A few random things before I go

I'm on Malta, on my way to see the oldest free-standing monuments in the world. But before I say goodbye to Egypt, here are a few fun facts:

1. You will likely be greeted by Egyptian men in Cairo with "welcome to Cairo!" or "do you speak English?" or kissing noises if you're a girl. In other parts, you will likely be greeted with "welcome to Alaska!" Don't ask me why.

2. Walking on the street you see many men with dark patches or scars on their foreheads. It's the mark of a man who prays a lot - rubbing his head against carpet or the ground.

3. The taxis, when in park or sitting on the break (not sure when exactly), play "It's a Small World."

Just thought I'd share that with ya!
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Seeing the past in technicolor

We went to the Valley of the Kings yesterday and it totally blew me away. It's basically a desert valley filled with the tombs of the pharaohs. But when you step inside you step into the past. Four thousand years ago people were carving and painting the walls -- and we can still see the color and detail today! The color is what really blew me away. I'm sad we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so I can't show you what it looked like. But wow.

We went into one tomb, of Ramses III, and the paintings were large. Mostly of the pharaoh and the gods -- the pharaoh killing his enemies and the gods looking after him. Many of the depictions are repeated from temple to temple and tomb to tomb, so it is fairly easy to figure out what is going on. The pharaohs often killed their enemies by holding them by the hair and hammering their heads. And there are lots of depictions of offerings to various gods. They are carved into the wall and then painted -- so in many places, you can see the carvings but the paint has worn away. That's what made the color inside the tombs so spectacular! The color was best in the tomb of Tutmosis. It had two chambers, one below another, filled with color. I mean they could have been painted a few months ago rather than thousands of years ago. WOW!

Call me Ms. Pyramids

We saw the pyramids today! Wow. It's hard to imagine they were built 4,500 years ago!

They're amazing - but would you expect any different? I think the most striking view is from in front of the Sphyx with the pyramids behind it. The least stunning is the pyramids right next to a bunch of city buildings - we all sort of pictured them out in the middle of the desert. But they're in the city of Giza. The super cool part: we went inside one! Anyone clausterphobic? We had to walk down this long, dark, narrow hallway - and the ceiling was very low. Even the kids had to duck. The worst part is that you don't know how far you have to go. And there are people in front and behind, and others making their way out. Ughh. But then we got to see where the sarcophagus was buried. Pretty cool.

Our tour guide (I'm on an 8-day tour with 10 other people) told us that in heiroglyphics the pyramids are called "mer" - and so now he calls me Ms. Pyramids. Ha!

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When Cameron was in Egypt's land ...

I keep getting that stuck in my head! I suppose you can guess where I am ... yep, Cairo!

I was sitting on the plane this morning trying to make sense of everything. It's all going by so quickly! I saw the Taj Mahal two days ago. It's everything it's cracked up to be. And then some. You should have seen my face. To get to the Taj, you first walk through an entrance gate, and you get your first glimpse through the arch of that gate. Instant ear-to-ear grin. Amazing. And touching it and walking inside - SO COOL!

And in just a couple of days I'm off to see the Pyramids. I can only imagine how spectacular they're going to be.

For the next few days I'm keeping it low-key. Don't want to overload the old noggin! Plus if I don't do laundry like, now, I'll start to gross even myself out. That's one way to keep the Egyptian men away though! (I hear they're worse than men in India when it comes to catcalling foreign women. And that's saying quite a bit.)
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I'm a big hit in India

Getting ready for V-day? I have two dates. And I'm totally blowing them both off because guess what's going to be on Star Movies that night ... Only the best romantic film of our generation: "Glitter." (Sorry, Jay!)

Seriously though, I'm totally blowing them both off because they're creepy! One of them is this guy I met in Delhi. He's nice and all. From southern India. We had lunch together - I had a mutton wrap. But even though I told him all about my fake boyfriend, he still told me he wants me to someday have his babies. EEWWW! The other guy works at the India Travel Bureau, where I set up my trip around Rajasthan. Again, perfecly nice. Until I was leaving and he asked me out so we could get to know each other better, when it's not all business - and he gave me this creepy smile. EEWW!

Suddenly my hot date with "Glitter" doesn't sound so bad ...
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What's a horse without a carriage?

Will the reel love story please stand up? Haha. That's a headline from the Sunday Times of India. The story, or rather stories, were quite interesting, though. It was a whole special report on love (for V-day, of course). The gist: does love really make the best marriage? The resounding answer: no. Most people would rather let their parents choose a spouse for them than marry their girlfriend or boyfriend. They like the idea of love that they see in movies, but they don't have much faith in so-called "love marriages."

