What a life here!

• Sheryl.akagi's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Dahab

Trip Start Jun 21, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Jul 24, 2008 Next
Entry

  Dahab, Red Sea and Sinai, Egypt
Sunday, June 29, 2008

Now I truly feel like this is "vacation"!  After another challenging night on the train from Luxor to Cairo (none of them are labeled, tix are completely in Arabic, trains coming and going every 3 minutes, people jumping on as soon as it starts slowing down, people still  fighting their way off as the train speeds up... mayhem.), I was immediately taken to Dahab on the Sinai penninsula. It is me, Hamdi, the head tour operator, and 2 drivers. (according to the Tourism board in Egypt, if traveling over 400 km you need two drivers).  The journey took us up to the Suez Canal, through the Eastern Sahara. I can honestly say that the scenery was some of the most spectacular I've ever seen.  The desert landscape was sandy, rocky, barren, shrubby at all different times. The desert oasis made my jaw just drop.. the green life that can come in the most unforgiving environments is both shocking and beautiful.  Unfortunately during this time, I felt sick as all hell. Hamdi and I stopped to investigate a hay truck that was completely overturned, the heat was so brutal that when I got back in the air con van, my stomach was not happy. (I get stomach sick in with rapid weather change)  The next stop was in 3 hours, so unfortunately I had no choice but to spoil the most beautiful landscape ever. Ah well, what can you do. 

Dahab is a dream. It's a sleepy beachside town on the Red Sea... I've never seen such a place. It's very backpacker friendly, with couches and woodshed cafes right along the water. The view is to die for and spending a night eating curry and drinking an ice cold martini the epitome of "chillin". 

Today I fulfilled my lifelong ambition to snorkel the Red Sea.  I went to Blue Hole, one of the best diving spots in the world.  While I was in a sour mood to start (see below), once I hit the water it was hard to think of anything else besides the beauty in what you're actually seeing. At first I was extremely tense due to my fear of the water.. even just having my face underwater made me apprehensive at first. But after 15 minutes or so, I was breathing like a normal human and couldn't be happier just floating along.  The fish were amazing.  They were everywhere.. the reef was very close to the shore and the further you went out along the rim, the more intense blue the water became, and the fish were in every direction, every color. I've never seen such things.. this blows the Great Barrier Reef and Western Samoa out of the water, so to speak.  I couldn't believe it. The experience washed away all of my tension and I knew I was witnessing something amazing.

The only other thing that somewhat tainted this leg of the journey
was my growing irritation for time alone. I've realized a lot about
myself, how I travel, and what I need to feel happy.  While the private
guide stuff has been great and I haven't had to worry about time
consuming technicalities, I would never do this again. It takes all of the freedom, challenge, and fun out of it.  The irritation started building in Luxor.. I didn't want to ride on a felucca, nor go to the stupid sound and light snow, nor for a dinner cruise. I am not into that.  I would rather just walk around the town, get a feel for it, meet people, meandor through the market, see the town for what it is  And now, being with Hamdi this whole time is seriously driving me crazy.  I am sick of people telling me to "relax", "don't worry you are with me you are in good hands", "you can trust me". I'm sick of people telling me what to do and how to do it. If I say no to something, I mean it.  Just let me be!!  I am tired of him telling me I can trust him and then using that against me, making me feel super uncomfortable and in turn making me feel like I'm a bad person for just wanting some privacy. I am not a baby and if I make a mistake, he's  say "see that is why I'm here. I fix it for you." I'll do it myself!!  Egyptians are impatient people who pretend to be otherwise. When I was sick on the car and he kept on trying to talk to me, I snapped. I just wanted to be left alone, THAT is what would make me feel better.  I had a
major issue with my first driver making innappropriate comments to me so I got him changed out... Hamdi kept making jokes about it, making me feel like I was wrong to react the way I did although I know I was right. He kept trying to tell me to relax and chill out (although I honestly am very chill..), he'll take care of everything, you should walk here and then do this, etc etc. Thank you, I will take the suggestions but if I decide to spend my time doing something else, just let me be. This is my vacation. I just need breathing space. You say I can trust you and only you, but you're no different than any of the rest. It's always something for something.  I watch my own back, I don't want anyone trying to make me do things I don't want to do, and if I say no, respect it. That's really all that I ask. Egyptian men.

The rest of today I ignored Hamdi and smoked apple flavored shiisha with some Frenchies. heheh  It was great to finally meet some travelers and interact with other people, for the first time so far.  I met 3 French girls while at Blue Hole, when we returned to Dahab we sat on some couches at the Funny Mummy and ate crepes and ice cream.  Smoking shiisha is done using this huge water pipe and a tube to the mouthpiece.. you just inhale. So there really wasn't any way to mess it up. (I have issues) I tried smoking that stuff, when in Rome right? But yuck!  The only pleasant thing about it was the apple flavor.  If they just got rid of the tobacco part and just made it like inhaling some Gala's, I'd be all over it. The Frenchies loved that stuff though. eck!

I have just 2 days left in Egypt. Tonight we are leaving to meet Hamdi's family who are Bedouin.  I'm very curious to learn about their way of life in the desert, so I'm looking forward to it. Tonight at 11pm I am climbing Mt. Sinai, camping up there for the night and watching sunrise at dawn tomorrow. Then off to Nuweiba, and Jordan! I can't wait to get out on my own, there's a certain thrill that has been somewhat stifled so far. Today was a great day on the Sea- it made me realize that this is once in a lifetime and I am going to do it exactly as I want. I felt truly happy to be alive today and I wish that people close to me could have seen what I saw in the water. I feel rejuvenated and I can't wait to get to Jordan.

Print this entry Share Dahab hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry