Hello all you lovely people....

Just a quickie to say I have snuck into a cyber cafe to send you greetings from Egypt!

I am staying at the Mohamad Ali Village in Dahab and having a rather fabby time....we had a ropom where the loo didn't flush and the plumbing was very suspect and so for a pound more we are now in a rather nice suite......the prices are amazing...1 weeks accomodation for 28 quid! YES 28 quid!

I have been diving today and completed the 1st 2 dives towards my PADI open water ticket...very exciting.....saw lots of fishes and a baracuda....great fun!

Am going on a days camel trek tomorow so if you don't hear from me again you know why!

Got to go now

TTFN!

Wow Coastie - it sounds great! (except for the dodgy loo)

Thanks for taking the time to pop in and post. Hope you watch out for the camels - I've heard they can be a bit tempremental and spit!

:unsure: Ooooh Im a bit of a wuss with loos. They have to be fully flushing, clean etc, lol.
Id love to go to Egypt.
Take care Coastie and as Haydon says, look out for the smelly breathed, spitty camels.... (I dont like them either :blink: )

Oooh Coastie, it sounds like you are having a fab time. :) Thanks for thinking of lil ole us, in rainy England. Enjoy yourself, and looking forward to getting the complete review when you come home.

Ohhhh, you lucky, lucky thing! I'm in the middle of planning a holiday to Egypt!
I don't know where Dahab is - is that in the Red Sea area?

I'm going to fly to Cairo, have a couple of days there - then get the overnight train to Luxor and have 2 nights on the West Bank and two nights on the East Banks - then get the train back to Cairo for the last two days before I fly home. I've been reading up on it in the Lonely Planet and like you said - the accomodation in the budget and mi-range accomodation is REALLY cheap.

Good luck with the diving - I tried a dive with an instructor once, but I don't think I'd be brave enough to do it on my own! I could feel the panic very close to the surface everytime I realised where I was.

If you get the chance try some Faal - it's made with fava beans and is very popular in Egypt. They do it fried in patties too, but I can't remember what that's called.

Pandora - I'm like with with the 'facilities' but because I often go off the beaten track when I'm on holiday and I can't always be fussy......I take a thing called a 'travel mate' with me on holiday - which allows me to pee like a man - standing up. It sounds awful, but it really is handy!!

Great to hear you are having a great time Coastie :bye:

Woo hoo Coastie on a camel - I'll now think of her as Florence of Arabia :laugh:

wooooooow Coastie - next time you read this you will have had your camel trek - did you love it?? I loved being aboard a camel when I was in Eygpt, their gait is so ungainly but you do get used to it. They are a bit pongy - no??:)

so..... important stuff .... what's the totty like over there?

Hi Coastie, hope by the time you read this you're sitting comfortably again and have got the camel spit out of your hair.

Wow, sounds like you're having a great time and at that price, it's cheaper than staying at home!

Tell us what a PADI open water ticket is when you get back and what you had to do to get it.

Take care and have a fabulous time.

I've heard they can be a bit tempremental and spit!

I've heard much the same about Coasties :bag:

Hi Coastie!
I've always wanted to go to Egypt and I'd love to learn to dive too. They had some woman presenter from a holiday show taking a diving course in Egypt and she made it look really difficult!
Hope you managed to bond with the camels

Coastie, you can poot to your hearts content on top of a camel. I hear they stink too so you'll have some method of communication already sorted!!!

Have a great adventure, and come back with a few hairy stories please!!

I am glad you are enjoying your hols Coastie - I read a book about diving once, is it true that there is snot all over your face when you come up? :eek:

Fee I love your new avatar btw!

Coastie hello! Very jealous! Wish I was on holiday... take care of yourself!

x

Sounds like you're having a wonderfull time Coastie!

Bring yourself back safe with LOTS of pictures!

M :)

Wey Coastie, hope you are having a fabby time my darling......what a wonderous place to visit - Im sooooooo jealous!

If you can mamage it, can you smuggle me back a lookie likey from the Mummy movies - you know, the gorgeous fella with the tattoos on his face dressed head to foot in flowing black robes :naughty:

Have lots more fun chick and take care.....see you soon xx

OOhhhh coastie - sounds like mega craic. Some mates of mine are diving in the red sea area from this thursday, so although it's unlikely they're in the same exact spot, if you do hear some inventive irish cursing and splashing and general mayhem it may be them..approach carefully!!


Enjoy!!!

Ooh Coastie, sounds fab and great of you to pop in and keep us updated! I would love to do diving, my friend does it and isn't that great a swimmer, so there is hope for me yet!

