ukraine: kyiv: two weekends/sights in the city

This post is a combination of two weekends/sights in Kyiv. 

Since I've been here six years, I've been thinking I should see more of what is in Kyiv. Plus, knowing I'm going to see something in the city keeps me motivated to get out of bed on weekends I'm going to travel. 

During my first year here, one of my cousins came to visit me when I'd been here just two weeks. We tried to do the walking tour mentioned in the lonely planet guidebook, and succeeded for the most part. Howeva, there was a place listed that we never found. The name of the place was Chocolate House. At the time, we figured that was a nickname, and wouldn't be listed anywhere. We also didn't have a specific address.

In the past year I've started following a company called TourismUA on Facebook. Every now and again they post a list of somewhat unknown places in the country, or the city. 

A couple weeks ago I saw a list that included the Chocolate House, and it included an address. Yay! 

It took me a while to get going on a Saturday, even though my original plan was to get up early. (Story of my life: I'm awake but don't actually get moving for too long.) I took the metro to the city center, and walked from there. Google maps told me exactly where to go, it made everything easy. 

I got to the building, which was painted chocolate brown, the colour made me wonder how we had missed it years ago. There was a small sign on the exterior wall, describing some of the history of the building. 

The Chocolate House is now a museum of Russian art. When I walked in, there were three women sitting behind a desk, they all looked up. From the expressions on their faces, I don't think they get many single, one off visitors. 

My ticket price was only 25 griven, less than a dollar. I also took advantage of the cost check, which is typical in museums of this country. Everything is quite cheap compared to western prices.

There was a small temporary exhibition of art on the first/ground floor, so that's where I started. I liked the pieces, they were filled with blocks of color. If I ever have a permanent place to live this is the type of art I'd love to put on the walls. 

Up the stairs to the second floor is where the interesting area is for most people. This building was originally a private residence, and some of that architecture still remains. The stairway up to the second floor was elegant, I loved it. 

Upon entering the first room on the second floor I looked up. I've grown to love ceilings, so that's where I look first. This ended up being my favourite ceiling in the place. Something about the colour variety, combined with the light of the chandelier. Back in the day was there such a thing as an interior designer? 

The room itself was also interesting, though there was another set of art arranged on easels. I loved the room, not so much the art. Or at least not the way the art covered up the original beauty of the art. I wanted to carry the easels and tables out of the room, then take my photo of just the room.
Each room was beautiful. Each ceiling was unique, and one of them had a large chandelier hanging down.  I definitely spent more time looking up than around. 

The next 'sight' was the following weekend. 

I had to get up early on a Saturday morning for a doctor's appointment. After the appointment was over I decided I might as well take advantage of being out and about 

The first was a place I'd heard about several times, once even in international media. A stairwell, believe it or not. The article had described the stairwell, including a couple photos. 
When I see a photo I know it means I'm not the first to see it, but at the same time, it's usually the photo that catches my eye and makes me want to go see a place. When guidebooks have photos of various places I'm much more likely to go see those places, as opposed to the places for which there is simply written information. 

I found a photo of this stairwell in the same group of photos mentioned by TourismUA, also with an address. Since it was in abnormal residential building I didn't know if I would be able to get inside, but I figured it was worth a try. 

I rode the metro to a nearby stop, then walked. I should make a correction here, it wasn't really nearby, it was just the closest. I had to cross the street to walk in the correct direction, which wasn't super easy. After walking for about 45 minutes, (with a stop for snacks along the way at a supermarket,) I found the building. 

It turned out to be a type of building built in great quantity here back during the communist years. 8 or 9 stories tall, with multiple entrances to different areas. Each entrance requires a key code or magnetic key to get in. My apartment building is just like this one, though perhaps with fewer entrance doors. 

I was a bit dismayed when I got there, not knowing which entrance I would need to find this particular staircase. The information I had gave me the floor numbers, but not the entrance number, and I could see at least 8 entrances. 

To make a long story short, I got lucky. I happened to be really close to one of the entrances when a woman came out, so I ducked inside before the door closed. From the bottom of the stairs I couldn't see anything exciting, but I decided to climb anywho. 

It was worth it!! After I got a few floors up I could see I'd gotten lucky, and found the correct entrance on the first try. Yahoo!

