Cengkareng, Jakarta – 05 Jan 2023
Mum and I are having another adventure, and now we want to explore the Holyland! We start our journey with our travel group from Cengkareng Airport, Jakarta. Our flight with Emirates airlines took less than 17 hours, with 1-stop at Dubai airport. We only carry one big luggage and two small cabin luggages since I don’t expect Mum to carry a lot of stuff. We are confident that we carry most of important things. In the end, we still carry too much clothes for 2 weeks trips.
Cairo & Heliopolis, Egypt – 06 Jan 2023
We went to the Simmon the Tanner church. It is located in the middle of a dumpster village and smells funny. The rock carvings were created by a dutchman. We ate lunch in a rundown plaza that sounds like Lao – Lao. It has an okay taste but we must wait for a long time. We stayed at Hilton with an American-style massive room and way too many rooms. It was so scary if I must stay by myself.
Giza, Egypt – 07 Jan 2023
Giza is overrated. We went to see the pyramids and sphinx. It was a beautiful day, although there was lots of dog poo. Next stop, we had a perfumery class, and I bought narwastoo oils and black cumin oils for Mum and me. We went to see a papyrus workshop. The seller is a girl called Doha (like the capital of Qatar) who speaks fluent Indonesian and honestly looks like an Indonesian girl. Afterwards, we went to another Coptic Church called Ibn Sirga and Hanging Church. It was Christmas Day for Christian Coptic. Everybody wears bling attire. We end our journey for the day with a mass at a Franciscan Church. Later, the head priest says I’m good I’m not married. Most young people now get divorced. But Mum should get married again. We had dinner at Aandrea Nile Cruise with a buffet style, belly dance and spinning dance. We ate a lot and enjoyed late night cruise. Most Egyptian on the boat stared at us throughout the cruise. Maybe because not many Asian people in cruising with them before.
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – 08 Jan 2023
It is Nusa Dua in Egypt. A few weeks ago COP15 was here. We stayed in this big hotel with too many rooms and beachy vibes. Most of the hotel guests are Russians so it feels a little too Bali. There were way too many overpriced items at their market, so Mom and I went there as well. I wanted to dip my toes in the Red Sea but all pools and beaches close at 6 PM. I woke up at 4 AM the next day since I had a plan to hike Mount Sinai.
Photo is near St. Catherine Monastery before hiking Mount Sinai (still in Egypt). I will share some stories later in Diary of Holyland (II).
Diary of Holyland (I) first appeared on www.felicialasmana.com and was inspired by David Sedaris – Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002)
Felicia Lasmana 