Day 3: Operation "Desert Fox"
Trip Start
Apr 13, 2007
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4
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Trip End
Apr 30, 2007
Loading Map
Black and White Desert,
Egypt
Monday, April 16, 2007
Chapter 20: Getting there was already tormenting enough!
Woke up in the morning at 6 am, everyone was still sleeping, so I just checked out and moved my luggage to Desert Safary Hostel where I was supposed to meet the driver there. I had a quick breakfast there. (different hotels, same stuff alright). Last night I had already been told that I was doing the trip alone so I didn't expect any companion. So I left my luggage at the reception (I had already booked tomorrow night with them - another reason why I booked the tour through them so I can freely leave the luggage here) and in a minute or two a driver arrived and took me to the bus station.
Ah! another outsourced taxi driver! So he drove me to the bus station, got me the ticket and escorted me to the right bus... and his job was done! (easy huh?) and I was left alone to find out what surprises that were waiting for me in this trip.
The first event came soon and it was not too pleasant. I got chucked out of my seat because I was sitting in the wrong number...Wait a minute, I was right.. but the lady who chucked me out was also right. It seemed that there were 2 numbering systems for the seats. One was labeled on the back of the seats and the other was labeled on the side, but with a different number. The two systems deviated by 2. But since everyone else had already followed the other system, and that it was a lady asking me (though she wasn't asking that "politely"), so I gave up my seat and changed to a correct one.
My new position was beside a man of a regular built, but the size of the seat was so small (length-wise and breadth-wise) that I felt cramped in it already! (and the bus hadn't even started yet! Now that was just the physical torture! I'd wish it was that simple! The bus came with a stereo sound system that could produce "quality" Islamic chanting throughout the journey. Just imagine a monk endlessly muttering the prayers in your ears for the whole trip, then cross it with some opera singing and you will see what I mean. (If only he was half as good as Pavarotti...) Next, the problem was with the heat: No air-con and no fans.
Left: Our bus. They depart from Cairo to the oasis three times daily: 0700, 0800 and 1500. Rumors said that amongst these three was a phantom bus that actually had air-conditioning inside(!!)... never seen the real thing! As of today I reckon it is still a myth!
Right: Inside of the bus. On the right you can have a glimpse of the "hardbacks"... no, I am not talking about books!
So this 8 o'clock bus started late, and before it hit the highway, it stopped in 2 more stops where more local people came on broad. During one stop, some ladies came up with baskets of tissue papers and bread rolls. (At first I thought that was a free service provided by the bus company, especially when the lady came up with tissue papers first... but C'mon, there was no free lunch in Egypt!) ! Soon the bus was on its way out of Cairo but then suddenly it stopped by the side of a street for 30 minutes. (broken down?)
Finally the journey resumed and soon the city was left behind and all we could see was sand in the surrounding. That was when the sun and the heat (and the sweat of course!) came in. After about 2 hours, the journey came to an intermission. There was a petrol station in the middle of the desert where you could take a break, replenish your supplies, and for the locals, pray as well.
The toilet there, as I heard afterwards, was claimed to be the worst toilet she encountered in her whole trip in Egypt! Now whether her other visits in Egypt had been luxurious or not I don't know but I couldn't verify her statement since I couldn't just go in and have a look inside the ladies. (The gents was ok)
If you hadn't booked any tour before you stepped on this bus, now this break would be the perfect chance to group with other lost souls to form a group to share the cost. However, as I had already booked my own, there was no need to group anymore. Besides, it turned out that at the end all the foreigners (only about 8 people in total) on the bus had already booked theirs too. So this approach wouldn't work in the low season or otherwise you have to risk of paying for the cost of a single jeep alone! (about 600-700 LE)
So after the break we continued the journey and soon enough (2 more sweaty and stuffy hours later) we arrived into an oasis (as I started to see some trees and vegetations) However, no one was sure which stop we should get off so we just waited and waited and started to worry as the locals disappeared one by one. As I have been told that our stop would not be the terminus so I tried to ask around and it turned out that everyone was just as clueless.
