Lapland Holiday

An excellent way to celebrate Christmas - a visit to Lap land. Most of these holidays are from the UK and need to be booked in advance. Here are two links -

http://www.laplandexperience.com/tours.php

http://www.laplandwildernesstours.com/

Stay in a log cabin

http://www.lapland-log-cabins.com/company.htm

and visit santa

http://www.santa-holidays.com/

Or do some winter sport.

Finnair only have flights from Dubai in the winter months starting Nov to Jan. They currently have a special offer on for airfare starting from AED 2000.

So dont wait any longer... go spend Christmas with Santa...

And write to me on torresp27@hotmail.com and share the experience.

Maldives – a perfect way to unwind

Maldives was definitely not on my list of destinations to visit…. But coming here has made me realize that a holiday is not really about site seeing but a time to unwind, relax & rejuvenate. And Maldives can offer you just that and a lot more!!

The blue skies, the turquoise blue sea that gets darker in colour as it get deeper, the blazing sun is an ideal location for a tropical holiday. The combination of sun, sea, sad, a thousand scattered islands, massive lagoons with varying depth, amazing underwater corals and breathtaking marine life…. Can give you the tranquility that you are looking for.

So serene, calm & peaceful, yet Maldives has a lot more to offer. There are a few resorts here and am sure all of them offer more or less the same amenities. Check details on Maldives & places to say here. We stayed at Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa. Do check it out as well… its awesome!!

While you are here, you can try snorkeling, diving or eve simpler water activities like water skiing, banana boat rides, string ray rides or even just fishing.

Maldives if famous for its rare, extremely colourful, abundant & beautiful life underwater. This is what has made Maldives a fascination for divers & snorkelers. All resorts in Maldives have professional dive schools with multi-lingual instructors.

 

I am no diver or snorkeler, but the 30mins instructions are more than enough for enthusiasts like me to experience life beneath. Just a few strokes away from the beach are the house of reefs & shallow corals. Some reefs are so shallow that you can simply walk up to them and enjoy their beauty. However do not stand or attempt to walk on the corals as this will damage them and it can take upto five or more years to regain itself. The snorkeling equipment is easily available at all resorts.

Snorkeling is an amazing experience. One that I cannot describe in words. To see the fish in their habitats, was like seeing life beyond my everyday being. Among the many fish I saw, the ones that caught my attention were tens of tiny aqua coloured fish that went around in groups, then a purple coloured fish with yellow fins, then a huge purple, blue & aqua coloured fish…. I stood there absolutely spell bound seeing the beauty of the colours and the psychedelic colours of life beneath.

 

While in Maldives you can also do island hopping and a visit to Male or some other smaller islands to see the lifes of people here.

Please also remember that the weather in Maldives is warm / hot all year long. So carry sufficient linen / cotton clothes and sun screen. Don’t forget your swimsuit & waterproof sunscreen and ofcourse underwater cameras.

 

I am no beach lover, yet I absolutely loved Maldives. Just sitting by the beach listening to the waves and reading a book or sipping my coffee. Lazing around the beach, going for a massage, watching the sunset, spending some time with myself, was the break I much needed. I am a 100% sure you will enjoy it too.

Bab Al Shams – day trip

Bab Al Shams is a magical resort that takes you away from modern Dubai and makes it possible for you be a part of history.

Rightly located about 45 minutes drive from the city of Dubai, close to the Endurance city, the resort is accessible by a dedicated road.

The resort overall has a feeling of the bygone era. The rooms although beautifully architected to be an integral part of earlier times, has its modern elements to it. You could spend a whole day just being in this room…

The pool & pool bar truly feel like an oasis & enables you to relax, refresh & rejuvenate.

 

The pool includes a children's play area & pool, leisure pool & lap pool… With a few fountains & mini waterfalls… you are made to feel a part of nature. 

At Bab Al Shams they also have a Spa, Kids Club and Gym. In the evenings you could also do horse riding & camel ridding. Other activities include tennis, golf putting, croquet, table tennis, archery, dune bashing & desert safari.

 

There are lots of places to just laze around or sit & spend a few intimate moments…..