The man who decorated the two levels of the stairwell is a city employee, working in transportation. From what I learned, it took him 15 years to do everything. I wonder if he will do more? Most everything is painted green, yellow, or white. There is gold trim, portraits, and fancy carving. It really is incredible to think this is in a regular residential building, by a normal guy. Even the elevator doors and surroundings were decorated. 

I'm not sure what I would've done if I'd been wrong. I don't think I would've had the patience to stand by each door in turn, just waiting for someone to come out.

Walking back to the metro was a bit shorter, since I knew where I was going. I love sights like these, it's always good to know the city in which you live.

ukraine: chernivtsi

Chernivtsi was the first town I visited outside of Kyiv, when I first moved to Ukraine. That was five years ago! Since then, the university in town has been designated an official unesco sight. I saw the university the first time around, but decided I wanted to see it again. That first trip was just one day, and I wanted to spend a couple more days seeing more of the city. 

My night train from Kyiv was 11 hours, and arrived 2 minutes later than scheduled. That's pretty impressive! It's also pretty standard from what I've experienced of the Ukrainian train system. 

The train arrived before dawn, in a snow covered town. The main train station in town is quite small, but still very elegant. There was a large Christmas tree in the middle of the great room of the station; presumably it would've stayed up until at least 19 January, which is Orthodox Epiphany. 

The train station is at the bottom of a hill. I used the maps on my phone, which said it should take about an hour to walk to my hotel. I knew it would take longer than that, since I knew I would stop to take photos along the way. I have yet to find a place where I don't take photos. 

It did take longer, about 90 minutes instead of 60. I walked through the center of town, which was nice to see without anyone else around. I remembered some of what I was seeing from my last trip, but this time I had a better idea of how it all fit together. There was still a lot of Christmas decoration on some of the buildings, including city hall. I stepped into a few interior courtyards, just to see what they looked like. 

Eventually I got to my hotel. They let me check in early, which was really appreciated. I loved my room, the bed was super comfortable. Wifi was good, and the heating system was good. Yay! I kinda sorta maybe fell asleep for a couple hours ;) 

The only downfall of the hotel was location, as it was nowhere near the city center. It was close to the main bus station though, if I'd needed that. 

Eventually I got myself together, and walked back to the main road I'd followed to get to the hotel, and headed back toward the city center. 

Along the way I stopped into a bakery, because I saw through the window that they had mini chocolate tarts. It was definitely worth it, those tarts were good!! (And cheap!!)

I also passed a church painted pepto pink. A very bright colour, and not one you see very often on a church. I wonder what made the powers that be choose that colour. 

I wandered through the city center until I got to university street. I followed that until I arrived at the front gates of the university. 

This university was originally the private residence of the Bukovinian and Moldavian Dalmatians of the Duchy of Bukovinia. 

This duchy was a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Basically, it was a palace of sorts, complete with a church. 

I asked the security guard at the entrance gate where I needed to go for a tour, in my very very broken Russian. Of course he could tell that I was not a native speaker and didn't understand much, but he tried to help me, which was awesome. He said I had to take a tour, and that the tours were only in Russian. I said that's okay, (I knew I could research what I saw later,) and he pointed out a group that was just starting. Yay for helpful people. 

I walked over to the group, and stood there, even though I had no idea what he was saying. I followed the group when it moved toward the main entrance area, and as we entered I listed to another bit of information I didn't understand. 

Then we went up a set of stairs, and I remembered to look up. I took a couple photos, because the ceiling above the stairs was filled with mini cupolas, each painted very nicely. While I was taking these photos, I got separated from my group. To make that separation more of a problem, another group came down the stairs right about then. By the time I got to the top of the stairs my group was nowhere to be found. Uh oh, whoops. 

I raced back to a security guard I'd seen at the main entrance of the building we were in, and explained my situation. (In very broken Russian.) He understood, grabbed a set of keys, and walked me back to my group. It turned out they'd gone through a door which had then been locked behind the group. No wonder I couldn't find them. Inside that door was a hallway leading to a huge room, where my group was sitting. 

The room was gorgeous. Two large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and there were many rows of chairs. At one end of the room was a raised platform, the sort of area a professor could stand, or an award be presented. 

