El Andalous - Forgetting the Old

View from the Beach at Sunset

I said that nothing had really gone wrong on my return this time. This was sort of true, but at the same time, I think I’m maybe just becoming immune to the trauma of things never being 100%.

The first evening I got back, and this is really quite a big thing, so heaven knows how I forgot – I can only think it’s because it wasn’t new to me – water started dripping from my kitchen ceiling. I went to reception to ask for a plumber, but they were strangely reluctant, saying that the plumber was now in Hurghada (it was night time after all) and could it wait until the next day. I explained that I was worried that the drip would turn into a gush and I didn’t want my flat flooded overnight. I sensed there was still reluctance, but they said they would contact the plumber.

I went back to my flat and fretted for a while and then remembered that I’d had this problem before and it had been something to do with the air conditioning. I went back to reception and asked if they could confirm that if it was just the air conditioning, it could wait until morning because there would be no flood of water. I got the impression they didn’t understand what I was saying. It was a bit complicated with all those conditionals. I gave up because I got the impression they weren’t going to phone for the plumber anyway.

I returned to my flat again and decided to avoid turning on my air conditioning. However, it was really hot and I couldn’t survive without having it on. I decided to use it in small bursts and sure enough the trickle of water gradually became nothing.

There was also a bit of a nasty smell in my kitchen when I returned which I identified as the odour of a dead rodent. I got our resident rat catcher to come and remove the dead bodies from the ventilation shaft above my kitchen. I’ve decided that the word for eat is very similar to the word for “shit” in Arabic as I’m sure one of them was recommending (in Arabic) that housekeeping clean out the shaft due to all the, hmm, mess, but even he was getting push back from the housekeeping staff who were saying it wasn’t possible. I know there must be loads and loads of rat droppings up there. Anyway, I’ve become somewhat immune to all this rodent drama now, especially if the mice and rats never actually enter my flat. I think I had a rodent caught every day in the first week I was back but since then, it’s just been the occasional one now and then.

So, I suppose you could say things did go wrong when I returned, but somehow these are all just normal now and not so noteworthy. And it’s more interesting than living in a world where everything is perfect!

El Andalous - Seeing What's New

New Installation on the Boardwalk

It’s always interesting to see what’s changed when I come back; there’s usually a tinge of sadness for the businesses that didn’t make it and curiosity about the new ones that have just started up. Many of the shops are offered rent-free premises for the first year or two in Sahl Hasheesh and then after that, they have to pay. The result is that most aren’t able to establish themselves sufficiently well within those first two years and disappear after the rent-free period.

However, it all seemed a bit different this time round. Sahl Hasheesh was a hive of building activity. A whole new complex of apartments is just starting to be built behind the BestWay supermarket along to the Sunrise Romance hotel extension (which used to be called Premier Romance so has obviously now been taken over by a new chain). The villa district further behind El Andalous is progressing with some very nice buildings being constructed there. The Sunrise Romance hotel extension at the back has swimming pools installed, the entrance hallway is being decorated, and the windows all have glass. It's almost there! Further along the coastline a whole complex is under construction which is allegedly supposed to be three 5-star hotels, a golf course, an acqua park, and a theatre (really?). It’s progressing really fast.

Rumours are around that Egypt is supposed to be a top ten tourist destination next year and the top destination by 2020; this has no doubt inspired the rush to build.

The resort company for Sahl Hasheesh has installed a funky thing along the boardwalk, which is in the photo since it will save me the alleged 1000 words. See-saws (!) have been placed opposite Bus Stop, there’s a lighted sign saying “Old Town”, there are two swinging benches along the boardwalk, plus some blue benches too.

Everywhere I went, something had changed! Il Gusto was no longer there, but had become Sailors Beach Club. This was quite a shock, since Il Gusto has been there for years. However, the new place has pretty much the same facilities (café, restaurant, beach bar, beach) but a different menu and more expensive prices. That’s not so surprising because prices for everything have risen (including electricity and water).

Chez Paul (cafe/restaurant) had gone quite a while ago, but that’s now been replaced by Café Coffee Day, which is also a restaurant. It does good coffee, but I think with its name people don’t realize that it also serves proper food, so it’s seeming quite empty. The Sunrise Romance has added Indian and Lebanese restaurants to its offerings. An art shop has opened up, so it’s good to see something that’s not clothes or food for a change.