 

 

 

After a whole day of fun & excitement in the resort, you must try Al Hadheerah Desert Restaurant in the evening. The food is mainly Arabic, with live cooking stations. However, they place livens up with small handicraft kiosks, henna, camel & horse rides & falcon displays. The Arabic entertainment with folklore dancing & shows & belly dancing is surely not to be missed.

 

Here are a few pictures of the resort in general…

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Bab Al Shams, you can refresh, focus, revitalize & capture memories that will last you a lifetime.

Egypt Day 2 in Cairo

Next day, we took an early morning flight from Luxor to Cairo. As soon as we arrived into Cairo we drove straight to the step Pyramids. Located in the Saqqara Area, the step pyramids were constructed by Pharaoh Djoser. Having a total of 6 huge steps, it is meant to be the tallest building of its times. We walked through a gate (or rather a 10 meter wall)… into a courtyard of temples, chapels & columns.

As the Step Pyramid is meant to be a tomb, the burial chambers are underground hidden in a maze of tunnels to prevent grave robbers. Sadly the tomb was robbed and all that remained was Pharoah Djoser’s mummified foot.

From here we went to a Carpet school. It was interesting to see young kids learning the trade.

We then drove to the Great Pyramids. I have always wanted to visit the Pyramids (after watching Moses I think!!), and this was indeed a dream come true.

Within Egypt this is the most popular ancient site – One of the seven wonders of the world – Great Pyramids of Khufu. It is indeed beyond impressive. Standing at some 480 feet high and covering thirteen acres of land. In reality these Pyramids are less interesting than many other ancient structures in Egypt – mainly because it does not have any inscriptions or paintings….. however the magnitude & architecture in its times must have been commendable. We attempted to walk into the 2^nd pyramid…. Its got a long & narrow walkway to the main tomb. It was dark, smelly & claustrophobic and my friends backed out…. I wasn’t brave enough to do this on my own. The Pyramids have a mysterious feel to it…. ….

Many of the later pyramids were not as large as the Great Pyramids of Giza. So I guess that the Pharaohs were making a statement about their own power, glory & strength.

A little further from here is the Sphinx. You feel magical seeing the Sphinx with the backdrop of the Pyramids. This Sphinx is a body of a lion & head of a king. This is believed to be the most immense stone sculpture ever made by man. The Great Sphinx is not an isolated monument, and cannot be looked at in this way. Like many other monuments in Egypt, the Sphinx is a complex consisting of an old temple, a new kingdom temple, some other small structure & a sacred lake.

     

 

My Day 1 in Egypt ended here….. and I cant wait to tell you all about my next day in this memorable, ancient, mesmerizing land….

Favourite things on holiday….

One of the best things about blogging is that I’ve met a lot of talented people through it and today, can call a few of them ‘my friends’. One such person blogs at ‘Purplehomes’ and wanted me to write about 5 things that I love doing on vacations…. So here they are….

Every day of my life… I plan my next vacation. That statement on its own will tell you how much I love travelling.... I absolutely love browsing through holiday packages, checking airfares, hotels, making plans, reading about the destination…. And sorting out everything to do with our holiday. So much so… that I only have to tell my hubby what time he needs to get to the airport, the rest he can be assured of… is all well taken care of!

On a holiday….. I love people watching. I can spend hours at a café on a busy street and just watch people …. Its something I don’t really get the time to do within my busy schedule… One of my favourite places was Champs Elysees in Paris. I’ve spent mornings… and evenings sipping coffee and eating crepes at Champs Elysees watching people rush to work with coffee in their hands, watching tourists getting excited over the Arc De Triumph, watching artists paint, sculpt or simply sketch…. Oh.. the list is endless..

 

Walk the streets…. A true vacation is when I can aimless stroll through the smallest alleyways looking around into shops….. Not necessarily buying anything, but just enjoying the sites & sounds of the people in that town or city. It was bliss to do this in Italy… In Venice we just walked & walked & walked & walked…. the roads didn’t end…. the little churches, the sounds of hymns and bells, the pigeons fluttering around…. make the walk worthwhile. I even loved the walks in the streets of Florence, Rome, Naples & Pompeii.

