Now that we’ve had a little over a week to to settle back at home, I thought it would be great to give my travelling companions an opportunity to share some of their thoughts on this great adventure we’ve been on. I sent them a list of questions for them to talk about and so without further adieu here’ Gimpy’s take on this amazing trip!
Gimpy will be the first so give us her take on this amazing trip!
1. What were your top 3 highlights of the trip?
Highlight #1: The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. I was so worried we wouldn’t be able to make it to the Grand Mosque due to Ramadan hours and our limited time there, but I’m SO glad we got there in time. I loved the how white it was, it was really clean looking. We later learned the carpet/rug was all hand made, women would be on the ground making this inch by inch. The high ceiling, the pillars, the gold and the lighting, the arches, I loved it!
Highlight #2: Being on a safari and hunting for the animals! We managed to find the big five which was awesome! I know this is going to sound weird, but my favorite were the giraffes and elephants. I guess they aren’t your rare sightings but I really enjoyed seeing these animals outside of fences. I could stare at these animals all day! Look at those gorgeous lashes!
Highlight #3: Despite being in the hot desert temperature in Egypt, I’m really happy we made it to Egypt. Before the trip, it was always one of those cities people always say they will go but never end up going to but I GOT TO GO. I feel really blessed to have this opportunity and that we arrived without troubles and came home safely. I thought I would be amazed at the pyramids and the Sphinx but I actually really enjoyed going into all the temples and seeing a part of history still intact on the walls! I found it so amazing. I think one of the things we were all amazed with on this trip were the things we didn’t plan for. I came on this trip not knowing about the temples but it’s amazing this was all built by manual labor in the heat!
2. What was your favorite meal or thing you ate?
My favorite meal on this trip was dinner at the Nubian village! It was neat to see what the locals ate and to eat at a local’s place. We had a lentil soup that night and it was so flavourful despite being vegetarian. We were told to use the Egyptian bread to dip it into the soup and it felt so hearty. I didn’t even mind eating this in 40 degrees heat! We were also served Moussaka. This was NOT the layered pasta that most are familiar with. It was a layered eggplant dish in tomato sauce, spices and possibly ground meat. It doesn’t sound exciting but it was so flavorful and delicious. I could’ve eaten just that in the Egyptian rice but I really wanted to try everything else the family had prepared.
3. If you could change any element of the itinerary what would you change?
I think it would’ve been nice to start the trip by ‘roughing’ it and then being more ‘comfortable/pampered’ towards the end would’ve been nice. The way the tour start dates worked out, we couldn’t have done it the way we did without extending our trip longer or not seeing the two things on my list (seeing the pyramids and going on a safari!). We started the trip off by staying in some really unexpectedly ‘comfortable’ accommodations. I guess Egypt being a very old country, it should be expected that despite staying in a brand named hotel, the rooms will be outdated and very simple. We also didn’t pay $$$ for expensive hotels either. It also would’ve been nice to start off in Egypt where we would sweat buckets within 5 minutes of being outside and ending off in South Africa where it was their winter and very comfortable. It also would’ve really worked our laundry machine hard while we were in the UAE!
4. What caught you by surprise on this trip?
The proposal. Just kidding, but really that was definitely up there. I had envisioned Dubai to be very glamorous, everyone dressed in brands you can’t even pronounce, blue skies all the time, white sandy beaches everywhere but it wasn’t. We didn’t get to see the beach area so I can’t say much about that part but there were cranes everywhere, seemed like every block was under construction. Sand and dirt and haze everywhere. It wasn’t until we ended up at the Dubai mall where I was totally stunned by it’s glamour and how it was built and all the stores and activities you can imagine all under one big roof.
5. Share one memorable story from this trip
I hope I won’t bore everyone with the proposal but it was definitely memorable. I’m still trying to absorb it all still as I’m typing this and absorbing the shock! It was highly unexpected, my now fiance is not a world traveler, in fact it was his first time flying out of North America and definitely not something he would do!
6. Did you pack properly for this trip? What would you have done differently?
I had such a hard time packing for this trip knowing we were going to be travelling right smack in the middle of Ramadan while we were in the UAE and Egypt. I wanted to be respectful of the locals there but at the same time fought so hard to dress cool enough (temperature-wise) to not overheat and for my body to breathe. I would’ve brought more light and flowy skirts and dresses (I brought one that was kind of tight so it didn’t allow air to circulate…). I also wouldn’t have brought a water bottle either. We were able to find good/filtered/bottled water in Capetown and we just bought what felt like cases of 1.5L bottled water in Egypt. I’m really happy with bringing a pack that was small enough as a carry-on, I really wanted to keep what was mine with me the whole time! I think I would’ve brought a baseball cap instead of a sunhat for easy packing purposes, in the end I ended up using a scarf to cover my head. I would’ve brought less sunscreen because I was covered the whole time I mainly put sunscreen on my face and shoulders.
7. Any regrets?
Yes, I have two regrets. I wish instead of bringing my 24-105mm lens, I should’ve brought the 75-300mm lens. Always bring a zoom on a safari. I brought the 24-105mm thinking it would be versatile for the safari and the city but I ended up using the wide angle and lighter lens the whole trip and lugging the other lens in my backpack the whole time. Secondly, I regret not choosing to go to Kenya/Tanzania for the safari. At the same time I don’t regret this because Capetown was such a BEAUTIFUL city that I’m really glad we chose to do a safari in South Africa. I guess I had envisioned plains and flatter grounds for the safari and instead we were in very lush vegetation. It was definitely an experience and if anything it just means I need to go back to Africa!
8. Any advice for people considering similar trips/destinations?
I would highly recommend going to Africa. It’s not as scary as I envisioned and not as far as you think! If you do a layover in Europe for a few days and then fly into Africa it will really break it up a bit. I would also suggest joining a tour in Egypt because they plan out how to travel between the cities and arrange all the rides for you. We also wouldn’t have been able to take the train or ride the metro on our own because everything was in Arabic. It was great to have a local guide there taking us around and being able to communicate with the locals.
9. Final thoughts?
Egypt and Capetown isn’t as dangerous as people/media make it! Be a smart traveler, respect the culture and don’t push the limits. As a female traveler I was a bit concerned for my safely in Egypt but being with the local guide he really prepped us in how to deal with the people in the markets and people who want to sell us things. Everyone we encountered were friendly and not pushy at all. I didn’t feel like I was in danger (mind you it was a little scary being in Cairo traffic!) and never did I receive any whistle calls or any gawking from men.
Thanks so much Gimpy for making this trip such a wonderful experience! Next up will be Muscles! Stay tuned!
Great post! Love that pic of her!