There’s even a free minibus now that will take you round the resort and bus stops have been placed by all the major hotels and residences. As is usual here, it’s in its preliminary launch phase, which means they’re not advertising it, the bus stops aren’t finished, and there isn’t any timetable, but you can use the minibus if you see it or if you ask a security guard. This is OK, but it just makes you wonder if it really is working or not. Most people have no idea that it's there and when people see it, they don't know what it is. Communication isn't a strong point in Egypt. The idea of a free bus is good, though, since once it's established, it should encourage people to explore beyond their all-inclusive hotels and maybe spend some money in the shops. It also gives the hotels something else to advertise.

It’s all very encouraging, but the half-built buildings are still standing empty and don’t seem to be progressing, so we can only hope that all these new activities will complete and not end up as yet other monuments to ideas that went stale. However it does look as if Egypt is finally gearing up to be a prime tourist destination again, at long last. Come and join the party!

El Andalous - Settling Back In

El Andalous from Refurbished Pier

I usually joke that there’s always something that immediately breaks on my return, that Egypt is where everything always goes wrong. This time, however, it was really fairly smooth. I don’t know if I should be worried.

The only thing that was broken was the basket on my Flying Pigeon which was half-hanging off. However, I was able to fix this myself (I was fairly proud of this achievement). My key was also sticking in my lock – it has done this ever since I’ve been here, but it had got to the point where even I found it annoying. I cleverly (by my standards) thought to spray it with some WD40 and hey presto the key now fits in smoothly. I felt very dynamic.

It was rewarding to have the WD40 already there in my flat; similarly, it was good to have the OFF spray (mosquito repellent) and my insect bite cream ready to hand. I was feeling very organized and settled. It’s only taken 5 years!

There are always quite a few admin things to do all the same. I had to go to the bank to change my money, and I needed to get my visa extension. The 6-month visa now costs the same as a 12-month visa, which makes it feel as if I’m paying more than necessary. However, I’m happy and grateful that I’m allowed to be here, and the country needs the money, so I really don’t mind. To be honest, the foreigners can afford the steep price hikes more than the local people, so it’s fair play to raise more money by increasing the visa costs by some multiples vs the rate of inflation (which is in any case high) over the years (I think the visa cost has gone from 80 LE to 1200 LE in 5 years).

I’d forgotten just how many liquids I get through when the weather is so hot. I seem to have gone off diet coke all of a sudden, so I’m drinking more water and iced coffee instead. I completely underestimated how much water and milk to buy on my first trip to BestWay, since I’m not normally a great water drinker. But in the heat, I’m constantly needing another drink.

I thought I’d miss the espresso machine that I have at home in Switzerland when returning to lowly Nescafe gold for my home-made iced coffees in Egypt, but actually it’s been fine. Unlike in most of Europe, where coffee is now espresso dominated, over here many cafes still serve Nescafe. I remember when it used to be like that in the UK. Espresso-based drinks do exist here, though, so don’t get me wrong.

Anyway, I’m now back in the flow – my fridge is fully stocked with juice, milk, and water, plus some diet coke should the urge suddenly return. I believe my skin is already a little darker in reacting to its new climate, and I’m settled in.

El Andalous - Welcome Back

El Andalous from Refurbished Pier

My flight back was fine and it arrived on time. I’d been too busy getting my visa for St Petersburg to get my visa in advance for Egypt, so I had to buy my entry visa at the airport. Fortunately, I had some US dollars (USD) left from my cruise last year, so was able to pay for the visa using that (it’s simpler, since the Egyptians price the visa in USD). They were announcing the visa price in various currencies over the loudspeaker; I’m hoping this is in part to stop people from being conned into paying more than they have to (this has happened to friends of mine before).

Anyway, for me it was smooth. There was no queue as I was one of the first out and my luggage arrived safely. I have my routine off pat now, so I exited customs and went to buy my internet package at the counter at the airport. It’s very handy and I noticed that this time there are also Etisalat and Orange kiosks as well as Vodafone.

Unfortunately, again, my taxi wasn’t waiting for me. My internet doesn’t kick in until an hour afterwards and my phone wasn’t working, so I had no way to contact Esmat. After 15 minutes, I decided to get an airport taxi. This time, I knew the prices were on the board, so when the taxi driver said it cost 400 LE, I went to the board and showed them that it should be 150 LE (there’s no messing with me, I thought!).

