Sinai

Sinai, my favorite place in Egypt. My German friends own a camp on the coast , 50km from the borders with Israel, it's the perfect place to go and enjoy some peaceful time, electricity is switched off at midnight, so enjoy the stars and the glowing fish in the sea.

 Wake up early and enjoy breakfast before you jump in for snorkeling, and in the evenings enjoy dinner prepared by Ricarda.

 It's so amazing when you hiking through the mountains of Sinai along the coast, you can actually see 4 countries at the same time; Egypt-Israel-Jordan-Saudi Arabia, all joining into the gulf of Aqaba...

It's very well known that if you live in Sinai, you'll have to establish a good relationship with the bedouins (natives) of Sinai, lately there have been several tourist kidnapping incidents by bedouins, demanding the release of some of their tribesmen by the Egyptian police.

Revolution

January 25th 2011, a day when Egyptians gathered in Tahrir sq. to protest against the brutality of the police forces, which turned ugly when the security forces used live ammo and started shooting the peaceful protestors, and reached its worst on January 28th, a day that can not be forgotten, i was woken up to a police van caught on fire undearneat my building, didn't bother putting the fire out to be honest, i believed they deserved it.

Mobile networks were off, internet was disconnected of all Egypt. All i could do from then until the ousting of Mubarak on February 11th was going every night with my friend to smoke a shisha in a cafe, which was pretty relaxing.

So, the protests against the police have turned into a revolution against the entire government, everyone including Liberals & religious extremists were hand in hand in tahrir sq.

** Malaysia **

Arrived to Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia, took a long time to find a way into the city because Taxis are not allowed to pick up anyone from the airport for some reason...

 And just like any other GMUN, lots of work during the day, and lots of fun at nights.

Vietnam

 As soon as i arrived to passport control at the airport in Vietnam, the immigration officer didn't know what Egypt was, so i was sent to the chief of the airport and interrogated for a while, probably no other Egyptian has set foot on this land before.

I was warned that Vietnamese people are not friendly at all, however i've learned not to pay attention to false generalizations, in fact; i've met many great, friendly locals in Vietnam who had a lot to offer.

Ride your way through Vietnam

Fort in Hue'

HaLong Bay

One of the most beautiful parts in Vietnam is Halong bay in the north, where i took a trip on one of the ships through the bay that contained thousands of islands and spent the night on the ship, each tourist had his/her own room on the ship, which was pretty nice actually.

Cool thing about Vietnam, is that you can pay around $40-45 for an "open tour ticket" which allows u to get on a sleeping bus anytime anyday you want, and you can move through Vietnam city by city along the coast.

**Laos**

Laos, one of the most beautiful countries you could ever go to, i've never seen such simplicity or beauty of nature, or such an un-touched land as i would describe, the only downside is moving by bus in Laos, it took me 16 hours to drive 200km, buses go really slow at a speed of 20km/h cuz of the steep hills & bumpy roads.

Luang Prabang

Jumping into one of the Kung-si Waterfalls

Kung Si waterfall

Thailand '10

Rafting in Chiang Mai

Bangkok

It's been a year already since i've left Bangkok with its crazy nightlife, so i'm there now and all i could think of first, "other than the ping-pong show" is heading to Kao San area, where all bagpackers stay, and have some good Thai street food.

Doi Sutep Temple in Chiang Mai

Decided to go north to Chiang Mai, where true nature takes its form, very nice old town with simple buildings, booked a safari to go hiking and swimming by the waterfalls, then went rafting which was one of the most amazing experiences ever.

U.N in Kenya

I was vice-chairing General Assembly's 1st committee in "Africa International MUN" in Nairobi, which was out of doubt, the most funded and well prepared simulation compared to other ones i've joined before in Africa, two of my best friends who have also attended GMUN in Geneva, were actually the ones who established AIMUN 2010

It was really exciting when i've arrived to the U.N African headquarters in Nairobi,Kenya...

I've met some great new people in the conference, and some great old ones as well whom i've known for a while...