Finally the bus stopped in the main street and the driver signaled us to get off. As soon as we stepped out of the bus, a large crowd swarmed(!) towards us each carrying signs, pamphlets and photos of their tours, hotels and packages. Before I got engulfed by the mob someone finally shouted "Desert Safary!" and I knew my savior has finally come. Like a lost sheep, he pulled me out from the crowd and before I could say thanks to him, he went in again and "rescued" a few more. (remembered the scene that private F. Gump rescued his teammates?)
Left: Let's take a break at the petrol station. It was much appreciated after 2 hours of cramping inside a hot and stuffy bus. This place was also famous for the ladies toilet. A must see and feel experience!
Right: Main street of Bawiti, the main town of the oasis. Imagine this peaceful scene was packed with a mob of cannibals trying really hard to "welcome" you... Egyptian Hospitality!
Moments later, other tour guides had also finished rounding up their own guests and the mob, seeing that everyone from the bus had already been taken away, was disappointed and scattered away like insects...
When my guide had finally finished, I noticed that there were 4 of us besides him. Without a word, he took us to a small jeep nearby and signaled us to climb inside it. Yes, climbing was the word as we had to climb up and entered the vehicle from the back, and the space inside was so tight that there were only room for 2 people to sit side-by-side on each side. (yes, like those military personnel transport vehicle)
So during the short journey we had to face each other and none of us spoke a word. One of us was actually wearing a pair of camouflaged army trousers made us all looked like we were a platoon heading to the front line.
After 5 minutes of rough travel inside this "military" vehicle, we arrived to our base - Ahmed Desert Safary Camp. We got off and was "greeted" by (which I think) Ahmed the boss personally. He quickly led us to the restaurant for lunch. Lunch was nothing great, in fact the quality and quantity of the food made me think if we were in the fasting month of Ramadan! (The only thing meaty during the whole meal were the flies hovering around the dishes)
Chapter 21: The Fantastic Four
After a quick lunch and a quick chat, I finally learned my comrades:
The eldest guy David, was a retired merchant who was taking his time off travelling around the world. He spent half of the year in the Spanish Island Tenerife , and half in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he came from. To me, he resembled more like Mr. Crocodile Dundee, than a pure Scot, for his tan and his cowboy hat. Because of his age and experience, he naturally became the leader of this op.
The young guy who was dressed in an army uniform, who looked like he would rather die in the battlefield than anything else, was actually quite shy. Alexendre, or Alex, whom we called him, was from Quebec of Canada. While he excelled in French, his English was not too good, and maybe it was the reason why he looked a bit shy (actually, i mean a bit cool!) He was a student who had just graduated and was also scouting the rest of the world. He had just recently finished the southeast Asia and he was now doing Middle East... With his energetic and fearless character, he would be an irreplaceable hit force in this team.
Just like in every movie there must be a female role, no matter how unimportant the part was. The last member of this team was a girl from the States, who was doing the exchange in London and was taking her Easter Break right now. So instead of seeing the boring old England, Jamie decided to come and check out the land of Pharaohs.
With no time to waste, immediately after the meal Ahmed quickly led this Fantastic Four (named it because the number, the age and sex of this group just matched; with David resembled Mr. Fantastic and Alex the Human Torch, Jamie would be the Invisible Woman but of course I did not look anything like the Thing!) to the Toyota Land Cruiser and was ready to go.
Left: The Ecstastic Four: David the Mr. Ecstastic, Jamie the vincible gal and Alex the Human Torture... Where is the Fling?
Right: The Fantastic Four... See?! there is not much difference!
A word must be said about our tour guide and driver (which I have already forgotten his name). He was a very nice guy, sincere and helped us with bags. Before I thought this was too good to be true, I then realized he couldn't speak any English ... and he was supposed to be our tour guide for the next 2 days! His "chariot" was a Toyota alright, but there was no air-con, the windows were stuck, (couldn't be rolled up or down) and there were no seat belts (or some seat belts had no sockets on the other end!) The only relief was that the car doors could still be opened at will, so at least we didn't have to climb through the windows.
