Alexandria Day Trip – Part 4 | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 1 (Part 9)

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

Just arrived in Alexandria – The Ancient Feelings

Upon arriving in Alexandria, I felt the same ancient feeling like I felt in Cairo, but from a different perspective. The contrast between Cairo and Alexandria was palpable.

The coastal side of Alexandria, especially the area along the promenade (the waterfront area on the Mediterranean Sea) looked like a European city, but with a touch of ancient history. The architecture, shops, cafes, people…everything looked different than Cairo. The guide told me that you can find the prettiest girls in Egypt in Alexandria.

The general population in other parts of Egypt were darker skinned and you see less light-skinned and white people. But in Alexandria, it is flipped. Here you will see more light-skinned and white people and less dark-skinned people.

I saw some lime-yellow-coloured trams on the street. My guide told me this is one of the oldest tram systems in the world that is still operational. Alexandria trams are rumbling, clackety, old, and terribly slow. But they are fun and bear a part of history.

Alexandria is a quiet, laid-back and quaint city, which offers a blend of old history with traditional urban and natural beauty.

Alexandria benefits from its year-round pleasant weather bolstered by the coastal winds off the Mediterranean. Egyptians and foreigners alike enjoy spending time in Alexandria during the summer and winter.

During the winter, Alexandria’s temperatures stay around 20°C / 68°F by day, and around 10°C / 50°F at night. In the summer, highs can reach 30°C / 86°F or even 32°C / 90°F sometimes, but never as hot as Cairo.

Alexandria is also a haven for food lovers. You can try freshly-cooked beef kabobs along the Cornish with an amazing coffee. Also, I saw a fresh seafood market where you can choose freshly-caught seafood and the open-air restaurants will cook them right in front of your eyes while you enjoy sitting in the sun.

Our first stop on the itinerary was the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa.

The 2013 World’s Most Expensive Expatriate Cities

The 2013 World’s Most Expensive Cities for Foreign Workers

First Published Date: December 25, 2013 ADawnJournal.com

ECA International, a consulting firm that provides data and software in employment solutions to assist companies, recently released their report showing the most expensive cities in the world for foreign workers.

For the first time, Caracas (Venezuela) is on the top of the list replacing Tokyo (Japan). Here are the top ten cities most expensive cities in the world:

1.    Caracas (Venezuela, last year 7)

2.    Luanda (Angola 4)

3.    Oslo (Norway 3)

4.    Juba (South Sudan 14)

5.    Stavanger (Norway 8)

6.    Zurich (Switzerland 9)

7.    Geneva (Switzerland 10)

8.    Bern (Switzerland 11)

9.    Basel (Switzerland 12)

10.    Tokyo (Japan 1)

Some highlights from the list:

– If you are wondering how can Luanda or Juba be on that list, you are not alone because I am wondering about it too. The report suggests high import and transportations costs are the causes.

– Switzerland and Norway have 6 cities in the top ten list.

– No U. S. Or Canadian cities on top ten list.

– According to ECA, Caracas being at the top may be short-lived

– Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai are catching up and climbed up on the list.

– In the Middle East, cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Dubai have gone up significantly.

– Australian Cities Sydney and Canberra have gone down dramatically from their last year’s top 20 position to 31st and 39th position.

To view the full report, visit ECA International.

How Google Image Loadings in Gmail Will Affect You

Gmail Now Loads Images on Google Server

First Published Date: January 1, 2014 ADawnJournal.com

Google recently announced a policy change in terms of how it handles loading images for Gmail and other Google apps.

Here is what you need to know in brief:

– In your Gmail, images will load automatically by default (you can change it by going to settings if you don’t like it this way).

– Images now will not load from the senders external original host servers. Instead, images will load from Google’s own secure servers.

Are These Changes a Good or Bad Thing?

The positives about these changes are as Google is loading on their servers first, they will do thorough scans for possible malware or spyware, and images showing inside your Gmail will be safer when you open your email. Also, you should see emails with images loading faster as Google servers are very fast.

On the other hand, some email marketers or email tracking services may not be able to provide accurate real-time or geolocation data as it will show Mountain View, Calif.

For the majority of Gmail users, these changes are positive. If you would like to find out more, read the following links:

Driving Green – How Realistic Is It?

Prius hybrid at the top of the vehicular sales in Japan

Published Date: January 4, 2014 ADawnJournal.com

One of the major concerns of anyone with green issues in mind is the motor car. There is no doubting that a massive amount of the pollution in our cities is caused by cars, and a large amount of that caused by the more gas-guzzling vehicles which just so happen to be among the most popular on the market – popular, at least, in the sense that they are much coveted, even if the average driver would need a very generous extension of credit to actually buy one. Indeed, it is price that seems to be the sticking point for cars which do just the opposite – if you want genuine fuel efficiency then you are going to have to pay for it.

