Category: Travel

We’ve been promised three days of pristine beaches, snorkeling and encounters with the endangered Dugong (a marine mammal related to manatees). The bus is loud with chat and laughter. Organizers pass out water, chocolate and blue pins that say, ‘I am an Egyptian Adventurer.”

Many of the students weren’t familiar with Marsa Alam. “I never thought I’d be here,” a couple of them told me on Day 2 of our itinerary, after we’d toured Qulaan’s mangroves and lunched on grilled fish.

For many Egyptians, vacations mean popular destinations at home like Alexandria, or trendy tourist havens abroad. Foreigners, on the other hand, often see Marsa Alam as a tiny resort town where life revolves around scuba diving.

This three-day trip to Marsa Alam would be an eye-opener. Organized by tour agency Footloose Egypt, it’s one of many offerings that have put Egypt’s lesser-known wonders on many bucket lists.

1. Footloose Egypt

When Footloose organized its first trip to Marsa Alam, only about 20 people signed up because nobody knew much about the destination, says Sherif Fawzy, co-founder and CEO. But word of that trip – and Instagram-worthy beach photos – spread quickly on social media. The company’s second trip to Marsa Alam (which I joined in 2016) had a packed bus of 45 people.

“We’re no Greece, but we’re better,” organizers had enticed on the trip’s Facebook event page. “Proof? Our Marsa Alam’s shore Hankorab is listed as the 13th most beautiful shore worldwide.”

Footloose has since grown quickly among young people as a reputable and affordable tour agency perfect for youth, backpackers or solo travelers.

To date, Footloose has taken some 4,500 travellers of 36 nationalities to trips around Sinai, and offered off-the-beaten-path itineraries like stargazing in Wadi el Hitan, yoga in Ras Sidr and backpacking in Luxor. They also offer private tours, and packages for schools and organizations.

And while major travel agencies are concerned with bringing tourism back to Egypt, and convincing visitors that it’s safe, smaller agencies like Footloose are brainstorming new destinations and “trying to combine different cities in a way that’s never been offered before,” Fawzy says.

During my three days in Marsa Alam with Footloose, we snorkel, spot the illusive Dugong, dive and shop at Port Ghalib. The jam-packed itinerary includes a photographer who chronicles each episode for social media.

I return home tired yet refreshed. Others were similarly inspired, says organizer Lavinia Sawires. There were those who’ve conquered their fear of heights, or those with asthma who’ve climbed mountains.

“When we first started, on the very first trip we went to different hotels and camps, and we were the only ones there. We were the only ones in Nuweiba, and in Ras Shitan,” Fawzy says. “On our 10th trip to Wadi Hitan, we had 900 people on Facebook in four days saying they were interested in going.”

2. Cairo D-Tour

Downtown Cairo isn’t on many tourist itineraries. My first visit to Cairo included a few hours in the famous souq of Khan el Khalili and a visit to the Egyptian Museum.

I only started exploring downtown after I moved to Egypt. And I didn’t know about Cairo’s rich modern history until I explored it with a tour guide. There are no plaques on historic buildings, cinemas or squares to make a self-guided tour easy.

Cairo D-Tour is a free guided walk held every Friday morning when the city is quiet. Lead by tour guide Ahmad Al-Bindari, the tour goes through the city’s famous squares, like Tahrir, heritage sites and old cinemas that showed the Egyptian films that became famous in the Arab world.

You’ll see the Egyptian stock exchange on a sidestreet lined with potted plants, Cafe Riche, where revolutionaries once gathered to plot against the British occupation, and the Yacoubian Building, the setting for Alaa Al-Aswany’s infamous novel depicting homosexuality.

But I love how the tour goes beyond the iconic sites to offer insights into modern Cairo life. There’s a stop at the hip cafe Kafein, bar El Horryia (my favorite spot for a beer on a hot afternoon), and bookstores, theaters and art galleries.

In an age of emboldened racism and stereotypes, it’s crucial to get realistic looks at people’s real lives, joys and struggles – and to go beyond the typical postcard views.

3. Walk like an Egyptian

Cairo’s City of the Dead is a dense Islamic necropolis where people live and work “amongst the dead.” Founded in 642, it’s the final resting place for generations of rulers, royalty and conquerors. It’s also home to Egyptians who moved to the capital in the 1960s and couldn’t find affordable housing.

During my first trip to Egypt, our guide said in a hushed voice that people there live among the tombs. A mysterious, impoverished district tinged with eeriness and danger.

But the City of the Dead is also the signature tour of Walk Like an Egyptian, a tour guide dedicated to uncovering Egypt’s hidden gems.

