Hey guys and gals!
Nigel and I made it safe and sound out of Israel and into Jordan and we are now traveling around Europe...we are in Spain at the moment!
On our second day in Israel we took a day trip to Bethlehem and saw the spot in the church where Jesus was born and then we tried to catch a bus to the Dead Sea but apparently none of them run there right now because of the fighting and taxis were too expensive so instead we hiked up the Mount of Olives and had a grand view of Jerusalem. That night we went to the New City or East Jerusalem which is full of fancy shops, restaurants and bars. It was a major contrast to the poor Muslim part of town we were staying in. We took a bus the next morning to Eilat (poor Nigel had to sit in the aisle for the 5 hour ride because they overbook the buses) and then had the joy of crossing over the border into Jordan. Once we got there we realized that there weren´t any more buses running that day from Aquaba to Petra, where we wanted to go. We ended up sharing a taxi with a French couple and the third driver we had along the way (they kept switching up) hooked us up with a cheap hotel in Wadi Musa which is right outside the site of Petra. The next day we went into Petra and walked all around the old city that is built totally into the rock faces. It is pretty amazing what they were able to build back then. We hiked up to the top where the monostary is and we also saw the building where they filmed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. We were exhausted after walking the 10km and went back to the hotel and had a nap. We met an Aussie guy and ended up having dinner with him and then we all went to the Cave Bar which is 3000 years old and supposedly the oldest bar in the world. It was all built into the rocks and the tables were in the tombs. The beer was freaking expensive because the alcohol taxes are so ridiculous. The next morning we got the taxi back to Aquaba to head back to Egypt. We thought it would be cheaper and less of a hassle if we took the ferry directly from Jordan to Egypt rather than go through Israel again and walk across the three borders but the boat ticket ended up costing us way more than we expected and the super fast ferry was not fast at all. We finally arrived in Egypt and it was total mayhem at the port. We bought our bus ticket to Cairo and then had to wait while families boarded the bus with everything they owned. It was like everyone was moving house! There were people carting around refridgerators and tables and chairs...it was insane. A lady wearing the full veil befriended us on the bus and she tried to explain in broken English why everyone was going to Cairo that day and why they all changed into their best clothes before we arrived eventhough it was 11pm but I didn´t really understand. We finally made it to Cairo...it had been the longest day of traveling! Our hotel room in Cairo was enormous and really nice. The next day we went to the markets and wandered around and had our last kebab dinner and then at 1am I left for my 4am flight...Nigel was flying out the next afternoon and still arrived in Europe at the same time I did because of my layover, no fair.
We arrived in Frankfurt Germany and only stayed for the one night. It was nice to be back in a civilized country with real food, the only thing is our hostel was located on a street surrounded by sex shops and prostitutes...you dont get that in Egypt! The following day we took the train to Munich and booked into a hostel and then went straight to Dauchau, the concentration memorial site... it was my second time of going there and it was still just as depressing. On our way out of the memorial we met an Aussie couple and they offered us a ride back to town which was only like 20 minutes away. We took them up on it since it looked like it was going to pour down at any minute. Sure enough as soon as we got in the car it started pissing down hard and then it started HAILING the size of golf balls! Nigel and I hadn´t seen rain in almost 5 mths so it was quite different. The couple driving us started to argue about whether or not to pull off the road and then we got lost for a few hours but we eventually made it back to the city! We went and had a beer in our hostel bar and then met up with them for dinner. It was still pouring down rain and we weren´t quite sure where we were going but we stumbled upon the place NIGEL had found (he made me write that) in the guidebook, Beethovens Cafe. It had live music, good atmosphere and the food was cheap eventhough it was a really good meal! The next day in Munich there was a festival so the streets were packed with performances and food stalls, it was awesome! We left that night on the overnight train to Paris. We were planning on going to Italy but because our Eurail pass doesnt include Switzerland we would have had to pay a shitload to cross through there...kinda pissed us off. But oh well! We arrived in Paris and got a hotel room which was cheaper than the hostel in Munich where we had gotten dorm beds and shared a room with 40 other people. I had forgotten how beautiful and how big Paris is! We went to all the sites...the Eiffel Tower at night which is romantic :) and the Saucre Couer, Notre Dame, the Louvre where we saw Mona Lisa which is alot smaller than imagined, and the Garden to Tuilleres and the Arc de Triomphe. It was the anniversary of some French war on that day so they were having a parade and some kind of ceremony under the Arc which was exciting to see. We spent two nights and three days in Paris and then we took the overnight train to Venice. We wandered around Venice for a few hours (its been Nigels favorite place so far) and then took the train on to Florence. We spent the night in Florence and did some laundry and stayed in a very religious hostel. The next day was the worst day we had. We went and saw the large Church in town and then went to see Michalangelo´s statue of David. The line was really long but we thought it would go faster than it did....we were wrong. Nigel waited in line for THREE and a half HOURS to see a naked guy and also pay 10 euros to get in! I took off and went bikini shopping while he waited hehe. Since we waited so long, or I should say since Nigel waited so long, we didnt want to get out of line so we decided to miss our train and take a later one to Pisa. We went and saw the leaning Tower of Pisa which is pretty cool and definitely is leaning (refer to photos if you dont believe me). We went back to the train station to catch our train to Rome. As we were about to board we were told the train wasn´t going...apparently there was a twenty four hour train strike and the only small sign notifiying everyone of this was in Italian so all of us dumb travellers were standing around like what the hell? By missing the earlier train from Florence to Pisa we had missed the last train to Rome....damn David! There was a bit of a protest that went on in the train station that we watched but in the end we all ended up spreading out our sleeping bags and spending the night in the station. At 5:30am the next morning we boarded the first train to Rome which was ridiculously overcrowded by everyone who had been stranded because of the strike. We arrived in Rome and then we couldn´t find our hostel for ages and we ended up walking with our packs forever, I thought I was going to die. Our hostel was actually a building where they used to house the Olympians so it was huge and unwelcoming. The next day we did a hop on, hop off bus tour of Rome and went and saw the Colosuem, Fountain de Trevi, Roman Forum, and all that good stuff. Our second day there we went to Vatican City and saw Pope John Paul II gravesite and the huge Saint Peters Basillica. We caught an overnight train to Nice, France and spent the day there on the beach, which is quite pretty, and then caught another overnight train to Barcelona. We met a young American couple in the train station and went with them to a cheap hotel and then went and walked around the markets and beach and Las Ramblas where the street performers all hang out. Because we had spent two nights sleeping on trains we passed out really early and slept straight through to the morning. The following day we did some more siteseeing and then met up with the couple for dinner. It was quite funny because we kept seeing places we wanted to eat and then when we sat down outside they told us the menu we had read was only for inside so we ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant that only served pasta and pizza. The food was crap but the sangria was yummy and it was the guy Mikes birthday that day and at midnight it turned into Nigels birthday so we celebrated! We hung around Barcelona the next day and then caught the train to Alicante...we decided to go there by asking the ticket guy where in Spain he thought was beautiful. We spent the day getting to Alicante and wandered around the streets at midnight when we arrived, searching for a hotel. Alicante is a cute smaller town with a really nice beach which we spent the whole next day on and had yummy lunch in a small pub. That night we went out to the bars and drank and danced til 4am then had KFC, Nigels favorite :) There were more bars and more people than we´d ever seen! Today we are going to see the castle here in Alicante and then we are catching the 6pm train to Madrid then going onto the French border town, then on to Paris, and on to Belgium...it´ll be like a 24 hr train trip, fun fun. We only have six days left here in Europe so we are going to Belguim, Amsterdam, Berlin and then back to Frankfurt where we fly out. Time has gone so fast and so has our money! Its been a blast though and Nigel is really happy he got to see Europe as well.
