quick update before i pass out from new year's madness

hey guys, just a quick update. I've so many things pending but I managed to upload Extraordinaire Egypt photos on my flickr in case you'd like to view them and pass those times in between getting ready for your new year's party. ok so click on the link to view them...

MY EGYPT SET FLICKR

It's cold in the desert,water never sees the ground

I'm on the corner, waiting for a light to come on,
That's when I know that you're alone
It's cold in the desert, water never sees the ground
Special unspoken without sound

You told me you loved me, that I'd never die alone
Hand over your heart, let's go home
Everyone noticed, everyone has seen the signs
I've always been known to cross lines

back where I belong

well hello there love, I'm back from Egypt...and having a flu hahaha what a retard, of all the days I was there with all the sand, dust and cold icy weather, the day I arrive in Malaysia is the day I fall sick.

anyways, I've got a lot to catch up on and things to settle before New Year hits.

1.Blog write-up for the Alamanda's Day Out with Amanda Choe and other advertlet bloggers.

2. Blog for Egypt trip. I've got tons to share with you guys.

3. Meetup with Andrea from Catbit.

4. Uni stuff

5. Blog on my recap of 2009.

6. Find a job.

ok that's about it for now I guess...will update more when I'm free.

meanwhile, gonna leave u guys with some photos from my trip as a sneak peek of what I have in store.

trust me, this isn't even 2% of the amount of photos I have in my Egypt trip folder. It'll be my super duper mega post and might even beat my Italy trip post hahahah

have a nice day people!

My Egypt Diary

Ah lan wa Sahlan! Hello readers,

I hope you enjoyed my simple video above showing you how corny I can be at times. In this post, I will summarize my whole 10 day Egypt trip into a simple one, just to show you a little of what was in store for tourists who plans to visit Egypt. Although the political turmoil has somehow dampened the tourism industry in Egypt, I still believe that it is a must-visit destination because it offers a whole different world than touring Europe, United States or the likes. 

Egypt, the land of civilisation (or so they said) is not merely just a country with sand, sun, mummies and pyramids. The stories underlying the whole Pharaoh kingdom and how Egypt was brought up was so much different than those depicted in fictional movies we've seen on the big screen. However, not all parts of Egypt can be considered as modern. They're working on it and there are parts of Cairo, especially near the airport that could have been developed into a first class area. On another note, other than the usual modern vehicles you see on the road, there will also be a usual sight of donkeys and camels as one of their main transportation methods. 

The moment we touched down in Cairo, it was still very early in the morning but we were brought straight to the Kufu Pyramids in Giza, one of the major pyramids left remaining near civilization. There are still about more than a hundred pyramids that are scattered across Egypt but the famous one would be the Kufu pyramids. Big sized Pyramids are actually tombs that were built for Kings, or the smaller ones for their wives, children and noblemen between the 3rd to the 15th dynasty. The reason why they stopped afterwards was that the mummies were usually buried with precious treasures and since it is huge, it can be easily seen from far and it was easy prey for the robbers.

Tip: There will be Egyptians trying to sell you trinkets everywhere you go. Avoid them as they will quote a higher price than the initial amount you're willing to pay. Plus, the goods are not made of good quality. If there are people trying to be extra nice, dress you in their headgears or ask whether you want your picture to be taken (even with your own camera), AVOID. They will ask for money and if you refuse to pay, they will take your camera away. Do not go on camel rides, they will rip you off.

Each of the blocks used to build the pyramids weigh about 2-5 tonnes each and there's hundreds of thousands, even a million of them on one pyramid. Imagine how much would the whole pyramid weigh! In the ancient times, the pyramids were apparently covered with white coloured limestone, and the tip was adorned with a triangular shaped pure gold ornament, which was of course, stolen.

Tip: Wear comfortable shoes or sneakers when traveling across Egypt. Not only will it be easy on the feet with the amount of walking you'd be doing but it also helps prevent injuries as the terrain are not flat everywhere. It also warms your feet up during winter.

