Hurghada - Lotus Ladies

Steps Up! When I Almost Missed the Boat.

Before I came over to Egypt, I’d heard (from one of the many expat online forums that are around) about a group called Lotus Ladies. I believe the group was originally set up for women married to Egyptian husbands who wanted to meet up socially during the day and it ended up turning into an expat group for women in Egypt. I didn’t know if I’d ever to get to know anyone in Egypt when I first went over, so I’d earmarked this group as a possible means of kick-starting a social life. As it was, I didn’t really need it, because everyone in El Andalous was so friendly.

Nevertheless, I do attend their events occasionally, as you will have seen from at least one of my Christmas blogs. It’s good to have a change of social scene and to hear different topics of conversation.

In the summer months, maybe also in winter, Lotus Ladies organize boat trips on a fairly regular basis. It’s a good way to escape the heat and to get a change of scene. We generally have the boat to ourselves and we often get a group discount. Anyway, I decided to join the boat trip one week, since I love being in and on the sea.

I dithered about it for ages in part because they wanted you to be there for 8am, which to me seems ridiculously early (I had to allow at least 30 minutes to get there). Who wants to get up early voluntarily? I don’t really get it. It’s not even in the Egyptian mentality to do this. But hey ho.

This time of year it’s a relief to get out on the boat and enjoy the breeze. I’m usually going round wondering if I should remove my sunglasses because just having them on my nose makes me sweat too much. Each time I open the freezer, the blast of cold air is a magical sensation that I just want to prolong. You wish you could just stick your head in there for a good five minutes. I remember relishing the nip of cold air when I first went back to Zurich in April. Actually, one thing I noticed in the UK just the other week was that even though it was hot, the air still had a little chill to it; I don’t know if that was just symptomatic of the 2016 bad summer or if it’s always been a feature of British summers that I’ve never known existed before.

Anyway, it was a fairly typical boat trip. We went to three different snorkeling locations; the first one was supposedly to see the dolphins, but they weren’t around that day. Lunch was served on board and included the usual mix of good salads, rice, pasta, fish, chicken, and kofta (all warm, apart from the salads).

The snorkeling was fun. It always surprises me how much bigger the fish are when I go right out into the sea as opposed to staying in the bay at Sahl Hasheesh. It’s also quite scary to see the mountainous reef below and to understand just how deep the water is that you’re floating on top of. Our final location was quite busy; at first we were the only ones moored there in the sea but another four boats joined within the next half an hour. Apparently, it used to be really crowded and this was regarded as practically dead.

I’ve also been out for dinner quite a few times now with the Lotus Ladies. It’s rather an experimental experience where we try places that no-one has been before (or just once), or new places that members have spotted and think may be worth trying out. It’s all bit hit and miss. All of the places have been OK, but I’m not sure I would deem any of them yet as worthy of a write up in the blog.I don’t want to damage anyone’s business by being less than glowing because life is hard enough as it is. It’s a good opportunity, though, to try out some places where you may not normally dare to go if you were on your own.

UK - Travel Problems

Ascot - All's Well That Ends Well!

First of all, I have to say that my EasyJet flight (I will name and shame!) was horrendously expensive – I was shocked to find myself paying 600 GBP for my return flight. Of course, I am usually flying to Zurich and not the UK, but when I had my interview (when the company was paying), the return flight was only something like 250 CHF on Swiss (that doesn’t seem possible, but whatever it was, it was very cheap). It’s just typical that when someone else is paying you get the cheapest flight ever, and when you’re paying, it’s the most expensive you’ve ever seen it. It’s particularly offensive because it’s EasyJet – the “cheap” airline with no drinks, no food, no reclining chairs, no entertainment, for the 5 hour journey.

Well, rant over, it was as it was. I calmed myself down by deciding to visit as many people as I could in the time. If I then divided the price per friend seen, it didn’t seem nearly as bad.