I joined this tour and found plenty of historic tombs. But I also discovered a bustling district full of street art and glass blowing workshops full of beautiful vases and lamps.

I also toured the Mosque of Ibn Tulun with the group’s founder Asmaa. The itinerary included a stop for an authentic Egyptian breakfast and a ride in a tuk-tuk. The guides were informative and spoke insightfully about Egyptian life to give visitors an authentic experience without the tourist cliches.

4. Mosaic club

Tour Guide Muhammad Zeineddin doesn’t have a marketing department. He markets his initiative Mosaic Club – which offers city tours, trips and cultural exchanges – solely on social media.

Social media has also made researching new destinations much easier, Zeineddin says. Even the smallest towns have their own Wikipedia pages.

And Mosaic Club offers trips you won’t find elsewhere.

Last year, Zeineddin lead a “Banknote Tour” around Cairo that hit an array of mosques found on Egyptian banknotes. Tours of little-explored museums like the Abdeen Palace have also proved popular, Zeineddin says.

The Mosaic Club’s cultural exchange events also give Egyptians an opportunity to experience new cultures. Zeineddin’s posts on volunteer work or scholarships abroad get thousands of shares and inspire many to travel.

Expats and foreigners both love the tours as a safe and hassle-free way to explore lesser known parts of Egypt.

“Egypt needs to promote itself outside of the desert and camels stereotypes,” Zeineddin says. “Tour agencies need to offer more variety. They need to give people something more interesting – because we have a lot of competition.”

Courtesy: Vanillapapers.net

Monitoring Desk

BANGKOK: When Han Wang moved to Bangkok eight years ago, one of the first things he noticed was the coffee.

Unlike the delicate light roasts and well-balanced flat whites Wang learned to appreciate while attending college in Australia, everything seemed “too sweet or bitter to even consider swallowing.” Starbucks had been a major player since opening its first shops in the country in 1998; its robust dark roasts and cloying Frappuccinos were as ubiquitous as the equally strong, sugary iced coffee (a.k.a. oliang) that had long been a staple of Thailand’s shophouses and market stalls.

Bangkok, a city of over 8 million that’s quietly becoming the craft coffee capital of Asia.Sutthipong Kongtrakool/Getty Images

Wang wasn’t about to give up on finding a truly great cup, though. Having recently witnessed the rise of third-wave coffee in Taiwan — Wang did a stint in Taipei before relocating to Bangkok — the Malaysian-born entrepreneur was convinced he could spark a similar movement in one of Southeast Asia’s most progressive cities. So he set his psychology degree aside and launched Phil Coffee Co. in an industrial neighborhood, with the help of his father and two sisters. Wang didn’t rush into running a cafe, instead focusing on his roasting techniques and wholesale accounts for the first three years. Eventually, the team set up Phil’s flagship shop in Bangkok’s fashionable Ekkamai neighborhood.

Roots, another coffee company in Bangkok that embraces a “farm to cup” model.Courtesy of Roots

He wasn’t alone. Around the same time, other influential Bangkok outposts like One Ounce For Onion, Rocket Coffeebar, and Casa Lapin began attracting hip locals with elaborate pour-over setups, Western-style small plates, and bottles of cold brew for beating the heat and humidity. One leading figure during these early days was Roots, a heavyweight roaster that also happens to run one of the hottest brunch spots in town, Roast.

“A lot has changed in recent years,” says Roots founder Varatt Vichit-Vadakan. “Thailand is probably the only country in the world that has a well-developed consumer market — loads of specialty coffee shops in its big cities — while also being a coffee-producing country.”

That’s the other welcome development that’s driven Bangkok’s desire for craft coffee: forward-thinking farms in Northern Thailand, putting the country on a path to becoming a world-renowned single origin region. It’s got a ways to go before it starts exporting the good stuff, however, so local roasteries like Brave Roasters, Gallery Drip, and Factory Coffee are still the best place to sample and score Thai beans that are produced and packaged in-house. “A lot of local players are seeing what they can do to improve the quality,” explains Vichit-Vadakan, “and experiment with different flavor profiles. It’s quite an exciting time — it won’t be long before the world turns its attention to specialty grade Asian coffee.”

“Our beans from

[the village of]

Baan Mai Pattana are carefully hand-picked at peak ripeness to maximize their natural sweetness,” Wang tells me, when asked about his favorite Thai farms. “And our processing is as simple as it gets, so people can taste coffee in its purest form.”

