The Red Sea is incredible!

If there’s one thing I love about Dahab the most, it’s the snorkeling hands down. Many people come here from around the world to dive in the Red Sea, more specifically right here in Dahab, Egypt!

Diving is… overwhelming!?

Both Liz and I tried diving on our first trip to Dahab and thought that it was a slightly overwhelming. I’m guessing we felt this way about diving because of the fact that it seemed so much more complicated than we had originally thought it would be.

Could it have been our instructor that just wasn’t up to par? Maybe? I don’t know enough to be able to determine that.

The most overwhelming part to me was the whole breathing part. I didn’t have any panic attacks or anything but I found it difficult to keep myself level, while concentrating on reserving air, while keeping an eye on my instructor, while trying to remember all of those weird hand signals that we had talked about before we jumped in the water, worry about how Liz was doing, all while trying to catch a glimpse of some of the amazing sea life that the Red Sea has to offer. Wait, that’s what I’m down here for, right!?

In conclusion, I wouldn’t exactly say that I’m “done” with diving. I’ve just simply haven’t given it another shot…

Snorkeling in the Red Sea Rocks!

Since our first nightmare of an intro dive, I’ve happily resorted to snorkeling. To be honest I’m totally content with heading out into the Red Sea with a set of fins, a mask and spending two or three hours exploring. The water temperature is damn near bath water and not to mention crystal clear. How could you not love this place!?

Gotta love the Red Sea!

On my first trip to Dahab, I published a pictorial titled “Snorkeling at Eel Gardens“, if you have yet to see the photos, do me a favor and take a minute to check them out. At that time I was shooting with a Canon SD960IS wrapped up inside of a Canon WP-DC32 waterproof camera housing. I received a lot of great feedback on that pictorial which I thought totally rocked by the way.

What about the Blue Hole?

Many people will say “You’ve been to Dahab three times and you’ve never visited the Blue Hole? Are you crazy!?” Yes, as a matter of fact I must be crazy! I actually signed up for a trip to the Blue Hole at one of the Dive Shops (wish I could remember the name) and at the last minute they decided to tell me that they were bringing me to “Three Pools” instead. I was frustrated to say the least because I was really looking forward to checking out the Blue Hole. Maybe next time…

Why I love Eel Gardens…

Since then I’ve visited Dahab twice and I’ve snorkeled down at the Lagoon, Three Pools and a few other spots along the coast. None of them have yet to top my snorkeling experiences at Eel Gardens. That’s right, not even Three Pools which is an extremely popular dive/snorkel area along the coast of Dahab.

Enjoying the view from Eel Garden Stars Restaurant

What I love most about snorkeling at Eel Gardens is that there’s a nice restaurant at the edge of the entrance which has a small beach, sun terrace, and lounge area that you can chill out at before and after you snorkel. They serve great food, have friendly wait staff and FREE Wi-Fi to top it off!

Plus, how can you resist a view like the one shown above? You’ve got the beach, the beautiful water, the mountains in the distance. Sigh… makes me want to set up shop there right now!

The snorkeling here is top notch as far as I’m concerned. I’ve always had the best time cruising along the edge of the reef. This time I thought I would take my GoPro HD  along with me and here’s some of the footage I captured below… (be sure to watch in 720p full screen if possible!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B6I0DHrkDg

Time to head back to shore…

I must have been out there for two hours swimming along the edge of the reef. By the time I started to head back I started to think that Liz was probably worried about me since she hadn’t heard from me in a couple of hours. Once I got to shore I found Liz sprawled out on a lounge chair just where I left her.

It was only when I returned to shore that I realized my back was burnt from lying face down in the water for so long!  There was one big red spot on my back that was pretty much exposed to the sun the whole time. Oops!

I was too exhausted to go back out and explore more of the reef so we decided to head back to the hotel. I shot this cool wide angle photo on the walk back. The sky looks like it’s painted in a way…

Have you done any diving or snorkeling in the Red Sea? Leave a comment below and tell us about your experiences.

Traveling from Cairo to Dahab

Last time you heard we had just arrived in Dahab, Egypt after an eight hour overnight bus ride from Cairo that was chock full of border line nerve-wracking military checkpoints and a few smelly urine covered bathroom stalls along the way. Now that we have arrived, we’re back in our element. We’re in a place that is not only very familiar to us, but also a place that we’re very fond of.

Our Beautiful Hotel Room at Shams

My friend Ashraf who I had met on a previous trip to Dahab invited Liz and I to come stay at his hotel (Sham’s Hotel) and we just simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stay in one of the nicer hotels in all of Dahab.

Once we arrived we were shown to our beautiful room just steps from the Red Sea and all we could think about was catching up on the sleep we had missed out on the night before.

A few hours later we crawled out of bed and made our way out to the boardwalk that runs along the entire coast of Dahab. It’s now 9am and it’s already pushing 100 degrees outside.

Yogurt, Granola and Fresh Fruit!

We stopped into the Shams Restaurant to have some breakfast, check our emails and catch up with a few of the staff at the restaurant that we hadn’t seen in a while. They were excited to see us and they hooked us up with a really nice breakfast.

The Lagoon

After we wolfed down our breakfast Liz and I took a stroll down to the Lagoon stopping off at a few places on the way to snap some photos.

NO BYCICLES on the boardwalk! LOL!

I thought this sign was funny simply due to the fact that “BYCICLES” is supposed to be spelled “Bicycles”. There are many of these signs along the boardwalk and they all have the same misspelling. Then again, misspelling is a common sight in this area.

Reef on the edge of the Red Sea

This is a shot of the reef along the edge of the Red Sea. It’s pretty amazing because at low tide you can walk all the way out to where the reef ends. From there on, it drops off hundreds of feet.

Liz and I tried doing some snorkeling just over the edge of this same reef the last time we were in Dahab and we picked the wrong time to go. The water was a little too choppy and it resulted in us getting tossed up against the sharp edges of the reef. Not good! Liz actually ended up slicing her leg on the reef and she still has the scar to prove it!

Here’s a few random photos from the walk…

I call this the Death Box. I'm guessing we shouldn't touch it!?

German Diving School in Dahab

What is that odd looking house type thing?

Then we stumbled upon this little wooden abandoned boat that I thought would make a pretty interesting photo. Subsequently, I made Liz jump in it and act like she was taking it for a ride. She was going nowhere fast…

Row, Row, Row your boat!

We finally made it down to the lagoon. The lagoon in Dahab serves as a kite surfers haven. You could sit there all day watching the kitesurfers tear it up out on the shallow waters.

Kite Surfers in the Lagoon

The sheer beauty of this place  never ceases to amaze me…

The Lagoon in Dahab

Desert, mountains, and crystal clear water. Does it get any better than this? I just love the fact that you can swim in these warm, crystal clear waters smack dab in the middle of a desert. What seals the deal though is those giant mountains in the distance that hug the edge of the sea on the coast of Dahab. ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

Liz and I messing around at the Lagoon

I whipped out my new waterproof/dustproof/everything-proof GoPro HD camera, took it in the water with me and snapped a few cool wide-angle shots of Liz and I. We splish-splashed around for a bit until we realized that we we’re roasting under the intense Egyptian sun…

Messing around with the GoPro at the Lagoon

STOP! Haggle time!

We decided to pack up and get back to the hotel so that we could get changed and do a little bit of shopping haggling. In case you haven’t heard, haggling is a way of life here.

Psst… I’ve got some great tips for haggling in Egypt inside of my insanely popular list of Travel Tips for Egypt. Check them out, they’ll save you time, money and even your sanity!

Hump the Camel 2, Hump the Camel 1 is next door...

The street that runs parallel to the boardwalk here in Dahab is slowly growing. It seems as if every time I visit, there’s a new restaurant opening or a new store selling the same damn things.

It reminds me of Southeast Asia in a way. You know when you’re walking through a market and there might be 50 different vendors but they all sell the same exact things. That is exactly how Egypt operates as well. It seems that this sort of situation is common in many foreign countries.

Imagine this the next time you’re walking through your local mall. You’re strolling through and you see all these stores but they’re all selling the same items for different prices. Wouldn’t that drive you absolutely mental?

Anyways, back to the story…

Liz wanted to pick up some scarves to give as gifts when she got back home. The idea sounds simple, right? Well, not in Egypt! Nothing is simple here, especially when it comes to shopping. You need to set aside a minimum of 20-30 minutes if you really want to buy something here. This allotted time will allow you to look around the shop, pick out your items, shoot the shit with the owner, and after a friendly, yet vicious haggling session you’ll be on your way out of the store with everything you needed and more. That is, if you know how to haggle in Egypt!

Liz sporting her newly acquired scarf!

When all was said and done we probably spent about 45 minutes in this guys shop. They all tell you the same thing… “My friend, you are the first customer of the day so I will give you good price. Big discount!”. Yeah, yeah I’ve heard it all before! By the time we left Liz had 11 or 12 scarves in hand and we settled on a reasonable price that both parties were satisfied with. Done deal.

Details:

I shot this footage at Al Azhar Park in Cairo, Egypt, a beautiful park located in the heart of old Cairo that offers incredible panoramic views of the city. The original footage was just under 12 minutes long but I sped it up 16x to create a timelapse effect.

Camera:

This video was shot on a Canon EOS Rebel T2i with a Joby GorillaPod.

After spending a week with our friends in Cairo, touring Coptic Cairo and climbing to the top of Bab Zuweila we decided it was time to hit the road and head for the Red Sea. We made our way down to Cairo Gateway (also known as Turgoman Station) in downtown Cairo to pick up our tickets.

Once at Cairo Gateway we booked our one-way overnight bus tickets from Cairo to Dahab for 90 EGP ($15.13 USD).

Later that evening we made our way back to Cairo Gateway to catch our bus. Due to insane amounts of traffic, we made it just in time. When we boarded the bus we were surprised how empty it was. There was a total of about 7 people on board including the two of us. Not only does that make for a more quiet and relaxing bus ride but it also means we can put our seats back as far as we want without bothering the cramped legs of the people behind us.

Through out the ride we made our usual few stops at rest stops along thew way, and also at the military check points. I have to say even though we’ve been through the military check points before, it’s still a little nerve racking to see young men wielding AK-47′s and other automatic weapons as your bus pulls up to the check point. Some get on board and check passports/ID’s. That being said, we have never encountered any bad experiences with the army during any of our check point stops. They seem to be quite polite to tourists, as they should considering tourism is at an all time low.

After a few nasty bathroom breaks and more than a few military checkpoints, exactly 8 hours later we arrive in Dahab. It’s 5:45 AM, the sun is just coming up and taxi’s are no where to be found. Luckily we start to chat with an Egyptian who lives here in Dahab and he waves down a passing vehicle in hopes to have the guy drop us off down in Mashraba. The driver obliges and we all hop into the back of his pick up truck.

We’re dropped out front of our hotel (Sham’s Hotel) and we head down to the restaurant in hopes to find someone who is awake at this time of the morning. Fortunately enough we found a friend of ours who we had met on a previous trip to Dahab was working and he let us come in and crash for a few minutes in the pillows before giving us the keys to our new home for the next few days.

Once we were shown to our new room we immediately threw our bags down and completely passed out on the bed. We were exhausted! Yeah, we slept a little on the bus but you know how it is when it comes to sleeping on buses, trains, planes, etc. There is no such thing as quality sleep on those types of transportation, at least in my opinion. Oh well, we’re here…

Finally…paradise as we remember it…

Sunset Al-Azhar Park - Cairo, Egypt

I’ll start by saying that if you’ve never seen a sunset from Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, then you haven’t seen a real Egyptian sunset yet. Al-Azhar Park is located in the heart of old Cairo and offers stunning panoramic views over the city.

Our friend Mohammed took us here one night and we were just in awe about how beautiful and well kept the park was. To be honest I’m not sure there is a park that is as nice as this one in all of Egypt.

Mohammed taking in the sunset...

Many Egyptian couples and families come to Al-Azhar park to get away from the dirt and grime of down town Cairo. It’s a beautiful place to get some quiet and alone time as well. This is about as “alone” as an unmarried woman and man gets in Egypt as relationships (boyfriend/girlfriend) are frowned up and generally not accepted. Men and women must meet in public places if they want to spend time together.

An Egyptian couple spending some quality time together

If you’ve got the cash to splurge, do yourself a favor and dine at the Citadel View Restaurant inside of Al-Azhar Park. If you take a stroll around the park you won’t be able to miss it. The architecture of the restaurant itself is incredible, never mind the food and the views of the Citadel in the distance at night. We were fortunate enough to be invited to dinner here by another good friend of ours. The food was amazing, the service was great and and the views are unmatched.

Have you ever visited Al-Azhar park? If so, feel free to share your thoughts below by leaving a comment.

Shams Hotel

Shams Hotel is one of the more higher priced places to stay in Dahab, Egypt. Most backpackers will steer clear of this hotel, but if you have the money I highly recommend you stay at Shams.

Liz and I had spent a lot of our time dining here during our last trip to Dahab. This time around we were fortunate enough to be able to stay here for 5 nights. Due to a serious lack of tourism in the country we were able to spend time in two separate rooms on the property during our stay so I’m going to review both the hotel room and the bungalow that we stayed in.

Hotel Room #10

We arrived bright and early to Dahab this time around. We had just jumped off an exhausting overnight bus from Cairo so the first thing we wanted to do was fall into bed and catch up on some sleep. This is the first room that we checked into during our stay. It was extremely clean and well kept. The pillow cases were bright white and the same with the sheets. That’s usually the first thing I look for when I enter a room. It’s usually a tell tale sign that the place is clean.

Room #10 - Bright and Beautiful Rooms

Each morning our rooms were cleaned, our towels were replaced with all sorts of those cruise-like towel designs. One day it was hearts with flower petals as shown above, and other days were towel swans with bottle caps on top of their heads that looked like hats. Random? Yes. Thoughtful? Absolutely!

Shams Hotel Room and Bathroom

The room was equipped with an en-suite bathroom, double bed, air conditioning, and a small closet for storing your clothes. Please note that Shams is one of only a few hotels that provide hot and fresh water showers. Most places on the boardwalk will provide you with sea water showers which work fine for the first day or two, but do you really want to be washing your hair and body in sea water for a week?

Our room had a nice little front porch on it with two chairs but we never actually used it. Sometimes we would come out of our room to find one of the lazy dogs sleeping in the shade on our porch. When it comes to patios and porches, you have to check out the ones that are attached to the bungalows below!

Bungalow #B1

After three days we moved over to one of the brand new bungalows next door to our hotel room. We were mesmerized by the porch patio that it had out front. We thought “Wow, we could sit out front and eat our breakfast here every morning!” and that’s exactly what we did.

Our Patio!

The bungalows are built from fresh new wood and they’re fully equipped with everything that the hotel rooms have and more. Inside you’ll find beautifully tiled floors, freezing cold air conditioning, clothing organizer, two end tables, a television with very few English channels, and a large bathroom with stand up shower enclosure.

Inside the Bungalow

Inside the Bungalow

The only real difference when it comes to sleeping is that the bungalow has two twin beds that we easily pushed together to make one big bed. Other than that, the beds are just as comfortable as the one in the hotel rooms.

Liz enjoyed the hotel room more as she felt that the bungalows allowed too much noise in at night. I, myself, preferred the fresh new wooden bungalows because it reminded me of my days in Thailand on an island somewhere. I would personally take a bungalow over a hotel room any day.

Location

Shams Hotel is located right on the edge of the Red Sea next to Beduoin Divers and just a short walk from Penguin Village. Shams is located on the opposite side of the boardwalk from the bazaars and the higher end restaurants. This is a good thing because you’re far enough away from all of the noise yet a short 10 minute walk from all the shopping and eating you could ever want.

Problems/Issues

I only experienced two small issues while staying at Shams…

• Although I’ve dined at Shams numerous times in the past I must say the cats roaming around the restaurant got to be a little annoying by the end of the stay. These cats are constantly begging for your food and they actually have spray bottles on hand to keep the cats away from you while you’re trying to enjoy your meal. I preferred other restaurants on the boardwalk that were cat-free. This is the only complaint I have about the restaurant itself, other than that the staff is incredibly helpful, and the food is delicious.

