(Day 327) February 2005. It all began with a humble domestic flight across the country from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. By the time I returned home in January 2006, I had set foot on five continents and about two dozen countries. A trip of a lifetime, well worth the time and effort, eye-opening, rewarding, and a bunch of other things as well, but most of all, unforgettable.

(Day 326) If, for the sum of Eฃ10, I can move from a hotel with stained walls and low water pressure to something a bit more luxurious, I think it's worth the upgrade. After all, it was my last day in Egypt, and essentially my last day of travel.

(Day 325) It totally goes against my character, but I don't trust anyone in Egypt, particularly in Cairo. Tourists are the target of so many scams that I question the motive of anyone who approaches me. In a perfect world, everyone would be well off and visitors here wouldn't be seen as money growing trees ripe for the picking. And even though the price of being scammed isn't all that high, it still does leave a sour taste in your mouth.

(Day 324) The early morning commotion from new arrivals preparing to visit Abu Simbel woke me, but after the noise died down, I had no problems falling back asleep. My day wouldn't begin until they got back - at nearly noon - because of trouble finding the dude who had our train tickets.

(Day 323) It's easy to see where Ramses II gets his megalomaniacal reputation. The warrior pharaoh raised monuments to the ultimate glory of himself everywhere. English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley tried cutting the presumptious ruler down to size, mocking the 'shattered visage' that lies next to 'two vast and trunkless legs of stone' at his funerary temple. (Sadly, I wouldn't get the chance to visit the Ramesseum.) If Ramses II mummy were ever animated though, I can just imagine his response: No doubt, he'd point at his works at Abu Simbel and say, "Well? What do you think of that?"

(Day 322) Cruise management went around telling guests how much tip was expected from everyone. In my opinion, service hadn't warranted one, plus I was quite confident food on board had made me ill. Therefore, I thought I was being pretty generous when I left something anyways.

(Day 321) I think I had a slight fever, my stomach hurt, and the night before, I threw up in the toilet. Immediately after waking up, I had take a shit, and the rest of last night's dinner came out in a torrent of loose stool. Yes, I was afflicted with the curse of the pharaohs, which had unleashed its fury in the worst of ways.

(Day 320) I was up a few minutes before 7:00, a few minutes before anyone in America rang in the new year. 2006 was already seven hours old for me, yet those back home were still partying and drinking, waiting for the Big Apple to drop. This little tidbit wasn't lost on me as packed away my clothes.

(Day 319) "So what exactly are we waiting for?"

"Our bus isn't here yet," answered Tess, a woman from London sitting next to me. "You must not have been in Egypt long, you didn't really expect us to be leaving on time, did you?"

"Only three days. And I was sort of hoping we were." I mean, they had told us 7:00am, and everyone was downstairs waiting by then. This didn't bode well for the rest of the tour. A ten minute delay I could understand, but one of nearly an hour?

(Day 318) So I signed up for this package where all my activities for the next week are pre-arranged for me. It's a pretty mindless way of traveling. I don't have to look for accomodation, transportation to all the sights is taken care of. Other than deciding what to eat and what to drink, my brain shouldn't be taxed all that much.

(Day 317) Our driver was again waiting for us in the lobby, ready to do our bidding. Except he probably had a better idea of what to see than we did. Basically, we'd be going wherever he took us.

(Day 316) Having an accurate perspective on time can be tricky. I mean, what exactly is 'old'? Moldy oranges in my refrigerator are 'old', my parents are 'old', an antique from the American Revolution is 'old'. A piece of work from the Renaissance is even 'older', as is an artifact from the Dark Ages. Time has a way of glorifying things - oftentimes, the longer something has stood, the more compelling it becomes - and this simple test has definately added to the geometric splendour of the Egyptian pyramids.

(Day 315) I received an email this morning from Meri and Allie. Someone had found my backpack at Ephesus (Efes), including my notebook with their email addresses written inside. Allie had forwarded me the message she received, which included a name and cell phone number of a person to contact. This was a nice surprise. Though I had gotten accustomed to life with its replacement, and expected never to see the original again, it was worth placing a call to see if getting it back was possible.

(Day 314) To give credit where it's due, I never would've considered coming to Safranbolu had it not been for Warren's suggestion. Instead, I would've still been in Istanbul, wondering what to do, and missing out on what would be my favorite experience in Turkey.