8/10/2019 Dusty trails

1/2

By NIKI CHEONGniki@thestar.com.my

THE bus carrying about 20 tourists fromMalaysia was barely half an hour awayfrom the Cairo International Airport in

Egypt when someone whispered excitedly,Look, its the Pyramids!.

Everyone on the bus turned to the right andthrough the dusty windows, started snappingpictures of the faint silhouette of the onlyremaining ancient wonder of the world.

Thus began the journey for eight peopleand their guests in Egypt, their reward forwinning the Nestle Drumstrick Roadtrip toEgypt competition.

The eight winners had previously enteredan SMS-based competition organised by the

ice-cream brand for the chance to win a six-night, nine-day trip to the north African coun-try.

It was the first visit to Egypt for all of theparticipants, but the excitement dissipated

through a long late-night flight. Still, anysense of lethargy from the journey disap-peared as they went trigger-happy with theircameras, trying to capture their first images ofthe Egyptian icon.

The participants of the trip continued thisenthusiasm for photo-taking throughout thetrip as they spent two nights each in Cairo,the Western Deserts, and in the ancient city ofLuxor.

Such was the excitement of the participantsduring the trip that Ganesh Venugopal, anavid-skateboarder, even lugged his boardacross the seas to skate in the desert.

The best moment of the trip for me waswhen they took us into the desert. I lovedevery moment of it and even got to skate-board along the long dusty road, said Ganesh.

The desert also made an impact on VanceHo from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.My best moment was when we first visit-

ed the white desert because at first sight, itlooked like a desert full of

snow, he shared.In the first two days, the

participants stayed at theBahariya Oasis, where theygot a chance to visit placeslike Black Mountain, wherethe desert is filled withancient balsatic flow, andCrystal Mountain, which isfilled with hydrothermalcrystals.

Besides the deserts, partic-ipants also went to see theGreat Pyramids of Giza and

the Sphinx in Cairo, as wellas the Karnak Temple inLuxor.

What set the trip apartfrom regular tours, though,were the adventures thatthe participants experi-enced.

Besides the hours offour-wheel driving in the

bumpy deserts, the partici-pants went on camel rides in the

T4 R.AGE STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2010

Dustytrails

SomeoftheparticipantsoftheNestleDrumstick:RoadtriptoEgypttrip

posingforaphotoattheLuxorTempleinEgypt.

Ganesh Venugopal shares apicture of himself skating ona road passing through theEl Baharya Oasis in theWestern Desert.

HngGaikHiisamusedash

eattemptsto

mummifyhisgirlfriendTe

eYeeWen.

A guide leading two camels across theWestern Deserts in Egypt as the sun sets.

8/10/2019 Dusty trails

2/2

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2010 R.AGE T5

pen desert, too. Whilemost of the camels

were led by a guide, aew more adventurousarticipants chose to hang on to the reins

hemselves and guide their camel around.This was an experience of a lifetime for

ome people, who saw it as another perfectpportunity for photo taking, using the Greatyramids as a backdrop for their shots.

However, one experience that is most firm-y etched into the minds of the participantsame on the second last day of the trip in the

wee hours of the morning in Luxor.All the whining and complaining of having

o wake up at 4am stopped the moment theyaw the hot air balloons.

Some of the participants, including8TVQuickiehost Prem, had to overcome their fear

f heights while taking a ride on the balloons.But for Vance, the view of the Valley of the

Kings, was worth getting over his fear ofheights. The valley features many of theombs of famed Egyption Kings including theegendary child-king King Tut.

This was my first time riding in a hot airalloon. As it got higher, I felt more excitedut also fearful, said Vance.

By the end of the trip, the early morningwake-up calls, long bus rides and physical

ctivities during the trip (including a race tomummify their partners in the fastest times part of a game planned after a history

session with an Egyptologist) had taken itstoll on the participants.

Still, they wouldnt have had it any otherway. And to think that university student ArifShahimi Ariffin almost didnt make it becausehe wanted to treat his parents to a holiday.

When I first found out that I won thecompetition, I wanted to let my parents go onthe trip together. But the competition rulesstated that the winner has to go on the trip,so I came with my father instead, heexplained.

By the end of it, Arif was glad for the

experience. He took home with him greatmemories, lots of photographs and heaps ofshopping from the many bazaars and shopsthe participants visited in the two cities.

As did everyone else.

q The Roadtrip to Egypt is the third competitionof this kind organised by Nestle Drumstick this

year, after South Africa and New Zealand. Thenext trip is to Palau. For details on how to win achance to go on that trip, log on to www.nestle.com.my/Drumstick. Contest ends Jan 9, 2011.

PhiloVooandher

ianceVanceHo

climbingoutofthehot

airballooninLuxor

duringtheNestle

DrumstickRoadtripto

Egypt.

Vance shares his picture of an aerial viewof Luxor city which he took while riding inthe hot air balloon.