Enjoy the rest of the holiday! :)

MY BUM HURTS!

Okay....riding on a camel is great fun but gee whizz it hurts the inner thigh and groiun area after the first hour....I know walk like John Wayne but it was fabby......went to a couple of canyons and an Oasis......had tea with the Bedouins and had a jolly good stomp through one of the canyons.....came back shattered and sandy but alive....if a little bow legged....If you ever visit Egypt forget Ciaro come to Dahab....one day camel trek with meal 20 quid...bargin!

ILS.....Rusty (my Lil Ed and travellling companion) had a ride on the camel too and was nearly nicked by the guides who were fascinated by him...he will be diving on Friday!

I have now completed four dives and although I have a few problems going down...er hum....I am progressing very well and my instrutor is proud of little ole me....there is a gorgeous yummy hunk of a french man (yes he's french but his phwoar factor exceeds this) who works art the dive centre...me and my mate are fighting over him!

TTFN
Catch you all on my retuirn if not sooner!

MY BUM HURTS!

Okay....riding an egyptian is great fun but gee whizz it hurts the inner thigh and groiun area after the first hour....I know walk like John Wayne but it was fabby......!

really Coastie too much information!

glad you are having such a good time! i can report that all is well on the solent (in case you were worried!!).

Coastie, but do you now...- hit music - " Walk like an Egyption"

Coastie, great to hear you are having a fabby time.

Now be a good girl and do as your instructor tells you to and get down, now :wink2:

Uuuuggghh, smelly noisey, spitty creatures who make your bum sore. I like camels though.

:naughty:

Get back soon Coastie, the tone is considerably lower!

Youhooo!

Hello again all you lovely peeps....I am flying home tonight....boo hooooooo :cry: having had a fabby time...I look forward to telling you all about it when I return to work on erm...oh erm...next erm Thursday i think it is...anyway I am now officially a PADI Open Water Diver and I did find Nemo several times...woo wooo.....My bum has fully recovered but I have a nice big bruise on my left arm curtosy of my mates Nephew (he slipped and elbowed me)....I look like a beaten wife it's huge! I also have a slightly puffy ankle from where I fell down a pot hole...a bruise on my knee and grazed palms from the same incident....but I am also wearing the biggest smile having met a wonderful bunch of peeps in this most welcoming of countries....

I highly recommend a trip to Dahab! Sharm El Sheikh is a little more commercialised and Cairo may have the pyramids but its really just a big smelly city...the people of Dahab are wonderful, friendly and aren't as persistent on selling their wears as other places...they accept the no thankyou response and leave you alone! :laugh:

Anyway...I shall give you the full Coastie guide to Dahab on my return.....till then TTFN...althoutgh I may check a couple of other threads before I leave!

Lovely to hear you've had a great time, Coastie.
And congratulations on doing your PADI course.
You've been missed.

Congratulations on passing your PADI Open Water Diver course Coastie - you clever old stick you :funky:

Sore Bum?
Bruised elbow?
Swollen Ankle?
bashed and bruised?
tired and weary?

BUT you past and had a super dooper time!! And now you are back in the bosum of your mates who have missed your pooting and random drivel - welcome back and huge congrats on your successfully passing your PADI course. Clever girl. :smartie:

Hey - I've just read through this thread for the first time. Sound like you had a fantastic time in Egypt Coastie, and are now PADI qualified as a scuba diver!

Congrats!

Coasties Guide to Dahab
-----------------------
Dahab is on the Sinai bit of Egypt and 1.5hr drive fro Sharm El Shiekh Air Port. From the shore it is possible to see Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea.

The Journey from the Airport to Dahab shouldn't cost more than 200 Egyptian (£20 English) and be warned the Egyptians like to turn their lights on and off at random along unlit desert roads for reasons unknown.

Coastie stayed at 'Mohamed Ali Village' and once her trio moved to a different room was paying the equivalent of £28 for a week in a room for 3 with flushing loo and hot and cold running shower.

Red Sea Divers was the attached dive centre and very good it was to with top French Totty....he was yum..yum...yumidy yum!...anyway the local hotel dog a mere 1yr old black mutt with cut off tail (by spade poor thing) has been nick named Kujo by us since no-one seemed to know its name...he was a sweetie if a little flea baggie!

Alcapones on the sea front which stretches for a mere 1mile was our daily breakfast choice mainly because it was often the only place open early enough to serve us and at £1.20 for a big plate of food who's complaining...it was rather nice.

