My best birthday ever
Isaac P. Benedict X 'B'
I could not really sleep well on the night of 25th April, 2008, I was so excited, for, in a few hours my family and I had to leave home to the airport. I was about to make my maiden flight!
On arriving at the airport, my dad announced it was the first time he had come to this part of the Chennai airport to board a flight, for we were at the Anna International terminal to take our flight to Cairo, Egypt.
We first flew to Bahrain and from there to Cairo. I thoroughly enjoyed my flight, the in-flight food could have been better though. On arriving at Cairo International airport, I started the video camera running, my dad had given me that responsibility. Cairo city has many fly-over bridges, and one fly-over went on for almost 20 minutes. We crossed the river Nile two or three times. The Nile looked really really clean, our own Cooum and the Adyar rivers can never be compared.
Later that afternoon, our group of 29 pilgrims (on a pilgrimage to Egypt, Israel and Jordan) went for a "cruise" in the Nile. The Nile is not only a long river but also very broad. Taking a break from filming, I listened to my favourite music on my dad's mobile phone. After the boat ride, we were taken to the Khan-e-khaily market for souvenir shopping. I had my first Turkish coffee here, eeks! our south Indian filter coffee is the best anywhere in the world! Tired after the hectic shopping, I went to bed soon after dinner.
And then the big day arrived, 27th April, my birthday! My dad and mom came over to my hotel room early in the morning to wish me and pray for me. My grandfather blessed me and gave me some money, I wish he had given me US Dollars. I was happy when my parents gave me birthday gifts, which they had hidden from me while packing our bags. But I was sad too, because no cousins of mine could be present to share my joy.
The breakfast I had that morning, my first continental breakfast outside the country, was a lavish spread. There was so much meat on the buffet table and I piled up my plate with sausages, salami and egg omelette.
Our first place of visit was The Pyramids at Giza. It was awesome to look at the Pyramids and touch the stones. Our Egyptian tour guide Mr. Sayed gave interesting details about the precision and planning, and the hard labour that its builders had to go through to build this marvelous Wonder of the Ancient world. We took a few photos with the Pyramids in the background. Next we went to see The Sphinx, which also is built with stones and has the face of a man and body of a lion. Seeing the Sphinx with its broken nose reminded me of the comic "Asterix and Cleopatra" in which Obelix accidentally breaks its nose.
Though there was no birthday cake, my parents had brought some milk sweets, which I distributed to my fellow pilgrims in the tourist bus. When they learnt that it was my birthday they started singing "Happy birthday." The Egyptian bus driver and tour guide liked the Indian sweets and wanted more of it, they wished me well too. We had lunch in a restaurant built like a boat on the bank of the river Nile. Here too the food was fantastic. With the visit to the Sphinx, our "secular" part of the tour ended and the pilgrimage started.
Later in the afternoon we visited Elim, where Prophet Moses got good water for the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt. Our next stop was at the Red Sea, which was parted in two so that the Israelites could cross it like on dry ground. Unlike the Marina in Chennai, the shore here has pebbles. We couldn't stay here for long, the sun was setting and we had to move on. Our next place of visit was to be the Mount Sinai where God gave mankind the Ten Commandments.
We reached the foothills of Mount Sinai late at night. After dinner I went to bed, I had to rest and get energised for the trek up Mount Sinai in a few hours. With that my 14th birthday got over. It is one birthday that I'll never forget in my life.
I thank my God, Lord Jesus Christ for giving me this wonderful birthday gift.
Isaac P. Benedict X 'B'
I could not really sleep well on the night of 25th April, 2008, I was so excited, for, in a few hours my family and I had to leave home to the airport. I was about to make my maiden flight!
On arriving at the airport, my dad announced it was the first time he had come to this part of the Chennai airport to board a flight, for we were at the Anna International terminal to take our flight to Cairo, Egypt.
