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Published: April 9th 2011
Dubai
on the beach at "The One and Only"OK, this is now our fourth day at sea since Dubai and we arrive in Egypt tomorrow, so, it is with regret, that we are now very close to the end of our trip!!!
At the end of our last blog (second to last paragraph) I have just noticed that it ended quite abruptly – Scott was adding bits on and I have absolutely no idea what he was writing about and he has forgotten, so sorry about that. I will check more closely the next time!!!
Our stop in Dubai last Sunday, 4 April, was very enjoyable. We had chosen to do the day on our own (not an organised tour) and Elly and Chris came along too. First of all we took a cab to the hotel Scott and I stayed in a few years ago, “The One and Only” and it’s still as nice. We had a stroll along the beach and a quick paddle in the sea. Dubai has changed a little and there seemed to be less cranes around than the last time. Also the monorail is now open. The next stop was the Emirates Mall as we wanted to send the blog and
Elly and Chris wanted to see the snowdome. After a wander and coffees in internet café we took another cab to Al Karama (the area for fake bags and watches) and fun was had haggling with the local shopkeepers. Elly bought bag and purse but we didn’t get anything this time. This was then followed by another cab ride to the Gold Souk. Hmmm … the temptation was just too great this time and a small purchase was made!!!! The day passed all too quickly and it was time to make our way back to the ship. I really don’t like it when the sailaway from a port is earlier than evening – always feel a little bit cheated because there’s not enough time to see what we want to see and nothing is done in a relaxing way – but hey, that’s only a small moan!
The sail away was one of the better ones – the sun was still out and the cocktails were good – made even a little bit better by the fact that they omitted to ask us to pay for them!! We now seem to be spending all our time with Chris and
Dubai
With bear and Monkey Elly who are great company and live in York and quite a lot of chaps who are all couples in one way or another and all jolly good fun.
In Dubai 800 passengers got off and another 700 got on so, once again, the ship is full of people who don’t know where they are going. Also it’s a predominantly English population again and, strangely, the dress sense seems to have deteriorated quite some – I will try to get photos – and some of it is quite astonishing. Announcements are now made asking people to abide by the Cunard rules and dress accordingly in the public rooms in the evening. I might have said that this was a little snobby had I not seen some of the ill fitting tracksuits and singlets that are being worn!!!
The next few days were spent (and still are being spent) doing the usual stuff …. sun worshipping, eating, drinking and generally making merry.
We had our Pirate attack training session which all seemed a bit over the top to me as when the alarm went off everyone with an outside cabin was asked to leave their room, close their cabin
doors and stand in the corridor and all those with an inside room were to open their cabin doors. Not sure why this needed to be practiced as I am sure we would have got the gist quite quickly and also the cabin doors open from the inside so if the pirates came on board they could just open the cabin door and find you stood outside in the corridor. Having said this it did make for quite a congenial meeting of the neighbours – other than the two witches of course . We regaled one another with tales of recent trips, and the man down the way who had a paper bought in Dubai with the headlines that a cruise ship had been attacked only the previous night just off Oman!! The witches, the older one with the wart on her nose was sat on a chair, told everyone to stop making a noise in her dalek voice as they wanted to listen to the Commodore give his instructions (which was to leave the cabin, close the door, stand in the corridor) as they wrote copious notes to remind themselves what to do should this piracy occur in their
room. I am sure a spell would have been sufficient to put any pirate off getting on board and if not certainly one of their evil looks would do the trick.
We went to see the film “Made in Dagenham” which we really enjoyed. We did this instead of going for dinner one evening as the clothes are now beginning to feel a little on the tight side.
Also it must be pointed out that despite the notes the witches made I have noticed they are keeping their lights on and their curtains open after dark which was a definite no no in the instructions issued by the Commodore – probably our fault for distracting them in the corridor.
Scott has also added to his collection of photos of Miss Kim and I will attach these!!
We also went to see “Burlesque” last night as we were told by the boys (girls at heart) that it was a film not to be missed. It was pure unadulterated garbage!!! They had to be told at breakfast this morning.
Yesterday was Tony’s birthday which started with Bucks fizz in his room and a few small gifts and there
followed a breakfast in the dining room which was much fun and very noisy!! Last night we went for birthday drinks in the Commodore Club and that too was good fun. Elly and I have decided that we must be “faggot magnets” as all our friends on board are now “friends of Dorothy”! Scott and Chris (Elly’s husband) think the attention they get paid is wonderful. (by the way they often refer to themselves as “faggots”, so I use that term with their approval!)
