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World Trip
  • Cassandra Rippon
  • Michael Rippon
  • Cassandra Rippon
  • Michael Rippon

World Trip

Cass and Mike's Year Long Adventure Read more
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  • World Trip

    Luxor

    November 10, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Took a night bus from Cairo to Luxor. It was probably the most comfortable night bus we've taken on this trip and was a very smooth journey - we even arrived in Luxor half an hour early! We took a boat from the East Bank to our apartment on the West Bank and had a slow day of napping, swimming and eating to recover from our hectic few days.

    The next day, we visited Karnak Temple (the 2nd largest temple complex in the world after Angkor Wat) and Luxor Temple on the East Bank. While both the temples, statues of pharaohs and hieroglyphics were very cool to see, we had more of an adventure getting to/from the temples. As we are staying on the West Bank, we have to walk to take the public ferry across the Nile. On the 10 minute walk to the ferry, we were hounded by relentless boat drivers - one even kept touching Cass's arm until she had to yell at him to stop. We were then hounded by taxi drivers when we arrived on the East Bank, where two drivers almost got into a fist fight over our business so we quickly jumped into a horse carriage passing by. The horse owner said it would cost 30EGP to get to one temple, and 60EGP return. We thought it was a good deal, so we paid him 50EGP for the first half (we didn't have change) and he waited for us outside Karnak temple and took us to the 2nd temple. It turns out that he wanted 90EGP total, not 60EGP. He also conveniently forgot that we already paid 50EGP and wanted an additional 60EGP on top of that, plus a 10EGP "tip" for his horse. It's not a lot of money, but we were annoyed that he was being dishonest so we argued with him until we just gave him 40EGP and walked off. We had heard about people being relentless and likely to scam you in Egypt, so we weren't too surprised that this happened, but still annoying that it's everywhere and you have to constantly be on your guard.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Karnak and Luxor Temples*

    November 11, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Visited Karnak Temple (the 2nd largest temple complex in the world after Angkor Wat) and Luxor Temple on the East Bank. While both the temples, statues of pharaohs and hieroglyphics were very cool to see, we had more of an adventure getting to/from the temples. As we are staying on the West Bank, we have to walk to take the public ferry across the Nile. On the 10 minute walk to the ferry, we were hounded by relentless boat drivers - one even kept touching Cass's arm until she had to yell at him to stop. We were then hounded by taxi drivers when we arrived on the East Bank, where two drivers almost got into a fist fight over our business so we quickly jumped into a horse carriage passing by. The horse owner said it would cost 30EGP to get to one temple, and 60EGP return. We thought it was a good deal, so we paid him 50EGP for the first half (we didnt have change) and he waited for us outside Karnak temple and took us to the 2nd temple. It turns out that he wanted 90EGP total, not 60EGP. He also conveniently forgot that we already paid 50EGP and wanted an additional 60EGP on top of that, plus a 10EGP "tip" for his horse. It's not a lot of money, but we were annoyed that he was being dishonest so we argued with him until we just gave him 40EGP and walked off. We had heard about people being relentless and likely to scam you in Egypt, so we weren't too surprised that this happened, but still annoying that it's everywhere and you have to constantly be on your guard.Read more

  • World Trip

    Mike's birthday

    November 12, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Today is a very special day (Mike's birthday!) so we went hot air ballooning early in the morning over Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, and then relaxed by the pool for the rest of the day. We had Mike's birthday dinner at the local restaurant overlooking the Nile we'd already eaten at for a few days (Aya Abu), and they had put up balloons for Mike's birthday and helped us organise a cake.Read more

  • World Trip

    Valley of the Kings & Hatshepsut Temple

    November 13, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Today we did a private guided tour of the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple. We visited three tombs in the Valley of the Kings (tombs of 62 kings, no mummies, but lots of colorful paintings and hieroglyphics), all of which were really hot and full of people. Hatshepsut Temple was next, which commemorates the Queen Hatsheptsut, and then the Colossi of Memnon.Read more

  • World Trip

    Hurghada*

    November 14, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

    Bussed from Luxor to Hurghada, where we will be staying at an all-inclusive resort for the next week.

  • World Trip

    Hurghada

    November 20, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Spent the last 7 days relaxing, eating and swimming at Mercure Hurghada. We only left the resort once for a snorkel trip to Paradise Island.

