Blogs from Red Sea, Egypt, Africa - page 4

Our very first time on the African Continent! Only Australia and Antarctica left to go. Pulled into this dry, dry desert port early this morning and we were ready to hit the bus by 8:00am for an expected long (12 hour+) tour day. We were driving 140 miles to the city of Luxor (known as Thebes in ancient times) to see the Valley of the Kings and Temples of Karnak located on the opposite banks of the Nile River. Until we reached about 30-50 miles from the Nile, the landscape was bleak. Very little vegetation, not even cactus nor tumbleweed type plants, could be seen. Really no communities could be spotted for over 2 hours of riding. Here and there were a few shanties that the guide said were built by the Bedouins who wandered the ... read more

We arrived last night at about 9pm and got checked in. We got walked to our room at snails pace cos the bag boy – bless him – was trying to wheels 6 peoples luggage on the trolley and wanted to do it all alone with no help. So we patiently walked behind him and half way Ben and Mike (another guy on our tour) had had enough and snatched 2 bags off him and started marching up the stairs to our rooms! We were pretty hungry and tired and tolerance levels were low! Haha :) We got to our 'double' room and once again we had 2 single beds so thought 'oh we may as well ask if they have a double room spare' cos it was a massive resort with id say maybe 500 ... read more

Eight and a half hours and two inflight movies we touchdown… As the door opens on the plane and everyone jumps to get into the hustle and bustle we like to call the aisle, the heat overwhelms the air conditioning like a warm blanket and you take your first breath of warm air. Reborn you feel as thought the holiday has just started and you make your way to the exit onto the on ramp for customs. This time we decided to skip with pre-booked transfers grabbed our bags before the locals and headed for the taxis outside. We do try to travel lightly and this is great unless you’re pulling your bag along and the local bag carrier is attached to you and the bag, protesting that he should be carrying it, it’s his job! ... read more

I will be raiding Egypt in July/August, visiting Sharm El Sheikh. Really excited!! I will try to keep a constant blog going, offering tips and advice as I find it out. This will be my first ever trip to Africa, therefore I am incredibly excited/nervous. If there is anything people could recommend to do while there, this would be hugely appreciated! If this helps, I have booked the trip through www.directline-holidays.co.uk on an all inclusive deal, 5 star hotel for 14 nights. I can't remember the name of the hotel, but it was called something like iberutal (i'm sure I could google it :p) . A number of the hotels had really bad reps on trip adviser, while this one seemed to be good, albeit a bit far out comparitively. The cost was about £880, which ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Egypt! Country number 68, and to be honest I’m surprised I’ve left it so long, being so near to Europe and so many things of wonder to see. But alas, I have made it now, so no complaints there, and the next 2 weeks and a bit I plan to cover quite a bit of the place. First up, the Sinai Peninsula, where I am right now. This amazing piece of bottom-up triangular-shaped land forms the bridge not only between the African and Asian continents, but also the link between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and beyond these, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans respectively. A major crossroads throughout the last few thousand years, and steeped in historical and military importance as empires and armies trekked along the north Sinai coast towards North ... read more