Taghaghien Island Resort Siwa

After leaving a scene in Siwa, we got on an overnight bus to Cairo. Overnight buses are something most travelers dread, but we have it down to a science now. First, eat a big meal before getting on the bus. Then, split an ambien between three people. Lastly, steal two seats and pretend you are asleep so nobody can sit next to you. And if you are really good, you can get a full 8 hours before arriving in a different city in the morning. This bus was the only bus in Egypt that arrived ...

... to accompany Sarah all the way from Saudi Arabia to Lybia. The ride was long and frusting and Brittany and Lindsey considered scrapping the whole Siwa thing and going back to their love of Dahab. Almost 24 hours later they arrived in the oasis in siwa. The low light of the whole trip was during the 12 hour trek through the desert, the tempature outside was too hot and the airconditioning wouldnt work. <br><br>They arrived in Siwa and got a donkey carriage to the hotel (aka ...

... the nearby old city (especialy at sunset was spectacular!).<br><br>The desert itself was HOT (as expected!!!) and it was hard to believe that people were working at the outposts in the middle of the desert!!!<br><br>After this its back to reality at Alexandria <br><br>Richy

... Lake Siwa - very idyllic setting with the mountains to one side, the Sand Sea to the other and the palm trees and town to the other. Took me quite a while to get there. I generally find the maps in my guide book to be spot on but this one was a little deceptive, much further than it made it out to be. And I'm finding that there's few signposts in Egypt, not just ones in English, but also those in Arabic. Lots of wrong turns and ...

... for me once I got out at the local cafe. It was really chilled out with them playing cool music and just chatting. The only downside was the coach loads of tourists who we just managed to stay ahead of thankfully. After here it was time to return the bikes back in the town centre. Lunch followed but I couldn't really eat much due to my stomach problems. Just a couple of mouthfuls of Mum's pie and another refreshing lemon juice. I ...

... unclean in-ground swimming pool. I had planned on going for a swim but once I saw the condition of the pool with the moss and who knows what else floating on top as well as the fact that I wouldn't be able to touch the bottom I decided I would much rather have a drink of lemon with mint and sit and watch the donkey kids have some fun. The bar at the bath was really cool and served lots of different juice combinations. The donkey drivers, Mohamed and ...

... expected. Some more thoughts on Egypt now and our group. We have one person who is a retired teacher and is the spitting image of Kenneth Williams! A Scottish guy who is quite funny, a boring Kiwi couple and the crazy Canadian couple! Mohammed was at his charming best today dressed in the traditional galabeya. He is a bright lad with excellent English and loves the attention of being our tour leader. I have hardly spent any money today, Mum has paid for stuff mainly. I still ...

... and I went straight to bed for a few hours in a hot room with a fan for £7 (instead of the £14 for air con) overlooking the crumbling fort. The people were really really friendly and couldn't be more welcoming. Siwa is known for the ancient fortress , which was built of natural rock, salt, mud-brick and palm logs. Today most of it is abandoned and has 'melted' due to weathering, but the remains are a prominent feature ...

... padded seats driven by young boys (one of which bailed us out when seemingly lost in the backstreets). On our first night in Siwa there was a wedding. These are obviously major occasions since it seemed as though the whole town turned out to be part of the long, loud vehicle procession. It was led by a decorated Land Rover, but the rest of the vehicles were just tiny trucks honking for all they were worth and crammed well beyond capacity, people hanging out on all sides ...

Had a long 15-hour day of travel yesterday. Had planned things perfectly - train north to Alexandria and then walk ouside the station to the bus stop to catch the connection to Siwa. Unfortunately they decided to move the bus stop. Had to take a 30 minute ride there which made me miss the connection. So I was stuck ...