Up high I could see a balcony of sorts going around an upper level. A grand room, very pretty. The security guard explained me by saying 'she's an American' and went back to his post after I said thank you. 

I sat with the group, and listened to the rest of the spiel for this room even though I didn't understand. After he finished speaking the guide indicated we should take a few photos, then walked to the next place we would meet. I took more photos, of course. 

The next room was boring in the sense of wanting to take photos. The whole thing was painted a dark baby blue. (I'm not a fan of this color.) Along the walls were chairs, and a couple tables were in the middle of the room. At each end were posters in various languages, talking about builders and architects. During the spiel the guide gave in this room I'm sure he explained why these posters were on display. I noticed that each language featured a different architect. 

We went back through the grand room to get to our next room, on the other side of the grand room. I called this one the red room. The whole thing was painted a dark red. The ceiling was decorated, and the tables and chairs were set in a sort of zig zag formation. As he finished speaking, the guide gathered everyone by a large mirror on the outer wall of this room. He borrowed a lighter from someone, and held it close to the mirror. Everyone watched carefully, though I had no idea what I was watching; nothing happened, as far as I could see. 

The group then exited that building, and walked over to the church. We entered the church, and listened to more information. The church was still decorated for the holidays, with a nativity scene and a Christmas tree. 

As I always do in a church, I looked up. Beautiful. There were frescoes on all the walls and ceiling. I loved it. I looked up and around long enough that I had a small crick in my neck. It was totally worth it. 

The church was the end of our tour. I wish the tour included other areas, as the buildings are rather extensive. Even if not all the rooms are so grand, I'd like to walk through a few more at the very least. Also, this tour didn't involve any time in the gorgeous gardens behind the university. I assume it was because of the weather, booo. (It was a gorgeous day, and everything was snow covered.)

Across the street from the university is a small park with a bust in the middle. The bust is approachable through a small aisle of trees, it was mostly shady when I arrived. The bust is painted gold, which is unlike most of anything else I've ever seen. 

I made my way back to the center of town, then turned into another street. I saw another small platz, it was being cleared of snow. Nothing exciting. 

Around another corner I found another church. (Later on I discovered that though the building was outlined in google maps, it was not named or labeled. I added the name and label, and a couple photos.) St Paraskeva isn't big. The interior is mostly blue, with a nice chandelier and painted cupola. On the grounds of the church, off to one side is a well. The covering seemed rather fancy to me, maybe it reaches all the way to holy water? 

Several streets later I came to a Jewish memorial. I didn't see a sign to say what it was, but I did see the six pointed star, and a few flowers laid there. 

My next spot was an area called Turkish Square. I have no idea why it has this name. There was a set of columns in a circle, and a flat area. Off to one side was an art installation, a giant bicycle. From this area, on both sides of the street, there were long stairways, leading to a bridge over the road. My eyes saw an interesting photo, but I don't think my camera saw what I saw. Also, I like photos without people, and there was a constant enough flow of people on the stairs that it didn't work out. The sun was setting, so it was getting dark, and it was already cold and getting colder. 

I made my way back to the platz in front of City Hall, and branched off to a pedestrian street. I knew there were a few stores on the street, along with cafes and restaurants. I found a sushi place for dinner. 

From there I walked back to my hotel, mostly on the main street. Along the way I stopped in a store to pick up breakfast food for the next morning. 

I slept well that night, in the bed I already loved. 

As usual (much to my frustration with myself,) I stayed inside far too long the next morning. How do I get motivated to get going faster? 

As I got to the main street, I noticed (it would've been impossible not to notice,) floats for a parade. I remembered my town map saying this day was the day for the annual Malanka celebration. Malanka is often called the Old New Year, based on the Orthodox calendar. I think? I'm a bit confused. 

I remember a few of the floats: people dressed up like angry birds, dancing to music, people dressed up like the flinstones, and one guy dressed like charlie chaplain and playing a piano. Each float had speakers, and played music, loudly. I took a couple videos as the floats went by. 

I made the same walk I had the day before, heading into the city center.  I played leapfrog with the parade, depending on how vehicular traffic was moving. I stopped into the same bakery as the day before, and bought more mini chocolate tarts. Yum.