There is also a lookout point, about 5km away from the pyramid grounds for you to visit and take pictures of all three pyramids, like the tourist classic below:

We were then brought to see the famous Sphinx, a half-man half-lion figure, about a few kilometers away from the pyramids. The Sphinx was the gateway of the pyramids which can be accessed from the Nile river during the ancient times. It was said that the river was much wider than it is now. The human head had to resemble the dead King, supposedly that so the spirit can recognize it's tomb and enter it for reincarnation purposes. However, when Muslims ruled the country, the nose of this Sphinx was destroyed to show that it was just merely stone and hold no special power. The day was then spent in Saqqara at another underground tomb for the noblemen, priests and other higher ranking figure other than the King. It was amazing how the tiers underneath the earth was dug so neatly and how it managed to last thousands of years. 

On the next day, we boarded a plane to Luxor, and visited the Karnaak Temple, the biggest temple complex in the whole country of Egypt. It was said that it would be the biggest temple ever made by men, and it is even separated by precints (just like Putrajaya hahaha). Like any other temples, there were scenes of battles carved on the wall but the distinguishing factor of this temple would be that it has multiple smaller temples within the complex itself dedicated to different Gods. It also included chapels, pylons, buildings and so on. It could even be as big as Vatican City as it took about thirty pharaohs' reign to complete the whole temple!

We then headed to another temple nearby, the Luxor Temple where it was the focus of the annual Opet Festival. The statue of God Amun was paraded down the Nile from Karnaak Temple to be left in Luxor Temple for a while with his Goddess Mut, in celebration of fertility. In short, it was treated like a love house for the two ancient Gods.

That night, we finally checked on to the Nile River Cruise ship where we would be spending our next few nights on, going down south of Nile River. Next morning, we were up early to visit Valley of the Kings. 

Did you know: All the temples and worshiping places would be located on the Eastern bank of the Nile, as it is where the sun rises, representing birth or life. The tombs and pyramids would be on the West bank as it's where the sun sets and represents death. In some of the places, cameras are not allowed or it will be confiscated. Don't even try with your phone cameras, unless you're wiling to risk it.

Valley of the Kings are natural burial sites of the Kings and it was chosen due to it's triangular shape (similar to a pyramid). They finally stopped making pyramids for the Kings, in fear that the treasures would be stolen. Thus, the tombs were not marked or named and was left scattered around the valley that looked like the valley of death, situated right in the middle of nowhere. There were 62 tombs discovered up til 2006, where they discovered one more. All of the tombs were empty, treasures stolen except for one that belonged to King Tut-Ankh-Amun which was discovered accidentally by Howard Carter in 1922. All of the treasures were kept inside the Museum of Egypt in Cairo.

We then visited Queen Hatchepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon both representing each gender, female and male with two very different backgrounds but both rose from great wars, with a tale to tell.

Evenings on the cruise ship were spent on the deck, watching the sun set while looking at hundreds of other ships docked or sailing together in the breezy weather over a hot cup of tea. At times, you'd be lucky to spot water creatures, or even Feluccas (some sort of tiny sail boats). Men from nearby villages would throw things onto the deck from their tiny raft to be sold. Try to avoid it though, as I heard that some tourist caught on allergy reactions from the chemicals after touching it.

The next day we arrived in Edfu, to visit another temple, Edfu Temple that was dedicated to God Horus. It is the second largest temple after Karnaak and the most preserved one. The high walls were fully carved with stories of war and King's triumphant tales not to mention inscriptions of the 'Sacred Drama' between Horus and Seth. The bird statue at the main complex represents God Horus.

However, the next temple I visited, was the most interesting one by far. The Kom Ombo Temple, situated in a small village of Kom Ombo was originally an ancient Egyptian city called Nubt which means City of Gold and it became the Greek settlement during the Greco-Roman period. The special thing about Kom Ombo Temple is that it showed early research and medicinal inscriptions on the wall carvings. There was even a Nilometer that was used to measure the Nile River's water level. Even coloured paintings were found on the ceiling of this temple, believed to be the first use of color dyes in history of mankind.

