Almost Been Kissed.. and other stories

Music: Creep by TLC

First of all, to Idd.. i cannot believe we were at Jeju the same time! oh well..

Didn't think anyone was reading this blog haha.

Anyway, this is gonna be an entry of all the weird shit i got from guys while I was in Egypt and Jordan.. I just finished a marathon of Dexter seasons 5,6,and 7.. So my brain is sorta fucked up now.. that show can do that to you..

Alright..

It was only my second day of the month-long trip.. I was exploring downtown Amman alone.. i didnt really have any plans... started in the morning.. so lets cut to the chase.. around 3pm or so.. after spending 1 hour at the local library and having lunch at the Roman Amphitheater.. I started wandering away from downtown.. when I realized some guy was following me.. he was watching me.. at first i thought i was being paranoid.. but when i saw he was always behind me.. stopping when i stopped.. walked when i walked.. i realized he was really following me.. i started walking faster.. made sure i was always next to the main road.. where there were many cars.. took some pics here and there like a tourist, just didnt want him to know that i was panicking a bit. whenever i turned a corner and he couldnt see me.. i will run a bit to make a head way.. didnt want him to know i was running.. finally lost him.. come to think of it, i shouldnt have acted as a tourist and tried to blend in as a local instead.. ok mental note.

walked some more for an hour.. just following the crowd.. some women.. turns out i sort of made a big circle and ended back in downtown.. another guy approached me.. he wasn't arab.. he told me he's korean-american.. a transfer student.. he seemed harmless.. we chat a bit.. then he brought me to student hangout area for foreign students.. felt safe there.. met 2 australians at a a coffee shop.. then the 4 of us decided to go to the Citadel.. then we went for a drink.. the korean-american, turns out he lived near where I was staying..nearby Jordan University.. when we were on the bus.. he started being weird... to cut the long story short.. he told me wanted to kiss me. on the lips. and he said that like, directly. can u imagine a 30 minute conversation of him trying to convince me to do just that. wtf right? i managed to dodge it.. he even said, i dont have to do anything (suggesting he'll do the work). HAHAHA. and this happened only on my second day..

nothing happened for the next 10 days since I was hanging out with Malaysian friends.. then we parted in Aqaba since i was gonna take a ferry to Nuweiba.. they left after lunch time.. in that duration since they left until i boarded the ferry (at 12.30 AM), two guys (met them separately), invited me to their homes..i declined of course.. one guy was a divorcee.. another guy was in his early twenties.. the younger guy actually forced me to dance with him.. and later tried to hug me and kiss me as well.. managed to dodge it as well.. at one point i was shouting already.. crazy right.

I reached Nuweiba around 8am the next morning.. and went straight to Dahab (see previous posts). there was a guy from a shop here who knew me.. well, he called me to his shop.. sometimes its just so hard to say no.. but i learned to be stronger when it comes to declining things and people as time goes by.. throughout the 18 days i was in Egypt.. This guy, since he knew my real name, he always called me whenever i pass by his shop.. when he found out i was married for 1 year already (i wore a fake wedding ring and already have a fake story that comes with it whenever people asked).. this guy told me he was going to get married soon in about 40 days.. after chatting a few times.. at one point, he told me to share with him my 'first night' experience.. wtf rightttttttt.. i said no and no and no.. and he would insist and insist... after a few days he left me alone when it was obvious that i started ignoring him... another shopkeeper, also in Dahab.. took my phone from me and called his phone.. so that he has my number. he kept calling me for the next whole week.. i always didnt answer, until one time he called me when I was with my friend's friend in Cairo.. my friend is Malaysian, stayed at his house, and his friend is Egyptian and he sorta became my tour guide while i was in Cairo.. he took the phone from me, and answered it.. they exchanged some pleasantries.. lol.. then the calls stopped.I didnt get bothered much in Cairo coz of Mr. Bodyguard.. i was also most of the time watching movies and series at home at my friend's apartment..

in Luxor, some shopkeeper tricked me into writing a 'love letter' to his 'girlfriend' in the UK.. i knew i was being tricked but i went along with it because i didnt want him to get too angry or anything.. said no to buying anything from his shop, except for 2 bottles of water.. which i needed anyway, and he finally let me go..
when i was in Aswan, a Nubian guy cooked me dinner on his felucca... a really nice guy... i wasn't afraid of him.. but he did suggest for me to marry him and be his second wife.. he said his wife wouldn't mind.. hahahahhaa. i suppose he thinks i am rich.. i did read some articles before, some Egyptians do have foreigner wives.. usually older and rich.. and single.. with permission from their Egyptian wife.. since life is so hard there now, its not easy to make a living in Egypt especially for people who depend on tourism as income all their life.. its a win-win situation.. the lonely older rich European women get their sex fix, while the Egyptian guys get money to support their real family.. crazy right..