  • World Trip

    Oman

    November 22, 2023 in Oman ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    After a full travel day (6hr drive from Hurghada to Cairo, then 3.5hr flight from Cairo to Muscat), we arrived in Oman. We checked into our hotel and rested during the day, and visited the Royal Opera House in the evening.Read more

  • World Trip

    Kalbuh, Muscat*

    November 23, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Drove out to Riyam and Kalbuh and visited Al Alam Palace and Al Mirani Fort (from the outside), Muscat Gate and Riyam Park.

  • World Trip

    Wadi Shab and Ras Al Hadd

    November 25, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Big day today! We set off early to visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat before we really got on the road. The Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in Oman, has capacity for 20,000 worshippers and has the 2nd largest hand loomed carpet in the world (2nd after the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi).

    After the mosque, we started our drive towards Ras Al Hadd. We stopped off at Bimmah Sinkhole for a short break. We didn't stop to swim as it was a bit crowded and we were soon stopping off at the most famous wadi in Oman - Wadi Shab. We drove another 20min to Wadi Shab, took a short boat ride and walked 45min to get to the swimming spot. The turquiose water was incredibly warm, and we spent a few hours swimming between the pools and caves in the canyon.

    Afterwards, we set off for the last leg of the day - a 2hr drive to Ras Al Hadd, which is famous for turtle spotting. After settling into our guesthouse, we left around 8pm to go to a beach that was recommended by our host. After 20min of driving on a very bumpy road in our little Yaris, we found ourselves at a fishing beach which was very clearly the wrong location. We ended up driving back to a beach in town that was marked on Google Maps as 'Ras Al Hadd beach for turtles' to try our luck there. Within 5min of walking, we found our first little baby turtle! He was heading in the wrong direction, so Mike gave him an express ride to the ocean. No less than 2min later, Jamie spotted an entire nest of baby turtles hatching right behind us! We spent the next hour watching as baby turtles popped out of the sand, taking their first breaths and clambering towards the ocean. We were lucky enough to be the only ones on this beach to witness this moment. It was such an incredible day!    Read more

  • World Trip

    Wadi Bani Khalid*

    November 26, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today is another wadi day - this time Wadi Bani Khalid! Wadi Bani Khalid is quite different to Wadi Shab, in that it's much easier to access (flat 5min walk from the car, rather than a boat and 45min hike), and the first pool is quite built up and is resembles an oasis. We didn't spend any time at the first pool, and instead walked the extra 15min to the 2nd pool, which is much smaller but quieter. The water was very turqiose and warm (almost bathlike) - just like Wadi Shab - and we spent a couple of hours swimming and exploring the canyon and caves. It was a great little swimming spot, except for the fish that nibbled on the dead skin on your feet.Read more

  • World Trip

    Nizwa

    November 27, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today was a day dedicated to exploring Nizwa, which was the former capital of Oman in the 6th and 7th centuries. We started with a traditional Omani breakfast on a rooftop, followed by a visit to Nizwa fort and souq. Nizwa Fort (built in the 17th century) is Oman's most popular tourist attraction, and even while we were there mid-morning, it felt like we were the only ones visiting. It was fun walking around the fort and reading about the defence tactics (like the murder holes).Read more

  • World Trip

    Jibreen Castle and Wadi Damm

    November 28, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Visited another castle today, this time we visited Jibreen Castle, approximately 30mins west of Nizwa. After the castle, we drove out to Wadi Damm for a short walk and swim.

  • World Trip

    W6 Balcony Hike

    November 29, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Last day in Nizwa today! We drove out 2hrs to Jebel Shams to do the W6 Balcony hike. As soon as we parked up, mobs of goats started approaching the carpark. We'd read that the goats try jump into tourists cars to find food, so we quickly put our shoes on and started the 10km return hike. We hiked along the steep Wadi Ghul canyons edge, stopping at abandoned mud huts, to feed some goats and eventually a huge cave and pool system at the end of the trail.Read more

  • World Trip

    Wadi Qurai

    November 30, 2023 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today is our last full day in Oman so we decided to visit one last wadi on our drive back from Nizwa to Muscat. We stopped off at Wadi Qurai, about 1hr south of Muscat, and hiked for about 30mins along a raised drain and big rocks to get to a big, beautiful blue swimming hole. When we arrived, we were greeted by a group of passing goats who were curious to see what Mike had in his bag. We made the most of our time here by swimming around the water hole, getting a massage from the (weirdly) warm waterfall and sliding down the natural slimey algae slides for a few hours before we headed back to Muscat.Read more

  • World Trip

    Delhi

    December 1, 2023 in India ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Hello India! We said farewell to our travel buddy (Jamie) and boarded our flight to Delhi. We'd read a lot online on what to expect when arriving in Delhi, so we weren't too surprised that we landed in a thick haze of smog. We were, however, pleasantly surprised that the airport and drive to our hotel wasn't nearly as chaotic as we'd anticipated. This could be down to the fact that we've spent a lot of time in places with crazy traffic and drivers and we are now a bit desensitised to the constant honking and near misses, or that Delhi's not as crazy as the internet built it up to be - we'll find out. After some trip admin, we wandered through Karol Bagh market and had our first dinner at a South Indian Restaurant. Cass chose to start her vegetarian diet, and Mike had butter chicken - both were very large portions, delicious, and hopefully won't make us sick.

