Taba

I said I'd get around to it eventually, and I have...

The destination was Taba Heights, a small purpose-built resort on the Red Sea, not far from Taba itself. 4 small low-rise resorts have been built, and they are slowly building a township with shops, cafes, bars, etc. Not a place you would go if you want to do much adventuring or experiencing of the culture, but very nice if you want to relax on the beach and do some snorkelling.

We stayed at the Marriot (there was also the Hyatt, Sofitel, and some other crap). All are built low-rise so they don't dominate the landscape or over-shadow the beaches. (The mountains behind them did a good enough job of that!). We were on half-board so we didn't have to worry about breakfast or dinner, and our beach towels were also included! All we had to pay for was lunch and drinks. It was "Egyptian 5-star", so about the equivalent of 3-star everywhere else in the world. Can't really complain though. Rooms were pleasant enough, and when we needed something done, it was done within seconds. The staff weren't the best at understanding English, but they were very friendly. I think there was about 2 female staff in the whole place (being a Muslim country and all). I had also heard bad things about the Egyptian men towards female tourists, but they were also fine. The worst of it was one or two pervy guys who couldn't help but stare at Renae with their jaw to the ground. Who can blame them though??? ;-)

After a briefing we decided on a few activities and side-trips: a quad-wheeler ride into a canyon, a boat trip to some island for snorkelling, and a shopping trip to Dahab. The quad-wheeler ride was awesome. Renae was hesitant at first, but once she got the hang of it, it was difficult to keep up! They showed us how to start them, drive them, and brake, but they left the gear-changing part out and left them in 3rd gear. Half-way we stopped at a Bedouin camp for some Egyptian Coke, then continued on to another camp for some traditional Bedouin tea and bread. They also let us loose on the quads for a bit, so we hammered it to the other camp and back as fast as we could. SO much fun, and so easy to drive! After some tea and bread we headed back, on the way going around a little course they had made up. 2 hours in total, but it felt like 5 minutes. Those quad-wheeler things are just way too much fun.

Tuesday was spent lolling around on the beach, working on our tans. Unfortunately Renae contracted my cold and it hit her the moment she stepped off the plane, so she wasn't feeling the best. Didn't stop us from getting the snorkel and flippers out and exploring the coral reef in front of the hotels. We were given some tips from the "Red Sea Waterworld" guy, and snorkelled a couple of kilometers from the Sofitel to the jetty in front of the Hyatt. Usually you would have to pay to use the jetty, but the guy gave us the "guard avoidence route". It was awesome! The coral "wall" went all the way to the end of the jetty at the Hyatt. Unfortunately we didn't take our underwater camera with us on this trip. Spewing! Was excellent, but by the time we made it to the jetty, Renae was shivering with cold. Serves her right for not having enough body-fat!

Wednesday was the boat trip to the island for snorkelling. The island is situated just off the Sinai coast, and has a little fort on it. Apparently it dates back to Biblical times. I should have paid more attention when they were talking about it, but I just wanted to go snorkelling! We left from Waterworld at about 10am. Pretty cool old boat - you might get an idea of what it looked like from the photos. We were able to loll about and work on our tans while we sailed to the island. Got the spot at about midday, did a bit of snorkelling, had lunch, sunbathed, more snorkelling, then headed back at about 3 o'clock. Was good getting out on the boat and going for a sail, but the snorkelling was nowhere near as good as it was back at the resorts. And it was easier to get to as well - no sailing required...

Thursday was spent on the beach for more sun and games of Battleship. A couple of days earlier we had booked a night that a guy had sold us whilst wondering around on the beach. It was a "Traditional Bedouin" night, where you sat on the floor and they fed us some traditional Bedouin fare, had Shisha pipes, and watched some traditional dancing. Renae called it "Staged Authenticity". We were quite sceptical, but it turned out being quite fun. Renae and I had got a bit tipsy drinking beer waiting for the shuttle bus and arrived rather late. Some people that we met a few days earlier had saved us a spot and we joined then, and quickly ordered more beer and margheritas. Wasn't long before I asked them to get the Shisha pipe going. They only had apple flavour, but it didn't stop me from getting through 3 of them, almost totally on my own! The girls nick-named me "Puff the Magic Dragon". I didn't mind that. I used to love that movie! Once that finished, we continued on to the cheesy "Regatta" bar for some more margheritas and some cheesy music. The cover-band was actually half-decent (that, or I'm getting strange in my old age!) and Renae even convinced me to get up and dance with her for a bit. Unfortunately it changed to Daylight Savings while we were there, so didn't end up getting to bed until 3am. That was the latest night we had the entire week we were away. Was very weird for us...!

The last 2 days were spent buying lamps and lying on the beach. Unfortunately the weather on the last days was a bit overcast - it had been about 30 degrees and sunny for the rest of the time though. Surprisingly, neither of us got sunburnt, and we didn't even come back with very dark tans. We couldn't sit still for long enough!

So there you go. Another little adventure of mine completed. Bit annoyed about the bombings - would have been nice to go to Dahab for some proper shopping. Would be interesting going back there in a few years once they've built it up a bit more. For some cheesy holiday snaps, check out this link.