Retreat to Dahab & The Orange Tube of Terminal Boredom

Returning to Dahab we checked ourselves into Mishmishi for the remaining five nights of our vacation.  Much the same as before, we spent our time at Dahab snorkelling, catching the 30C+ sun, eating, drinking, sleeping  and generally chilling out. 

Over the first two days, and thanks once again to Waleed (and Zoe's patience), I completed my PADI Advanced Open Water certificate - a deep water dive to 30 metres at the Blue Hole, followed by a navigation dive at Eel Gardens and a night dive off the Lighthouse.  Two weeks earlier I could not have thought of anything worse than doing a night dive.  It was a breeze.  It's as if the nitrogen bubbles create a euphoric feeling of invincibility.

Once I was done with the diving course, we spent our days on the sun lounges at the front of The Bedouin's Son; reading, drinking fresh juice and beers, eating pizza and going snorkelling on a reef just metres away.  The snorkelling was as good as The Blue Hole.  Drifting along the edge of the magnificent coral reef we saw Lion Fish, Stingrays, Clown Fish, Puffers, Trigger Fish, Morays, Groupers and hundreds of other species.  It's a shame that the tourists and locals treat the reef with such disdain - breaking off coral, walking on the reef, littering and even poaching (from a national park) would occur in full view.

As far as activities went, there were a few highlights and one lowlight:  We went on the world's worst sunset camel safari - crossing rubbish dumps, passing a dilapidated prison and conveniently missing the sunset.  It was so bad it was hilarious.  Although, at the time I had to contain myself because I thought Zoe might have exploded.  Despite his bumbling, we liked our fourteen year old guide.  He proudly announced that I was riding the oldest camel in Dahab.  And didn't I know it.

The horse-riding was much, much better and awesome fun (and less impactful on the nether regions).  I'd never ridden a horse at full speed before.  Zoe came close to disaster on one gallop as she slipped from her saddle and only saved from a fall by her foot being caught in the stirrup.

At night we ate out at a lamb barbecue place on the main street.  It served the best lamb sharma, kofte and shish I've ever tasted.  The chicken was top notch too.  Dinner, with a few beers, would come to USD12.


Slowly but surely the days, then the hours, slipped by.  I can't speak for Zoe don't think I've ever loathed the idea of returning to London so much.

More ugly, arrogant Russians at Sharm El Sheik airport confirmed to us that we'd made the correct decision in staying in Dahab.  The pushing and shoving in at security and checkin was so ridiculous it was laughable.  And it was a consolation that they were returning to shitholes like Kharkov and Smolensk.  My revenge was their very existence.

Romantic Sunset Camel Ride in Dahab.  Without the Romance or Sunset.

Lubbly jubbly.  Feasting in Dahab.

Completing the Advanced Open Water with Waleed at Dahab.

Horse riding on the beach, Dahab

Last day

Last photo...booo...

We'd boarded our EzyJet flight to London when I discovered that I'd forgotten to get a book for the journey.  So for the next five hours, forty-five minutes and six seconds I stared at the seat in front of me.

One last thing: We enjoyed the Sinai hugely.  It was a nice, relaxing end to our adventures.  The drawcard is the beauty and accessibility of the reef, and the inexpensive food and accommodation.  Biggest drawback was the ludicrous chauvinism on the part of the a large portion of the locals.  Our mates at The Bedouin's Son and The Sphinx tour company, our horse and camel guides and the taxi drivers from Mt Sinai and to Sharm airport were all nice and respectful guys.  Many of the rest were disrespectful to Zoe.  Their behaviour ranging from simple rudeness to criminal.  Mostly it was just pathetic.  It's of no surprise that 98% of female foreign tourists in Egypt suffer some sort of sexual harassment.

Chilling Out Above and Below The Waves

About two hours south of Nuweiba the road finally breaks out of the desert mountains onto a thin strip of coastal plain.  In the distance, nestled between piles of trash, abandoned construction sites, a major service road and the sea sits Dhahab.  Colin drove Twiga through the world's most useless military checkpoint, past a paramilitary compound constructed by a mad Dutchman and up the main street of Dhahab.  We pulled up outside our hostel and unloaded.

For the next three nights we ate, drank, slept, swam , snorkeled and sunned ourselves beside the Red Sea.  On the first day we jeeped it to world famous the Blue  Hole - a circular reef section about 5 miles north of the town.  The sea life was captivating and beautiful.  A tinge of envy overcame me as I snorkeled above the teams of divers 20 metres below.  Sensing this, experienced divers Tanzin, Mike and Brad, along with keen beginner, Maarten, convinced me to do a beginners dive course.  I'd always been irrationally petrified of diving - the very thought made me feel claustrophobic.  Zoe signed up as well but then decided against it.  So, it was with great trepidation and much fumbling that I began the course the next day.  To my amazement, and self-amusement, it was easy.  Our instructor Waleed was calm, controlled and friendly.  For the next two days I spent morning to dusk learning the ropes of diving and studying the theory while Zoe frequented the reefside cafes, chilling out, taking in sun and lots of fresh juice.   Both Maarten and I passed our open water certificate without much trouble at all.  If anything, I regret not doing diving earlier in life.  It's very relaxing and very satisfying.

All in all we were pretty satisfied with the place.  It was cheap, there was plenty to do and, aside from constant unwanted attention visited upon the girls, it was safe.  At night we ate at a few of the many restaurants along the esplanade.  The food was standard fare - burgers, kebabs, pizza, seafood, pasta - but it was good value and the local beer was cheap at about USD1.50 for a pint bottle.  Accommodation was simple but clean, comfortable ,convenient and quiet and cost a paltry USD per person per night, including breakfast.

We were due to leave Dhahab to go to Mt Sinai when Zoe and I decided to can our planned trip to Naama Bay.  We figured, after talking to Ian and Colin, that even with the cancellation fee it was cheaper and more satisfying for us to return to Dhahab instead of continuing to Sharm after Mt Sinai.