Survived an Egyptian Hairdresser – 27 Jan 07
A week or so ago Leeann attempted to get blonde foils put in her hair – we didn’t see it, but she was horrified – they’d turned her hair GREY. Plus the girl who’d done the foils didn’t put them all the way to the roots so she had immediate re-growth. To resolve this adventure she went to another hairdresser two days later and he fixed it, made it look blonde and told her to come back for hot oil treatments and he’d try to resurrect the damage the first guy had done.
We saw the proper blonde version and it looked really nice. It got me inspired (despite the disaster she started out with) and I decided to finally pull my finger out and get my hair cut. I asked the girls from work and they found me a hairdresser near home. I figured I was pretty safe – what’s the worst that could happen he does a crap job and I have to grow the cut out!
I tried to go on Thursday night, but its not a place you can make an appointment – you just walk in off the street and wait your turn. There were 3 people already waiting on Thursday night so I decided to come back today. That’s another crazy Egyptian concept – don’t do anything as orderly as make an appointment – that’d be too easy. Just show up and expect to wait. They act like that’s a more efficient system!
They open at 10am on a Saturday morning so I was there by 10:05am. Lucky too, by the time I’d had my hair washed there were four people waiting.
It was the weirdest experience… Firstly one boy washed my hair, while another slightly older boy watched him. That’s fine I thought – this guy must be the apprentice. Then when the main hairdresser (a 6”5’ guy called Mess) started cutting my hair there were five people watching! I think they were all varying levels of apprentices, but it was a bit weird sitting there having my hair cut with an audience.
Once he’d finished the cut a different boy blow dried it and the youngest boy swept up the piles of hair on the floor. I don’t think they’d have hovered round watching so much had I been there later. By the time I was leaving they were all busily cleaning up, washing hair and ripping up foil etc.
He did a good job… it’s a little shorter than I wanted so I’m not sure it’s going to stay pinned up when its curly, but all in all not bad.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Hash – Chain of Pain – 26 Jan 07
Today the Hash was at Upper Wadi Digla. It was a fair way out, but a beautiful place. Unfortunately the directions that were sent out were a little bit wrong, so some people missed the turn off and it was after 2pm before most people arrived.
There were quite a few people, not as many as last week, but a good sized group. The walk was quite long, with lots of hills and valley’s, but really good. In fact the last three walks have been really good. They were getting too short, now they are a little longer and require a bit of exertion, but are lovely.
Someone forgot the cups for the down downs, so Wesley got this massive knife out of his car (it was Crocodile Dundee – “that’s not a knife, this is a knife!” size). He then cut a bunch of water bottles in half to make substitute cups. It worked quite well.
Last week Mary (wife of Peit that Chris hared with) got awarded the Chain of Pain. The Chain of Pain is one of the ‘sacred relics’ that are passed around the group. There is a toilet seat, a smelly galabiya and a new galabiya and the Chain of Pain. They each have different meaning and are suppose to be awarded for very different reasons, but I’m not exactly sure what! I think the Chain of Pain is suppose to go to someone who’s done something wrong – a kind of punishment. Last week Mary got it for walking too fast on the walk – she was out in front by a ways for the whole time.
That meant this week she had to carry the Chain of Pain on the walk. When it was time to pass on the challenge she called into the circle three people as candidates. Firstly it was Wesley, for dodgy directions. Kim (one of the hares) had provided a map, Wesley and Martina updated but made one small error, actually they provided too much information – consequently half the cars ended up at the recycle centre instead of turning off about 3km earlier.
Irina (the Russian chick) was summoned into the circle next. On the walk she’d pulled a vodka bottle from her hand bag. Just a small one, the 250ml size. She claims it just had juice in it, but the general consensus was that there was no way it was just juice.
Next Chris was called to the circle. He’d said to Mary earlier in the day that it’d be interesting to try doing the run carrying the Chain of Pain… He was chatting when his name was called. So had no idea what was going on when he entered the circle. There was some small debate as to who was the most worthy candidate – Chris won. Now next week he has to carry the Chain of Pain on the run… should be interesting. It’s about a metre of thick chain looped in a circle with a padlock – then padded with a towel and duct tape… its heavy, but no too bad – it’s just going to be uncomfortable lugging the thing around the run.
The On-On was at a place called Red Onion. Really nice food. I got a ‘nut steak’. It was a really nice cut of steak stuffed with nuts and topped with a nutty gravy. It was lovely (but the two beers I’d had earlier in the afternoon on an empty stomach did dull my taste buds a bit!)
After a couple of hours some people started to drift off and about a dozen of us went onto another bar. Three people were driving so we piled into their cars and headed to the bar. It was a funny little bar, looked like it used to be someone house (probably was!) There was a pool table, and some tall tables and lower tables. We got a big table and most of us sat around that just chatting and drinking. The bars here always serve popcorn… on the tables there are always little dishes of popcorn – very yummy.
My driver man had taken Chris home about 5:30pm and he’d told him to come back for me about 9pm. I got a missed call from him at 9pm and sent him a text saying I’d be another hour or so… when I was finally ready to go about midnight I had to get one of the waiter staff at the bar to tell him where I was. Partly coz I had no idea where in Maadi I was, but mostly coz its so much easier if the waiter speaks to him in Arabic! That’s the good and bad thing about having a driver – I feel guilty if I say about 9pm then aren’t actually ready until midnight… but I was having fun and wasn’t ready. If I’d been catching a cab it wouldn’t have mattered. But the really good thing about having the driver is that I was able to collapse into the car and be driven home without having to worry that he was dodgy, or that he would get lost.
Today the Hash was at Upper Wadi Digla. It was a fair way out, but a beautiful place. Unfortunately the directions that were sent out were a little bit wrong, so some people missed the turn off and it was after 2pm before most people arrived.
There were quite a few people, not as many as last week, but a good sized group. The walk was quite long, with lots of hills and valley’s, but really good. In fact the last three walks have been really good. They were getting too short, now they are a little longer and require a bit of exertion, but are lovely.
Someone forgot the cups for the down downs, so Wesley got this massive knife out of his car (it was Crocodile Dundee – “that’s not a knife, this is a knife!” size). He then cut a bunch of water bottles in half to make substitute cups. It worked quite well.
Last week Mary (wife of Peit that Chris hared with) got awarded the Chain of Pain. The Chain of Pain is one of the ‘sacred relics’ that are passed around the group. There is a toilet seat, a smelly galabiya and a new galabiya and the Chain of Pain. They each have different meaning and are suppose to be awarded for very different reasons, but I’m not exactly sure what! I think the Chain of Pain is suppose to go to someone who’s done something wrong – a kind of punishment. Last week Mary got it for walking too fast on the walk – she was out in front by a ways for the whole time.
That meant this week she had to carry the Chain of Pain on the walk. When it was time to pass on the challenge she called into the circle three people as candidates. Firstly it was Wesley, for dodgy directions. Kim (one of the hares) had provided a map, Wesley and Martina updated but made one small error, actually they provided too much information – consequently half the cars ended up at the recycle centre instead of turning off about 3km earlier.
Irina (the Russian chick) was summoned into the circle next. On the walk she’d pulled a vodka bottle from her hand bag. Just a small one, the 250ml size. She claims it just had juice in it, but the general consensus was that there was no way it was just juice.
Next Chris was called to the circle. He’d said to Mary earlier in the day that it’d be interesting to try doing the run carrying the Chain of Pain… He was chatting when his name was called. So had no idea what was going on when he entered the circle. There was some small debate as to who was the most worthy candidate – Chris won. Now next week he has to carry the Chain of Pain on the run… should be interesting. It’s about a metre of thick chain looped in a circle with a padlock – then padded with a towel and duct tape… its heavy, but no too bad – it’s just going to be uncomfortable lugging the thing around the run.
The On-On was at a place called Red Onion. Really nice food. I got a ‘nut steak’. It was a really nice cut of steak stuffed with nuts and topped with a nutty gravy. It was lovely (but the two beers I’d had earlier in the afternoon on an empty stomach did dull my taste buds a bit!)
After a couple of hours some people started to drift off and about a dozen of us went onto another bar. Three people were driving so we piled into their cars and headed to the bar. It was a funny little bar, looked like it used to be someone house (probably was!) There was a pool table, and some tall tables and lower tables. We got a big table and most of us sat around that just chatting and drinking. The bars here always serve popcorn… on the tables there are always little dishes of popcorn – very yummy.
My driver man had taken Chris home about 5:30pm and he’d told him to come back for me about 9pm. I got a missed call from him at 9pm and sent him a text saying I’d be another hour or so… when I was finally ready to go about midnight I had to get one of the waiter staff at the bar to tell him where I was. Partly coz I had no idea where in Maadi I was, but mostly coz its so much easier if the waiter speaks to him in Arabic! That’s the good and bad thing about having a driver – I feel guilty if I say about 9pm then aren’t actually ready until midnight… but I was having fun and wasn’t ready. If I’d been catching a cab it wouldn’t have mattered. But the really good thing about having the driver is that I was able to collapse into the car and be driven home without having to worry that he was dodgy, or that he would get lost.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
New Photos – 24 January 2007
Ok, I’ve finally got around to uploading some more pics onto the website. It now has a bunch from my first while here in Egypt, plus a selection of the ones I took in Prague. I think I took about 200 pics in Prague, but I’ve uploaded about 20.
To make it easier here is a link to the photos: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/kj_adventure/
I’ve taken loads, but only up loaded a selection from each thing. Check out the fabulous air quality pic – it was like looking through ice cream. I’ll take one soon that shows the view of the pyramids from our balcony. Unfortunately most days it’s too hazy to see much clearly.
I’ll take my camera to the Hash soon too and take some pics of that. It’s pretty amazing in the desert. There were loads of pics taken at the 1400th Hash so I’ll try getting some of them.
