Blogs from Dahab, Sinai, Egypt, Africa - page 6

There’s a funny thing about being by the sea. It generally puts people in a good mood. Or perhaps it is because Dahab actually lived up to everyone’s expectations and we were all so happy to be there! Either way, Dahab was a great place to end our trip. Like others we had met along the way, our only regret was that we hadn’t got there earlier. Dahab, compared with Sharm and Hurgarda, is essentially low rise in terms of development. The accommodation ranges from very ‘basic’ to ‘pretty damn nice actually’ but there are none of the insanely flashy mega resorts found further down the coast. Compared to Luxor and even Aswan, the mood is relaxed and the locals were much more friendly - we didn't feel like we were viewed as a giant £ ... read more

Day 12-14 Dahab The Bishbishi camp is a motel style accommodation very close to the centre of Dahab. It is run down and in dire need of a serious makeover but that it true of much of what we have seen in Egypt. There seems little pride in Egypt. Litter is everywhere and many services are dysfunctional. I could list a whole lot of things wrong with the Hotel but perhaps best summarized by one of our group getting a nasty electric shock in the bathroom. Dahab is a “chill out” zone for 4 days of our tour. Sean has just completed 4 scuba dives over 2 days and I spent an afternoon snorkeling around and near the “Blue Hole” this is an amazing coral reef coastline about 5km north of Dahab. For 25LE or $5 ... read more

Because Mount Sinai is a very common tourist attraction it is best to hike up the mountain during the night and sleep up there until sunrise. We began our hike up the mountain at 9:30 at night. The hike was not that bad, especially when Monica (a fellow traveler) got a camel and took my 8 pound pack off of me. The hike in total was 7km, most of which was switch backs. The only really challenging part of the hike was that it was so dark during the night because there was no lighting except the moon, stars and our head torches. Becky, another fellow passenger, had asked if there were street lights as we hiked and then when the answer was no, she asked if there were any reflectors along the path. It was ... read more

Hi Everyone! The atmosphere in Egypt is quite different from anywhere I have ever been. I wonder if Egyptians would find cornfields as exotic as I find camels. Walking down the street is an adventure. I am glad that I came with a tour group because traveling in Egypt is very difficult without private transportation. Not to mention that everyone sees a tourist as a giant money bag waiting to be ripped off. I went into a shop yesterday to buy souvenirs and the owner said he wanted 350 Egyptian pounds for a small plush camel and a small stone statue. I totally laughed in his face, because that equals out to about 70 USD. I ended up paying 10 and I still think I got ripped off. The tour itself has been really busy. It ... read more

Greetings from Dahab, beach colony on the Red Sea but technically located in the Sinai. Frankly, I still can't believe that I made it. The Sinai isn't the easiest place to access, especially from Luxor and especially if you are not aiming for Sharm-el-Sheikh or are not going as part of a package tour. Therefore, my only real option was (gasp!) public transportation. Being no stranger to long, long bus journeys (22 hours in Syria, as I recall...), I thought I could handle a mere fourteen hours from Luxor to Dahab. And, in all honestly, I probably could have handled it. However, the Upper Egypt Bus Company had other ideas, or at least my particular bus did, as it chose to break down midway in the journey and, this being Egypt, the solution to the breakdown ... read more