Egypt 2011

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My Egyptian travels are finally over! In the 3 months I was there I managed to vsist Sharm, Dahab, Cairo and Luxor and Egypts become one of my favourite countries. However sadly the people are suffering. 80% of Egyptians in Luxor rely on the tourist industry to survive and there are simply not enough tourists visiting. PEOPLE ITS SAFE! In Cairo I actually went to Tahir Square and wandered around the protestors in a state of wonderment. They returned fascinated stares and I had a few people come up to me and thank me for visiting their country. In fact they were almost protective of me, my Cairene friend Ahmed took me to see the protest and we had to go through a civilian security check. The police dont dare go near the people at the moment so the people have taken it upon them selves to make Cairo safe. This means anyone entering Tahir square is checked for weapons. The females are checked by females and males by males, a quick passport check, bag check and occasional pat down and voila, the gates of the 2011 protest was opened to me! However while I was being checked Ahmed was watching me, being a cautious friend he was just checking that I was getting through ok, however a number of egyptians starting shouting at him for staring at me! Haha, they were protecting me from my own protector. So yes people, if your considering travelling to Egypt but are concerned because of the current political state, go and have an amazing time. Due to the lack of travellers all the tourist places are empty anyway so go crazy, run around the museum, have a party in the Temple of Karnak, climb the pyramid, do your thing.

While in Sharm I did my Divemaster with Oonas Dive Club aka BEST dive centre in Sharm! With its infamous Beer O'clock, incredibly fun and professional dive instructors and perfect location in Na'ama bay whats not to like! The dive centre has mainly Enlish instructors (hence the loving of beer!), but there are also Spanish, French and Italian speakers so if you want to learn to dive GO THERE NOW! Its awesome, trust me. Plus the Chicken fish (aka sharks, but say that on that on the boat and you'll curse the dive, seriously, sharks swim away at the sound of their name FACT. So call them chicken fish and may you see them in abundance!) are in full force right now, dammit, after I left they just came out of wherever they hide just to piss me off!
So all I can say is THANKS NICK, CORRI, KEV and co! You were all awesome 😊

Dahab, now I visited Dahab out of pure curiosty. Mention the word Dahab and people ALL say the same thing 'Dahab soooo chilled'. Chilled is the right word, imagine along the beach is a row of cafes with cushions, lots and lots of cushions. You then lay on these cushions, and a combination of too much food and the heat you'll fall asleep, if you don't...then I will personally buy you a beer. I slept 3 times. In 3 seperate cafes. Twas a good day! One thing about Dahab which is a pain/funny is the cats. I lost half a pizza and half of a burger, because I took my eyes off them for 30 seconds. The pizza cat was hilarious, the burger cat not so funny, I generally wanted the burger...damn you cat. Dahab is a big place for wind-surfers and free-divers so go check it out people! Its only an hour 1/2 from Sharm.

Cairo is awesome. That is all.
Go for Koshari, visit the museum, and go on the top of Cairo Tower at night time, its amazing.

Luxor, HOT! But the temples are beautiful. Medinet Habu was actually my favourite place there, and the columns of Seti I and Rameses II in Karnak. The thing that I found fascinating was that the temples were painted! So imagine them 3000ish years ago, bright blues, reds, golds and greens amonst the yellow of the desert. It would have been spectacular to see. The horse-drawn carriage men are a pain in the arse, heres some arabic for you folks (spelt phonetically)-

Mah-Lesh= It means 'nevermind', but can be used when someone is hassling you to buy something.
Leh scho-kran= No Thankyou
Imshee= Go away
LEH!!!!!= No, and please disappear from my prescence...now.

Best place to stay in Luxor- Desert Paradise Lodge

One thing in Egypt, the majority of taxi men are bastards. Yes they have a family to feed, and yes I feel guilty not paying them the 40LE they want but when its a two minute journey that I KNOW is worht 10LE i'll be damned if I am paying more than that so learn the word 'Ashra', aka 10. Keep saying it and then walk away. The taxi man will back down eventually. Though dont be stingy. If you know its a 40 minute journey paying £1 isnt going to work! In Luxor, from the ferry to Karnak Temple is 10LE, in Sharm, from Oonas to Na'ama centre, 10LE (it used to be 5 but they're not excepting that anymore..'😉.

So in conclusion my 'Gap' year has been amazing, I've met some awesome people, see amazing things, and have finally decided what I want to do with my life! (Work in the sea, diving)

So an incredible year.

Thanks for reading guys! 😊

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Photos

Manta Ray At Tower
Courtesy of John Anderson

Snappers
Courtesy of John Anderson

Butterfly Fish
Courtesy of John Anderson

Pizza Cat
Looking at me miserably for spraying him so he doesnt nab the pizza..he still got it

1st place I ate in Dahab
Very nice restuarent

BABY DOLPHIN!
If you havent seen The Cove watch it, dolphins belong in the wild folks

Comments

[Simona]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Egypt so much! And yes, I do agree with you, it is totally safe!!! Hope people will come back and Enjoy this beautiful country! From Cairo, Simona