• The free Wi-Fi was down during our entire stay which made it tough for me to work online. I spoke to Ashraf about this and this is just a temporary issue that is being resolved as I speak. It is probably back up and running now, but I just want to be honest and up front that this was one of the downfalls of our stay. When I wanted to get some work done online I would have to head down to another restaurant down the boardwalk to get internet access. It would have been so nice to have internet access in my room.

Amenities:

Airport Transfers from Sharm el Sheikh, Lounge/Common Area, Coffee Shop, Bus/Mini Bus Services (inquire), Laundry, Safari/Excursions Available, Diving/Snorkeling Programs, 1-Day/Multiple-Day Trips, Breakfast included with Rooms, on-site Restaurant with excellent food, friendly and helpful staff,  and FREE Wi-Fi.

Rooms/Rates:

• Single Room w/ AC and En-suite Bathroom : 30 EUR — $43 USD/night
• Double Room w/ AC and En-suite Bathroom : 45 EUR — $64 USD/night
  
• Triple Room w/ AC and En-suite Bathroom : 60 EUR — $86 USD/night
• Breakfast INCLUDED with all rooms.

Contact Information:

• Contacts: Mohammed or Ashraf
• Telephone : +20 1 270 81393
• Email: office@shams-hotel.com
• Website: Shams Hotel
• Facebook:  Shams Hotel on Facebook

Mohammed, Mahmoud, Ahmed and I!

For those who have been following us over the course of the last year know that Egypt is a country that is forever in our hearts. Not only was Egypt the first stop on our around the world trip back in June of 2010 but it where we learned what true Egyptian hospitality is all about. We also met a handful of really great people during our first trip that we continue to keep in touch with to this day. Call me a pessimist, but I never thought I would ever meet a real “friend” in Egypt never mind a best friend.

Since our last trip I’ve kept in contact with many people that we met but I mainly keep in touch with one of my closest friends that helped us find some last minute accommodation during our first visit. His name is Mohammed, and believe it or not he’s now one of my best friends and we keep in touch on almost a weekly basis. During a conversation with him a few months ago he had mentioned that he would love to host Liz and I at his home at some point this year. When I mentioned this to Liz, she thought it would be nice to get back to Egypt to spend time with our friends. So, what did we do? We booked our tickets!

After sleeping away a slight case of jet lag we were out and about on our first day in Cairo. Our friend and tour guide Mahmoud took us on a tour of Coptic Cairo.

Mahmoud at work!

Mar Girgis Church - Coptic Cairo

After a brief visit to Mar Girgis Church we took a nice stroll through the Coptic Cemetery which was impressively clean and well kept.

Coptic Cemetary - Cairo, Egypt

After our tour through Coptic Cairo we headed towards a medieval gate and major landmark in Cairo called Bab Zuweila. The coolest part of Bab Zuweila was when we formed two teams (Mahmoud and I vs. Mohammed and Liz) and we raced to the top of the two minaret towers!

Mahmoud and I at the top of Bab Zuweila

Liz and Mohammed

You wouldn’t believe how small and tight the stairs are in these minaret towers. At certain points of the ascent to the top of the towers you’re surrounded by complete darkness and if you’re claustrophobic in any way you might want to skip the climb. One missed step and it could be the end of you! Once we reached the top we took in the amazing and not so amazing views of Cairo in the distance.

Amazing:

Muayyad Mosque and Cairo skyline

Not so amazing:

Yes, people live in this mess.

All in all, we had a great day with our friends as expected. On the way home we stopped to grab a couple chicken shawarma sandwiches from GAD, a famous restaurant chain in Egypt that just can’t be beat!

Mmm... Chicken Shawarma!

We re Back!

It’s been exactly 11 months since the day Liz and I started our around the world trip right here in Cairo, Egypt. If you were reading this blog back then, I’m sure you’ll remember our first few experiences in Cairo. If not, please be sure to check out the following articles before reading below.

