Egypt
So far, Egypt has been a mixed experience. As it turns out, Hurghada survives mostly on tourism, which means that downtown and the tourist area where our hotel is located is filled with salespeople yelling at us and taxies honking just in case we didn't notice they were there. There are hardly any local women in these areas, it seems to be populated solely by men age 16-35 (much like the village you start our at in Resident evil 5). The tourists are your typical family with small children, old drunks and people looking to get drunk and screw around (sometimes all three at once) so they are equally hard to relate to. Add to that the fact that everybody's English is poor and that I hate to haggle and it seems quite bad.
But there are great things too: the hotel is brilliant, the staff is great, the room is more spacious than any I've ever been in, and the company on my trip is both laidback and interested in doing pretty much the same stuff that I am (good man, 45hasle). Today we went snorkling at coral reefs. It was beautiful and fully convinced me that I need to learn to dive. There was this one spot where the coral reefs went further down than the light and it seemed like you could swim into endless darkness. Truly awesome. I also saw a moray. So cool! And I'm getting a tan, yay! Tomorrow, we will go to the beach and I'll read stuff for my degree. I'm sure it'll be cosy.
The major problem with this city,however, is that there is little to do. Move out of the touristy areas and there are old people, women and children and stores that sell other stuff than what people here think tourists want, but there are no old buildings to look at (the most fancy building we found turned out to be a duty free liquor store) and no sights. Basically this town is great if you're interested in diving (which I am, but I'm on a budget and not here for long enough to learn it) or in lying on your ass getting a tan, but if you, like me, want culture and interesting stuff to do, you have to take a several hours, quite expensive bus ride to see the stuff. And then you're stuck in a group with a guide and a bunch of other tourists. (I'm sure you could rent a car, but unless you know their written language, I'd be scared to try to manouver between cities. Also, the way they drive here takes some getting used to. They don't believe in lanes).
For me, this isn't a big problem on this trip. We're going to Luxor to see the temples and stuff in a few days, and if we don't have enough stuff to do, I'm backed up with my degree and it wouldn't hurt for me to actually get some writing done on this trip. I've tested it, and I found that it is possible to sit in the sun and write (even though it's a bit hard to see the screen). Two days of sun, poolside drinks and my degree sounds like a good time to me, but I'm scared that 45hasle will be bored just reading and hanging out. Oh well, I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Next time, I'll tell you about what it's like to fly with people on a charter trip and about the way they treat female tourists here. (Oh, and just so you know: I'm really glad I'm here, and getting a tan, and being in a place where it's actually warm, and on vacation. It fills my heart with joy to see my calender free for a whole week.)
But there are great things too: the hotel is brilliant, the staff is great, the room is more spacious than any I've ever been in, and the company on my trip is both laidback and interested in doing pretty much the same stuff that I am (good man, 45hasle). Today we went snorkling at coral reefs. It was beautiful and fully convinced me that I need to learn to dive. There was this one spot where the coral reefs went further down than the light and it seemed like you could swim into endless darkness. Truly awesome. I also saw a moray. So cool! And I'm getting a tan, yay! Tomorrow, we will go to the beach and I'll read stuff for my degree. I'm sure it'll be cosy.
The major problem with this city,however, is that there is little to do. Move out of the touristy areas and there are old people, women and children and stores that sell other stuff than what people here think tourists want, but there are no old buildings to look at (the most fancy building we found turned out to be a duty free liquor store) and no sights. Basically this town is great if you're interested in diving (which I am, but I'm on a budget and not here for long enough to learn it) or in lying on your ass getting a tan, but if you, like me, want culture and interesting stuff to do, you have to take a several hours, quite expensive bus ride to see the stuff. And then you're stuck in a group with a guide and a bunch of other tourists. (I'm sure you could rent a car, but unless you know their written language, I'd be scared to try to manouver between cities. Also, the way they drive here takes some getting used to. They don't believe in lanes).
For me, this isn't a big problem on this trip. We're going to Luxor to see the temples and stuff in a few days, and if we don't have enough stuff to do, I'm backed up with my degree and it wouldn't hurt for me to actually get some writing done on this trip. I've tested it, and I found that it is possible to sit in the sun and write (even though it's a bit hard to see the screen). Two days of sun, poolside drinks and my degree sounds like a good time to me, but I'm scared that 45hasle will be bored just reading and hanging out. Oh well, I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Next time, I'll tell you about what it's like to fly with people on a charter trip and about the way they treat female tourists here. (Oh, and just so you know: I'm really glad I'm here, and getting a tan, and being in a place where it's actually warm, and on vacation. It fills my heart with joy to see my calender free for a whole week.)