Some people’s preferred way of travel is by cruise or group tour. Neither fit my bill. When I travel, I prefer to be able to rove at will with two or three friends or go it alone. My days are long, usually from blue hour to sunset plus star gazing. My requirements for accommodation are very simple: Clean room with shower and beds but at a desired locations. It usually took couple weeks to plan my trip. I like to get off the beaten paths to explore local cultures and hidden treasures.

I booked a thermal hotel in Pamukkale away from the tourist hot spots to take advantage of the thermal spring. We stayed in a hotel with panoramic view of the Pyramids in Giza instead of staying in Cairo. I picked a hill top Cave hotel with Jacuzzi and fireplace in Cappadocia overlooking the town. All three hotels have the special features which we have to pay extra for. However, In Wadi Rum I finally decided to ditch the expensive dome and go with the basic Bedouin camp. It is a more realistic way to experience the local culture. Working with the operating family directly also allowed me to tailor the itinerary the way I wanted. In Luxor, I choose to stay in a family run farm style B&B in the west bank instead of the east bank where most tourists stay. I got to experience their way of life and interacted with members of a big family. I also got to see the inside of their house in addition to their two rooms open air school and outdoor bread oven. These were some of the travel experiences I cherished.

When I travel, I like to hike as much as possible. It is the only way to real comprehend the majesties of the landscape. We were the only hikers to the panoramic view point in the Giza pyramids. All the others either rode the camels or horses. We were also the only hikers in some of the Cappadocia trails. The underground city near Cappadocia is both fascinating and intriguing. However, most of the tour buses don’t go there because it couldn’t accommodate large crowd. You need to be there before any crowd come in because a lot of the low and narrow tunnels are one way. Habu Temple in west bank never came up on the radar during my planning stage. It isn’t on most of the tour operator’s itinerary either. We were grateful that our host insisted us on going there. It is the best temple we have visited although it might not be historically as significant as Karnat and Luxor Temple.