Reflecting on our month together, travelling from Cairo to Capetown

After viewing a few of my facebook posts of my journey to date, a friend of mine asked me for a 500 word essay on the development of African nations viz a viz the Asians in the last century. I replied that one word would suffice: governance.

Billions of aid money has been directed to African states. Name a problem, and there is some funding from some aid agency. Yet the solutions they formulate are too theoretical. The impact is only for the short term. Too many of these can't scale. Worst of all, it continues to impoverished the peoples of these states. Instead of being taught to fish, as the saying goes. Only now that a new theory of change has been formulated and enacted that these can be more impactful.

Beyond aid, there is the greatest failure of all: governance. These countries are ruled by men (invariably) who exploit rather than develop the country. Joyce read it well, "the movements which work revolutions in the world are born out of dreams and visions in a peasants heart on the hillside." And here in Africa there are still too many peasants too ready to believe the empty promises spun by their leaders... some of whom even invoke the power of the divine to compel devotion, others employ more destructive forces to force obedience. 

We flew out of Egypt after 10 days there into Ethiopia. Like Egypt, this country too had its god-emperors but unlike Egypt, in Ethiopia, there seems to be a better glimmer of hope after all those decades of famine and brutality esp during the Mengitsu reign where vultures were literally waiting the eat the poor and famished. The Addis Ababa we saw is a modern city. Maybe because it's newer but it looked better, cleaner and more organised than Cairo, Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi which we saw recently. The mayor should be credited for her good adminstration. The Ethiopians deserve a break. They have a rich history and a welcome perspective for an inclusive world. The people we met (albeit as tourists) are inevitably polite if a bit melancholy. Each one harbouring a hardship or two in life. After all, they are still living in conditions best described as the middle ages. Nonetheless, I see hope, for there has been progress, not least in the attitudes of the Ethiopians themselves. 

After Ethiopia and its green shoots of growth, we overflew Kenya (generally regarded as the best developing country in East Africa) and landed in Tanzania. We were just here last year in Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar, its two most developed cities. This time we went straight to the rural/nature heart of the country (and maybe the world). Our flight landed in Kilimanjaro and we started our week-long safari in the Serengiti (and Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro crater) along with the thousands of tourists here during the peak season.

We saw evidence here of a government (albeit still corrupt) who is trying to do better esp to boost tourism. All entries and exits into parks are guarded and of course paid for. Rangers keep the area safe and guides and tourists alike keep it clean and the ecosystem untouched (as far as possible) though having been a spectator at a few hunting episodes, I do think we may have interfered. 

Like in the bush, there is a sense of hierarchy that pervades Africa. None of that "if you hurt one of us, you hurt all of us; no one left behind" at work. Here, like in the Gold Track separation at the airport, there are levels with the lion being the apex predator. But even then, it's status is not one where ease is enabled. Every lion still needs to eat and nothing is served to it unless it hunted for it. "You eat what you kill" is the expression that fits here. You don't have to be the fittest, just the fitter (avoiding the predator) to survive. So at the airport despite the gold track, one still needs to jostle at the security, passport and boarding lines.

It's worth mentioning airports in this entry because land infrastructure remain poor (no rail, poor roads) and the most efficient way to get around is by air (in all manners of planes, big and small, jet or propeller-powered). Even then, network connectivity is bad and flights. All in we took 11 flights in 28 days just to get to/from 7 cities. Flights tend to be overbooked and poor J had to spend the night at JRO trying to get onto one. Both Js got affected actually. The first one was unsanitary water gave J the runs which I narrowly avoided for I drank the same iced up cocktail. He was still nursing some discomfort on his way back. So they got a bigger adventure that was anticipated while D and I flew back up north from JRO to ADD, stayed overnight nearby in order to get our flight to CPT to continue our trip.