Before we could find Ahmed to complain, (who sneakily disappeared immediately after bringing us to the jeep - He must be a "busy" man, just couldn't wait a bit! ) the engine started and it was a matter of take him (the driver) or leave him. (and got left behind!)
Our first stop after lunch was......... afternoon tea! As Alex forgot to buy water bottles just now, so we had to stop for supplies, and at the same time why not have an afternoon tea? It was here Jamie introduced to me the Egyptian mint tea. (Touareg tea) They just put an unwashed (a bit burnt) mint tea leaf in the tea and in a few minutes later you would get a reddish infusion of one of the best tasted tea I've ever had. The smell was so refreshing and the taste was so chilling. It was definitely better than those mint tea you get from the coffee shop or from teabags. From that moment on, I have fallen in love with the Shay (tea) of Egypt! (The tea in Egypt is by default the mint tea)
After the tea session, we boarded the car again and soon the oasis was behind us and the scenery had changed back from green trees to yellowish sand. After a 30 minutes drive, we started to see black "hills" in the horizon. On a closer look, each hill was actually a sand dune of black sand, a bit like what you see when a hawker is selling "fried chestnut" on the streets in Hong Kong.
Left: Our Toyota Land Cruiser! The outside looked a lot better than the inside. Everything was broken in the inside! Those branches on the roof were for us to set a bonfire at night! Of course those dirty rugs were also part of our camping materials.
Right: "Hills" found in the black desert.
Chapter 22: Black Desert (or what I believe to be!)
Soon enough, the jeep stopped in front of one of the "hills" and the driver just pointed towards the top of the hill and said "Black Desert" and off we went! There was already a well trodden trail on the hill and at first the climb was easy, but soon enough I started to realize it became a bit steep that it was getting hard to balance with a DSLR on one hand while trying to keep it high from the sand and the dust. So at the end I had to retreat and put back the camera in the car before going up again with the all-weather Olympus SW770 camera. But it was this detour that left me right behind the others. While I was still at the middle of the hill, they were already coming back down. Seeing that there was no way to catch up with them I decided to wait and consult their expert opinions before deciding on what to do next.
'So were there any treasures high above the clouds?'
'Nay, you could just see the other side of the hill.' said Jamie in an American accent.
'What's on the other side of the hill?'
'Oh just a scene similar to here, you know, more hills, and black sand'
'....'
So I could have just walked around the hill to see the other side if I wished, and probably it would be a lot quicker. But of course I would miss the breathtaking view of a sea of black sand dunes across the horizon. Well, maybe I should save that till next time then.
Left: After hearing from the "oracle" that we had to go up, without a thought the team started climbing up like zombies...
Right: The "hill" was actually quite steep.
Chapter 23: Crystal Mountain (or what I believe to be!)
The car left the black desert area and a short while later we came to another stop. We patiently waited as David, who had been sitting besides the driver, consulted him where we were and what to do next. Just like any ancient oracle, his words were brief: 'Crystal mountain!'. We looked around in the immediate surroundings and couldn't see any signs of objects glittering, so David asked politely again. His reply was the same. Knowing that prophesies usually required guess works and puzzle solving to understand, we gave up and headed towards an ordinary hill nearby.
Just like any treasures, if they were easy to be found, there wouldn't be any left by now. So having failed to find anything that shone, (the only things that were shining were the reflections of the sweat on our faces) we split up.
David, being the oldest and seemed the most experienced, decided to head off further to scout around for more crystals. I was busy taking photos of other cars passing by. (Every once in a while, one or two cars drove along in high speed, just like in a rally race in the desert) Jamie suddenly shouted,
'I finally know why this is called the white desert!' As she spoke she was wiping her foot on the sand and soon enough underneath the yellow sand were speckles of white sand. Having found something to do, she decided to show off her artistic talent and wrote the word "EGYPT" on the ground.
Soon enough we all went back to the car without really finding out what this place really was meant to be.
Top Left: Are these supposed to be crystals or were we too late that all the crystals were looted by Cpt. Jack Sparrow?
