Caribbean World Soma Bay Sharm El-Sheikh

... everyone I knew. It was bizarre, and a little alarming.

Finally, we arrived at “my” camel. As this young boy helped me up onto my camel, which had VERY tight pummels on its saddle (one jutted into my back – the other dug into my belly), I have to admit – I was a bit terrified. My balance was all wrong, and the camel was so far off the ground (and this, even before the camel stood up)! You can imagine my terror, therefore, when the ...

... a crash course in ancient Egyptian gods (ask me sometime about that god of fertility whom we encountered!), goddesses, architecture, and art!

At Karnack, we also viewed the Sacred Lake, the Great Hypostyle Hall (one of greatest religious monuments ever built), and countless other halls, monuments, temples, sanctuaries, courts, plazas, and areas too numerous to name. And, at Romani’s urging, we viewed the sacred monument and walked ...

We left Bob Marley Hotel in Luxor at 7am to catch the bus to Hurghada. When we arrived at the bus station there were a few more back packers waiting aswell. Not surprisingly the bus didn't show up! Or it was at least an hour and a half late. We decided to take a mini bus taxi with 6 other backpackers to Hurghada for 450 LE. it was about a 6 hour ride. We were pretty content to arrive in Hurghada until we realized it was coined "Egypt's Party town" It sure changed since I was ...

We were now in Hurghada, which is on the Red Sea. When we had arrived at the hotel we were all looking forward to it as the bus pulled up in front of a rather nice looking resort-style hotel. However, our hotel was across the street. It was the budget option. Mina, our tour leader, had warned us that it was probably worse than the ****** hotel in Cairo. I think he may have said that just to lower our expectations to the lowest they could be because the hotel was alright in my ...

... know where they came from or where they were going, but when they got through this customs area, there gear was loaded on to trucks and they took of into the hills on the highway.
It was very hot during the day and our berth was right next to either a cement plant or aluminium plant. Very dusty, and not good to look at. The hills in the background looked beautiful because they were very rugged and different shapes. Couldn't get ...

My family have visited Hurghada, Red Sea,Egypt for several years, but over the last two years the newly introduced taxi service has become a complete menace. The taxi's ''curb crawl'' honking their horns touting for business, the kamikaze drivers regularly double/treble their fares for Europeans and cheat them out of their change.

However this year a friend recommended an English expat who met us at the airport and ...

... site, we decided to not continue up the ladder but to return down the valley to the sites of two tombs that had been recommended by our bus guide, who was also an Egyptologist. So we went down the valley toward the entrance of the first tomb. It is a special feeling walking down into the tomb thru a square man-made tunnel in the side of the valley that was dug thousands of years before to house the earthly remains and prized procession of an Egyptian pharaoh. The walls were ...

Friday, January 23 We were up and Len got ready for his trip. This morning I would do a bit of laundry and sit on the beach. The trip was to leave at 10 but by the time they got all the groups here it was more like 10:30. It looked like a full boat. There are 4 young Russian girls and the guide is very attentive to them As they were leaving the dock he had taken their beach towel and had folded them so each one had a fancy hat, one like a snake, the others like Egyptian hats ...

... shops or cafes wearing what was meant to be original ancient dresses behaving as clowns only to get more money out of it, having witnessed the change in their "congenial" mood to anger once the bargain doesn't go their way, having been rushed into a local shop at the foot of mount Sinai so as to make sure we purchase from there the holy rings of St. Catherine's monastery, for me it all comes down to this: the atmosphere died with the pharaos.

... to use their part of the beach. We went back to the public beach and by that time, there was no one there to take money from us. We walked down to the beach and put our stuff down. We had to avoid the guy who wanted money simply because we were there. He kept telling us to give him a tip but we couldn't figure out why. I guess they expect a tip if they are swimming and you join them. We jumped in the water and cooled off after such a hot day. The beach itself wasn't really that nice ...