It is somewhat fitting that Bole International Airport in the capital of Ethiopia is the main node in our travels. We got here from Egypt. We flew to Tanzania from here and then to South Africa. For if this is the motherland, all migrations also start from here. Indeed early humans would have followed the animals in the movements, which they still do today just as we had witnessed with the wildebeest crossing the Mara River. It is a credible theory that some groups, maybe a couple called Adam and Eve :-) some 200k years ago, developed the initiative not to follow the animals back and instead kept moving ... dreaming of a better abode, however perilous that may have been. That DNA of migration remains in us all today.

Our final stop of this journey is South Africa, specifically Capetown. It was here 30 years ago, when our guide at the end of our honeymoon tour, asked us to turn around to view the sunset to which she added, "once you have seen an African sunset, you will always come back". We decided that we would make her statement prophetic and has been back here every decade. This year is our 30th anniversary and we revisited the places we first saw in 1994 which was also a very significant year in South African history because the apartheid system was overthrown and Nelson Mandela got democratically elected as the country's president.

He was the embodiment of one who served his purpose rather than his weaknesses (of which they were a few). I hope more African leaders will rise to the ovassion. Egypt's pride, Ethiopia's history, Tanzania's untamed nature could all be a foundation for progress and not a crutch for standing still. 

The Cairo to Capetown route that Cecil Rhodes megalomanically dreamt of building a century and half ago was through a very different African continent. The indigenous people were nearly all colonised (except Ethiopia). When Paul Theroux undertook the venture (mostly overland), the African nations have been independent for about half a century but it's people are still living under the yoke of some variant of dictatorship or other. 

Maybe it's the tribal nature of the communities here - with mutual mistrust, misgivings and misunderstanding about each other- that the colonial masters exploited and their own indigenous leaders also did. George Orwell's Animal Farm may be about Soviet Russia after the Imerial reign but it's lessons are prophetic especially here in Africa.

The thing that struck me in this four weeks of travel is that one doesn't get to choose where you are born but you can decide how you want to live in it. One's station at birth should not be the major determinant of the standard of life or place in the world. It is not a case of forgetting one's roots but to know where you came from so you can know where and how to go. 

Trips like this does not leave one with answers. Rather it pose more questions. In this case, it's about what kind of world we want and what do we do to achieve it.

my guest writer summarises her thoughts of our C2C trip

25 Aug - 29 Aug 24 

On the last flight of our epic, almost month long journey from Cairo to Cape! I conclude the trip with much gratitude and stimulated senses. 

So thankful that it was a relatively smooth trip, flights, luggage, accomodation, vehicles all cooperated well, big relief considering the number of different airports and flight connections we've made! I'm quite happy not to have to strip off belt and shoes and jacket in front of strangers at crowded baggage check lines for a while! 

And still buzzing with all the sights and sounds of all the places we've been to. The monuments of the Eyptians, faithfulness of Ethiopians, zeal of the Tanzanians and their animals, the lovely South African cape! 

If I have to choose a favourite amongst all our stops it probably would be the Safari in Serengeti. The surreal experience of being with the animals, the joyful singing of our guide and service crew and above all, the fun and company of our small nucleus family of 6. 

This was V's sabbatical trip, one that he'd been planning for years, and had very much anticipated, and one which coincided very nicely with our 30th anniversary year. He's done all the heavy lifting for it, deciding on places to go, routes to take, where to sleep, food to eat, flight connections to make! It was arranged most meticulously for a travel in style and senses, and I'm truly blessed though I probably don't say it often enough! 

So after 30 years, as the kids and a friendly South African baggage inspector have asked, what's the story? 

Cairo to Cape is indeed apt for though there may be times when a  continent or more separate us, whether physically or in perspectives, it's been helpful to share a common theme and direction. I think for me it's also taken many Cs ... 

Company - being good company to one another, and growing the company of others, together. Common friends have nourished us though these may not be the same ones at the different seasons or chapters of life. 

