EGYPT HOLIDAYS - LAST DAY

Today we are flying home, our plane will leave at 3.45 pm. I will miss the hotel, the beach, the people and above all this wonderful sunny and warm weather !



Christmassy decoration even at the beach entrance,



Outside our breakfast restaurant, and my neighbor doing cross words the whole day



Watching the divers coming back, the people having massage and the beautiful view on Hurghada !

But all good things are coming to an end !

This evening I will be back in the cold weather and dark short days !

SORRY ABOUT WORD VERIFICATION, THAT IS NOT MY SETTING ! No way to get rid of it ! Has somebody any suggestion ? Blogger help doesn't help !

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - EGYPT HOLIDAYS

I have no favorite fives this week, all days had been a favor as I am on holidays and made a little report every day in my posts below.

From N° 1 to N° 4, each day had been the same routine. As I wake up very early, around 6.30 am, usually the sun is already there and it's daylight while in Belgium it still would be dark night. Then I take the opportunity to go the lounge where I get internet. In the mornings it is easier because in the evenings connecting to internet is very slow, difficult, or sometimes even impossible, probably too many guests online.

Then I go beach bed hunting, and put our towels on the beds before they are all taken and then we have breakfast around 8.30 am. Once breakfast finished, we start our working day which means reading, chatting, swimming only interrupted by lunch time. At 4 pm the day is over and we leave the beach because the sun goes down and at 5 it's dark ! That's why it is better to get up early in Egypt !



Continental breakfast, with a huge choice of delicious different cookies and bread



Salades, cheese, ham



and for the British guests a real English breakfast

5. Today it was not really my friend Nicole's day. She literally fell into the restaurant by missing a step and landed on her knees ! Fortunately she wasn't hurt and could get up ! Of course everybody looked and tried not to laugh. That was not all, when she lined up for the lunch buffet, she didn't see the waiter behind the counter and banged the cover of the metal box filled with roasted chicken on his head ! We felt very sorry for him but still had to laugh out loud, once back at our table, just picturing the scene.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

EGYPT HOLIDAYS - DRINKS

When I wanted to take the lift to go to our room, I thought I would step into a shaking boat ! But it wasn't the lift which was shaking but an Englishman with a glass in his hand who was so drunkent that he hardly could keep his balance. He told me that he would go downstairs when he saw that I pushed the button for the 4th floor. I told him that it wouldn't matter and that I would go with him downstairs and then up. He refused. It didn't matter anyway I was a head taller. I pushed him a little aside and went in. "Stupid woman" he said. I looked at him and answered "maybe, but I think you had a glass too much" and pointed on his empty glass. The lift went down. By the time he finally was able to move and go through the open door, the door closed again and we went up to the 4th floor. That made him very angry, I didn't bother and told him that he should enjoy the sightseeing I am offering him to the 4th floor. If looks could kill, I think I would be dead by now. On the 4th floor I went out not before wishing him a nice trip to the first floor and to bar, for a refill, as lots of nice drinks would wait for him. The door closed and I will never know if he managed to get out of the lift and find his destination..

Of course the hotel has quite a lot of places where you can have a drink !



On the beach, at the swimming pool, in the lounge and of course in the restaurants. There are three of them. Quite a lot of men love the drinks, especially as they are included in the "All inclusive" price. And the drinks are strong ! They are not stingy with the alcohol, and put more in the cocktails as necessary, I think the personnel who are all muslims and never drink alcohol,  enjoy to see them drunk, they are so ridiculous then. Unless they become aggressive. It's a little revenge to all those who treat the personnel, as if they had a castle with servants at home !



A lot of choice !

I don't drink alcohol at all and always ask for alcohol free beer. Beer floats in streams and on the beach usually men walk around with a beer glass in their hand. The bellies look accordingly. From 5 month pregnancy it goes up to at least 24 months, so big  are the bellies you can admire which the men carry over their bathing suit. Some of them could even serve as a built in table.





The drinks look very colorful and attract especially women, who are then surprised about the effect the drink has on them. 

At breakfast you see guests with their hangover faces. Usually they  then wait until the bars open at 10.30 am and then it starts all over again. ! Cheers !

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - EGYPT HOLIDAYS

Photo shooting at the beach


more participants here

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It is very interesting to lay on your beach bed and listen to other guest's conversation. They mostly talk about the same subject, only in two different languages, German and English. Russian I don't understand. So I sit in the middle and hear the same complaints ! Everything became expensive, the politicians don't keep their promises, the gas and electricity prices raised and rich people get more rich while poor people get more poor. The middle class shrinks. Apparently it is exactly the same in both countries, the UK and Germany, I may add that in Belgium it's the same too ! So even if we don't speak the same languages and live in different countries, we all have the same problems !


Chats at the beach

Fortunately the sunshine and the holiday feeling win and satisfied to have emptied their hearts, they lay down again and talk about their children, the hotel, the food and the rooms, and there too they all agree ! Lots of the Germans are here more than a month and some of them will even stay a month more because it is cheaper for them here then paying the heating costs in Germany !

I try to read, but it is difficult when people talk around you and you understand !