We first flew to Bahrain and from there to Cairo. I thoroughly enjoyed my flight, the in-flight food could have been better though. On arriving at Cairo International airport, I started the video camera running, my dad had given me that responsibility. Cairo city has many fly-over bridges, and one fly-over went on for almost 20 minutes. We crossed the river Nile two or three times. The Nile looked really really clean, our own Cooum and the Adyar rivers can never be compared.
Later that afternoon, our group of 29 pilgrims (on a pilgrimage to Egypt, Israel and Jordan) went for a "cruise" in the Nile. The Nile is not only a long river but also very broad. Taking a break from filming, I listened to my favourite music on my dad's mobile phone. After the boat ride, we were taken to the Khan-e-khaily market for souvenir shopping. I had my first Turkish coffee here, eeks! our south Indian filter coffee is the best anywhere in the world! Tired after the hectic shopping, I went to bed soon after dinner.
And then the big day arrived, 27th April, my birthday! My dad and mom came over to my hotel room early in the morning to wish me and pray for me. My grandfather blessed me and gave me some money, I wish he had given me US Dollars. I was happy when my parents gave me birthday gifts, which they had hidden from me while packing our bags. But I was sad too, because no cousins of mine could be present to share my joy.
The breakfast I had that morning, my first continental breakfast outside the country, was a lavish spread. There was so much meat on the buffet table and I piled up my plate with sausages, salami and egg omelette.
Our first place of visit was The Pyramids at Giza. It was awesome to look at the Pyramids and touch the stones. Our Egyptian tour guide Mr. Sayed gave interesting details about the precision and planning, and the hard labour that its builders had to go through to build this marvelous Wonder of the Ancient world. We took a few photos with the Pyramids in the background. Next we went to see The Sphinx, which also is built with stones and has the face of a man and body of a lion. Seeing the Sphinx with its broken nose reminded me of the comic "Asterix and Cleopatra" in which Obelix accidentally breaks its nose.
Though there was no birthday cake, my parents had brought some milk sweets, which I distributed to my fellow pilgrims in the tourist bus. When they learnt that it was my birthday they started singing "Happy birthday." The Egyptian bus driver and tour guide liked the Indian sweets and wanted more of it, they wished me well too. We had lunch in a restaurant built like a boat on the bank of the river Nile. Here too the food was fantastic. With the visit to the Sphinx, our "secular" part of the tour ended and the pilgrimage started.
Later in the afternoon we visited Elim, where Prophet Moses got good water for the Israelites on their exodus from Egypt. Our next stop was at the Red Sea, which was parted in two so that the Israelites could cross it like on dry ground. Unlike the Marina in Chennai, the shore here has pebbles. We couldn't stay here for long, the sun was setting and we had to move on. Our next place of visit was to be the Mount Sinai where God gave mankind the Ten Commandments.
We reached the foothills of Mount Sinai late at night. After dinner I went to bed, I had to rest and get energised for the trek up Mount Sinai in a few hours. With that my 14th birthday got over. It is one birthday that I'll never forget in my life.
I thank my God, Lord Jesus Christ for giving me this wonderful birthday gift.
(At the Bahrain Airport Transit lounge)
(Me listening to music-cruise in the Nile)
(Our family photo, with The Great Pyramids in the background)
3 comments:
Great Isaac (Rajappa!) I really do enjoy reading your writing and the vivid description. God bless you.. Wish you a very happy birthday Isaac! God's Choicest blessings on you this year and the years to come..
Suchi athai
Hi Isaac! (Rajappa) I really do enjoy reading your articles.. God bless you... Isaac wish you a very happy birthday.. may this year be a very blessed year for you and the rest of the family.. enjoy yourself and have a great birthday. love Suchi athai
Hi Issac, Many More Happy Returns of your Birthday! May God bless you and make you a blessing to many! I like your "chella peru" Peter Annan..Rajappa! Nice name. Have a good night's rest! God bless! Appreciate your passion for the Lord.
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