Street performances – is the next best thing. There is so much you can learn about the culture, the people, the place in general… Here I’m talking about theatre, music, art, circus, painters, sculptors, any form of artists in general. One year, we were in Sydney for Easter and got to be a part of the Darling Harbour HOOPLA. The theme was circus & street theatre….. it was spectacular, chaotic, humorous!! The performances were breathtaking, jaw-dropping, and I stood there spell bound!!! You could spend a whole day there…. and the nights were transformed into carnival nights. Simply amazing!! We ended our evening with an amazing dinner at one of the Harbourside restaurants.

  

Romancing in the Country Side. The sceneries of the country side just make me skip a heart beat…..  One of the most beautiful country sides is definitely Salzburg…. Sadly, I went to Vienna for a conference and then wandered off to Salzburg with office colleagues… so there was no romancing. Definitely, once a year, my hubby & I wander off on a holiday without the kids….. this is when romancing is in full bloom. Switzerland was by far the best holiday we had in this respect…. And of course the Swiss countryside is super impressive. Just getting lost on the mountains, or on our way back to the hotels…. Or simply sitting by the riverside…. Be it St. Moritz, Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Montreux or Geneva…… the countryside here is purely breathtaking.

 

I only have to write 5…. So this is the last one… but my favourite of them all!! Every place I go to… I have to have taste their ice-creams. I know it sounds silly…. But a few flavours or brands are more popular or tastier in certain places…. Eg. Custard Apple from Naturals in Mumbai, Cold Stone in New York, Fresh Fruit sorbets in Sydney, Ben & Jerry’s in London, Tiramisu in Paris, Dark Chocolate in Switzerland, Gelato in Italy.

 

So that’s my fab 5 – and I leave you now….this post has set my mind ticking again – to plan my next trip!

If you wish do write your fav 5 and let me know…. I’d love to read what you enjoy doing the most!!! 

Luxor – Day 1 (Continuation…)

Tour of the West Bank

As promised the next few posts on Egypt will be shorter (with less frills) J

After the Valley of the Kings, our guide took us to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (otherwise known as Hot Chicken Soup – coz its easier to remember). Queen Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmosis I who ruled Egypt for about 20 years in the 18^th Dynasty. She was the only Woman Pharaoh who reigned ancient Egypt.

The structure as you can see is magnificent with the backdrop of the rocky mountains. There are a few 100 columns of either side which make it eerie. The paintings and carvings simply amazing, depict the life of queen Hatshepsut and the stories during her reign. It is believed that there is a connection from one of the tombs (I don’t remember whose tomb) at the Valley of Kings to this temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This is still undiscovered.

 

 

From there onwards we went to these two statues - Memnon Colossi.

From here we went to an Alabaster factory. We got to see how the stone is shaped and made worthy to sell. I was very tempted to buy a few things here -

 

Tour of the East Bank

In Luxor although you could do all the touring on your own, a guided tour is definitely recommended. This gives you an insight to the history and a grasp of the daily lives of the people there.

From the West Bank to the East Bank is a beautiful drive. We stopped for lunch at the Luxor Museum…. The food was amazing. I’ll have to do a separate post on Egyptian food.

Our first stop was at the Karnak Temple. The temple is dedicated to God Amon and his wife Mut. It is by far the greatest example of worship in ancient history. We walked along the Avenue of the Sphinx to enter the temple complex. Don’t forget that the ruins here are over 4000 years old. There is a huge courtyard to the temple and then some 135 columns. Impressive is not the right world. Towards the end of the Karnak temple is the sacred lake. 

 

 

 

Don’t miss the Obelisk of Ramses II and the stories behind how this was erected is honestly unimaginable.

From the Karnak Temple, the Luxor temple is about a mile & half away by foot.

In the evening, we took a horse ride around the city of Luxor. This gives you true peak into the lives of the people.

If Egypt is on your list of places to go, do write to me on torresp27@hotmail.com and I’ll guide you through this magnificent and ancient land.

Egypt Day 1 – Luxor – Valley of the Kings

Egypt has always been on my list of places to see… and finally like a dream come true was my trip to Egypt in July. The heat did not wither my spirit to see this magnificent and ancient place.

We arrived into Luxor, which is a city located in Upper Egypt. It was the ancient city of Thebes – the capital of ancient Egypt. In Arabic Luxor means ‘the palaces’ and the city truly lives its name!

