Summer is great for two things. 1 - going to the beach in the heat, and 2 - having afternoon barbies. On Sunday the beaches were ridden with blue bottles, so Dani and I decided to eat meat, drink beer, and watch Cars. That movie was fantastic, hilariously funny :).
Here’s Dani at the bbq.
In the weeks before throwing myself into another one of my less-than-advisably unthought out trips, I manage to do a small amount of pre-trip purchasing. Mostly hygenic products of the mini sized variety, but the one item at the top of my list is always a roll of duct tape or two.
Take this advice to heart. Never leave home without it! Infact, my roll is always attached to my day pack because it has saved my life a number of times (eg- fixed a sinking boat in Cambodia, taped a snoring man’s mouth shut in a European hostel). For some reason, I managed to get laughed at for thinking I might need it. Well, here are 5 good uses for tape when abroad.
make things hang
A wet towel can be a travelers worst nightmare. With some quick tears of tape from the roll, you can hang it out overnight, and if you are lucky enough, over a heater.
make things close
Ever man-handled a packet of biscuits so badly you have to eat all the contents, causing terrible constipation and cursed those deliciously delicate wafers whilst on the squatter? With tape, no fear! You can seal it all!
make things work
Adaptors are useful, but always annoying since they can be so huge. African power plugs are not famous for their load bearing design. Tape to the rescue.
make things stay
Ever checked into a hostel where they advertise onsuites, just to find that the bathroom has no roof and practically falls onto the bed? Whats more, there’s no door, just a flapping piece of fabric as a privacy guard.
make things waterproof
Oh the hassle of shaving without a bowl of water. I’ve seen a couple of neat ideas out there, like filling a frisbee or the bottom half of a coke bottle with water, but the best solution is always a taped solution. Make sure the sink is dry before applying the seal.
Of course there are a hunder and one different uses in that 4m of rolled up goodness. Think repairing backpacks, waterproofing torn shoes, and binding hostages. Yes, believe it or not, my beloved roll was once confiscated at Sydney Airport because it was a terrorist threat. Good thing they didn’t find that metal knife which came with my meal.
Returning back to Egypt has been nothing short of insane. On the bus trip from Taba to Cairo, we had to switch buses at the Suez canal since the vehicle was not registered for the mainland. Our new driver must have been on speed or something - he was the most maniacal driver I have ever been in a vehicle with. In single lane, with two way traffic, he was pretty happy to drive at 160km/h weaving in and out of the lane to overtake, and many times coming pretty close to the oncoming trucks. Then he decides to turn off the lights!!! I was nearly in tears! At least we arrived back safely.
For my birthday, we went back to the pyramids which was a great way to spend the day. For a birthday lunch, we had Pizza Hut, with a view of course!
Today we’ve been running around visiting Coptic Cairo, including convents, churches and a synagogue. We found our way to the oldest part of the city, Islamic Cairo. We entered some impressive mosques, and even climbed up some 100m tall minarets! It was terrifying, to reach the topmost ledge I had to climb up a rickety metal frame which was howling with the wind and moving everywhere. Here’s proof!
It’s home time tomorrow. Kind of looking forward to it, and going for a surf.
When I was in Israel two years ago, I discovered that the country has nothing short of questionable graffiti artwork. Here’s proof, and it is definitely the best graffiti I have ever seen:
Hopefully I shouldn’t have to explain that this is a Lego man. Awesome.
I also like the city because it is so metropolitan. After 5 weeks of Turkey and Egypt, it’s nice to see a western influence. One particular night, a short blackout occured and I got this great photo.
Now in Jerusalem, and I’m so glad to be here, even though it is pouring with rain.
Dear world. For those of you who do not know him, I’d like to introduce one of the KDE israel team: Meni Livne.
In Tel-Aviv, we caught up for a walk around town, some great civilised western food, and of course, beer. We also chatted with and about Konqi the imported mascot.
Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with the rest of the KDE gang in the North of the country in a couple of weeks.
