Daring to plan for 2021

 It's been quite something with this corona virus! We had planned a lot for 2020, but had to cancel most of it. Luckily we could do our main trip to South Africa, just before the outbreak of corona. And the last weekend before the first lockdown we attended a concert of Ball & Boe in the London O2 Arena, with 20,000 spectators. 

The rest of the trips fell into the water. And then we thought of 2021. We planned a trip to Morocco for Easter, but already cancelled it too because the situation right now is still pretty bad and it doesn't look we'll go back to normal before summer.

So once more, a change in plans. At the moment we begin scheduling our trips from summer 2021 onwards. We may hope to be vaccinated by then, and the same it will be for most European countries. By the end of the year, all the population will have got its vaccination. We have booked hotels in France for the beginning of July - a few days in Paris and some more in Bordeaux. 

In August we have tickets for a musical in London - it normally should have been in August '20 but it was postponed. It looks like Ithis may be possible too. So a few days London mid August. 

Then in October another concert in Birmingham - also a postponed one. It's on a Friday, but that's no problem because Chris can arrange her work and take a day off if she wants. We'd leave on Thursday  night, head to London, and from there take the train to Birmingham.

At the end of October we have planned a week in Dubai. We got a great deal on the price of the hotel, and also the airline tickets are much cheaper than usual! We'll fly Emirates. 

And at the end of the year, we'll go to Mexico and Canada. This trip would originally take place in July, but we moved it to December because that will be safer. At the moment you can't enter Canada without going into quarantine. 

And because we're hopeless optimists, we're already thinkin ahead of 2022! A trip to Japan would be  nice, and we also think of Morocco and Lebanon. 

Let's hope we don't have to cancel these plans for the third time!!!

Edit

It's early March now, and what I wrote some time ago has changed once more! The trip to France is still on - we may expect we can travel by summer and that a great number of people will already be vaccinated by then.

But the concert in London for August has been postponed to 2022, so no trip to the UK in summer!

Dubai is also still on. Right now you only need a negative corona test to enter the UAE. So don't expect any problems there.

Unfortunately, the trip to Mexico and Canada has been cancelled. And been replaced by a trip to Finland and Estland. The plan is to fly from Brussels to Helsinki, then take a ferry to Tallinn and afterwards the return one to Helsinki. Will be cold in winter, but you can dress accordingly. Will order some thermal underwear just in case...

Egypt - Fayun oasis

Not too far from Cairo, you'll find the Fayun oasis (about a two hours' drive by car). Amid this oasis situates the national park of Wadi El-Rayan. You can reach this by 4x4, as you have to pass over high dunes and deep valleys. Quite an adventure, too!

One of the attractions of this national park is a recent find. Archeologists dug up the remains of prehistoric whales in Wadi El-Hitan. Some of them are nearly complete and well-kept. The goverment put up a small museum there on site, and then arranged a walking path that takes you along to view some of the remains. Very interesting, but don't do this in high summer, as it would be way too hot in the Sahara.

The whales are not the only interesting thing in this park. Driving along, we also went to see three mystery lakes. Nobody knows how they came to be there. Standing on top of a dune, you have the most magnificent panrorama over the entire area.

And there are the waterfalls. Agreed, not like the Niagra or Victoria falls, but anyway a pretty sight. Here at the waterfall you can take a rest, buy something to eat and drink and have a pick-nick.

Heading into the Sahara desert is really a good way of spending a day away from Cairo, especially if you are somewhat of the adventurous kind.

Egypt - Giza plateau and Sakkara

The biggest attraction of Egypt are the pyramids, that's for sure. Going way back in time, these timeless monuments still capture the imagination of everyone who visits.

Giza is not very far away from Cairo. By car it takes about half an hour (will depend on the traffic, though, it can be pretty busy on the road). You can buy a ticket to visit the pyramids. The cheapest one is just admittance to the terrain. A more expensive one will give you access to the inside of the pyramids.

Next to the three pyramids at Giza, there is also the Sun Boat museum. This was part of the burial ceremony of the ancient Egyptians. Although the outdoor view is very impressive, what Chris and I liked most was crawl (and I mean this literally) into Cheop's pyramid. Steep and narrow alleyways take you down into the inside of the pyramid, until you reach the burial chamber with the sarcophage.

Of course you can't miss the Sfinx as well, as he sits majectically before the pyramid of Cheops. The head of the lion is a resemblance of the pharaoh.

After our visit to the Giza plateau, we also rode to Sakkara (not very far as well) to see the step pyramid of Djoser.

There we could also enter the inside of the pyramid, where you can view well-kept wall paintings.

Egypt - Cairo

Here in Belgium, most tourists who travel to Egypt go to the seaside resorts on the Red Sea - soaking up the sun poolside. Not for us (I don't mind a bit of sunbathing, but can't do it all day), so we decided to head to Cairo.

Based in a great hotel (Conrad Cairo) we managed to fill our days with interesting excursions. On our first day, after having arrived the previous evening, we met our guide Youssef in the hotel lobby. That guy (he works for Tours by Locals) is really a jewel. Sympathetic, kind, willing to please you all the way. He was going to show us Old Cairo that day. The first item on the agenda was the visit to the Egyptian Museum. Now you must know that the Egyptian government is building a new museum near the pyramids, and it will open soon. Henceforth, a lot of artefacts have already been moved to their new spot. But the museum contains so much antiquities that is is still worth a visit.

We took our time walking around and seeing as much as possible. After this visit Youssef took us to the Saladin citadel and mosque. It is possible to enter the mosque, even when you are not muslim. We put on shawls (although it is not obliged) as a token of respect. We always carry light shawls in our handbag, because you frrequently need them (for instance, when entering churches in Italy). Beautiful architecture!

Later on, we also went to the Hanging Church (it actually balances on the remains of the old wall around Cairo) where the Holy Family found refuge after their flight to Egypt. This is a Coptic monument. And we also visited a synagogue. You see, many religions present here in this town.

To finalise our day, we walked along the old city walls, where lots of vendors and stalls are present and made it quite busy. We never felt threatened or unsafe, though. The Egyptians are not so much hooked on robbing you, but only ask for a tip when they do something for you.

What is terrible, is the traffic in town! I don't know how it is possible, but the cars just go where they like, it seems. And wonder above all, we didn't see any road accident on all our rides through it. Must be organised chaos.

Planning 2020 finalised, already thinking of 2021

By now, our planning for the upcoming trips this year is complete. We always like to plan well ahead, with the option of being able to cancel without loss of money. Costs a bit more, but is worth the extra!

We'll start by a weekend away in our own country, Belgium. We are going to stay in Antwerp, the town where our grandma was born. We like it there a lot and know all the good places.

Next comes a longer trip to South Africa. We'll be based in Cape Town and from there we are going to explore the cape and the winelands. No need for a safari, as we have already done that years ago in Kenya.

This will be followed by two city trips, one to Barcelona in Spain and the other once more to Antwerp.

In summer we'll spend some time in Italy (Milan) and the UK (London). Then in autumn it's going to Birmingham and finally to Qatar (Doha).

For next year we don't have any finalised plans as yet, but there is a high possibility we'll be going to Morocco and also to Cuba. The rest will be filled in as the year goes...