Top Rigft: HAL@2001: "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"
Middle Left: The main road as seen from the crystal mountain. The white sand on both sides of the road looked like splashing water waves.
Middle Right: World Rally Championship 2007? Maybe those racers were just off-course! (maybe they were supposed to be in Morocco)
Bottom Left: Jamie was so kind in showing us how to spell,,,
Bottom Right: Seems like she was already too tired out after writing just 5 letters...
Chapter 24: Old White Desert (or what I believe to be!)
Another short ride and we arrived into a place where we finally saw some white sand. 'White desert!' the "oracle" prophesied again. This time it seemed a bit more believable because there was white sand all around. On the landscape there were many rocks of different shapes (mostly mushrooms however) and we also saw some other human life forms for the first time once we entered the desert. Besides taking photos, there were even less to do here than the previous site so we were back in the car 10 minutes afterwards.
Mushrooms of different shapes and sizes were found in the old white desert, but definitely no way as interesting as the "Fairy Chimneys" found in Cappadocia in Turkey.
Chapter 25: The Egypt's "Ayrton Senna"
The car started to leave the main road and entered into a realm of white sand. The car gradually accelerated as we went through the hills and troughs of the white desert. Soon enough we became alarmed by the speed and tried to reach out for the non-existent seat belt (once again), failing that we then tried to grab whatever we could find to cling on to. The total concentration and the fearlessness within the driver's eyes made me think that the spirit of Ayrton Senna da Silva must have got hold of him. I sneakily took a peek over his shoulder at the speedometer and surprisingly, the needle was pointing at ZERO! (Even the speedometer was broken as well!) Seems that prayers would probably be the last words we could utter now.
After 30 minutes of this speed thrill, (as of today I still wonder if that was part of the tour programme?!) we finally arrived in a place where there was more white sand than put together of what we had seen so far. Just now there were only patches of white sand over yellow sand, now the whole area was white, as if the place had been snowing!
We stopped in front of a horse head shaped rock. There was already another car waiting. The two drivers greeted in their Egyptian manner. (I also got a greeting like that yesterday!) It turned out that the other driver was also from Ahmed Desert Safary Camp and he was taking a one-man tour for a Korean lady Youn-Jun. The most marvelous thing about this guy was that he spoke good English... so finally we could say goodbye to guessing of what our driver wanted to say.
Chapter 26: Camping at the New White Desert (or what I believe to be!)
The two drivers started to set up our camp for the day. They parked the two jeeps at right angle and in front of them hanged up pieces of colorful (and at the same time very dirty) rugs to make up a L-shaped partition. More dirty rugs were laid down on the floor and soon after, a small table and cushions appeared and we were sitting comfortably on the covered ground. You could choose to lie down on the dirty rug or on (what appeared to be cleaner) white sand... and we all self-hypnotized in believing the stains of the rugs were just ancient Persian patterns.
Top Left: "Senna, we know you are good, but please look forward while you drive and drift, ok?"
Top Right: By parking two cars in a L shape, our "camp site" was setup. Now all the wind will be blown towards us now! Cool!
Bottom: The horse head, the bear (left) and the sea turtle (right)
The two Egyptian did not slack off... next they created a bonfire with the lumber and twigs we brought with us and started making dinner.
The ladies were very curious of what they were doing (actually anybody would be too after looking at the way they cook - after all, we had to eat those stuff!) I wandered off to the polar bear-shaped rock to try to shoot the sunset.
Top: The bear rider, luckily she had not invested in the stock markets (left) The not-so-beautiful sunset (right)
Middle: The team meeting without any eye contact. Exercise: Try to spot two people where their eyes meet. (left) First it was Senna, now it's Jamie Oliver... let's see how you perform! (right)
Bottom: Jamie had a go first, obviously was not very good; so Youn-Jun took over. Of course she had her secret weapon... What's she adding to the pot? Arabic Kimchi?