It was getting really dark so all of us had to head back to the ship so that it could set sail. Nearby villagers flocked the temple area to sell trinkets and souvenirs. Could not help but to ask dad for money so I could buy belly dancing belts off a half-blind old lady that looked like she could barely walk especially in the weather that was getting chilly by the minute. It is sad to see how they fight for even a little bit of money, put a thick face on to approach tourists for even USD1 due to poverty. For ONE US Dollar, you can take pictures with cobra snakes that had not been de-venomed from children who caught them as attraction and played with them like toy cars.

We then headed back for dinner and a Galabia party afterwards. Galabia is a traditional type of clothing, originally for the peasants. It looks like those kaftans you can get from the night markets here in Malaysia. Mine was beautifully adorned with beads and hand paintings of what was supposed to be an ancient Egyptian man -_-"

I did not stay up late as the wakeup call on the next day would be at 2am. Reason being was that we had to head on down to Abu Simbel on a bus ride about 280km south of Aswan along with hundreds of other tourist buses from the hundreds of cruise ships. We had to reach there by dawn and the bus ride took about 4 hours. Tourist police escorts were accompanying us while we were in the convoy, covered with the blue night sky, covered with a blanket of stars that looked like jewels. Security has tightened over the years due to one incident where a group of Japanese tourist were victims of mass shooting at the Queen Hatchepsut's Temple.

When we reached Abu Simbel, it was below freezing temperature and I was not really ready for it as it was situated near Lake Nasser. I managed to capture National Geographic-esque photos, thankfully, despite my frozen fingers.

There are two temples at Abu Simbel and they were both carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II as a monumental gift for himself and his wife, Queen Nefertari due to his said victory in the Battle of Kadesh. However in the 60s it was relocated to a higher ground due to the threats of being submerged underwater from the Aswan Dam Reservoir. I even managed to take a photo with the key to the temple and oh boy, it was heavy! I wonder if it was made out of pure gold too hahaha

As we were heading back to our ships, there were a few top-overs for photo opportunities. First was the Aswan Damn Reservoir, the Tower of peace and treaty and also to see the biggest Obelisk in the world.

We had time to spare so we could rest from the Abu Simbel journey's fatigue and only continued in the evening. Headed to the souk or bazaar on horse carriages to buy trinkets and souvenirs or even to just have a look around. I'm not much of a trinkets kind of person so I was just browsing with no interest to buy anything.

Since it was Christmas Eve, we had a sumptuous dinner followed by in-house performances by a belly dancing and Sufi dancer troupe. That, was something. I was, of course, expecting a hot Megan Fox looking Arab girl to be performing but what went on in front of me was something that tickled the sides of my tummy a little. I guess no one really expected that at all ;)

The next day was more relaxed compared to the previous days where our schedule was packed to the brim. We had the chance to go on a Felucca ride on the Nile. The weather was perfect, sunny but breezy which made the sailing as smooth as floating on clouds. My brother had the privilege to steer the boat and thankfully, he did not steer us to some rocks or we'd be stranded. The view was breathtaking as we saw tombs of a famous ancient Muslim leader in Egypt, mini islands in the middle of the Nile, the desert that seemed never- ending and also hundreds of other feluccas docked near the jetty.

The boat ride lasted for about an hour and we had the rest of the day at leisure. Some opted to go back into town to shop while my family decided to head to a nearby Nubian village. Nubians are Sudanese that lives in Egypt and they're usually found in the south and the villages can only be accessed via the river. Our arrival was greeted by the villagers, camels and colourful houses. Nubians are known to be very friendly as they despite their living condition and poverty, they served us homemade bread with dips and rose tea. They speak Egyptian but they have their own language altogether and we had the privilege of learning the basics in their school. Most of these Nubians keep river crocodiles as pets as Nile River crocodile was known to be beasts and worshipped during the ancient times. Somehow, the great big crocodiles were never seen anymore and thought to be extinct.