So I decided to check out the personal ads - half of them have been submitted by parents seeking suitable matches for their children. And so it's no surprise that when I am asked if I am married (one of the first questions, sometimes before "what's your name"), and I say no, everyone is shocked.

Some staggering statistics (to me, anyway): 57% of girls in India are married by age 18. In Rajasthan (the state I am spending the most time in), 17% of girls are married by age 10! (Though I have been told they don't move in with their husbands until they are older.)

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Incredible India indeed

I've been pretty much blown away by my visit to India thus far. I'm not sure I have the words yet to describe it. Incredible is a good one, though. The culture is just so completely different from ours. I've traveled back in time and to a different world at once. I can't wait to post pictures.
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Question

Have they come out with something called Pepsi Caffe Cino in the US?
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We're not in Delhi anymore

I'm now in Jaisalmer, a mere 180 km from Pakistan. It took two days of driving through the desert to get here. But boy am I happy to be out of the craziness that is Delhi. Last night I stayed in Bitamer. Nice little town. Basically the traffic is like this: a car or two, a truck or two, a tractor, a camel-drawn trailer, a tourist bus, a jeep, a public bus so overcrowded that people sit on top. I love the camels!

This morning we went to a temple called Karni Mata. It's my driver's temple. It's Hindu but a very strange branch of it. They worship holy rats. The rats are all over the temple. They believe that human souls have been reincarnated as these rats - and also that a part of one of their gods is in each of the little guys. Most are black rats, but if you see a white one, it's supposed to be very lucky. We didn't see a white one ...
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Hello, Delhi!

Wow. I'm in India!! And it's 10 times crazier than China was ...

On a two-hour riksha ride through Old Delhi, you might spot most or all of these things: a woman in a saree buying a saree, a brand-new Honda, a cow pulling a wagon full of potatoes, a man playing sweet music to his cobra (literally), a goat drinking from a water fountain, a man getting his hair cut on the curb, monkeys swinging on billboards, men urinating on the street or a wall or one of these really charming doorless urinals, stray dogs fighting each other, people praying, people spitting, people selling produce and fried foodstuffs, people baking bread ... And the list goes on.

Delhi. Lubit shubit. (I have no idea how to spell that, but it means "awesome" in Hindi.)

I leave Delhi tomorrow for Rajasthan, the state west of Delhi. The guy who set up my trip (through a government agency) bills the area as being much more culturally different from the US than Delhi, which he belives to be somewhat Americanized because of McDonald's, etc. If livestock and haircuts and monkeys in the street aren't that different, I guess I'll find out what is!
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Somewhere over the rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow
Originally uploaded by mercoop.

As I was walking to the beach, about 20 minutes before sunset on Phuket, it started to drizzle. It felt pretty nice considering it's so hot here. When I got to the beach, I plopped down next to a European couple and looked out over the water. Beautiful.

Just as the sun was edging below the mountains, I stood up to walk around, look around. Right behind me was the most beautiful and perfect rainbow I have ever seen. It was a complete arc! My camera doesn't do it justice, despite the fact that it was so big I couldn't even get the whole thing in the photo. It lasted a total of about four minutes.

I was talking a bit of smack about Phuket the other day ... I take it all back. It's been redeemed!

One, two, three, JUMP!

I jumped off this!
Originally uploaded by mercoop.

Can you see where the people are standing? Yeah, I jumped from there into the water. CRAZY! It was an afternoon trip on Phi Phi. Just me and my guide, because no one else had signed up for my trip (the guys up there pulled up in a boat as I was standing where they are!). And that was just fine. I could go at my pace. First we had to climb up the rocks from the water -- no easy feat. We were supplied with rubber shoes and rubber gloves to give us grip and protect our hands and feet. I had not gone prepared for rock climbing! I thought we'd hike up or something ... no siree.

The first time up, we stopped at the shortest jumping-off point -- where the guys are in the photo. Eight meters. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it feels like a lot when you're up there! I totally screamed! Ha! Then we went up a second time, to a spot 11 meters up. Again, it doesn't sound that much higher than eight ... but after about 10 minutes of trying to get up the nerve, I opted to jump from the eight-meter rock again. Ha. My guide made me feel better, though, by saying that the first time he went there, he jumped off the lowest, but didn't make it to the 11-meter rock until a couple times later. The highest point is 20 meters high(!) but he said most tourists opt out at that point.

The next day, feeling a wild streak, I signed up for snorkeling with sharks. We totally saw three of them! They're apparently harmless, but our guide (this time I had a Danish guy with me) told us to only swim with our legs -- no big splashing -- and when we saw a shark, to stop moving. Too much fun!!! Pictures tk, assuming they come out :D