But it was an uphill battle to enoy it here. Money grubbing touts and dishonest men are around every corner just waiting to screw you any way they can, and when they are done they ask for a tip. We did meet a lot of extremely generous people, in fact I would say the nicest people I have ever met. It is an awesome experience to be walking down the street and have dozens of strangers welcome you to their city like a brother. Unfortunately because of the other half you have to be on guard and that puts you at a disadvantage for the positive experiences. So I would say overall we had a great time but it wasn’t without its challenges. We will be back… someday…. way way way in the future

Click here for the Egypt Photo Gallery

Favorite moments:

• Kosheri
• Red Sea… all of it
• Driving through the desert
• The Pyramids
• Camels!
• Awesome guys at the bakery in Cairo
• Amazing culture and people

Not so great:

• Touts
• Baksheesh for nothing (well, greed)
• Disregard for cleanliness, sanitation, or common sense
• Blatent theft and dishonesty
• Touts

Total Money Spent Per Person: $436.65

Average Per Day Costs Per Person:

• Lodging: $5.25
• Food: $6
• Transportation: $6.36
• Misc: $11.50 (Beer, Trips to the store, Souvenirs, Park entrance, Guide Fees, etc.)

Total Average Per Day, Per Person: $29.11

Number of Days: 15

After hiking for nearly 3 hours, we summited Mt Sinai and found a hidden cubby to shield ourselves from the chilling wind until the light of dawn began to peak. And when it did, it was really splendid.

Dawn

The hike itself wasn’t too bad: 3 hours on a camel trail plus a good 20 min. climbing stairs. The top of the mountain has been a pilgrimage site for decades and as such facilities are well laid out with snack stands every 30 min or so.

The trail

Once we were at the top though it was absolutely freezing! We were expecting it to be cold but this was ridiculous. We found a small cove we could hide in for the hour and a half till sun up. The sun rise was spectacular even though the entire top of the mountain was crawling with tourists and touts.

The sunrise

On the way down we stopped by Saint Catherine’s Monastery. The monastery holds some interesting things for people of all or no faiths. The alledged Burning Bush is now housed inside St. Catherine`s and people from all over the world come too see it, touch it, pray beside it and be otherwise emotionally moved in its presence. In addition, the oldest translation of the Bible is in St Catherine`s world renowned extensive library along with one of the largest collections of illuminated manuscripts in the world. İt is definitely worth a look and also houses some truly incredible old pieces of religious art.

The burned(?) bush

After a tiring day, night, and now another day, we were happy to finally get to Nuweiba where we spent the night to more easily catch the ferry to Jordan tomorrow. We rented a charming beach bungalow for around $2/pp complete with mosquito net riddled with holes and windows that can`t open and no fan.

Our room

We even made a friend, a scruffy looking brown lab mix (now known as Muffins, the Racist Dragon). He wasn`t very good at playing fetch with his one eye and was afraid of the water…that was painful for his numerous war wounds. After playing in the water for a while we all three retired to our beach blanket where Muffins became our guardian/attack dog when Arab men walked past us down the beach. Aparently Muffins had had a bad run-in with one or several Arab men because he really seemed to like Saben. He didn’t have any problem when a woman walked down the beach either but at first sniff of an Arab man he shot up and chased them snarling and snapping his teeth. He ran two guys (who took turns running behind one another) into water up to their waists! We were not too surprised when they returned a few minutes later, one with a metal pole and the other with a 2×4, and purposefully tried to aggravate the dog. Saben gave the dog a pat on the head to calm it down and gave the men a few choice words that encouraged them to leave the three of us alone. We have seen men beat anything they can get their hands on here (one of the saddest aspects of our time in the region) and it looks like Muffins has as well.

Our beach shack

We bid Muffins farewell and left him on the beach as we headed back to our bungalow trying to escape the torrent of mosquitoes that come out around dusk.

This place just gets better and better with each day we are here! It`s beautiful, warm and sunny, has great food, and an island pace. More snorkeling today and laying in the sun to tan. Tonight we hike Mount Sinai to see the sun rise tomorrow morning. No sleep tonight but it should be worth it. We shall see…

Camel enjoying the empty northern beach

Saben started the day with a morning dive (Penguin Divers, 18 euros includes all equipment). But to be honest, Saben`s dive wasn`t very exciting. They went to “The Islands”, where we had been snorkeling yesterday, and he didn`t see anymore diving than he did snorkeling! Still it was a great way to brush up on his mad diving skills.

Boat on the water

Later we took a glassbottom boat (Lin had never been on one) for around US$10 pp (1.5 hours). We saw some many fısh and tons of colorful coral! There were parrot fısh and clownfısh, wild goldfish and sea bass, a small eel garden with a couple hundred eels sticking up out of the sand, a giant pufferfish (un-inflated…), a tiny vibrant neon purple fish that we can`t name, beautiful Blue Arabians, small tuna, and the list could keep going! It was really exciting and more fun than we would have expected. Well worth the price!

