Egypt 2023. hotel towels

Egypt 2023. Homeward Bound

Egypt 2023. Homeward bound

Last day.  Sad times. 

We spent most of the day by the pool,  Toby joining in pool Olympics and all of us saying goodbye to our holiday friends,  and the fab staff who made our stay so enjoyable. 

As our fight was not until 21.25, we waited in the bar for our transfer and the lovely barman Kiro kept us stocked up with drinks. 

A final farewell to our holiday friends and we were off to the airport..

Sharm El Sheikh Airport has the strictest security I've ever experienced. We had to show passports to enter,  scan all our bags to get into the bag drop area,  and then scan our hands to get our exit stamp in the passport.  Then someone checked passports for the exit stamp,  all before regular airport security. 

Made it through that and a couple of random bag checks in time to eat before our flight.  

An expensive Burger King meal was disappointing,  as was the flight delay of 2 hours,  but we carried home some fond memories of this foray into Africa/ Middle East.  

Egypt 2023. Final full day

On our final full day we made the most of the hotel, sunshine and snorkeling. 

In the evening we took the hotel transfer out to Soho Square to do some last minute shopping and to experience the Ice Bar, something Jon and I had not done in Iceland!

Through security we headed straight to the Ice Bar and paid to get in,  which included a drink in the price.  

One thing about the holiday that is unlike anywhere else we've been is the payment in any currency. We took USD$ and a few Egyptian pounds (exchange rates about 40 of them to 1 GBP).

At every point of payment they would ask which currency you want to pay in, often with pricing in Euros, and you'd have to choose. We worked out that the cheapest option was always Egyptian pounds but on more than one occasion we got the maths wrong and paid more than we thought. 

Back to the Ice bar,  we paid in USD as that's what cash we had left,  and after being served our drinks and provided with a coat (more like a dressing gown) we entered into the icy world.  

Strange to be in an ice bar in the desert, especially as the ice sculptures were of Egyptian Kings,  with bobble hats on top!

After about 15 mins we left and I'd actually forgotten it was so hot outside.  Hit by the wall of 38c heat with a breeze,  we looked round the shops and saw the fountain display again before heading back to the hotel.  

Egypt 2023. Into the desert

We'd booked 3 trips out for this holiday but after Peter's injury we delayed the quad bikes trip so Peter could join us. 

So on Tuesday 22 August we were collected late afternoon and taken to a compound on the edge of the desert.  We were all equipped with Shemagh (traditional scarves) and sunglasses.  

After about 45 min of waiting for enough quad bikes to arrive for us to use,  we set off about 6.30pm, heading across the desert on quad bikes,  in a group of about 20 people.  

After about 20 minutes we all parked up and we're taken for a ride on some camels, led by small Bedouin children who also took photos for us and expected a tip when we got off the camels.  

We then went into a Bedouin area for a rest, taking a seat on the carpet and cushions and enjoying a cup of tea. 

Toby and Peter helped to make traditional flat bread and after about 30 minutes we carried on our way on the quad bikes,  keeping in our line with the group name "hot chicken soup"!

Although it was busy with other quad bike tours returning it was special to be driving into the sunset with a huge flock of storks flying overhead.  We arrived at another Bedouin place in total darkness,  following the path with little lamps lighting the way.  

Sitting on the floor around low tables,  we watched a show and had some delicious food,  including what we guessed was quail, which made us think of the Israelites being fed in the wilderness.  

The show included a belly dancer, a fire juggler,  which the boys thought was going to be basic, but was totally amazing,  and a Bedouin dancer who started wearing a dress but ended up spinning the skirt in one hand over his head.  

With the cry of "hot chicken soup" we knew it was our time to leave so it was back to the quads and on to the star gazing.

A powerful telescope under dark skies gave us amazing views of the moon,  and Saturn with the rings visible.  

The final part of the journey was back to the compound on the quad bikes,  at speed, keeping up with the person in front.  

At one point there was also a full size coach on the same tracks,  which made us feel very small,  and keen to keep out of its way. 

A commercial trip with a lot of people,  and other groups there too, but very enjoyable and a number of firsts.

Egypt 2023. More hotel days and a museum

Matthew,  Jon and I had planned to go to the Sharm El Sheikh museum on Saturday eve as we would be quad biking on Sunday,  but it was not to be.  

Peter cut his foot quite badly on a loose pool tile on Saturday afternoon and the hotel called the Dr out.

After a lot of iodine and some steri strips, Peter's cut was patched up but he was rightly upset and we did not want to leave him. 

He was given a wheelchair to get around and it was fortunate that on Sunday it was the women's world cup final so he had lots of company inside at the bar with Brits watching. 

On Sunday evening the 3 of us did go to the museum and it was good,  lots of statues of animals and a tomb with mummies, but our favourite thing was the Egyptian boats, especially as these were a Playmobil staple when the boys were younger.  

The museum is brand new and next to a huge mosque.  As with all our journeys. Security was tight. The taxi driver had to show his papers and we were asked which country we're from.  

All good until we were waiting outside for the taxi to collect us and he didn't return. Fortunately Jon had some data and Toby and Peter sorted it out at the hotel end. The driver arrived very apologetic about 15 mins later. We'd asked for 9.40pm pick up and he'd thought it was 10.40pm. Lesson learnt,  show the taxi driver the time written down!

Egypt 2023. Hotel days

18 Aug

Hotel days have got a routine of starting at the bottom pool,  where the pool guy puts out our towels for us. 

After that Toby is keen on the water polo at the top pool, and there is yoga, aqua fit and other stuff at intervals.  

Jon negotiated a price for a couple of dives and a wake board today, good fun!

Egypt 2023. Old Market

15 August

After a day of relaxing at the hotel we took the hotel trip to the Old Market,  where we ate out and shopped for bargains. 

Next to the main square with the mosque is another smaller square with 2 waterfalls flowing over fake rocks,  into a pool at the bottom.  Water in the desert to represent luxury?

 When you looked beyond our behind the shops or restaurants you could see the rubbish piled up and poor living conditions.   

The restaurant we chose (quickly to get into the air conditioning) had views of the huge mosque which dominates the square. Between us we ate tagine,  fajitas, kofta and lamb shank. The staff were very friendly and keen we were enjoying ourselves and the food. 

The market is more a huge range of shops, some of them big and others very small,  rarely with prices on display,  so haggling is important. 

We set the boys a challenge to get the best items for USD$10. Peter won with 2 football shirts, but in general we discovered it was best to have Egyptian pounds to get the best prices.  

After thinking we'd be killing time before the bus home 3 hours after we set off,  we were dashing to check out the final shops. Haggling for each item takes time! One of the shops had some luxury leather items but with limited time we didn't even venture into bartering.