lots of young kids with BIG machine guns walking around town as if it's a toy.it's quite the picture when you see a young pretty little girl with makeup on who looks like she has just come out of a club with a gun 2/3 the size of her body.same goes with the guys.

so i've been here for a week. Jerusalem is amazing!!!!!! lotssssssss to see. such a diverse amount of people.today id Sunday and i had gone to two church services. really cool.went to a arab christian service in the morning. just like home but in arab. it was ok because they had a translator. i hung out with an american called jason i met at church in the afternoon, he's studying hebrew here,he took me to a cool jewish market with some yummy sweets.then we went to a catholic service here.different,interesting and good.

so thats it for now. stayed tuned for more. lots of lov
rob

JORDON AND SYRIA PHOTOS

2006-02-20T02:05:00.000-08:00

THE NARROW VIEW OF SOME MOUNTAINS WAS THE LAST PHOTO FROM THE PENTAX JUST BEFORE I DROPPED IT. A FAMILY, I WAS INVITED FOR TEA.A MONASTRY I STAYED AT IN SYRIA, IT SNOWED AND STEPHAN GETTING DOWN LOW AT PETRA.

JORDON PHOTOS

2006-02-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

A DESSERT FLOWER, THE ONLY ONE WE SAW.THE CAMP WE STAYED IN.PETRA, CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT WAS CARVED OUT OF SOLID ROCK! AND THE DESSERT.

SINAI AND JORDON PHOTOS

2006-02-19T06:17:00.000-08:00

THE SUNRISE FROM THE TOP OF MT SINAI.JORDON DESSERT AND THE ITALIAN DUO

JORDON AND SYRIA

2006-02-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

hi there all,
well, i've been busy since the last blog.i left duhub and went to mt sinai, st katharin. really cool place. st katharin is a small town surrounded by steep desert mountains. it was nice to get out of duhub and get on the road, even though my foot wasn't 100%.

after hiking around the town i went and hiked up mt sinai. it was really nice to be doing some hiking, even though i think hiking with my pack on wasn't a good idea.i stayed the night on the top. it was really cool, literally! and the fact i had the summit to my self looking up to a sheet of amazing stars. at 4am literally hundreds of people hike up for the sunrise, which was amazing. the sun rise that is. after that i had a fun time getting to the red sea to catch my boat to jordan. traveling around these dessert streets trying to connect buses can be an adventure in it self.some how i reached my goal destination. i had traveled from the top of mt sinai to the dessert in jordan in the same day.

i joined up with stephan and stefania (monni lisa)(personal joke,sorry. lolol) from italy on the boat over and ended up in wadi rum (jordan dessert)together.we had a great time in wadi together. we stayed in a Bedouin tent out in the dessert with a Bedouin family. minus the wife.we were entertained by the kids playing the drums and singing around the fire and we managed to join in. we went on a 4 wheel drive through the dessert for the day exploring all the different things it had to offer. the mountains are really cool, very unique. the steep rock faces look like they are melting.a good place to come and climb. stephan,monni (lol)and my self had some great laughs on the back of the truck, with italian songs and high speeds. finishing the day with a nice home cooked meal around the fire.

in the morning we headed to petra. north of jordan.we managed to get a bus from the high way, a 22 seatter bus decorated with grannys curtains and like all buses in the middle east playing loud arabic music.we had no seats so i was standing up with my head bent down right next to the speaker and teasels in my ear while i was trying to keep my pack(which had my socks hanging from, i forgot to remove them) from falling on this arabic women who was all covered up'with the traditional outfit. it was quite the ride. anyway, we got to petra. jordan is awsome. some amazing views driving into the mountains, like nothing i have ever seen.i will try and up load photos. we had got into town and after discovering we had a kitchen we decided to have a cook up. yum!!! the next day we went to petra. nothing was going to prepare me for what was ahead. no words or pictures, i think can do it justice. i've discovered i'm not really a ruins site seeing person. but petra is unique. large tombs and caves hand carved into mountains . it was great just walking around and taking it all in.it was great hanging out with stephan and stefania, as i was reminded the other day by a friend,travelling can be more about the journey and the people you meet along the way than the destination. now i have a reason to go to italy and find my self a good italian girl so my mum will be happy.lol

then i headed to amman, the capital of jordan. yuk!!i left the next day and headed to the syrian boarder not knowing if i would get in.it was meant to be. because i got in and so far have been blown away in damascus. the people are really nice and friendly . such a change from egypt.egyptians by nature are friendly and warm, which you can see if you meet the ones not in the touristy areas. something that can be hard to do in egypt. i think to much tourisum can take away some of the soul of the country.fortunately tourisum hasn't hit syria and the difference is obvious.