Governments are trying to take a lead on cutting vehicle emissions by offering incentives to consumers who buy a green car. Certain lenders, also, are getting in on the action by offering more generous repayment terms on their loans if the car that the loan will buy is one which will pollute less. The success of their efforts to turn the roads green will only become clear with time, but it is clear that they are battling on two fronts.

Firstly, people will still have to spend more than they would ideally like to in order to get a green car and secondly, there is a continuing belief that fuel-efficient cars simply are not cool. It may be more or less fashionable to care about the environment, but if that means taking a rain check on the car of your dreams then the cool points decrease rapidly.

There are car manufacturers who realize that this problem exists with a lot of the green cars on the market. The simple fact of the matter is that a green car that looks exactly like another car with worse fuel economy will generally be seen as less cool. There is just a tendency among people to feel like their car should be their little walk on the wild side. This is not the same everywhere in the world, mind you. In Japan, home-based manufacturers Toyota are fresh from celebrating the placing of their latest Prius hybrid at the top of the vehicular sales in Japan for May.

It isn’t just a matter of cool, of course, that prevents economic vehicles from taking to the top of the charts elsewhere. The other major problem with vehicles that give an excellent fuel economy is that they cost more up front. If you have the money to spend on an economic vehicle, then you will save enough on fuel to pay for the difference from a new, less economic one. Additionally, cars that run on electric which have for some time been seen as the future of fuel-economic vehicles, still have a long way to go before they are seen as a real answer. Recharge points for the vehicles are still very unevenly distributed, and without a real push – which they haven’t been getting, they look set to be overtaken by hydrogen cell engines by the end of the next decade.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Aug 2, 2009.

Canadian Oil ETFs

Oil ETFs Canada

First Published Date: January 13, 2013 AdawnJournal.com

The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently predicted that during 2013 the total consumption of crude could reach 90.5 million barrels a day and by 2016 it could reach 95.3 million a day. In the next two decades, China and India’s oil consumption will grow at 7.5 percent and 5.5 percent annually to meet their high demand for energy.

Although Canada holds the world’s second largest oil reserve (as confirmed by the statistical wing of the U.S. Department of Energy), if you are in search for oil ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange, you will have difficulty finding a handful of them. Most of the ETFs I have come across are oil company ETFs, rather than crude oil future ETFs tracking crude oil performance. Today, I will discuss some oil ETFs I have found that I like trading on TSX. For more information on ETFs, please visit A Dawn Journal ETF Section.

Horizons BetaPro NYMEX® Crude Oil ETF (TSX: HOU, HOD) – HOU uses Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures contracts and rolls over its contracts to the next month mechanically before they expire into subsequent future contracts – so it does not have to take delivery of physical oil. HOU and HOD are denominated in Canadian dollars and the US dollar exposure is hedged daily.

Horizons Crude Oil Yield ETF (TSX: HOY) – This is an ETF that provides exposure to crude oil futures and uses covered call option writing strategy to generate monthly income. Before considering this ETF, do understand how covered call works and the risks associated with it.

BMO S&P/TSX Equal Weight Oil & Gas Index ETF (TSX: ZEO) – This ETF tracks the S&P/TSX Equal Weight Oil & Gas Index. Nexen, Husky, TransCanada, Talisman, Canadian Oil Sands are some of its top holdings.

BMO Energy Commodities Index ETF (TSX: ZCE) – This ETF tracks the S&P GSCI Energy Enhanced Capped Commodity Index. As of this writing, WTI Crude Future, Gas Oil Future (ICE), and Brent Crude Future are its top three holdings.

BMO Junior Oil Index ETF (TSX: ZJO) – This ETF tracks the Dow Jones North America Select Junior Oil Index. If you like junior oil companies, this is the ETF to go with. But keep in mind that junior companies can be very volatile.

The iShares S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index Fund (TSX: XEG) – Tracks the performance of the S&P®/TSX® Capped Energy Index. Some of its holdings are the same as ZEO mentioned above. However, XEG holds about 52 stocks while ZEO holds 16 stocks.

Disclosure – This article is for information purposes only and No information is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, or as an offer to sell or buy or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security, ETF, or fund. The author assumes no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. You bear responsibility for your own investment research and decisions, and should seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making any investment decision. As of this writing, I do not own any of the ETFs mentioned here.