Since I last updated Ive passed through half of Syria and all of jordan and Im now in Egypt. So i better start where i left off. Syria was a very impressive country. The people there were probably the nicest that Ive met on my travels, going through busy shoppping streets people didnt pressure you or irritate you into their restaurants. On the way I visited Palmyra, a little oasis in the desert where an ancient city once lay. A pretty fascinating ancient town - one of a few that Ive visited on the way. Relatively well kept, you could make your way along the ancient streets and into the ancient temples.

I had a well needed night out in Damascus with Charlie (cousin) who kindly showed me around all the sights of the city with his friends. We went to a hammam a few days ago which (along with the turkish baths in budapest) was one of the most relaxing things ive done. You Sit in a really hot steamy room and sweat all the crap out of you, then some guy scrubs you and another gives you a massage cracking all the bones in your back. Really very relaxing - and not as gay as it sounds - honest!

Jordan was quite a nice country but the main thing which let itself down was its government which I found to be way up its own arse. Especially for the tourist sights. Jordan itself is quite an expensive country, but when they dont discount for students anywhere and charge extortionate prices its no surprise that their tourism industry is going down. Petra was about 15 pounds to get in. Saying all that, Petra was incredible and just like how i perceived in the movies. I got up at 5 to visit before the crowds and also before the blazing heat and managed to climb a couple of large hills in the area.

The crossing to Egypt was quite and 'experience' but Im here now which is what counts. We were supposed to get a ferry at half ten cross the red sea from Jordan to Egypt. With the heat of the day arriving it was kinda irritating when they cancelled the first boat - another hour in the 35C non aircon waiting room. Next boat- Saudi's rented the whole thing. (which was nice of them) Another 3 hours in the steamy waiting room. Finally we were shuffled into this kinda pen when we had to wait for a bus to take us to the ferry - a journey of about 100m which we had no option but to take. Watching about a hundred heated arabs trying to get onto a bus all at once was quite amusing. Queueing hasn't reached here quite yet, they need a bit more British influence here me thinks. The first bus came and went half full - i think the driver threw a hissy fit. Anyway another 40 minutes for the next bus. This time after a little rant from our tour guide we had a nice queue going.
The boat itself wasn't too much better, at least down stairs, although after a little polite complaining we got away from the smelly steerage and up into the nice air con first class- score!

Egypt so far (apart from the ferry crossing) has been really cool. Yesterday i was at a town called Dahab - apparently bombed not so long ago. Which is pretty bad for the owners but it means every things cheap there. Its also a really nice greek looking sea side town. Went snorkeling along the incredible reefs around there which was pretty cool.

In the early hours of this morning I was climbing up Mt Sinai - where Moses received the 10 commandments. Getting up at 2 was pretty bad although the hike upto the top (bout an hour and a half) wasnt too bad. The views from the top were pretty incredible though. Its quite rare that I see a sunrise - especially from the top of a mountain. After a nice 8 hour drive Im now in busy busy Cairo. Tomorrow Im off to see the pyramids which I cant wait for. Then its a trip up and down the nile. And youve all that to look forward to in my next installment :)