04/23/2005	Family trip to Ain Al Sukhna... Some seven Pakistani families set out to spend a long weekend at Ain-al-Sukhna, some 140km from Cairo. Incidentally, that very weekend, the desert wind decided to blow and blow and deliver some unexpected rain, but not before a seriously blinding dust storm. While the skies remained overcast, some sun eventually peaked through and we all managed to have a great time. The resort was very comfortable, with a little train that took us to the beach, hardly 3 minutes or so away if we went on foot. A much needed break for the Schlumberger guys, and our first weekend getaway since we moved here...
01/30/2005	Ammi in Cairo... Ammi paid us a very short visit on her way back to Calgary from Hajj. It was just 4 days or so and she was tired, but we still managed to show her around a little. We took her out to a great Thai restaurant and the following night on a dinner cruise on one of the Pharoah Boats on the Nile. And since every single person who spoke to her kept asking if she'd seen the pyramids, I took her to see the ones at Giza followed by lunch on the riverbank at the Grand Hyatt.
01/08/2005	The new company car... Introducing.... our new black-on-black Toyota Avensis! This is our 4th car since we've been in Cairo. We started with a Mazda 323 that was replaced with another Mazda when the 1st one's axle fell off, followed by a Peugeot 406, which was a nice car to have, until Humair's company changed it's contracts and gave us the brand new Avensis. Also check out http://www.toyotaegypt.com.eg/showroom/avensis_2003/index.html
11/20/2004	In Calgary for Eid We made a last minute decision to go to Calgary because we weren't sure if Humair would be able to take vacation at this time, and we gave my parents quite a surprise when we rang their doorbell! This was the first time Humair got an entire two weeks of vacation with no visa paperwork to get done, no embassies to visit and enough time to go sightseeing! It was also the first time we spent Eid with the whole family (Strange how we couldn't do that when we were on the same side of the Atlantic).
10/10/2004	SSA trip to Giza Pyramids I made my second visit (first daytime, upclose & personal visit) to the Pyramids when the SSA's  took a guided trip there this month (my first was with Humair in May for the light and sound show at night... forgot to take our camera). Also saw the only remaining 4,500 year-old solar boat discovered buried near the great pyramid and went inside the smaller Koeps Pyramid. Enjoy the photos...
06/21/2004	SSA visit to Art Galleries The Schlumberger Spouses Association in Cairo arranged a trip to the art galleries around Cairo. The trip began with a visit to the Marriott hotel in Zemalek, which was formerly a palace and still retains some of the artwork and architecture of earlier times. We learned early on that Egyptians have a policy of not allowing visitors to take pictures but I managed to take some anyway.
05/22/2004	Cairo Museum Visit We decided to take our camera to the Cairo Museum... only to find out that they don't allow any inside (what a bore!). Not a lot is labeled or explained but nevertheless the visit was enjoyable, made worthwhile by the vast Tut Ankh Amen treasure and casket on display. We didn't venture to meet the mummies themselves, kept in a separte refrigerated section. Here, some snaps of us outside the museum...
05/17/2004	San giovanni Cleopatra Hotel, Marsa Matrouh Hardly a week after we arrived and following his working weekend (because of the handover) Humair went off with his boss to the field base of Masra Matrouh, some 290 km west of Alexanderia on a bay on the Mediterranean. While the town itself didn't offer much and work didn't offer much relief time, The hotel at which Humair was staying lay right on the beach and among all the work-site pictures he took, he managed to slip in a few of the breathtaking Med Sea...
05/15/2004	At the Grand Hyatt in Cairo, Egypt We bade farewell to the US in May when Humair's new job posting landed us in Cairo, Egypt, home of the Great Pyramids of Giza. On our arrival (very) early morning  of the 10th, we were greeted  by the last remains of the Khamseen dust storm. By morning, the sky had cleared up somewhat (although a haze still remained) and we took our first pictures of Cairo from our room balcony at the Grand Hyatt perched on the edge of the Nile.
05/01/2004	One last time... Our last weekend in our home in Houston... and Bhaijaan drove up from San Antonio to say goodbye. Though we wouldn't leave Houston till the 8th, we would move out of the house when the movers came on the 3rd. The dining room was apparently the only suitable place for some last photos...
04/10/2004	Dinner with Greg & Lena Gregg and Yelena have been our good friends since we were in Sonora, and somehow it seems they've managed to remain close by. They invited us to dinner in their new home in Houston that they spent the past few months renovating. We enjoyed some nice steak and great snacks on the wonderful deck they built in their backyard...
04/05/2004	Houston Auto Show 2004 The Houston Auto Show was in town from April 2nd to the 11th. We picked a good day to go. It wasn't as crowded as we had anticipated, and we were able to sit in and "feel out" just about every car we wanted to.