It pretty much started as it went on, with the theme of the visit, in retrospect, turning out to be travel problems. I shared a taxi to Hurghada airport with Jeff and Ness, so that was a good thing (maybe emphasizing the other theme, which was friendship). On arrival, we were immediately greeted by an airport employee who said he could get us to skip the queue. This has happened to me twice before – the first time I had my broken foot and I thought it was a service for the disabled; the second time I batted him away as I was sure it was a con of some kind. Anyway, Jeff went with it, and to my surprise, it was true. The guy pushed us to the front of a huge queue all for the price of a tip at our discretion. It was really worth it (no different from paying EasyJet extra for Speedy Boarding, I guess).

We entered the airport to drop our bags (you have to do your own check-in with EasyJet) only to find that the plane was leaving an hour earlier than expected! I think it’s something to do with EasyJet having the wrong times due to Egypt deciding at the last minute not to change the clocks for the summer. Anyway, we’d obediently arrived three hours early as requested, so it was fine, but in an alternative universe…

I was met easily at the airport by Geraldine and the Horsham part of my stay started off fairly smoothly. We ate too much, but other than that….

I then went off to visit my friend Julie in Bristol. I was a bit stressed about it because for my train journey I had to change at Dorking and I was to arrive in one Dorking station and to walk to the other station in Dorking to get my connection. I have no idea why they think it’s a good idea to have two stations. The connection time was quite tight, too. Anyway, I got to Horsham station and my first train was cancelled! There was a replacement bus service, but my hopes weren’t high of this arriving in Dorking in time, although the person at Horsham station reassured me that if I missed my connection, they were bound to get me to my destination somehow and the missed connection wouldn’t be my fault. However, surprisingly I did make the connection, even though the signs to the station that I was promised would be very clear did not appear to be evident at the station itself, but I’d fortunately spotted one of the signs from the bus.

So, despite the odds, I did get to Julie’s on time. I think I overdid on eating chips while I was there – I’d been craving them and then went overboard, so after that I couldn’t really face them again.

Then it was back to Geraldine’s. I thought this was going to be the easier journey, but I failed miserably. My first train from Bristol was delayed. The short story is that I missed my connection. The true story is that I could have probably made my connection if I’d realized I was in Reading station and not Redhill (or was it the other way round?). Anyway, I was supposed to go from Reading to Redhill (or vice versa?), but got it the wrong way round, so I was trying to find a platform at Reading station that had a train going to Reading. Of course, I couldn’t find this. When I finally asked, the guy asked me twice where I was going to and I thought he was a bit of an idiot until he explained to me that I was already at Reading! I generally find that if I think people are being a bit of an idiot, it’s actually me.

So, I missed my connection, but then when I got to my next station, the next train I needed was cancelled. I didn’t have a mobile phone with me, so I couldn’t let Geraldine know not to collect me, which was another source of stress. I took another route and went straight to Gatwick Airport (close to Horsham), but the next two trains to Horsham were also cancelled. High praises to the woman at British Rail (she was maybe Italian?) who was cornered by about 15 angry passengers (“it’s always the Horsham trains that are canceled! Why?!” “I’ve been working 11 hours and it’s taking me 3 hours to get home”, “What is it with Horsham?”) and seemed genuinely sympathetic and unbelieving when a train that normally goes to Horsham was re-routed to skip Horsham (at this point she looked as if she wanted to hand in her notice then and there!).

Anyway, it was a long journey. I arrived after midnight and the very next morning I had to take a train to get to Pam’s. As far as I can recall, that went smoothly, apart from me mistakenly enthusiastically greeting a stranger thinking it was Pam when it wasn’t. I felt a right plonker, but it had been a while since I’d last seen Pam and I thought maybe she’d changed. When I finally saw Pam (easily identifiable!), I couldn’t work out what possessed me to think the other woman could have been her.

A lot more eating was done among the four of us who were there, including a meal at Ascot’s finest restaurant followed up by a Chinese take-away when we got back, and then a full English breakfast the next morning…

By the time I was due to get back to Geraldine’s, Southern Rail had officially gone on strike. If train services were bad before the strike, I didn’t like to think what it would be like when the strike was actually in progress. In the end, in order to return, Pam had to drive me to Guildford, and then Geraldine picked me up from Guildford. After a day to recuperate, it was time to fly back to Egypt; again Geraldine needed to drive me to the airport due to the rail strike. Good old Great Britain!

