The Trouble with Sinai

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Despite ‘Egyptian organisation’ the ferry from Hurghada to Sharm-el-Sheikh worked and we arrived on time after three and a half hours. Taxis were waiting and we had soon negotiated a price to our hotel 100 miles away in Nuweiba, where we had looked for peace, quiet and sunbathing for our remaining 12 days.

When we arrived we realised our mistake straight away. Our hotel was on the coast but in the desert with nothing near it. No shops, cafes or life for 3 miles! There are plenty of hotels but they were nearly all closed after the terrorist attacks of 4 years ago, those still open were empty. We were not, of course, the only guests; there was an Israeli couple, who left 2 days later! Nuweiba’s problem is ‘a chicken and egg situation’ in that it needs more infrastructures so it can attract more tourists but the money will not be supplied until they have more tourists.

We had booked our ‘peace and quiet hotel’ for 12 nights but this ’peace and quiet’ was not what we were looking for. None of the staff spoke conversational English, so we were alone. An occasional backpacker came but left the next morning. We stuck it out for a week, occasionally going to the town (6 shops and a cafe) by taxi but then decided we did not like total peace and quiet, so we moved on to Dahab, 50 miles south along the coast.

Dahab is a different place and shocked us as it has a one mile promenade full of shops, bars and restaurants. Our hotel in Nuweiba had not been the best so we moved up market to the lovely Christina Beach Palace and at last found what we wanted. Snorkelling straight from our hotel beach, a clean room, Wi-Fi and cheap beer - paradise!

After days of ‘paradise’ though we had had enough. Michelle sunbathed each day then at 5.00 we would sit in a beach bar with a beer watching the Red Sea. Then have a shower, get changed and have an evening meal in a restaurant. Sit on our balcony and read; then to bed until the next day.

Sounds good but after 5 days we were bored. It had been too windy to snorkel and we were ready for home. This type of holiday no longer suits us.

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Photos

Nuweiba desert from our balcony
No sign of life!

Last Night
Having a beer in a bedouin type bar on the beach at Dahab

Comments

[CHRIS]

oh dear
Oh dear, sorry you aren't enjoying yourselves but never mind, you will soon be home. C