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Here I am back in Paris!  Tomorrow I leave for London for the weekend and then my flight back to America.

Last night I decide to cruise through the Red Light District here in Amsterdam and check it out.  For those of you that don’t know, prositution is legal in Amsterdam and there is an area where women advertise themselves in these windows lit by a red light.  So I’m walking and I’m noticing something.  Some of the girls are beckoning me to come to them while some as they see me just look away or turn around completely.  This made me wonder and I, being the curious person I am, decide to investigate.  I decide to approach one that won’t even look at me.  I go up to the window of this really attractive, tall, young, blonde and she just starts shaking her head as to say no and waves me away with her hand.  WOW.  I then decide to ask one of the other girls what’s going on.   I go up to the window of one that seems more welcoming and ask her why the other girl down there rejected me.  She tells me that alot of the girls won’t take black men.  She says that there have been some problems in the past with black men being too aggressive with them or not wanting to pay.  At this point I’m thinking “hmmm, so u mean to tell me that there haven’t been any incidents with white men doing the same thing?  Not even, one?.”  I really find that hard to believe as I believe that there are aggressive, abusive, and cheap men amongst all ethnicities.  Why is it that black men are automatically attached these stigmas when one of us do these things?

As I’m walking back to my hotel room there are a lot things going through my mind.  Why is it in a city that seems to be very ethnic-friendly as there are tons of different nationalities here that there is still this racism?  It’s shameful that some people still pass judgement on entire races simply because of the actions of a few.  I’ve had problems with people of all different races but I don’t have this mentality about a particular race.  Even when I was in Egypt, where I was harassed by many Egyptians, I never passed judgement on the whole of the people.  I understand that people have their preference and women are free to chose who they want but why discriminate on the basis of skin color?  Why is my characther pre-judged because of the color of my skin?  I’m a good guy who has never abused a woman in any way, whether it be physically or emotionally.  I believe that women are precious and should be treated with respect and love.  Maybe if any one of these girls sat down and had a conversation with me they would see that.  But on the same token maybe all they have to go on are appearances and past history.  Anyway, I could write a book on this subject and probably will if I don’t stop now.  I just wanted to shed light to this subject because there is nowhere else on the internet that is discussing this, which is also a shame in my opinion.  But, then again, that is what this site is all about.  I’m here to shed light on subjects that other travel blogs tend to shy away from.  I’m here to report on a REAL travel experience, not just one with the usual tourist highlights.

Sound familiar?  Check out my other post HERE

July 1, 2009 – 9:45am (Germany Time)

I’m on the train to Amsterdam after spending 2 days relaxing in Berlin. Luckily, the cold that I had developed was very mild and I’m in the recovery process. I wasn’t really worried though as I never get sick for more than 3 days. But I am disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to do and see more in Berlin. Berlin is a very vibrant city full of energy and positive young people. Another thing that struck me about Berlin and Germany in general is that things there are very efficient. I swear the city runs like a well oiled machine. It is a big difference from the chaos of Rome and Cairo. Yesterday I went to get on the escalator and it wasn’t moving so I figured that maybe it was just turned off. So I go to start walking up it and it starts moving as soon as I step on it. Later, I realize that it operates off of a sensor that determines whether it should move or not. Wow, what a concept in energy conservation! I never have seen anything like that in America. Also traveling on the train through Germany you see many wind turbines (I think that’s what they are called) that harness the power of the wind for energy. Once again, a very rare sight in America, and I have driven from coast to coast.

