Day 5 to 8: Sharm El Sheiking it up...

Day 5.
Place: room 253 at Helnan Sharm Marine Hotel, Sharm El Sheik, 20:52, on bed near the window

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever should believe in Him, will have eternal life.

We would like to dedicate this post to God on this Great Friday – and also declare this verse over all of Egypt.

Thought for day: “ Even if we aren’t going to the right destination, at least we are on the same bus as our luggage.”  - Donna

It was an early start to the day as we woke up at 5am to get ready to catch the 6:30am bus from Cairo to Sharm El Sheik. The taxi driver, Aggggmed picked us up just before 6am and drove us to the station. Where we waited anxiously as we saw numerous busses taking off and we were worried that one of them was ours.

Anyway, eventually the call came for Sharm El Sheik and we walked towards our bus. The luggage man loaded our ruck sacks and ask me for “Bakshish” or tip. I gave him 1 pound he said there were 2 bags so he should get 2 pounds. Sounded logical, but he didn’t ask any of the locals for a tip. He looked as old as the hills and as rough as Ghandi’s flip flops so I complied.

Off we went into the sunrise as Cairo was still sleeping. We wish the roads had been like that yesterday when we went for a walk through the city – crossing the road would have been a breeze. It was a well timed trip as Fridays the slum o’s don’t work – therefore no traffic and bus was pretty empty.

Outside of Cairo there really isn’t much to see as the scenery is very much the same  - desert, desert and more desert with some hills made of the same stuff as the desert… When we got near Suez it became more interesting as we could see the Red sea – a long thin stretch of turquoise water in the shallows and a darker blue thereafter. A beautiful contrast from the rugged terrain of the desert an the hills.

Our first check-point was in Suez. We had to get out of the bus and take our luggage out and stand next to it as a sniffer dog interrogated our bags. I am almost sure that the dog did a side step as he smelt my rods from yesterdays  rondloop through a 31 degree Cairo on a pretty humid day. After we passed the check and passport inspection, and being welcomed by the Army officer to Egypt, we carried on to The Sharm. We also stopped at 2 stalls/mini markets where I paid 5 EP for a pack of mentos and tipped a guy 2EP for using the toilet. Nothing is for free in Egypt.

We arrived in Sharm around 1:30pm and were feeling very fresh after the bus ride. Sharm felt like it was about 35 degrees. A taxi picked us up and we paid him 50EP to take us to the hotel. Our hotel is not accessible via car as the streets are pedestrianized in Sharm centre – so we walked from where the taxi dropped us and got a good feel for what Sharm was like. Immediately Donna felt more at ease as this was a tourist mecca and woman are not stared at with lust hungry eyes as in Cairo by the so called holy men.

Donna’s bag is very heavy and she struggled over the distance we had to walk to the hotel – but soldiering on we got there and were gob smacked at the palatial building we had just walked into. The “Helnan Sharm Marine Hotel” WOW is all we said to each other. The place is incredible and we are paying less than R500 per room per night. For the mathematically challenged that is less than R250 per person per night. Try that in Durban and you might get to rent Thabo’s from porch in Kwa Mashu – just have a look at the photos we have posted and you will also be amazed. AND we have a private beach and 2 pools and a magnificent sea view from our suite… the cherry on top – this also includes breakfast. We committed some time to thank God for this unbelievable blessing and tangibly felt his favour. We are here for 2 more days and considering making it 3

We spent the afternoon lazing by the pool and dipping in the Red sea. It is so hot and dry here  - we thought that it would be humid as it is near the sea but obviously the desert takes care of any moisture there is in the air… After seeing the sun go down, gazing across the Naama bay, we strolled off to our luxurious room and changed to go out for a bite to eat and to see some travel agents to plan our next move. Option 1: bus to Nuweiba and then Ferry to Aqaba. Or Option 2: bus from Sharm to Eilat in Israel. We will most probably go for the cheaper option and rather save our money for later in the trip.

Tomorrow we will do the same as today – just for longer – swim, lie in the sun, swim, sleep, lie in the sun, swim… life is tough in Africa. We will send you photos of how we are roughing it on the Red Sea!

Sharm is not a bad place but just very commercial – now definitely seems to be the best time to be here as it is not very busy. You don’t get hassled so much by guys wanting you to buy stuff – but the rashes personified are still here and now we just ignore them completely as they try and treat you like a king to come and buy something from their shop and give you a gift for “free”. Another example is when you are walking past a restaurant and a guy steps in front of you and says, “look I have a restaurant here and you can buy a beer here.” My response, “no thanks.”  What I feel like saying is,” NO, really, you mean this area here, with the tables and chairs and menus is a restaurant? No ways, I would never have thought and thank you for showing me as I would never have seen it 1 meter away from me.” You would also have a sense of humour failure after being in Egypt after 4 days.

Regardless of the few persistent flippen irritating Egyptians that ruin it for all, we are having an amazing time and continue this incredible journey together.

Day 6- 8:  Helnan Sharm Marine days

We have been in Sharm El Sheik for 4 days now and had an incredible time relaxing and refreshing before heading on to continue our travels

The mornings have started with a nice jog and then indulging in huge breakfasts where we fill ourselves in an attempt to procrastinate any hunger pains until the supper time (things we do as travellers to stay on budget).

Then we would ‘roll ourselves’ straight to the beach and find an umbrella to lay under and spend the day.

The Red Sea is quite chilly and I (Donna) didn’t swim much as you all know how much I hate the cold J Craig on the other hand was snorkeling for most of the day. He saw so many fish and had a ball taking pictures with them (and dodging a couple of Jellyfish).

As the evenings set in, we would shower and walk the streets looking for supper.

From Spring rolls to hamburgers, we tried them all in search for the best deal and what would satisfy the hunger.

We were originally planning to head to Eilat in Israel from here, but because of the Easter weekend, the Isreali consulate is closed until Monday next week and cant issue us Visas for Israel. We therefore have no option but to catch the bus to Nuweiba tonight at 2am in order to get a Ferry across to Aqaba in Jordan where we will head to Petra for the night and then and finally the Dead Sea from the 11^th and depending on news regarding entering Israel, we may be in Jordan until next Monday.

Here are a few things which will always remind us of Egypt:

1.     Volkswagen Beetles (had to put punch buggie on hold)

2.     Speedos

3.     Pita bread and falafels

4.     Dodgy men

5.     Plenty of Russki’s on the red sea

6.     Terrible ‘leatherry’tans

Happy Belated Easter everyone J