Well if you read through this entire thing then you deserve a prize :) Hope you all are doing great and I will see some of you soon!
xoxo
R&N
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Israel & the Palestinian Territories
Hi all! Nigel and I are now traveling around Israel and Palestine. Our last week in Dahab flew by! On our last night we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant then went out for a few beers with some friends. Although we had a great few months, we were both definitely ready to leave.
We took the bus from Dahab to Taba and from there we had to walk across the border into Israel. My dive bag that I'd purchased the day before ripped all the way down the side as we were crossing...should've known better than to buy an Egyptian quality bag! Once we had crossed into Israel we then had to take a bus to the bus station in Eilat where we then got on another bus for the five hour journey in Tel Aviv. There were lots of soliders riding the bus as well and they all had huge machine guns, which is a bit scary to see. In Israel everyone (men and women) has to serve two years in the army at the age of 18 so most of these soliders with big guns were just kids. We arrived in Tel Aviv around 8pm at night, it'd been a very long day. We checked into MoMo's hostel and straight away met a group of four Americans....I couldn't believe it! Apparently there is a program called Birthright and Jewish Americans can come to Israel for free so there are huge tour groups of teenagers everywhere. That night we went out to dinner with the guys and were shocked by how expensive everything was. We were spoiled by living in Egypt where everything is so cheap and you can eat for around $2 a meal but the food here is alot nicer! The next day we walked around the city which is very westernized and has a beautiful beach. Eventhough Egypt and Israel are so close it felt like being in a totally different world and we were happy to be back in civilization. We walked through the busy Carmel markets selling everything from fruit to socks, through the expensive shopping district, then along the boardwalk to Old Jaffa and the clock tower and sat on the beach and watched the surfers and sunset. Supposedly Tel Aviv has an awesome nightlife but we were too tired and too poor to go out.
This morning we had an hour bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. As soon as we stepped off the bus we noticed straight away the difference from Tel Aviv. Here the Jewish people all dress in the traditional black suits and big hats and have the two long, curly sideburns. We were told of a good hostel in East Jerusalem so we got in a cab and went....turns out East Jerusalem is also Palestine. So our hostel is smack dab in the middle of the Arab area but it is alot cheaper in this area. We put our bags away and then went across the street to go sightseeing in the Old City. The Old City is surrounded by an enormous wall and you have to enter through the gates and stupid us, not remembering that it is Friday and the Muslim holy day, went to go enter when thousands of Palestinians were trying to exit from going to the mosque...it was insane! Inside is a maze of narrow alleyways and markets and the entire city is divided into four quarters; the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is the main Christian site where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. Afterwards we went to the Wailing Wall, the main Jewish site where people stick prayers in the crack of the wall. I accidentally walked down to the mens prayer area and was instructed to go to the other side where the women pray...oops. We walked to the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim site, but weren't allowed to go in since its their holy day and only Muslims are allowed in. Our hostel gave us free dinner and then we went for a walk around the rest of the area. At sundown it became the Jewish holy day of Shabbat or Sabbath. All of the sudden, after not seeing one Jewish person in the Arab neighborhood all day, thousands of people walked down the street into the Old City to go for their turn of prayers. There were a few police cars lining the streets to keep the peace. It all seems so odd because it is so segregated. Nigel and I stood there eating ice creams in the middle of the square while on the sidewalk on our left walked all of these Jewish people in the Orthodox dress and to our right were all of these Muslim people in their robes and scarves covering their hair.
It truly is a fascinating place. I have learned so much about all of the different religions and traditions since being here. Everyone, both the Palestinians and the Israelies, have been so friendly. Tomorrow we are doing a day trip to Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank and I was really confused by that because the West Bank is actually in the East of Israel but its called that because it used to be part of Jordan which would make it the western part of Jordan, confusing) and to the Dead Sea. I'm sure it will be another interesting day!
xoxo
We took the bus from Dahab to Taba and from there we had to walk across the border into Israel. My dive bag that I'd purchased the day before ripped all the way down the side as we were crossing...should've known better than to buy an Egyptian quality bag! Once we had crossed into Israel we then had to take a bus to the bus station in Eilat where we then got on another bus for the five hour journey in Tel Aviv. There were lots of soliders riding the bus as well and they all had huge machine guns, which is a bit scary to see. In Israel everyone (men and women) has to serve two years in the army at the age of 18 so most of these soliders with big guns were just kids. We arrived in Tel Aviv around 8pm at night, it'd been a very long day. We checked into MoMo's hostel and straight away met a group of four Americans....I couldn't believe it! Apparently there is a program called Birthright and Jewish Americans can come to Israel for free so there are huge tour groups of teenagers everywhere. That night we went out to dinner with the guys and were shocked by how expensive everything was. We were spoiled by living in Egypt where everything is so cheap and you can eat for around $2 a meal but the food here is alot nicer! The next day we walked around the city which is very westernized and has a beautiful beach. Eventhough Egypt and Israel are so close it felt like being in a totally different world and we were happy to be back in civilization. We walked through the busy Carmel markets selling everything from fruit to socks, through the expensive shopping district, then along the boardwalk to Old Jaffa and the clock tower and sat on the beach and watched the surfers and sunset. Supposedly Tel Aviv has an awesome nightlife but we were too tired and too poor to go out.
This morning we had an hour bus ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. As soon as we stepped off the bus we noticed straight away the difference from Tel Aviv. Here the Jewish people all dress in the traditional black suits and big hats and have the two long, curly sideburns. We were told of a good hostel in East Jerusalem so we got in a cab and went....turns out East Jerusalem is also Palestine. So our hostel is smack dab in the middle of the Arab area but it is alot cheaper in this area. We put our bags away and then went across the street to go sightseeing in the Old City. The Old City is surrounded by an enormous wall and you have to enter through the gates and stupid us, not remembering that it is Friday and the Muslim holy day, went to go enter when thousands of Palestinians were trying to exit from going to the mosque...it was insane! Inside is a maze of narrow alleyways and markets and the entire city is divided into four quarters; the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is the main Christian site where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. Afterwards we went to the Wailing Wall, the main Jewish site where people stick prayers in the crack of the wall. I accidentally walked down to the mens prayer area and was instructed to go to the other side where the women pray...oops. We walked to the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim site, but weren't allowed to go in since its their holy day and only Muslims are allowed in. Our hostel gave us free dinner and then we went for a walk around the rest of the area. At sundown it became the Jewish holy day of Shabbat or Sabbath. All of the sudden, after not seeing one Jewish person in the Arab neighborhood all day, thousands of people walked down the street into the Old City to go for their turn of prayers. There were a few police cars lining the streets to keep the peace. It all seems so odd because it is so segregated. Nigel and I stood there eating ice creams in the middle of the square while on the sidewalk on our left walked all of these Jewish people in the Orthodox dress and to our right were all of these Muslim people in their robes and scarves covering their hair.
It truly is a fascinating place. I have learned so much about all of the different religions and traditions since being here. Everyone, both the Palestinians and the Israelies, have been so friendly. Tomorrow we are doing a day trip to Bethlehem (which is in the West Bank and I was really confused by that because the West Bank is actually in the East of Israel but its called that because it used to be part of Jordan which would make it the western part of Jordan, confusing) and to the Dead Sea. I'm sure it will be another interesting day!
xoxo
Monday, June 4, 2007
Climbing Mt. Sinai
I am so exhausted right now! Last night at 11pm Nigel and I left on a mini tour bus heading for Saint Katherine's Protectorate where we were to climb Mt. Sinai. It is the one touristy thing we wanted to do before leaving Dahab since it is such a sacred sight. Mt Sinai is 2285m at the peak and is described in the guide book as being "easy and beautiful to climb". Ha! Within the first 5 minutes of the hike 4 people out of our group opted to hire camels to carry them up the rest of the way. We started our hike at 1:30am (you have to go at night because during the day it is way too hot) and after 2 1/2 hours of sleep stumbling up the mountain and up the 750 steep steps at the end, we finally reached the top. It's cold at the top and people walk around hiring out blankets and mattresses to sleep on. There were lots of people there awaiting the sunrise but I was a bit disappointed because there weren't any hard core religious people singing hymns which I was expecting. The sun came up and it gave a gorgeous view over all of the peaks. After enjoying the beautiful sunrise we realized we now had to hike back down, ugh. We took the 750 steps down the summit and then took a different route, the 3750 Steps of Repentance laid by a monk as a form of penance, to arrive at the St Katherine's Monastery. The guidebook definitely made this hike sound easier than it was, especially when you haven't slept all night! We had a look around the Monastery but there were too many large tour groups to really enjoy it.
