Back from the Red Sea

[SubMariner]

Well done! ^5!!!

Welcome to the wonderful world of diving... you're hooked now!

Wishing you many years of safe, FUN diving...

~SubMariner~

 

[gozumutti]

Thanks Submariner,

Yes I am now a confirmed addict

Sue, I just remembered something else after checking out another thread. When you go to the Red Sea, you will change some amount of money into Egyptian Pounds. When you do this, MAKE SURE you get a large number of 1 pound notes.

Tips are usual(if you only knew how little the Egyptians make - not enough to feed a dog, usually). They are also obligatory if you carry no one pound notes. If something costs 6 pounds and you give a 10, they will have no change (sarcastic grin) and you will unwillingly tip thrice the acceptable amount. Something costing 6 pounds, say, will demand only a 1 pound tip. Make sure you have at least 10 or 15 one pound notes with you at all times.

If you are in a hotel, you can tip the cleaning personnel an amount PERSONALLY at the very start of your stay, and again at the end, instead of tipping daily. If you are on a boat safari, 100 pounds to the captain at the end of the trip is satisfactory; don't tip the crew separately, as all tips go into a pot and are divided equally at the end anyway.

They also take it well if you inquire about their family etc. Egyptians are friendly and curious and will therefore more than likely squeeze you for details about where you come from, what is is like there etc.

Hope this helps,

gozumutti

 

[cottim]

Gozu
Congratulations on your OWD certifiction.
Now you are enjoying life.

Sue
Welcome back. I haven't seen you since you left for Cozumel.
When you go to Egypt, besides the good advise Gozu gave you remember to change only as much USD as you need into Egyptian pounds. You'll find it difficult to change it back into USD once you end your vacations.

Bye for now

 

[Sue]

Gozu & cottim

Tnx for your tips. I hope I can make it to go there, otherwise I'll have to stick to our cold waters.

take care!

Sue

 

[Iguana Don]

Gozu,

Been off the boards for a while, found your post and am very proud of your accomplishment.

Welcome to the New World and you will thank Atilla a hundred times over.

Again congrats.

ID

 

[SubMariner]

Goz, the people on the liveaboard were great. However, this is an account of what happened on land:

First of all, both Pearce & I have been in “Developing Nations” (aka 3rd World Countries) and Egypt left a very negative impression with both of us:

· Getting in was a bit of a hassle, but nothing tragic. About 2 x-rays to go through. (Hurghada is a small airport that obviously doesn’t have the resources to deal with the tourists they cater to and want so badly.) Getting OUT was another matter (more later).

· The town is filthy & nothing seemed finished. Yes, I have been in poor places before, but poor doesn’t necessarily equal dirty/squalid. There was garbage ALL OVER.

· Armed guards everywhere. On every corner is at least one man armed with a machine gun, in full bullet-proof vest and Kevlar helmet. -Several corners had trucks with 6 or more of these fellows in them. Apparently these are Tourist Police that are “there for [our] protection”.

· Women are ignored or treated like chattel. As “modern” as this country professes to be, if you’re a woman, you’re worth less than a goat. (More on this later.) I guess a blonde woman in shorts with a tattoo is even worse.

· Accosted on every street by hawkers. Again, been through this before in other places, and it’s ignorable until you re-read previous point.

· Getting OUT was nasty. Again, there is this small, under-developed airport that is trying to process 5 or 6 flights’ worth of people. What a mess! You go through no less that THREE x-ray stations to get to the Departure Lounge.

At the first, they pulled Pearce over & made him open up all the u/w camera stuff. (Yes, he’s been through this before umpteen times, not the least of which was Gatwick on the way from UK to Egypt, but not like THIS!)

This is how the interrogation went: guard gruffly asks Pearce “You mafia or tourist?” Pearce with very puzzled look on face answers “tourist”. Guard picks up strobe, growls “this bomb?!” Pearce: “no, strobe for camera”. Guard picks up 16mm lens, “this bomb?!” Pearce: “no, camera lens”. This happens about three or four more times until the guard seems satisfied that nothing is a bomb.

Next x-ray point I put through my knapsack & the guard pulls it off the belt saying “you have swiss army knife?! You Mafia or tourist”. However, he is addressing PEARCE, ignoring me when I say: “tourist, and yes, it is a swiss army knife.” [Please note I had brought this knife to the attention of the airline when we boarded the flight in Gatwick. I opened it up & showed it to them & they said it was small enough to put in my knapsack/carry-on.] I remove it from the bag & hand it to him. He starts opening it up. “What this?!” I answer “corkscrew”, but he’s not looking at me, rather at Pearce. “You mafia or tourist?!” “Tourist”. He opens up the little 2” blade, makes a cut-throat gesture across his neck with it & exclaims “you cut throat of captain [presumably airplane pilot] with this! You mafia or tourist?!”

At this point I’m saying “I’m a tourist & just KEEP the knife, ok?!” But he’s ignoring me & repeating the cut-throat routine. Pearce says “we’re tourists. What do I have to do with the knife?” They seemed to be saying he has to check it along with the baggage. I kept saying “just KEEP IT!” but the next thing I know, Pearce & two armed guards are leaving the lounge to check it in the baggage???? Now I’m starting to get shaky because the adrenaline is just pumping through my veins. An eternity later Pearce comes back into the lounge, having checked the knife. I’m practically in tears. I’m so happy to see him I throw my arms around him & hold him for 5 minutes. !!!!!!

· People who took bus tours to the Valley of the Kings complained of dirty, decrepit busses, ones that broke down, and being rushed through their tours. Apparently, they gather the different buses up into a caravan that is escorted to & from their destination by convoy of “Tourist Police”.

------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, I think that "baksheesh" is arabic for "bribe" or "greese my palm & it will go faster". There was definitely a "price" for everything there!

~SubMariner~

 

[gozumutti]

Dear SubMariner

Yup; that about sums it up

Hurghada airport is amazing. I have been to Hurghada twice and have experienced little or no organisation, power outages, and general chaos. It is NOT equipped for the numbers of tourist that come through. But they do their best. Personally, I consider it part of the fun and adventure of visiting a 2.5 world country. It is unfortunate though, that you and Pearce were singled out for roughing and I am sorry to hear it. I am grateful to get in and out with no trouble.

You are right, Hurghada town is one huge construction site and filthy, but on the other hand, the reefs and the fish are nice. Egypt is VERY different to what Americans or Western Europeans are used to. The money brought in by the tourists seems to be going for things other than trash collection.

The convoys to the Valley of Kings etc. are obligatory for the same reason that machine-gun toting police stand on every other street corner: the attack on tourists in Luxor some years back. Incidentally, the corners the police are parked on are close to the banks and automated tellers. Even the hotels have metal detectors in the entrances, but I consider this overkill. There are probably there to make the tourists FEEL safe.

It is definitely an experience, and takes some getting used to. It also reminds me of exactly how spoiled we are in the industrialized countries - we just don't notice it anymore.

I am headed back, probably in August, for more fun at Hurghada Airport.

Oh yeah - DO NOT drink the tap water!!!

gozumutti