LATE ADDITION: There are now pics up for when Chris and I got named on the Hash on Dec 15 2006 – very messy process…
Ok, I’ve finally got around to uploading some more pics onto the website. It now has a bunch from my first while here in Egypt, plus a selection of the ones I took in Prague. I think I took about 200 pics in Prague, but I’ve uploaded about 20.
To make it easier here is a link to the photos: http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/kj_adventure/
I’ve taken loads, but only up loaded a selection from each thing. Check out the fabulous air quality pic – it was like looking through ice cream. I’ll take one soon that shows the view of the pyramids from our balcony. Unfortunately most days it’s too hazy to see much clearly.
I’ll take my camera to the Hash soon too and take some pics of that. It’s pretty amazing in the desert. There were loads of pics taken at the 1400th Hash so I’ll try getting some of them.
LATE ADDITION: There are now pics up for when Chris and I got named on the Hash on Dec 15 2006 – very messy process…
Monday, January 22, 2007
1400th Hash – 19 January 2007
Today was the 1400th Hash for Cairo Hash 3. That means the 1400th time the CH3 (this particular hash group) have organised a Hash. It’s being going since about 1980 I think. This week it was at lower wadi digla, and there was a champagne stop near the end of the walk. We also got orange commemorative polo tops. When I say orange, I mean ORANGE! I think it’s probably the only orange thing that I own :)
The walk was really good. Way longer than the last two, a few steep bits, but really good. At one of the check points they’d even made this big 1400 CH3 sign out of bricks that were laying around. It was really good. There are loads of people there too. Over a 100 I think. Maybe a dozen brand new people, plus loads of people that don’t come every week. The only problem with so many people is that we were strung out over about half a km so had to wait for ages at each check point.
The last checkpoint was at the top of a big hill and you could see the champagne stop from there. Because they could see the grog no one wanted to stop. A few of us stopped and waited, then we decided there was no point, everyone else was streaming down the hill so I scrubbed out the lentils and we all made out way down the hill. After the Champagne stop we completed the walk - only about another km along the road back to the cars.
Leeanne had made some print outs of the songs so we handed out song sheets so people could sing along. It went ok, they were still out of time, but at least everyone was joining in. I need to finish up the song book, otherwise I’m going to be gone before they get printed!
The circle was funny, it’s probably only the second time I’ve seen the proper religious adviser at work. He wears Viking type horns and yells a lot. He kept dragging people into the circle because they were talking while he was trying to do stuff. One of his horns fell off towards the end of the circle and they made him skull a beer from it. It was pretty funny.
It started to get cold so they wrapped up the circle and everyone headed back to Maadi. We were going to the On-On but it didn’t start for another hour or so. Luckily because all our stuff had been at Leeanne’s we went back there and bummed round for an hour or so. Chris hadn’t slept much last night so tried to have a nap. I didn’t think he’d make it through much of the On-On so I took my stuff with me to the On-On.
Food was provided for 40LE, roast pork, some pasta type thing and some other stuff. I wasn’t really hungry so I stuck to my vodka’s. I’m becoming a little alcoholic – two nights in a row. Although, I didn’t drink much on Thursday night. We took a load of vodka and beers to the party, but because we left so early we didn’t get to drink them and the drinks at the club were ridiculously expensive (over AUD$10 for a vodka). Tonight however I made up for it. I think I had about 10 drinks, but they aren’t very strong at the rugby club, so it was more the sugar rush from the sprite that was killing me than the vodka.
We mostly just sat around drinking and chatting all night. Leeanne was heading off to another party in Zamalek so Chris split a cab with her about 930pm. I wasn’t ready to go so I stayed on and caught a cab home about midnight. That was my first brave attempt to cab home from Maadi on my own. Luckily I’d been paying more attention lately to where our driver takes us, otherwise I’d never have gotton home. The cab drivers here are all so dodgy! They don’t know where half the major land marks are. Even if they normally work in that area. More usless than Melbourne cab drivers and that’s saying something! Anyway, the cabbie got me almost to Mohandiseen, we were only a block away from where we needed to be and he pulled over and asked someone. Two more turns and I was on familiar ground and was able to yimeen, shimal and alatool my way home.
It was a really nice day and night. The weather was perfect while we walked around the desert, the atmosphere at the rugby club was very friendly and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Today was the 1400th Hash for Cairo Hash 3. That means the 1400th time the CH3 (this particular hash group) have organised a Hash. It’s being going since about 1980 I think. This week it was at lower wadi digla, and there was a champagne stop near the end of the walk. We also got orange commemorative polo tops. When I say orange, I mean ORANGE! I think it’s probably the only orange thing that I own :)
The walk was really good. Way longer than the last two, a few steep bits, but really good. At one of the check points they’d even made this big 1400 CH3 sign out of bricks that were laying around. It was really good. There are loads of people there too. Over a 100 I think. Maybe a dozen brand new people, plus loads of people that don’t come every week. The only problem with so many people is that we were strung out over about half a km so had to wait for ages at each check point.
The last checkpoint was at the top of a big hill and you could see the champagne stop from there. Because they could see the grog no one wanted to stop. A few of us stopped and waited, then we decided there was no point, everyone else was streaming down the hill so I scrubbed out the lentils and we all made out way down the hill. After the Champagne stop we completed the walk - only about another km along the road back to the cars.
Leeanne had made some print outs of the songs so we handed out song sheets so people could sing along. It went ok, they were still out of time, but at least everyone was joining in. I need to finish up the song book, otherwise I’m going to be gone before they get printed!
The circle was funny, it’s probably only the second time I’ve seen the proper religious adviser at work. He wears Viking type horns and yells a lot. He kept dragging people into the circle because they were talking while he was trying to do stuff. One of his horns fell off towards the end of the circle and they made him skull a beer from it. It was pretty funny.
It started to get cold so they wrapped up the circle and everyone headed back to Maadi. We were going to the On-On but it didn’t start for another hour or so. Luckily because all our stuff had been at Leeanne’s we went back there and bummed round for an hour or so. Chris hadn’t slept much last night so tried to have a nap. I didn’t think he’d make it through much of the On-On so I took my stuff with me to the On-On.
Food was provided for 40LE, roast pork, some pasta type thing and some other stuff. I wasn’t really hungry so I stuck to my vodka’s. I’m becoming a little alcoholic – two nights in a row. Although, I didn’t drink much on Thursday night. We took a load of vodka and beers to the party, but because we left so early we didn’t get to drink them and the drinks at the club were ridiculously expensive (over AUD$10 for a vodka). Tonight however I made up for it. I think I had about 10 drinks, but they aren’t very strong at the rugby club, so it was more the sugar rush from the sprite that was killing me than the vodka.
We mostly just sat around drinking and chatting all night. Leeanne was heading off to another party in Zamalek so Chris split a cab with her about 930pm. I wasn’t ready to go so I stayed on and caught a cab home about midnight. That was my first brave attempt to cab home from Maadi on my own. Luckily I’d been paying more attention lately to where our driver takes us, otherwise I’d never have gotton home. The cab drivers here are all so dodgy! They don’t know where half the major land marks are. Even if they normally work in that area. More usless than Melbourne cab drivers and that’s saying something! Anyway, the cabbie got me almost to Mohandiseen, we were only a block away from where we needed to be and he pulled over and asked someone. Two more turns and I was on familiar ground and was able to yimeen, shimal and alatool my way home.
It was a really nice day and night. The weather was perfect while we walked around the desert, the atmosphere at the rugby club was very friendly and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Party in Maadi – 18 January 2007
Tonight Chris and I went to Maadi to a party with Leeanne. The party was at Leeanne’s neighbours place, there were about a dozen people there when we arrived. Leeanne’s cousin had arrived in from Canada today and he came to the party, so did Andy. We were there for an hour or so, then Andy had to go (because he was flying back to the states for a week or so). Leeanne suggested we go with him back to Zamalek and go to a club that some of his friends were at.
We go to the Four Season’s and went to a place called ‘Club 35’. It took a little while to get in because it was really crowded, but Andy knew some people who were already there and they got us in. We were shown to a table and ordered some drinks, then we decided to go dancing. Leeanne was talking to random strangers who we ended up dancing with. There was an Aussie guy who’s been living in Switzerland and his swiss mate. They were good fun.
About 230am we decided to call it a night. Chris and I were staying in Maadi because we thought that’s where we’d be all night and the Hash being on Friday it made more sense to stay there. So we got back to Leeanne’s place and went back over to the party we’d started at. There was only about 6 people left – Leeanne’s cousin James and about 6 of the host’s female friends. It was pretty funny to walk into the party and see James surrounded by women dancing to salsa typ music. By now it was a little after 3am so we went back to Leeanne’s and crashed out. It was a good night. I had fun out dancing :)
On Friday morning we went out for breakfast and I got to eat HAM!!! It’s crazy how much you want stuff that you can’t get. It’s like when we first arrived I wanted alcohol and couldn’t get it and now I keep drooling over the idea of ham just because its so hard to find. You can’t get it in the normal supermarkets, only in special deli’s. I didn’t even realise you could get it in the deli’s until this morning. I guess it’s because this place is run by Coptics (who don’t have the pork issues that muslin’s have) and its in Maadi so it has a pretty big cliental. It was SOOOOOO yummy.
Tonight Chris and I went to Maadi to a party with Leeanne. The party was at Leeanne’s neighbours place, there were about a dozen people there when we arrived. Leeanne’s cousin had arrived in from Canada today and he came to the party, so did Andy. We were there for an hour or so, then Andy had to go (because he was flying back to the states for a week or so). Leeanne suggested we go with him back to Zamalek and go to a club that some of his friends were at.
