I almost decided to brave the long 8-hour drive to Dahab during the long Eid Al-Adha holidays. After taking a good look at the map of Egypt, I thought it would not be such a good idea afterall. I am not used to driving long distances and perhaps I should try somewhere nearer first. So we went to Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city by the Mediterranean Sea. It was an easy drive up and my boy had a good time.
My friend Boon Keng helped booked a room night at the newly opened Radisson Blu in Alex West and we also had a short tour of the garment factory Boon Keng was managing in the Alex free zone. However, the hotel was quite a distance from the downtown and I had to drive for about 30 minutes to get there, including the time taken to trace back my route after missing an important turn. So on the following day, I got a minibus with a driver to bring us on the half day tour of Alexandria. We visited the tourist sites - Alexandria Museum, Roman Theatre, Pompey Pillar, Qaitbey Citadel and Bibiliotheca, which was closed during the holidays unfortunately.
But all in all, it was a short but relaxing trip and the drive back to Cairo was a breeze. I think I will be able to take on the drive to Dahab next and perhaps break the long drive with a night in Sharm El-Sheikh. I have uploaded the photos taken on the Alexandria trip in my
MSN photo album. Enjoy!
Shan Le gave his first stage performance during his pre-school, Urban Toddlers', Christmas Concert, on 16 Dec 09, just two days before the long winter break. Sadly, I was not there as I was down with a very bad cold. Irene managed to take a few video clips of Shan Le's segment but you will probably have a hard time looking out for him. While he did not really sing, he certainly demonstrated his skill in "taking cover". All the kids were probably stunned by the huge turnout. Not only the parents turned up, but also the grandparents and probably uncles and aunties...