    The next day, we decided to explore Old Delhi today, so we took the metro from Karol Bagh to a stop in Old Delhi, near the Red Fort. The stop we got off at was at the exit to the Red Fort, so we had to walk 15min to get to the entrance. The walk from the metro to the entrance was a lot - rickshaws, taxi drivers and vendors trying to get your attention left, right and centre, having to watch where your feet went so you didn't step in rubbish or muddy puddles while also having to look up and around you so you didn't walk straight into the hundreds of bodies going in the opposite direction to you, and the assault of smells on your nose - it's not a walk I'd like to do anytime again soon.

    We eventually made it to the entrance, paid for our tickets and made it into the fort, which was much quieter than outside. No less than 5mins into our visit, we had locals lining up to take photos with us like we were celebrities! We happily took a few photos, but decided we needed to move on to explore the fort. We spent a couple of hours walking around the impressive 17th century fort.

    After the fort, we met up with our walking tour guide for our tour of Old Delhi. We spent 3hrs in Old Delhi, walking in and around Chandni Chowk, Spice Market and some pretty streets. We also visited a Sikh temple including the large kitchen (where they prepare food for 10,000+ people everyday) and the dining hall, where we had some free food. It was a special experience visiting and joining in at the Sikh temple.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Old Delhi*

    December 2, 2023 in India ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We decided to explore Old Delhi today, so we took the metro from Karol Bagh to a stop in Old Delhi, near the Red Fort. The stop we got off at was at the exit to the Red Fort, so we had to walk 15min to get to the entrance. The walk from the metro to the entrance was a lot - rickshaws, taxi drivers and vendors trying to get your attention left, right and centre, having to watch where your feet went so you didn't step in rubbish or muddy puddles while also having to look up and around you so you didn't walk straight into the hundreds of bodies going in the opposite direction to you, and the assault of smells on your nose - it's not a walk I'd like to do anytime again soon.

    We eventually made it to the entrance, paid for our tickets and made it into the fort, which was much quieter than outside. No less than 5mins into our visit, we had locals lining up to take photos with us like we were celebrities! We happily took a few photos, but decided we needed to move on to explore the fort. We spent a couple of hours walking around the impressive 17th century fort.

    After the fort, we met up with our walking tour guide for our tour of Old Delhi. We spent 3hrs in Old Delhi, walking in and around Chandni Chowk, Spice Market and some pretty streets. We also visited a Sikh temple including the large kitchen (where they prepare food for 10,000+ people everyday) and the dining hall, where we had some free food. It was a special experience visiting and joining in at the Sikh temple.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Bikaner

    December 3, 2023 in India ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We left Delhi early this morning on a train to Bikaner. The journey took around 7 hours, and we watched as the landscapes changed from literal rubbish piles in/around Delhi to peaceful and clean farmlands in the countryside. We arrived around 4pm, were picked up by our lovely little guesthouse, where we relaxed, talked to our host about his life in Bikaner and ate a homemade vegetarian dinner.

    The next day, we did the one thing we came to Bikaner to do (besides break up the massive journey from Delhi to Jaisalmer) - visiting Karna Mati Mandir! Karna Mati Mandir is the only temple in the world that worships rats, and people visit from all over the world to feed and give offerings to the 25,000 freely roaming rats. We visited around midday when, apparently, there are less rats and we were glad we did - even with less rats around, they were still everywhere, there was rat food and poo everywhere and the rats were constantly running over and under your feet. We could only handle about 30mins before we had to leave - an interesting experience for the books, but not one we'd repeat again.