However, they explained that the board was very old and prices had gone up since. I knew this to be true and I didn’t even know what Esmat charges now, so I felt a bit lost. I negotiated him down to 300 LE (which was probably a bit much, but as the driver explained on the way – he was actually very nice – when he gets back to the airport he’s last in the taxi queue and he needs to make a living). I was happy enough and I really just wanted to get home.

I entered my flat and it hadn’t been cleaned. I went down to see Medhat, and he explained that I hadn’t given enough notice as I’d only emailed the evening before (this is true, and I had wondered if I was chancing it; if I do it too much in advance, I’m scared they’ll forget). Anyway, they did it for me pretty much straightaway – they were just finishing off another flat first.

I wandered off to BestWay to get my food shopping while they cleaned; I was still wearing my jeans from the flight. My legs don’t usually feel hot or cold, but in that heat, they were soon pretty damp with sweat. I dropped the shopping off in my flat, but the cleaners were still working so I went out for an iced coffee in a local café. I can’t really complain since my life is really very civilized (when you have money, of course, and for that I’m grateful).

Finally, the cleaners had finished. I was amused to see that they’d organized my balcony furniture differently from how I usually have it (they weren’t to know, since I bring in the cushions and drag the furniture to where there is not much sun while I’m gone). I haven’t bothered to put it back yet as it looks quite nice how they have it but is perhaps not as practical if I have guests.

The first night we had a power cut. It’s still so hot at the moment that I need the air conditioning on to cool down and then the fan to keep the air cool while I’m asleep. With the power cut, my fan stopped working and I woke feeling too hot. I have a small USB fan, so I thought I could fetch that to keep myself from sweltering, but then I realized that I didn’t know where the cleaners had put my solar light and it was pitch black. I ended up having to strike a match, since they were where I expected them to be, and light a candle in order to find the solar-charged light (and then to use that to find the USB fan). The joys of being back!

I still wouldn’t swap it for anywhere else, though!

Zurich - Flight to Hurghada

Arriving in Hurghada

I was actually ready to return to Egypt this year; I was working from home in Zurich and a lot of changes were taking place in my work environment, so it was nice to leave it all and go back to a more relaxed lifestyle in Egypt.

I try to make things easy for myself, so I decided to check my luggage in the night before my flight and then check whether I could get the last-minute upgrade within 24 hours of the flight or if it really did have to be the same morning as the flight. I had three laptops to take back with me (don’t ask!), so most of my hold luggage was taken up with that, leaving me no room to pack any breakfast cereal  (which is either not available or very expensive in Egypt).

I got to the airport, feeling quite pleased with how organized I was being. I yanked my suitcase onto the conveyor belt and explained it was for the Hurghada flight the next morning. To my astonishment she asked me if I had any laptops packed in my hold luggage and then said that laptops have to be carried through as hand luggage on flights to Hurghada. This used to be the case for the UK but not for Switzerland and then they changed the UK rules back again to allowing laptops in hold luggage.

I was stunned and wasn’t even sure if three laptops would be allowed in my hand luggage (too heavy?). But there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. So, I removed the laptops from the suitcase and handed what was now a virtually empty case over for night-before check in. What a waste of effort! Had I known, I could have packed some cereal after all. Having said that, if I’d learned that my laptops weren’t allowed in my luggage at 5am in the morning, it might have been even more stressful.

I was fortunate to have a bag with me that I could put them all in to carry back home. I lugged the laptops with me round to the Edelweiss counter (I was supposed to be empty-handed at this stage) in the next terminal to ask about getting a last-minute business class upgrade (I was thinking that at least all that hand luggage would be included in the business class allowance!). They informed me that the price had gone up by 50 CHF and that I couldn’t get the upgrade until the morning of my flight. The man happily explained that there was only one upgrade left but that they were open from 0430am the next day, so I could rush in then and get it. I’m sure only a Swiss person would think that this is a reasonable suggestion. There’s no way I was coming at 0430; in any case the first tram of the day to the airport isn’t until about 0515 and that was going to be painful enough.

After the usual sleepless Angst of wondering if it really is humanly possible to hear an alarm that will wake you in time to catch the 0515 tram, I did indeed get to the airport with my very heavy hand luggage and managed to get my upgrade. I went through the business class security check and felt a bit sorry for the others in the queue knowing I had to unpack virtually all my hand luggage in the process.