As I got closer to the city center the sidewalks got crowded. Very crowded. I realized this parade was attracting a whole lot of people. I don't know how many people live in Chernivtsi, but it felt as though many of them were out on the streets. 

The square in front of city hall was packed, it was not so easy to cross the street. I pushed through, and made my way to a door that was supposed to be the entry to a tourist information office. It wasn't an office, at all. It was a shop. I found decent postcards, so I bought a few. 

The information office ended up being behind the shop. I walked in, and did not feel terribly welcome. 

My impression was the guy sitting behind the desk was far more interested in continuing his personal conversation with the lady sitting on the chair in front of the desk than helping anyone. I don't know what they were talking about, but that's how I felt when the guy glanced at me, then continued talking to the lady. There was no information displayed anywhere, and the whole room (quite small) just felt/looked like a back office. This is NOT the kind of tourist information office I expected in a town that has a unesco sight. 

I pushed through more crowds to theater square, I wanted to get to the Jewish museum, located on one corner of the square. 

As I got to that square, I saw more people crowded on one end, and another float driving down that street. I walked around the entire square before finding the Jewish museum, and discovered I was too late. It turns out it was only open for three hours on Sunday, from 10am to 1pm. Argh. If I'd gotten going earlier I would've been there in time. 

I went back toward the city center platz, finding even more people. So many people. This time it was a lot harder to get through the crowds, and get to the street I wanted. There were security people around, making sure the crowds didn't get under control, I didn't envy them. 

I walked down this street, going past a couple churches. I entered both of them, because churches always interest me. One was average, and the other had a far more interesting exterior. The towers on top were sortof twisty, and made me wonder if they were leaning slightly sideways. (They weren't, of course, it's just an optical illusion.) As I walked up to the twisty one I realized people were standing around, waiting for a ceremony to start. (I don't know what the ceremony was going to be.) As usual, there was a nicely painted cupola inside, though it was very dark. 

From these churches I kept walking, coming to a turnoff I needed. This street runs between an area of cemeteries, I wanted to see the Jewish cemetery. My first attempt at finding the entrance was a failure, but eventually I found it. 

Only a small gate was open, and I could see the entire cemetery was covered in snow. Right at the beginning was a large building with a dome, which looked abandoned. I would've peeked inside except that it was surrounded by a fence clearly designed to keep everyone out. I don't know if anything was being repaired, or if it was just keeping people out for safety reasons. When it comes to boarded up buildings, you never know.

I wandered through the cemetery, taking note of different tombstones and markers. Some were large and extravagant (in my taste,) while others were crowded together and didn't look cared for. I could see footprints from a few other people, as well as dogs. I'm as fascinated by cemeteries as I am by churches, they're all different and say a lot about the people who once lived. 

After a while I walked back into the city center. I took a different road after a while, and found an Armenian Catholic Church. Just like the last time I was in Chernivtsi, it wasn't open. Argh. 

I went back to the same sushi place I'd visited the night before for dinner. Yum. 

After eating I walked quickly back to the hotel to pick up my bag, then turned around and went back into town, all the way to the other side to get to the train station. 

As the sun fell, so did the temperature. Not by a whole lot, but enough so that all the slush and water froze into ice. It was difficult at times to stay upright and not go sliding down the street on my behind. 

I arrived at the train station about 15 minutes before my train left, I thought it was perfect timing. 

I'd like to see the Jewish museum, but I don't know if that is reason enough to come back to Chernivtsi. Maybe.

egypt: western desert

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I 'planned' my trip to Egypt. Most likely I wasn't thinking too clearly. The reason I say this is because I scheduled a pick up for my second tour to be at 0700 on 1 January. I'm not a fan of partying by any definition, but that's still the one morning a year when most people sleep in. 

Being picked up at 0700 meant having breakfast and getting packed up before then. Let's just say I was tired. And sleepy. And really wishing I'd thought things out a bit better. Oh well, this next week was totally worth any inconvenience. 

The driver was waiting for me in the lobby, right on time. I found out later that when he asked the front desk if I was in the hotel they told him they didn't have anyone by my name. Hmmmm. 

I was so tired that I slept for most of the four hour drive. The seat pretty much laid flat, I was out like a light. I've always been known for heavy sleeping, and sleeping in cars, but I was dead to the world for those hours. 