We left Aswan when the sun was setting to catch the 'Sleeping Train' where we spent the next night in. I'm not a big fan of confined spaces thus the ride was not a pleasant one for me. Each coach had about 6-7 cabins and it can only accommodate for two each. Meals are inclusive with the ticket but I ended up eating my packed cup noodles. 

I was tossing and turning the whole night because the train kept slamming into something hard and the impact felt like it was crashing into cars the whole way. The drawers swung open and I had to get up to close it everytime it did. I was still wondering how the rest of my family knocked out that night and did not feel or heard anything. Turned out that the journey took a little longer than expected due to major fogging thus we were delayed by half a day. As soon as we reached Cairo, we postponed the plan to visit Alexandria and spent the time in Cairo instead. I entered the Royal Mummy room despite the extra charges (since I am petite I told the guards that I'm 15 so I got child/student pricing cause the Egyptians generally look older than their age anyway) and saw all the well-preserved royal mummies. You could see some flesh, eyelashes, hair, nails and even the hairs on their arms still intact. I can finally strike off one of my must-see-before-I-die list.

Must visit places in Cairo would the Museum of Egypt where all the treasures of King Tut were kept. I saw everything I needed to to complete my journey - from his mummy coffin, the jars where they kept his organs (there were even dried blood on it) up to his underwear and condom. Yes, they had condoms back then that were made out of animal skin. Looked more like a worn out jockstrap to me.

Just before we left to the airport, we made a half-day trip to Alexandria to visit the university and library. Apparently it is the biggest library in the world. The original library was the center for scholars during the patronage of Ptolemaic dynasty (3bc to 30bc). This new library, Bibliotica Alexandrina, was build near the original one to commemorate and emulate it in 2002. The library not only held hundreds of thousands of books but also had art sculptures, other than the very modern studying facilities.

I did not shop for souvenirs during this trip but I collected the ticket stubs to remind me of these places. Although it's been two years since but I still remember every detail of the trip as it was a unique experience.

On to the next World Wonder!  =)

Breakfast in Budoir

please note: These photos were taken by me and solely me, no copyright infringement allowed unless I will be credited for it. Thank you.

hey suckers, here's behind the scenes pictures for my fourth shoot with Modelle mag.

there are now 30 girls left in the running to become People's Choice Model out of 50 girls.

If you think I have what it takes, do vote for me and it'll be very much appreciated.

type MODV (space) HAN and send to 36660

(RM1 per sms)

and you will get a confirmation text stating that your votes have been received.

____________

ok, back to the main point of this post. This issue's theme is 'Breakfast in Budoir'.

think sensual, think simple.

here are behind the scenes photos.

sorry bebeh i posted up a picture of you without makeup.

our mamasan, Sabrina can't decide whether she wants her hair curly or straight...

rambut camni if keluar malam2 boleh kasi heart attack woh.

the other girls:

harveen

eva

sayangku Kristen, before

and after

HAHAH gila rambut diva!

and lastly Lai Kuan

camwhore in between shots. hey it took like ages okay, we needed to keep ourselves occupied!

 

our makeup was like damn tebal kalah Pontianak sundal malam not kidding wei.

by the end of the day it kinda floated on the skin but then again, they did look good in the photo since they said it might be black and white shots.

oohhh and this time we had to work in pairs and since our theme was a sensual one we had to be all lesbo and touchy feely. Zen and Julian came later on to have a glimpse of the action HAHAHA

here are some shots taken by me, again:

no photos of me and eva cause no one were taking photos of us. Sigh, lucky you girls I was there tau! hahaha kidding.

here are photos taken from eva and kristen's camera:

alright folks, that's all for this week. I'm off to Egypt in like...half an hour but keep reading if I have internet I'll definitely update, especially on twitter.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER bitches

mwah!

I'll wite about my day in Alamanda with advertlet's bloggers and Flyfm and other media once I'm back from Egypt

and there will be many more things for your reading pleasure  =)