I did get a chance to experience the legendary Berlin night life last night though. One of the guys at the hotel desk recommended that I go to this nightclub called Sophie as it was the only one that had any kind of dancing going on that night. He said it would be best for me to just take the train a couple of stops down and it would take me right to the club district but after getting to the train station everything was in German and I couldn’t figure out which train I was supposed to take. So I hopped in a cab and I was on my way. The cab driver didn’t speak English either so I showed him on the map where I wanted to go and we agreed on a price to get me there. He dropped me off in the middle of the club district. By this time it’s about midnight, but I wasn’t worried because the parties don’t start in Berlin until about 1am anyway and go on until the sun comes up. After asking a couple of people where this club Sophie is I was able to find it. It was 3 euro to get in which isn’t bad and beers were about 2.50 euro a piece. So I’m in there chillin by myself at a table and I see a couple of German guys come in and they are looking at me. I figured I probably looked out of place being the only black person in the club, LOL. I give one of them the head nod and he comes over to me so I say to him “What’s Up?” He shakes my hand, mutters something in German and heads to the bar. As the club starts getting packed more and more people are hitting the dance floor. The DJ is playing a blend of techno, retro, and house music. Next thing I know, the same guy from before comes and sits down right next to me and starts speaking in German. I tell him that I don’t really understand what he is saying and ask him if he speaks English. He says, “a little”. He’s really drunk and continues speaking to me in German with a few English sentences thrown in. I find out that he’s not from Berlin, but a different part of Germany and he’s there with his friends to party. He then starts motioning to the dance floor and says “you like partyyyyy?” I say yes and figured he wants me to go with him to the dance floor and dance with some of the women. We hit the dance floor and I notice one other black person in the club, a young woman. She sees me and immediately gives me a smile and we do a salute with our beverages. I find out she’s there from France and is living in Berlin now, but she’s originally from the Ivory Coast in Africa. The night goes on with lots of dancing, drinking, and the guy telling me that I’m his best friend now. It was funny because every time I saw him after that he comes up to me and says “you are best friend for me, you are my cousin” and gives me a big hug and shakes my hand. After a fun-filled night I hop in another cab and head back to my hotel. Now here I am on the train on the way to Amsterdam. Amsterdam again, I wonder what it will have in store for me this time.

Currently I’m in Berlin nursing what I hope will be a very mild cold. My throat is sore and my body aches. Therefore, I’m going to take it easy today and tonight. I might hit a bar late tonight depending on how I feel. The hotel that I’m staying in is in very close proximity to the Berlin Wall. It’s only about 3 minutes away. Here are some pics, enjoy!

June 29, 2009 – 7:58am (Germany Time)

As I was on the train from Rome to Munich I met a young girl named Sonia. She was on her way to Venice for work and we talked for a couple of hours in what I’d have to describe as one of the most difficult conversations I’ve ever had. LOL. She spoke very little English so every other sentence I had to break out the Italian-English dictionary for certain words she was saying that didn’t make sense to me and vice versa. We were in a couchette compartment with 4 other people inside as well as a lady that was occupying one of the seats out in the hallway.

As the night progressed and people were starting to fall asleep and a peaceful silence blanketed the train. But not for long though. Two compartments down we heard a lady screaming and whole lot of ruckus. The lady that was sitting in the hallway had this terrified look on her face as she rushed to get into our compartment to escape whatever violence was happening in the other compartment. I then go to investigate what’s going on and I see a guy standing out in the hallway with blood dripping from his face, head and eyes. He was an older guy, maybe in his 60’s. I go up to him to see what happened, then turn to look into the compartment and I see a young guy sitting there with his girlfriend on his lap trying to calm him down. He had a look on his face that he was ready to kill someone. By this time everyone is out of their compartments and people are coming to the old man’s aide. Everyone is talking in Italian so I have no idea what is going on. The only thing that I could imagine was that the old guy was trying to talk to the younger guy’s girlfriend and he got jealous. It didn’t make much sense to me but that’s the only thing I could think of. Later on we find out that the young couple was smoking in the cabin and the older guy asked them not to smoke. I guess the younger guy had a different opinion and decided to attack the man.

When we reached the next train station the police came in and took the attacker off the train after doing an informal investigation. The girl I was talking to also got off because she realized that she was on the wrong train and needed to take a different one. The night after that was pretty non-eventful as people shook off the shock from the brawl and fell back into their slumber. What a night to remember, LOL.

Here is a video I took at the pyramids with one of the scam artists who try to take you for all you have.  This guy took my ticket as soon as I got to the entrance of the pyramids and then claimed he worked for the Egyptian Government and it was his job to show me around.  Afterwords he tried everything in the book from camel rides, horse rides, and eventually inviting me back to his house to smoke marijuana and drink whiskey with him.  I saw right through the guy tho.