Roast Runner is another Bangkok-based small business determined to bring Thailand on par with coffee producers like Colombia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Founded by three high-school friends — including one (Waruth Tangsuriyapaisan) who competed in last month’s World Cup Tasters Championship — it roasts high quality beans from the lush region around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai for a devoted cult following and cafes, restaurants, and hotels throughout the city.

Partner Tanatat Sombutphanich, who designs all of the company’s brightly colored bags himself, says he particularly likes the beans grown near the Laos border by Gem Forest Coffee. “The owner, Kaleb Jordan, is a nice American guy who knows everything about processing,” says Sombutphanich. “Southeast Asian coffee often tastes very similar to Brazil’s — nutty and chocolatey, with notes of spices or herbs. But some exceptional coffee, like Kaleb’s Java, are more complex and have floral and fruity aromas.”

Despite this groundswell of determined startups, coffee-nerd culture is still a few years away from becoming a mainstream commodity. A quick scan of Facebook and Instagram reveals a more stylized market, on par with trend-chasers in Tokyo, L.A., and New York. Just as important as the coffee itself are aesthetically pleasing spaces and photogenic drink specials like lattes cut with salted egg syrup (Eureka), purple sweet potatoes (Roastology), and butterfly pea flowers (Blue Whale). “The camera comes first,” as Sombutphanich puts it. “Some customers visit cafes simply because they’re good for taking photos, not because they’re serious about coffee.”

There are still spaces for purists, though, with laid-back spots like Ekkamai’s Kaizen Coffee Co — one of Wang’s favorites. 

“I am not a fan of fancy drinks,” he says. “I don’t serve them. To me, they’re a distraction. Maybe that’s why I think highly of Kaizen; they find a good balance between quality coffee and fancy drinks. They made it work for themselves and the customer.”

May they never have to make a triple-venti-half-sweet-non-fat-caramel macchiato again.

RABAT (BBC): Hundreds of Moroccans have attended a vigil in the capital Rabat for two Scandinavian tourists found murdered in the Atlas mountains on Monday.

Holding signs saying “sorry”, they gathered to remember Maren Ueland, 28, and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, at the embassies of Norway and Denmark.

On Friday Norwegian police said a video appearing to show one of the tourists being beheaded was likely to be real.

Four suspects aged between 25 and 33 have been arrested.

They pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video made last week, police said. In the video, they said the murders were revenge for events in Syria.

Nine more arrests were made on Thursday and Friday for suspected links to the perpetrators, Moroccan officials said.

Hundreds more people attended a vigil in the southern village of Imlil, near where the women’s bodies were found, and flowers were also laid in the city of Marrakesh.

Who were the victims?

Ms Jespersen, who was 24 and from Denmark, and 28-year-old Norwegian Ms Ueland had been studying outdoor activities at the University of Southeastern Norway.

They had arrived on a month-long holiday in Morocco on 9 December and had travelled to the foothills of Mount Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak, 10km (6 miles) from Imlil.

Their bodies were found in their tent.

Both women had taken full precautions ahead of their trip, Maren Ueland’s mother said.

Monitoring Desk

LONDON: VisitEngland’s Christmas Trip Tracker Survey released today shows that more than 13 million Brits (26 per cent) are planning an overnight trip in the UK during the Christmas and New Year period, bringing an estimated £2.6 billion boost to the economy.

The figures show an increase on last year’s results when 10.3 million Brits (20 per cent) planned to take an overnight trip in the UK during the festive season.

Tourism minister, Michael Ellis, said: “It is excellent news that communities and businesses across the UK will see a festive tourism boost this Christmas.

“The UK’s tourism offer is very strong with brilliant things to do and places to see, and I encourage everyone to go out and explore our beautiful country.”

Popular seasonal activities Brits plan to do include going out for a meal (43 per cent) shopping at post-Christmas sales (37 per cent) and visiting a Christmas market (31 per cent).

VisitEngland director, Patricia Yates, said: “It is great that so many of us are planning to take a domestic trip during the festive period, boosting the UK economy through tourism.

“From seasonal experiences visiting Christmas markets to enjoying year-round attractions such as walks in the countryside and dining out in restaurants, destinations across the country are tempting Brits to explore beyond their doorstep.”

Of those surveyed, younger people are more likely to spend money at seasonal shopping events, with 45 per cent of 16-to-24-year olds planning to shop at post-Christmas sales and 49 per cent planning to visit a Christmas market.

Among those definitely planning an overnight trip in England, 40 per cent are planning on taking two or more trips during the festive period.

The survey also shows that 11 per cent of Brits have yet to decide if they will take an overnight trip in England during the festive season.

Tourism is worth £127 billion annually to the UK economy, creating jobs and boosting economic growth across its nations and region.