18th Nov - Back to Cairo

We hopped on yet another bus in the wee hours of the morning & headed back to Cairo. This time at least we got to see some of the desert. When we arrived back in Cairo we were tired, but the city was rocking. You see, they were in the World Cup football playoffs that eve. A few of us went for a walk down the street & bought some Egypt scarves along the way. The locals loved that we were barracking for their team & many took pics on their mobiles of this strange phenomena - foreigners wearing the Egyptian colours.

Lots of Pretty Fish & Things

Every day when staying at the resort I went snorkelling. Partly because the Red Sea - voted best dive spot in the world - was right on my doorstep. And partly because I'd paid money for the hire of the gear which I didn't want to waste. So, even though it was really bloody windy & choppy, every day I ventured out, even for 30 mins, to take advantage of this environment. And it was worth it for sure. Lots of nemos about, colourful coral, & I even got to see a huge manta ray take off one day.
I don't have any pics of the underwater world cause my camera doesn't have gills.

Sore Bum Camel Ride

Never again in my life will I attempt to ride a camel! Perhaps only if I'm stranded in the desert with no means of transportation, I might consider it again. I've decided that I really don't like them verey much at all. The 1 hour trip was far too long. I was given the biggest bloody camel who liked to pick fights with any other that got in h/er way. The swaying to & fro was much harder than with a horse. And, the after effect on my bum was enough to turn me away from them for life.

15th Nov - Excellent Quad Bike Tour

Quite a few of us opted to do a 3-hr quad bike tour of the area surrounding Dhahab. Glad I was in cause it was one of the best tours I've done on my whole trip. I quickly realised, as did others, that I had a flair for quad biking, as I screamed off ahead of the pack. We went to a place in the desert, not too far out, & walked up a hill (not really sure why), then walked back down. Anyway, we jumped back on the bikes & headed back towards Dhahab & the leader let us take off on these sand flats. And I really took off, overtaking him at full throttle & hooning down the beach. Then we all stopped at the beach & I convinced the leader to let me have another ride. So I went off & raced him around the flats again. I had found my inner quad demon! But people were really quite pissed off that I'd gotten the extra. When we finished the tour, they even let me take a bike back to the resort. Absolutely LOVED IT!!!!!

Out on the Town in Dhahab

Our new tour guide, named Mo (not Big Mo, even though he was much much bigger than the previous Mo) set up a dinner for us on the first night. We headed down to the little seaside town of Dhahab & went to one of the restaurants dotting the coastline. We had a feast, watched the staff getting down dancing, & even smoked a shish! A great night!

14th Nov - Red Sea Hotel

We checked in to a seaside resort hotel on the Red Sea after the long drive from Luxor. I must admit, I was incredibly lucky on this tour as often I got to have my own room. While some had to share a triple room, I had a king size room of my own. With a great view out to the ocean!!
I just wanted to chill out at this place. Especially after the rush of going temple to temple over the past week or so. Did a fair bit of reading, internet checking & watched a great TV show - Doha Debate on BBC - which featured the topic 'should Iran be allowed to develop nuclear technology?'.
There wasn't a lot to do here at the resort. Like any resort it's a place to relax & unwind. Not my kind of holiday really. And I had 4 nights here!!

Check Out & Onto Overnight Bus

We'd been promised by Big Mo, our guide, that we'd get first dibs on bus seats over the other group who were staying at another hotel. But when the bus arrived & we got on, we realised the other group had snuck in front of us & had already settled into their own seats. Luckily, I was one of the few in the group who got their own double seat so it wasn't as cramped as some others were.
We left the hotel at 4pm for the long drive ahead. The country areas outside Luxor were alive with people coming home from work or going to markets. Along the way we passed many security checkpoints, especially around the Sinai region. But fortunately I had quite a good rest on the trip, unlike most others, & was ready for the day ahead in Dhahab.