We go to the Four Season’s and went to a place called ‘Club 35’. It took a little while to get in because it was really crowded, but Andy knew some people who were already there and they got us in. We were shown to a table and ordered some drinks, then we decided to go dancing. Leeanne was talking to random strangers who we ended up dancing with. There was an Aussie guy who’s been living in Switzerland and his swiss mate. They were good fun.
About 230am we decided to call it a night. Chris and I were staying in Maadi because we thought that’s where we’d be all night and the Hash being on Friday it made more sense to stay there. So we got back to Leeanne’s place and went back over to the party we’d started at. There was only about 6 people left – Leeanne’s cousin James and about 6 of the host’s female friends. It was pretty funny to walk into the party and see James surrounded by women dancing to salsa typ music. By now it was a little after 3am so we went back to Leeanne’s and crashed out. It was a good night. I had fun out dancing :)
On Friday morning we went out for breakfast and I got to eat HAM!!! It’s crazy how much you want stuff that you can’t get. It’s like when we first arrived I wanted alcohol and couldn’t get it and now I keep drooling over the idea of ham just because its so hard to find. You can’t get it in the normal supermarkets, only in special deli’s. I didn’t even realise you could get it in the deli’s until this morning. I guess it’s because this place is run by Coptics (who don’t have the pork issues that muslin’s have) and its in Maadi so it has a pretty big cliental. It was SOOOOOO yummy.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Hash – 12 January 2007
Today’s Hash was in the middle of nowhere - Wadi el-Gawari. We had to meet at the ACE club early and there were more people and less cars than usual. Luckily there were quite a few of the big four wheel drivers that fit 7 or 8 people in them.
The trip out to the RV site took longer than normal…about an hour. We also had to travel in a caravan of cars coz hardly anyone knew where to go.
Once we got there we could have been on the moon – there was nothing but light coloured sand and rocks for miles. Both the walk and the run had checks at the Pharonic Dam. It was pretty cool to see the rocks that were worn away by the passage of the water.
The walk was really nice. One steep bit then a gentle meandering. The circle was really good this week. The official RA (religious advisor) wasn’t there and John (Doggie Style) who normally fills in wasn’t there either. So Wesley did most of the talking, then handed it over to Kim (who used to be part of the committee a few years back I think). There were lots of songs - Leeanne and I were called into lead everyone in a new song, but we had to get Rebecca (another hasher) to help us. We decided we really need to get our shit together. No one is singing the same words or at the same time!
I sold raffle tickets… harassed everyone, sold lots. As I sold them, I was called into the circle for them to be drawn so ended up having about 4 down downs. There were loads of down downs. There was one for people who’d been in Cairo for a long time (about 12 people up there). One for people with tattoos - I didn’t go up for that one, no one knows I’ve got a tattoo yet. That was pretty funny actually, Wesley was asking who had tattoos and he asked Chris who responded ‘no tattoos, just a piercing’ when Wesley said to show it, he said it wasn’t in a public showable place! Everyone was laughing their heads off. There ended up being LOADS of people in the circle – an awful lot of people have tattoos!
I can’t remember what the rest of them were for, but there were loads of down downs – it was one of the best circles I’ve been to.
The only downside off course was the long journey home. Especially as we got caught in a traffic jam because trucks were being checked as they went through one point of the road.
We were going to go to the On On which was at Aler’s house. But after a late last night and knowing that next weekend will be big (party Thursday night, plus 1400th hash so big deal on Friday) we decided to call it a night. All in all a very enjoyable day.
Today’s Hash was in the middle of nowhere - Wadi el-Gawari. We had to meet at the ACE club early and there were more people and less cars than usual. Luckily there were quite a few of the big four wheel drivers that fit 7 or 8 people in them.
The trip out to the RV site took longer than normal…about an hour. We also had to travel in a caravan of cars coz hardly anyone knew where to go.
Once we got there we could have been on the moon – there was nothing but light coloured sand and rocks for miles. Both the walk and the run had checks at the Pharonic Dam. It was pretty cool to see the rocks that were worn away by the passage of the water.
The walk was really nice. One steep bit then a gentle meandering. The circle was really good this week. The official RA (religious advisor) wasn’t there and John (Doggie Style) who normally fills in wasn’t there either. So Wesley did most of the talking, then handed it over to Kim (who used to be part of the committee a few years back I think). There were lots of songs - Leeanne and I were called into lead everyone in a new song, but we had to get Rebecca (another hasher) to help us. We decided we really need to get our shit together. No one is singing the same words or at the same time!
I sold raffle tickets… harassed everyone, sold lots. As I sold them, I was called into the circle for them to be drawn so ended up having about 4 down downs. There were loads of down downs. There was one for people who’d been in Cairo for a long time (about 12 people up there). One for people with tattoos - I didn’t go up for that one, no one knows I’ve got a tattoo yet. That was pretty funny actually, Wesley was asking who had tattoos and he asked Chris who responded ‘no tattoos, just a piercing’ when Wesley said to show it, he said it wasn’t in a public showable place! Everyone was laughing their heads off. There ended up being LOADS of people in the circle – an awful lot of people have tattoos!
I can’t remember what the rest of them were for, but there were loads of down downs – it was one of the best circles I’ve been to.
The only downside off course was the long journey home. Especially as we got caught in a traffic jam because trucks were being checked as they went through one point of the road.
We were going to go to the On On which was at Aler’s house. But after a late last night and knowing that next weekend will be big (party Thursday night, plus 1400th hash so big deal on Friday) we decided to call it a night. All in all a very enjoyable day.
Karaoke & Dancing – 11 January 2007
After my lucky afternoon, Chris & I went to the Marriot. We went to the casino briefly – hoping my luck would rub off on Chris. He came out in front by $45 so maybe it did.
By this time it was only 9pm so we went to Harry’s pub, the same pub that we had our tequila soaked misadventure in a few months back. We decided to go early coz otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get a table. We ordered some snacks and a drink. We’d just finished these when some hash people showed up. They said hi as they walked by then one of the girls (Leeanne, a Canadian) came back and told us we should go sit with them.
We moved up to where their table was and had a few drinks with them. Thursday and Friday nights are Karaoke night at Harry’s. Chris and I were sceptical, but Leeanne and her friends said that’s why they’d come to Harry’s. As soon as the books were brought out they were going through them looking for suitable songs. Karaoke started at 10pm and Garret (hash guy) and Shannon were up and singing. It was hilarious.
Essam was supposed to pick us up about 11pm. We decided to text him and say 1am instead. Since we’d already changed the time once, I was going to leave at 1am coz Essam was waiting. Unfortunately, Chris had forgotten to bring his key so he’d have had to wake me when he got home. Chris said he’d go tell Essam we didn’t need him, give him £20 and send him home. I was worried that Essam would be pissed at us for stuffing him round, but he said it was fine (I reckon he was happy to get the money!).
Just before 2am (as the karaoke was wrapping up) Leeanne said they were going out dancing. I was going to go home then, but thy said the pub they were going dancing at was just around the corner so I thought I’d check it out first. We walked the long way round to the boats on the Nile looking for a bar called Latex. We ended up at a place called Bliss. It was dark, like a basement bar, with lots of red covered lamps etc and a bar all the way along one side. There were about 12 people there, but the five of us started dancing anyway. The music wasn’t great, kinda dance music...not much in the way of lyrics.
I’ve never had so much fun in a nearly empty bar! At one point Andy had everyone in the bar up dancing with us! It was good fun. They closed about 3am and there was discussion back and forth about continuing on or going home. I was keen to go home, but me and my rubber arm were convinced to check out the next boat. When we got to the door they said no and we all started walking back to the road. Then Andy’s yelled out to us and said we could go up to the party that was on the boat, but it was just Arabic music. We agreed to call it a night. It turns out the ‘party’ was a wedding! We almost crashed a wedding!.
Chris and I got into a cab and Leanne, Andy and Casey walked home (the boys both live in Zamalek near the embassy). We got in the cab and I’ve got no idea how to get back to Mohandiseen. You’d think I’d have figured it out by now, but I must never pay attention. Then the driver turned the wrong way. I said to Chris I’m sure he’s going the wrong way and then Chris said was that Sphinx square? And the guy goes Sphinx square? and nods. So we thought it was and we went along a bit further and I said no, we need to turn around.
We finally convinced the guy he was going the wrong way (he’d been trying to take us to Sphinx square!). We were saying shooting club, nady el seed, but he just wasn’t getting it. Finally I saw a shop that we’d passed on the way to the Marriot earlier and got the driver turned around and directed us home (eventually using Arabic for the direction – alatool for straight, yimeen for right and shimaal for left). We paid him £10 (which Leeanne etc has said was more than enough) and then we got out of the cab. He was arguing for more but we started walking away so he took the £2 extra we offered and gave up on us.
It was a good night, I love going dancing. It’s been way too long since the last time. Leeanne said that the Canadian embassy has an end of month party that always ends up with dancing so she invited Chris and I to go to that with her and her friends next time its on. Bring it on :)
After my lucky afternoon, Chris & I went to the Marriot. We went to the casino briefly – hoping my luck would rub off on Chris. He came out in front by $45 so maybe it did.
By this time it was only 9pm so we went to Harry’s pub, the same pub that we had our tequila soaked misadventure in a few months back. We decided to go early coz otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get a table. We ordered some snacks and a drink. We’d just finished these when some hash people showed up. They said hi as they walked by then one of the girls (Leeanne, a Canadian) came back and told us we should go sit with them.
We moved up to where their table was and had a few drinks with them. Thursday and Friday nights are Karaoke night at Harry’s. Chris and I were sceptical, but Leeanne and her friends said that’s why they’d come to Harry’s. As soon as the books were brought out they were going through them looking for suitable songs. Karaoke started at 10pm and Garret (hash guy) and Shannon were up and singing. It was hilarious.
