FROM THE CITY TO THE DEEP BLUE SEA - Cairo and Dahab, Egypt

......the last of our wanderings around beautiful, ancient Luxor sites.......

Those who have read a few of our blog posts know we are extremely fond of train travel (hence the blog title!). We're attracted to countries we can explore by rail, and Egypt is one of those destinations. On deciding we'd had enough of Luxor, we booked two tickets for the day train to Cairo. We had done this trip in reverse years ago, but remembered very little from that time. We did notice the ticket stated a journey time of ten hours, and thought that seemed very ambitious. But as we had decided on the 04.50am (!) train out of Luxor, we figured even if it was a few hours late, we should still arrive in the capital before dark. 

The train was filthy, painfully slow, stopped and started constantly, and jerked violently every time it braked. It was also 15.5 hours in total. But actually, the seats were very large and comfy, and we had books and music to keep us occupied, as well as the scenery out the window, and overall it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Luckily, the hostel we were staying at in Cairo was used to late arrivals, and greeted us warmly.

Entrance to the old building where our hostel was situated, Cairo

Cairo is one our favourite cities in the world, and even in our exhausted stupor upon arrival, we immediately felt positive being there. There's something about the combination of the grand yet decrepit buildings, relaxed people, pulsing traffic and busy crowds on the streets that's an immediate pick-me-up. We felt a huge difference from Luxor with the brightness of the place- it seemed lit up like a Christmas tree and almost hurt our eyes. Other differences were the extensive range of fashions in the glitzy clothing shops, the amount of women out and about, and the huge number of fast food eateries/restaurants/cafes everywhere we looked- the choice seemed endless. We could relax a bit too, and not be asked constantly what are our names, where are we from, do we want a taxi etc. Cairo was refreshingly free of touts and scammers for the most part. Most interactions were of a friendly and mellow type.

Food stall, Cairo

Islamic Cairo

Antique shop, Cairo

Sexy gear for sale, Cairo market

Waking up in Cairo streets

Wonderful light streaming into Cairo mosque

We spent a whole month in Cairo in 2020 (here and here), and were captivated by walking around the contrasting areas, and especially with the old Islamic architecture. We found so much to see we actually ran out of time! This time, a week was enough as we keenly felt the need to move on to the coast and appreciate some beach time as the weather improved. 

Orangemania, Cairo

View down backstreet in old part of Cairo

Green shop, with cat, Cairo

Colourful market, Cairo

Classic old apartment block, Cairo

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Dahab was inhabited pretty much solely by Bedouin people until the 1980s when Israelis and hippies discovered the laid-back coastal town. Situated on the Sinai peninsula, the town was still fairly quiet and low key even on our last visit in 2007. We had heard it had expanded in popularity since then, but weren't quite prepared for the explosion of tourism we discovered upon arrival. The first few days were extremely hard to adjust, as we struggled to find a place of calm (both somewhere to stay and mentally). Coming from very quiet Luxor, and very "Egyptian" Cairo, Dahab felt like another world. It didn't help that the overnight bus from Cairo was long and slow due to the many security stops, and we take longer to recover from such journeys these days!

The colours are real!, Dahab, Egypt

We were lucky to have a friend staying in a wonderful, arty camp, where we got a great deal on a cute little A-frame hut that would have been quite at home on a South East Asian beach. At one time the whole of Dahab was made up entirely of camps- basic compounds with rooms around the perimeter, a courtyard with seating in the middle and shared bathroom and kitchen facilities. Some still remain, alongside the newer villas and hotels, and are still popular with budget travellers. Ours was nice in that it catered to both foreign and Egyptian guests. Most of the latter were from Cairo, and were predominantly young professionals who were friendly and spoke English perfectly, many working for good wages in foreign IT companies. Although they didn't drink alcohol or take drugs, they did love late nights full of music, drumming, singing and dancing around the campfire. We mostly enjoyed the fun and it was great seeing them let loose a bit on holiday from work and home. On the odd occasion the noise went on into the wee hours, and we had to ask them to quieten down, they were always polite and respectful. In some ways, the camp was quite conservative, which was fine by us. One example was when a crazy German guy was thrown out for wandering around naked in the unisex bathrooms!

The resident artist at El Rayga Camp, Dahab, Egypt

Our home for two months, El Rayga Camp, Dahab, Egypt

Musical evenings, El Rayga Camp, Dahab, Egypt

Plenty of chill-out opportunities, El Rayga Camp, Dahab, Egypt

Very short video in the camp......

The town of Dahab is difficult to describe. It certainly had a completely different feel to everywhere in Egypt we had been. Russian expat families, Egyptian tourists, backpackers, divers, nouveau hippy wannabees and digital nomads coexisted quite harmoniously with the Egyptians who had moved to Dahab from other parts of the country and the local Bedouin people. There was quite a mix, and it somehow seemed to work. Although we weren't hugely impressed by the atmosphere of the town, it was definitely nice to be able to walk completely freely and without almost any hassle at all. People were so relaxed and used to seeing foreigners, we were no big deal, and that was a pleasant feeling! 

Shop in main street, Dahab, Egypt

Meandering along the busy seafront, Dahab, Egypt

Other advantages such as a variety of foods, cafes and restaurants we had never seen before in Egypt were welcome (although not particularly needed for our waistlines). We took advantage of the plethora of European style breakfasts and cakes, as well as our favourite Egyptian delights. The frenzied town centre with stalls selling colourful clothes and Bedouin trinkets, dive schools and fish restaurants petered out in each direction and was replaced with paths perfect for refreshing long walks and peaceful long beaches.

One of our favourite eateries, Dahab, Egypt

Selection of Egyptian drinks- surprisingly good!

The weather became properly hot in April, between 30 and 40 degrees, and we spent many a day lazing on the local beaches, mostly at the nearby Lighthouse area, on the tiny, rocky shoreline. We watched the divers hauling their gear in and out of the water, yoga freaks showing off in the most public of spots (there's always a few), and people generally enjoying cooling off in the clear water. Although Dahab beaches were hardly up to our high standards, and unfortunately often covered with dog crap from the many local strays, we found some pleasant venues to while away a few hours, and even dip our toes in the Red Sea. After so many years on Asian beaches, we are self confessed wimps when it comes to swimming in any water cooler than body temperature. 

Lighthouse beach scene, Dahab, Egypt

Got the blues, Dahab, Egypt

Creative rocks, Dahab, Egypt

Around Dahab, Egypt

After two months, our stay had to come to an end- there's only so much chilling out even we can take! Our experiment of trying Egypt as a potential winter hang out for the future had been useful and thought-provoking. We enjoyed our days in Luxor and Dahab, but we would not return to Egypt for a long-term stay in the winter months. The country is not built for chilly weather, as the cold only comes for a relatively short time, and the bitter desert evenings combined with no heating didn't suit us. 

Our destinations within Egypt

Our spirits lifted greatly during April, as day by day many countries began to remove Covidian restrictions, and travel in certain areas suddenly became an option. Although our favourite haunts in Asia were still off limits to us, there was now a greater choice of where to spend the Northern Hemisphere summer. Where we would end up was anyone's' guess!! Stay tuned to find out!!

On the beach in Dahab, Egypt

.....a new country for us up next.....Romania.......