Luxor is among the most famous & popular tourist destinations in Egypt. Hence any trip to Egypt is incomplete without a visit to Luxor. The weather here is fairly hot all year long. However in summer the temperatures reach upto 40 – 50 C.

Our first site seeing was to the ‘Valley of Kings’. This was the royal cemetery for around 65 Pharoahs. The valley is located on the west bank and has only one entrance. The tombs range from a simple pit (eg. KV 54) to a tomb with over 125 chambers & corridors (KV5)

The sad part is that some of the treasures have been robbed by robbers or workmen who accidentally discovered these tombs.

Here is a picture of the numbering system. This was first established by John Gardiner Wilkinson in 1827, initially to form part of a map of Thebes. However several explorers assigned numbers, letters & descriptive labelling to these tombs. Wilkinson’s chronological numbering system is what is currently in use.

A list of the KV's discovered (so far!)

 

The most recent discovery is KV 62 that of Tutankhamen. The earliest known tomb is that of Tuthmoses I. He started using the valley as a burial place. Some tombs here have been discovered with thousands of precious artefacts, eg. Yuya & Thuyu. Most tombs have been discovered in the past 200 years. Although most tombs have ancient Egyptian inscriptions / paintings on them, a few have also been found with Greek & Latin graffiti. Some beelive that a few tombs were used as dwellings and churches during the Greco-Roman & Byzantine Periods.

Some tombs are massive with stairs leading from one chamber to a corridor to another chamber that just doesn’t seem to end. Some Egyptologists believe that there is a connection from the Valley of the Kings to the Luxor Temple as well. KV5 is the largest tomb discovered till date. The Egyptologist Mr. Kent Weeks believed that this was built for the children of Ramses II. This tomb, including many others is not open for public viewing.

As at today, there are still several archaeological projects ongoing…. Still a million secrets to be revealed. The air here is eerie, but the trip well worth it.

A few travel tips –

1. The entrance to the Valley of the Kings cost EGP 55. Don’t miss the magnificent miniature of the Valley of the Kings (donated by the Japanese government).
2. Video cameras are not allowed into the Valley.
3. Cameras are allowed but you are not allowed to use them inside the tombs.
4. Guides are not allowed into the tombs, but they are of great help and it is highly recommended to use the services of a guide, who will give you the complete description outside each tomb.
5. The Tomb of King Tutankhamon needs a separate ticket of EGP 70. You need to buy this well in advance at the ticket counter.

The best tombs to visit are the following (I was told by our guide – Youssef)

1. Tomb of Ramses IX (KV6) – The ceilings & walls are elegantly painted with scenes of the Goddess of Nut – the Goddess of the sky
2. Tomb of Ramses VI (KV9) – this was closed for refurbishment
3. Tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) – this was also closed for refurbishment
4. Tomb of Mernpatah (KV8), the largest in the valley. Be prepared for a long walk.
5. Tomb of Thutmose (KV34) – this tomb represents the standard form for the 18^th Dynasty royal tombs. Also representing the book of the Dead.
6. Tomb of Ramses I (KV16)
7. Tomb of Ramses VII (KV 1)

 

 

Just a small note to say that the Tomb of Amonhotep II is considered the best completed tombs in the valley. It is full of religious scenes depicting life after death. This tomb was discovered in 1897 by Victor Loret. This tomb is beside the tomb of Tutankhamon. This tomb housed the mummy of the king intact in its sarcophagus. The mummy is today at the Museum in Cairo. Some items from these tombs were stolen & later sold on the internet.

Tomb of Seti I (KV17) is the longest tomb in the valley and it is believed to extend upto 120m into solid rock. The paintings here are amazing and depicts life after death. The tomb consists of seven corridors & ten chambers all painted and decorated with the Book of the Dead, astronomical scenes & the burial rituals.

In its burial chamber was found a magnificent sarcophagus made of the finest alabaster. I believe this is currently in a museum in London.

 

 

 

Sorry this post turned out to be longer than expected. Promise that the next few posts on Egypt will be shorter….. But at the Valley of the Kings, there are a million secrets still waiting to be unfolded.