Dahab is a much different feeling than Nuweba. First of all it is full of life and nearly all the accommodations are more than half full. The main touristy area is the boardwalk alone the beach. There really isn’t any beach as it is a rocky shore and all the seaside real estate has been taken up by restaurants. I am staying at the Seventh Heavan Hotel which is apparently on the Japanese and Korean backpacker’s trail as there a loads of them staying here.
I’m not exactly sure how I got on this subject, but while I was traveling with the three Japanese girls through Jordan and Israel, I learned that in Japan in the mornings everyone lines up and does a morning exercise. Yoko’s ex company had it and Yasuko seems to know it as well. And it is always done to the same music too. I know this for a fact because at the Faisel Hotel in Jerusalem, I made all the Japanese people randomly to hum and do the exercise routine. And in Egypt its no different.
I managed to a meet a fellow diver from Vancouver, Gabriel, and end up staying in their triple room instead of the dorms. Gabe is currently some specialty courses working towards is divemaster. In addition to being a hotel Seventh Heaven also has a dive center called Diver’s Down Under. Gabe is able to recommend his South African instructor, Awie, which is pronounced like “owy” like when a kid scrapes his knee. I decide to take some time to check out the rates of the other Advance Open Water courses before committing and I also want to do some snorkeling, as I’ve heard that that is almost just as good.
On the boardwalk I meet up with Eric, Manuel, and Ron. Ron is staying up all night tonight to climb Mount Sinai. This trek takes place from 10:30 to sunrise. Basically a bus comes and picks up the group of tourists and then drives to Mount Sinai. In the wee hours of the morning everyone starts trekking towards the top. The idea is to reach the summit by sunrise. Tonight Ron, Eric, and Manual are walking around the boardwalk looking for a “good price” on seafood. Ron is able to negotiate in Lebanese Arabic. We were able to get a giant plate of fish, two king prawns each and veggies for less than 5 USD each. The restaurant owner said this was his special to make sure that we would come back.
The next day Nick and Paulina made into Dahab and ran into them much like the same manner I did back in Petra. They are staying off the boardwalk, but luckily Dahab is not that big. We agree to meet up with dinner and some drinks. That night while I was buying some water at the supermarket, I ran into another familiar face. Jennifer who I met a month and a half ago in Ephesus turkey was standing right in front of me giving me the do I know you look. Our party ended up being pretty big that night as I also ran into Eric and his friend and Nick and Paulina brought their Aussie friends they met in Petra.
No comments:
Post a Comment