Egypt!

The ride on the cruise from India to Egypt was an adventure on its own. Down the Bay of Bengal, up the Arabian Sea, through the Gulf of Aden, up the Red Sea (!!!), through the Suez Canal and finally arriving at the Mediterranean Sea. That’s 11 days trapped in confined space, floating on water and not having land beneath your feat. Most people would go crazy..but I loved it!

In those 11 days, I chatted with the captain on a tour of the bridge, we passed one of my dream destinations, the Maldives(!!!), we passed a Volcano that was still erupting (some people claimed that they could see red larva spilling out of the crater through the binoculars), the weather was perfect everyday, beautiful sunsets, we had a sports day aka Sea Olympics, where people sock wrestled, synchronize swam, limbo rocked, played basketball and soccer etc. I spent most late afternoons up on the deck with my book, enjoying the weather. It was a good break from traveling that I really needed.

Sailing through the Suez Canal was a real treat. Manymany years ago, The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea were not connected. (I hope you are googling a map of the world in a new window now as you are reading this) Merchants or Explorers from the West heading to the East had to sail south, around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa to get to their destination. The clever Egyptians then decided to dig a Canal so that boats can sail from the Mediterranean Sea through Egypt to the Red Sea then to the East and it would save the travelers many days of traveling. Apart from its rich history, sailing through it was awesome because we were so close to the banks of the Canal (Egypt) on both sides. We passed plantations, deserts, mansions, resorts, many military guards whom we could hear whistling at us, and a huge bridge with an Egyptian and Japanese flag side by side (I couldn’t figure out why…so if someone would enlighten me that would be helpful) Every few minutes the view of Egypt from the ship would change. I sat outside for a good 7 hours with some friends that day, playing scrabble, (I taught them Majong) and just watching the world go by.

Arriving in Alexandria, Egypt, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been to or even remotely thought of visiting a Middle Eastern country before. (and Shannon, if you wanna get technical with me, I know Egypt is on the African Continent but it is a middle eastern country) The news always had scary things to say about these places. Bombings, riots, protests, killings, unrest… But I figured, if it was on the itinerary, it couldn’t be that bad.

Egypt receives 9 million tourists a year. Their economy is heavily dependent on tourism. And stepping into the country, it was evident. That’s perhaps why the Egyptian taxi drivers and shopkeepers were by far the most charming ones I’ve ever met. Evolution. Survival of the fittest (or in this case, most charming to the tourists).

As we stepped off the ship, instead of pushy, in-your-face tuktuk drivers, we were greeted with civilized maxi cab drivers. Experience has taught me not to trust cab drivers in foreign lands, especially those that do not go by the meter. Hence, I’m always suspicious of them and I would almost always much rather take the public bus than hop on a taxi. But that morning, I was with 5 other girls heading to Cairo. Majority ruled, and we hopped on the taxi for our 2 hr journey to Cairo from Alexandria.

Looking out the window, I catch the first glimpse of Egypt. It brought back the same feeling I had on my first tuktuk ride out of the port onto the streets of India. Awe. The people, the buildings, the roads, all so different from anywhere else I’ve been. Its developed, yet not really. One moment we are at a parking lot of a huge stand-alone mall with Starbucks and Guess, the next we are passing by rows of slumps by the road on desert ground. Although their heads were covered, Egyptian women had beautiful features, and the men were very good looking.

The taxi ride turned out to be really interesting. Somewhere along the way, the driver revealed that not only does he have a wife he also has a girlfriend! It is legal for Muslim men in Egypt to have up to 4 wives. But I was told that because most people now can’t afford it, they stop at one. He was so refreshingly candid about his extra-marital affair, telling us how his wife doesn’t have time for him and his girlfriend was a really wealthy widow, that I really wonder what kind of men women in this country have to put up with…

First stop, Pyramids of Giza. I was surprised at how close the pyramids were to the hustle and bustle of the city. I read somewhere that the city was fast expanding towards the Pyramids. We could see it from the main road! Ive always thought it was in the middle of the desert.

