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Asia 2017

December 2016 - March 2017
  • MitchaRu
A 84-day adventure by MitchaRu Read more
  • MitchaRu
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  • Japan Japan
  • Cambodia Cambodia
  • Vietnam Vietnam
  • Laos Laos
  • Thailand Thailand
  • Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
  • India India
  • Show all (11)
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  • 26.4kmiles traveled
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  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017

    Montvale, New Jersey

    December 23, 2016 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    We're all packed and ready to go for MitchaRu round 2! This time it was definitely a lot easier to prepare for this trip than the last; perhaps because we're seasoned backpackers now!

    We anticipate this trip to be about 2 months again however it'll be a totally different experience as we start in Egypt and continue on to India and Southeast Asia. Stay tuned for more on our adventures...Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017
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    The Great Pyramids of Giza

    December 26, 2016 in Egypt ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    After an almost 24 hour journey, we made it to Egypt to take part in a 9 day tour of this ancient world! We knew we couldn't and probably shouldn't take on the task of navigating through this country like we had done in our past trip so a guided tour was the best option.

    We started in Cairo which is a very busy and dirty city but quickly found our way to the surrounding areas of Saqqara and Giza to see the great pyramids! At Saqqara we saw the first ever pyramid to be built as a burial site for one of Egypt's kings in 2,740 BC, almost 5,000 years ago!! Not only did we get to see this engineering marvel from outside but as well got a glimpse of the pyramids from the inside as well.

    If that wasn't enough our next stop was the most popular site of pyramids at Giza where the Egyptians perfected the pyramid shape taking 23 years to build using around 2.2 million bricks with weights ranging from 2 tons to 20 tons for the Great Pyramid alone! We got some magnificent views of one of the seven wonders in the world on our camel ride where we definitely popped out the selfie stick to capture the moment!

    Our last stop was to see the Spinx which was carved out of one rock and represented the depiction of the king in the eternal afterlife which impressed us as well.

    After the first day we knew we'd be in for a treat on this trip as we make stops across Egypt admiring and trying to wrap our minds around this ancient civilization that put thought, meaning and scale into everything they created!    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017
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    Luxor

    December 27, 2016 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Luxor was our next stop on our Egyptian adventure. Although it took 10 hours by bus to reach the old capital from Cairo there were many things to see once we arrived since Luxor is claimed to hold 1/4 of the world's monuments.

    The Valley of the Kings was the main attraction which is the burial site of many of Egypt's kings. This site was chosen for its mountainous terrain which made it difficult for tomb raiders to access. The most famous pharaoh whose tomb was discovered in 1920 was King Tut. We ventured deep inside his underground tomb where he still lays mummified. It was a pretty amazing experience standing next to the body of King Tut and being in his tomb where they found him adorned with all his valuable possessions and lots of gold ornaments. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed!

    We also visited Hatchepsut Temple made for Egypt's first female pharaoh along with Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. All of these places were equally impressive due to their massive size, carvings, and details that went into creating these temples that were made to honor the ruling King of Egypt at the time they were built since the Kings in Egypt were considered to be descendent of god.

    If it wasn't enough to see Luxor at eye level, we took a hot air balloon ride over this beautiful city to see it from up to!    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017

    Abu Simbel

    December 30, 2016 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We took an optional trip to Abu Simbel the site of King Ramesses II's temples. The bigger of the two temples was dedicated to himself and the second smaller temple was made for his wife Queen Nefertari, with 4 out of the 6 statues depicting himself instead of his wife. King Ramesses II ruled Egypt for 67 years and was probably the most influential, arrogant and self-centered ruler in Egyptian history.

    The site of Abu Simbel, close to the boarder of Sudan, was actually not the original site of the temples. The original temples which were carved into mountainous rock were threatened to be flooded due to a large dam being built and were physically moved to where they sit now in a valley which was excavated to relocate the temples in 1968. This was the most impressive part as its hard to imagine with the scale and massive size of the temples how they were originally built in the 13th century BC and then moved with most of its original architecture intact.    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017

    Felucca on the Nile

    December 30, 2016 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This was one of our more adventurous trips of the year - 2 nights on a traditional Egyptian sail boat. It was fairly primitive but a great experience!

    The boat had one flat and padded area for the 12 of us to sleep on "sardine style". The boat had 4 crew members, but no motor or bathroom. The cook had a small stove top, and somehow managed to make some of the best food of the entire Egypt trip on it.

    We really got to know the rest of our tour group much better after living together on the boat. There wasn't much to do other than relaxing and gaze into the sunny horizon, but the time passed quickly eating, drinking, swimming, playing games, and building a campfire on the shore where we docked for the night.

    Certainly a memorable experience on the Nile!    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017

    Cairo

    December 31, 2016 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    At last we're back in Cairo after exploring the East and West Banks of the Nile River where we also rang in 2017! We saw a lot of amazing history dating back to one of the first civilizations on this planet and witnessed the magnificent temples, pyramids and tombs first hand. Unfortunately modern day Egypt didn't keep up with the progress made by the ancient people. Cairo now the capital of the country is actually pretty dirty and congested. There are many abandoned buildings, half built apartments that would have their ancient relatives rolling in their tombs, piles of trash on every street, and 9.1 million people struggling to make a decent living off of the hurting tourism industry.