June 27, 2009 – 1:14pm (Rome, Italy Time)

Well, I finally made it back to Rome after 3 days in Cairo. Although Cairo was an amazing place I have to say that I’m happy to get out of there. After 3 days of 100+ degree weather with dirt and sand in your eyes, 80+ degrees in Rome feels nice and cool. My skin didn’t seem to mind the heat in Egypt though. Before I left people were telling me that I needed to get some kind of sun screen but I didn’t seem to have a problem. Walking around in the desert was a little uncomfortable but I didn’t burn at all. I went out to the local disco here in Italy last night and it was kind of fun. I just wanted to go out, relax and dance with the beautiful Italian women but honestly, their attitudes aren’t much different than American women when it comes to the club scene. I would actually say that they are even worse. I’ve never been to a club where I was so rejected on the dance floor. I think I must have tried to dance with everyone but only 1 or 2 would actually dance with me. LOL. And I wasn’t trying to get any phone numbers or take anyone home, just wanted to dance. But the girls just wanted to dance with each other or the guy friends they came with. Oh well, that whole idea that European women are so much more open and accepting is out the window, I guess. Well, at least when it comes to me.

This morning I went to the train station and made a reservation to Berlin for tomorrow night. I think I will spend 2 days there and 2 days back in Amsterdam. Then I’ll go to London for the weekend before heading home. On the way from the train station I saw a guy selling sunglasses on the sidewalk so I went up to him to inquire about how much he was charging for them. He then says to me, “One minute please” and assists a young woman that walked up 2 minutes AFTER me. He helps her try on the sunglasses and sells her a pair. After helping her he comes back to me and asks me which ones I want. Very annoyed I said to him, “No thanks. I was here first, but you helped her instead. I don’t want your sunglasses!” I then start walking down the street and he’s running after me saying, “Friend! Buddy! Come back!” When he finally is able to catch me he says, “I charged the woman 10 Euro but I’m only charging you 5 Euro…that is why I told you to wait because I didn’t want her to see how much I was charging you. I charge her 10 Euro because she is white. But I was going to give you the non-tourist price.” LOL. Ahhhhh. I said, “Okay, I see now.” Then he says, “I like people like you because you have the same kind of skin as me (I find out he is from Beirut). You are my friends, my brothers.” Hahahah. I then picked out the sunglasses I wanted and paid the 5 Euro. Thinking back on the whole incident, I do remember him charging the girl 10 Euro so it wasn’t like he was trying to get over on me. All I can say is WOW.

June 26, 2009 – 12:50pm (Egyptian Time)
I have missed my flight out of Cairo to Italy. I thought that my flight was leaving at 12pm but realized at the last minute it was 11am. I showed up at the airport at 10:15am and the guy told me that I could not get the flight because I had to be there an hour in advance. So after being given the run around, being told to go from place to place, and hassled by the locals trying to sell cab rides or even get paid for giving me information, I had to buy a different ticket for a flight that leaves at 5pm. The ticket cost me $335.00. This trip is truly breaking me financially.

I spent the night in downtown Cairo and stayed at the Ramses Hilton Hotel. It’s a pretty nice hotel, although it doesn’t have the charm of the Mena House Oberoi. I went to the Egyptian Museum and was able to see all the ancient artifacts. I saw things like the royal mummies, King Tut’s mask, statues, and sarcophaguses . I was able to get a few shots of the perimeter but they don’t allow anyone to take pictures inside. Walking through the museum gave me a feeling that I was bearing witness to the departure of a great civilization, a civilization mimicked countless times by the civilizations of today. The Egyptians were a strong, proud and prosperous people of many different shades. From light tan to pitch black I get the sense that they lived together in harmony. Much like Egypt today, aside from the poverty and opportunism, there is a feeling that people here of different colors and religions are one. In conversation with so many different Egyptians I was told that they felt that I was a part of them because we shared the same skin. Lots of them were even more hospitable to me even after they discovered that I was not Egyptian. The bellman at the hotel made sure I got a good price for my cab ride to the airport because he said “you have a face like mine…an Egyptian face”. And during the cab ride the cab driver sung many praises of his love for people of color and how he felt we were all united. This definitely inspired me because I get tired of seeing different cultures always fighting amongst each other…especially minorities in America. I think that we need to stop trying to pinpoint our differences and focus more on realizing our similarities. And not just minorities, I think this is the responsibility of ALL people in the world. Once we do that, the world will be a much better place.

Also, I’d like to add that there is much love for Obama here in Egypt. Everywhere I go when I tell them I am American they respond with OBAMA! LOL. In the words of the cab driver I was riding with, “Obama good, Bush bad!!”

June 24, 2009 – 5:16pm (Egyptian Time)

I just got back to my room from seeing the great Pyramids. How should I describe this place? First and foremost I think that before you die it is definitely a sight to behold. The sheer magnificence of them and the fact that it took thousands of men countless hours to build should hold you in awe. There is the great Pyramid of Giza and the other one beside it (sorry, I forgot the name of it) as well as smaller pyramids behind it and burial grounds. I say again, you MUST see them, touch them, and experience one of the great wonders of the world!