Essam was supposed to pick us up about 11pm. We decided to text him and say 1am instead. Since we’d already changed the time once, I was going to leave at 1am coz Essam was waiting. Unfortunately, Chris had forgotten to bring his key so he’d have had to wake me when he got home. Chris said he’d go tell Essam we didn’t need him, give him £20 and send him home. I was worried that Essam would be pissed at us for stuffing him round, but he said it was fine (I reckon he was happy to get the money!).
Just before 2am (as the karaoke was wrapping up) Leeanne said they were going out dancing. I was going to go home then, but thy said the pub they were going dancing at was just around the corner so I thought I’d check it out first. We walked the long way round to the boats on the Nile looking for a bar called Latex. We ended up at a place called Bliss. It was dark, like a basement bar, with lots of red covered lamps etc and a bar all the way along one side. There were about 12 people there, but the five of us started dancing anyway. The music wasn’t great, kinda dance music...not much in the way of lyrics.
I’ve never had so much fun in a nearly empty bar! At one point Andy had everyone in the bar up dancing with us! It was good fun. They closed about 3am and there was discussion back and forth about continuing on or going home. I was keen to go home, but me and my rubber arm were convinced to check out the next boat. When we got to the door they said no and we all started walking back to the road. Then Andy’s yelled out to us and said we could go up to the party that was on the boat, but it was just Arabic music. We agreed to call it a night. It turns out the ‘party’ was a wedding! We almost crashed a wedding!.
Chris and I got into a cab and Leanne, Andy and Casey walked home (the boys both live in Zamalek near the embassy). We got in the cab and I’ve got no idea how to get back to Mohandiseen. You’d think I’d have figured it out by now, but I must never pay attention. Then the driver turned the wrong way. I said to Chris I’m sure he’s going the wrong way and then Chris said was that Sphinx square? And the guy goes Sphinx square? and nods. So we thought it was and we went along a bit further and I said no, we need to turn around.
We finally convinced the guy he was going the wrong way (he’d been trying to take us to Sphinx square!). We were saying shooting club, nady el seed, but he just wasn’t getting it. Finally I saw a shop that we’d passed on the way to the Marriot earlier and got the driver turned around and directed us home (eventually using Arabic for the direction – alatool for straight, yimeen for right and shimaal for left). We paid him £10 (which Leeanne etc has said was more than enough) and then we got out of the cab. He was arguing for more but we started walking away so he took the £2 extra we offered and gave up on us.
It was a good night, I love going dancing. It’s been way too long since the last time. Leeanne said that the Canadian embassy has an end of month party that always ends up with dancing so she invited Chris and I to go to that with her and her friends next time its on. Bring it on :)
Saturday, January 13, 2007
I’m a Lucky Girl – 11 January 2007
On the way home from work tonight we were listening to the radio. They have lots of silly competitions and one of them is a movie in 30 seconds. The presenter does a short overview of a movie in 30 seconds then people sms in the name of the movie. I’ve never entered the competition before but today’s movie was Lord of the Rings – specifically Lord of the Rings – the Fellowship of the Ring.
I decided to enter and as I sent off the text I said to Chris ‘I’m going to win this’. The first time I sent it I forgot to put my name on it, so I sent it again with my name on the end. About 10 minutes later my mobile rang and it was the radio man!!
Basically he asked me where I was and said what would happen when I went on the radio – then I was live on the radio (Nile FM the local English speaking radio). He did the movie again in 30 seconds then asked me what it was then I won CDs!!
I don’t know which CDs I’ve won, I get to pick them up on Sunday. The radio man is really funny. I can’t believe I won a competition on the radio!!
On the way home from work tonight we were listening to the radio. They have lots of silly competitions and one of them is a movie in 30 seconds. The presenter does a short overview of a movie in 30 seconds then people sms in the name of the movie. I’ve never entered the competition before but today’s movie was Lord of the Rings – specifically Lord of the Rings – the Fellowship of the Ring.
I decided to enter and as I sent off the text I said to Chris ‘I’m going to win this’. The first time I sent it I forgot to put my name on it, so I sent it again with my name on the end. About 10 minutes later my mobile rang and it was the radio man!!
Basically he asked me where I was and said what would happen when I went on the radio – then I was live on the radio (Nile FM the local English speaking radio). He did the movie again in 30 seconds then asked me what it was then I won CDs!!
I don’t know which CDs I’ve won, I get to pick them up on Sunday. The radio man is really funny. I can’t believe I won a competition on the radio!!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Felucca Ride on the Nile – 7 January 2007
Chris and I went with some of the Hash people on a felucca ride on the Nile today. It was a lovely afternoon. We got on the felucca about 3pm and sailed around for about 2 hours. We drank mulled wine (and beer), ate cheese and crackers and chatted.
The felucca’s are kinda like a sailboat. You have an Egyptian captain who deals with the sails, steering and basically making the boat go. Then you sit in the boat on benches that have cushions on them and there is a big table – like a picnic table in the middle.
I discovered mulled wine is very tasty, nice and warm on a chilly afternoon and can get you quite drunk. I didn’t have that much but even the few glasses I had made an impression on my lack of sea legs! One of the Hash guys brought his dog Bogey along. She’s a gorgeous brown and black boxer. She’s not normally a beggar but was feeling neglected because everyone was talking and paying her no attention so she’d sit at your feet staring up at you with her big beautiful brown eyes. Apparently she quite likes cheese :)
It was a lovely afternoon and would be even nicer when the weather gets a little warmer.
Chris and I went with some of the Hash people on a felucca ride on the Nile today. It was a lovely afternoon. We got on the felucca about 3pm and sailed around for about 2 hours. We drank mulled wine (and beer), ate cheese and crackers and chatted.
The felucca’s are kinda like a sailboat. You have an Egyptian captain who deals with the sails, steering and basically making the boat go. Then you sit in the boat on benches that have cushions on them and there is a big table – like a picnic table in the middle.
I discovered mulled wine is very tasty, nice and warm on a chilly afternoon and can get you quite drunk. I didn’t have that much but even the few glasses I had made an impression on my lack of sea legs! One of the Hash guys brought his dog Bogey along. She’s a gorgeous brown and black boxer. She’s not normally a beggar but was feeling neglected because everyone was talking and paying her no attention so she’d sit at your feet staring up at you with her big beautiful brown eyes. Apparently she quite likes cheese :)
It was a lovely afternoon and would be even nicer when the weather gets a little warmer.
Prague: Kunta Hora and last day – 4 & 5 January 2007
Today was my first proper day on my own so I decided to try and do the Kunta Hora day trip. I got up early (even after last nights sleeplessness) and went to book in for the 9:30am tour. Unfortunately the tour doesn’t run of Thursdays so I decided to look around and try and find the one I saw advertised earlier that went in the afternoons. I wandered through the Jewish district which was pretty cool and bought a Golem – I didn’t know but the Golem folktale comes from the Jewish community, maybe even the Jewish community in Czech.
On my wandering I had just about given up finding the tour company and was heading back to the hostel when I saw it. It was a little dearer than the one that goes in the morning, but I managed to book into an English speaking tour for Thursday afternoon. I went and did a little bit of shopping – bought some new ankle boots and a few other bits and pieces and then went back to the hostel.
Kunta Hora was pretty good. I thought the tour was going to be too short. It only went for 5 hours and half of that time was spent in the bus but there really isn’t too much to see in Kunta Hora. It would be nicer in the spring, but it was still a good trip.
First of all we went to Baroque Ossuary – the bone cathedral. It’s quite small, but has a chandelier that is made up of every bone in the human body. The coat of arms was even made of bones and each corner had a kind of statue or altar type thing in it – also made of bones. We only had about 20 minutes there, but it was enough.
Next it was back on the bus to St. Barbara Cathedral (she was the patron saint of miners). It was absolutely freezing inside. I had on gloves, beanie, all my layers and I was still cold. It was colder inside than outside! Then we walked along to the Italian Royal Court & Mint. We got a tour of the mint and they told all about the silver mining and the coins they used to make. Kunta Hora used to be as big and as important as Prague but when the silver mine dried up so did the town. There is still silver in the ground, but it’s too deep to get out. Not cost effective or safe to keep mining it.
As it was my last night I decided to go out for dinner. I got a nice pasta and had a couple of glasses of wine (in fact I woke up more hung over from two glasses of wine than I did from all the beers I’ve drunk all week!).
Friday was my last day in Prague. After I’d packed up my stuff and checked out of the hostel I had my last bagel at the Bohemian Bagel shop and spent 2 hours reading the paper. Then I wandered round the Jewish Quarter and the shops and did a little more shopping (I bought a Prague t-shirt to wear to the gym).
After that I had a late lunch then got my stuff and went to the airport. I was at the airport way too early but I was out of money and decided I could sit there and read while I waited. The only downside of being there so early was that I finished my book just as we were taking off. Luckily they had an English paper so I read that between naps on the flight home.
Anyways, 4 hours later I arrived back in Cairo… I thought 2am would be pretty quite but two other planes had landed at the same time. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the chaos of Cairo. I was stood in the passport control ‘line’ – Egyptian don’t line up, they kind of mill around in groups and randomly push their way to the front. While I was in the ‘line’ there were about 6 people in front of me but because of how they were standing there was a gap of about 2 bodies worth in front of me. This stupid guy beside me tried to push past me to the gap, even though there were still 6 other people there. I kinda blocked him and he said ‘oh you go first’ and I said ‘there are 6 people in front of us!!’.
Anyways, I finally made it through passport control and I was waiting at the baggage carrousel. There was a security guard standing right next to where the bags came out. In the 10 minutes or so I was waiting for my bag at least 4 bags fell off the carrousel, one right next to the security guard. He just looked at, then went back to staring out into space. I couldn’t believe how useless he was. I went over and put it back onto the carrousel.
