Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas


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  • World Trip 2009: Day 33 – Brussels to London, England

    Tuesday 23 June 2009
    Highlights:      British Airways Flight, Dinner at Brixton

    Waking up before my alarm I decided to rest my eyes for a few minutes, luckily i didn’t turn off the alarm because 40 minutes later it went off and I was fast asleep! A quick and very convenient train trip back to the Brussels Airport (Melbourne should model Brussels’ in this respect) and I was off to London for the fourth leg of the trip.

    I had checked in online on the British Airways flight the night before and due to my status I could select an emergency exit row (more leg room) and given the plane was 100% full I was happy with the seat selection. As this was a short flight I decided to take a power nap. BA actually had breakfast on this flight which turned out to be a ham and cheese roll, while I don’t think it technically qualifies as breakfast it was perfect for me 🙂

    After having a friendly chat to the Immigration officer about working for the Australian Government vs the British Government (they weren’t very busy) I was quickly through customs and in the UK. After the transit problem in London 2 weeks ago I was very surprised. I think it helped greatly that I had come from a European port.

    Jon have texted and rang me and had provided very clear instructions for getting to his London place.  He even arranged for one of his housemates (Lora) to be there when I arrived (they already had the day off but still I was very happy and surprised). Jon managed to get off work early so we went down to Brixton for lunch in a small and very popular pizza place which served a lot of organic food and was very good. Later I met the whole household; James, Lora, Jeanne and together with Jon they will be my housemates for the next 2 weeks.  Everyone was welcoming and we have some living discussions about profiling (my experience in Madrid), whether taxation / value add tax should be included in the advertised price, and politics. I was very impressed by everyone, Jeanne and Jon even cooked me dinner, I’m a very luckily man.

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 32 – Brussels, Belgium

    Monday 22 June 2009
    Highlights: Visiting the Atomium

    The transit stop at Madrid turned out to be interesting, first I didn’t correctly fill out the arrivals card and the border control just let me in anyway without me having to fill one in.  However at the same time an African was getting the third degree, profiling in action I expect.

    The second thing is i got into the airport at 3.30 am local time and it turns out that aside from McDonald’s everything was shut including the Lounge, until 6 am. The few people airside like my slept on the provided chairs.

    At 9.30 am I boarded the Iberia flight to Brussels. On arrival at Brussels I was extremely happy to find my bags again waiting for me, thank you Iberia. On Inge’s advice I took off to the city via the airport train and somehow found my hotel, Hotel Bloom which is a very upmarket place. While walking around Brussels I came across the window sex workers, on the train trip I also saw them, but on my walk they were knocking on their windows to get the attention of men while at the same time walking right in front of their window were Muslim women in burqa clothes, a surreal scene.

    At around 6.30 pm my good friend Inge arrived from her job and took my on a car ride to the Atomium, created in the 1950s it still looks very futuristic. We had an enjoyable dinner nearby with Inge ordering for me; soon I had some Belgium beers (including a ‘white’ beer), some muscles and waffles with cream, very nice indeed. We started setting plans for Inge’s visit to Australia in October which I’m already looking forward to. After the GPS kept sending us around in circles Inge returned me safely to my hotel, with me promising next time I’ll stay in Belgium for longer so Inge can show me more of this beautiful country.  Inge you are a very special person.

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  • World Trip 2009: Leg 2 Egypt Summary

    Facebook Photos 1, Photos 2
    Now that the Egypt part of my journey is over I’ve been thinking about how good it was and what I learnt. This is the biggest culture shock place I’ve visited, which even though I knew this in advance it still opened my eyes a little to the wider world (which is great).  Egypt is definitely worth the visit.

    My personal highlights included:
    – Giza Pyramids
    – Sleeping under the stars on the Nile
    – Swimming in the Nile (yes lucky I didn’t get sick)
    – Going wild on an all-terrain vehicle in the middle of the desert
    – Visiting the Luxor Temple at night (magnificent with the lights on)
    – Camel and donkey riding (yes there are pictures – I might share them)
    – The Citadel Mosque (Mohamed Ali Mosque)
    – Swimming – snorkelling in the Red Sea
    – Hiking Mt Sinai (in Moses steps) at 1 am in the morning to see a sunrise – difficult but well worth it.