My return to Egypt just rounded it all off nicely. It appeared that the EasyJet site had not given the correct time of arrival, or the airport site didn’t have the right time or something. I’d asked Esmat to pick me up at 4.45pm, but, unknown to me, he’d checked the time of the flight online and it said one hour later, so he assumed my flight had been delayed and didn’t leave to collect me for another hour. Some passengers on the plane were also betting between themselves about the correct arrival time. So, I arrived at the airport and there was no Esmat to pick me up.

Of course, I’d completely forgotten to “pack” my mobile phone. I’d remembered the charger, but not the actual phone. So, I couldn’t phone to find out what was happening. I hadn’t considered that maybe Esmat had seen the wrong time online. After waiting for half an hour, I ended up having to take another taxi, who was wanting to charge me 50% more than I usually pay. For once, I felt I knew what I was doing, so I explained what I always paid and said that if he didn’t want to accept that fare, he should just take me back to the airport and I’d get another taxi. He didn’t, but did continue to complain the whole journey. I felt surprisingly calm. I’d explained my view very clearly, I’d given him the option to refuse it, so it was his fault now if he didn’t like it.

I got back to my flat, my balcony hadn’t been cleaned as requested, my wall hadn’t been repaired as requested. It was literally like I’d never been away! But it was at least most definitely Egypt!

PS. A huge thanks to my friends for providing me with food and accommodation and for just being them! Despite the travel problems, I had a great time, and it was all more than worth it.

El Andalous - The Funky Pigeon

The Flying Pigeon

There’s quite a lot I want to write about at the moment (this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s anything that’s really that interesting), but I’m so excited about my new bicycle that I have to write about this before anything else!

As I said, I had a bit of a spending spree on items that I would collect in the UK. The problem is, once I’ve allowed myself to spend, it’s quite hard to know where to stop. I’d been eyeing up a bicycle in our new supermarket, BestWay. It seemed meant for me as they were selling only three bicycles – two for children and one ladies bike with gears, which was ideal for me. However, it seemed like a lot of money (3.3k LE – around 260-300 quid), and each time I’ve owned a bike, I haven’t used it much, so I was trying to be sensible and to learn from past mistakes.

Anyway, I got to thinking about it again when I was in the UK. Although BestWay sold the bike, it didn’t come with a basket (a must-have), and they didn’t sell padlocks or pumps. Therefore, if I was going to get it, it would be easier to buy the accessories in the UK. Of course, I didn’t start thinking about this very seriously until it was almost time to leave.

Consequently, on my last day, I finally priced bikes in the UK and found I could get them for around 100 quid. Bargain! I fantasized for quite a while about getting one and putting it on a plane, but after reading about how to do this, it seemed a bit beyond me. People were talking about dismantling the steering wheel (or whatever you call it on a bike) and then putting various parts back together when you got back. And then I had to think about getting it to the airport in the first place (poor Geraldine, if I thrust this upon her!), and on top of that it seemed that you couldn’t just turn up to your flight with one – you had to book in advance to take a bike with you. Anyway, I gave up on the idea.

However, I decided that maybe I was more wedded to the idea than I realized, and so bought myself a lock and a pump in the UK to save myself some trouble. If I didn’t get the bike, the pump and the lock didn’t exactly cost much, and if I did get it, purchasing these items now would save me a lot of hassle later. The guy in the bike shop obviously sussed me straight away as clueless, so he kindly walked me through the basic types of locks and the basic types of pumps, steering me away from the expensive ones.

Once back in Egypt, it dawned on me that maybe I should see if there was a bicycle shop in Hurghada (doh!). I searched the internet and found a thread where people were saying that there were three shops in a street by the Marina that sold bikes for around 60 GBP. That was quite a saving over the one in BestWay. Although I want to support my local shops, I don’t want to support them to the tune of paying 250 quid extra!

So, off I went into town with Esmat on another intrepid adventure into Hurghada. He took me first of all to a bicycle shop near his home. He joked with me about him taking me to a useless shop as we went up some shabby stairs strewn with litter in a nondescript building (this is typical of Egypt). But there, on the first floor, was a fairly large shop with lots of new bikes. There were many children’s bikes (which is maybe why Esmat knew it so well). Unfortunately, they didn’t stock any ladies bikes with gears; there were plenty without gears for around 70 GBP. The guy in the shop tried to tell us (again, very typical of Egypt) that they didn’t stock ladies bikes with gears because they don’t exist. I reiterated to Esmat that the one in BestWay definitely had gears.