Anyways, finally got my bag, Ahmed (driver man) was waiting for me at the gate and so by about 3:30am I was home nice and safe. It felt so warm after Prague – it was about 13 degrees I think.
So another adventure over. Prague is just lovely, I recommend it to anyone, but it’d be best to go before they go onto the Euro… Aussie to Koruna is quite a good exchange rate, much better than Aussie to Euro!
Today was my first proper day on my own so I decided to try and do the Kunta Hora day trip. I got up early (even after last nights sleeplessness) and went to book in for the 9:30am tour. Unfortunately the tour doesn’t run of Thursdays so I decided to look around and try and find the one I saw advertised earlier that went in the afternoons. I wandered through the Jewish district which was pretty cool and bought a Golem – I didn’t know but the Golem folktale comes from the Jewish community, maybe even the Jewish community in Czech.
On my wandering I had just about given up finding the tour company and was heading back to the hostel when I saw it. It was a little dearer than the one that goes in the morning, but I managed to book into an English speaking tour for Thursday afternoon. I went and did a little bit of shopping – bought some new ankle boots and a few other bits and pieces and then went back to the hostel.
Kunta Hora was pretty good. I thought the tour was going to be too short. It only went for 5 hours and half of that time was spent in the bus but there really isn’t too much to see in Kunta Hora. It would be nicer in the spring, but it was still a good trip.
First of all we went to Baroque Ossuary – the bone cathedral. It’s quite small, but has a chandelier that is made up of every bone in the human body. The coat of arms was even made of bones and each corner had a kind of statue or altar type thing in it – also made of bones. We only had about 20 minutes there, but it was enough.
Next it was back on the bus to St. Barbara Cathedral (she was the patron saint of miners). It was absolutely freezing inside. I had on gloves, beanie, all my layers and I was still cold. It was colder inside than outside! Then we walked along to the Italian Royal Court & Mint. We got a tour of the mint and they told all about the silver mining and the coins they used to make. Kunta Hora used to be as big and as important as Prague but when the silver mine dried up so did the town. There is still silver in the ground, but it’s too deep to get out. Not cost effective or safe to keep mining it.
As it was my last night I decided to go out for dinner. I got a nice pasta and had a couple of glasses of wine (in fact I woke up more hung over from two glasses of wine than I did from all the beers I’ve drunk all week!).
Friday was my last day in Prague. After I’d packed up my stuff and checked out of the hostel I had my last bagel at the Bohemian Bagel shop and spent 2 hours reading the paper. Then I wandered round the Jewish Quarter and the shops and did a little more shopping (I bought a Prague t-shirt to wear to the gym).
After that I had a late lunch then got my stuff and went to the airport. I was at the airport way too early but I was out of money and decided I could sit there and read while I waited. The only downside of being there so early was that I finished my book just as we were taking off. Luckily they had an English paper so I read that between naps on the flight home.
Anyways, 4 hours later I arrived back in Cairo… I thought 2am would be pretty quite but two other planes had landed at the same time. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the chaos of Cairo. I was stood in the passport control ‘line’ – Egyptian don’t line up, they kind of mill around in groups and randomly push their way to the front. While I was in the ‘line’ there were about 6 people in front of me but because of how they were standing there was a gap of about 2 bodies worth in front of me. This stupid guy beside me tried to push past me to the gap, even though there were still 6 other people there. I kinda blocked him and he said ‘oh you go first’ and I said ‘there are 6 people in front of us!!’.
Anyways, I finally made it through passport control and I was waiting at the baggage carrousel. There was a security guard standing right next to where the bags came out. In the 10 minutes or so I was waiting for my bag at least 4 bags fell off the carrousel, one right next to the security guard. He just looked at, then went back to staring out into space. I couldn’t believe how useless he was. I went over and put it back onto the carrousel.
Anyways, finally got my bag, Ahmed (driver man) was waiting for me at the gate and so by about 3:30am I was home nice and safe. It felt so warm after Prague – it was about 13 degrees I think.
So another adventure over. Prague is just lovely, I recommend it to anyone, but it’d be best to go before they go onto the Euro… Aussie to Koruna is quite a good exchange rate, much better than Aussie to Euro!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Prague: Wandering the streets – 2 & 3 January 2007
Today we started off by eating breakfast and reading our books at the Bohemian Bagel shop.
After such a leisurely day yesterday Elsa and I decided to walk up to the Letna Gardens the walk along the north bank of the Vltava river. We spent a couple of hours wandering round then Elsa headed back to the hostel. I went in search of a power adaptor. I was so cranky – my adaptors for Egypt are the same as needed for Czech, but the power points at the hostel had an extra pin poking out. My adaptors are round and they don’t fit below the pin. I looked everywhere for different adaptors but I only found two adaptors at all and they were both Czech to the rest of the world. Fortunately when I got back to the hostel moaning about my bad luck I discovered one of the Norwegians had a charger that fits my phone so I used it to recharge and I was able to plus my camera charger into my adaptor then into Elsa’s adaptor then into the wall – probably some serious fire hazard risks but nothing exploded so I took that as a good sign :)
In apology for the noise and spew etc the Norwegians (we were down to 6 by this stage, one had to go back early) had bought us chocolate and a card. They were so cute – in the card they’d drawn up the bed formation and written their names in their beds and drawn little stick figure pictures.
On Tuesday when Elsa and I were out trying to find somewhere for dinner we decided to go to a Black Light show. It’s basically where there is really black screens up and people come out in bright suits then people in all black move other things around. It was pretty cool. Some bits were just weird, but the dancers were amazing – so flexible and graceful. Makes me want to stretch more – they could get their backs to bend backwards and their legs to go over the heads – I’m not that ambitious but being able to touch my toes without wincing would be ok.
On Wednesday morning Elsa packed up her stuff and we went and got some breakfast. We sat in Bohemian Bagels for an hour or so then wandered round the streets. She found a cute little backgammon game for her sister which cost exactly how many Korunas that she had left. Then we went back to the hostel and read a bit more.
When it was time for her to go to her bus I walked her to the station. I was concerned that she didn’t have any snacks and she was about to embark on a 14 hours bus ride back to Bordeaux in France. She said she’d be fine once they got part way there because the currency would switch to Euros and she had some of them on her. I decided that wasn’t good enough so went to the supermarket and bought her some bananas, grapes, chips and lollies to see her through.
Once she’d left for the bus I was all on my lonesome so I went up to the museum. I spent a couple of hours looking around – there was heaps of prehistoric stuff and a massive mineral and precious stones section. Once I’d looked around the museum I went back to the hostel and read for a bit. Then I embarked on my first solo meal – I went to a little Irish pub and got the most expensive meal of my whole trip. It cost about 500 Koruna which is about AUD$30 for a steak and some vegies and a soft drink. It was very nice, but expensive considering how cheaply I’ve gotton other nicer food.
I wandered round for a bit then went back to the hostel. About 10pm the boys were heading out and they invited me to go with them. They went to get some dinner but I just had a beer. Then we left the restaurant and went to find a close pub. I couldn’t believe the number of strip club promoters that approached them. They were all Africans and all trying desperately to convince the boys to go to one of the strip clubs – only 250 Koruna entry blah blah blah. Egal wanted to go, but didn’t want to go on his own and the others weren’t keen coz the beers are always too expensive at the strip clubs. One of the promoters said to them – ‘Are you with the lady?’ and they said yes and he goes ‘well ladies entry free’. I thought bloody better – there is no way I’d pay 10 Koruna let alone 250 to see a bunch of naked women strutting around! We managed to convince Egal to come to a different pub where we had some beers and the boys started doing tequila shots. I decided tequila was not something I wanted to be a part of (especially given recent history!) so decided to stick to beer. About 1:30am Tom decided to call it a night so I headed back to the hostel with him. The others were in for a very big night and got extremely wasted.
About 3:30am the boys arrived back at the hostel totally wasted with two new Norwegians in tow. They were louder and crazier than every other night put together. Of course the two ring-ins that’d collected at the pub were no where near as graceful getting up and down from the top bunk and I got stepped on twice. I was not impressed by this. I decided I could survive them being noisy and the rest of it, it was only one night, so I didn’t say anything. Fortunately for me I didn’t have to. There is a night security man at the hostel that the boys named ‘The Ogre’ coz he was a bit creepy looking and he came in and chased them all away because you aren’t allowed to have guests in the rooms after 10pm. I can’t say I was disappointed to see them go. Once they’d been chased out Tom apologised on behalf of Norway again for their bad behaviour.
A few hours later they arrived home again – this time to sleep but they were still drunk and disorderly. I’ve been very impressed with my ability to sleep through drunk boys banging and crashing about plus the snoring symphony – my brain must have decided for the sake of my sanity it was safer for me to be asleep. In my normal world I don’t think I could have slept. It’s weird living away – it’s like because its not my normal world the rules have changed – I’m drinking beer, sleeping through noisy room mates with ease and able to go out for dinner on my own… it’s a strange world when you’re in another country – guess you have to be tougher… otherwise you’d never survive :)
Today we started off by eating breakfast and reading our books at the Bohemian Bagel shop.
After such a leisurely day yesterday Elsa and I decided to walk up to the Letna Gardens the walk along the north bank of the Vltava river. We spent a couple of hours wandering round then Elsa headed back to the hostel. I went in search of a power adaptor. I was so cranky – my adaptors for Egypt are the same as needed for Czech, but the power points at the hostel had an extra pin poking out. My adaptors are round and they don’t fit below the pin. I looked everywhere for different adaptors but I only found two adaptors at all and they were both Czech to the rest of the world. Fortunately when I got back to the hostel moaning about my bad luck I discovered one of the Norwegians had a charger that fits my phone so I used it to recharge and I was able to plus my camera charger into my adaptor then into Elsa’s adaptor then into the wall – probably some serious fire hazard risks but nothing exploded so I took that as a good sign :)
In apology for the noise and spew etc the Norwegians (we were down to 6 by this stage, one had to go back early) had bought us chocolate and a card. They were so cute – in the card they’d drawn up the bed formation and written their names in their beds and drawn little stick figure pictures.