Colour - it's been colourful, lots of good days and tough ones, frayed tempers and misadventures, the fights and quarrels can be intense at times, they tend to start when we forget the needs of the other, or be excerbated by having to mind the needs of others. Often they start from anxieties - whether anxiety about things going awry or anxiety with family. Over time, these have been avenues to understand perspectives and thoughts better. 

Communication - it's more than just words and knowing which love language to use helps. Understanding the moods, anticipating the reactions, appreciating the reasons for these. We still struggle a lot of this, saying little when we should say more, too much when we should say less. 

Complementing more than just compromise - i think complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses have helped. Where V is loud and spontaneous, I'm quieter and more measured. Where he's adventurous and future focused, I'm more realistic and present. Where he's short fused, I'm more slow burning. Where he's instructive, I'm more implementing. 

There are certainly many more reflevtions than these Cs and we're still working on them. Still learning and discovering from the countless others who've crossed the milestone before us and those who've coming after us. 

Live, laugh, love as is often said, and perhaps a takeaway from the safari trip is to love, laugh, live and let live, entrusting all to God's grace and providence. With the new rhythm in my step and a new screensaver ear worm ...

Jambo, jambo Bwana

Habari gani

Mzuri sana

Wageni, mwakaribishwa 

Chinny chinny, Hakuna Matata!!

Concluding our C2C trip

Thirty years ago, our tour guide was concluding our honeymoon trip with some sweet words. And she said to us all while driving her van to drop off the various people on a group tour to look out of the window at the setting sun with the message, "once you have seen an African sunset, you will come back".

Well, we did return, with children and even parents in tow for our 10th and 20th wedding anniversaries. So, not quite terminator style but rather like homing pigeons that recognise this area as one of our origin places.

The western cape of South Africa is perhaps the most developed, most modern, most "first world" region in all of Africa. That its has a dark history and that it has one of the widest income disparities in the world are blots on its landscape. But the landscape that mother nature has bestowed on it remains unrivalled in the world.

Being one of our favourite places on earth, we can only hope that the humans look after it well. So far they have despite the challenges and we would like to be back for a fee more decades, for as long as we can. 

Before flying out this morning, we set out early in our rented car to return it. We were driving into the sunrise, rather than away from the sunset. It felt like a new beginning. We hope it is so this cycle of journeys concluding and yet starting mirrors the circle of life and love. 

my guest columnist's take on the safari

16 Aug - 24 Aug 24

Arusha Serengeti Tanzania 

James Herriot's been a lifelong favourite and lifesaver ever since V gifted me with an omnibus edition when I was mugging for 1st year exams in university. That brick-like, hard covered and well-thumbed copy with pages falling off the spine has soothed pre-exam jitters and been a bedtime balm in the years before the single malts.

Those stories and characters were my first real peek into the animal world, their hilarious peculiarities and idiosyncrasies and the stoic nature of those who lived amongst them. They grew familiar with my repeated re-reads though I still am not much of an animal lover. Unlike J & M who have a soft spot for them, perhaps honed from the many hours of NatGeo documentaries, magazine subscriptions and zoo trips growing up. 

We were thus glad they and their respective other halves were able to join us on this safari in the famed Serengeti savannah of Africa; fuelling the trip with their collective factoids,  commentaries, laughter and enthusiasm, and especially help to capture all that we saw via a variety of cameras, light and heavy weight.

Nature and her ecosystems never fail to astound. How everything is interconnected and interrelated, the strategic view underpining the meticulous details, all of which is useful in some way, every living thing existing for a reason. The hippos who laze around in mud and water all day, still as giant pebbles, the motionless crocodiles lying in wait of prey, the meandering zebras, frenetic and seemingly indecisive rushing around of the wildebeests, the measured postures of the lions, the constant chewing of the giraffes, the gathering and parade of the elephants, the parasitic hyenas and vultures ready to swoop in after a kill, the colourful birds. It's so wonderful and mysterious how the colours of the grounded beings camouflage and blend so well into the surroundings, while those airborne ones are a vibrant riot of every colour imaginable. One of these feathered creatures spot 7 bright colours on one little body! 

