an egyptian thanksgiving

CAIRO, EGYPT | CAIRO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TERMINAL 1 »

instead of turkey and all the trimmings, a flatbread sandwich and fries from mcdonald’s were my thanksgiving dinner.  small price to pay to cross off yet another of my must-visit-before-i-die places in the world — egypt!

when asked where i’d be spending the week long (that’s right, no classes all week!) break, my answer was naturally met with interest and surprise.  egypt!  but that’s so far away!  i then explain that i wanted to go to peru, but with flights topping $1300+, i figured hey, if i’m going to spend that much on flights i might as well go somewhere really really far away and exotic.  with a quick search on kayak, i found roundtrip flights to cairo for under $1000, with a 10-hour daytime layover in amsterdam to boot.  and, with multiple starwood properties in cairo, sharm el sheikh, and luxor and an expiring platinum status come 2009, it all started to fall into place.

egypt!  here we go!

and what a trip it’s been.  i certainly won’t miss the hassles, the incessant requests for baksheesh (tips), the ubiquitous stench of camel dung, and the prickly bites of mosquitoes and flies.  but seriously, i mean, egypt!  though only six full days in the north african country (preceded by one in the dutch capital), we packed our itinerary with some of egypt’s best excursions and experiences.  a brief review:

day 0 // thursday 20 nov // sfo to ams
315 flight on klm delayed to 415, but at least the md-11 has on-demand video on individual screens.  spent a good few on the laptop ironing out the welcome packet for SAIL.

day 1 // friday 21 nov // amsterdam
arrive amsterdam and train to the capital to walk the red light district, chinatown, and along binnen amstel.  dinner on spuistraat at an indonesian place before training back for our evening flight to cairo.

day 2 // saturday 22 nov // cairo i
arrive cairo early in the morning, get a few hours of sleep, and awake to start a tour of the giza pyramids, memphis, and saqqara.  in the evening, watch the cheesy sound and light show, followed by dinner at felfela just outside of our hotel — cheap, good eats.

day 3 // sunday 23 nov // cairo ii
time to hit the city.  cross the nile (since giza is actually on the west bank) to visit islamic cairo including the al-azhar mosque and the souk khan el-khalili, then walk to the famous egyptian museum to visit the somewhat creepy royal mummy room and marvel at king tut’s treasures.  rush back to the hotel and head straight for the airport for our 730 flight to sharm el sheikh.  arrive sharm, check-in, and then quickly board a bus for our overnight hike up mount sinai — the place where moses received the ten commandments.  by midnight, we were still on our way to the drop off point.

day 4 // monday 24 nov // sinai i
begin hike up mount sinai at around 2 in the morning.  steep but not impossible climb for 2.5 hours until summit, where we wait for an hour in the cold before the sun rises.  take an arduous journey down an alternate path — the 3500 “steps of repentance” — and tour st katharine’s monastery, home to the burning bush (of Old Testament fame).  finally head back to sharm and arrive by 2 in the afternoon, check out the spa, walk along the beach, and dine on mezze at the hotel’s lebanese restaurant.  an early night in.

day 5 // tuesday 25 nov // sinai peninsula ii
the girls leave the night before, so paul and i spend the day snorkeling in the clear waters off ras mohammad national park.  turns out to be one our most welcome days — sun, sea, food, fish, and sky.  in the evening, take the free shuttle to the vegas-y na’ama bay for steak and seafood at dananeer restaurant.

day 6 // wednesday 26 nov // luxor i
fly to luxor in the morning, meet the girls, and take a private taxi to the west bank for the valleys of the kings and nobles, medinet habu, and deir el-bahri.  in the evening — our last one with the girls — shared our “top 3, bottom 3″ over indian at bombay restaurant.  bid adieu to the girls and called it a night while watching the break up.  also watch in horror as the mumbai bombings unfold…

day 7 // thursday 27 nov // luxor ii
today, and thanksgiving!  sleep in (much deserved!) and slowly head to the karnak temple complex, the largest religious site in the world.  head back to the hotel, check out, and then go to luxor temple at night (beautiful, and recommended at that time), followed by shopping in the markets and negotiating a 490 egyptian pound (~$89) horus figurine down to 50 egyptian pounds (~$9).  head to luxor airport to begin our 24+ hour journey home, with connections in cairo (now) and amsterdam (about six hours from now) before arriving at last in san francisco at 1pm tomorrow and picking up ruby from claire’s place and preparing for an incredible (and incredibly busy) week with SAIL…

so, it’s been quite the egyptian thanksgiving, and i am very thankful for the opportunity to explore another foreign land, so full of history and intrigue.  i’d love to come back to the sinai peninsula again and this time dive the red sea as opposed to just snorkeling it.  perhaps next year, once i’m closer…

to close, a few shots from amsterdam and mount sinai, and a silly jumping shot in front of the step pyramid–the first pyramid in the world–at saqqara.  happy thanksgiving, everyone!  and to all my SAIL buddies, see you all very soon!!!

death, life, defeat, hope

NEW YORK, NEW YORK | PARK AVE, 17F »

it’s been a while since i last wrote.  since then, so much travel, so many emotions. 