On Tuesday when Elsa and I were out trying to find somewhere for dinner we decided to go to a Black Light show. It’s basically where there is really black screens up and people come out in bright suits then people in all black move other things around. It was pretty cool. Some bits were just weird, but the dancers were amazing – so flexible and graceful. Makes me want to stretch more – they could get their backs to bend backwards and their legs to go over the heads – I’m not that ambitious but being able to touch my toes without wincing would be ok.
On Wednesday morning Elsa packed up her stuff and we went and got some breakfast. We sat in Bohemian Bagels for an hour or so then wandered round the streets. She found a cute little backgammon game for her sister which cost exactly how many Korunas that she had left. Then we went back to the hostel and read a bit more.
When it was time for her to go to her bus I walked her to the station. I was concerned that she didn’t have any snacks and she was about to embark on a 14 hours bus ride back to Bordeaux in France. She said she’d be fine once they got part way there because the currency would switch to Euros and she had some of them on her. I decided that wasn’t good enough so went to the supermarket and bought her some bananas, grapes, chips and lollies to see her through.
Once she’d left for the bus I was all on my lonesome so I went up to the museum. I spent a couple of hours looking around – there was heaps of prehistoric stuff and a massive mineral and precious stones section. Once I’d looked around the museum I went back to the hostel and read for a bit. Then I embarked on my first solo meal – I went to a little Irish pub and got the most expensive meal of my whole trip. It cost about 500 Koruna which is about AUD$30 for a steak and some vegies and a soft drink. It was very nice, but expensive considering how cheaply I’ve gotton other nicer food.
I wandered round for a bit then went back to the hostel. About 10pm the boys were heading out and they invited me to go with them. They went to get some dinner but I just had a beer. Then we left the restaurant and went to find a close pub. I couldn’t believe the number of strip club promoters that approached them. They were all Africans and all trying desperately to convince the boys to go to one of the strip clubs – only 250 Koruna entry blah blah blah. Egal wanted to go, but didn’t want to go on his own and the others weren’t keen coz the beers are always too expensive at the strip clubs. One of the promoters said to them – ‘Are you with the lady?’ and they said yes and he goes ‘well ladies entry free’. I thought bloody better – there is no way I’d pay 10 Koruna let alone 250 to see a bunch of naked women strutting around! We managed to convince Egal to come to a different pub where we had some beers and the boys started doing tequila shots. I decided tequila was not something I wanted to be a part of (especially given recent history!) so decided to stick to beer. About 1:30am Tom decided to call it a night so I headed back to the hostel with him. The others were in for a very big night and got extremely wasted.
About 3:30am the boys arrived back at the hostel totally wasted with two new Norwegians in tow. They were louder and crazier than every other night put together. Of course the two ring-ins that’d collected at the pub were no where near as graceful getting up and down from the top bunk and I got stepped on twice. I was not impressed by this. I decided I could survive them being noisy and the rest of it, it was only one night, so I didn’t say anything. Fortunately for me I didn’t have to. There is a night security man at the hostel that the boys named ‘The Ogre’ coz he was a bit creepy looking and he came in and chased them all away because you aren’t allowed to have guests in the rooms after 10pm. I can’t say I was disappointed to see them go. Once they’d been chased out Tom apologised on behalf of Norway again for their bad behaviour.
A few hours later they arrived home again – this time to sleep but they were still drunk and disorderly. I’ve been very impressed with my ability to sleep through drunk boys banging and crashing about plus the snoring symphony – my brain must have decided for the sake of my sanity it was safer for me to be asleep. In my normal world I don’t think I could have slept. It’s weird living away – it’s like because its not my normal world the rules have changed – I’m drinking beer, sleeping through noisy room mates with ease and able to go out for dinner on my own… it’s a strange world when you’re in another country – guess you have to be tougher… otherwise you’d never survive :)
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Prague: New Years Eve & Day – 31 December 2006 & 1 January 2007
Well I survived the first night in the dorm – even with the Norwegian snoring symphony going on above me :)
This morning Elsa and I got up early so we could get some pics of the Charles Bridge without anyone on it. We tried to be quiet but it probably didn’t matter – I don’t think a small nuclear explosion would have woken the boys and the French guy had already left.
Once we’d taken some lovely pictures on the bridge we walked up Petrin Hill. At the top of the hill is Petrin Tower – a 5:1 scaled version of the Eiffel tower. Elsa and I were not really sure why the Czech Government decided to build a scaled model of the Eiffel tower… why not something new and original?… but 299 steps later Elsa and I are on the top of the Petrin Tower taking in some pretty amazing views of Prague.
Then we walked around the Kinsky gardens then back down the hill along the Hunger Wall (we also have no idea why it’s called the Hunger Wall).
We decided then to explore Vysehrad. We walked along the edge of the river till we got to Vysehrad and then wandered around Prague’s ‘second castle’ and the graveyard. Some famous Czech artists, musicians etc are all buried here. It was quite moving the number of graves with fresh flowers, candles and other monuments on them.
After this we were fairly buggered so we went back to the hostel. On the way we stopped at the supermarket and bought some cheap champagne – gotta love cheap champagne in a foreign city! We sat around the hostel for a few hours, reading, talking to the Norwegians etc. From 430pm – from the moment it started getting remotely dark – people started setting off fireworks. It sounded like guns or little bombs going off then all of a sudden the hostel room window would be filled with coloured lights. I don’t know where people were buying them from – but every second person in the street seemed to have fireworks and they were letting them off flat out. It was brilliant.
About 8pm the Norwegians left – when they left it went dead quite. The German girl, Polish guy (French guy had left, been replaced with Polish guy), Elsa and I were all kinda sitting there and then we started chatting.
The German girls name is also Kathryn – but she spells and says is Katrin (my name sounds so much better when said with an accent!). The Polish boy is Christopher (although in Polish it’s Krzysztof – so many consonants!). Turns out Katrin is in Prague with a bunch of people from her school (about 37 total I think) including her boyfriend of 6 weeks. She’s been having a rotten time and really doesn’t want to spend New Years Eve with them. She also said she didn’t think she was going to get to 7 weeks with her boyfriend! We told her she should stay with us :) She assumed that Elsa and I were friends before and when we told her that we’d only met the day before she seemed keener to stay with us. I think before, she thought she’d be intruding. Anyways as she’s mixing her bottle of vodka and shock (like red bull but not fizzy) we convinced her to stay with us. We agreed to go with her to meet her friends so she can ditch them in person :) When her friends showed up at the chrsitmas tree they asked what we were doing and Elsa said going to the bridge – they were talking about going somewhere else, saying we wouldn’t be able to get onto the bridge it was blocked off. We said in that case we’d go to one of the nearby bridges and watch the fireworks from there. Then Elsa said to Katrin did she want to come with us – I and the others all thought that Elsa was talking to Katrin's boyfriend and then Katrin says ‘well I have no chocie I have to go with them’ and the boyfriend just kinda went umm… I’ll see – went back to his other friends then came back saying maybe he’d catch up with us later.
Katrin went from having the worst new years to the best. She was so happy to not have to stay with them, to be able to come with us, laugh and have fun. It was nice to know that us making her come with us – bascially to join the waifs and strays for new years – had totally turned her new years around :)
We went to the bridge next the Charles Bridge – it was only about 10pm and we could see from here that there were loads of people on the Charles Bridge so we walked down there. The only downside with standing on the bridge for new years was that there were no toilets – this is one of those times that girls wish they were boys… boys can just go stand in a corner to pee if the need presents itself. Anyways Elsa and Krzysztof set off to find toilets (ended up having to go all the way back to the hostel) and I stayed with Katrin on the bridge. She got a call from some of her other German friends – she was so excited – these were people that she really wanted to see. They found us on the bridge and when Elsa and Krzysztof got back from their toilet search we went and joined up with there other German friends.
So when the clock stuck midnight there we were – a bunch of random foreigners and a group of Germans amongst a throng of tourists and locals stood on the Charles Bridge in Prague watching the fireworks. There were at least 6 official looking fireworks displays – one in every direction, from every vantage point – plus mixed with these were thousands of random fireworks being let off by the people stood in the streets. For at least 20 minutes the sky was filled with lights – you couldn’t look in any direction and not see fireworks – it was brilliant.
Elsa and I were drinking our champagne from the bottle (all class :)) and cheers’ing everyone in sight. I also learnt a ‘cheers’ rule that I’d never heard of before – apparently when you cheers you have to meet the persons eyes otherwise you’ll have bad sex for the next 7 years. These are some pretty serious consequences so I decided not to risk it. I thought at first it was some crazy American rule that Elsa was teaching us, but Katrin said the same thing. So rather than run the risk it was eye contact all the way from then on.
Once the fireworks had died down and Katrin and one of her friends had returned from yet another toilet expedition we decided to try and find a pub – our criteria were simple – not too high a cover charge and a toilet. We didn’t think our expectations were too high. We wandered around looking for some options, but after 20 minutes we girls were desperate for a pee. Elsa and I even attempted to go pee behind a car, but they were parked too far apart and there were too many people so we went back to the hostel to use the loo. It was only about 2am so then we headed off to a bar the Katrin had been to the night before.
We were really lucky – when we arrived at the bar there was no cover charge, a great English singer and just as we walked in a big table opened up so the 10 or so of us were able to get seats straight away. Elsa and I only stayed for one beer and about 3am we decided to head back. By 3:30am we were snuggled up in bed – when we arrived back at the hostel we discovered two of the Norwegians asleep and the sink full of spew.