Shot through the glass

Travel Tip:

There are about a million and a half dive shops in Dahab and it can be rather daunting to try and choose a good one with good gear, good people, and a reasonable price. It is definitely worth walking down the strip to price check and meet the folks you will be diving with and to have a peek at their equipment. Be careful who you ask for recommendations because most everyone has a vested interest in the answer they give you. Wikitravel.org has a pretty good list of several shops, contact info, and a brief description of each. You can always check Lonely Planet`s Thorn Tree forum on theır website or ask fellow travelers at your hostel who they liked diving with.

Also note that most of the dive sites are also great snorkeling sights so if your travel mate doesn`t dive, most shops will let them come along just for snorkeling. As with all things in Egypt, prices are fluid and can change quite easily. Most shops quote prices in euros or dollars and you can ask if they will give you a discount (especially during low season–they`re starving for business!).

Few things better than snorkeling in the Red Sea. Parrot fish, clownfish, lion fish, flute fish, barracuda, and a mass of other fish too plentiful to name were waiting just below the surface as we trucked off to “The Islands” dive site.

Rusted by the sea air

The water is clear and cool with the occasional cold current coming in from the deeper waters in the sea. Plus the highly salinated water makes floating and swimming all the more fun! The site is fantastic; a set of three coral islands just below the surface, with the tops sticking out at low tide. A flurry of activity waits on the inland side as the sea life escapes the cold waters of the deep sea.

Lin by the sea

After a taxing day of fun in the water and sun, we spent our evening lounging on oversized pillows and rugs on a rooftop restaurant sipping drinks and smoking shisha and admiring the stars and twinkling lights of Saudi Arabia just across the sea.

Travel Tip:

The Red Sea boasts some of the world`s best snorkeling and diving so Dahab is a great place for enjoying massive amounts of sea life floating effortlessly right before your eyes. Around Dahab`s coast are several snorkeling/diving sights and each sight has its best time depending on the tides so ask around at the dive shop or when you rent snorkel gear what sights are best at the time you are going out.

We liked The Islands, about 15-20 minutes walk from the popular Funny Mummy restaurant and surrounding area. Lighthouse reef was neat but was flooded with jellyfish so we didn`t get to stay there long. All the dive shops will have maps of the sights so ask any one for tips and recommendations. Snorkel equipment runs about US$1.75-$2 (10 EGYP) maximum for mask and fins all day but some shops have different ideas what “all day” means so be sure to ask.

Despite the firm declarations of the bus attendant, driver, and ticket guy the bus to Dahab was NOT 12 hours but turned out to be 17! On top of that, it was the most uncomfortable 17 hours of our lives and we now have multiple bruises and perhaps even some permanent bone-reshaping from the unusually tiny dimensions of the bus interior.

Donkeys seem to be OK though

The seats were extraordinarily narrow even for our small frames and the ceiling was, when we were seated, a maximum of 2 inches above our heads. It was as if the bus company decided to squeeze in an extra row or two, the result being the person in front of Lin literally reclined very rudely and painfully on Lin’s bony knees.

But—when we arrived in Dahab, it was all worth it. A quiet little beach town with few tourists remaining in the current low season, we seem to have Dahab mostly to ourselves. First order of business was to examine the famed Red Sea. It far exceeded any expectation we could have ever set forth. The tide was low, leaving behind thousands of tide pools across the wide shore filled with plenty of stranded starfish, crabs, sea snails, and plenty of other unidenitifiable creatures.

Starfish!

Saben smokin' some shisha

We spent our evening on a rooftop bar smoking shisha, admiring the stars and twinkling lights of Saudi Arabia just across the bay. What a life!

Super slow day for posting. We did nothing today but try and hide from the heat in the best air-conditioned place in town: the internet cafe…Night bus to Dahab this afternoon. Better luck for posts tomorrow…

Shot down our street

Egypt is all about tours. Everyone seems to have a hand in at least five or six enterpirses aimed at the tourism industry. For those who prefer sightseeing alone find it twenty times more difficult than it should be. So as it turned out, it was more economical to take a tour to the Valley of the Kings and surrounding area (a whopping $25 for guide, transport, and all tickets; each sight has its own entrance fee and taxis charge astronomical fees to take you to the area and then wait for you).

Columns amoung the ruins

Despite our unusually whiney group (maybe it was the heat?), we did see some interesting ancient art and history. There was even a 6,000 year old mummified (miscarried) human fetus and some rather puny looking early Christian graffiti scrawled over such skillful Egyptian paintings (this isn’t a slam to any religion, just an observation). Unfortunately the normal baksheesh begging no photo allowed unless I’m getting paid for it “tourist police” were ever present, so very few photos to show for our time.

