Egypt had never really been high on my list of places to visit, I always thought it would be very dusty and hence quite dirty with pesistent young men trying to entice you into their shops and restaurants. It wasn't like that at all!
Having been searching for last minute holidays for a few days, I was a little reluctantly persuaded to try Egypt.
We flew out of Manchester on a pleasant and uneventful flight that took around five and a half hours. I was immediately impressed by Sharm el Sheikh airport, located in part of the Red Sea region of Egypt. The airport was immaculate and even the marble floor beyond the terminal building was exceptionally clean and tidy. We even managed to avoid the slighty over zealous young chap who wanted to help with our cases, and made it without incident to our transfer coach.
The journey to our hotel was very picturesque and the scenery, well, quite sandy and baron, but I suppose we were in the middle of a desert! However, it was also fascinating and I found myself looking for wild camels that might be living in the arid landscape.
The hotel we had booked was also spotlessly clean and better than I had actually hoped for. I found the people to be very friendly and not overbearing as I had feared, after all, they do have a living to make and there is a lot of competition for the same souvenirs, but the traders want you to recommend them to your fellow holidaymakers and return to them again, so will not do anything to intentionally upset you.
On an evening, we enjoyed Egyptian nights at the hotel, and also visited some of the bars and clubs in Naama Bay.
We did a couple of excursions and I would definitely recommend the Bedouin Night where you are taken into the desert by coach, then continue to the camp by camel where you watch the sunset and enjoy supper with the Bedouins. On our way back to the hotel we stopped in the middle of nowhere to do some star gazing, guides have huge telescopes and you can lie on your back and have a fascinating lesson on the amazing cosmos spread out above you, a truly beautiful experience.
So if you are looking for
last minute holidays this year, then think seriously about going to Egypt. I hope you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