God has epitomised Diversity Equity & Inclusion when He created all the animals - the long necked giraffes with their beautiful eyes and eyelashes and horns like hair clips, the boldly striped zebras with their weak backs and stubborn natures so that no one can harness them or block the artwork that is their skin, the flowing manes of the lions such lovely headgear and neck embellishment, the patterns on the leopards and contrasting ones on the cheetahs, the fan-like ears of the elephants and one of a kind nose for worming into everything, the pink hues of the salt infused flamingoes and synchronised dives of the pelicans just to mention a few. A hundred, a thousand, probably a million more instances of the creative and humorous touches of God. Which did He decide first- the animal? Or the community? The colours? Or the patterns? The function? Or the form? It's mindblowing for no human could possibly harmonise that many permutations! And dear Noah! How could he have possibly fit all of these into his ark? What an amazingly huge one he must have built!!

It was a week of ruminations and marvelling, as we rode the manmade wonder of the Toyota Landcruiser along bumpy mud tracks that provided an unexpected spine tingling massage, steered by a guide cum driver who navigated every pothole and stream with unfazed ease. 

For if God meant for the ecosystem to work, then the human one must too, and He must have already had a plan, a purpose for ea h one of us, no matter our colour, size or make up. If only we could as readily trust in His system and not ours, perhaps the world will be a more balanced one.

Waiting and watching, it was a humbling reminder of the reality behind the titles made popular by James Herriott, borrowed from the verses so beautifully penned by Cecil Frances Alexander in 1848:

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them, high or lowly,

And ordered their estate.

The purple-headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one:

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

We gather every day;

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Amen Amen!!

What They Don't Tell You About The Safari

We got our safari tour organised by Shadows of Africa. It turned out to be such an apt name because at times, we saw shadows. The animals in their habitat are sights to behold and we only saw a minute fraction of life that goes on here. And in our week here, we collectively took over ten thousand photos, some of which will make it to our photo albums and a few onto this blog entry.

What you don't see and what they won't tell you in the brochures is that to catch these sights you will have to endure hours of ruttedly bad (main) roads. A "Masai Massage" the drivers call it as you bump through the humps. As you get off the main B-roads, the side trails are even worse. That said, the A104 road (we travelled on the stretch called Makuyuni Road from Arusha to Ngorongoro is part of a road that goes all the way south to Victoria Falls and then Capetown. We were on this same highway earlier in Ethiopia and there is a stretch in Kenya called Nairobi Road.

Road building is both an expensive endeavour (money the government doesn't have) nor is it ecosystemically friendly to the animals. So with the lack of money and then animal activists agitating, the roads remain bad and are increasingly in disrepair. The government, to their credit or more like because of the economic need, intends to designate more national parks (ie safari sites) that will generate more tourism dollars. However, these are the ancestral lands of the Masai - for the past 200 years - and they would not move. In protest, they would block the main road into the Serengiti national park. That happened the day before we were to drive through and so were glad it was resolved prior to our drive and we had clear passage. Thankfully, private operators respectful of the land and culture (and abiding by the laws governing national parks) have made accommodation and dining reasonable even luxurious. Well, one expects no less from lodges that call themselves Farms of Dreams. I joked with the guide that after this safari, I might start dreaming of farms. 

Truth be told we saw little farmland on this safari. Any vegetable cultivation was limited to the backyard and the livestock would graze on the savannah, tended by shepherd boys barely into their teens. The rest of the bush could be more appropriately referred as a Wildebeest habitat for there are more here than any other animals, in fact with nearly 2 million of them, it's a factor more than the 200k zebras that we also saw a lot of. We lived in tents right next to wildebeest (also called gnu by the locals). In fact, the wildebeest crossing the Mara river is the main sight we want to see. We went to the river three times and saw it once. So, like the hunt, a day in the life on the serengiti is a lot of waiting. In the case of the wildebeest, there isn't a leader and so while the herd instinct got them migrating, the crossing tends to happen by accident. One of them will get inadvertently pushed into the river and the rest will follow in an avalanche. Over dinner, I commented that they are like Moses. For he too got so far but never crossed the Jordan river into the promised land. The wildebeest pauses like Moses. 