The woman at security asked me which two laptops were mine, indicating the first two. I pointed to the third one and said that all three were mine, but she assumed I meant that it was the last two laptops and not the first two laptops, so I had to reiterate that all three were mine. She looked a bit surprised but made no objection. Phew.

Since I was thirsty and had paid for an upgrade, I wanted to go to the business lounge for a quick orange juice and coffee. However, when I got there, I discovered it didn’t open until 0600 in that terminal. Looking at the queue at the cafe in the terminal, it was very long and I didn’t have that much time, so I ended up buying a juice from a vending machine. As soon as I got it (I was really parched, so I drank it within seconds), the flight boarded, so actually I could have waited. Next time.

But apart from all that, the flight was fine!

Zurich - Final Week this Year

My Departure was Not This Calm!

My last week and last day in Zurich just flew. Work was full of budget and I had to do some overtime, meaning that I wasn’t even able to swim that much during my last week. I don’t know how I can look at a budget sheet so often and still see mistakes each time.

The weather continued to be brilliant even up to the end of September and the open-air pools extended their closing dates by a week to take advantage of it. It was a bit galling not having enough time to profit from this, but in truth, although the weather was good, the air was getting colder, so if I went swimming, I still went to the indoor pool at Oerlikon (since my local one is now closed).

It’s not so easy to meet up with people now that I work from home, since even if I want to see people at lunch, it means doing traveling that I would otherwise not do. I went into work for a meeting one day and bumped into Mirlinda, who used to work in my department a year ago but, it appears, has just accepted a position in the same building as me but with a different company. It’s a small world. I arranged to meet up with her, but she had to cancel once because she was too busy and then I had to cancel on the Friday, our last chance, because I was too busy.

I did get in to see Teresa and Candice for lunch and to celebrate Teresa’s pregnancy. I hadn’t seen her all year, so it was good to catch up before I left, but again I had to dash away quite quickly because I had a meeting to run from home.

The last week is always a bit frustrating because I suddenly realize all the people I wanted to see (either again or at all) but that I never managed to. I had wanted to contact Holger and Emil, Gerard, Yuen, Willem, Heaven, Marta, Cristel… and many more. It will all have to be next year now.

I’d been trying to clean up at home in the weeks leading up to my departure since I knew I had only one day to get myself ready when I got back from St Petersburg. I even did all my clothes washing on the Saturday evening as soon as I returned to try and give myself an easy last day on Sunday. However, it always surprises me how the amount of things you need to do seems to snowball once you start.

For instance, even though I’d cleaned my fridge a few weeks ago, I still needed to clear out the remaining food – for once there wasn’t much – and give the fridge a final wipe. Then I discovered that I needed to clean my coffee machine since I found a lot of coffee grounds as I was giving it a final dab with my cloth. But in cleaning it, I broke a bit off in the process (I managed to fix it). And autumn was arriving, so my balcony had leaves strewn over it and I felt compelled to clean it. And then I thought that I may as well just clean away all my plants rather than leave them to die in my absence. I didn’t have time to clean the plant pots as well, but basically this is how the tasks just kept on adding up.

I’d also booked to see Alvin Ailey (Dance) on the last day I’d be in Zurich. So, actually, I had only until 1600 to get everything done. As usual, my ambition is larger than my reason. After St Petersburg I was actually starting to feel a bit “cultured out” and questioned my decision, but the performance was good; it was modern dance rather than the classical ballet I saw at St Petersburg. So, that was my crazy schedule!

Holiday in St Petersburg

I saw a lot of Weddings Taking Place! Backdrop: Hermitage and St Isaacs Cathedral

I ran out of time to do a blog last week, since I had one day to unpack from St Petersburg, clean, and repack to go to Egypt. However, maybe I should have posted a few photographs at least as I can predict that what will take me longest in today’s blog will be deciding which photo to show at the top!

Anyway, Rachel had decided to celebrate her 50th birthday in St Petersburg. It wasn’t really somewhere that was on my radar as a place to visit for some reason (although now I’ve been, I’m wondering why on earth not!). I was a bit stressed that the others (who are all more educated than I am in terms of knowing their art and history) were reading Russian novels in advance, doing a load of research about where to go, and I was finding it hard even to find the time to get my visa (and never got round to getting my Egyptian visa in the process).

