Japan

I found a cheap one way ticket from Cairo to Tokyo. Let me say that it would be hard to find two more different cultures. To go from Egypt to Japan was a pretty big culture shock, but luckily I knew a few people in Japan who helped me ease into the style and culture of the country nicely.

I was lucky enough to meet up with my former co-worker from NYC Mike, and his girlfriend Kyoko who decided to visit Japan while I was there. Kyoko spoke fluent Japanese which helped us breeze through places like Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Miyajima and Takamatsu.

Mt. Fuji
We met up with a few of Kyoko's Japanese friends and rented an apartment near Mt. Fuji for the night. After having a delicious BBQ, we went to the local onsen (traditional Japanese bathing facility typically heated by hot springs). There's nothing like taking a dip in hot water on a cold night. We woke up the next morning and headed for Mt. Fuji, but only after Mike and I fell in love with Japan's vending machines which are everywhere and carry almost everything (Mike and I bought fried chicken).












Kyoto
Referred to as the cultural heart of Japan, we visited Kyoto's famous golden palace and Shogun's Temple. Our itinerary was packed full of sightseeing activities thanks to some detailed planning by Kyoko. The methodical itinerary led us from one place to the next and allowed us to see all the major sites in the area in a short period of time. I imagine if Kyoko ever wanted to start her own touring company, she would be very successful.










Nara
Nara is a small town known for its friendly deer population (except during mating season). We were there during mating season and although the deer were mostly worried about food, one male deer got pretty aggressive. See pictures and video.......








Takamatsu
I always talk about "getting local" when I travel. We stayed at Kyoko's grandparent's house where we experienced the most traditional aspects of Japan. It couldn't get more local than visiting her grandparent's beautiful mountain cabin, gigantic shrine at the top of a mountain (that required to cable cars to get to) and participating in a tea ceremony performed by Kyoko's grandmother.










After Mike and Kyoko left, I was a little sad, but then I met up with Kei (from my South Spain blog) and we spent the next week doing everything Tokyo. Whenever Kei and I would go somewhere, he swore he was taking me to "THE BEST" of whatever it was. Whether it be a noodle shop, karaoke lounge, video game center, local bar, sushi restaurant or the best neighborhoods, he had his specific picks and they didn't disappoint. By the way, Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries on earth. Even their toilets are run by computers!

Tokyo









Kobe
I was fortunate enough to actually know someone in Kobe, Japan as well. I spent about a week at Merv's house (my roommate's cousin who grew up in Kobe). Merv and his brother Bunty did a great job of showing me all around Kobe. Merv and I had hung out before when he lived in NYC for a short time and I must admit, it was refreshing to explore a new city with a familiar face. After being on the road for so long and meeting new people almost every day, building friendships from scratch can become a bit tiring. This wasn't the case with Merv and Bunty as we fell right into our routine of jokes and laughs.







After Kobe I made my way back to Tokyo and met up with Kei again to start the next part of my journey.....CHINA. In total, I was in Japan for a month and loved every day of it. So far, it has been one of my favorite countries on my journey.

Up Next - CHINA!

Egypt

Cairo
My Taxi Ride in Cairo - As I exit, a fight break out between the taxi drivers over who will take me. Eventually I just get in one to end the madness while the other guy curses me out in Arabic. Even though I set the price before we get going ("I make no money", as he tried to guilt trip me) I still know I am getting ripped off, but its probably the best price I could get for not looking Egyptian. The taxi takes off as I roll around the back seat like a pinball. Once I get my balance and sit up, I look around and witness a sea of chaos. The ride was very similar to driving in Grand Theft Auto (if you are actually trying to drive normal). We finally slowed down. All of a sudden there was 8 lanes of traffic on a 3 lane road. Once the traffic ended, the video game started up again. While the driver weaved in and out of cars, people, camels, herds of sheep, horses, broken down vehicles and a pyramid (doing about a 100mph), he was yelling at his friend on the cell phone all while trying to sell me a crappy souvenir he is waving at me with his free hand (uhh, free hand?). We finally arrived and I thanked the driver for the roller coaster ride with a two handed handshake bringing it up to my forehead in a gesture of "thank you for not killing me". Welcome to Cairo.













































































































































The rest of my time in Egypt wasn't as life threatening, but that ride gave me a good sense of what Cairo was all about. I met up with my tour group that I would be with for the next 12 days and the first thing we did was head for a leisurely camel ride near the great pyramids. I rode a camel in Morocco, so I felt like an expert. The guide could see my skills, so he unhooked my camel from the rest of the group and gave me the reins so that I could steer by myself. I was a freakin natural! About 5 minutes later I was thrown off the camel and landed in a random pile of chopped up wood on the side of the path. The once leisurely ride quickly turned into panic as half the camels in the group (about 10 or so) freaked out and began to throw people off as they bucked around wildly. My camel was the 7th one to start going crazy. My "dismount" was very athletic, almost graceful. That camel might have thought he got rid of me because he wanted to, but I jumped off on my own terms. Others in the group weren't as lucky and some got hurt (despite landing in sand and not a pile of wood like me). I developed a long scratch on the side of my forehead from the incident, but to my dismay it quickly healed (I was kind of looking forward to having a "I fell off a camel scar" - how many people can say that!).














Stupid Camels




















Luxor
We toured the great pyramids the next day then took an overnight train to Luxor to visit the Valley of the Kings (and Queens) and to witness more of the historic ruins of this once rich culture. I was amazed at what I saw and learned about the ancient Egyptians. I am not going to list out everything I learned, but I was easily blown away a number of times at some of the tombs and stories that the guide told us. In my opinion, it took humans a long time before the species reached the level of advancement the Egyptians created so long ago.


























































































































































































Below is a short video I took of the Karnak Temple - the largest ancient religious site in the world which they are still excavating.



Dahab
After Luxor, our bus joined up with a group of other buses and we were escorted by a police convoy to the next location (I am not kidding). About 18 hours later, we arrived in the beach town of Dahab located on the Red Sea. Dahab is famous for its snorkeling and scuba diving. Since I wasn't licensed to scuba dive, I ended up snorkeling at the legendary Blue Hole with some of the most colorful and friendly fish I've ever seen. A couple of days later, a few of us decided to hike up Mount Sinai (where Moses supposedly got the ten commandments). We started our hike at 1am and made it there just before the sunrise. I witnessed some of the most amazing views of my entire trip at the top of that mountain. When we finally got to the bottom the next morning, we stopped off and saw the famous "burning bush" from the bible, but by that point, I guess it had stopped burning.




















































































































































































































































Up Next - Japan!