We also got to see baboons, impalas, gazelles, bucks and birds of all sorts but got excited when we saw the big animals.... be it gentle giants like the elephants or tall grazers like the giraffes and of course the big cats: cheetahs, lions and the odd leopard. One game every tourist on safari will play is 

spot the leopard and end up seeing lots of ALT (animals looking things) like a short tree stump in the bush resembles a cat sitting and staring patiently at its prey waiting to pounce or a dangling leaf looks like a bird perched about to fly off.

In August, in the bush, it is cool in the morning and it gets hot in the afternoon. So hot that bushfires are not uncommon. As the elephants tend to destroy trees when looking for mineral nutrients, they leave behind a wake of dead branches which are really susceptible to getting lit up and while many fires are contained naturally, there are of course animal casualties... Even if its superficial like a smoked out a giraffe who must have walked through a recently burned field and was all "sooted"-up as a result. 

Most animal deaths here are not from bush fires but rather from hunts, of course. We watched three on the Serengiti: a predator lioness stalking her prey impala, a warthog prey unaware of its predator leopard. We didn't see the leopard stalking in the bush. We saw one's tail dangling from a tree. It remains an elusive animal to spot. The hunt also eluded us both times. We sat and wait like the animals but as no move was made, we moved on. The third time we got lucky and saw a lioness actually initiate a chase though the gazelle got away. Right after the lion showed up and we wondered if he would blame the lioness.

We did witness one final predator waiting episode in Ngorongoro crater which also did not materialise into lunch for the lioness... or rather we left for out own lunch rather than wait any longer to find out. The crater (nearly half the size of Singapore) is the result of a volcanic eruption 2 million years ago and is now a conservation area. The land floor of the crater is teeming with wildebeest and zebras as well as gazelles while the lake is the domain of pelicans (with their synchronised swimming) and flamingos (with their formation flying). There are of course lions here too and all of 36 rhinos (more than 5% of the world's population); one of which we sighted from miles away. With that sighting, we have came and saw all the big five albeit just the tail of a leopard and that speck of a rhino. Hence, shadows of Africa .

Still, there are a lot of animals here in their natural habitat and we are glad the Tanzanian government is protecting these by making them national parks, or at least conservation areas. Even the animals that have wandered outside these get some protection both both governmental and non-governmental organisations. That meant that we got to see the big five, ie the five apex beasts in the savannah - buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino. The Serengiti also have a big nine list that included the cheetah, giraffe, hippo and zebra. J added it should also include the wildebeest since it is the most populous here. I don't know why they only stopped at 9 :-s. So, all in, we saw the Top 10 mammals and not counting the monkeys, mongoose and reptiles like the crocodiles and lizards who were mostly at rest soaking up the sun as well as many birds with special shout outs to a new flightless but confident bird we got to know, the Kori Bustard, the many superb starlings we had lunch in the bush with,  the clutch of helmeted guinea fowls that always look like they are busy heading to the market, not to mention the vultures feasting at a funeral and the flamboyance of flamingoes walking and flying in synchrony. The birds are the unsung heroes of the Safari. Though they don't make it to the Top 5 or 9 (the ostrich could have been a candidate for the 9 to be honest), they add a dazzling dash of colour and freedom to the bush and no less then that displayed by the 7-coloured bee eater.

Within a week, we covered over a thousand kilometres, beginning from a lodge in Arusha to Lake Manyara and then through Serengiti from south to north to Mara River at the border with Kenya and back again via Ngorongoro crater. The unsung hero of this epic trip is the Toyota Landcruiser and more than that, the multi-able driver and guide, Frank and  they could have done so much more if they had better infrastructure to work with. In fact, the vehicles and the guides are the hardest working elements here. The animals we observed spent a lot of time waiting, or eating or resting.  But I guess that's one of the reasons a safari is a unique sort of trip.