I woke up just a few minutes before arriving at a town in the western desert of Egypt. I didn't really know where I was, but I figured it was the right place, since the company had arranged my ride. It was, my guide came up to meet me straightaway. It turned out he had just come back from the desert that morning. 

I was sent inside the building to have lunch. I wasn't hungry, (since all I'd done was sleep since breakfast,) but the food was good. I ate everything. There were several dishes, traditional Bedouin food. There was also a plate with a local type of bread, the best comparison I can make is to pita. 

After eating I was happy to go outside to have tea, another Bedouin tradition. Since it was winter, I was cold inside, the sun felt great. 

Not long after tea my guide picked me up and we drove around town, running errands for the tour. He needed to clean his 4x4 vehicle, get more petrol, pick up food, etc... I found the petrol 'station' to be the most interesting part of everything. It definitely was not like a station we think of with pumps outside. This was a small room filled with a couple large tanks filled with I'm not sure what. There were also plastic jugs filled with petrol.

My guide said he wanted two or three of those, so the employee came out with a funnel. He tucked the funnel into the opening of the petrol tank, and slowly poured in the petrol. I could see all kinds of safety issues, but the system works. 

Eventually we returned to pick up my bag, then drove to an area on the outskirts of town. There was a hot spring there, built by the government. Awesome. 

Basically a giant rectangle box made of cement, with sand on the bottom. Hot water came out of a pipe into the tank, and the excess came out a notch cut in the other side. The water was clean as far as I could see. 

I went behind a building (not sure what was inside, it was padlocked closed,) and changed into swimwear. It felt great to be in the warm water. It wasn't hot, but it was warm. 

After hanging out in the water for a little bit, I changed back, and we drove a little further. Not too much later, my guide stopped the truck, and said I should walk around and enjoy the scenery. It was just a peek of what I would get to see over the next week or so.

It was a mountain they called pyramid mountain, and not too far away was what looked like an extinct volcano. Gorgeous. I walked for a while, it would've been easy to go for hours. 

My guide honked the horn, and we went back toward the main road. We picked up another guy from one of the local houses; this turned out to be his assistant Samoca. Somewhere along the main we picked up a British couple, Gill (pronounced Jill) and Chris. They'd signed up for four nights of camping. 

All five of us stayed in the car as Hamada drive into the mountains just outside town. Nothing dramatic, but still awesome. 

I didn't really have any idea what I'd signed myself up for (going with the whole 'hey, I'm going into the western desert and don't know what I will do there mentality) so I was up for anything. 

Gill, Chris, and I walked around while Hamada and Samoca set up camp. We watched sunset, which was pretty. It was right then that I realized we could see a whole lot of stars. Beautiful. It was also a moment when I realized yet again that I should probably buy proper camera equipment (a tripod in this case so I could be sure the camera was standing still.) 

We all sat in the camping area, with a few big and heavy blankets, chatting until dinner was served. By then it was very dark, so I was thankful for the single lightbulb our guide lit using the truck battery. 

Dinner was good (rice and chicken and salad,) and the setup for sleeping came soon after. We didn't go to sleep straightaway, but we were happy to know how it would work. 

There were five mini mattresses laid out, then covered with a heavy blanket. Then five sleeping bags laid out, and each sleeping bag covered with two more blankets. We were all cold, it was nice to slide into the sleeping bags and feel the weight of the blankets. 

It was also really neat to open my eyes and be able to see so many stars without moving my head! I had also pulled my hoodie over my head, when kept my ears warm. 

The next morning I woke up before everyone else. It was not long before dawn, so I decided to go for a walk. It was really nice to climb up a ridge and scramble along. I got to see the sun rise, and see the light creep across the land. 

I came back to camp in time for breakfast. This was the meal I liked least each day, because it involved sooooo much sugar. I love sugar, but even I want something not made of sugar. 

After a while everything was packed up, tied down to the top of the truck, or put in the back.

Meanwhile Chris and Gill and I brushed our teeth and figured out what we would need to have with us for the morning. We got it all sorted, then Hamada told us the plan. We would follow Samoca down the hills and walk across the land until we reached a salt lake. The salt lake exists only in winter, in summer it is a salt flat. 