the day i got here there were some protests against the danish. the embassy was burnt down, which was about a 10 min walk from where i am.nothing else seems to come of it at the moment in syria. lebbanon was worst.the day the embassy burnt down the danish government warned for all danish to leave syria. we had about 5 danish students in the hotel, which 2 of them had only arrived 24 hours prior, leave on the first flight home. i don't think that was necessary. i feel as safe as houses. as i have so far in the middle east. lots of people travelling alone. no probs mate!!!

so leaves me up to date. i hope to up date more regularly because i know i have missed some things out. i'm planning to cont with syria so i'll chat more soon.
ciao

STILL IN EGPYT

2006-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

HEY!!!
well, i'm still in dahub.i think i will move on tomorrow. i'll be heading to mt sinai and hoping to stay the night on top of the mountain if i can organize a wind break, it gets really cold up there. my thermorest will keep me off the ground and i'm hoping the sleeping bag will do the job.

my foot is a lot better.i haven't been doing anything and am rrreally looking forward to get moving on. spirits are high now that the foot is better, even though it's not 100%ok.it's amazing how injuries can bring you down.

just finished watching egypt playing in the africa cup in football.i've been enjoying watching the game with the locals at the camp i'm staying at. even though they don't get to excited and loud like other football fans.

i went snorkeling with abdul, who i had met when i had first arrived in cairo and bumped into again in dahub, we had great conditions. not the best for the foot and cold but, really quite beautiful.lots of tropical fish and colored coral.

smoking is disgusting..... it's so hard to find a place with out smoke.the guy next to me just lite up a smoke.anywayysss....

i think that's it for now. i must be bored, not much else to say.
ciao for nowwwww alllll

EGPYT UPDATE

2006-01-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

hey all,
well, i'm on the road now. it's been nearly 4 weeks. have met a real mix of people. from the 3 week big budget tourist, to the 3 year small budget(that's where i fit in, with out the bike..) bike rider.at any rate lots of solo travelers with lots of interesting tales.i can see how you can just keep going( at this stage) every day that passes gets me thinking if one year is enough.i can see how it's a real way of life for some.

egypt has been good. a little to touristy. the beaten track is really well traveled.i'm hunting something less traveled. my last adventure was going to the dessert. i was planning to go from this town called asiut. so i got off the over night train from aswan at asiut. i got there at 4am not knowing when the next bus to the dessert was.i found out it was at 11am!!!! at any rate,i think you feel pretty save in egpyt. lots of police ect... not in asiut at 4am. the good thing was i meet a couple of local guys who were friendly and honest.one was a lawyer and the other was in computers. i got lots of scary looks and was approached buy a drug dealer and a prostitute.i mean, i get lots of funny looks anyway. egyptians are not to tall. so when i walk on the bus or train with a big back pack, Beard and scruffy hair. it's hard to blend in. since then i've had a hair cut and had a shave.anywayssss... we chatted for around two hours had a laugh then they had to go and pray.they directed me to the bus station to wait. making it clear not to wonder off. it was cool any way. i mean, it was cool as in temperature and it was cool trying to have a conversation with random locals around this little fire. very funny.

anyway at 8 am i decided to get a train to cairo and go into the dessert from there. as soon as a police officer saw me, i was escorted to the train station. they help to buy a ticket, ask you lots of questions and make sure your on to your next destination safely. it can be a very common thing.all part of making the tourist feel safe.

so, i made it to the dessert. as you can see from the photos below. it's a really cool place. the white dessert was really nice. amazing formations from white chalk like rock.we got to participate in a locals night. i mean, we joined some egyptian students holidaying. they had drums and a traditional egpytian flute. really quite cool.the photo was quite dark but it shows one of the japanese boys dancing with this funny older guy, who i'm not sure where he came from?? scary....
we finished off falling asleep under the stars with a silent back ground.it can be a hard thing to find in egpyt.

on the way back i twisted my foot running down this little hill.that was a week ago. so now i'm just hanging out in dahub. a diving town on the red sea. as soon as i can i hope to do some hiking around mt sinai. i'm really looking forward to it. until then amigos lots of love and gods blessings ciao
rob

EGYPT PHOTOS

2006-01-19T06:42:00.000-08:00

THE FIRE WAS IN THE WHITE DESSERT. THEN THERE IS MY MATE THE BUTCHER.I GOT JUST THE ONE KILO THIS TIME.THE TEMPLE IS ABU SIMBOL AND THE LAST ONE WAS A CAMP SITE IN THE DESSERT WHERE WE STAYED.