Valley of the Kings

Statue in the temple

We tramped through the valley of the Kings, Hapshepsut’s tomb (only woman to be buried in the Valley of the Kings–interesting back story there), Valley of the Queens, an alabaster workshop (built-into the tour sales pitch) the Colossus of Memnon in ancient Thebes, and that’s it (I think…). It was an especially hot day, around 105 degrees Farhenheit and we were melty piles of former humans by the time we got back to our ceiling-fan-equipped room of questionable stability while on the HIGH setting.

The air was stale, hot, unmoving and the sun’s heat was beating down upon the city of Luxor in a most unforgiving manner. But as soon as my foot touched the rocking felucca tied up to a seemingly ancient dock, the air turned sweet and pleasant as if indicating what was to come. Our captain welcomed us above the Isis and introduced his first mate and youngest son, Ali Baba.

Ali Baba on the Isis

The wind from the Nile danced across my cheek and the afternoon sun seemed less harsh glistening off the water. The felucca gently, efficiently cut through the river’s tiny waves from passing motor boats. Completely under the spell of the Nile and watching the sails flutter with soft flapping sounds, I barely noticed when we landed at Banana Island. As its name suggests, Banana Island is home to a sizeable banana plantation where felucca tours, even private ones, insist on going to show tourists the ”wild bananas” and, more accurately, to kill a few hours until sunset. We weren’t terribly enamoured with the plantation or the ”free” bananas that someone half-heartedly pressed us to pay for and were eager to get back on the boat.

Boat on the water

We can be on land anytime but spending time of sailboats is something quite rare for us! After two and a half hours of reading books we had stashed in Saben’s daybag, we were finally beckoned back to the felucca to resume our delightful trip on the Nile.

Lin on the Isis

The Isis

It was a lovely sunset and we were reluctant to have to get off the boat and go back to our hostel. It was such a nice trip, although we only got to spend maybe 45 minutes on the water (the most fun part!) and well worth the money spent (around $10 pp before tip).

Sunset on the Nile

There is nothing quite like leaving on a 3AM military convoy to the Egyptian border with Sudan. We were heading to Abu Simbel, the temple complex honoring Ramses II. Abu Simbel was intended to show the Sudanese coming into Egypt that Ramses II was a not merely a fierce, strong king but a god and they in turn were mere mortals. Overall it’s an interesting sight but the view of Lake Nassr is quite stunning as well. The temple complex was moved block by block in the 1960’s to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nassr and is now housed in a giant constructed mountain.

Ramses at Abu Simbel

We got to the complex expecting an easy few hours of strolling through the complex but as with all things in Egypt it can never be that easy. When we went to the ticket counter they stated that our student cards were not good enough and we would have to “pay full price or go away”. This didn’t sit well with the group of students behind us either and a lot of yelling started with Saben upfront. Very typical in Egypt though. Twice we have had to have a supervisor or tourist police officer tell a ticket counter that we do have the right cards. But this guy wasn’t listening and two big tour groups were stacking in behind us. We reluctantly handed the guy the full price, another tourist came around the corner and said that the ticket officer around the corner was going to take his card. We told the guy we wanted our money back and he handed us half of it, saying we only paid him for one ticket! Saben got really angry and gave the guy the look of death and with out saying another word he gave Saben the rest of the money. We went around the corner and asked the other guy about tickets. And who comes around but the other ticket guy! He whispers something in the guy’s ear and all the sudden they don’t take those cards anymore… So we ended up having to pay the full price, which is double the student rate! We were a little pissed but decided to try to shrug it off.

Abu Simbel

The complex is stunning! Massive statues of Ramses spread across the two temple sights. Unfortunately, many of the statues are covered in graffiti, carved into the feet and chest of Ramses. Some of it dating back over a hundred years.

The Temple complex is highly guarded by baksheesh begging tourist police. We were also unhappy to find out that (like most sights in Egypt) photography is not allowed inside the complex. although we were able to sneek a few for your viewing pleasure.

Inside the main temple

Carvings inside the temple

The convoys only run twice a day so we had some time to wait after we finished before the next convoy out. So we wandered over to the fence to enjoy the view of Lake Nassr. Suddenly out of nowhere come two tourist police yelling at us to get away from the fence! We asked why because we were not even leaning on the fence and were at least a foot or two away. They said it was not allowed, but for a little baksheesh we could stand there and they would take our photo in front of the lake!

Lake Nassar

Really frustrated that we can’t have two seconds of peace with out someone trying to get money out of us, we left the complex and walked to the edge of the lake (on the other side of the fence) and raved about the hypocrisy and ignorance that abounds in this nation/culture…