So, off we went to shop number two. This also did not stock any ladies bikes with gears. I was beginning to think that maybe I’d got it wrong. It was either at this shop, or the shop after this, that a shopkeeper informed Esmat that a street by the Marina may have the required type of bicycle. I’m guessing this is the street I’d read about on the internet (I had told Esmat about it, but I bowed to his local knowledge, and in any case he may well have taken me to cheaper shops).

Here, we finally had success. They had one ladies bike with gears sitting outside the shop. I felt a bit dubious about it as it was covered in dust, didn’t have a saddle, and cost 1000k LE more than the others we’d seen. Esmat tried to negotiate for me, but the shopkeeper wouldn’t budge as it was a famous make and had shimano gears (if I’ve got my terminology right here). I had heard of those gears before, and the bike was still 1.4k cheaper than in BestWay, and it had a basket, so I said I would just get it.

The bike didn’t really visually appeal to me much, but it was obviously a more difficult task to get one than I thought it would be originally. I had no idea what to look for in a bicycle or what you pay more for and I didn’t really want to spend time finding other shops which may not have anything suitable anyway. And it was Esmat’s time ticking away. After I handed the shopkeeper a deposit, he kissed the money, and then went off to clean the bike and add the bits and pieces to it (a branded saddle, new handle grips, a rear reflector, the matching basket), while I went to get money out of the bank.

It was also the usual Egyptian creativity in somehow getting the bicycle to fit into the boot of the car. The guy selling it asked for a tip (this still surprises me over here when they are just doing their job!); Esmat said it was voluntary but suggested maybe giving him 10LE. Again, the shopkeeper kissed the money as a way of saying thank you. I guess that’s also an Egyptian thing.

I was rather nervous on the journey back each time the car jolted because my bike was precariously sticking out of the boot, but my driver (Esmat had to go elsewhere) assured me it was all OK (which it was). I guess this is just business as usual for them.

Anyway, it turned out to be a bit like a successful arranged marriage (not that I’ve ever experienced that!). I inspected the bicycle at leisure once I’d got it all to myself at home and was delighted to see that it was called “flying pigeon”. I really love this name, although I keep on thinking of it as the “funky pigeon” (it’s not really that funky, but I love it anyway).

I’ve since looked it up and actually it’s a very famous Chinese brand that seems to have fallen out of favour. But the price I paid seems to be quite reasonable. The seat also goes quite low – many bikes I find have the saddle too high even when the seat is at its lowest, whereas on my new bike, the seat isn’t anywhere near the lowest point. I’m not a seasoned cyclist, so I like to feel I can safely have my feet on the ground quite easily. I have it on a firm tip-toe rather than a tottering tip-toe.

I took it out for a ride and it breezed down the streets. It’s lovely cycling in Sahl Hasheesh because there’s no traffic apart from golf buggies and other bicycles, so absolutely no stress. The saddle was nice and broad, the gears changed easily. My previous bicycle always clunked with each gear change.

Anyway, I now look at my bike as if it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. The branded saddle (it says “pigeon” on it, how wonderful is that!) matches the brown highlighted branding and the brown basket. I didn’t like it at first, but now it’s a work of art in my eyes. This ugly frog has turned into my prince. I hope I will continue to enjoy it and that the honeymoon never fades!

UK - Last Few Days

Ascot 2015

At this point my travels will almost be over as I fly back to Hurghada on Wednesday. I should be at Pam's, having gone to Ascot with Pam, Candice and Hye-Youn on the Saturday, all going well. Candice and Hye-Youn are coming over from Switzerland. We had fantastic weather the previous year, so I am hoping for the same this time, but am not holding my breath! Candice and Hye-Youn will be working today, but I have a few more days to go....

Tonight, I take a train back to Horsham, have one more day there, and then fly back to Hurghada (all going well or inshahllah [God willing] as they say in Arabic about almost every future event).

UK - Visiting Friends

Horsham, West Sussex, UK

No blog this week or next - I'm dashing round the UK to visit various people. First, it's Geraldine in Horsham, then it's Julie in Bristol, then it's Pam, Candice, and Hye-Youn in Hartley-Wintney and off to Ascot, then back to Geraldine to collect my purchases and catch the plane back from Gatwick.

Today, I should be in Horsham, which is where I used to live and work at one point. I hope to sample the wonderful aniseed curry at one of the local curry restaurants, the great fish and chips in the chippie, and maybe a blueberry bagel in the bookshop. I seem to remember that the divine chocolate cake was no longer being served last time I went to the cafe in question, but I will try again!

Thank you in advance to Geraldine, Julie, and Pam for letting me stay!

El Andalous - Preparing for Holiday

El Andalous Beach at Sunset

Time zooms onwards; I sometimes wish I could just get it to stop for a little while. Anyway, this time next week, when you read this, I will be in the UK. So, no blog, but I’ll prepare a photo and a little text, just so you don’t think the blog has disappeared entirely. To be honest, I don’t really think of people actually reading this, but writing it in public at least forces me to think and write something each week.

Anyway, as usual when I’m going back to the UK, I had a spending spree on Amazon. I feel Amazon should pay towards my air fare, actually, because they must make quite a bit of money each time I’m preparing to go. This time, it was helped by the fact that I had more money in my UK bank account than I realized (which is a bit fatal); I must have decided to keep my last tranche of money in the UK rather than in Egypt. I keep on making decisions and forgetting what I’ve decided. As if decisions weren’t hard enough in the first place!

So, for your entertainment (or otherwise), here’s what I’ve ordered:

1. Three swimming costumes (these were actually from decathalon.co.uk). I thought I may as well invest in my leisure time in Egypt. I’d bought two costumes when in Switzerland (one from decathalon), but at the moment I do feel like I’m probably wearing them a bit too much, given that I’m on the beach every day. A bit of variety, and at least the appearance of being cleanly, is called for.
2. A very exciting snorkel mask (also from decathalon). It’s a new design and fits all the way round your face. You no longer need to have the snorkel in your mouth and you can just breathe normally. Also, apparently, it’s a whole different snorkeling experience because you get a 180 degree view. I can’t wait to try this out, although I met someone on El Andalous beach and hers had just broken and she didn’t have a good word to say about it. I’ve heard others rave about it, though. They don’t seem to sell them in Egypt yet.
3. A solar panel that can charge laptops. I’ve dithered about this forever. It’s not really worth the money as I’m sure I won’t save enough electricity costs to make it worthwhile, but I’ve always loved the idea of solar energy and it seems such a shame not to use solar power in Egypt. And what’s the point of working if you don’t spend the money on things you are hankering after even if they’re not entirely logical?
4. A power bank that can charge laptops and that can be charged by a solar panel. Yes, I’ve gone a bit mad, but I also wanted some kind of backup electricity for all our power cuts (even at night) and this should do the trick! The first one I tried to order was actually over the watts per hour allowed by airlines for lithium-based batteries and power banks. I ended up getting airline permission (but I think they didn’t know what the problem was) and they wanted me also to get airport permission, but by the time I’d got an answer from the airline it was out of stock anyway. I then found a lower-powered (and more expensive, of course) alternative that explicitly said it could go on a plane. I had no idea this would be so difficult!
5. A solar light. This was an impulse buy and I’m very excited about it and wish I’d bought two while it was on special offer. I’m curious to see what it will be like. You can squash it down (it’s like a concertina) and it turns into a torch and a USB solar charger. Or you can pull it out and it serves as a solar-powered lantern that lasts up to 12 hours. I’m almost looking forward to my next power cut now!
6. Three books for learners of Arabic (basically parallel text Arabic or Egyptian Arabic and English with audio either on CD or online). I’d meant to buy just one, but couldn’t decide which one to try first (they are all still beyond my capability really, but I can’t help being ambitious). So, once I knew I had money in my account, I just bought all of them. Hmmm.