We started walking, and kept walking. Samoca knew exactly where he was at all times, and wound his way through the area. 

We got to see palm trees growing, green beans growing, and sun flowers growing. We got to see a donkey and week old puppies. We got to see how irrigation works in the area. Basically, it was awesome. I don't remember how long the walk was, but I remember thinking it takes longer to walk across land than you think it will when looked at from our morning camp. 

Hamada picked us up at the salt lake, and we drove to the canteen where I'd eaten lunch the day before. I was more than happy to eat there again, as I'd liked the food. For Gill and Chris it was a first time. 

We all sorted our things, and left our extra packs there, taking with us only the basics for the next week. I had a camel pak, which is one of the best things I've ever bought. I was able to take a couple t shirts, change of undies, hat, scarf, etc... It made it really easy to go walking every day, with plenty of water. 

We drove for a little while, about 40km I think. At least that is what I remember being told. 

Our first stop was in an area known as the Black desert. Volcanic rock and mountains is everywhere, covered with sand. Beautiful. We were able to walk and climb around for a little while, and enjoy the landscape. It made me think of what I think the moon looks like. 

We hopped back in the truck and drove a bit longer down the road, this time stopping at a place called Crystal Mountain. I have no idea if this name is official, or if it applies to one specific hill or the general area. As soon as we climbed out we could see crystal. Not the clean, clear, Swarovski kind, but rather the kind that has just come out of the ground. You could see how each bit had formed and grown. Beautiful. More climbing and walking around for all of us. 

We all got back in the truck, driving further down the road. 

Sometime during this part of the drive I noticed as we passed the signs saying we were entering White Desert National Park. Everything we could see was gorgeous. Our guide, Hamada, explained to us that what we could see on one side of the truck was currently forbidden area, for political reasons. Since Libya is currently unstable, and there is smuggling (of people and items,) over this border, the Egyptian government is trying to keep people safe. We were sad to learn this, as what we could say was absolutely lovely. 

We hopped out of the truck at what seemed like a random place to me, but obviously wasn't to my guides. 

Hamada told us we would follow Samoca on our walk, he would bring us to our campsite for the night. All three of us were eager for the walk, as we could see a stunning landscape ahead of us. 

I'm not sure, but I think the walk was around two hours. We walked through an incredible area of the world, with all kinds of unique bits (and towers) or rock coming out of the land. We all took heaps and heaps of photos. Not only was the landscape really eye catching, but we got great lighting. The so-called golden light, as well as sunset. AMAZING. 

The sunset was incredible, both in the west and the east. Beautiful colours and layers. Another realization that I need a better camera!

We arrived at our campsite when it was almost completely dark, the timing couldn't have been any better. 

There was another group there as well, with a campsite around 20 meters from ours. It was a group of 6 Indians. They were in Egypt for 10 days, and had decided to come out to the desert for a single night. That means they were in a car for 6-7 hours each way, two days in a row. Not my idea of fun, but also not my trip. Anywho. 

We all sat around a fire together, there was some talk of politics (yes, the rest of the world is VERY aware of the coming presidential transition in the US) and some singing. We ate dinner together as well, which was fun. More good conversation. 

My group went to sleep a lot earlier and faster than the Indian group. I found out the next day that they were up until 2 in the morning! 

The next morning I was up again before everyone else. I went for another walk, taking in the sunrise as I walked. Beautiful, and relaxing. 

Breakfast was again full of sugar. Not awful, not fantastic. 

My toes felt a bit off, so I took off my socks and took a look. I was right, my toes didn't look right. Samoca saw my feet (and recognized what he saw,) and called Hamada over to see. Hamada told me my feet were irritated with all the sand.

He gave me some cream to use a couple times a day, and also had some open toed shoes for me to use. I felt like an old man wearing socks with sandals, but oh well. 

We packed everything up again, and I loaded my camelbak with 3L of water. We said goodbye to the Indian group, and started walking. It was another walk where the three of us followed Samoca. Nearly four hours later we arrived at lunch. We were tired by the time we arrived, in a good way. Chris had a watch that measured altitude and temperature, it was interesting to keep track of those as we walked. 