The weather was perfect for the pyramids. The six of us hopped on 3 horses and 3 camels and into the desert we went! For the first half of the excursion, I was on a horse (Moses was its name). Riding my horse, in the desert, next to the Pyramids of Giza, the feeling was so surreal. When the time came to switch to the camels, I was excited! I don’t think Ive ever seen a real camel before, let alone ride on one. He knelt on his 4 knees to allow me to climb on his back, and then with one swift motion, he stands up, and I am 1.5 meters above everyone else. My camel was cute. Every time we stopped, he would start peeing. I thought camels had to store water. Why did they pee so much?

Soon after, the sun was setting, and the air became cooler. Looking around, all you could see was the vast desert, the huge pyramids and camel tracks in the sand. Apart from the sound of the camel’s footsteps, it was quiet. My mind wonders back to a thousand years ago and I questioned, at the very spot I was standing, what it was like back then.

I liked the feeling of calmness the desert brought me and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be lost in the desert for one night. The silence, the darkness, the cold. Would I survive?

Before long, it was time to go back. As I said goodbye to the Pyramids, the evening prayer came on. The haunting voice of the prayer was broadcasted from the loudspeakers of the mosques across the entire nation. If smells described India, for Egypt it would be the sounds. Prayers from different mosques would be broadcasted in unison everyday, 5 times a day. Every time it comes on, I’d stop what I was doing and just listen and observe my surroundings.

After watching the very touristy but informative night show at the pyramids, we had dinner at a nearby restaurant, and then hopped into a cab heading to Cairo in search for a place to spend the night. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon a really nice budget hotel called the Pension House. The hotel occupied the top 2 levels of a really old building. Since the lift was under repair, we had to trot up 6 floors to get there. Walking up the stairs and down the corridors to the hotel, I couldn’t help but picture scenes of a ghost movie set in a haunted house. With an 80 yr history, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was really haunted. But for the price we were paying, we got a clean room, a cool balcony with a birds eye view of the street below, decent toilet….it was a good deal.

The next morning, I headed out to the balcony and just observed the street 7 floors below. People heading to work, traffic, taxi drivers. To my surprise, a good-looking photographer walking on the sidewalk across the street from my building looked up (7 storeys!!) and caught my eye. I waved and he waved back, and continued walking. Behind him, a taxi driver saw me and called out (from 7 storeys below mind you) “Hello! You need a Taxi?” haha.. I replied, “Maybe later..” Just as I thought it was the end of the exchange, he asked, “Where are you from?” My first face-to-face conversation, 7 storeys apart! “Singapore!” I shouted. If I could hear him, and he could hear me, the entire street must hear us! He went on to say he’d been to Singapore before and he loved my country. The entire time, he had his hands cupped around his mouth, and was looking up 7 storeys at me. And then, still looking up, he proceeded to cross the street over to the side where my building was! From the top, I could see cars coming behind him! I pointed down at the cars coming at him from behind and told him to be careful! Sound advice, which he seemed to ignore, while continuing to yell up at me. Crazy fella! Then he told me to come down and say hi later. I said “Yea sure!” but I never saw him again. But nonetheless an interesting encounter.

We headed for the Egyptian Museum in the morning. There, we saw mummies, jewelry, coffins, statues, ancient writing, tombs, portraits.. The size of the museum and the abundant exhibits really revealed the country’s rich and long history. Next, we had a short tour of the American University in Cairo, and then headed for the night market, where we met the most charming shopkeepers ever. As we walked past their store, they would come up to us and utter the best pickup lines to catch your attention and make you laugh. Instead of “Come in to my store”, “take a look”, “cheap price”, they would say, “Do you want an Egyptian husband?” “I already have a wife, I just want your money”. Unlike in Asia where they just want to sell you something at the highest price possible, the Egyptian way was to charm you first, then sell you something at the highest price possible. We had to catch a 1am bus to Sharm El Sheikh that night and the 2 girls I was with, Alex and Katie almost didn’t want to leave the bazaar…they were smitten!

Nevertheless we made it to the bus and began our 7 hr bus journey to Sharm El Sheikh, southeast of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Red Sea.

After 7 painful sleepless hours, we finally arrived. The weather was beautiful. The sun’s rays were reflecting off the surface of the sea; the sky, like the Red Sea, was clear blue.

My first dive was a check dive off the coast of Sharks Bay Beach at the house reef. We started from the shore, then slowly went deeper and deeper into the blue. It was about 2pm in the afternoon; visibility was good. Looking out into nothingness, the water was the bluest that I’ve ever seen.

Underwater, there was a mixture of healthy hard and soft corals. Only slight bleaching could be observed on the tips of some hard corals. But my favorites were the soft corals and sea anemone that seemed like they were dancing and swaying in sync with the currents.

10 minutes into the dive, we saw a small blue spotted stingray hiding in a cave on the sea floor. As we swam further out, we saw Moorish Idols, Angelfish, and Sergeant Fish all swimming in pairs. As we turned around and headed for shore, we dove under and spotted 3 Lion fish side by side each other in a cave. They were facing inwards, motionless. I made a gesture to ask if they were sleeping, and my guide nodded.

As we got out of the water, my guide told me that the best diving season was June and July when you could see Hammerhead Sharks, Manta Rays, Ray Sharks, all the big marine animals. I asked if the currents were strong, and he said all the dive sites were pretty calm except Yolanda Reef, which is off the coast of Yolanda, the southern most tip of the Sinai Peninsular. Because that is the point where the Red Sea splits and flows into the Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba, the currents there are unpredictable. If you were swimming east, parallel alongside the southern part of the reef, you would be sheltered from the currents. But as you approach the end of the reef, strong currents might flow from the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba through the area in between Shark Reef and Yolanda Reef, sweeping the diver further south into the Red Sea. Because of the unpredictable strong currents, its advisable that only experienced divers should dive there.

After dinner by the beach, Tara and I headed to Naama Bay, the town area where there are cafes, bars and shopping. Egyptian shopkeepers, though chatty and charming, can be overwhelmingly irritating. Especially when all you want is to browse and buy, not answer questions about your country of origin.

Tara wanted to find her secret sailor present, so we walked into a shop. She picked up a small wooden box in the shape of a house, handed it to me and challenged me to open it. At first, I thought it was an IQ game, so I grabbed the box from her enthusiastically. As I slid open the door of the house, I saw something black suddenly jump out of the box. I screeeeamed and threw the box on the ground. Turns out, it was a trick box. The black thing was a rubber spider. Tara is an idiot. By then, everyone in the shop, including the other shop keepers and customers looking at textiles, were staring at us. The guy serving the other customers looked away shaking his head. I had never been so embarrassed in my life. Tara is an Idiot. The 2 other customers in the shop left shortly after without buying anything.

Turns out, the guy serving them was the boss of the store. Tara asked him if there was anything in the shop that was worth 1 US dollar, and went on to tell him a grandmother story that she had to buy a present for her friend and it had to cost 1 dollar. I told her not to tell everyone her life story, because I didn’t think shopkeepers would take any interest. He laughed and gave me a high five. He must have thought we were poor because he picked up a small gift and told Tara she could have it for free. He then proceeded to tell us his life story.

Titto said he was a student once and he can understand how it feels to want something and not be able to afford it. He went through 8 years of medical school to make his parents happy, but his passion was business. All through college, he didn’t receive a cent from his parents, and funded himself with the profits from his little gift shop. He started his first store at 16, when he was a freshman at university. In the first year, business was so good that not only did he not make a loss; he earned a profit of US$200,000. Subsequently, he expanded and acquired more shops, and today he has 4 shops in total.

Every time we picked up something we liked and asked for the price, he would tell us the original price, and then tell us we could have it for half that price. On multiple occasions, he would tell us to remember – in life, its not always about the money. He said he went into business not because oft the money. I couldn’t figure it out, what was there to business apart from the money? He said he liked sourcing for products, managing people, meeting suppliers, customers, cutting deals, that he would willingly do all those things even if he was not getting paid. And there it was. That’s the Key. I need to find a job that I would willingly do without getting paid. That’s the litmus test.

