"I was no longer stressed. Instead the sea of drifting sand gave me inner peace -- a peace so perfect, I knew only God could bestow."
I was supposed to venture out to the "White Desert" to admire the mushroom-shaped limestone formations.
I heard about the legendary white limestone cake icing that glows surreal and mysterious in the faint moonlight.
Further, I was told that I would be camping out with other backpackers from different parts of the world. This sounded like a lot fun thing to me -- camping in an unfamiliar landscape with people I don't know, but hopefully get to know before the night was over.
The long and stuffy 5-hour bus ride from Cairo to the Baharia Desert was hot, dusty and massively disconcerting.
Since I was traveling by myself to an unknown location, I had no idea who, if anybody, would meet me at my final destination, some 300 km from Cairo.
The thought did cross my mind that there would be no one, and I would be left fending for myself, in an unfamiliar land. I didn't even have enough Egyptian pound to buy me a hot dinner, let alone a place to stay.
This was definitely Going on Faith. Someone told me this was something I had to do. I wouldn't find out until the next day, the full reason why.
Five hours later, when the bus made a big stop, and everyone got out, I suddenly started to feel really lonely. The idea that I would be spending the night alone in the shifting sands of this mysterious desert became more and more real. Finally, I breathed a massive sigh of relief when the bus turned into its last stop, and thankfully my welcomed destination: Ahmed's Safari Camp.
I was immediately relieved to see Ahmed. My guide, Mahmoud, then drove me around for over an hour and showed me different spots around Baharia that were beautiful and picturesque.
View Bahariya Oasis in a larger map
Then all of a sudden, Mahmoud stops in the middle of this sand dune. I ask him what he was doing. "We stop here," he said. We camp here for the night."
I reminded Mahmoud that I intended to visit the legendary white desert. I surely did not ride on a van for 5 hours just to sleep on a sand dune by myself.
After making a phone call, I discovered that there was never any intention of taking me to the White Desert. The hostel manager, Omar, just wanted to swindle my money and have me camp out on a sand dune instead.
At first, I was rather disappointed -- I had no desire to spend the night on a sand dune alone with my guide.
But as the night wore on, I started to think differently.
As the crescent moon rose bright and strong, it flooded the surrounding desert with a beautiful moonlight -- so graceful and tranquil, I felt at peace. It was quiet, deathly quiet -- the only noise was the weeping of the wind over the fine, desert sand.
For a moment, I felt like I was marooned on a desert isle. The experience -- completely peaceful and carthatic.
It was then that I realized that was no better place to be than in Egypt's Western Desert and live the simple camping life of the ancient Egyptians, surrounded by sand dunes.
I couldn't help but start to reflect on my life, my story and the lessons I have learned. I thought about my family, my beginnings, why I was here and what the future held for me and my loved ones.
What started out as a lie to trick me to believing that I would be camping with other people in the legendary White Desert became a golden opportunity to revitalize, reflect and renew.
I knew that this was the right place to be -- it was no accident that I would be alone on a sand dune with nothing on the agenda dune but to think and reflect.
What was truly amazing was that for some reason that night, I felt totally at peace. Despite staying in hectic Cairo, my blood was no longer boiling; I was no longer stressed. Instead the sea of drifting sand gave me inner peace -- a peace so perfect, I knew only God could bestow.
Soon, it was past midnight. I gracefully fell asleep in the sand, so comfortable, it felt like a sea of soft, white goose feathers. Suddenly I was jolted awake. A 4x4 Land Rover came roaring up the sand dunes trying to climb it, only a couple hundred feet from crushing my lifeless body. Somehow, it just couldn't muster enough steam. The jeep was not really that close to hitting me, either, but it was close enough to jolt me up as I wondered whether I was simply lucky, blessed or both. Whatever it was, it was not my moment to go. There was something else I needed to know.
One close brush with death was enough one the night, so I quickly gathered my stuff and headed down hill towards our jeep. Surprisingly, my guide, Mahmoud, was still up. Thankfully, I was so tired, I immediately went right back to sleep, as if this shocking event never happened.
The sun was already up for a couple of hours, when I awoke. I felt so refreshed and my back was not in pain despite sleeping on the sand dune. I had a simple breakfast of eggs and bread while my guide started packing up the gear. By 0900, we departed -- the sand was already feeling hot and the sun shone brightly adding to my tan.
Needless to say, the bus ride back home was once again long and hot, but I was glad to be heading to a real bed, a bathroom and a hot shower. I was also fortunate to meet some friends on the way -- Ayaka from Sapporo, Japan, Amy from Boston, and Kim from Korea -- backpackers like me who spent the night in the desert. But unlike me, they had the fortune to experience a night in the legendary White Desert.
The bus stopped at Giza, within sight of the mythical Pyramids. I was tempted to go pay another visit -- I'm sure glad I went straight to the hostel instead.
When I returned back to the hostel, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of my grandmother.
My Grandma was an amazing woman who was loved by many. She lived an incredible life and touched many hearts.
She will be dearly missed in her tight-knit Kobe, Japan community as well as by relatives in Hong Kong, UK and the US.
I will always appreciate what my Grandma has done for my family, and I will never forget that one special night in the desert when both life and death together shone brightly in the moonlight over the sparkling, drifting sand.he moonlight over the sparkling, drifting sand.
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