Now for the bad part… Walking up to the pyramids is an exercise in vigilance. There are people all along the way that call out to you as if you are carrion and they are hungry vultures. They are offering camel rides, horse rides, souvenirs, etc. And trust me, they can be very aggressive. The price to get in is 60 Egyptian Pounds for adults ($10.71 USD) and 30 Egyptian Pounds for students ($5.36 USD). After paying for my ticket I went inside and there was a guy that asked me for my ticket and said that he worked for the Egyptian Government. He said that it was his job to show me around. Of course, I didn’t believe him but he showed me some kind of document that looked legit so I went around with him as he was telling me the story of ancient Egypt. I still didn’t trust the guy though. We walked around to the different sites. He tried to get me onto the camels, horses, into the tombs, etc… but I refused to go anywhere with this guy but outside on the perimeter. After many attempts (he even offered me to his house to smoke hash and drink with him) he gave up. He asked me for a tip and I gave him about 20 Egyptian Pounds ($3.57 USD) for trying and I was on my way checking things out alone. There are Egyptian Tourist Police everywhere so I decided to get a picture with them. They even had me climb up on the stones which are not allowed so they could take pictures of me. After the pictures even they asked for tips. LOL. After walking off I was approached by a young boy on a camel who asked me to take his picture. I took his picture and he asked if he could see it. I showed it to him and then he offered to take mine. Now, normally I wouldn’t have given him my camera but since we were out in the open and there were lots of people there I figured what the hell. He lowers the camel and says he is going to take a picture of me while it is sitting down. For the record, I am an advocate of animal rights so I was not going to ride this camel. I think it’s terrible the way they treat these animals and force them to carry around people in the hot desert sun. You can tell just from looking at them that they are abused daily. But I figured what was the harm in just sitting on the camel while it was sitting down. In the back of my mind I’m thinking if this guy gestures for this camel to stand up while I’m sitting on it I’m going to jump right off. So I get on the camel and sure enough he says “UP” and the camel starts to rise. I jump off just in the knick of time, run up to the guy and snatch my camera from him. I walked off pissed as hell with a sore arm and a bruised groin. After shaking it off I walk around taking more pictures and a guy comes up to me and gives me something. He says that it’s free of charge. I say okay and take it and walk away. He then starts offering more stuff and asks for money. I throw him a 20 Egyptian Pound just so he can leave me alone and he tries to take 30. By then I’m PISSED. I look the guy straight in the eye and say NO almost at the top of my lungs. He then leaves me alone…

I think that it’s absolutely pitiful that one of the greatest wonders of the world has been reduced to a real life spam box. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, imagine the internet was real life and everywhere you went you were confronted by people making you offers right in front of your face. Selling you things and offering you things free with a catch. Get the picture? I think if the great pharaohs were alive today this would not be happening. The tourist police are just as crooked. I’m sure they won’t let you get hurt physically but when it comes to people aggressively hassling you for their merchandise or services, they pretty much turn a blind eye. The Egyptian government should do something about this. Better yet, people should complain to the government that this be stopped. I’m actually thinking about writing a letter to them. But until then, if you go there learn from my mistakes. If they are going to be aggressive with you, be aggressive right back. It doesn’t pay to be nice at the pyramids!

It’s funny but everywhere I go people are thinking that I’m Egyptian.  From my understanding there are 2 different kinds of Egyptians…ones with lighter skin and ones with darker skin.  I went into a local souvenir shop and the shopkeeper said when he first looked at me he thought I was Egyptian.  Apparantly there is a great brotherhood between the lighter and darker skinned ones here.  Another shopkeeper at the Papyrus Museum told me that he considers people with dark skin as good luck.  I dunno if that was just his way to sell me stuff or not, LOL.  Also, they all love Obama here and claim to have a great admiration for America.  I’m quite enjoying my time here and the people are nice and helpful once you seperate the ones that are just trying to sell you whatever they can and the ones that truly mean it.  I was told that it’s not good to get a tour guide for the pyramids, but to just walk up to the government offices by the pyramid and you can book a horse or camel ride to the pyramids from there.  I will go and do that later as my hotel is only a 5 minute walk from the pyramids.

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