The next day, I booked a diving tour to Nabq Protected Area, a marine park. The person heading the trip was also the owner of the shop – Claus. He’s from Switzerland and had been in Egypt for 7 years. Since none of my friends were certified divers, I went on the trip alone, while they stayed behind in the resort.

On the trip, I met a family from Switzerland with a 2 yr old boy, a 5 yr old girl and a pregnant mommy. They had been traveling, for 6 weeks already, on a caravan from Switzerland to Egypt, and were moving on to Italy, Greece and other coastal areas before heading home. Amazing! The kids were well behaved, no tantrums, no crying. The mom told me at first her daughter would be afraid to play with the middle eastern little kids (of different skin colour), but gradually opened up. And she would ask questions like “Mommy, do they not take baths?” This little girl would learn so much and grow up so different from her peers. And who ever said having kids should disrupt your plans of traveling the world? Also on the trip were a group of 6 friends from all over Europe. There was a Mathematics PhD Student, 3 girls working at P&G in Denmark, a psychologist and one of their spouses.

The journey to the protected area was about half an hour. As we got closer to the dive site, the view was beautiful…..sand dunes on one side, blue water on the other side. There were no other divers there except us. Apparently, Claus was one of the pioneer explorers of this dive site. The site is so newly discovered that its not even indicated on the diving map. Claus named it “Labyrinth” because it was like a maze, with coral reefs randomly positioned such that it’s difficult to navigate. As we got of, the staff laid a huge mat on the sandy beach by the water and laid our individual equipment boxes out. We rigged up on the mat, put on all our equipment, and walked into the water.

The water near the shore was cold and a about 2 inches deep. The ground was hard and had distinct wave markings. They were in the pattern of waves refracted from the shore. When the water finally got deep enough to dive, the sand settles and visibility was great. Some corals grew upwards several meters and I saw squirrelfish, clownfish. My favourite corals were those pink soft corals that looked like hands opening and closing as they sway with the currents. Once again, no Manta Rays and no Hammerhead Sharks, only small little fishes.

The tough part though, was getting out of the water. Because the tide went down, when we surfaced, we were about 100 meters from the shore where we started out. Imagine carrying my 10-pound weight belt, fins, wearing my soaked wetsuit and BCD, and wading 100m in knee-deep water. I was so tired by the end of it, I was not looking forward to the next dive. So after lunch at the Bourdain Village Hut (Egyptian Nomads), we decided to head back to the resort at sharks bay for our last dive.

Sharks bay dive. This was a wall dive. We would be in between 2 walls, swim along it and turn around and end up back at shore. Five minutes into the five, at a depth of about 6 meters, we saw a Barracuda lurking in the shallows. We swam a little deeper and saw beautiful multicoluored parrotfish, Morish Idols swimming in pairs. 10 mins into the dive, I realized that bubbles were coming out of my BCD’s deflate button. I pointed it out to my DiveMaster, and he tried to fix it but it didn’t work.. So he disconnected my air tank from my BCD. Without the help of the BCD to control my buoyancy, I kept crashing onto the seabed. And because this was going to be a deep dive, I’ll just sink deeper and deeper without control of my buoyancy. (I forgot that I could manually inflate) So 12m underwater, my DiveMaster signaled for us to exchange BCD, Air Tank, Octopus, everything! I mean this was worst-case scenario! Ive done it before, but only as drills, not the real thing! Good thing I am calm… He took my extra regulator, I took off my BCD, held my breadth, took his regulator, breathed through it, put on his BCD, tightened all my releases. My buddy (the Spanish PHD Maths student) was amazing; he helped me through everything and made sure I was good to go. So my DM ended up with an extra small sized BCD and me an L. But we continued the dive, and got to the wall. And it was beautiful. Sea fans that came in all colours, sea urchins, sponges,

So that marked the end of my Red Sea Diving Adventure, and we took the 10-hr night bus back to Alexandria where the boat is docked. By the end of it, I was exhausted. But I take away the stories of people I’ve met, and head to my next destination – Istanbul.