When we got back to Dahab, Nigel's friend Mark was visiting from Sharm so instead of going straight to bed we went straight to the bar. We have tonight and tomorrow night and then we are off to Israel and Jordan for a couple of days before heading to Europe. I am excited!
Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all!
When we got back to Dahab, Nigel's friend Mark was visiting from Sharm so instead of going straight to bed we went straight to the bar. We have tonight and tomorrow night and then we are off to Israel and Jordan for a couple of days before heading to Europe. I am excited!
Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Roadtrip to Sharm
After three months of living in laid back, beachy Dahab, Nigel and I decided to take a road trip to the 'big city', Sharm El-Sheik, and see what it's all about. Viv, our manager at Sinai Divers here in Dahab hooked it up with the dive center in Sharm so that we got to do all of our diving for free (saved us about 200 euros)! We had to be in Sharm at 3:45am and we had two options of getting there; either pay a taxi 150LE each way or take the bus for 11LE so obviously we opted for the bus. The last bus leaving Dahab though was at 10:30pm so we arrived in Sharm a little after 12am. We took all of our stuff to sleep on the sunbeds at the public beach but it wasn't long until we started getting harassed by security guards and so we went back to the dive center where we had to then convince the guards there that we were allowed to hang around until the morning. Morning finally came and we were both exhausted from staying up all night but we did get a chance to nap on the 3 hour boat ride out to sea. We were diving the Thistlegorm which is a British warship that was bombed during WWII and eight people died. It was discovered in 1950 by Jacques Cousteau who kept it a secret til 1993. The first dive we went along the exterior of the ship and you could see where the bombs had hit. We saw a big tank on its side and the conditions were awesome- no current and great visibility which is rare. On the second dive which was only an hour later, the current was really strong and the vis had deteriorated but it was ok because we were diving the interior of the wreck. It was full of motorbikes, bombs, jeeps, tractors and boots. It was a little scary though because it is very dark and claustrophobic! The wreck itself isn't covered with much coral, no where near as much as the Yongala Wreck in Australia, but there were lots of fish around and we saw a big crocodilefish. I couldn't dive the third dive of the day at another dive site because I wasn't using nitrox but Nigel did it and said it was beautiful coral. When we got back to land at 5pm, we were going to go check into the cheapest hotel in Sharm but was told it had closed down and given another recommendation. With all of the 5 star resorts one on top of another budget accommodation is hard to find there. We walked all the way to the hotel we had been told about to find out it was closed down as well so we took a taxi to the youth hostel on the other side of town. Before we got into the taxi I showed him my map and asked him if he knew where this place was, which he said he did, and we agreed on 10LE. Ha! What should have been a 5 minute drive turned into forever! He stopped and asked people on the street directions and they would explain and he'd say he knew but then would stop again...obviously he had no clue. This went on forever and we were tired and hungry. He had stopped at a big group of taxi drivers and I said something to Nigel about the 10 LE and the driver flipped out screaming "no 10 Le, 10LE bad!". Nigel and I both stared out the window but then he flipped out again and turned around while driving screaming "Where do we go?" like it was our fault we were lost. I was scared of this crazy driver and Nigel made him pull over and we got out and didn't pay. We went into the police station across the street to ask for directions and the driver followed us in there and tried to get the police to make us pay for our long ride around in a circle, which we didn't end up having to. We got directions and walked off but still managed to miss the place and luckily this foreign woman picked us up and drove us there. Things got better for us though...right across the street from us was a mall with McDonalds, KFC, Hardees, Starbucks and Pizza Hut! We don't have any fast food in Dahab so we were very excited! We stuffed ourselves and slept like the dead.
The next morning we were back on the boat at 8am setting out for Ras Mohammed National Park. Once again we were the only non-Germans on the boat. The first dive was at Jackfish Alley. We saw a huge Napoleon Wrasse and a few large moray eels. The second dive was at Shark and Yolanda Reef and was the best dive of the day. At the very beginning we saw a school of giant barracuda, lots of spotted rays, moray eels, scorpianfish and the yolanda wreck which was carrying toilets so there are toilets all over the sea floor. The last dive was at Small Canoe. The diving was really good but it wasn't as spectacular as everyone talks it up to be. When we got back to land we walked around Sharm for awhile. It is so much bigger and busier than Dahab! We had another fantastic, healthy fast food dinner and then took the night bus back to Dahab. At the bus station the guy called Nigel off the bus and asked him what was in our suitcase and when he told him dive equipment the guy said he had to pay 10 LE because it weighed too much. Nigel told him "nicely" that he wasn't paying that when the bus ticket itself only cost 11 LE plus Nigel put the bag on himself. They will do absolutely anything over here to try and scam you! We were grateful when we got back to our little house in quiet Dahab. I've only worked a few days since we've been back but thats ok, we have been laying out at the beach and enjoying our last few weeks here. I can't believe it has gone so quickly! I am definitely ready to leave though. I feel like I've gotten to know the place, culture and diving and now I'm ready for some air conditioning and real food and all those sorts of luxuries!
The next morning we were back on the boat at 8am setting out for Ras Mohammed National Park. Once again we were the only non-Germans on the boat. The first dive was at Jackfish Alley. We saw a huge Napoleon Wrasse and a few large moray eels. The second dive was at Shark and Yolanda Reef and was the best dive of the day. At the very beginning we saw a school of giant barracuda, lots of spotted rays, moray eels, scorpianfish and the yolanda wreck which was carrying toilets so there are toilets all over the sea floor. The last dive was at Small Canoe. The diving was really good but it wasn't as spectacular as everyone talks it up to be. When we got back to land we walked around Sharm for awhile. It is so much bigger and busier than Dahab! We had another fantastic, healthy fast food dinner and then took the night bus back to Dahab. At the bus station the guy called Nigel off the bus and asked him what was in our suitcase and when he told him dive equipment the guy said he had to pay 10 LE because it weighed too much. Nigel told him "nicely" that he wasn't paying that when the bus ticket itself only cost 11 LE plus Nigel put the bag on himself. They will do absolutely anything over here to try and scam you! We were grateful when we got back to our little house in quiet Dahab. I've only worked a few days since we've been back but thats ok, we have been laying out at the beach and enjoying our last few weeks here. I can't believe it has gone so quickly! I am definitely ready to leave though. I feel like I've gotten to know the place, culture and diving and now I'm ready for some air conditioning and real food and all those sorts of luxuries!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Arabic Lessons
Yesterday I randomly checked the news online since sometimes it feels as though I am living in a bubble here, and I was shocked to see the horrors that happened at VA Tech! What a senseless, unbelievable, tradegy! My heart goes out to all of you that lost a loved one.
Last night I had my first Arabic lesson....it was really hard and I was horrible at it! But so were the other 5 ladies in the class and some of them have lived here for years so that made me feel a bit better. The classes last a month and are somewhat expensive but its good because it gives me something to keep my brain active and the social aspect is fun. After the class we all went out for a beer and since it was only the second time Ive had a drink in the past few months, it only took me two pints to feel a bit drunk!