Also we went for a tour of the ship’s galley this morning. This was really interesting as it gives an insight of how much has to be done behind the scenes to get all these passengers fed on a daily basis. The kitchens were enormous and spotless and we were doing the tour just after breakfast and they were preparing for lunch! There are escalators which the waiters and waitresses have to use if they are serving on the upper deck of the restaurant – the numbers are huge and it’s mind boggling when you are told the quantities of produce they use on a daily basis.
It’s now 7th April and we have
Galley tour
Escalators from kitchens to 3rd floor restaurant come through the Gulf of Aden completely unscathed and unfortunately no pirates were seen. Navy destroyers accompanied the ship so we were safe and sound. Think this ship is also far too big and far too fast but it would have been quite exciting to see a skull and cross bones flag nearby.
For a change in the evening, we went to a different restaurant on the ship, for a Chinese tasting menu as a change every now and then is not a bad thing! 100 days of the same dining room, however good, can get a little repetitive.
The clocks have been going back progressively and I think we are now almost in the same time zone as home. Having said that I am now usually awake by 6am!!
Tomorrow we arrive in Safaga, Egypt and are doing a 14 hour tour to the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Karnac etc, so we need to be up at the crack of sparrows. Chris and Elly are going on that too along with our “boys” and their “boys” so we’ve been told to make sure we get along early to be seated on the
same coach. Apparently there are in excess of 800 passengers going on this tour from the ship so it sounds like it could be a bit hellish!!! Will let you know how it goes. Also we have been told that we will be accompanied by security forces the whole route as apparently this can be quite dangerous territory. Think the baddies would have met their match with many of the passengers on board this ship – I feel like shooting some of them myself, from time to time!!
Just back from spending the day in Egypt. Arrived in the Port of Safaga at some very ungodly hour this morning and was up for 6.00am. Had arranged to meet our tour companions at 6.55 in lobby but got a frantic phone call at 6.45 from Tony saying it was pandemonium and to get downstairs immediately as I had all the tickets. So without any mascara or organizing getting stuff together hot footed it down there. That was when we realized he was just throwing a bit of a “girlie” tantrum and panicking. The eight of us got registered onto the trip without any problems and all were put on the
same coach. There were 28 coaches leaving on the same trip today and goodness knows how many others on various other trips. Once sat waiting in the theatre for role call I realized that sunglasses had been forgotten in the rush so Scott hurtled back up 5 floors to get them for me and then back down in time to get onto coach. Mascara was then applied. As we set off Scott realized he had left his wallet in the cabin so there we were off for the day without a penny to our names and no cards either. I think Scott was slightly pleased about this as it would definitely mean no shopping!! The three hour drive to Valley of the Kings was interesting, we drove through the mountains initially which resembled the surface another planet – very red and very barren with the odd Bedouin here and there. As usual, it seems female Bedouins do all the work, looking after the children, looking after the house (actually making the house), tending the cattle etc etc whereas the men have important things to talk about over a cup of coffee!! Most pleased I am not a Bedouin! Once we
got nearer the River Nile (after a couple of hours) the landscape changed to lush farmland with houses scattered here and there and with whole families out tending their land or their cattle. The farmers tend to have anything between 8 and 15 children per family so as they can help with the farm, the children are barely educated but do get taught to read and write in most cases. The married women all wear the long black stuff with slits for their eyes and we were told that this is a cultural rather than a religious thing as Christians and Jewish women as well as the Muslim women wear the same things. The men are all dressed in robes too – donkeys and camels seemed to be the favoured mode of transport as well as people’s heads which were used for carrying really heavy looking stuff. It all looked like one would imagine it would have looked like when Jesus was around! As we passed by the people all smiled and waived. The guide told us that other than our ship there had been no visitors in this area since the recent revolution so I think the people were
quite pleased to see tourists coming back, although the Australian, American and Canadian governments are still advising their citizens not to come here. On our coach there were a few of all these nations. The coach did have an armed guard on board and police vehicles at the front and back of the convoy but they said they had done this since 9/11 and not as a consequence of recent events.
Once at the Valley of The Kings we were grateful to get off the bus. It was blazingly hot and very sandy and dusty (well, we were in the desert). It was an amazing place with tomb after tomb of ancient kings including Tutankhamun, all set in a landscape that looked like it could have been the set of an old cowboy and Indian film. We ran the gauntlet of people trying to sell us stuff – it was great to be able to tell the truth for once and say we didn’t have any money! The stuff was mainly items you wouldn’t want. The sales patter was fast and furious even to the point of them telling you how beautiful you were or what wonderful eyes you
had (behind the sunglasses of course) and were suggesting that if you didn’t buy anything maybe they could marry you (Scott did ask for how many camels). It’s amazing, over the months, how much easier this has got and you don’t feel intimidated any longer.