A couple of hours later the rest of the Norwegian came home. They were drunk and loud and hilarious. Tom, the one that is sleeping above Elsa apologised to us on behalf of Norway for the one that spewed in the sink. They kept saying ‘hey American girls’ and we kept saying there is only one American girl – I’m an Australian. They were saying ‘tell us to shut up if you want to go to sleep’ and Tom was telling us that he’s going to be an astronaut – they were hilarious. One of them was telling us about the three extra letters they have in their alphabet – so a different one started singing the alphabet song and then added the three extra on the end. I don’t even remember what else they were saying – but they were cracking us up. I don’t even remember falling asleep, but I’m pretty sure I fell asleep laughing :)
We didn’t really do anything on New Years Day – went out and had some bagels for breakfast, came back to the hostel and lay around reading, went out and got some dinner and came back again to the hostel. Krzysztof was gone before we woke up, and Katrin left while we were out at breakfast. Katrin left a note thanking Elsa and I again for a great New Years Eve. It was such a fun night.
The boys didn’t surface until very late in the afternoon and the one that had spewed cleaned up the sink. They apologies again for the mess and the noise, but we said it was fine. That they’d been very funny and that they hadn’t kept us awake.
All in all a great New Years Eve and a very relaxing New Years Day.
Well I survived the first night in the dorm – even with the Norwegian snoring symphony going on above me :)
This morning Elsa and I got up early so we could get some pics of the Charles Bridge without anyone on it. We tried to be quiet but it probably didn’t matter – I don’t think a small nuclear explosion would have woken the boys and the French guy had already left.
Once we’d taken some lovely pictures on the bridge we walked up Petrin Hill. At the top of the hill is Petrin Tower – a 5:1 scaled version of the Eiffel tower. Elsa and I were not really sure why the Czech Government decided to build a scaled model of the Eiffel tower… why not something new and original?… but 299 steps later Elsa and I are on the top of the Petrin Tower taking in some pretty amazing views of Prague.
Then we walked around the Kinsky gardens then back down the hill along the Hunger Wall (we also have no idea why it’s called the Hunger Wall).
We decided then to explore Vysehrad. We walked along the edge of the river till we got to Vysehrad and then wandered around Prague’s ‘second castle’ and the graveyard. Some famous Czech artists, musicians etc are all buried here. It was quite moving the number of graves with fresh flowers, candles and other monuments on them.
After this we were fairly buggered so we went back to the hostel. On the way we stopped at the supermarket and bought some cheap champagne – gotta love cheap champagne in a foreign city! We sat around the hostel for a few hours, reading, talking to the Norwegians etc. From 430pm – from the moment it started getting remotely dark – people started setting off fireworks. It sounded like guns or little bombs going off then all of a sudden the hostel room window would be filled with coloured lights. I don’t know where people were buying them from – but every second person in the street seemed to have fireworks and they were letting them off flat out. It was brilliant.
About 8pm the Norwegians left – when they left it went dead quite. The German girl, Polish guy (French guy had left, been replaced with Polish guy), Elsa and I were all kinda sitting there and then we started chatting.
The German girls name is also Kathryn – but she spells and says is Katrin (my name sounds so much better when said with an accent!). The Polish boy is Christopher (although in Polish it’s Krzysztof – so many consonants!). Turns out Katrin is in Prague with a bunch of people from her school (about 37 total I think) including her boyfriend of 6 weeks. She’s been having a rotten time and really doesn’t want to spend New Years Eve with them. She also said she didn’t think she was going to get to 7 weeks with her boyfriend! We told her she should stay with us :) She assumed that Elsa and I were friends before and when we told her that we’d only met the day before she seemed keener to stay with us. I think before, she thought she’d be intruding. Anyways as she’s mixing her bottle of vodka and shock (like red bull but not fizzy) we convinced her to stay with us. We agreed to go with her to meet her friends so she can ditch them in person :) When her friends showed up at the chrsitmas tree they asked what we were doing and Elsa said going to the bridge – they were talking about going somewhere else, saying we wouldn’t be able to get onto the bridge it was blocked off. We said in that case we’d go to one of the nearby bridges and watch the fireworks from there. Then Elsa said to Katrin did she want to come with us – I and the others all thought that Elsa was talking to Katrin's boyfriend and then Katrin says ‘well I have no chocie I have to go with them’ and the boyfriend just kinda went umm… I’ll see – went back to his other friends then came back saying maybe he’d catch up with us later.
Katrin went from having the worst new years to the best. She was so happy to not have to stay with them, to be able to come with us, laugh and have fun. It was nice to know that us making her come with us – bascially to join the waifs and strays for new years – had totally turned her new years around :)
We went to the bridge next the Charles Bridge – it was only about 10pm and we could see from here that there were loads of people on the Charles Bridge so we walked down there. The only downside with standing on the bridge for new years was that there were no toilets – this is one of those times that girls wish they were boys… boys can just go stand in a corner to pee if the need presents itself. Anyways Elsa and Krzysztof set off to find toilets (ended up having to go all the way back to the hostel) and I stayed with Katrin on the bridge. She got a call from some of her other German friends – she was so excited – these were people that she really wanted to see. They found us on the bridge and when Elsa and Krzysztof got back from their toilet search we went and joined up with there other German friends.
So when the clock stuck midnight there we were – a bunch of random foreigners and a group of Germans amongst a throng of tourists and locals stood on the Charles Bridge in Prague watching the fireworks. There were at least 6 official looking fireworks displays – one in every direction, from every vantage point – plus mixed with these were thousands of random fireworks being let off by the people stood in the streets. For at least 20 minutes the sky was filled with lights – you couldn’t look in any direction and not see fireworks – it was brilliant.
Elsa and I were drinking our champagne from the bottle (all class :)) and cheers’ing everyone in sight. I also learnt a ‘cheers’ rule that I’d never heard of before – apparently when you cheers you have to meet the persons eyes otherwise you’ll have bad sex for the next 7 years. These are some pretty serious consequences so I decided not to risk it. I thought at first it was some crazy American rule that Elsa was teaching us, but Katrin said the same thing. So rather than run the risk it was eye contact all the way from then on.
Once the fireworks had died down and Katrin and one of her friends had returned from yet another toilet expedition we decided to try and find a pub – our criteria were simple – not too high a cover charge and a toilet. We didn’t think our expectations were too high. We wandered around looking for some options, but after 20 minutes we girls were desperate for a pee. Elsa and I even attempted to go pee behind a car, but they were parked too far apart and there were too many people so we went back to the hostel to use the loo. It was only about 2am so then we headed off to a bar the Katrin had been to the night before.
We were really lucky – when we arrived at the bar there was no cover charge, a great English singer and just as we walked in a big table opened up so the 10 or so of us were able to get seats straight away. Elsa and I only stayed for one beer and about 3am we decided to head back. By 3:30am we were snuggled up in bed – when we arrived back at the hostel we discovered two of the Norwegians asleep and the sink full of spew.
A couple of hours later the rest of the Norwegian came home. They were drunk and loud and hilarious. Tom, the one that is sleeping above Elsa apologised to us on behalf of Norway for the one that spewed in the sink. They kept saying ‘hey American girls’ and we kept saying there is only one American girl – I’m an Australian. They were saying ‘tell us to shut up if you want to go to sleep’ and Tom was telling us that he’s going to be an astronaut – they were hilarious. One of them was telling us about the three extra letters they have in their alphabet – so a different one started singing the alphabet song and then added the three extra on the end. I don’t even remember what else they were saying – but they were cracking us up. I don’t even remember falling asleep, but I’m pretty sure I fell asleep laughing :)
We didn’t really do anything on New Years Day – went out and had some bagels for breakfast, came back to the hostel and lay around reading, went out and got some dinner and came back again to the hostel. Krzysztof was gone before we woke up, and Katrin left while we were out at breakfast. Katrin left a note thanking Elsa and I again for a great New Years Eve. It was such a fun night.
The boys didn’t surface until very late in the afternoon and the one that had spewed cleaned up the sink. They apologies again for the mess and the noise, but we said it was fine. That they’d been very funny and that they hadn’t kept us awake.
All in all a great New Years Eve and a very relaxing New Years Day.
Prague: The Adventure Begins – 30 December 2006
This flying in the middle of the night has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of course is that you’re shattered when you arrive – airline seats are not renowned for their high degree of comfort. But the advantage is that you basically get a day at your destination for free - I landed in Prague – Czech Republic at 6:20am so had the whole day ahead of me.
I grabbed my bag, found the bus stop, bought a random public transport ticket hoping it was the right one and headed into the city. The public transport in Prague is easy peasy. I got to the city no worries at all, but the next part of my directions said walk 150 metres through Melantrichova Street towards Staromestske Namesti. Unfortunately I had no idea what Staromestske Namesti was so I decided to just walk 150m in each direction until I found the hostel.
By the time I’d gotten to the city and walked around a bit (in the freezing friggin cold), bought some cheap gloves from the first open shop I found and finally found the hostel it was about 9am. I went up to reception only to discover that the dorm I was staying in had 12 BEDS!!!!!! I went to go and dump my stuff and when I opened the bedroom door a few sleepy heads looked up and I couldn’t tell which beds were empty. I decided to just leave my stuff at reception and set up my bed later.
I walked out of the hostel mildly freaked by the idea that I’d be in a mixed 12 bed dorm… I sms’d Ange having a little panic attack. She of course texted back that I’d be fine and that this just meant I’d have more people to party with on New Years Eve.
To get an idea of what was around I went and joined a walking tour. The tour took a couple of hours. I’m sure it would have been more enjoyable had it not been so friggin cold! We walked around the major sections of the city and the guide told us what we were seeing. We started in Wenceslas Square which is out front of the museum then walked through Old Town to the Astronomical clock. In 1621 there was a bloody execution and outside this building they’ve set stones into the ground as a memorial. Then we walked through the Jewish Quarter and along to Charles Bridge.