Dave came back and shared with us what he had found - an animal salvage site! Being excited of perhaps seeing a couple of skulls and bones and an odd vulture or two I quickly rushed to the crime scene... but what was waiting for me were just trails of animals footprints, and some stains on the sand which was reckoned to be blood... no signs of carcass or bones whatsoever... so it seems that whatever were having the meal there cleaned up everything. Later Youn-Jun said she saw some foxes earlier and most probably they were the owners of the footprints. Well, at least those prints did not belong to anything more threatening! Really didn't want anything to come and clean up our bodies at night!
Sunset was quite disappointing as there was a haze around the area. Soon after dark we began to start our dinner. Each person was rationed with some potato stew and rice, plus ONE portion of an aluminum foil-wrapped chicken! They had calculated precisely that each person had only one share, no more, no less! But obviously they were not good project managers as they didn't cater for contingency. Mine was grilled so well that it turned into carbon completely! (How did they manage to do it if it was wrapped inside an aluminum foil?) Luckily Jamie was a vegetarian and she gave me her share, otherwise I would be a vegetarian on that night!
Our dinner tonight.. A plate of vegetable with oily rice. Ok there was a chicken nearby... So what did you guys think?
Dave & Jamie: 'Hmmm...' (can tell from Jamie's facial expression)
Alex & Youn-Jun: (had a full mouthful)... ok, got your point!
The drivers: 'Man! What do you think? We have been eating these stuff everyday!'
The after meal dessert was a shisha (an oriental tobacco pipe) buried under the sand. I didn't know why they put the pot under the sand, would it taste better? I wouldn't know as I didn't feel like going mouth-to-mouth with them but it seems that Alex was having good puffs from it. (didn't I tell you he was the Human Torch!)
Left: Our bonfire! Gave us our dinner, our tea, some light and warmth! But it also choked me to death when the wind changed direction during the night.
Right: The Human Torch was puffing happily while the driver was praying!
Chapter 27: Being romantic costs... Don't try to be a Valentino
It was dark by now and besides the camp light (from the bonfire and also from a kerosene lamp), the perimeter around was pitch black. So you only need to walk 10 metres and you were completely shrouded in the dark, with only the twinkling stars sparkling above you. The nearest other camp was at least 500 metres from afar. Basically you didn't really have to worry about finding the bathroom as the bathroom was just anywhere!
So I was going to take a walk in the dark to enjoy the starlight when Jamie called me from behind and asked if she could join me. (Wow, I really hadn't been invited by a girl for a long time so there was no reason to turn down a girl) So the two of us headed towards the darkness.
What an romantic scene for a guy and a gal turned out to be a heated discussion between US politics, astrology and Chinese Feng Shui... which was obviously nothing romantic at all...
But being "romantic" had its prices to pay! When we came back to the camp everyone was already set for the night. Those guys, being extremely gentleman to ladies, had already made out the bed for Jamie on a good spot with a sleeping bag laid out. For me there was nothing but an empty space near the dirty stove. There was no more sleeping bags left and the choice was left between dirty blankets or be frozen to death. As I reckoned that I would be too young to die so I chose the blankets. But still, putting on those ancient unwashed blankets were like shoveling dust and dirt all over my body, which "unpleasant" was already a luxury word to describe!
It was only about 9 o'clock and it seemed that Alex and Youn-Jun were sleeping like two "logs" already. Dave and Jamie were lying down doing some bedtime chit-chatting. The two drivers were still smoking the shisha and chatting. Though it was a bit early but there was really nothing to do, so I tried to get some sleep but the wind was blowing the smoke from the bonfire towards us and choked me for the whole night.
Just as I was about to doze off finally, I heard some wing-fluttering noise coming from the side. It all sounded so familiar - 'Cockroaches!' was the first thing that came to my mind. 'Wait a minute! We were in the middle of the desert in Egypt! It can't be...'
So I put on my glasses. Luckily the two drivers were still talking and so there was still enough light for me to see a beetle scurrying around the stove.
'Ah those are just scarabs', said one of the drivers. Even though he reassured that it would be alright, but I still remembered vividly the many scenes of the scarab activities in the movie 'Mummy' and so the night was spent in anxiety and fear at the end.
Left: Picture of a real scarab.
Right: Does this scene in The Mummy remind you of anything? No, John Hannah was not seeing the dentist!