Once we entered the tombs we left the salesmen behind. The tombs were fascinating and the drawings and paintings were quite remarkable – some had been done as long ago as 2,000 BC!! The colours were still there as well as the tombs themselves. They were vast and it was easy to imagine the slaves and the people who built carved and painted them. We went in three different ones all within close proximity but I think we had the choice of 8 – our ticket only allowed us entrance to three. There was so much information, and, unfortunately having the memory of a gnat, I have forgotten most of it already but did get printed material so can always swot up again.
After a couple of hours here in the blazing hot sun we made our way back to the bus and back through the hoards of tradesmen. We then set off
for Luxor where we were to have lunch in a five star hotel. We passed by other ancient landmarks where stops were made for photographs – we have the photographs but unfortunately I have already forgotten all the details we were told. On arrival in Luxor the landscape changed again and became a little more upmarket. Our guide told us this was a wealthy area and the people who live close to the Nile are the richest of all. Along the riverbanks which felt like promenades there were lots of small cruise boats which unfortunately had no tourists to take as people are not yet confident enough to holiday in this part of Egypt. The area felt quite western with wide pavements and nice landscaped areas and fountains and many nice looking hotels. We were dropped off in front of ours and made our way into a vast area for a buffet lunch which was mediocre at best but everything was clean including the much needed loos!! We had the usual odd (peculiar) Cunard cruiser who thought that normal human behaviour didn’t apply to them and barged around everywhere ignoring queues and being generally obnoxious but steadily we are learning
how to deal with this (unfortunately it usually means coming down to their level!) There was a little time left afterwards so the eight of us nipped out for a quick look around and we were quite impressed and the pool looked very tempting.
Back on the bus and off to The Temple of Karnak which was just on the outskirts of Luxor. This too was truly amazing and felt like a film set. Once again we were given lots and lots of detail about it but once again I have forgotten most of it. Took loads of photos though and will include some here. I had been slightly disappointed as I thought we were going to see pyramids but apparently they aren’t in this part of Egypt but can honestly say that this place was very impressive and helped me get over the disappointment. We will just have to see the pyramids another time which I now know are close to Cairo!!
The crowd we spent the day with are always good fun – Elly and Chris and the “4 queens”. There’s many on the Queen Mary – think it must have something to do with the
name!! John, who has only one leg did remarkably well as we walked over loads of rough ground and up and down many steps and didn’t even moan when his false leg fell off twice!!!
Back on the coach for 5.30 for the three hour drive back “home”. We were all a bit knackered by this time so after a bit of banter the coach became very quiet with most of its passengers snoozing away. The journey felt very long especially after it got dark and we had left the towns and villages behind. The coach was kept in total darkness inside as they don’t feel confident about letting people see the people on board. We crossed over many checkpoints where tanks were parked and people with guns were in shelters set on high look out towers. The roads weren’t very busy at all – except of course for the 28 coaches. It was great to see the ship come into view.
Back on board and a very quick turnaround – the girls washed their hands but the men had to change as they’re not allowed in the dining room in shorts – and it was in for
Egypt - Luxor
Hotel where we had lunch dinner. This went down well as we were pretty hungry after such a long day and with a fairly uninteresting lunch. It was washed down with a much needed beer and then no going out afterwards but back to the room for a quick shower and an early night. Now it’s not so early as I decided to write this up just in case I get chance to post it tomorrow in Sharm El Sheik. So it’s goodnight from him (who has turned his light off and is now snoring gently) and goodnight from me too. xx
Now in Sharm el Sheikh and have spent til now in the Almond's Hotel - weather great - company great - so will send this and then jump in the pool. Tonight we set sail to transit the Suez and then back in Europe. How time flies!
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Janet
non-member comment
Nearly back in Europe
What are we going to do without your blogs? It's the highlight of my week - next to receiving my weekly Spanish i-pod lesson!!! Egypt sounds and looks fascinating. Love the photos and thanks for explaining the surfeit of men. I was pondering on the advantages (or otherwise ) of the 9 men and 2 women in your photo then read your explanation!!! Hope your journey through the Suez canal is fun and then you'll be nearly back. The good news is that summer has arrived with high temperatures from London to Madrid and probably including Toulouse. Well, carry on making the most of the last few days - but just steer clear of those kitchens - or you may think you're already home. Love to you both. J & R