On my second last day of the trip, I was in Alexandria alone.. this city is quite nice... a welcome change from Cairo.. i went to visit King Farouk's castle.. there is a huge park there.. i was walking along a road.. right next to the palace.. it was a public area..open space.. many people were around.. mostly families and couples.. but spread sparsely around the park.. i was snapping a picture of the palace.. which was on my right... from the corner of my eye i saw a red car which stopped next to the road.. the driver came out.. and crossed the road to the side where i was walking.. i didnt pay attention too much.. as i finished snapping the picture... i looked in front of me.. and this guy, the driver of the red car.. was in front of me.. with his stupid fucking ugly ass of a dick out of his pants.. his fucking hands on it.. and he was shaking it up and down.. while looking at me.. smiling.. WTF right!!! i know about flashers... but i didnt think it would happen to me in freakin' Egypt!!! i pretended i saw nothing, not even a flicker of expression or any response.. i walked past this asshole like nothing happened.. and went on snapping pictures.. i think i handled it quite well.. i didnt shout..not a sound came out from me.. i know these guys get thrilled if the girl freaks out.. sick mother fuckers..

Later, on the same day, i walked to Qaitbey Fort.. it was a walk along the sea.. and next to the main road.. and the stalker thing happened again.. this guy followed me for at least 20 minutes... i wasnt scared this time, it was next to a busy main road and he couldnt possibly do anything to me without attracting attention... when i walked, he walked.. when i walked fast.. he walked fast.. when i slowed down.. he slowed down.. when i stopped... he would walk past me... wait out front.. and when i walk pass him, he would start following me again.. it was obvious because he kept looking at me.. and he was talking on his phone the whole while... i was figuring out how to get rid of him.. and make him stop.. i saw a mother with her child sitting down by the pavement, watching the sea... i went to sit next to them.. smiled at the mother.. and did what they did.. i enjoyed the view.. took pictures.. the guy stopped nearby and continued talking on his phone while keeping his eyes on me.. then the mother and child left.. so i moved on.. a few minutes later saw a chinese couple... went to them and talked to them.. tourist to tourist.. started the usual conversation topics ive had with many other travelers. then i told them what was happening and made it obvious that i was pointing to the guy who was following me.. so that he saw i was pointing at him.. identifying him.. making others identify him.. actually i was hoping the chinese couple were walking to the fort as well so we could walk together, but they were going in the opposite direction.. anyway, the trick worked.. by the time we finished talking, the guy was out of sight.. gone..

so there you go.. the creeps i met.. other things like being touched.. on the shoulder.. my back.. on the hands.. and arms.. is normal.. the fact that i wore a tudung didnt stop these guys.. muslim or not.. im not an arab women so they think they can get away with it i suppose..

so there you go.. some personal stories of a foreign muslim woman traveling alone in Egypt and Jordan.. i was prepared.. so i wasn't that shocked.. but i was more shocked that i handled the situations better than i expected.. because of these experiences... i really don't encourage any woman to travel alone in Egypt especially.. if you think u cant handle these kinds things.. or scared.. or whatever.. however, i myself don't have any regrets..

and i'd like to quote what my professor thought of me, which he said to me some weeks back,

"I think you think that all men are stupid"

i just smiled and said, "no comment". HAHAHA. 

Under the Stars (Part 2)

Music: Try A Little Tenderness by Michael Buble

..continued from previous post

Walking at the Nabq mangrove area was pretty nice.. High Pitt, Biggy and I spent more than an hour there.. the feeling of the soft mud was amazing on my feet.. took some pictures.. High Pitt almost lost his camera (actually his university's camera) but we managed to find it again.. by the time we went back to our temporary roofless dwelling it was past 5pm, and our food was almost ready..

Cancun and Sweetie were already lying down on the makeshift carpet, taking a rest.. High Pitt went to join them and lied down beside Sweetie.. whereas Biggy and I took our spot next to our Bedouin guides.. waiting for food to be served.. the smell was soooo good and my stomach was already growling..

And then, all of a sudden.. Cancun was shouting and trying to hit High Pitt.. he actually punched High Pitt in the face... while shouting...