i arrived into a rain-trodden new york several hours ago, coaching to grand central station before settling into a tastefully decorated midtown apartment with a friend i first roomed with at the labadi beach hotel in accra, ghana.  we spent the evening searching for my favorite k-town restaurant on 35th street, a place that happens to serve chinese food and–to my dismay–had closed 30 minutes prior to our finally discovering it.  instead we caught up over more traditional fare at the neighboring 24-hour han bat, updating each other on work, school, love, and the rest.  these next few days will find me reuniting with old friends and colleagues, recounting memories of a dear and beloved friend, and driving around the state in search of the perfect fall foliage–that is, if the storms let up.

it’s been an exhausting start to my second year in business school.

returning from my packed summer schedule of minneapolis-dubai-bangalore, i rushed into my fourth (and not-so-ambitious) academic quarter without a place of my own.  i found myself growing increasingly busy with extracurriculars, catchings-up in both palo alto and san francisco, and critical life questions such as: where will i be next year, and will the important people in my life approve?

a nice, healthier-than-last-year buzz began to develop by week three or so, and i noticed the reassuring return of choices well-made, regrets non grata.  the year was forming a nice and welcome balance: my classes were intriguing and enriching, relationships narrowing and deepening, and i was looking forward to the things yet to come–treks to northern africa (thanksgiving) and south america (winter break), commitments to a warm-n-friendly south tahoe share (next quarter) and my inaugural entrée to the 2009 sundance film festival (mlk weekend), and slowly-but-surely solidifying plans to go abroad for a few years post-mba.  all seemed fine and well and upward.

then, tragedy struck.

on friday, october tenth, three classmates–including one fabulous and dear friend–never showed up to a weekend retreat in big sur.  those of us at the oceanside cabin became increasingly concerned as we attempted calls and waited without word from the car of three, a jeep that left the same time i did from schwab earlier that evening.  spurred to action, we decided to conduct numerous searches along the curviest stretches of highway 1, stopping every hundred feet or so with flash- and floodlights in hand, screaming their names into the cold, unforgiving midnight air.  with just a few hours until sunrise, we finally retired for the night and considered it best to start again with the light aiding our efforts.

and it was in that next morning–after temperamental visits to the county sherriff’s office and panicked chases after search and rescue trucks–that we finally found out what happened.  one sharp turn, without a guard rail, both looked and felt suspicious, and it was upon further scrutiny that we discovered the most terrifying sight imaginable: artifact after artifact, the physical storyline of a jeep driven off-road, tumbling down a moderate gradient, and disappearing into the distance to a point some seven hundred feet down.  we had found them–them!–and we bore the great infuration and injustice of having their lives, so full of significance and potential, instantly and unexplainably taken from us.

i lost about two weeks to the tragedy.  though warmed by people’s reachings out, the community becoming stronger and its response proving healing and inspiring, i could not return to work-life-play in the same way so immediately.  after attending services in new york a week later, i returned to school in a slow and uneasy transition.  suddenly, once fulfilling conversations felt trivial.  passing interactions induced impatience.  forgivable imperfections invited criticism.  behaviors felt uncharacteristic, recovery from grief distant and amorphous.

but time allowed for healing, and eventually my shock/disbelief-turned-anger/disengagement, turned at last to resolution.  i feel my relationships gaining strength and importance.  i see the value in appreciation, adventure, and solidarity.  i live no longer second guessing, and with less fear.  and i sense a greater purpose, a grander theme.

at this point i feel better equipped to accept the tragedy and articulate its implications not only for me but also for our communities.  but even as all this happened, life went on–  we elected the first african-american president, constitutionalized discrimination, and saw our portfolios tumble twenty, thirty, forty percent.  my classes went on, and homework went on, and clubs went on.

and so i began to chip away at my arduously long task list:  deal with health insurance payments, resume delivery of the financial times, run to target for laundry detergent and paper towels (and begrudginly pay the 10-20% industrywide price increases using my freshly disbursed loans)…  print out the schedule for the U line, sign up for winter electives, begin training for patagonia…  it went on, and on, tiring me.

this week, however, was the first week i felt genuinely close to normalcy–or more accurately–on-top-of-itiveness.  spending multiple days cooped up in a jackson library study room, clomping away on long, six-hour transcontinental flights, and feeding off the love and support of my best friend slash co-habiteur have all served me well, and in the past few days i have noticed consistently legitimate bouts of laughter, humor, and lightheartedness.  despite a few defeats and missteps, a triumphant electoral victory has surfaced some new momentum to tackle even the more daunting of challenges.  i am feeling good–not perfect–but actually pretty good.

and so it is on that note that i close, along with a video tribute for the three friends we’ll remember forever.  i ask that you please continue to keep the families in your thoughts and prayers.  the accident was almost one month ago, but their lives will be missed forever, and their absence will feel particularly acute as the holidays arrive.  chris, i hope you know we are doing everything we can to remember and pay tribute to your life, hopes, and dreams.  we miss you and love you so much.

hope everyone is well.  if anyone’s up for hanging out in new york, do let me know!  i’m here through sunday morning with a fairly open schedule.