Dream Vacation to Egypt

As a child, I had always dreamt of going to Egypt one day and taking pictures with the pyramids and mummies. Watching various movies and reading about the place in one of my favourite books-Alchemist, only drew me more and more towards this mystique land.

It was during the August of 2017 when my childhood dream was finally going to come true. At that time, Nepal had just started organizing package tours for Egypt that were easy and affordable, and I could not help stop myself from missing this wonderful opportunity. However, as the day got nearer, I was overcome with a strange sense of fear-a kind of fear that you usually feel when you are so close to reaching your dreams that you get scared of losing it, and not getting to dream of it anymore…

On August 4, 10 of us altogether- me, my husband Anish, Amit dai, Ram Hari dai and Suresh dai who were from Hetauda, Anil from Dhangadhi, Gurung Prasad dai and his friend and a couple whose names I forgot, travelled to Egypt from Nepal. We got a chance to exchange greetings with 3 brothers from Hetauda in the plane itself, and got introduced to the rest at the Sharm El Sheikh Airport of Alexandria, Egypt. One of the first significant or remarkable moments for me was to get a such a majestic view of the Nile River from the airplane itself, and I literally shocked to know how big and long the river was. Another surprise for me was the people of Egypt. They had such refined features and some sort of mysterious charm in their physique and aura. I was also surprised by their striking similarities with Nepali people. I even made fun of myself by mistaking our guide (who was Egyptian) to be Nepali and speaking in Nepali language with him. After passing the airport checks, we were taken to Cairo straight from the airport, and our 3-hour speed ride through the desert road, with views of bunker like structures here and there, gave a feeling of war zones of the country would have looked like.

I

t was already evening when we reached the hotel. It had a view of the great Pyramids, and getting a distant view of the pyramids amidst the golden setting sun was totally ecstatic. We then went for a boat ride to the Nile River, and it has been one of the most unforgettable moments of my life so far. The cool breezy evening, the clear blue water of river Nile and the soothing and pious sound of “Allah Hu Akbar” reverberating through the air, transported me to a completely blissful state and Anish and I, literally wondered if we were in some dream world.

On the second day of the tour, we went to visit the Pyramids of Giza. The great pyramids are the only structures surviving of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and are one of the greatest tourists’ attractions in Egypt and all over the world. However, we had a slight disappointment when our guide, Amira told us that the pyramids were empty inside with the mummies already been transported to museums. Secondly, the insides of the pyramid were so dark with no air and a very steep wooden plank used as stair for reaching the top. Honestly, I was a bit scared to climb to the top as we could see people coming down, in panic an

d tears due to suffocation. Nevertheless we made it to the top, and I am happy that I decided to go inside although there was not much to look around. We also got a view of the second and third pyramids as well as the Sphinx, before we were ready for the next big adventure: desert safari via camel ride. Being a rather timid person, I could not gather enough strength to climb the camel alone. So Anish and I sat on the same camel. It was another once in a lifetime moment for me. Going to the vast expanse of the limitless desert on those camels felt like living those moments from the Alchemist.

We also went to the historical museum of Egypt, also called the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, where we had a chance to finally encounter the mummies, statues of Cleopatra and all other treasures from the ancient world. On the same day, we also visited the famous mosques in old Cairo- Ibn Tulun and Al Azhar, which are some of the oldest preserved Islamic structures, giving a very distinct feeling of living in an Islamic world.

After roaming around Cairo for 3 days, we were taken to Alexandria on the 4th day. Alexandria was a completely opposite to the Islamic world of Cairo. Brimming with European lifestyles, cultures and a touristic feel, and full of beaches and restaurants around, I felt like we were in Europe for a moment. The Mediterranean ocean separated Alexandria from Greece, and for a person who has never been to Europe it felt good to be so close to the continent. We were lucky again to be staying at a hotel next to the sea, with an amazing view of the Mediterranean ocean. After spending a relaxing evening by the beach in Alexandria, on the next day, we visited Catacombs of Kom El Shoukafa, one of the largest funerary complexes in Egypt, dating back to second century A.D. It opened a whole new world of wonders underground, with many hidden treasures, ornate carvings, paintings, statues and other mysteries and marvels of Roman and Egyptian civilizations. We also visited the Montazah Garden, Citadel of Fort Quitbey and got a distant view of the great library of Alexandria, one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world.

On our 5th day, we left for Nepal via Dubai, carrying unforgettable memories and experiences... As for me, I lived one of my greatest dreams in those 5 days, and the initial fear of losing my dream didn’t bother me anymore for I came to realise that no one could stop you from dreaming. So I dream of visiting this ancient land of wonders once again, meeting its beautiful people, taking pictures with the pyramids, conversing with the mummies, and exploring and experiencing more of its magical mystery and awe.