EGYPT PHOTOS(WHITE AND BLACK DESSERT)

2006-01-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

ME AT THE WHITE DESSERT,OUR JEEP IN THE BLACK DESSERT AND YES! ANOTHER SUN SET

EGYPT PHOTOS

2006-01-08T05:12:00.000-08:00

the animal farm. some little friends i have made along the way...........

EGYPT PHOTOS

2006-01-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

sunset at aswan,some more photos of aswan and a young girl from the west bank at aswan.

EGYPT PHOTOS

2006-01-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

sunset at luxor tempel, pyramids and around aswan back streets

EGYPT STORY 1

2006-01-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

ME, BEING CHASED BYE SOME NABIAN KIDS FROM THE WEST BANK IN ASWAN

hi all,
i just lost a whole section from my entry, so this will be the shortened version.

i'm glad to be on the road. the flight into cairo was good. i got all you can eat at the airport for free from there restaurant. so i pigged out.

friend maggie from canada, who is in zambia, was visiting family in egypt at the same time as i was there and we were able to catch up. a really nice way to start my travels.i got to experience a couple of family dinners. a real treat. lots and lots and lots of food and of course it was great to catch up with maggie and see a familiar smiling face. the only bad thing is it has been hard to find food to match the home cooked stuff.

traveling alone so far has been good. there seems to be a continues flow of people traveling along the same path.a great way to get info on what lies a head and to hang out with different people.i'm looking at going into syria and Lebanon. places i wasn't thinking of going to before. chatting to Jimmie(a lebo and german mixed kiwi i've been hanging out with)syria sounds good. then i'm so close to Lebanon i might as well go there.a little further north than i had planned to go. then again thats why i wanted the flexibility.

so far i have been to cairo then luxor, a open air museums and i'm in aswan at the moment.basically the normal touristy path with lots of historical things to see every were. i have only seen a few of the bigger attractions. i'm heading to abu simbel.a temple carved out of a mountain side. i had a ticket out of aswan but gave it up to go and see the sunrise over this temple. it's supposed to be awsome.some thing out of Indiana jones.i'll try to up load some pics. still my best times so far and what i'm really more interested in is the people. along the main touristy path, people can be pushy. buy this that ect...... but off the beaten track people are friendly and hospitable. offering tea, advise and just chatting with out any hidden agenda.

i managed to get a system on up loading photos going.i was having some problems with my camera ect.. but i hope to of have fixed that so i should be able to get into a rhythm.

hope you all are done well.
ma'a salama
good bye

ps; i was trying out my arabic.???????

STILL IN LONDON AND MY TRAVEL ITINERARY!!!!!

2005-12-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

hi all,
well, i started with good intentions. to stay in touch, to make more of an effort replying to peoples e-mail. thats why i started this blog. to keep people updated on what i'm up to.what i find my self doing is repeating the same thing to different people. so i'll try to keep this up dated on the big stuff and fill you all in on the smaller stuff.sorry for not replying to your e-mails. i do really appriciate all of them .

life in london.haven't been up to much. counting my pennys.the pound goes far in third world countrys. i have been jogging to work. it's a nice 15-20min jog to start the day and to finish it, even though after a 12-15hour day at the end of the week, the run home can feel longer than 20min. still, better than catching the tube. i go on it on the weekends and i can't believe people do that every day. i had problems breathing.i have been tired a lot, one of the reasons why i haven't been keeping in touch, and haven't been to motivated.

i have caught up with a couple of friends from last time i was here in london. dave is a dad and sunil is engaged and i'm single....haha!!!! poor me:-(
i have gone to a couple of cool churches since being here. sunils, who had a speaker from australia in talking about evolution/creation. very interesting.

