breathtakebyways

About breathtakebyways

Ann Williams’ travel articles have appeared in publications all over the country including The Washington Post, Roads to Adventure, and Jack and Jill. Between researching and writing books, she specializes in creative lectures.

Tipping Egyptian Style

 in Egypt / Snowbirding  tagged Egypt / tipping hints / tour guide / travel by

The tour company promised to take care of tips for every service they arranged other than the main tour guide.  That sounded wonderful.  No stress over who to tip how much.  …If only. Almost every restroom we used featured someone handing out toilet paper at the door.  The five pounds they expected in return was next-to-nothing, but a pain to keep handy.  Qualms crept in as well.  Shouldn’t the attendant who put herself out to be pleasant and keep the room nice, get more?   (Note:  Even when the five pounds was considered a charge rather than a tip, these generous souls allowed relief to folks lacking fives.) “It’s a tipping culture,” […]

Venturing the Souq

 in Egypt / Snowbirding  tagged bargaining / bazarr / Cairo / Egypt / Luxor / market / souq / stuffed camels / travel by

  I was amazed to find that the in-your-face vendors of the Egyptian souq calmed down and become hospitable when I stopped and told them what I wanted.  “Sit down.  Would you like something to drink?  Coke, tea, anything you like.” The first shop tender didn’t have a necklace Mom wanted, so he took us across the street to his brother.  The brother sat us down and brought choice after choice, much  appreciated since our tour’s pace was taking it’s toll.  Mom finally settled on two pendants and chains.  I bargained as best I could, and Mom helped by saying, “maybe we should go” a couple times […]

Psyching Up with Songs

 in Our Quest  tagged dream chasing / inspiration / music / songs by

How to keep enthusiasm up for a long-term dream chase? Here are ten songs to rekindle your fire: Uptown Funk–Bruno Mars Can’t Stop Me Now–Rod Stewart This is My Fight Song–Rachel Platten The River–Garth Brooks I Believe I Can Fly–R. Kelly Say Geronimo–Sheppard Firework–Katy Perry Gonna Fly Now–Bill Conti I, Don Quixote–Irving Jacobson and Richard Kiley Good Riddance–Green Day Enjoy, and then go get ’em!

Egyptian Market Mania

 in Egypt / Snowbirding  tagged bargains / Egypt / Egyptian pounds / haggling / Luxor / market / Nubian / Shopping / souq / travel by

Prices are enticing in Egypt, especially since their pound devalued, doubling the power of the U.S. dollar to nearly 18 pounds per dollar.  I looked forward to scoring bunches of bargain Christmas gifts when we visited the souq.  My chance came at last in Luxor, and I ventured out from under our guide’s protective wing for an hour. It was seriously intimidating.  Vendors swarm the path and shout “shirts, scarves, camels, no hassle, just browsing, have a look, everything free, where you from?”  I can not shop with all that going on.  I walked several blocks to the end of the street without daring to stop to look at anything.  On the way back I saw a dress that […]

Tomb Raiders

 in Egypt / Snowbirding  tagged adventure / Egypt / exclusive viewing / tomb / travel by

  I’m about to spill some nefarious doings, so will offer no details that might finger a perp.  When the Egyptian government needs money, they sell exclusive viewings of exquisite tombs.  I was one of only three people in our tour group willing to shell out for this privilege.  The pricey entry fee buys just 10-minutes inside, but strings were pulled to allow us more time.  When another group arrived for a viewing, they were encouraged to visit nearby tombs until the tomb was not “full.” Every inch of every wall and ceiling was decorated, all of it inset into […]

Camel Caravan

 in Egypt / Snowbirding / Wildlife/animals  tagged camel tour / Egypt / San Simeon Monastery / tipping / travel by

When our tour guide asked whether anyone in our group preferred a truck trek in lieu of the planned camel tour, I said: “We came for the camels!” I was so excited I dubbed it “Hump Day,” but the camels didn’t seem as happy. The memory of their grumbling still makes me smile hysterically. The handlers made interesting noises as well. They urged the camels forward with an odd kiss/whistle, and when a rider wanted the camel to kneel, he made a gagging sound. The toughest part of the ride, I was told, is in leaning back and holding tight […]

Egyptian Donkey Ride 4

 in Egypt / Snowbirding / Wildlife/animals  tagged bread baking / crops / donkey tour / Egypt / New Gourna Village / Nile River / outdoor oven / sugar cane / tomb builders / travel / Valley of the Kings by

A donkey ride in the Valley of the Kings helped sell Mom and I on the tour we booked to see Egypt.  We both grew up riding horses on the family ranch, but neither of us has ridden much in the last 40 years or so.  Also, donkeys are small and quick and can easily turn out from under a rider.  Between those issues and that fact that Mom is under doctor’s orders not to re-break the collar-bone she shattered last year, I couldn’t help being leery about this ride. Our bus delivered us to New Gourna Village where we mounted up on the street with traffic passing by.  The donkeys were tall enough that […]

Dam Vendors

 in Egypt / Snowbirding  tagged Aswan / dam / Egypt / locks / Luxor / Nile / Nileometer / travel / vendors by

Pushy souvenir vendors can be a pain around popular tourist attractions, but on the Nile, they take an entertaining tack.  As our river cruise ship slowed to approach the locks between Aswan and Luxor, a bundle sailed over the heads of passengers sitting on the sun deck and splashed into the swimming pool.  Then a voice from the river, four decks below, shouted, “Hello?  Excuse me…” Peering over the rail, we found two men waiting in a row boat with piles of goods they hoped would tempt us.  More row boats made haste to join the first in bombarding us with tablecloths, towels, and garish gallabiyahs.  The ladies […]

Batty Bird

 in camping / Colorado / Wildlife/animals  tagged bat / bird / camping / gnat / hatch / mountain stream / travel by

As I cooled my trail-weary feet in a Colorado mountain stream, I noticed a small creature flitting above the water about tree top height. A glut of recently hatched gnats no doubt inspired the critter’s erratic hover.  The flier was bat-sized, a little small for a bird, and its flight was bat-like as well.  Yet the evening seemed too early for bats.  I watched for several minutes trying to distinguish bat or bird and finally got the right angle to see that the head was bird-like. Shortly after that, as I sat beside our camper, something flew just over my head and apparently clung briefly to the side […]