• The Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Hassles
• Exploring Islamic Cairo and the Citadel
• Cruising the Nile and Couchsurfing in Cairo
• Egyptian Hospitality at it’s Best

It’s been 5 months since I last saw my best friend Mohamed. For Liz, it’s been almost 1 year. It’s as if we never left. We see him in the distance and he’s with his good friend Ahmed. Our faces light up as our eyes connect for the first time in a while. “Hey man! Welcome to Egypt! I missed you guys so much. Our taxi is waiting for us in the parking lot, lets go…” says Mohamed. We stuff our bags in the trunk and we’re on our way to Mohamed’s home in Maa’di.

As soon as we enter his building and we start to make our way up the stairs to his flat, I feel that his mother hears our footsteps. Four flights of stairs later we arrive at our home away from home. Mohamed’s mothers eyes light up when she sees me. It’s only been 5 months but she says in Arabic “The bright light is back!”, as she tries to explain that when I’m in her home I make the room bright like a star. I mutter “Masa il-kheer” which means good evening in Arabic. She quickly welcomes Liz with open arms as she shows us to our room. Within minutes we’re being served what seems like trays and trays of food. Fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, chicken, pasta with sauce and more. We had just flown 11 hours from Boston and we were hungry to say the least. We stuffed our faces until we we’re about to burst. Mohamed’s brother Sherif is at the table telling us “Eat, Eat more!” as usual. It seems as if the Egyptians go out of their way to make sure you gain weight before you leave their country…

After a short nap we head over to surprise another family that we are very close with here in Maadi. This family was the the first to host us during our first visit to Cairo and they had absolutely no idea that we were in town. We sneakily entered their building and tip toe up the stairs. Mohamed rings the doorbell as we sit back and wait to surprise them. The door swings open and we pop out from behind Mohamed. Mona and Mr. H. erupt in laughter almost as if they don’t believe what they see. We sit down to chat with them over a shai (Egyptian Tea) and talk about our latest visit to Egypt. They are ecstatic about our return to Egypt and it quite apparent as they invite us back to visit anytime during our visit to Cairo.

We make one last visit to another friend of ours named Mahmoud before the night is over. Mahmoud is a tour guide, the best in all of Egypt I might add. He has plans for us in the morning to show us around Coptic Cairo and we’re extremely excited to explore the area.

Needless to say our first evening in Egypt has been everything we imagined and more. It’s still as magical as it was the first time around. Even more magical, actually. The streets are filled with smiling Egyptians, whispers of Hello, and the infamous saying “Welcome to Egypt!”. We are so thrilled to be here and all we can do give a wave of hello back as we reply with “Shakran” (meaning Thank you in Arabic).

Pigeon is Yummy!

Most people back home would classify me as a picky eater and I’ll be the first one to admit it. Before embarking on my trip I made a promise to myself that I would attempt to go out on a limb and at least try some new foods while on the road. I did just that. By keeping my promise I ended up trying a lot of new foods including Liver,  Camel, and Pigeon. I even tried simpler foods that I had been too stubborn to try before like green, red and yellow peppers! Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know, I’ll never hear the end of this one.

What about you? What is the craziest thing that you’ve ever tried on the road? Have you ever tried Camel meat, Pigeon, or Liver? If so, tell us about your experiences.

No, this isn’t the scene of a recent car bombing…

Welcome to the streets of Cairo, Egypt during the festival of Eid al-Adha

November 9 2010 — I arrived in Cairo just days before one of the most important religious holidays in the Islamic world. Enter Eid al-Adha or (The Festival of Sacrifice), a festival that commemorates the trials and triumphs of the Prophet Abraham.

Children swarm the streets of Cairo for three straight days with an assortment of new toys in hand. The crisp new outfits that the parents provide for their children during this special holiday are soon to be doused with dirt, mud, and blood.

The streets are chaotic. As I’m carefully attempting to navigate my way around the puddles of blood in the streets, hoards of children are yelling at me to move out of the way as they pass by on donkeys and trailers full of screaming kids trailing behind.

Although this religious holiday was originally meant to be for spending time with family and praying, you soon understand that Eid al-Adha seems to have evolved into being more about the children these days. In a way, it reminded me of Christmas back home. Minus the blood covered streets of course.