May 20, 2012

Sharm El-Sheikh in Pictures

I went to Sharm El-Sheikh for three days and decided to convey what I saw in pictures. It’s been a while and I am using more pictures to express various thought and feelings, so this should be super cool!

The Airplane Food

For me, the best thing about traveling in an airplane is the food. It is very well organized, very diversified, and I wait for it in patience! Even though I have to admit that it’s not very healthy, yet if you are not a frequent traveler, you will survive!

EgyptAir

I like it when we use the external stairs to reach the plane, it reminds me of old black and white movies!but colored this time!

The Hotel Entrance

I stayed at the Continental Garden Reef Hotel, and that’s one of the first pictures I took of the hotel entrance.

The Swimming Pool

It’s too bad that I did not have a lot of time to swim in this pool is amazing!

My Room’s Balcony

That’s my room balcony, I wish it wasn’t that hot so I could have used it (for more than taking this picture)

Palm Frame

Also from my room balcony! One of the photography techniques that I learnt is “frame your picture” and here I applied it!

My Favorite Flower

Isn’t my favorite flower so perfect! I just love it!

My Room’s View

What a nice view! I wish I can keep it!

The Sea Bay

The hotel’s sea bay, the water is so cool, yet warm. I enjoyed swimming in the Red Sea.

Arab Spices

Whenever I travel, I go visit the local souks for they give me a true feeling of the country. Arab spices smell great and are indispensable additives to Arab cuisine!

Singing Frogs

Nice wooden frogs that make frog sounds when you play with them! We have a black one at home!

Lighting Stars

In the same souk, you can find nice lighting…I wish I could make my room like this!

Small Mirror Boxes

Aren’t these small boxes super cute!

Me getting photographed by Amjad

While Amjad was taking a photo of my new Henna, we both were photographed!

For more information about my trip to Egypt, check out some related blog posts:
- Egypt: Brief Country Profile
- What to do when you are stuck in an airport?
- How I planned my trip to Egypt in 12 days!

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May 19, 2012

What to do when you are stuck in an airport?

Nothing is certain especially when you are traveling. I traveled from Lebanon to Sharm El-Sheikh taking two flights, one to Cairo then another to Sharm El-Sheikh. During my round trip (covering 4 flights) I had two flight delays, one due to bad weather conditions and another due to the fact that the plane I was traveling in was delayed in arriving. As a total, I had to wait around 5 hours between each flight.

Since people are adaptive, I had to find ways to cope and to make the clock tick faster.

Here are some suggestions that you can do when/if you are stuck in an airport:

1. Visit every corner of the duty free shops: Why not visit the duty free? Smell all the perfumes you find, who knows, you might find your ultimate scent. Visit other stores, see other items, compare prices, and look around…

2. Make an airport map: Visit all the corners of the airport and try to map it. Draw where the different gates are situated, where the duty free is, how they are connected. Have fun by discovering what the architect was thinking when he/she drew the airport map. You can also get creative and suggest different ways of locating gates.

3. Discover patterns: When you sit for a long time in the same place, you start discovering patterns. Patterns can be flight schedules, cleaning patterns, passenger dress code, and others. Be attentive and document patterns, it’s so much fun!

4. Interview people: If you have a video camera, why not interview people that are also waiting with you, about their feelings regarding the wait. You can create a movie and share it online. I am sure that people are frustrated and will sure enjoy venting out!

5. Photo-shooting of the airport: Since you have time, why not take picture of the whole experience starting by pictures of the airport itself. How about a 360° introduction for your friends. You can also take close shots of nice things around you. Just let your imagination drift!

6. Enjoy a meal and chew each bite 40 times: Eating is a social event that makes one happy, challenge yourself to eat as slowly as possible and enjoy every single bite. Find a nice place in a nice café and indulge yourself with life’s most basic pleasures. FOOD!

7. Sleep: Find a calm place to sleep, use your bag as a pillow. Make sure that everything is in your bag, close your bag securely and good sleep!

8. Keep your family and friends updated: Send email messages to your family. Upload pictures of your airport stay on Facebook. Tweet. Feel free to share the experience on any social network. You can also write a blog post (like I did/like I am doing!)

9. Meet new people: When you are stuck in an airport, there are zillion other people stuck with you. Meet some new people. Learn to say hello in a different languages.

10. Read a book: You might already have a book with you, so why not read it. If you don’t, buy a book from the duty free and let yourself travel to a different world.

11. Play cards: You can find playing cards in the duty free (or you might have some cards with you already) so gather three other players and play cards together. Playing cards is competitive, it makes the time fly by, and you sure will enjoy it.

12. Always have a plan: When you travel, you should always keep in mind that you sure will have some free time. So plan ahead, you might have some work you would like to do, some reading, some thinking… I had some documents to read, so I enjoyed that!

What else can you add?

Is there something else that you can do when stuck in an airport that I forgot to mention?

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May 16, 2012

How I planned my trip to Egypt in 12 days!

On Saturday 5 May, I received an email from Social Media Exchange (SMeX) asking me to represent them in a workshop hosted by NaseejCYD in Egypt titled “Social Media and Alternative Learning techniques.” The workshop was on May 16 and I had only 12 days to prepare myself for the event, here’s how I organized myself!

Day 1 – Saturday 5 May:

×          Got an invitation from SMeX to represent them in the “ Social Media and Alternative Learning Tools” workshop held by Nassej CYD in Egypt on May 16 (which is in 11 days).

Day 2 – Sunday 5 May:

×          Got cameras and Facebook guides from SMeX

Day 5 -Wednesday 9 May:

×          Receive invitation for the workshop from Nassej CYD

×          Search online for the Egyptian Visa application form and other requirements

×          Called the Egyptian Embassy to confirm documentation needed

×          Filled application form for Visa

×          Went  to the Egyptian Embassy and applied for the visa

Day 6 -Thursday 10 May:

×          Received a tentative plane ticket schedule the Nassej CYD team members

×          Confirmed the plane ticket

Day 7 – Friday 11 May:

×          Did a research about Egypt

×          Wrote a blog post about Egypt (check it out “Egypt: Brief Country Profile)

×          Went to the Egyptian Embassy to get my visa

Day 9 – Sunday 13 May:

×          Decided on what to pack, wrote them down, and made sure that I have them all ready by time

×          Recharged the camera battery, flip cam battery and other equipment

Day 10 – Monday 14 May:

×          Get more Facebook guides from SMeX after getting several requests

Day 11 – Tuesday 15 May:

×          Received the preliminary agenda of the workshop

×          Packed my bag

Day 12 – Wednesday 16 May:

×          Took my bag, backpack, and passport and flew!

Bon Voyage to me!

PS: Planning is key to success!

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