One event on the Safari that can never be faulted is the landscape especially at dawn and at dusk. And to see it from a hot air balloon is heavenly. The land stretches interminably ahead litted up with a golden glow from the rising sun. It's at this stage that one realises how insignificant we mortal humans are and what a responsibility we have to preserve this planet and all its flora and fauna for future generations. 

"All things bright and beautiful

All creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful ...

The lord God made them all."

another feature of a favourite writer

13-15 Aug 24 

Michael Jackson's Heal the World and BBC's news were my first introduction to Ethiopia and Addis Ababa. These names evoked in my mind images of starving children and scenes of undeveloped streets. Impressions that held strong despite V's enthusiasm about this being the cradle of humankind and the original garden of Eden. 

Landing in Lalibela - meaning conquerer of bees - was thus an unexpected surprise. We flew in a small two propeller airplane from Addis Ababa and landed on a runway flanked by a simple one storey building airport terminal nestled amidst cool mountainous landscape. It felt surreal that such a rustic serene place should greet modern inventions as airplanes. The peace was deceptive though as the region's in the tail end of a war with northern neighbour Eritrea, there were signs of bullet holes on the glass wall of the air terminal. 

Dwellings for villagers and livestock dotted the land we drove past, all was awash in green from the rains. It felt fresh and resourceful. We passed villagers walking in twos and threes, some with their goats and cows and sheep, trotting along on surprisingly well paved roads. Walking or running is the default mode of transport and it's little wonder so many great athletes originate from this part of the world. 

The attraction in Lalibela is its enclave of eleven rock hewn churches, commissioned by none other than King Lalibela who'd traveled beyond for 10 years and brought back with him a deep motivation to provide means for his people to express their devotion and faith, leading a tireless multi-year excavation of mountains of rock and granite to shape houses for God and Saints. These solid structures are still standing strong today and used daily by the villagers. Their celebration is a strange fusion of necessity and cultural evolution - they come to church cocooned in white shawls, whether men, women or children, as if they will be reborn daily, pure again and free from sins. They pray mostly standing up, as seats are limited, and mostly outside the church buildings which are all quite small within. Voices of priests reading scriptures and chanting in the ancient duryic language reach the congregation via loudspeakers or microphones. Almost every available wall surface inside or out, is touched by hands or faces or bodies, pressing in, seeking and drawing strength to press on. 

For life must be hard in this world cut off from modern conveniences. Electricity and running water are in limited supply and many still live in bare huts made with straw and mud, devoid of bedding let alone furnishing. The church structures serve as communal gathering points for individuals to gather frequently, almost daily, for hours of meditation and prayer. They observe over 200+ days of Lent annually, during which there is widespread fasting from animal related products - no milk, butter, meats - our 40 days of selective sacrifice pale in comparison. 

I wonder at the thoughts in their minds - the young and old, ordinary and religious - cut off from worldly ambitions - what can they be wishing for in a seeming mind-numbing repeat and rewind? 

Perhaps they are focusing on the afterlife which looms large daily, "take me away to you God, quick, I seek the paradise of your heavenly home, bring me away from all these!" Hence their prayer route a highway to our same God with a simple exultation. Whereas for us, we traverse the long and winding route, needing divine help for our many other material needs and wants in our modern sophisticated living, afterlife being far receded in our minds. Even so, I hope God's fine that my faith journey, like this sojourn in Lalibela, goes off the beaten track, every now and then, more often than not. 

Addis Ababa was another surprise. I'd not expected it to be this built up; with 6 lane landscaped roads with clean wide pavements, meticulously decorated construction hoardings, relatively organised traffic and glittering street lights.

At least in the more outward facing parts while the local areas are still a mix of old and new, donkeys jostling with cars, hawkers hustling with their wares laid out on street walks, ancient discovered fossils humbly displayed in simple settings. 