Yesterday when we were at a dive site, Nigel got his watch stolen out of his dive bag...the watch that I gave him and had engraved. :( Its the fifth time he has had stuff stolen. When things like that happen I am ready to pack my bags and leave. I have never lived somewhere so hypocritical where prayer chants ring out five times a day but everyone also tries to rip you off or steal from you. There hasn´t been one day that has gone by that I haven´t had to haggle over the price of groceries or a taxi ride. OK I am finished venting!
Miss you all!
Last night I had my first Arabic lesson....it was really hard and I was horrible at it! But so were the other 5 ladies in the class and some of them have lived here for years so that made me feel a bit better. The classes last a month and are somewhat expensive but its good because it gives me something to keep my brain active and the social aspect is fun. After the class we all went out for a beer and since it was only the second time Ive had a drink in the past few months, it only took me two pints to feel a bit drunk!
Yesterday when we were at a dive site, Nigel got his watch stolen out of his dive bag...the watch that I gave him and had engraved. :( Its the fifth time he has had stuff stolen. When things like that happen I am ready to pack my bags and leave. I have never lived somewhere so hypocritical where prayer chants ring out five times a day but everyone also tries to rip you off or steal from you. There hasn´t been one day that has gone by that I haven´t had to haggle over the price of groceries or a taxi ride. OK I am finished venting!
Miss you all!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
La la
Hi all! I just got back from guiding two dives...they were lovely even though yesterday we had the first thunderstorm since Ive been here and the ocean looked like chocolate milk. Im just hanging out now at the dive center waiting for Nigel to finish up. Living in the apartment has been great although we have all sorts of insects visiting us from time to time. Nothing else too interesting to report! Hope you all got the pictures!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Home Sweet Home!
Ah! I just wrote this huge blog and then a guy came and accidentally pulled the plug on my computer and it was all lost :( Oh well, here's what I can remember....
Yah! We finally found a place to live! After a few hours of sorting out the details with our landlady in Arabic, English and lots of hand gestures, we got ourselves an apartment! We moved in a few days ago and it has been much better than living in the hotel. Our place is five minutes down the road from the hotel where it is a bit quiter and there aren't any goats or screaming children roaming around. It's shaped like a big "L" and has a small courtyard, a bedroom sectioned off by a sheet, a small living room with 3 chairs, a table and TV (which Nigel is really excited about because it gets English movie channels) a kitchen with a working fridge and a bathroom that has fresh water which I am really excited about because I hate showering in salt water! Tonight Old School is on TV :) It's funny though because they cut out all the nudie bits so if you haven't seen the movie before it's a bit confusing. Our rent is dirt cheap and our landlady is really nice. Eventhough we can't really understand eachother she seems to enjoy coming over for chats. I went a bit crazy the other day and spent every pound I had in my wallet on groceries because I am psyched to have a kitchen although most the stuff I bought is just junk food and not things to cook because everyone knows I can't cook.
Nigel and I have been working pretty much everyday for Sinai Backpackers dive center. After his 11th day straight of working Nigel finally took a day off. He taught a rescue course and I got to be the victim which meant lots of free diving for me! We went out on a boat for the day and went to a dive site an hour away. It was beautiful and the food was surprisingly good and it was fun because Nigel and I got to do something cool together while he was getting paid. I am pretty confident now at being a guide and knowing all the dive sites. The restaurant owners all kiss the guides butts as well to try and get them to come to their place for lunch which is good for me! The other day on a dive we saw a huge grey moray eel and a spotted eel snake. I am still working at Tota but only one or two nights a week and it is pretty pointless since I can't bartend and basically just walk around and make sure people are ok. I get paid the same as I would bartending though and every time Nigel and I go in there we get all our drinks for free so I'm going to keep doing it just so I don't lose the hook up.
Today was my day off and I went up to the roof of our new place to lay out but was then joined by the landlady's visiting friend. She is from Cairo and although I could hardly understand her I could gather I was the first person she has ever seen in a bikini. She showed me all of the layers of clothing she was wearing then pointed at me and said "not in Cairo" and "only for husband". Then she came over and took note of my armhairs and tried to rub off my tattoo. Talk about feeling self conscious! I tried to write in my journal but she came over and practiced writing her name in it instead so it wasn't a very relaxing day but it was entertaining!
Well I am now sick of writing so I'm gonna go! Hope you all are doing great. Jules and Teen hope you are having a fabulous vacation!
xoxo
Yah! We finally found a place to live! After a few hours of sorting out the details with our landlady in Arabic, English and lots of hand gestures, we got ourselves an apartment! We moved in a few days ago and it has been much better than living in the hotel. Our place is five minutes down the road from the hotel where it is a bit quiter and there aren't any goats or screaming children roaming around. It's shaped like a big "L" and has a small courtyard, a bedroom sectioned off by a sheet, a small living room with 3 chairs, a table and TV (which Nigel is really excited about because it gets English movie channels) a kitchen with a working fridge and a bathroom that has fresh water which I am really excited about because I hate showering in salt water! Tonight Old School is on TV :) It's funny though because they cut out all the nudie bits so if you haven't seen the movie before it's a bit confusing. Our rent is dirt cheap and our landlady is really nice. Eventhough we can't really understand eachother she seems to enjoy coming over for chats. I went a bit crazy the other day and spent every pound I had in my wallet on groceries because I am psyched to have a kitchen although most the stuff I bought is just junk food and not things to cook because everyone knows I can't cook.
Nigel and I have been working pretty much everyday for Sinai Backpackers dive center. After his 11th day straight of working Nigel finally took a day off. He taught a rescue course and I got to be the victim which meant lots of free diving for me! We went out on a boat for the day and went to a dive site an hour away. It was beautiful and the food was surprisingly good and it was fun because Nigel and I got to do something cool together while he was getting paid. I am pretty confident now at being a guide and knowing all the dive sites. The restaurant owners all kiss the guides butts as well to try and get them to come to their place for lunch which is good for me! The other day on a dive we saw a huge grey moray eel and a spotted eel snake. I am still working at Tota but only one or two nights a week and it is pretty pointless since I can't bartend and basically just walk around and make sure people are ok. I get paid the same as I would bartending though and every time Nigel and I go in there we get all our drinks for free so I'm going to keep doing it just so I don't lose the hook up.
Today was my day off and I went up to the roof of our new place to lay out but was then joined by the landlady's visiting friend. She is from Cairo and although I could hardly understand her I could gather I was the first person she has ever seen in a bikini. She showed me all of the layers of clothing she was wearing then pointed at me and said "not in Cairo" and "only for husband". Then she came over and took note of my armhairs and tried to rub off my tattoo. Talk about feeling self conscious! I tried to write in my journal but she came over and practiced writing her name in it instead so it wasn't a very relaxing day but it was entertaining!
Well I am now sick of writing so I'm gonna go! Hope you all are doing great. Jules and Teen hope you are having a fabulous vacation!
xoxo
Thursday, March 22, 2007
More diving
Yesterday I did my second check dive with another British couple. I was prepared with extra weights this time so it went considerably better than last time. They are now doing their Advanced Course with Nigel. I got called up today as well to guide a dive but Im not familiar enough yet with the site they were doing so they just had me tag along for free which was nice of them! Tomorrow I am doing another check dive with two people and Nigel is teaching for the next few days so it seems to be getting busier around here and getting work shouldnt be a problem from now on!
If you want to see some pictures of where I am check out www.ilovedahab.com
If you want to see some pictures of where I am check out www.ilovedahab.com
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Dahab Life
Well I've only written 3 posts and have already gotten lazy about it and received a few complaints so this is an attempt to fill everyone in on our past few weeks!
