Tunisia

I’ve just returned from a trip to Tunisia with Ham.  We took the SafirgoTravel tour package and it was well worth the RM 7,390 per pax that we paid for the 9D7N trip. We left by Emirates for Dubai on 15 Dec at 03:00 in the morning.  From Dubai it was just 5 hours to Tunis and we were scheduled to arrive at 2:00 pm local. But we arrived at 5:00 pm because of delays at Dubai due to some technical faults with the A340. We changed aircraft and took off 3 hours later.
A lot had to be covered in the 7 days in this country that is full of historical – Roman, Goths, Vandals, Arab, French – heritage. The Arab legacy, however, prevailed to this day; and Tunisia is one of the 5 countries – Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania -- of the African Maghrib.
Our tour started with Tunis, the capital city, to Kairouan to Tozour, to Douz on the edge of the Sahara; then along the Mediterranean coastal highway to Monastir with stops for the sights at Sousse and Nabeul before returning to Tunis for a final 2N stay. Most memorable were the 1 hour camel ride into the dunes of the Sahara and a 4x4 trip to the Atlas mountains. A visit to a date plantation by horse cart was equally memorable (see video).

Camel riding at Douz	Early start for 4x4 trip to Atlas Mtns.

At a date plantation in Tozour, Tunisia

New Smart Phone

I just got myself a Samsung Galaxy Note II smart phone.  It’s really smart and I am very happy with it, even though I am yet to master all it’s functionalities especially the S Pen.  For the time being, I am busy transferring my data (contacts, pictures, and other stuff) from the old Blackberry Curve.
Actually I did like the Blackberry because I made it dumb and had the battery last me some 7 days between charging.  But now with the Galaxy Note, it’d be stupid to make it dumb; so I have to accept the need to charge it every night, sometimes in the car as well. It’s biggish for a phone, but I got big hands, so that’s okay. And the screen is much bigger too compared to the Blackberry. For GPS, the screen is even better than my Garmin.
Now, let’s see: how many hand phones have I had since my first Nokia? Umm...the Motorola clamshell, the O2, followed by two China made phones with TV functions, then a Malaysia made CSL Android smartphone with GPS, then the Blackberry and now the Galaxy Note II.  I hope this will be my last.
Afternote:  Even Ham now got a Galaxy smartphone. But Mek will probably go for the Blackberry Q10 or Q5 (updated 16 Jul 2013)