May their momentum and drive for better be sustained and continue to stay strong, for not only will they need new roads and new light fixtures, those newly installed ones will require maintenance and replacements. May the memory of strong leaders like King Lalibela inspire and fuel them for many more years, as proclaimed by their national flag carrier Ethiopian Airways- theirs is the new spirit of Africa - may it burn bright & long!

03 Aug - 12 Aug 24Cairo Luxor Aswan Cairo

I ocassionally post articles feom other writers, whose ideas and words that house them, i resonate with. There is then one that trumps them all though she writes barely. It's my pleasure and privilege to share then here and to have her as my travel companion and life partner.

_________________________________

It's been a while  - a really long while - since I wrote for pleasure or for recall. The hum drum of day-to-day leaves little time for such indulgences. I'm often just churning along by habit, getting as much of the day's to-do list struck off that inspirations seldom strike - there doesn't usually seem to be much to write or discern about. 

Serendipitously while packing for this month-long trip, I read a linkedin post by Kuik Shiao-yin who was addressing the point about those in her circles who had ceased to write for fear of joining the humble brag bandwagon. While she understood their reticence, she extolled the virtues of writing nonetheless, especially for leaders, for it sharpens perspectives and articulation. 

And so motivated, so I shall resume. 

Starting with a stray thought on the way to the airport: Which would be preferable - the anticipation of travel or the reminiscing of experiences, having travelled? I wondered. 

Besides Ms Kuik, I'm humbly following in the footsteps or keyboard strokes of the two prolifics in the family - M who has been first typing, then writing since three years of age, eager to record all the stories in her head and later on, trying to make sense of all the thoughts there, stringing these together and pouring them out as a form of solace as well as reflection. And V who has been a wordsmith and poet from the day I met him over three decades back, filling notebook pages with inconsistently spaced verses, artful prose i guess, handwritten travelogues bursting with observations and aspirations, and now revelling in the pleasure of blogging, uninterrupted by the demands of hectic work schedules, fuelled by the sights and sounds of his carefully curated cairo to cape itinerary. 

I hadn't realised the lengths we'd be travelling through Egypt, our first stop. Literally. Starting with a cruise up the great River Nile, from Luxor in the north referred to as lower Egypt, to Azwan in the South referred to as upper Egypt. I learnt that upper means lower and lower. Such interesting contradictions. Upper as the ancients and locals take reference from the source of water flow instead of the land orientation as drawn on world maps. 

It was awesome. All those intact carcasses of monumental temples, tombs and terraces and the volumes they speak, whilst standing silent in the scorching sun. Echoes of days of old, of the life and rituals that filled their hours, weeks, months, years; worshippers of imaginary Gods, obeying real ones in the guise of their long procession of Pharoahs. 

Visualising oblelixes in shapeless rocks, moving mountains with ingenuity, etching stories of daily life and devotions in the vast surfaces of polished rock walls, columns, capitals and ceilings. 

Walking through the mammoth structures that remain, preserved in pristine state by the hostile weather, I couldn't help but marvel at the qualities of the ancient Egyptians. Their strong leadership, single minded purpose,  shared passion and disciplined precision transcending generations. 

They must have had really well organised armies of scribes to carve ribbons of narrative with carbon-copy consistency, overseers who ensured same colour palette and hues for different subject matter regardless of surfaces or locations, artists who ensured the right proportions and meticulousness for every detail, and so much more. Those hauling rocks, polishing surfaces, farming produce, feeding and healing, the amazingly clear plans and SOPs captured in reams of papyrus and evidenced in the still standing buildings and discovered tombs. 

Perplexing then the ruins all around the city today. Brings new meaning to living off the land for they seem to live off what's long buried beneath, and what's erected above from thousands of years ago. It's as if the unrelenting heat of their ancient Sun God Ra, along with the passage of time have sapped the passion from their bones and what's left is mostly pride from their heritage.