Egypt is Full of Surprises

If there was one country I was nervous of travelling through, it was Egypt. I’d been carrying a niggling worry with me all the way. I expected the border crossing to be a lot worse but it simply turned out to be impossible to do on your own – but there was a policeman whose job was to sort out tourists like ourselves. I expected the police controls to be mean, hard work but they too have turned out to be bothersome but fine. At the end of the day, the police are there to protect tourist areas and I think that often their concern is that we have a safe journey. Okay, so the driving is mad and we are yet to discover the convoys… The roads vary from smooth tarmac to fairly rugged rocky sand paths. However, not any worse than we have experienced already.

I thought that this was going to be a stressful experience from beginning to end but we have been having a ball! And the real great surprise about Egypt is the super guys we have been meeting and in particular, Omar. I’ve mentioned the www.horizonsunlimited.com website before in early posts. In Turkey we submitted a post looking for fellow bikers doing the same route. I had expected there to be at least some bikers going in the same direction and we only have a small window of good weather to cross North Africa – where was every one? Well, Omar got in touch with us and offered to help us in Egypt doing all the tricky bits like ferry bookings and a place to stay so we could day trip into Cairo. He is a biker too (as always, the cool guys are) and a very adventurous, friendly chap. He reminds me of the action character in the film Triple X that Van Diesel plays. He is wired and unpredictable but still the hero of the story.

22 September: Egypt – Nuweiba, Dahab and Alexandria (skimming past Cairo on the ring road)

We landed in Egypt late in the evening, thanks to the ferry being delayed for four hours. We arrived to what appeared to be total chaos and devastation. It was hard to figure out the road for the rubbish. We were shouted at and followed men in official uniforms pointing. Eventually we parked in a specific spot amongst piles of baggage and rubbish where cars appeared to be searched (with the kind of rigor CSI Miami investigators demonstrated, only the ones on telly made less mess). I stood and stared at a man busy ripping the lining of the doors of the car and taking the windows out. “Fucking hell.” I thought. I couldn’t bear to think what was going to happen to my precious motorbike.

A really scruffy man walked up to me and pointed to my bike’s frame number and by his gesticulations we needed to get a paper from one of the offices he pointed towards. No body in the office seemed to understand what we wanted. We walked over to a fellow vehicle owner who explained that actually we had to go to a different window to open our files first. I thought he was joking but numerous photocopies of various papers and we exchanged money for two folders each. I’d heard there were supposed to be people about who could help us, or at least speak English, but it appeared that they had gone home - it was so late on a Friday (equivalent of Sunday). I tried to not feel stressed but this seemed like mission impossible. I knew that we would just have to take as much time as needed… and it looked like a long time indeed.

Someone else pointed out that we didn’t have the blue paper from the ferry. This paper was essential and we couldn’t enter without it. Shit! Paul and I decided to quickly drive back to the ferry before it left and ask for it. We hopped back on the bikes but as we started the engine an official looking man stormed towards us and shouted “Stop!” in a very commanding way. We stopped.
I shouted back across the hordes of people dragging luggage past between us, “We need the blue form from the ferry.”
He shouted, “STOP!” again.
“OK!” I shouted back and got off the bike to prove it.
He shouted “Wait!”
I looked at Paul.
“I guess we have to wait then.” And we stood there feeling like lemons for a while.

The scruffy chap was still hassling us for a piece of paper. Eventually he went to the office himself and got the paper and we paid for it. Some other chap came along and took down our names again. We waited as told, with our files and no idea what was going on. The scruffy chap came back having made rubbings of our engine frame numbers and pasted them onto the paper. He was happy and walked off.