    Looking past all that, while in Cairo we visited the Egyptian Museum which houses thousands and thousands of artifacts that gave us an even deeper looking into this civilization. We got to explore the mummy exhibit where we stood in front of many of Egypt's past Kings and Queens. Many still had their hair, teeth, and nails! It was a cool experience that left you feeling a bit chilly! In the museum we also visited the King Tut exhibit that holds many of the gold treasures found in his tomb. The most impressive was the solid gold face mask that covered the King which is the most iconic image of ancient Egypt. It is said that if tomb raiders hadn't robbed the tombs of many kings over the years, then Egypt would have been the wealthiest nation in the world today!

    Lastly, attached are a few pictures of various temples we visited along the way that we haven't posted about yet, at Edfu and Philae Temple. Overall, Egypt was a great experience and we're glad we could visit before there is even more uncertainty in this region of the world! We'd recommend it if you have an open mind about safety concerns and take a well known organized tour!    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017
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    The Grand Mosque

    January 1, 2017 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌫 19 °C

    Our visit to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates was a quick one but that's because we were primarily there to visit The Grand Mosque formally known as Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. This mosque as in its name is nothing short of grand! The late king of Abu Dhabi wanted to create a mosque that portrayed Islam as it should be known; a peaceful religion. This beautiful structure is made of marble and decorated with precise detail. Luckily we got to see the mosque while the sun was setting and when it was lit up after dark; both were equally impressive.Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017
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    Dubai

    January 2, 2017 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Dubai is the metropolitan hub of UAE. It's nothing short of a city dominated by a skyline full of unique looking skyscrapers, malls full of the world's classiest brand name stores and highways full of very expensive cars.

    You can see the wealth from being an oil producing country everywhere you go. It was an expensive 24 hours spent in Dubai which was full of many tourists but we couldn't miss seeing the Burj Al Arab from the beach at sunset; an iconic five star hotel recognized from a distance by it's shape of a sailboat (where a standard room would cost you nearly $2,000/night) or going up to the viewing deck on the 124th floor of the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa.    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017
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    Muscat, Oman

    January 4, 2017 in Oman ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Although Oman wasn't initially in our travel plans we added it in to make a pitstop to visit our friend Mohamed who lives there. Mohamed and Rupal met in Poland when Rupal was living there and have kept in touch over the last four years.

    Mohamed welcomed us openly to visit his hometown of Muscat and had many activities planned for us. Our favorite was visiting Wadi Shab a valley within the mountainous terrain about 2 hours outside of Muscat. The scenery there was beautiful and the water cave we walked for an hour to was well worth it! We had fun swimming and cliff jumping in the cave where the reflecting light made the water so clear and blue. We didn't realize Oman had such natural beauty and can't wait to go back to explore more!

    We also enjoyed the hospitality of Mohamed and his friends who made us feel at home while we were there. We had a fun BBQ on the beach where we drank beers and grilled meat and fish to eat with pita and hummus; it was delicious!

    Although our time was short, we also managed to visit the The Royal Opera House of Oman which is a beautiful made building with precise detail carved in wood and marble, got to stroll the marina where we walked through the old souk and saw the king's 2 massive yachts and even enjoyed a pretty sunset on the beach.

    Just like many people we didn't know much about Oman but thanks to Mohamed we were introduced to a gem of a country that we know we'll visit again in the future!    Read more

  • MitchaRuMitchaRuAsia 2017

    Jaisalmer

    January 8, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We made it to India! 🇮🇳

    Coming to India played a large part of our second trip's itinerary as this is Mitch's first time here. Although Mitch has been immersed in the Indian culture over the years, seeing it first hand was definitely an experience we couldn't miss. We landed in Ahmedabad and got one day to recover from the busy Egypt, UAE and Oman schedule at my uncle's house where we'll spend some time later, however first we chose to do some sightseeing in the state of Rajasthan with my parents who decided to come to India as well.

    Our first stop was Jaisalmer a city close to the boarder of Pakistan known for its desert scenery and its position on the Silk Road. Merchants of the city traded spices, opium, nuts and much more to become very wealthy. One merchant in particular dominated the city's trading business and spent his money to create such detailed homes with hand crafted balconies typical to that region for him and his sons also known as a havelies. These were impressive to see for their beauty and unique architecture.

    Jaisalmer is also known for its fort like many other cities in India which were ruled by regional kings. This fort however is different in that it's still inhabited but not by the king! The city has given the fort to the local people to live in and it's occupied by homes, hotels, restaurants and shops. We got to walk around which was fun seeing a glimpse into the daily life of these people.

    However all this aside the most fascinating thing we learned about Jaisalmer was that it was only developed with electricity, water and roads in 1965! Although progress has been made since then there is a lot of work to be done in the city to bring it to modern times. Driving through small villages was interesting and eye opening to see how people still live in the year 2017. Many of these village people were definitely fascinated by Mitch as was Mitch of their roaming cows and sheep!    Read more

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