Each morning I do a long swim and my aqua gym !



I also watched people learning diving in the pool



before they take one of these boats to go far into the sea for diving. Apparently it is the paradise for divers !



In the evening the pool is also decorated with garlands for Christmas






and inside the hotel it really looks very Christmassy

OUR WORLD - EGYPT HOLIDAYS

For the time being my world is at the Red Sea in Egypt. Enjoying the warmth and the sunshine



The view from my beach bed on the hotel



The little bay where I swim every day together with little fishes ...



Yummy fruit juices served on the beach



happy guests




The view from my balcony.

This evening when I came back from the beach and crossed the hotel entrance hall I found a big surprise !



A beautiful huge Christmas tree !



The whole entrance and the different floors were decorated ! Although most of the people in Egypt are Muslims and don't celebrate Christmas,  a Christmas tree stood there. Of course it is for us tourists, but nevertheless it means that the country is not occupied by hysterical Islamists ! Otherwise, business or not business Christmas trees wouldn't be allowed !

Christmas seemed so far away to me in this heat and sunshine, and now I have a Christmas tree just in front of my nose ! Only my Australian blog friends celebrate Christmas in summer !

more participants here

EGYPT HOLIDAYS DAY 5 AND 6

Again Internet troubles, even at 7 am! The guy at the reception doesn't know anything he didn't understand that the WiFi of the hotel is not strong enough. I gave up !

After having spent the whole day on our beach beds, only interrupting our "work" with swimming and lunch, we left the beach at 4 pm, and I went to the massage salon, where Doudou, my masseuse was already waiting for me. It was very nice, but I felt awfully tired after the massage ! Nevertheless after a shower we decided to go for a walk to the Hourghada city do do some shopping.

First of course I had to haggle the price for the taxi. The driver proposed 2 $ per person, and we should pay 4 $ ! I told him that in this case I would take his taxi and pay 2 $ for one person and Nicole would take another one also for one person. He made a very surprised face and then agreed to take the two of us for 2 $ ! Of course I had informed myself at the hotel reception about a normal taxi price so that I had an idea for how much I could haggle the price. He drove us in the city center, chatting cheerfully and obviously happy with what had payed.



Difficul to walk on these streets !

Then we walked or rather stumbled on the cobbled sidewalk and were stopped by shop owners or street sellers who wanted to sell us everything from spices to suitcases.



Shop owner dusting sun glasses

It was quite tiring because they always asked us the same question "Where are you coming from" and "what's your name ?" Nicole invented all kind of names from Mary to Jacky and I invented countries which didn't exist. Egyptians have a lot of humor and we also had a lot of fun !


under a fake palm tree

Finally we found the shop we were looking for i.e, one with fixed prices, meanwhile I was fed up with haggling ! There was not much to buy, as I had been here so often and it's always the same souvenir stuff. We bought some little gifts for friends and then Nicole's back hurt and my left food suddenly was swollen and hurt too !



Hurghada by night ...Taxi taxi taxi and lots of English tourists too

So we looked for a taxi to take us back to the hotel. Same haggling, I got the same price. The taxi driver didn't know very well the town apparently he was new, so he drove in the wrong direction and I told him that he was wrong. So he made a U turn and drove around and around, Nicole got scared she thought he would bring us in dangerous areas. Finally after a sightseeing tour I saw our hotel and asked him to stop and let us out. I didn't pay a penny more for this unwanted tour and he presented his excuses for the turning around. We left him and he shouted "I love you" behind us, we didn't love him, he was too ugly.

The next day my foot wasn't better, even worse and hurt so much that I hardly could walk. I really didn't know what I had done except doing some aqua gym exercises in the water. Apparently I must have hurt my foot in the sand. Nicole fortunately had anti-inflammatory pills with her and it got better.

We still hadn't settled the lost beach towel card and I went again to the reception. He wanted me to pay 10 $ for the card, I told him that the card must be in gold and that Nicole wouldn't pay such an amount for a simple card. As he insisted that these were the rules I asked for the manager. The manager was on holidays. I told the guy that the manager is already the whole year long on holidays but if he isn't there he certainly must have a replacement and that I would come back in the evening.

I was just installed on my beach bed with my towel and Nicole on the other one with her private towel when a man in a black suit and tie showed up together with a french speaking assistant, as he didn't speak any French. I told him that it is a shame that I am treated this way that I was already 6 times and that I had expected another treatment. I also mentioned that I am writing for Trip Advisor and Booking com, and that I have a travel blog. His attitude changed immediately, suddenly we got another card for free, a second towel, and he asked if I was satisfied with the room, the service etc. He presented his excuses for all the inconveniences we had had and told me not to hesitate if I needed something or if there was something wrong. I had no other complaints and he then left us not without asking us if he could offer us a drink !

The day went by which we really enjoyed again.The only trouble is we are always looking for something !



This time is was her mobile ! No wonder she couldn't find it, as I had taken hers, it's the same as mine, and so I had two in my purse !



At least here in our Internet café we have no problems !



When we came back from the Internet café we found another nice decoration on the bed !