We continued to wait. It felt like ages so I went off to find the insurance office. The problem was that each time I asked someone I was directed to a different office. Eventually in my wandering about I found the same guy who had shouted at us and he turned out to be the Tourist Police too. He was pretty grumpy but he seemed to have time to help us now. I tried to be charming and he gradually became Mr Friendly and took us about from counter to counter. I did have another moment of real anxiety when he asked if our luggage had been search for “firecrackers”. I assumed this really meant explosive devices of sorts and looked at the nice new car in front of us that now had someone ripping the engine to shreds. Apparently our luggage had been checked while we were away – and as far as I could tell nothing had been touched. I sighed with relief! Eventually we had two big files full of freshly stamped, signed, folded and paid for papers. We were issued with scrappy old Egyptian number plates and free to leave, not too long after 9pm.

There was no way we would get to Dahab so we found a camping spot at a tourist resort that seemed to be completely deserted. Paul was keen to drive at night but we have a rule that we don’t drive at night and I stick to it. I was kind of smug when he hit a speed hump far too fast and I could hear his bash plate scraping. That is exactly why we don’t drive at night in foreign countries on unlit roads.

Early the next morning we did the 70 km trip to Dahab. We’d been advised to go to there as it is one of Egypt’s highlights. I’d been so focused on the bad things about Egypt; I’d forgotten to focus on the good things at the same time.

As luck would have it, at one of the many police stops in Sinai, we met another biker who is intending to do the same route as us. We made a precarious arrangement to meet in Aswan and take the ferry together. The ferry only leaves on a Monday and our intended route is via the desert so will take longer than what he is planning. I’m sure he is hoping as much as we are that things work and we can ride together!

After some riding about we found the Auski camp that Omar had recommended. He had called ahead so the guys were expecting us and welcomed us warmly. The bikes were ridden right inside the courtyard so that they were safe.

We decided to stay in one of the cheap rooms at 15Lei (£1.50) and spend the rest of our daily budget on some of the various things you could do in Dahab. This is mostly diving but there are camel rides and other tours too. It’s a tourist paradise bubble. It is really cheap (by comparison with European prices not Egyptian) and is basically a purpose built town – just for tourists to enjoy. If you drive down the back road you end up in a dusty Bedouin village with goats munching on garbage and what was described as “Africa”. If you take a stroll down the waterfront road, it is lined with restaurants, tat shops, diving centres and markets selling overpriced goods. It’s amazingly chilled out with many restaurants having low tables with big cushions and shesha pipes where the clientele can chill out for hours on end.

I’d been snorkel diving in Eilat some 10 years before and I didn’t think it was all that remarkable. I remember hyperventilating every time I saw a big fish and was too scared to swim out too far. I probably missed it all and so I wasn’t quite expecting what I saw in the Red Sea!

We were given some flippers and a snorkel and were driven went to a spot called “Three Pools”. It was boiling so I hurried into the water and dipped my face under the water. We were still at the entry point and barely two feet underwater and there were brightly coloured fish swimming about. This was Paul’s first bash at snorkelling and so I was keeping an eye on him as I floated over the coral reef. So long as his spluttering didn’t lead to anything more serious I was happy.

Under the water was just, well, exactly like the film Nemo. There were literally thousands of fish of all colours and shapes. There were huge corals, anenomies and other interesting things I didn’t recognise. It was like looking at an enormous rock pool. The water was a beautiful clear turquoise blue and the waves were very gentle making it very easy to simply float and see down for meters. It was a whole new world and I was completely blown away.

So when Shawkey (one of the brothers who run Auski) suggested we do an intro scuba dive, I was up for it. I’d never considered scuba diving before because there seems to be so much equipment and far too much could go wrong. Paul was less keen but agreed to do the swimming pool try all the same and take it from there. I still had the tail end of the cold I’d been trying to shake for ages and was very congested. While I’ve always been able to swim quite well, Paul has only started getting to grips with swimming in the last couple of years.

Day two in Dahab and we found ourselves at a spot called “Lighthouse”. Paul was extremely nervous and I didn’t blame him at all. Breathing underwater is not at all natural and feels completely wrong. The other consideration is that if you panic – you have to sort it out there underwater – popping up for air is not an option. I was too desperate to get down to seeing more fish to worry too much about what could go wrong. We each had a qualified experienced diver with us who would be working all the equipment for us. All we had to do was breathe. My instructor took me down deeper than I think he was supposed to but I had one of the best experiences of my life. I saw all kinds of fish and things that I’d only ever seen in nature programmes on television. It was just brilliant! I came out of the water with a big smile, wobbly legs and snot dribbling down my face. That was awesome!