    After the rat temple, we headed back to Bikaner and had lunch at a restaurant recommended to us called Laxmi, where we had delicious butter naan, dahl makhani and malai kofta. We then went back to our guesthouse because Cass had to nap after our experience at the rat temple, and then we helped our hosts prepare our dinner. Mike was a natural at rolling out chapati and if there is one thing this trip has taught us, is that Mike's true calling is to be a baker.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Karna Mati Mandir*

    December 4, 2023 in India

    Today, we were doing the one thing we came to Bikaner to do (besides break up the massive journey from Delhi to Jaisalmer) - visiting Karna Mati Mandir! Karna Mati Mandir is the only temple in the world that worships rats, and people visit from all over the world to feed and give offerings to the 25,000 freely roaming rats. We visited around midday when, apparently, there are less rats and we were glad we did - even with less rats around, they were still everywhere, there was rat food and poo everywhere and the rats were constantly running over and under your feet. We could only handle about 30mins before we had to leave - an interesting experience for the books, but not one we'd repeat again.

    After the rat temple, we headed back to Bikaner and had lunch at a restaurant recommended to us called Laxmi, where we had delicious butter naan, dahl makhani and malai kofta. We then went back to our guesthouse because Cass had to nap after our experience at the rat temple, and then we helped our hosts prepare our dinner. Mike was a natural at rolling out chapati and if there is one thing this trip has taught us, is that Mike's true calling is to be a baker.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Junagarh Fort

    December 5, 2023 in India ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today we visited Junagarh Fort, a large red palatial residence with museum exhibits showcasing thrones, swords, and randomly an old World War One plane. We are pretty over looking at old buildings but this was nicely done up and quiet away from the horns of motorbikes.

    We’ve been trying a range of Indian food and haven’t found anything we don’t like yet, however, after 4 days of spicy Indian breakfast we managed to get hold of some muesli today. Safe to say Cass was stoked. The sweets are the best, our favourite being gulab jamun which are deep fried maida balls coated with sugar syrup.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Jaisalmer*

    December 6, 2023 in India

    Took our first overnight train in India from Bikaner to Jaisalmer - unfortunately, we missed out on 2nd class tickets and had to buy 3rd class tickets (beds in bunks of 3 - no photos as the whole situation was very rushed and chaotic). Our train started in Jaipur, and by the time it arrived in Bikaner, it was almost full with barely any space to put your bags and people (without assigned beds) sleeping in some of our beds - with the help of some friendly locals, we claimed back our beds. The train ride was only 5 hours long, but was very bumpy and too uncomfortable to sleep. We also couldn't check into our room until midday so we sat on the rooftop of our hostel, watching the sunrise over Jaisalmer Fort and waited for our room to be free. Today was a very slow day for us.Read more

  • World Trip

    Thar Desert

    December 7, 2023 in India ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Rajasthan is the desert state of India, and today we headed out to the Thar Desert, which spans across both Pakistan and India. We were picked up around 2pm and drove an hour from Jaisalmer to the Thar Desert, where we met the camels we'd be riding and their handlers. We rode an hour into the desert, stopping at our camp for the night in the dunes. We ran along the dunes and took some fun photos, and drank chai and ate snacks while the sunset around us. We slept under the stars (and under 4 blankets), waking when the sunrise around 6am. After breakfast, we rode the camels back for an hour before being picked up and taken back to Jaisalmer.Read more

  • World Trip
    1

    Jaisalmer

    December 8, 2023 in India ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Spent our last few days in the Golden city of Jaisalmer exploring Jaisalmer Fort, Patwa and Nathmal ki havelis and Gadisar Lake.

  • World Trip

    Overnight train to Jaipur

    December 9, 2023 in India ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    Wandered around Jaisalmer Fort again and enjoyed a nice sunset over Jaisalmer before we caught our overnight train to Jaipur. We'd booked 1st Class AC tickets which were much more comfortable than our 3rd Class experience. The toilet situation was only marginally better than 3rd Class.

    We arrived in Jaipur around 11am, checked into our hostel and had lunch and a rest on the rooftop. Around 3pm, we took a tuktuk to Galta Ji Temple - a famous monkey temple in India - and spent about an hour walking around the temple complex. The complex was definitely beautiful, but very run down, dirty and had a lot of rubbish. At the temple we saw a lot of monkeys, catfish in the pond and saw a few Nilgai (a type of antelope) on our drive back to Jaipur.    Read more

  • World Trip

    Galta Ji Temple, Jaipur*

    December 10, 2023 in India ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We arrived in Jaipur around 11am, checked into our hostel and had lunch and a rest on the rooftop. Around 3pm, we took a tuktuk to Galta Ji Temple - a famous monkey temple in India - and spent about an hour walking around the temple complex. The complex was definitely beautiful, but very run down, dirty and had a lot of rubbish. At the temple we saw a lot of monkeys, catfish in the pond and saw a few Nilgai (a type of antelope) on our drive back to Jaipur.Read more

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