Falafel for the soul

I hope my 2.5 readers havent missed me too much. The last few weeks have come as both a surprise and a rude shock to me.. from my boring 12x6 work schedule i suddenly reached Egypt on a 9 day dour as part of work ofcourse but for a change i was able to mix work with pleasure and take time to see why RG wants to go to Egypt someday. I told her its a good thing i got a head start atleast now i can tell the difference between a mummy 24 and a pharaoh or is the same?.. the mystery continues.. and ya RG didnt accept that as a honest excuse. Well must confess the beauty about Egypt or cairo in particular is that you can be there for a year or even more and yet you cant say you have seen it all.. Its like its a land where time stopped.. the buildings, the people, the pace of life.. its soooo slow.. and you need all your nine lives if u plan to drive or travel by car there.. my my..
Oh so you all must be dying to know the places i managed to visit during my expedition to Egypt..
a. Egyptian Musuem: if you wanna know where all the tourists are in Egypt, go to the museum on a weekend. Its so crowded.. and the musuem is like a treasure chamber of history and artifacts. Always do a little bit of reading about egyptian history before you actually go there or have a good guide or reference book otherwise after 15 minutes they all look the same.. You cant take photos so that makes it a even more special stop.
b. River Nile: If you are on a really tight budget or you just wanna see the city i suggest you walk across the street towards the Cairo city tower and you will see the River Nile. River Nile thats pretty much all can say about that.. you can cross the river by boat or do what smart people who have no life insurance usually do.. Use the bridge and thats wht I did..
c. Cairo Tower: When i put Cairo Tower on my list I knew exactly what I wanted.. See Cairo from the highest point possible and take as many pics as I can. and as i went up the tower on usually crowded lift i reached the perfect spot.. Its a lovely view and on a good day you could just spend hours standing and watching the city life.. I suggest you dont go there if you dont have a camera.. and its a great place to take group pics.
d. Citadel: I suggest you visit the citdael only if you are in a mood to walk. coz this is a huge fortress built on a hill.. The mosque of Mohammed Ali is a definite beauty.. remember to remove your shoes/sandals before u go in or carry polythene bags to cover your shoes.ge
e. Giza Pyramids: Never Walk and see the pyramids.. thats an insult to its beauty. I suggest goin on camel back like i did or horse back.. Dont pay anythin more than 50 LE ( egyptian pound). again the place to take pics.
f. Food u must Try: Falafel, Foul, Sea Food ( from the port saied Suez Canal).
Places i will see next time with RG; all the above and a few places more.
In my limited experience the people there are really kind and friendly.

I guess that pretty much sums up my Egypt Trip.. From my next article onwards i will be back on track reflecting on what becomin 25 years old means..

Home sweet home!!

It's the first day of year. I am home. Sweet home. It's a place I grew up in. I wont say that i know every nook and corner of this small town yet it's a memory I always cherish. I look out of the window of my room and I see a beautiful world. A world minus of dust and pollution, rid of intoxicants in the air we breath. It's a small town in was born in, it has no assigned place on the map as well but it exists. People who have grown with time and changed dwell here. They have grey in their hair now. Reminding me of my long lost childhood. Concrete has encroached here as well. A few years from now this peace, serenity and calm will be gone and it will become one another concrete structural world.
I stand besides a window, my eyes are vigilant, my ears tuned to the sound of nature around me. The river which flows below my house, the gushing wind moving softly over the flowing water and the sweet sound of the river taking a turn all of it is out of a dream. I sit outside the house in the early mornings and I see small time farmers walking towards the river to take bath and gear up for the day ahead. On their way to the river they talk to my grandfather who is the chiefton of the panchayat. He is a man of medium height and a strong yet lean built. A family is an agricultural family with a good hold in the community and people respect my grandfather as he is one of the most influential man around. His built can never give you a glimpse into the ability he has at farming and his capacity to make over fifty people work on the fields every day during the harvest season on the paddy fields. The panchayat has decided once to make a bathing pond for the poor in and around the place where I live. I remember how many an old and wise people had a conversation with my grandfather to give a piece of his land to built the pond. He was generous enough to have given a mass of land for the pond as well as for the construction of the panchayat school. After a few years all these deeds would be forgotten because time is an eraser. People forget the bad fast and the good faster.
Humans have a very short term memory and it works as a great weapon when one wants to forget and never recall. Some things in life are unforgettable; first love, first kiss, tender warm of the souls encounter of the other, realisation that what one looks upon is the one for whom that feeling of doing anything ushered in.