Amsterdam, the Netherlands

After a nightmare trying to change my round-the-world ticket in Cairo, I managed to get a last-minute flight on KLM to Amsterdam. It turns out that I have a lot of friends here and six days were perfect to decompress from Egypt and transition to Europe.

Much of the time I stayed with a wonderful Dutch family that I met at the Israeli wedding: Eli, Anne, and the twins. We biked around town, watched the World Cup, took a boat ride through the canals, and hiked in the sand dunes beside the North Sea. Over the weekend I met up with Casey for the second time (See my November post: Singapore) and we enjoyed being "tourists." I also visited a few friends from the Netherlands with whom I traveled in Laos and Kenya. I feel very happy to be in familiar surroundings and am even enjoying Holland's rainy weather after dehydrating in the Middle East.

Tomorrow I fly to Madrid where I plan to catch a bus heading West to Salamanca. From there I'll cross into Portugal and work my way down the coast to meet David in Lisbon.

Egypt

The history, ancient architecture, and scenery of Egypt is wonderful if you can get past the "hassle factor." I started in Alexandria, with its cool Mediterranean promenade, modern library, and vibrant nightlife. From there I headed south to Aswan and Luxor: Ancient Egypt Central. The temples (Abu Simbel, Luxor, Philae, and Karnak), museums (Nubian and Luxor) and tombs are just incredible. I couldn't stop thinking how lucky humanity is that these structures, art, and treasures from within have lasted through the millennia.

Egypt, especially super-touristy Upper Egypt, has been one of the more unpleasant places for independent travel. What I mean by "hassle" is that many of the Egyptians you encounter will mislead you, lie outright, and otherwise try to rip you off. I got the feeling that overcharging foreigners is a national sport and just about every transaction turns into a negotiation: "How much? 10 Egyptian Pounds. You must be joking. I know the price is 1 and a half pounds." Eventually you get close to the real price if you stand firm, but finding the right bus, train, buying food, water, and shopping for souvenirs are all a challenge.

At the moment I'm taking a vacation from Egypt by going underwater -- four days scuba diving in the Red Sea at a mostly German resort in Safaga. I am still working out where to go after Egypt but before meeting my friend David in Lisbon, Portugal on June 30. Possibly Ireland (Casey and a cousin are there) or somewhere else that Northwest goes.

Jordan + Israel Parts Two and Three

The two weeks I spent in Israel before leaving for Istanbul didn't feel like enough time to see everyone I wanted to see. So I came back for another few weeks to visit relatives in Haifa, Rosh Pina, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Moshav Hazorim. I even had some extra time for sightseeing in Akko, Tzfat, and Ein Gedi.

Practically every Israeli I told about my travel plans (Jordan and Sinai/Egypt) discouraged me from going but I couldn't resist a short excursion to Petra. One day in Jordan turned into five including a night in the desert at Wadi Rum and a great dive in Aqaba. Jordanians are exceptionally friendly, even toward Americans who clearly came over from Israel.

On my way from Jordan back to Egypt (I'm currently in Alexandria), I stopped in Eilat, Israel one last time for the wedding of my friend Barry's sister. It was beautiful and I splurged on two nights at the posh resort where the event was held. Tonight I'm taking the overnight train to Aswan... I'm excited to see Abu Simbel, the Valley of the Kings, and the Temples of Karnak.