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY GIRLFRIEND???? YOU THINK I DIDN'T SEE YOU PUT YOUR HAND ON HER ASS??" (Actually he said more things... but basically that's the gist of it)

Sweetie was screaming.. "Oh my god... please stop!!! Stop it!!! Oh my god.. oh my god"

The bedouins quickly broke up the fight... "Its ok.. its ok... no problem here.. no problem... its ok"

Cancun finally said.. "I've never punched anyone before in my life! Oh my god that felt so good!"

and I was all the while watching the whole commotion from where I was sitting.. basically in awe of what was happening.. you see, I've never witnessed people literally fighting and punching before.. and I was also thinking how funny the situation was.. the whole day I noticed High Pitt was flirting with Sweetie.. lying down very close to her... whispering in her ears.. and stuff.. and she responded to him.. I guess Cancun just couldn't bare it anymore.. hahahaha

after that, Sweetie and Cancun went out of our camp site. to talk I guess.. High Pitt smiled sheepishly to the rest of us and said "Sorry about that" and Biggy had a 'I'm sorry it happened' expression on his face.. the Bedouins immediately served the food, and I started conversing with them like nothing happened... and the food was heavenly! by the time we finished eating, Sweetie and Cancun were still not back yet.. then High Pitt and Biggy went to walk by the beach.. and I stayed talking to Bedouins, drinking the delicious Egyptian tea.. and listening to the older Bedouin singing and playing a tune with a handmade guitar made of a tin, some sticks.. and steel strings..

Some minutes later, while the entertainment was ongoing, Sweetie and Cancun came back to eat, we left some food for them.. they said sorry.. I said, don't worry about it.. and we all just pretended nothing happened and talked like everything was normal..

When sunset was closing in, I went to sit with Biggy outside and we talked some more.. nothing much was said about the drama, but he did mention something along the lines of.. "It takes two to tango".. hahaha. Sweetie came to us later and profusely apologized to us... we brushed it off..

When it was already dark, we started packing up to go back to Dahab..I took a position at the back of the pickup truck such that I could lie down and face the sky.. and the view was simply amazing.. it was so dark, so quiet, the silence only broken by the truck's engine.. for 90 minutes, I was only watching the stars, while listening to Jason Mraz's latest album on my ipod.. it was one of the most amazing feelings I've ever experienced.. incredible really..

Although it wasn't the first time I've seen that many stars, in fact I've seen many more and even more amazing views when I was in Southern Australia.. but somehow the feeling was different.. it was more poignant, more meaningful.. I guess it had to do with me traveling alone.. and the many feelings that came with it throughout my trip.. I just cannot explain it really..

By the time we got back to Dahab, we said our goodbyes.. it was Biggy's and Sweetie's last night in Egypt.. I went to check in a new backpackers place for the night..

Two days later (the day before, I went to climb Mount Sinai aka Jabal Musa, so I didn't see High Pitt), I spent the whole day with High Pitt, he brought me to the Blue Hole on his recently repaired rented scooter.. while sitting on the small hill we hiked enjoy the view of the Blue Hole from a high point, we talked about what happened that day in Nabq.. what he felt, what really happened, why it happened etc.. he also asked whether I have Sweetie's contact details.. I did not... I made it a point to never suggest to keep in touch with any travelers I met, unless they suggest it themselves.. I'm ok with them being just fellow travelers that I've crossed paths with.

At one point, High Pitt said to me...

"Do you know what would be good thing to do right now?"

I sort of already guessed what he was gonna say.. but I didn't answer his question, I just looked sideways to him and gave a 'don't even think about it' look..

But he continued anyway and said, "Excuse me for being direct, but it would be really good to have sex here right now".

Hahahahahah shit. Out of reflex, I hit his legs.. and 5 minutes later, fearing that he might do something, I suggested we go down (where there were many people).. although if anything happened up there, I could scream and shout and people down by the beach will definitely hear me.. or I could kick him, and he would fall down the hill and could probably die or hurt himself really bad..

So we went down, walked to El Bells.. then drank some tea.. and drove back to Dahab, said our goodbyes.. and I left the next day, for Cairo.

Btw, why the nicknames?

High Pitt = he was high almost all the time, smoking weed.. and he also resembled Brad Pitt when he smiles.
Biggy = he was big, and his first name starts with the letter Y.
Cancun = he's the owner of a backpacker's hostel in Cancun, Mexico.
Sweetie = she is such a sweet, nice, pleasant girl.. and her sexy French accent is the icing on the cake.