TRAVELING WITH THE SUPERTHING: March 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Charitable organization for Yemen

National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms HOOD Charity Profile

Hood is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization. It was established in 1998 by lawyers, people working in the media, and MPs, all of whom are activists in human rights issues and the law. Hood is considered one of the first frontline organizations working to defend human rights in Yemen.Hood's main goal is first to report all kinds of violations of human rights. It then defends victims of these violations by offering free legal help and helping to bring the perpetrators to justice.

7th day in Yemen

AAAW my last day in yemen! I wanted to do something fun but I still needed to be on time for the plane so I went somewhere I could just look around, nothing to get to, nothing special to see, just a big market filled with tasty foods! Also I would like to get a little present for my mommy! The first thing I saw was the huge archway into the market area. It was amazing I wish we had amazing stuff like that in santa barbara. Anyways I walked under the big archway and into the market place. Once inside I was constantly being hassled by men and women who wanted me to buy their products. My first stop was at a stand where they sold meat testers, I chose a small piece of rib! After that I just wandered around until I saw a jewelry store, I though that a necklace would make a great present for my mom. I looked at all the jewelry at the stand but none of them looked right and they were all WAY too expensive! So I took my money and continued looking around. A few minutes later I saw another jewelry store. This one had very low prices but all the jewelry looked like poop. I stepped away from that stand and looked some more... I WAS RUNNING OUT OF TIME! I was about to turn back when I spotted one last jewelry stand. I ran over being careful not to hit anyone, and immediately saw the perfect necklace. It was a light turquoise rock shaped like a teardrop hanging on

the end of a long silver chain. It was beautiful! I bought the necklace and sprinted back to the cab and

yelled "STEP ON IT!" like I have always wanted to. I turned out to be early for my flight so I decided to go

across the street to a small... I think it was a restaurant? There they had dancing and music. Sadly I could

only stay for a little bit because my plane was boarding soon. I left the restaurant place and walked across

street. That was the last I would see of Yemen, the place I had come to love so much.

Friday, March 12, 2010

6th day in Yemen

I was extremely excited to see the crater! I had never seen a crater before so I didn't know what to expect! Once I was dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and TONS of sunscreen! A rushed out the door and hopped into a cab. On the way we passed by a lot of interesting people and a lot more interesting houses. When we finally reached the parking lot for the trail to see the BIG CRATER I hopped right out of the car and ran (for a few minutes, then walked) up to the stairs. This staircase was HUGE and I didn't actually think I would make it (with all my running and everything!) I started to make my way up the long stairway and on maybe my fifth or sixth stair... I looked down! It was then I realized, I am deathly afraid of heights. I turned my eyes back to the wobbly stairway took a deep breath and just RAN, I galloped up those stairs like there was no tomorrow! And when I made it to the top I was amazed by the gigantic gaping hole in this mountain! When I looked back at what I had just accomplished (the hike up the stairs) I felt very accomplished and I held my head up high! Once I had seen enough I slowly climbed back onto the ladder and... RAN DOWN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE! After that I was quite tired so I walked the rest of the way back to the parking lot. Oh but I didn't mention how very HOT it was, I was panting the moment I got out of the car! Anyways I quickly got back into the taxi (so to not let the cold air out) and we got back at about eight o'clock at night. I then had dinner and went to bed!

2nd day in Yemen!

I woke up with the sun and packed up my gear and hiked down to the beach. The captain of the ferry I was about to board had sent a crew member in a dingy to pick me up. I hopped in the small boat and we zoomed away, once we arrived at the boat we climbed up a big black ladder to get to the POOP DECK. Once on the boat I took a seat at a table inside. I had a plate of stewed beef shank REALLY TASTY! When I was done (and VERY full) I set off looking for the wheel because I thought maybe the captain would let me steer. When I finally found him I realized that I didn't have any idea how to say "Hi can I steer you ship for a few minutes?" I decided I would just stand by the side of the ship and watch the waves pass by. We arrived in Yemen a while later and I immediately jumped into a taxi and checked into my hotel. Then I got back into the taxi (wet suit in hand). The hairy taxi man dropped me off at the beach where I then put on my wet suit and my snorkeling gear. Now I was making my way (backwards) into the ocean. My first step into the water was RIDICULOUSLY cold! I figured the water would be warm but I didn't think that the water would still be warming up from winter. Luckily my wet suit was very thick so I got over the sting of the icy water. Sadly since the water was soooo cold I couldn't stay in for long. Just as I was swimming back to the shore I saw a flash of black and white, once I got home I looked it up and found that it was called a Long-Fin Bannerfish. Anyways I swam in and dried off then went home (to my hotel) and had a really good dinner, I think it was called bint al-sahn after that I got in bed and fell right to sleep!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