I’d forgotten that I really like a lot of Russian writers – Dostoyevsky, Gogol, Chekhov were all favorite authors when I used to read high literature. So, Russia should have been on my list of places to visit, but I’ve become a bit obsessed with sun and sea over the last five years and had forgotten these, my previous loves.

We’d booked a guesthouse for 8 people in case others wanted to join us at the last minute. However, what actually happened at the last minute – the day before we left – was that the guesthouse cancelled on us for no reason. Aaargh! High praise goes to Rachel who found an alternative flat almost immediately that was actually better because it was closer to the centre and also had a huge reduction in price due to planned works going on in the building. So, we ended up saving money and having a better flat with four good-sized bedrooms and several recreation spaces. Phew.

St Petersburg was amazing. The size of the hermitage is breathtaking, the architecture is varied and grand, autumn colours abounded, and the streets were sometimes quite wide. Alastair thought the traffic was crazy, but I thought it was civilized, so it’s all relative. I must invite him to Egypt one day.

There’s a bit of a gold theme going on in St Petersburg. It’s everywhere. It decorates the outside and inside of the hermitage, of the cathedral of Peter and Paul, of the church of the savior on spilled blood, dominates some rooms in the Russian museum, it’s lavished on the fountains and the main building at Peterhof…. You get the idea.

Rachel, as an art lover, was in her element (apart from the gold). It was great to see her so happy; in fact all of us were happy! I went with her to Erarta on the first day, a private modern art museum, which made huge efforts to get people to interact with the art and to engage. We were there 6 hours and it wasn’t anywhere near the size of the Hermitage, so I knew then I had no chance of seeing everything. But I’m with Rachel in that this was actually my favorite art place in St Petersburg just because it was a bit different. However, I saw only a fraction of the Hermitage, so maybe I can’t really judge! The Hermitage is also stunning with its lavish rooms as well as its art, of course. But everyone knows that you need to visit the Hermitage.

It had been a while since I’d really done a museum and art type holiday, so I fed greedily on the art like sampling a dish I hadn’t tasted in a while and had forgotten how good it was.

We went to the opera (the Magic Flute) and the ballet (the Bronze Horseman). I should have read up on the Magic Flute beforehand because it was an artistic adaptation and I couldn’t really follow the plot. Kerstin kindly lent me her copy of Pushkin’s “Bronze Horseman” so that I would get the gist of the ballet. I read it quickly in my favorite café that served a large cappuccino for only 100 rubles (around just over a quid or around 1.5 CHF). I’d always thought that Russia was really expensive, but I’d forgotten that the currency had devalued some years ago, so it was all fairly reasonable in price.

We treated Rachel to a birthday meal in a restaurant with singing waiters who sung an operatic happy birthday to her in Russian. 

I loved all the domes in the architecture, the buildings were varied but impressive with columns and statues. On every corner there was something of interest. I did a canal trip with Kerstin but the river was high and so the boats couldn’t do the usual tour since they couldn’t fit under the bridges any more. Oh yes, the bridges, they were also decorated with gold.

I fretted about flying back as for some reason I didn’t have a migration card. Apparently you can get a hefty fine for not having it and can be refused entry to the country again.

Going back, at passport control, the official asked me for my migration card. I replied that I didn’t have it. She sighed and explained to me that I did indeed have my migration card and showed me an example of one. I repeated that I didn’t have it and asked her what I should do. She shook her head and said that no, my answer was incorrect, I did have a migration card. I again said I didn’t, did an exaggerated shrug of my shoulders and held my arms out in despair saying I didn’t know what to do.

She let out a huge sigh and slumped down on the table with her head resting on her arms, shaking her head for a minute or two. She then looked up at me; I put on a worried face (I was wondering what all this was leading up to), she rolled her eyes and then banged her head on the table several times as if to say “look, this is really, really, bad”. I was waiting for her to take me off to the border police, but instead, she raised her head again, stamped my passport and let me pass. Phew. It was a very Russian final experience as I can't imagine a British official being so dramatic given our tendency to being somewhat reserved. Nevertheless, I remain eternally grateful that she used discretion and spared me a fine or refusal of future entry.

I would highly recommend St Petersburg to everyone! There's just so much to do and I can barely skim the surface in this blog. And a big thank you to Rachel for suggesting it and making it happen! Happy birthday, Rachel.