Jesse, mein ehemaliger Vermieter und Mitbewohner aus Vancouver, machte sich mal wieder auf eine spontane Reise. Am Ende des dreiwöchigen Trips war dann eigentlich ein Treffen in Berlin geplant. Das verschob sich dann aus Gründen wie "ok guys sorry...my plan has changed..I am going to travel from Cairo egypt, all the way to berlin by land...I hope I havent ruined any plans by changing this date, but it makes my trip sooooo much more of an adventure!" oder - heute gerade erhalten - "we'll be in Berlin on June 21 maybe, 22 for sure, and I fly to mexico city on june 23!!! to see my girlfriend.. kind of spontaneous i know, but it will be one helll of a trip!!".
Der Typ kann alles.
Großartig.
Da ich nächstes Wochenende allerdings in Trier sein werde (Altstadtfest, Gerrits Birthday!!!), fällt dann wohl das Treffen flach. Schade. Jesse wär ja bereit gewesen: "We can party on the 21, or 22, Friday the 22 would be awesome!!!".
Vorenthalten will ich aber auf keinen Fall den Reisebericht, den mir Jesse aus dem Nahen Osten schickte. Sehrsehr lustig.
"HEY EVERYBODY! What's up?
Here is my report back to you guys from abroad.. Im trying to write this with what's left of a broken pen...It;ll save some time in a steaming hot net cafe..
Right now im in a beat-up van with its sliding door tied open, crossing Beirut; one check point at a time.
My trip kicked off in Egypt, so Ill try to describe it without breaking anyones heart.. Egypt sucks!!! ok ok.. just my opinion,, though amazing at times and definitely nice to get swallowed into the world of gods and mythology,,, but the all to frequent wake up call of the vulture like tourist industry ruins the moment,, every moment???...
EGYPT Highlights!:
THE PYRAMIDS - Definitely cool! MAybe different from the imagined pyramids,,, but wow! go see them..
TAXI RIDES - My favorite driver 'Faruc' took the sideview mirrors off his car so he can get through the smallest possible space at the fastest possible speed.. NO exageration! He constantly jokes about his 70 accidents in the last two years...ha..ha..ha.. Every ride comes with a complimentary Cleopatra cigarette..
EVERYTHING ELSE - The temples, tombs, & ruins were great, but swamped with package tourists and money crazed arabs, In the 45 degree heat it was very tempting to run for the red sea.
LEBANON Like a sigh of relief,, I've escaped Egypt! I'd rather be in a country at war than battle with those egyptian venders..
Everything is so easy here in Lebanon and everyone is so kind... Is CNN biased?? The people here have had a tough last few years with Isreali air strikes and Hezbolah Militia gaining strength.. Remnants of bombed roads, bridges, and Buildings are everywhere.. Tanks and armored personel carriers are around..and so on, but the people take it in stride.. They like to dish out the 'Is there a bomb in your backback' joke all the time!.. The soldiers are much more serious though...
I made home base in Beruit, where I teamed up with and American and a Kiwi.. We visited Tripoli which we termed as very 'underwhelming' but fun..
Then we visited Baalbek Which is coined as some of the most amazing roman ruins in the WORLD... And it holds it's title! The romans worshipped the sun there, and yeah it is UNREAL..
HIGHLIGHTS:
THE PEOPLE - Very interesting and nice.. Hard times builds character i guess
FREEDOM - We seemed to be the only tourists in Lebanon,, we were free to climb castles and explore any place we desired... They dont care much for liability when they have much bigger problems to deal with.
MORNING TV - My friend Forest and I took a real liking to the morning soap operas in arabic.. ohhh the drama!
And probably the biggest highlight is seeing how a country and it's army deals with bombings and constant unrest.
ONE of the most shocking things about the middle east is that alcohol is outlawed in most countries... and honestly the nightlife ,,,,well,,,, there is none!! they drink tea!
O h my god,,, going to europe is such a relief!!
Now I am off to Budapest on my slow journey to Berlin
All the best
Jess"
Jesse, my role model.
Definitv.