Paul did it too! He had a slightly shell shocked look. When I asked what he thought he said he was too stressed out to enjoy it and wouldn’t do it again. All the same, I was amazed that he did the dive and every thing was okay.

When I first met Paul we went to Tunisia for an October break. Paul jumped in the pool and I watched him thrashed about violently. “Damn.” I thought, “Is he drowning?” I jumped in the pool and realised that the water was just barely above my wait. Since then he has been learning how to swim and now he can swim and snorkel – on top of the water – very well!

My cold came back just to teach me a lesson about having too much fun and so we stayed in Dahab for another two days… lovely days of relaxing and snorkelling. Egypt had so not lived up to expectations – and that is a very good thing. So far the Red Sea was the highlight of the trip for me.

But back to travel and we had to get back on the bikes. I wondered if we were going to find the rest of Egypt hard work? Was Sinai going to be the good bit and the worst to come?

As we drove along it seemed that every few minutes the scenery changed: mountains changed colour, there were masses of rocks or stretches of sand followed by a patch of dense palm trees. It was very peaceful early in the morning. Maybe as it is Ramadan people go out until late at night and wake up late in the morning. Maybe it is just a fact that most of life goes on after dark here. Makes sense, as it’s so hot all day. In any case, this means we easily have until about 9am before we have to contend with traffic on the roads.

To break the trip to Alexandria where we’d meet Omar, we stopped at Ras Sudr. This appears to be yet another purpose built tourist town. There is a proliferation of resorts along the beach that are standing empty. It is hard to believe that these places make enough money during the short summer season to afford standing empty the rest of the year and only open again the following year. I’m not sure I quite understand this business model.

In the morning we crossed the Suez Canal and then took the ring road around Cairo, just in time to catch the morning traffic. Fortunately the ring road is quite clearly sign posted. I had hoped so or we could find ourselves down town in the dreaded traffic and in a predicament. The traffic, as expected, was mental. There were four-ish lanes in each direction and traffic going all directions. It was a case of keeping our eyes peeled, finger on the hooter and as they say in SA being bakgat. I almost missed the turning for Alex as Paul swerved off with no warning – but fortunately its normal to stop unexpectedly anywhere on the road and there were some police officers who then helped me reverse and get down the off ramp to join Paul.

By early afternoon we reached our rendezvous point and I immediately recognised that the fellow in a red shirt waving madly must be Omar! We followed his Landcruiser through city traffic and into small dusty little roads. We finally reached our destination and I very much doubted I could find my way out or back to the motorway again. Omar had arranged for us to be able to stay in one of his father’s apartments. It’s not plush and is coated with a wholesome layer of dust and sea sand – but we have loads of space, a bed and a working bathroom, all to ourselves.

Omar has been incredibly helpful. He has done some big bike trips himself and so really understands what it is like on the road and how tricky it can be if you simply need to replenish stocks or have some laundry done. He has helped us sort out a whole list of bothersome things, and more. A lot of the shops here are tucked away little stores that Paul and I wouldn’t have thought of trying. They have been brilliant (interesting and entertaining too). We’ve had a piece of water-resistant material whipped up into a tarpaulin. It might be over-kill but still useful: small spotlights fitted to our crash bars. And we found insulated water bottles with casings to hang over the bike to increase our water capacity to 6 litres each. We’ve replaced our spares that have been used too.

Just as soon as we have our Sudanese visas, we will be so ready to do the tough bit of the trip.

Tomorrow the weekend is over and we will venture into Cairo. I think I’m sufficiently braced for the city. The population is something like 20 million! It is bound to me quite an experience. Hopefully by the next post we will have visas in our passports. Fingers crossed.