    While I enjoyed the experience, there were definitely parts that are hard to take, for example the consistent pushy attention from touts – vendors who saw me as the ’Aussie Teller Machine (ATM). I got caught out at the start but I eventually found that by doing things that would get you in a fight in Australia (ie. being rude) would get me safely away from vendors most of the time.

    Luckily I had a fantastic group and we looked after each other most of the time. It was hard however to get used to the consistent police-military checks in what is effectively a dictatorship. Also surprising is how these officials openly request money so you could break the rules i.e. touch displays in museums, photograph in banned places etc. When armed officials ask you for money it’s difficult to say no. On my second last day in Egypt I was looking out at Cairo from the Citadel and because of the smog I could barely see the city, it was so bad my eyes were starting to burn. At that point I knew my great adventure had come to an end and it was time to leave.

    In summary I really loved Egypt despite the downsides.  I’d recommend it to anyone who hasn’t been to go, it ´s a real eye opener and there is heaps of fun to be had, but you really need a guide to get around the military restrictions. Plus I didn’t get sick so very happy!!!

  • World Trip 2009: Day 31 – Cairo, Egypt

    Sunday 21 June 2009
    Highlights: The weird Cairo International Airport

    A late check out at 2 pm, waiting for a taxi booked for 7 pm and then a flight (hopefully at 11.45 pm) to Madrid and onwards to Brussels to catch up with Inge who I first met during my 2006 travels.

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 30 – Cairo, Egypt

    Saturday 20 June 2009
    Highlights: Mohammed Ali Mosque, Turkish Bazaar

    Today we started with a visit to the Citadel which houses the Mohammed Ali Mosque. Surprisingly this was my first and only visit to a mosque in Egypt but it was a sight to behold. When entering the mosque you must take off your shoes and the ladies needed to wear head gear. I also got a photo of the city showing just how smoggy it really is, and I had my eyes playing up before of this.

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 29 – Sinai Desert to Cairo, Egypt

    Friday 19 June 2009
    Highlights: Trekking up Mt Sinai, Mountain Ranges at Sunrise

    With views so spectacular it’s difficult to do them justice in words. We got a wakeup call at 1.00 am and were off to trek up Mt Sinai at 1.30 am arriving about 15 minutes later. As expected Mark decided to sleep in, who can blame him with a 1 am start and a 7 km hike up a mountain in the dark to wait for a sunrise. However in my case I just had to do it and it turned out to be a life highlight.

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 28 – Dahab to Sinai Desert, Egypt

    Thursday 18 June 2009
    Highlights: Visiting St Catherine’s Monastery

    Today we travelled to the town St Catherine our base to visit St Catherine’s Monastery today, and climb Mt Sinai tomorrow.

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 27 – Dahab, Egypt

    Wednesday 17 June 2009
    Highlights: Snorkelling in the Red Sea

    Today we went swimming in the Red Sea or should I say snorkelling. It was great fun and I got to see lots of different colourful fish. There were a couple of ladies who swam dressed head to toe, likely due to religious and cultural norms, so that was an experience in itself. I assisted several of my follow travellers, Amy had problems with her gear and Gloria needed a little help swimming.

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 26 – Hurghada to Dahab, Egypt

    Tuesday 16 June 2009
    Highlights: Cancelled ferry and long travelling day

    A disappointing day. We got up had breakfast and were ready to go at 7.45 am however the fates had other ideas. The authorities decided the winds were too strong for the ferry so our 5 hour travelling time was changed dramatically upwards with a bus trip now needed. We ended up leaving around 11 am and got into Dahab at midnight. The long trip was necessary as we had to go back up to Cairo and cross over the Suez Canal to get to over destination by then backtracking.

    A long travel day but these things happen. As far as I’m concerned I’ve seen the temples, the pyramids, slept and swam in the Nile, ridden donkeys, camels and ATVs the rest of the trip is mostly the relaxing on the beach part so no big deal for me with we have longer travel days. ‘

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  • World Trip 2009: Day 25 – Luxor to Hurghada, Egypt

    Monday 15 June 2009
    Highlights: All-terrain vehicle desert safari

    Our last night in Luxor saw the power go off and on 3 times, once when I was in the shower! Having successfully found my away around in the dark we headed off early to Hurghada. Hurghada is basically a resort town which seems to attract heaps of Russians with money. The best thing about Hurghada is we got to go on a desert safari. This meant two 50 minute ATV (All-terrain vehicle) rides.

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