The day after diving "The Islands" we arranged to dive "Canyon" and "Blue Hole" which is the most infamous dive site here in Dahab. The drive out to the dive site was an adventure in itself because while we were driving in the old piece of crap 4x4 jeep that almost everyone here drives, the hood flew up and smashed against the windshield. I was sitting in the passenger seat and about had a heart attack! And all of the Japanese sitting in the back immediately whipped out their cameras to capture the moment. Also the road leading to the site, if you can call it a road, is so narrow that you have to drive through two huge boulders that scrape the side of the jeep and then do a sharp turn otherwise you would go off the road and straight into the ocean all while hoping that no one else is coming from the other direction. The driver told us all to say our prayers and close our eyes. I was a wee bit nervous about diving the Blue Hole because lots of people have died while diving it and the most recent accident was a girl only three weeks ago, so sad. The first dive at the Canyon we went 30 metres deep into a cavern formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. Then at the Blue Hole we jumped into the water and went straight down a chute to 26m then swam under an arch into the ocean and swam along the reef wall and into the Blue Hole. The hole is eerie because there is nothing except blue all around you (hence the name) and no bottom to be seen (it's something like 600m deep).
At the moment we are still living in Auski camp and paying 20LE a night which is $3.50 so $1.75 each. We have looked at 8 or so apartments but haven't found the perfect one yet. The nicest and cheapest one we saw was huge but it had tons of goats roaming around eating trash which supposedly stinks really bad in summer and it's not within walking distance of town which would be a pain because you'd have to haggle with taxi drivers daily. So we decided against it. But I can't wait to move into someplace and have our own kitchen. We've been eating all of our meals at the four cheap non-touristy restaurants in town and I'm getting sick of pizza and french fries everyday...never thought I'd say that.
As for jobs, the guy who Nigel thought he'd be getting work from has never called but we've heard bad rumors about that dive center anyways so he doesn't mind. We bought a cellphone and walked around to every dive center in Dahab (there are about 40 of them) and gave them our details so if they have work they either ring the night before or the morning of. Then we walked all the way to the resort area to do the same thing. When we arrived there Nigel said "So this is how the other half live!" It made where we live look like the ghetto. While our beach is all rocky with dark blue water, their beach has soft sand and turquoise waters and landscaped gardens and pools just for decoration. We were both surprised to see how many people were windsurfing in the lagoon. Apparently Dahab gets 260 days of wind out of the year and is one of the best places in the world for windsurfing which also means I'm going to have 260 bad hair days. So that brings two groups of people to Dahab; windsurfers and divers and it seems the two don't socialize with each other. I want to try it sometime thought because it looks like fun. I dropped my info in at the Hilton Resort to see if they had any bartending jobs. Nigel got rung up by their dive center later on that same day to work the following morning. I also got rung up by the food and beverage manager asking if I'd like to come in for an interview for an office position which was surprising. I went in for the interview which went well and then went in a few days later to observe what exactly I'd be doing. The position is for food and beverage coordinator. It's a great entry-level position that I wouldn't get the opportunity for in the US without having the degree and experience but here they are so desperate for an English speaker. I'm really torn as to whether or not to accept it. I came here to work as a Divemaster, not to be cooped up in an office six days a week. But the perks are good and if I stayed a year I could transfer to other Hiltons but I'm not sure I would want to stay here for a full year or if I even want to go into that line of work. Dilemma!
I also started working at Tota which is the biggest bar in town. The owners are really nice and gave Nigel and I free drinks the two times we went in to talk about starting work. The bar is shaped like a gigantic boat and is all lit up at night. There is an outside upper deck bar, a huge inside with pool tables, a movie area and dance floor and then a big beer garden with lots of tables and a bedouin seating area around a fire pit and a projector movie screen. Working there is unlike anywhere else I've worked. My first night the owner asked me for the first time if I'd ever worked in a bar before and then left me to it. I worked with a really nice 18 year old, Hamada, who showed me everything although there isn't much to learn since everything is really basic for example there is no ice machine so we use the old school ice trays and a drawer under the bar serves as the cash register. Since I am a woman I don't have to do any of the hard labor like stocking the bar or fridges or taking out the trash, easy eh? All of the liquor is Egyptian made knockoffs of the real thing like Becardoi rum. The owner brings his dog in and it's allowed free roam of the place and at one point it was walking along the bar. All of the employees smoke while working and find it unbelievable that I don't smoke. At 1am the power went off in all of Egypt and everyone inside was forced out into the beergarden where they sat around the firepit and started a drunken singalong. I worked the next three nights from 6pm-3am and was on my own in the beer garden bar. I met a ton of locals who come in regularly and two of them were Americans. The funniest thing I saw all night was a Bedouin guy sitting at the bar (he was about 4'11, dressed in a full robe and headdress, with a big black moustache and glasses) doing tequila shots and using the "f" word which is a huge no no with their religion. If the bar is dead I just sit and watch the movies. I get paid 75L.E. a shift plus tips (one night I got 220 L.E. from some drunk guys) and plus I can eat and drink whatever I want. I was really excited about this because it's western food and it's delicious! The pay doesn't seem like anything when you convert it to US dollars but by Egyptian standards it's really good. I found out all the guys I work with come in five hours earlier than I do and stay til 3am as well and only get paid 24LE a shift plus they only get a basic Egyptian staff meal. Of course I think this is unfair but it probably evens out because I will get charged more for everything in the town and alot more on my rent when I get a place. I've picked up some of my Arabic from the guys who work there since sometimes it's hard to communicate with them but it's such a hard language to learn! The common question I get is if I'm married since I live with Nigel. Apparently you can get married in Dahab so that it is legal for you to live together but the marriage isn't binding anywhere else in Egypt or the world, kinda silly. Nigel wasn't too thrilled about me working all of these nights while he was home alone in our small room without TV so I made him come in one night and introduced him to some people and gave him free beers all night....now he seems to be okay with me working there :) I was surprised to see that alot of the couples coming into the bar and in Dahab in general, are Egyptian men with white girlfriends, not because I am not used to seeing that but because I don't consider the men to be particularly attractive....hygiene seems to be a big problem. Nigel has been really disappointed by the Egyptian women as well and thinks he's been tricked by the media. He thought there would be scantily dressed belly dancers all over the place but it's mostly women totally covered... what a shame :) But like the saying goes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Hamada told me the Egyptian men go for any white woman because they're after the money.
Dahab is a blend of two cultures- the Bedouin people or dessert dwellers who were here first and the Egyptians who then came to build up the tourism. Although I haven't noticed, there is supposedly some tension between the two. The most noticeable thing though is the lack of local women around town...it is totally dominated by men. I have only befriended one Egyptian girl who is not married because she says she chooses freedom (you can see why I like her already!) Her grandmother was married at the age of 11!
