Whale Valley & Sandboarding

I had a blast yesterday! I went on a trip to Wadi el-hitan (The Valley of Whales). It was a trip of many first-timers. It was the first time that I went on an off-road trip in the Western desert. It was the first time I sandboarded.

It was amazing to see the flat plains just West of 6 of October city turn to rocky formations of cliffs and wind carved structures. The terrain then morphed into a flat pebble filled desert. Then we came to the valley of whales which once was home to numerous prehistoric species and the Tethys Sea. This was a feeding ground which brought together many species some 25 million years ago. The whales had scrawny legs back then! :D. Although some on the trip disliked the notion of going through all this trouble to see a pile of bones, I was lost in imagination. I could picture the water beasts and amphibious creatures of age and was astonished at how different it had become.



The day was running late as we dined on barbecued burgers and kofta. We were dreading the sun setting on us without us experiencing sandboarding. We got to a dune some time later and made our way up. OUCH! for me and my full stomach, it was 1000 times worse than the worst workout I had ever done.

The first time I went down I stubbornly insisted on sliding down with my shoes on. Unfortunately my shoes were not properly fit into the straps and so I fell like a boomerang across the face of the dune. The board was attached to my foot by a heel strap and so I couldn't get loose. I learned my lesson and did what everyone was doing. I took off my shoes. Thank goodness I was able to actually sandboard then. I didnt fall much after that until after I completed the dune and hit level pebbly sand.



The journey back to Cairo was a blast too. We sang all the way back. We sang an African camp song which Pablo (our Spanish trip-mate) taught us...:D.

I will hopefully be doing this soon isA. I look forward to it.

Ghandi's Seven Evils

Mahatma Gandhi's wisdom on "Traits Most Spiritually Perilous to Humanity"

Wealth Without Work

Pleasure Without Conscience

Science Without Humanity

Knowledge Without Character

Politics Without Principal

Commerce Without Morality

Worship Without Sacrifice


Wow, very intense words. If you think about them you'll find that they are indeed true.

New Pyramid Discovered!

Egypt truly is the land of the pyramids and hosts one of the greatest heritages man has to cherish. There have been 100+ pyramids discovered in Egypt. I'm sure there are many more buried in the dunes of time. Two alone were discovered this year - one this last month.

One clear day I went up to the Moqattam plateau in the heart of Cairo and could count about five pyramids lined up across, where the western desert meets the Nile banks. I could see the three on the Giza plateau, the Djozer stepped pyramid of Sakkara and as I recall two from the Dahshur pyramids (the bent and the red pyramids). The great pyramid of Khufu is the last remaining ancient wonder of the world. The bent and red pyramids were built for king Snefru (father of Khufu). I haven't actually been to Sakkara and Dahshur. I can't believe I haven't...hopefully soon...



I'm surprised I haven't written more about Ancient Egypt, especially since I've been deeply fascinated by it ever since I was a kid. I even contemplated doing an Egyptology major in university - that would have really changed my life! :D

The link to the latest pyramid discovery:
HERE

Speak Up!

Sometimes you speak up and express your opinion and find the whole world opposing your views and ridiculing them. This is unpleasant and sometimes hard to deal with. However hurtful it may seem it is much better than being perpetually silent and keeping yourself shut up for the fear of ridicule. As long as the words you say are carefully measured and fit between the boundaries of the context in which they are inserted then you can feel confident to speak up and be heard. Make sure that the words you speak are also hurting in anyway to anyone your listeners.



Just as a warning somethings should not be said at certain times, at particular places or to specific people. Carefully weigh your words before you say them. Remember the adage, "look before you leap" and "think before you speak". If you are speaking in the context of a meeting about a certain subject then don't hesitate to challenge others and express your point of view of course without saying anything that could be found religiously or personally offending. Keeping yourself shut up is contagious to ones self. You'll keep taking the easy way out and silencing yourself.

On another thought, some people are amazing talkers but horrible listeners. I think to make a good speaker one must possess the patience and ability to listen to others and absorb the information before reacting. Speaking and listening compliment each other. People think and speak at different speeds so adapt yourself to different types of people.