I will need to buy printer ink while I’m over in the UK. I’ve also developed an ambition to make some jewelry from the shells and stones on the beach over here so that I can always carry a bit of Sahl Hasheesh with me wherever I go, so I’ll try and buy some craft stuff, too. If I have room, I’ll bring back some cereals that I can’t get in Egypt, but my snorkel and solar panel will both take up quite some space in my luggage. It’s like my birthday at the moment!

Sahl Hasheesh - Progress

BestWay, now in Sahl Hasheesh! (photo (c) Nicole)

Businesses come and go in Sahl Hasheesh fairly quickly. It’s a tough life for the shopkeepers, although if you talk to them, they’re usually hugely optimistic and never really appear to see themselves as having a hard life. Most shopkeepers have more than one shop.

It’s always interesting to see what’s new and about to open, but rarely is it so exciting as the first proper supermarket. Yes, this is the pinnacle of excitement over here in Sahl Hasheesh.

I should explain that by Egyptian standards, BestWay, our new supermarket, is a “proper” supermarket – it sells cold meats, bread, cheese, fresh fruit, butter, frozen meat, fresh meat, as well as food that will in any case keep for a while (chocolates, cereals, canned and jarred items, coca cola, etc). Usually in Egypt something that calls itself a “supermarket” is actually just a small shop selling a few items of food with no meat, no bread, or anything that needs cooling or freezing. It’s not the type of shop that you could rely on for your weekly shopping.

BestWay provides pretty much everything in some form; it also sells some basic stationery, washing stuff, kitchen utensils, personal hygiene items, coffee makers, DIY items, light bulbs, games, bicycles…. To my delight (or is it horror?), it also has a café with some delicious cakes, so I can already see my waistline expanding just by looking at it all.

However, to put this in perspective, I’m now making it sound huge and it’s probably still just a “little shop” by European standards rather than a “supermarket” which I, at least, always imagine to be on huge grounds and having rows and rows of frozen cabinets and cooling shelves. BestWay has two small cooling shelves, two small freezers for frozen goods, and another freezer for ice creams. That’s it. But for Egypt, this is pretty good. Spinneys in Senzo Mall, which is just like a European supermarket, is called a hypermarket over here. I guess BestWay is closer to a Tesco Metro.

Anyway, it’s life-changing for me. Up until now, I’ve had to have a taxi drive of 20 minutes to do my weekly food shopping and it’s really annoying if I forget something. Now, it’s just a 10 minute walk away and it’s there all the time, open until midnight. No need to worry any more. They are even promising home delivery.

The prices are a bit more expensive, but then I save myself the taxi fare and I gain the convenience, so I’m eager to shop there and to support it so that it makes a go of it in Sahl Hasheesh. It will do well if all these new buildings / apartments actually get finished and ever have people living in them. But over here, that’s a big “if”; BestWay may even have been brought in to try to help sell the apartments (lack of supermarket was definitely a major reason why I considered not to buy originally). So far, it seems to be getting a fairly steady trade, but it’s early days yet.

There’s lots going on here at the moment. I was also astonished to hear that a butcher’s shop is going to open up next to BestWay as well. It’s almost as if I’m living in a proper town! I’m a bit sceptical that there will be enough trade for it, but I guess if enough tourists rent apartments and want to buy their meat in the resort rather than venturing out to Senzo or Hurghada, it might just work! It’s called “The Butchery” (this is what some people rudely called my hairdresser when I was in Edinburgh) and also appears to sell pork (that’s the advantage of living in a tourist resort); obviously it’s being run by Christians. I hope it will do well – we’re just waiting for it to open, but the cabinets seem to be in place and the signage is up.

Less exciting is the opening of a Moevenpick ice cream shop where my old ice cream shop used to be. I’m happy it’s there, but I’m still grieving over the old place at the moment. And an “optics” shop also seems to be preparing for opening. This I found a bit astonishing as we already have one optics shop in the same road and I can’t believe that we could possibly support two of these shops, but, hey, worth a go. And, as I was thinking that to myself, I suddenly noticed that the existing optics shop was actually quite busy, so maybe I’m completely wrong.

It’s really good to see some new things opening up after seeing so many shops close. It would be even better to see some stability, both in Sahl Hasheesh, and in Egypt as a whole.