The morning after my first night working at Tota the Hilton resort dive center called and asked me to do a check dive for two people that day. I accepted then hung up and immediately began to panic! I had no idea what to do for a check dive and it was going to be my first time ever working as a Divemaster and my first time at the Lighthouse dive site. Luckily Nigel came home from his job at lunch time and went over everything and was somewhat reassuring although he was laughing at me as well. My two customers were a middle aged couple from New Zealand. I was confident while talking to them and thought I sounded professional and had them fooled but then we got in the water and I found that they weren't properly overweighted enough to kneel in the shallows and do their skills. So I ended up stuffing rocks into their BCD's but it was still nearly impossible. After the skills we went for the dive and I got lost for the first few minutes but after that it was a great dive! Two days later the dive center called again and my first thought was they were calling to complain but they were asking me to be a snorkel guide at Blue Hole the following morning. Although the Hilton is one of the nicest dive centers to work for it's a pain in the ass because you have to take a taxi there (usually a pick up truck and you just hop in the back) and the fare is only 2LE but every single day you have to argue with the drivers and tell them you are a local so they don't rip you off. Usually I don't have to argue long but they give Nigel a harder time. Anyways, after getting home at 4am from Tota I dragged my tired butt out of bed at 8am the next day and took two British couples snorkeling. It went really well (kinda hard to screw up snorkeling) except one of the guys who was about 6'4 slipped on the wooden platform and brought me down with him. I made the rest of them crawl to get out which looked silly but the one woman was pregnant. We sat and had tea and drinks afterwards at one of the many Bedouin restaurants along the dive site. The good thing is that guides get whatever food and drinks they want for free. On the drive back we encountered a few hundred tourists on camels which took up the whole narrow road and our small jeep was surrounded and sometimes had to go up on it's side to make room and I was sure we would tip. I was exhausted and crashed as soon as I got home. Nigel has gotten alot of work as well. He ran into the couple I took diving at the Hilton and asked them how I did and they said I was wonderful and when he told them it was my first time ever and I had been nervous they said they were shocked and would never have known, which made me feel better! It was a busy few days! It kinda sucked too because Nigel and I didn't get to see eachother much but we've both had off the past three days. One night we decided to treat ourselves and eat at one of the nice restaurants by the seafront. It was romantic and the food was delicious! The meal cost us what we usually spend on food over two days, but oh well. Last night Tota had a huge party with a live band, belly dancer, fire twirler and sofie dancer. Tickets were 50LE and included one beer and a buffet but we got in free. The sofie dancer was really cool and he just spun around in a fast circle for twenty minutes and swirled all of these materials around him...no clue how he didn't fall on his face! Afterwards we met up with our Egyptian friend Reggi and he took us to another bar where my dance partner was an eight year old Egyptian girl. She was so cute. The kids here stay up til all hours, it's weird. I got a call from the owner of Tota this morning though and they said they were getting in alot of trouble with the government for employing foreigners without work visas so for now me and the two other girls have the week off. The one girl I work with, Keira, has the biggest bunch of colorful dreadlocks I have ever seen (Heather Dale I know you would love them!). I have also been offered two counter jobs at dive centers which aren't well paid but you get free use of dive equipment and also I would be in a position to get myself and Nigel more work through that particular place so I may do that a few days a week. I purchased my first piece of dive equipment the other days- a new Cressi 7mm wetsuit. It was cheaper than Nigel would get it through his work in Australia at cost. I would get alot more equipment here but supply is limited and no where seems to have my size. Nigel and I also bought a pair of speakers to replace my stolen ones. These were only $7 but they do the job. I wish now I would've gone to the police when my other ones were stolen, oh well.
Nigel finally went to the dentist and got his teeth fixed. He'd been putting it off for so long because he was worried about the expense but the pain became too unbearable. We scoped the dentist out first to make sure he wasn't also Dahab's butcher but he was very professional and all of his equipment was state of the art. Nigel was relieved to find out his three visits would only cost $200! The dentist told us the majority of his clients are Europeans who fly over just because it's so cheap and spend the week at the beach and getting their teeth worked on. Not a bad idea so if anyone wants to come visit there is another incentive!
So that's pretty much what we've been up to. And I promise I will send pictures out just as soon as I get them all organized!
x
R&N
The day after diving "The Islands" we arranged to dive "Canyon" and "Blue Hole" which is the most infamous dive site here in Dahab. The drive out to the dive site was an adventure in itself because while we were driving in the old piece of crap 4x4 jeep that almost everyone here drives, the hood flew up and smashed against the windshield. I was sitting in the passenger seat and about had a heart attack! And all of the Japanese sitting in the back immediately whipped out their cameras to capture the moment. Also the road leading to the site, if you can call it a road, is so narrow that you have to drive through two huge boulders that scrape the side of the jeep and then do a sharp turn otherwise you would go off the road and straight into the ocean all while hoping that no one else is coming from the other direction. The driver told us all to say our prayers and close our eyes. I was a wee bit nervous about diving the Blue Hole because lots of people have died while diving it and the most recent accident was a girl only three weeks ago, so sad. The first dive at the Canyon we went 30 metres deep into a cavern formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. Then at the Blue Hole we jumped into the water and went straight down a chute to 26m then swam under an arch into the ocean and swam along the reef wall and into the Blue Hole. The hole is eerie because there is nothing except blue all around you (hence the name) and no bottom to be seen (it's something like 600m deep).
At the moment we are still living in Auski camp and paying 20LE a night which is $3.50 so $1.75 each. We have looked at 8 or so apartments but haven't found the perfect one yet. The nicest and cheapest one we saw was huge but it had tons of goats roaming around eating trash which supposedly stinks really bad in summer and it's not within walking distance of town which would be a pain because you'd have to haggle with taxi drivers daily. So we decided against it. But I can't wait to move into someplace and have our own kitchen. We've been eating all of our meals at the four cheap non-touristy restaurants in town and I'm getting sick of pizza and french fries everyday...never thought I'd say that.
As for jobs, the guy who Nigel thought he'd be getting work from has never called but we've heard bad rumors about that dive center anyways so he doesn't mind. We bought a cellphone and walked around to every dive center in Dahab (there are about 40 of them) and gave them our details so if they have work they either ring the night before or the morning of. Then we walked all the way to the resort area to do the same thing. When we arrived there Nigel said "So this is how the other half live!" It made where we live look like the ghetto. While our beach is all rocky with dark blue water, their beach has soft sand and turquoise waters and landscaped gardens and pools just for decoration. We were both surprised to see how many people were windsurfing in the lagoon. Apparently Dahab gets 260 days of wind out of the year and is one of the best places in the world for windsurfing which also means I'm going to have 260 bad hair days. So that brings two groups of people to Dahab; windsurfers and divers and it seems the two don't socialize with each other. I want to try it sometime thought because it looks like fun. I dropped my info in at the Hilton Resort to see if they had any bartending jobs. Nigel got rung up by their dive center later on that same day to work the following morning. I also got rung up by the food and beverage manager asking if I'd like to come in for an interview for an office position which was surprising. I went in for the interview which went well and then went in a few days later to observe what exactly I'd be doing. The position is for food and beverage coordinator. It's a great entry-level position that I wouldn't get the opportunity for in the US without having the degree and experience but here they are so desperate for an English speaker. I'm really torn as to whether or not to accept it. I came here to work as a Divemaster, not to be cooped up in an office six days a week. But the perks are good and if I stayed a year I could transfer to other Hiltons but I'm not sure I would want to stay here for a full year or if I even want to go into that line of work. Dilemma!
I also started working at Tota which is the biggest bar in town. The owners are really nice and gave Nigel and I free drinks the two times we went in to talk about starting work. The bar is shaped like a gigantic boat and is all lit up at night. There is an outside upper deck bar, a huge inside with pool tables, a movie area and dance floor and then a big beer garden with lots of tables and a bedouin seating area around a fire pit and a projector movie screen. Working there is unlike anywhere else I've worked. My first night the owner asked me for the first time if I'd ever worked in a bar before and then left me to it. I worked with a really nice 18 year old, Hamada, who showed me everything although there isn't much to learn since everything is really basic for example there is no ice machine so we use the old school ice trays and a drawer under the bar serves as the cash register. Since I am a woman I don't have to do any of the hard labor like stocking the bar or fridges or taking out the trash, easy eh? All of the liquor is Egyptian made knockoffs of the real thing like Becardoi rum. The owner brings his dog in and it's allowed free roam of the place and at one point it was walking along the bar. All of the employees smoke while working and find it unbelievable that I don't smoke. At 1am the power went off in all of Egypt and everyone inside was forced out into the beergarden where they sat around the firepit and started a drunken singalong. I worked the next three nights from 6pm-3am and was on my own in the beer garden bar. I met a ton of locals who come in regularly and two of them were Americans. The funniest thing I saw all night was a Bedouin guy sitting at the bar (he was about 4'11, dressed in a full robe and headdress, with a big black moustache and glasses) doing tequila shots and using the "f" word which is a huge no no with their religion. If the bar is dead I just sit and watch the movies. I get paid 75L.E. a shift plus tips (one night I got 220 L.E. from some drunk guys) and plus I can eat and drink whatever I want. I was really excited about this because it's western food and it's delicious! The pay doesn't seem like anything when you convert it to US dollars but by Egyptian standards it's really good. I found out all the guys I work with come in five hours earlier than I do and stay til 3am as well and only get paid 24LE a shift plus they only get a basic Egyptian staff meal. Of course I think this is unfair but it probably evens out because I will get charged more for everything in the town and alot more on my rent when I get a place. I've picked up some of my Arabic from the guys who work there since sometimes it's hard to communicate with them but it's such a hard language to learn! The common question I get is if I'm married since I live with Nigel. Apparently you can get married in Dahab so that it is legal for you to live together but the marriage isn't binding anywhere else in Egypt or the world, kinda silly. Nigel wasn't too thrilled about me working all of these nights while he was home alone in our small room without TV so I made him come in one night and introduced him to some people and gave him free beers all night....now he seems to be okay with me working there :) I was surprised to see that alot of the couples coming into the bar and in Dahab in general, are Egyptian men with white girlfriends, not because I am not used to seeing that but because I don't consider the men to be particularly attractive....hygiene seems to be a big problem. Nigel has been really disappointed by the Egyptian women as well and thinks he's been tricked by the media. He thought there would be scantily dressed belly dancers all over the place but it's mostly women totally covered... what a shame :) But like the saying goes "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Hamada told me the Egyptian men go for any white woman because they're after the money.
