Sun pierces my parched skin while grit kicks up from the Murchison Highway. As I pace back in 40 degree heat, I think of a million other places I’d rather be. The black bitumen cushions my lethargy underfoot and the horizon struggles to keep itself intact. He’s the only one who is driving past since I started walking about an hour ago but – just my luck – in the opposite direction. Will he stop? Continue reading
Bronzed leaves parachute through the air before softly landing on bricks that form The Great Wall of China, a series of walls located along China’s historical northern borders. Built by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty, the walls acted as a menacing warning to Mongol nomads against an invasion. Collectively, the walls are now an overbearing sight of manual labour and sobering in scale.
Our cosy rickshaw sits at idle beside a grey curb, whispering for us to step aboard; more words uttered than our rickshaw driver. His blank eyes lead us to his wooden workhorse, his rotund face devoid of any emotion or interest in us. As we ease into our share-seat we snuggle together while our driver hunches over his handlebars and starts pedalling furiously through tight streets. As the name suggests, The Hutongs (narrow alleys) demand a more subtle approach to transport. No cars fit here; these streets are ruled by simpler modes of getting around – rickshaws, bicycles, walking or the occasional motorised scooter. Continue reading
The rhythmic hum of our train rolling along the tracks lightly shakes me from my shallow sleep. Ten hours earlier we boarded our train in busy Cairo. Now, in its early morning hours we’re rolling through the outskirts of Luxor. Continue reading
Across the road from dusty high-rise buildings and endless bumper-to-bumper lines of cars beeping impatient horns, we lay our eyes over the vastness of the Nile. The Nile has nursed Egypt since the birth of civilisation and our location, Egypt’s southern-most city of Aswan, has been an epicentre of trade and pharaoic rule. Continue reading
You can read about my encounter with The Three Hots of Chongqing over at The Travel Belles.
My watch closes in on 4am and we’re dozing lightly on our small bus at Aswan’s bus depot. It feels like we’re waiting for clearance on an airport runway. Our guide Ahmed is finalising our departure time in a non-descript office as we experience a mix of anxious anticipation and an overwhelming need to slumber. We have about a four-hour bus ride ahead of us to Abu Simbel – one of the most protected and impressionable archaeological sites in the world. Continue reading