Again, the landscapes we saw were stunning. Again, we all took heaps of photos. It's a good thing the memory card in my camera has a lot of memory. 

Lunch was good, I have no idea why I didn't take any photos of our lunches and dinners during this week. I put more cream on my feet, they were already feeling heaps better. 

While we were sitting around afterward, I figured out how to keep a scarf over my neck while a hat covered my head. The morning walk was amazing, but I'd forgotten suncream, and could feel the results of that mistake. My face was on the shady side the whole time, but it got burnt too. 

Our afternoon walk was a bit shorter, only 75 mins or so. We arrived in another lovely campsite, in time for another fantastic sunset. Being out in the desert really showed me what photographers mean when they refer to late afternoon as having 'golden light.' Awesome. 

With the landscape being what it was, some of the rocks and outcroppings almost looked as if they were on fire with the late afternoon light. 

Dinner that night was good, as were all the dinners we had. 

The routine each day was essentially the same. I woke up before the others and went for a walk just because I could. We would have breakfast and get ready for the day. A three or four hour walk brought us to lunch, after which we would relax for about 30 minutes. 

Another walk of 90-120 minutes in the afternoon usually had us arriving at a new campsite just before a gorgeous sunset. 

I was out in the desert for seven nights. Every day was full of wonderful walking and views and landscapes. It got up to 30C/86F in the sunlight during the day (while only 15C/59F in the shade,) and down to 0C/32F at night. I never really felt hot. I imagine I would've felt baked during the summer.

No, I did not shower, and wore essentially the same clothes the whole time. When I go back, I'll bring a couple more items, just to feel cleaner even though I won't look any better.

I learned a lot about the Bedouin culture, and loved the food. I got to hear Samoca singing traditional songs both as we walked and at our campsites. I was completely disconnected from the rest of the world, which was unnerving and good at the same time. 

On the eighth day we drove back to the oasis town of Bahariya. We had another lunch in the garden of a friend of my guide. It was super windy, so I'm glad we were in a shelter of sorts. If we had been in the desert with all that wind, I would've been crunching a lot of sand while eating.  

After lunch Hamada took us to another local hot spring. This one was hotter than the one we had visited before a week in the desert. It felt really good to be in hot water, wash my hair, and clean off all the grime of a week. My face and hands were sunburnt/irritated by sand, so they burned a bit when in the water. 

We stayed that night in the unfinished hotel owned by Hamada. It felt a little strange to sleep in a bed, and have a western style toilet in the fully sunctuoning bathroom! I did something I rarely do when traveling: I packed everything more than an hour before leaving for the airport. I had to put all the dirty desert clothes in a bag. I fit everything in my bag after organizing everything, which wasn't fast. I was proud of being proactive, because I'm usually a last minute packer. 

We had dinner that night in one of the rooms of the hotel. It was the same type of food I'd been eating the whole time, and since I liked it so much I ate plenty. 

Since I had electricity in my room I ended up going to sleep a few hours later than the entire previous week. I used the light to get caught up on the travel journal I carry with me, it was good to know I wouldn't forget anything. 

The next morning we had the same old sugary breakfast, and I had a few last hours to wander around the property. Around 1130 Hamada drove me out to the main road, where a driver was waiting for me. This new guy drove me all the way to the airport in Cairo. He dropped me off at the wrong terminal, but the terminal I needed was easy to walk to, so it didn't matter. Since I was there four hours ahead of my flight, I got to sit around and wait. And wait. And wait and wait and wait. There was free wifi, which worked intermittently. 

The first flight was fine, then I had hours to kill in the Amman airport in Jordan. When I checked in for the second flight, and was asked whether I wanted an aisle of window, I said whateva was closest to the front. Somehow, that was totally lost in translation, because I got stuck in the middle seat of the last row. To make it worse, one lady tried to put her carryon under the seat in front of my feet. Um, no. Then, the flight attendant said I had to check my bag because it didn't have a cabin baggage tag. Never mind that it wasn't my fault at all. Argh. 

Thank goodness I was able to get off the plane to terminal bus in Kyiv generally in front of the crowd, get through passport control quickly, grab my bag from baggage claim, and hop straight into a taxi to work. 

I will go back to Egypt, and I will go back to the Western Desert. AMAZING.