home. well, i live with 6 other people.that might sound a lot to some people, but in london if you want to pay less there is no other option.it actually seems to work well. every one works or studys a lot and is hardly home. when we are home together we have some good laughs. i share my room with two others. crazy hey!! more like a hostel than a home hey. still, it's only for a short period and then i will be living in hostels any way. i think by the time i get home i will want to set my self up with a home. oh! no! did i say that.....home.that couldn't mean setteling down could it? we'll see. i don't want to get people to excitted.i live with three brazilians, one polish girl, one french guy and one south african, who makes apart from snorring the wieredest noises i have ever heard while sleeping.

i have sent my snowboard and another bag home via ship for free.david had a friend who had a 40 ft container going to perth from london with some space. the deal was if he can get my stuff home he could borrow my board in japan in feb. now, that would be a cool place to go and snowboard.

pretty boring life at the moment.the good news is i have bought my ticket home.
Monday
26-Dec-05
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK6. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: London Heathrow Apt at 22:30. Terminal: 3.
Arrive: Dubai 27-Dec-05 at 09:15.
Tuesday
27-Dec-05
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK923. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Dubai at 15:50.
Arrive: Cairo 27-Dec-05 at 17:55
(over land to israel)
Friday
27-Jan-06
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK924. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Cairo at 19:15.
Arrive: Dubai 28-Jan-06 at 00:35.
Saturday
28-Jan-06
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK719. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Dubai at 08:10.
Arrive: Nairobi International 28-Jan-06 at 12:10.
(overland to johhanesburgh)
Monday
17-Apr-06
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK762. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Johannesburg International at 14:10.
Arrive: Dubai 18-Apr-06 at 00:20.
Tuesday
18-Apr-06
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK510. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Dubai at 04:35.
Arrive: Delhi 18-Apr-06 at 09:15.
(i organise a local flight to nepal)
Wednesday
19-Jul-06
Air
Confirmed
Sri Lankan Airlines. Flight: UL196. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Delhi at 19:35.
Arrive: Colombo Airport 19-Jul-06 at 23:40.
Thursday
20-Jul-06
Air
Confirmed
Sri Lankan Airlines. Flight: UL316. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Colombo Airport at 00:40.
Arrive: Singapore Changi Apt 20-Jul-06 at 06:35.
(maybe go to malaysia as well)
Friday
21-Jul-06
Air
Confirmed
Emirates Airline. Flight: EK404. Class: M. Seats: 1.
Depart: Singapore Changi Apt at 15:20.
Arrive: Melbourne International Apt 22-Jul-06 at 00:20.
visit friends.yyyeeehhhh!!!!!!
then either fly or drive home????

organising flights to these places was quite difficult with out paying a fortune. hence why i have so many flights. maybe i'll get it out of my system for a while after all of these flights. the good thing is that it's a year flight and it cost nothing to change dates of my flights. so i have lots of flexabilaty.

so at this stage, thats it from me.i'm sure i'll have more to say soon.
love you all and god bless
rob

PORTUGAL

2005-11-06T05:26:00.000-08:00

hey all, well, the time has come. i´m off tomorrow to london.so i though i would add my portugal experience.

portugal has been good. coming through the airport, 10 days ago, had that real feeling of comfort and familiarity.even when i went to catch the bus, i was told they finish at 8pm. yep!! i´m in portugal.so i caught a taxi.

i have mainly hangout in the one spot. a place dad has 10mins from the beach here in algarve,where he grow up.

what have i been up to? well, i cooked some family a dinner on the second night here. nelson, a cousin, had invited me over for dinner and the next thing i know i´m cooking for 10people.well, i did say i didn´t mind and i am use to it hey, vance!!! the only thing that was up was the time factor. i did a whole stuffed pork loin.dinner was meant to be at 7.30 and i was only putting it in at 7.30. so i had to blast the oven which made it not as good as it could of been. still It all went ok.

nelson and i went on a mountain bike ride. it was really cool. on the way back we came along the beach coast line with a cliff face and some cool little dips and jumps.nelson had no troubles in showing me how it was done.

driving in portugal. wow!! i had forgotten how crazy it can be. yesterday i went to visit gran in mums home town about 1 hour north. the gran in the photo has past away.when i was 7 i lived in portugal and remember going for rides on that carriage selling fruit and veg, a cool memory. anyway, any one who has been here knows how fast the people drive and the condition of the roads.the fun part was when i went to mums town, which has really narrow streets.i´ve seen wider driveways.it was like a little maize filled with dogs spread across the rocky road that didn´t want to move and old ladys who can barely move coming home from doing their groceries. so you better not be in a hurry driving around these little back streets. definitely no place for a canadian truck.