Dahab is a blend of two cultures- the Bedouin people or dessert dwellers who were here first and the Egyptians who then came to build up the tourism. Although I haven't noticed, there is supposedly some tension between the two. The most noticeable thing though is the lack of local women around town...it is totally dominated by men. I have only befriended one Egyptian girl who is not married because she says she chooses freedom (you can see why I like her already!) Her grandmother was married at the age of 11!
The morning after my first night working at Tota the Hilton resort dive center called and asked me to do a check dive for two people that day. I accepted then hung up and immediately began to panic! I had no idea what to do for a check dive and it was going to be my first time ever working as a Divemaster and my first time at the Lighthouse dive site. Luckily Nigel came home from his job at lunch time and went over everything and was somewhat reassuring although he was laughing at me as well. My two customers were a middle aged couple from New Zealand. I was confident while talking to them and thought I sounded professional and had them fooled but then we got in the water and I found that they weren't properly overweighted enough to kneel in the shallows and do their skills. So I ended up stuffing rocks into their BCD's but it was still nearly impossible. After the skills we went for the dive and I got lost for the first few minutes but after that it was a great dive! Two days later the dive center called again and my first thought was they were calling to complain but they were asking me to be a snorkel guide at Blue Hole the following morning. Although the Hilton is one of the nicest dive centers to work for it's a pain in the ass because you have to take a taxi there (usually a pick up truck and you just hop in the back) and the fare is only 2LE but every single day you have to argue with the drivers and tell them you are a local so they don't rip you off. Usually I don't have to argue long but they give Nigel a harder time. Anyways, after getting home at 4am from Tota I dragged my tired butt out of bed at 8am the next day and took two British couples snorkeling. It went really well (kinda hard to screw up snorkeling) except one of the guys who was about 6'4 slipped on the wooden platform and brought me down with him. I made the rest of them crawl to get out which looked silly but the one woman was pregnant. We sat and had tea and drinks afterwards at one of the many Bedouin restaurants along the dive site. The good thing is that guides get whatever food and drinks they want for free. On the drive back we encountered a few hundred tourists on camels which took up the whole narrow road and our small jeep was surrounded and sometimes had to go up on it's side to make room and I was sure we would tip. I was exhausted and crashed as soon as I got home. Nigel has gotten alot of work as well. He ran into the couple I took diving at the Hilton and asked them how I did and they said I was wonderful and when he told them it was my first time ever and I had been nervous they said they were shocked and would never have known, which made me feel better! It was a busy few days! It kinda sucked too because Nigel and I didn't get to see eachother much but we've both had off the past three days. One night we decided to treat ourselves and eat at one of the nice restaurants by the seafront. It was romantic and the food was delicious! The meal cost us what we usually spend on food over two days, but oh well. Last night Tota had a huge party with a live band, belly dancer, fire twirler and sofie dancer. Tickets were 50LE and included one beer and a buffet but we got in free. The sofie dancer was really cool and he just spun around in a fast circle for twenty minutes and swirled all of these materials around him...no clue how he didn't fall on his face! Afterwards we met up with our Egyptian friend Reggi and he took us to another bar where my dance partner was an eight year old Egyptian girl. She was so cute. The kids here stay up til all hours, it's weird. I got a call from the owner of Tota this morning though and they said they were getting in alot of trouble with the government for employing foreigners without work visas so for now me and the two other girls have the week off. The one girl I work with, Keira, has the biggest bunch of colorful dreadlocks I have ever seen (Heather Dale I know you would love them!). I have also been offered two counter jobs at dive centers which aren't well paid but you get free use of dive equipment and also I would be in a position to get myself and Nigel more work through that particular place so I may do that a few days a week. I purchased my first piece of dive equipment the other days- a new Cressi 7mm wetsuit. It was cheaper than Nigel would get it through his work in Australia at cost. I would get alot more equipment here but supply is limited and no where seems to have my size. Nigel and I also bought a pair of speakers to replace my stolen ones. These were only $7 but they do the job. I wish now I would've gone to the police when my other ones were stolen, oh well.
Nigel finally went to the dentist and got his teeth fixed. He'd been putting it off for so long because he was worried about the expense but the pain became too unbearable. We scoped the dentist out first to make sure he wasn't also Dahab's butcher but he was very professional and all of his equipment was state of the art. Nigel was relieved to find out his three visits would only cost $200! The dentist told us the majority of his clients are Europeans who fly over just because it's so cheap and spend the week at the beach and getting their teeth worked on. Not a bad idea so if anyone wants to come visit there is another incentive!
So that's pretty much what we've been up to. And I promise I will send pictures out just as soon as I get them all organized!
x
R&N
Friday, March 2, 2007
Diving
Today Nigel and I did our first dive in the Red Sea! We went to a site called the Islands and saw lots of fishes. The owner of our hotel also owns the dive company so we talked to him for awhile and Nigel may have a job lined up with them. Basically we have to pay to go diving at all of the sights with different companies and learn them and then get freelance work from all of the companies. It's all very relaxed. Today's dive with equipment included only cost around $20.
I also had another first in Egypt and drank the tea. They are obsessed with their tea over here! They spend hours in the ashwahs just drinking hot tea and smoking sheesas which are like big hookah pipes. None of the restaurants serve alcohol and there are hardly any bars (the exception being here in Dahab). So Nigel and I haven't had a drink in a month! Hard to believe, I know. Tomorrow we are going on a few more dives :)
I also had another first in Egypt and drank the tea. They are obsessed with their tea over here! They spend hours in the ashwahs just drinking hot tea and smoking sheesas which are like big hookah pipes. None of the restaurants serve alcohol and there are hardly any bars (the exception being here in Dahab). So Nigel and I haven't had a drink in a month! Hard to believe, I know. Tomorrow we are going on a few more dives :)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Cruising the Nile
We were finally looking forward to leaving the big city behind and heading out into the real Egypt. After a 14 hour train journey we arrived in Aswan which is about as far south as the train goes. We got a cute hotel room overlooking the bustling souq or market for 30 egyptian pounds a night which is just over $5 total for both of us. We spent the next 3 1/2 days exploring the area. The people who live here are darker skin race and are called Nubians. The guys wear the full robes and scarves on their heads and we didn't see alot of the women in veils. Donkeys and horse carts rule the streets rather than the millions of taxis like in Cairo. We went to see the Tombs of the Nobles and also went to the Nubian musuem and village and saw the ruins of the ancient city. It was surprising to see the way that the people still live in the villages...similar to that of Fijian villages. We took a day tour (which left at 3:45am ugh!) to Abel Simel where we saw the amazingly huge Great Temple of Ramses II and the temple of Hathor...it was pretty impressive! Afterwards the tour took us to see the High Dam which was a big waste of money just a dam! and then to Philae Island where we saw the temple of Isis which was also impressive. Nigel put his bargaining skills to use and got a camelwool blanket for 30 egyptian down from 120 and I got a pair of sunglasses but they broke the next day :( supposed to be Prada too! We have learned to ignore the constant catcalling and every single guy saying to Nigel "Lucky man-how many camel?" Of course he knows he is lucky :) I can't imagine the hassles I would have if I was here alone because they don't seem to have any problem saying things even when I am with Nigel!