By this time it was about lunch time so I wandered back to the hostel (buying a thinsulate beanie on the way). When I got there the room was empty except for an American girl. She gave me the run down on who was in the room so far (7 Norwegian boys, a German girl and a French boy). I was still a little freaked about the idea of 12 beds and we were discussing the fact that the website for Hostel Aldivia doesn’t actually show the dorm room in its photos (there’s a trap for young players – if it doesn’t show it maybe think the worst!).
Elsa (American girl) said she was going to walk up to the palace. I said if she didn’t mind some company I’d tag along. She was keen on this idea so we set off up to the castle. The Prague Castel has St Vitus Cathedral inside it. The palace itself it fairly plane – looks kind of like a hotel, but the cathedral is amazing and the view from up on the hill is pretty spectacular. The Cathedral has the most amazing gargoyles. Each one is slightly different, all slightly menacing. The windows of course are all stained glass - I imagine that before the palace was constructed around it, the sunlight streaming in those windows would have been a sight to behold – just stunning.
After wondering round the Palace and Cathedral we walked back down the hill to Old Town. By this time we were getting pretty hungry so about 4pm we stopped at a little pub and had some food and some beers. It’s funny to think how much I hated beer just a few short months ago and now I can drink it without too much worries. It certainly makes life easier - much easier when everyone orders beers when you’re splitting the bill!
We wandered round a bit more then went back to the hostel for a little lie down and a read. About 7pm we decided to head out again and wandered round looking for a pub. Most of the places were full of people eating and so there were no tables. Finally we stumbled upon a little place called the Red Hot Blues Bar. We sat there listening to some really good blues, drinking enormous beers and eating chips, guacamole and salsa til after midnight. It was a really good night. We got home not much after midnight. No one else was in yet, I didn’t hear the German girl or French guy come home, but the Norwegians came in loudly about 3am. They were really funny, they were trying so hard to be quiet but they were too drunk. They knew they’d woken us up coz we were laughing at them, then they said just tell us to shut up if you want to go to sleep. They were talking half English half Norwegian and were taking the piss out of each other. Very entertaining.
This flying in the middle of the night has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of course is that you’re shattered when you arrive – airline seats are not renowned for their high degree of comfort. But the advantage is that you basically get a day at your destination for free - I landed in Prague – Czech Republic at 6:20am so had the whole day ahead of me.
I grabbed my bag, found the bus stop, bought a random public transport ticket hoping it was the right one and headed into the city. The public transport in Prague is easy peasy. I got to the city no worries at all, but the next part of my directions said walk 150 metres through Melantrichova Street towards Staromestske Namesti. Unfortunately I had no idea what Staromestske Namesti was so I decided to just walk 150m in each direction until I found the hostel.
By the time I’d gotten to the city and walked around a bit (in the freezing friggin cold), bought some cheap gloves from the first open shop I found and finally found the hostel it was about 9am. I went up to reception only to discover that the dorm I was staying in had 12 BEDS!!!!!! I went to go and dump my stuff and when I opened the bedroom door a few sleepy heads looked up and I couldn’t tell which beds were empty. I decided to just leave my stuff at reception and set up my bed later.
I walked out of the hostel mildly freaked by the idea that I’d be in a mixed 12 bed dorm… I sms’d Ange having a little panic attack. She of course texted back that I’d be fine and that this just meant I’d have more people to party with on New Years Eve.
To get an idea of what was around I went and joined a walking tour. The tour took a couple of hours. I’m sure it would have been more enjoyable had it not been so friggin cold! We walked around the major sections of the city and the guide told us what we were seeing. We started in Wenceslas Square which is out front of the museum then walked through Old Town to the Astronomical clock. In 1621 there was a bloody execution and outside this building they’ve set stones into the ground as a memorial. Then we walked through the Jewish Quarter and along to Charles Bridge.
By this time it was about lunch time so I wandered back to the hostel (buying a thinsulate beanie on the way). When I got there the room was empty except for an American girl. She gave me the run down on who was in the room so far (7 Norwegian boys, a German girl and a French boy). I was still a little freaked about the idea of 12 beds and we were discussing the fact that the website for Hostel Aldivia doesn’t actually show the dorm room in its photos (there’s a trap for young players – if it doesn’t show it maybe think the worst!).
Elsa (American girl) said she was going to walk up to the palace. I said if she didn’t mind some company I’d tag along. She was keen on this idea so we set off up to the castle. The Prague Castel has St Vitus Cathedral inside it. The palace itself it fairly plane – looks kind of like a hotel, but the cathedral is amazing and the view from up on the hill is pretty spectacular. The Cathedral has the most amazing gargoyles. Each one is slightly different, all slightly menacing. The windows of course are all stained glass - I imagine that before the palace was constructed around it, the sunlight streaming in those windows would have been a sight to behold – just stunning.
After wondering round the Palace and Cathedral we walked back down the hill to Old Town. By this time we were getting pretty hungry so about 4pm we stopped at a little pub and had some food and some beers. It’s funny to think how much I hated beer just a few short months ago and now I can drink it without too much worries. It certainly makes life easier - much easier when everyone orders beers when you’re splitting the bill!
We wandered round a bit more then went back to the hostel for a little lie down and a read. About 7pm we decided to head out again and wandered round looking for a pub. Most of the places were full of people eating and so there were no tables. Finally we stumbled upon a little place called the Red Hot Blues Bar. We sat there listening to some really good blues, drinking enormous beers and eating chips, guacamole and salsa til after midnight. It was a really good night. We got home not much after midnight. No one else was in yet, I didn’t hear the German girl or French guy come home, but the Norwegians came in loudly about 3am. They were really funny, they were trying so hard to be quiet but they were too drunk. They knew they’d woken us up coz we were laughing at them, then they said just tell us to shut up if you want to go to sleep. They were talking half English half Norwegian and were taking the piss out of each other. Very entertaining.
Hash – Lower Wadi Digla – Friday 29 December 2006
Another Friday – another Hash. Today we went to Lower Wadi Digla again, but the walk was really easy – just along the road and back. I was talking to Mary (Piet – ‘Wet Fingers’ wife) as we walked along and then all of a sudden Weal yells out to stop – apparently we were suppose to only walk to the check point then go back. Instead I went with Mary, Piet etc and walked up the a little mountain and came back that way. It probably only added a couple of kms to the walk, but at least 300m was up a cliff. It was good, I was chatting to Mary most of the way and to the girls Dorito and Tulip (Doreen and Powla).
Weal and Useless were the two hares, along with an Egyptian girl and Russian girl. Both girls are psychologist who teach/work with kindergarten kids. It was their first hare so they got named. The Egyptian ended up as ‘Psycho Tits’ and the Russian as ‘Put it in’ (as in Putnin the Russian president I think).
They sung a few songs that I didn’t know so I mentioned to Wes that I had some missing form my book and he said he’s get them for me next week. They sung a ‘sinner’s’ song that was pretty funny, plus they also sung a few I’d deliberately left out of the book. I need to go back and re-visit the original site and get them – add them in. It thought they weren’t that funny when I read them, but they were sung they sounded much funnier. Three girls were called into the circle (I can’t remember what for now) so they sung a ‘life up your top’ song that was fairly funny but I can’t remember how it goes. Then four boys were called into the circle – they were going to just sing the ‘why were you born so beautiful’ song but one of the guys said no – its four guys here and we sang a girl song before so lets sing the foreskin song. I can’t remember the words to that one either, but basically the boys sang one verse and the girls were suppose to sing the next verse, but only about 2 girls in the circle knew the words. I think it was actually funnier because none of the girls sang!
The on-on was at the rugby club, but I decided that because I fly to Prague tonight (well at 3am tomorrow) that I should come home and pack instead. I’m very excited about Prague :)
Another Friday – another Hash. Today we went to Lower Wadi Digla again, but the walk was really easy – just along the road and back. I was talking to Mary (Piet – ‘Wet Fingers’ wife) as we walked along and then all of a sudden Weal yells out to stop – apparently we were suppose to only walk to the check point then go back. Instead I went with Mary, Piet etc and walked up the a little mountain and came back that way. It probably only added a couple of kms to the walk, but at least 300m was up a cliff. It was good, I was chatting to Mary most of the way and to the girls Dorito and Tulip (Doreen and Powla).
Weal and Useless were the two hares, along with an Egyptian girl and Russian girl. Both girls are psychologist who teach/work with kindergarten kids. It was their first hare so they got named. The Egyptian ended up as ‘Psycho Tits’ and the Russian as ‘Put it in’ (as in Putnin the Russian president I think).
They sung a few songs that I didn’t know so I mentioned to Wes that I had some missing form my book and he said he’s get them for me next week. They sung a ‘sinner’s’ song that was pretty funny, plus they also sung a few I’d deliberately left out of the book. I need to go back and re-visit the original site and get them – add them in. It thought they weren’t that funny when I read them, but they were sung they sounded much funnier. Three girls were called into the circle (I can’t remember what for now) so they sung a ‘life up your top’ song that was fairly funny but I can’t remember how it goes. Then four boys were called into the circle – they were going to just sing the ‘why were you born so beautiful’ song but one of the guys said no – its four guys here and we sang a girl song before so lets sing the foreskin song. I can’t remember the words to that one either, but basically the boys sang one verse and the girls were suppose to sing the next verse, but only about 2 girls in the circle knew the words. I think it was actually funnier because none of the girls sang!
The on-on was at the rugby club, but I decided that because I fly to Prague tonight (well at 3am tomorrow) that I should come home and pack instead. I’m very excited about Prague :)
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