I am back home, trying to get myself together and write the my last travelletters.
I spend two more days in Egypt, driving around in the Sinai desert
which is very beautyful, enjoying the colorful mountains. I also
visited Mt. Sinai where Moses went mountaineering, and had a good
talk with the Lord. I didn't climb the mountain, I am too lazi
and I was also a little afraid that I could not pass the test,
if the Lord would question me in his laws (if he still lives there).
When ever I came to a roadblock the police/military was always asking me for my Egyptian license plate, but I didn't have any so I just made them note my U.S plate number 4891H. It was first when I got to the border to 1srael that the real fun started.
I must have made a "wrong turn" when I entered Egypt, so I missed all the vehicule circus on the entry. Luckyly they beleived me when I said that I didn't know that I had done anything wrong, and I had a receipt of the port-tax which I payed for me and the bike at the first check-point, the people there must have forgotten to check my license plate, when I first entered Egypt. But now the circus started, they phoned around and started to make papers for my Egyptian license plate and the insurance which I also needed, but to do all that they needed my Carnet - Well if you have followed my story you know that I don't have such a thing. Then I could not enter Egypt - OK I said, but I am my way out, but ofcourse I could not leave Egypt properly before I have been checked into Egypt properly, and that was impossible without a Carnet. After a few hour, and a lot of telephone calls, they finaly gave up and send me out of the country, with no extra payments.
In the parking area I saw a german Citroen Pony, which belonged to a Berliner who I first met in Ankara/Turkey, he was also trying to go to India without a Carnet, So he obivoously didn't make it into Iran, on the other hand he must have made it through Syria and Jordan before he was finally stopped at the Egyptian border. I have talked to others, who claims that it is possible to go through Syria and Jordan without a Carnet. So ofcourse I feel bad that I didn't try that myself.
If you like border crossing stories, I have histories about
Mexico/Guatemala on: http://www.lorenzen.us/peter/americas/950315-Antigua.html and Georgia/Azerbaijan on http://www.lorenzen.us/peter/middle-east/981116-georgia.html and Pakistan/Iran on http://www.lorenzen.us/peter/middle-east/981231-iran.html On my HOME-page I have this saying: "Do you never take any false turns ?" "No but I sometimes have to change my plans"This time it was the other way around, if had not taken the false turn my plans to visit Egypt would have failed ;-)
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Peter L. Petersen Hermodsgade 12 DK 9000 Aalborg DANMARK  (+45) 98 16 76 97  peter@lorenzen.usClick to try my home-page |