preview

Today to the MOSQUE!!! I got a ride... BLUH BLUH BLUH aaaaand... I ARRIVED! I walked through the doorway and looked around! Then a few minutes later I jumped back into the taxi and was driven to the castle (this I was MUCH more excited for!) When I first saw the building I thought I was having an illusion! This castle is actually placed on the very top of a large rock! I sat in the dust and took a few pictures! On my way out I stopped by the gift shop. The most surprising thing in the gift shop was that they had a snow globe of the castle perched on the cliff. I took one last look at the amazing castle then I got back into the taxi and the taxi driver drove me back to my hotel.

3rd day in Yemen

AGAIN, I woke up with the sun (obviously) I stepped out of my tent into the brisk morning air. I checked for "ants" down at the river thing, NONE YET! I searched my bag and found one remaining candy bar (thank god for my skills of OVER packing) in which I gobbled up! I waited for about an hour before checking for people down at the swimming hole. Aaaaaaaand YES it looked like a family of yemen's were splashing around in the FREEZING water. I stuffed my tent back into my bag and practically fell back down the steep mountain/hill. When I reached the bottom the mother of the family ran up to me thinking I had been lost in the mountains for WEEKS because suposedly I was kinda dusty and my hair was kinda CRAZY! Thankfully the father spoke some english and I was able to tell him my story and ask for a ride back down to town! He said sure... I think? Anyways they showed me the way to there car and dropped me off in town, making sure I had a ride and plenty of money. I finally got back to the hotel and I climbed into bed and took a nap for a few hours. After that I left again to do what I had planned for the day. Hopefully today wouldn't be SO exciting. The National Museum was fun aaaaaaaand BORING sooooooo boring! Just a little bit too un-exciting! So I wasted time by running through the halls and sliding on the marble floor! Sure I hit (and broke) a few statues but they can be glued! And at least I got out of it alright, I could have gotten hit by a peice of shattered MARBLE! After that little incident I decided that I would just go and find a good park to play in or something. I wasted about 30 american dollars on taxi's driving around and ended up not actually finding a playground. But by that time it was the end of the day and time for me to return to my hotel room. That night I ate another bowl of some strange kind of soup that I couldn't find the name of anywhere! And I slept VERY confortabley in my nice soft CLEAN well, semi clean, hotel bed.

3rd day in Yemen

I woke up at about lunch time (my first good sleep since I arrived there). And got dressed, put on LOTS of sunscreen, and packed my bag full of candy, crackers, and some SHARP cheddar. I left the hotel and got a ride to the bottom of the road that lead up the mountain and over the side. Now all I had to do was find someone to drive me OVER the first mountain on the bumpy dirt trail. LUCKILY someone pulled over as soon as I raised my thumb. Because it was SO HOT out that I am certain I would have shriveled up into a dry heep of dust within moments. I sat SILENT for the first part but I started getting bored so I asked a woman sitting in the front seat what her name was (in arabic). No one answered, they were probably surprised that I could speak to them because all I saw was a quick glance between the two of them. A while later the woman answered "Ameera". After the awkward silence I decided not to talk anymore! We got to the bottom of THAT hill and we came to a giant river thing. I hopped out of the car just before it sped away, a big gray cloud of dust trailing behind. I skipped down to the GIANT pool of water and decided the best way across was to swim. I dived into the shallow wadable water and doggy paddled all the way across (for dramatic effect). I reached the other side stood up and started on my way up a small hill, the small hill soon turned into a large hill, then a small mountain, than a LARGE MOUNTAIN! When I finally reached the top I realized the sun was beginning to go down and I had no way of getting home! Let alone enough time before dark to get back down the mountain! As I had learned in school I decided to stay calm, set up my tent I just happened to have with me and eat all my snacks I had in my bag. By the time the sun was just perching on the top of the mountains I was FREAKING OUT! I had never done ANYTHING like this!!! But I knew that everything would be ok as long as I stayed warm and in my tent. I watched the sun set and all the people (who looked like ants from where I was) slowly disapear. After the sun had set and everything had gone quiet I realized this was JUST like camping! Since I couldn't see anything I decided I would just go to sleep. I would guess that when I finally fell asleep it was about one or two in the morning. But at least I made it through the night!!!

