26th December 2022 – 2nd January 2023: Egypt | Miṣr [مصر]

Egypt 26th December 2022 – 2nd January 2023 written with a pyramid and the sphynx as background


 
I suppose I am not really qualified to talk about “once-in-a-lifetime trips” considering how I came back from Japan 2012 craving for more, and before Covid hit, I managed to go back several times. For a long time, Egypt has been a destination in the back of my mind, one that I thought was too unattainable on my own, both financially and because I’m weird and single and all.

The stars aligned, in a very weird way I guess, and I made the – maybe self-caring, maybe selfish decision – to seize the moment and take the chance. And thus, with the help of Father Christmas, I went to the cradle of civilisation. The trip was booked through Viajes El Corte Inglés and its tour operator Tourmundial in Spain, and implemented through Galaxia Tours in Egypt. From the beginning to the end, the trip was good, really good, in spite all the issues that could have clouded its development. However, and even if I did not see everything I wanted to, there is no crazy urge to come back.

In a way, I felt a bit like a cashcow, in another like someone a bit on the immoral side. The good thing about the local agency is that at least some of the money we paid stayed in the country. I know that at a couple of times I let myself be “scammed” and paid more than I had to, and other times I put my foot down. All in all, I feel it was a good trip, I scratched a lot from my bucket list, and I geeked out, climbed the inside of a pyramid, and saw Abu Simbel. The level of “achievement unlocked” feeling is unbelievable.

The package consisted of several parts: an arrival day (26th December), three days on a motorboat on the Nile (27th – 29th December) with daytrips and excursions to visit different sights, a transition day (30th December) with a visit and the flight to Cairo, two days in Cairo and its surrounding area (31st December and 1st January), and a final return day (2nd January).

10th – 14th September 2022: Jordan | Al-ʾUrdunn [ٱلْأُرْدُن]

Jordan, 10th - 14th September 2022


 
A few years ago my parents took a trip to Jordan, which ended in one of them repatriated to the hospital due to a medical emergency the day before visiting Petra. In 2022, as Covid wound down for a bit during the summer months, they stated that they would like to return in order to get over the bad memories, and gather the courage to travel internationally again. I joked that they should take me along for “bodyguard services”. They decided to do so, and invited my sibling along. This is I guess our whole-family trip since… 2000. And since it was what my parents wanted, they called the shots, purchasing a packaged tour to Jordan | Al-ʾUrdunn [ٱلْأُرْدُن]. While these are not much of my thing, it is true that they might be the best – and possibly safest – way to visit the country; our particular tour had positive and negative aspects to it, as it often happens in life.

Our tour included hotels, transportation, tickets to the attractions, breakfasts and dinners – without drinks. We had to pay for lunches and any other drink, and these were usually programmed into the trip, leaving us without many options anyway.

11th – 13th August 2022: Non-weekend weekend in England

When, back in May, I decided to book this trip, I was surely not anticipating the chaos in the European airports this year, nor for sure the England transport strikes. I did not foresee that the Palace of Westminster would suddenly cancel my visit, nor that it would be through my Westminster Abbey reservation that I would be informed of trains cancellations. I did not know that I would have to buy a last-minute bus ticket and miss half of a tour… Lots of things went almost wrong, but in the end, most everything worked out.

25th – 27th March 2018: Dinosaurs in Teruel (Spain)

This was a palaeontology-inspired trip. Teruel has been building a reputation and a tourist industry based on the fossils and dinosaur-related remains that have been found in the area. I’m into dinosaurs as much as your average seven-year-old, even if I don’t have the memory for all the names as they do.

Dinópolis consists on a big palaeontology park in the town of Teruel and seven smaller centres in different villages in the province. We planned to base up in Teruel and visit Albarracín and Riodeva.

Summer 2012: Japan

日本にいきます

My chances of that particle being wrong are high, after all I heard the structure from Yamapi of all people and we know that he is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Anyway, tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow, あした, and it is technically tomorrow because it’s almost 1am, I’m heading off for Japan. Proof:

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To be completely honest, this is a hello world post, but with a nicer touch.

Spanish version: Me voy a Japón!!

Tickets!

MOON SAGA -義経秘伝-, 16 July 2012

Moon Saga tickets

Theatre play featuring GACKT and script-written by CLAMP. Remember, guys: It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Then it is a CLAMP manga.

VAMPS Live 2012, 17 July 2012

VAMPS tickets

Jrock Concert with L’Arc~en~Ciel Hyde as main vocalist.

Emptiest Luggage Ever

I’m not kidding. The only things missing there are a couple of chargers, my hairbrush and a plane-friendly shampoo bottle.

Open suitcases