After Aswan we took the train to Luxor which is supposed to be the biggest outdoor musuem in the world. We got a room for only 12 egyptian a night which is nothing except that we ended up paying for it because we had money stolen out of our room while it was locked and we were watching tv in the lobby. The owner seemed to not be in on it and reimbursed me 300 egyptian but nothing was given back for Nigel's 150 euro or my necklace...sucks! Besides that we had a good time in Luxor. We saw the Luxor temple and the Karnak temple and then we took a trip across the Nile to see the Valley of Kings tombs and the huge temple of Hatshepsut which looks like it rises out of the desert. Nigel and I insist on doing everything the local way or cheap way so instead of taxing it to this place we walked along the desert mountain and I took a wrong turn and we ended up walking for ages...oops. We also hit up the Luxor musuem which had two royal mummies and you could see their toe and hair-gross. It was by far the best laid out musuem! We thought we would be stuck in Luxor for 3 more days because there weren't any more tickets available however there were tickets still on the blackmarket put there by the police, that's how corrupt it is, and our hotel manager was able to get us one for a little extra cash. So that was our trip down the Nile which was pretty beautiful scenery!
We took the overnight train back to Cairo then caught a train two hours later to Alexandria which is a city located in the north on the mediterranean sea where Cleopatra used to rule. We spent two days there wandering around the city and saw the library and planetarium which is the nicest building in all of Egypt! We went to the Roman catacombs where 300 bodies were once buried, which were discovered when a donkey happened to fall through the street. Apparently this happens alot as the new city is built directly over the ancient city. As soon as we went in the sight a police guard started calling to us and we stupidly followed him and then he had us running down a ravine, whispering and sneaking around to see the off limits catacombs which of course he wanted a tip for. He "accidently" touched my chest and kissed Nigel's cheek as well...that pretty much sums up the police here. Every person who does anything for you here, even if you don't ask, holds out their hand and asks for "baksheesh" or tips...even the little children that come up to you in the street. It gets kind of annoying and Nigel just flat out tells them "no, what for?" When we went back to our hotel to get our bags from reception to go catch our train I looked through my bag and realized my ipod speakers were gone....I couldn't believe it! Nigel and I raged on the employees there for a good hour because one of them obviously had to steal them out of my bag which was in their office but it did us no good. We thought about getting the police but didn't really see how it would help since it's just their word against ours...definitely makes you dislike a place when you keep getting robbed! So we left Alexandria a little disheartened and took the overnight bus to Dahab. We got the last two seats on the bus which also were the most uncomfortable two seats in the very back with zero leg room. It was worth it though because Dahab is a beautiful place from what we've seen so far. We are staying in a room right on the beach and there are lots of restaurants, bars, and dive centers all through the town...oh and lots of white people too for a change we aren't the only two! So now the job hunt begins! Hope you all are doing great! xoxo
After Aswan we took the train to Luxor which is supposed to be the biggest outdoor musuem in the world. We got a room for only 12 egyptian a night which is nothing except that we ended up paying for it because we had money stolen out of our room while it was locked and we were watching tv in the lobby. The owner seemed to not be in on it and reimbursed me 300 egyptian but nothing was given back for Nigel's 150 euro or my necklace...sucks! Besides that we had a good time in Luxor. We saw the Luxor temple and the Karnak temple and then we took a trip across the Nile to see the Valley of Kings tombs and the huge temple of Hatshepsut which looks like it rises out of the desert. Nigel and I insist on doing everything the local way or cheap way so instead of taxing it to this place we walked along the desert mountain and I took a wrong turn and we ended up walking for ages...oops. We also hit up the Luxor musuem which had two royal mummies and you could see their toe and hair-gross. It was by far the best laid out musuem! We thought we would be stuck in Luxor for 3 more days because there weren't any more tickets available however there were tickets still on the blackmarket put there by the police, that's how corrupt it is, and our hotel manager was able to get us one for a little extra cash. So that was our trip down the Nile which was pretty beautiful scenery!
We took the overnight train back to Cairo then caught a train two hours later to Alexandria which is a city located in the north on the mediterranean sea where Cleopatra used to rule. We spent two days there wandering around the city and saw the library and planetarium which is the nicest building in all of Egypt! We went to the Roman catacombs where 300 bodies were once buried, which were discovered when a donkey happened to fall through the street. Apparently this happens alot as the new city is built directly over the ancient city. As soon as we went in the sight a police guard started calling to us and we stupidly followed him and then he had us running down a ravine, whispering and sneaking around to see the off limits catacombs which of course he wanted a tip for. He "accidently" touched my chest and kissed Nigel's cheek as well...that pretty much sums up the police here. Every person who does anything for you here, even if you don't ask, holds out their hand and asks for "baksheesh" or tips...even the little children that come up to you in the street. It gets kind of annoying and Nigel just flat out tells them "no, what for?" When we went back to our hotel to get our bags from reception to go catch our train I looked through my bag and realized my ipod speakers were gone....I couldn't believe it! Nigel and I raged on the employees there for a good hour because one of them obviously had to steal them out of my bag which was in their office but it did us no good. We thought about getting the police but didn't really see how it would help since it's just their word against ours...definitely makes you dislike a place when you keep getting robbed! So we left Alexandria a little disheartened and took the overnight bus to Dahab. We got the last two seats on the bus which also were the most uncomfortable two seats in the very back with zero leg room. It was worth it though because Dahab is a beautiful place from what we've seen so far. We are staying in a room right on the beach and there are lots of restaurants, bars, and dive centers all through the town...oh and lots of white people too for a change we aren't the only two! So now the job hunt begins! Hope you all are doing great! xoxo
Cairo
Hi all! Nigel and I made it safely to Egypt and have spent the past week exploring Cairo. My flight here over the Alps was gorgeous! The city is a contrast between woman dressed in all black with only their eyes showing yet they are eating at McDonalds (and there is KFC here too which thanks to Nigel we've already eaten at but we've also tried all the local food)! We watched the woman and she actually put the food up under her veil to eat rather than taking it off. It feels very safe here even though we are the only white people we ever see when walking the streets- every one stops and says "Welcome to Egypt" and they find Nigels' eye ring very entertaining! Tonight we are taking the overnight train (should be an experience) down to Aswan which is close to Africa and going to see some historical sights. We went to see the famous pyramids and got to try riding camels which was fun though the guy offered to buy me from Nigel for 100 camels and three chickens...to which Nigel said 200 and we have a deal..hmph. We also went to the Egyptian Musuem and saw some tombs and mummies and we've been to lots of mosques. Every day the prayer chants ring out over the city speakers (five times a day) and people stop what they are doing and pray. Kinda sucks at 5am in the morning but oh well. The best thing has been how cheap it is here...our room is $5 a night and we spend around $10 a day on food together and this is the city where things are most expensive. We plan on traveling down the Nile for a few weeks and then heading over to the Sinai Penisula where we will look for a place to settle. Miss you all!
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