Rotisory half chicken and chips for £1.20 can be found off the main sea front and up the road out of town ( a short but worth while walk).....there is also a good little Pizza place towards the end of town and you must at least try Kosheri...20p for a big bowl of rice, lentils, pasta and tomatoe. Falafel is also rather yummy...meat balls of lentils.

Have to go now as running out of time....darn this 1hr limit malarky! :wallbash:

Sounds great Coastie. Congratulations on getting your qualification and look forward to seeing you back on the board soon.

Right.....

Once you have settled in.....look into going diving (that really is the main reason for visiting Dahab...and Sharm El Sheikh for that matter).....the diving here is beach diving so you don't have to worry about rolling around, off and uder boats...you walk in from the beach don your fins and make a nice gradual descent to what ever level with the reef and all its beautiful fishes right there!
Oh and if you go with Red Sea Divers....French Top Totty ladies....really top totty and I don't even like the french!

Anyway....camel treking varies in price....obviously if you travel out there during peak season you will pay more than if you go at this time of the year. This is a good time to go as the weather is bareable....like a good English summer as apposed to melt you away desert heat! We booked our trek with Adel a man who had his office set back from the beach between 2 bigger shops/resturaunts...set right back....and we paid the equivalent of £20 each for a whole days camel trek with just the three of us. The trek started out in the desert (transport to the start point provided direct from the hotel)....we met our camels who were type cast....my mate had the biggest regal looking camel (yet she's smaller than me) her nephew had a pretty littler camel...a sweetie and I had grumpy, moanie, mangey camel but I soon fell in love with himas he was such a grumpy old swizzer!

We were taken out into the desert for 30mins or so...dismounted (hold on tight!) then had to walk down a canyon wall bit before remounting and entering a Bedouin camp at an Oasis like Lawrence of arabia (although by this time I felt more like a bow legged cow girl than a graceful Arabian chick!)....we dismounted had tea with the locals (sweet, black tea....very yummy but will rot ya teeth!)...then it was up an away to Narrow Canyon...so called because it is really narrow! We trudged through there on foot and explored all that there was to see and Lil Ed's 2 buddies made an appearance and had a bit of a climb!

Back on the camels and a return trek to the Oasis for lunch...yum...then a 1hr hike from there through White Canyon...because it's white and sandy!...we had a guide for this bit and I beat him twice at arm wrestling before he got all technical and did the bendy thumb thing. It's a nice trudge with a bit of climbing and then we popped out at the top of the canyon to remount our camels for the ride back to base.

More to follow......

Welcome home Coastie! :hug:

I'm loving this! I can't dive any more so it's great to hear about your experiences.

Coastie, it is really lovely to have you back and see all your posts.

And yes, keep the adventures coming. Sounds fabby:thumbsup:

Its lovely to see you Coastie and it is great to hear about your adventures, it sounds like you had a great time!

Note: Reagarding Camel treks....expect your inner thighs to kill on completetion of such an adventure....if you are not prepared to suffer such discomfort take a 10min camel ride up and down the Dahab beach instead or maybe you would prefer to ride 'Moses' the horse along the beach! :blink:

Anyway....

Maybe you would like to take a day trip from Dahab to Sharm El Sheikh.....if this is the case do not pay any more than 10 Egyptian pounds for the taxi from Dahab beach to Dahab bus station....by a ticket for the frequent buses to Sharm for 11 E.pounds - Enjoy the 1.5hr journey by snozzing and peering out at the mountains, wild camels and quad bikers!

On arrival in Sharm expect to pay a max of 15 E.pounds for a trip from the bus station into town (not far but they will charge).....Sharm is a purpose built tourist honey trap with malls, KFC, Mc Donalds, Pizza Hut and other 'big' names. It's largely pedestrianised and there are lots of little narrow side roads to explore and hunt for your bits a bobs soverniers....remember though that they tend to be more expensive here cos there are more tourists...it's also likely to be hotter here so plenty of sun screen or you will burn and shrivel like a prune!

Return the same way you came and end the day with hot chocolate at Alcapones or a beer at the hotel bar (some of the resturants don't sell alcohol because they are largely run by Muslims but you can get booze at most of the hotel bars and the Sphinx Bar is popular with tourists and local westerners!)......

Basically with three days of diving and a couple of day trips a week is long enough in Dahab but dispite it not being the biggest town it has a lovely vibe....

One other thing....

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND KEEP THE SUN SCREEN TOPPED UP AT ALL TIMES!