it was exciting to go and see gran. the disappointing thing was she didn´t remember me.to be expected at 91 or 92.still ,it was good to see her and the rest of the family. walking through the streets. it´s like i hadn´t been gone.that old man sitting on his little bench is still there. that old lady with her head through the window looking at who walks past is still there.

well, i´m looking forward to getting stuck into work. it´s been in the back of my mind for a while now. now i just want to get started and get on with it. hopefully time in london wont be to bad.after living in the rockys, it´s going to be tough to compete with that, until i get back on the move again.so for now that´s it.until next episode, take care lots of lov and blessings rob

PORTUGAL PHOTOS

2005-10-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

riding home along the beach and some old photos of my gran on her carriage. the same carriage i sat on the back off going through the streets selling fruit and veg with.

BACK IN LONDON NOW!!!

2005-10-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

hi all.wow! one week in london. i think i am just about adjusted now. for some reason i have taken a long time to settle in. i hope to sleep past 4am tonight.london. what can you say! a big city. lots of pollution, lots of people always in a hurry, hurry.definatly no camore, except the hurry,hurry bit in one particular person.

i was in a cab the other day, i was moving into my new place, thank you very much marie-claire for letting me stay while i was getting set up :-),anyway, this cab had one of those road map computers that shows you which route to take. the driver was telling me that he is getting a new one that shows you if there is a jam on your route and rediverts the route. it works with all cameras around the city, now thats a lot of cameras. as soon as there is conjestion, instantly it is regested on the screen. i was impresed..

so i've got my self a home. well, i should say a bed in a home. i'm sharing a room. it makes it a lot more affordable. a room goes for one hundred pounds a week. $240 aussie. which goes far in india.the good news is that i live two tube stops from work. i plan on not taking the tube, because it's grouse, and either jog or ride. the people i'm going to be living with are from brasil, so i'll be able to practice my portuguese.i got my raise today.i had a meeting with the main manager, the other day i had only spoken to my chef,it all went well. i'm going to look into being self employed,a contractor like. apparently there are some benifits.needless to say this week has been a blessing. i'm excited to see what is in store for me in the new year on my travels.so to celibrate, i'm off to portugual for a week or so before i start work. go and visit granny. looking forward to that.well, what else.i was looking at some other peoples blogs. in paticular some crazy girls from canmore trying to pick up strange boys through radom numbers in match boxs.ha! ha! i'm still a fan of ha! ha! apposed to lol lol..(no offence naomi:-) )some things as we get older we don't like to change or move with the times.
signning out bloggers
blessings
rob
posted by robsadventures at 11:28 AM 3 comments

MORE PHOTOS OF CANADA

2005-10-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

photos of canmore and some crazy ice climber

MORE PHOTOS OF CANADA

2005-10-30T06:49:00.000-08:00

photos of me playing in the snow, of banff,castle mountain and our bbq.

WEST COAST TRAIL PHOTOS

2005-10-30T03:55:00.000-08:00

part of the trail and micheal in thought on our 6 day hike

WEST COAST TRAIL PHOTOS

2005-10-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

maggie toughing in out on some of the trail on the trail,more photos of our trip

2005-10-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

good bye canada :-(
hey! all,well, this guy is getting very technological. i'm trying out this whole blog thing. i've spoken to some of you and not many people, except for the younger group , know what and how this all works. anyway, it seems to be simple enough. i hope you take a look through.you might even want to join your self. i'm hopeing to download photos and keep a journal of my adventures.

as most of you know i'm leaving canada on the 19th of oct. heading to portugual and london for xmas and then starting my real travels in january. i plan to go to africa,middle east,nepal and india. a lot i know. oh! then home to good old perth. i pray the funds last long enough to enjoy and cover all the ground safely.

it's sad to say good bye and excitting to say hello to the next part of life. my time in canada has been great.a blessing to of met some really good people who, ultimately have all played a part in making my trip. thank you all.

well, i'm going to leave it at that for now. i don't want to write to much and set the bar to high.the idea is that i keep this updated on my travels.and since typing isn't really my thing, hence why i don't e-mail much,even though recieving e-mails is always nice. :-) i better not go over board on the first post.still, it would be great to hear from you all on my travels. you can let us know what you think of the blog idea. i looked through a few different ones before going with this one . it seemed the most simple.tune in next week.........blessings rob