Red Sea Hotel Suez

... they put it through the machine like a credit card and you have to sign and get a piece of paper for each transaction, but by keeping the tab open, our drinks are just marked down each time we get one. We feel quite confident that we never get ripped off, but it could be open to misuse.
We went back to our cabin after having some lunch and had a rest out of the heat. Later had a drink in the Magnum bar (which is a nice inside bar) where Lex is the barman and met up with ...

... it was only a desert; quiet and devoid of traffic. As the canal is long, it provides a natural barrier to movement from the mainland of Egypt into the Sinai Peninsula. There are only a few ferries across the canal and one large suspension bridge. But is a desert area, not needing an extensive road infrastructure. During the day Harriet meet Tab Hunter who is on board the ship giving talks about his life in Hollywood. He was nice enough to pose for a ...

... its charm. There is a fun bar in the hotel, there is a weekly BBQ on the beach at the kiteschool, the hotel also does a weekly Egyptian night (fancy dress optional, but advisory). Or you can take a cheap 5 minute taxi into Ras Sudr and go to the variety of very good, yet VERY cheap bars and restaurants that provide a friendly, untouristy night out. This place really is an undiscovered gem. Alternatively you could use it to chill out on ...

... souvenirs (probably thanks to the fierce looking police on camels that were patrolling the area). In the end we decided that we liked the Meroe pyramids in Sudan much better because there you don't stumble over thrown away plastic bottles and there is no one to divert your attention from the magnificent ancient constructions. We made it into Port Tawfiq, the southern end of the Suez Canal, after nightfall and easily found the hotel. It has the Wifi connection that enables you to read this.

Suez Canal - 9th April 2008. We entered the Suez Canal around about 6 am Wednesday morning. The big difference between the Suez and the Panama Canal is there are no locks. We sailed through at a steady 8 knots in convoy with another 36 ships we were number 2. There were armed guards stationed on both sides at intervals all along the canal. We ...

... the toilet, this bin is usually overflowing with tissue paper smeared with various things best left unsaid... apologies to anybody who just ate!), I am hardly a sissy about a stinky dunny, but those in Egypt often made me gag. Since there is no doubt a shortage of water, most don't flush and I suspect half are never cleaned. The worst I saw was at the bus station in Al Milga which looked like something ugly had exploded all over it and the walls. In such cases there is only one thing to ...

Look at them there pyramids eh? This is the city where we ported originally, and then after a SAS trip to see the three GREAT PYRAMIDS... Bobby, Conner, Pat, & I traveled independently to Mount Sinai and then to Alexandria. Feel free to read the next passage for details of my travels.

... of the channel and the proximity of the cargo ships to each bank, there really wasn’t anything of any interest to see here.

Abdul, our driver, really started putting his foot to the floor between Suez and Cairo. He was hoping to be somewhere in Cairo before sundown to break his fast, but we were not making as much progress as he hoped. We were still outside the city when the sun set, and he quickly pulled up ...