1st day in Yemen

For my first day in Yemen! I got to stay on the Socotra Islands, where I would be camping for the night. I was picked up from the airport by a taxi, and driven to the dock where I was greeted by the ferry. Usually people just go there by air plane but I wanted to use gravity for as long as possible. Theride was long bumpy and not so much fun, but at least I had a chance to enjoy some of the 211 species of birds... and almost 211 different kinds of bird POOP! Anyways we arrived at the island a certain amount of time later (I asked someone how long the boat ride was but they answered in arabic so I didn't really know. I would guess about an hour maybe hour and a half. We were almost to the beach when the captain turned off the motor! I looked at him with a half confused face and half if we crash I will kill you face. He then pointed out that two men were pulling a big, yellow, rubber boat out of the storage compartment and I thought how am I supposed to drive this in to shore!!! I got in WITH a helper and we glided over the water towards the island. I was super excited "What fun things did they have in store for me!" When we hit sand I grabbed my fully packed backpack and stepped out then walked up the beach and over to the side walk. The side walk led to a street which led to three or four stores and ONE was the information building. I walked in and grabbed a pamflet and stepped back out. The directions said to walk down the street and turn up the trail, that led to a mountain trail that was right next to a cliff right off the ocean! I hiked about a mile and then got tired of that trail so I turned up a trail that curled around the hill and ended up at the top. On one side I had a stunning view of the rest of the island and on the other side the wide open ocean! The view was beautiful but I needed to walk hike back down and find a campsite so I had enough time to set up my tent. I ate dinner and went to bed!

7 things to do in Yemen!

1. Hike and camp in the Socotra Islands.

2. Go diving in the Arabian Seas.

3. Hike Hadda Mountains and visit some old villages

4. Take a tour at the National Museum in Dar al-Shukr.

5. Go to the mosque in Rawdha built by Ahmed ibn al-Qasim.

Also see the Rawdha Castle.

6. Aden! to see Crater

7. 1,000 year old Bab al-Yemen Market.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Middle East

Jordan: Camping out under the stars at Wadi Rum.

Kuwait: Public gardens in Al-Ahmadi.

Lebanon: Ruins of Byblos.

Oman: Exploring the archaeological sites around Salalah.

Palestine: Swimming in the natural spring of Wadi Qelt.

Qatar: Going to the Aquarium in the Qatar National Museum in

Doha.

United Arab Emirates: Riding camels at the Al-Maha Desert Resort.

Yemen: Try some tea scented with cardamom!

Bahrain: Watch the local weavers work in the village of Bani Jamrah.

Egypt: Snorkeling in the Red Sea.

Iran: Drink chay tea in front of the sunset in Emam Khomeini Square, Esfahan

Iraq: Visit the hanging gardens of Babylon/ maybe

experience a dust storm. Also try some soft drinks

made from rose petals or orange blossoms.

(Sounds tasty)

Israel: Hulu valley & Nature Reserve and maybe swelter in the heat

a little too!

Flight and Money exchange for Yemen

Money exchange for Yemen

Currency

Yemeni Riyal (YER) = 100 fils. Notes are in denominations of YER1,000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and 20. Coins are in denominations of YER10, 5 and 1.

Currency Exchange

Local currency can easily be reconverted at banks, bureaux de change and hotels. US Dollars in cash are the easiest convertible currency.

Credit/Debit Cards and ATMs

Cards generally have limited acceptance; American Express and Diners Club are the most widely accepted. There are very few ATMs.

Traveller's Cheques

Can be exchanged at some banks and hotels. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller's cheques in Pounds Sterling.

Currency Restrictions

Restrictions apply.

Banking Hours

Sat-Wed 0830-1200, Thurs 0800-1130.

Exchange Rate Indicators

Date	Apr 09
£1.00=	YER299.04
$1.00=	YER200.20
€1.00=	YER265.32

Translation to arabic

Words and Phrases in Arabic

April - Nisan, Abreel

August - Ab, Aghustus

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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