In Egypt we were pressed for time. We had only 2 weeks to see the country and because we had fixed dates down the road we could not push our flights back any more. Thus our plan was to take the 6am bus from Nuweiba across the Sinai to the town of Suez, then find a way to go south as far as possible with the unlikely goal of getting to Aswan in the south by that evening.
We caught the 6am bus which cruised the beautiful Gulf of Aqaba and from the beginning it became clear that we weren't going to be breaking any land speed records. First, our bus was a piece of junk. Second, the bus was traveling on a windy country road and, Third, because of the Sinai's position next to Israel and the uneasy situation between the two countries we were continuously stopped at military checkpoints and had to show our passports.
It was shocking for us to see mile after mile of Red Sea resorts along the road abandoned as the principal vacationers (the Israelis) have stopped coming to Egypt as they fear being kidnapped if they stay in the Sinai. The views were dominated by the striking blue of the sky, the reddish rocky desert and the aquamarine water. Later, as we left the coast the desert became sandy and we started driving through miles of tall dunes.
We arrived at the infamous Suez Canal and another series of roadblocks/checkpoints and we were getting the idea that Egypt was very worried about the safety of its roads. We drove in a tunnel which passed under the canal and emerged from the other side. Up on the side of the canal was an entire squadron of solders armed to the teeth with heavy-duty weapons. It looked like they were worried about the safety of the canal.
We arrived in the town of Suez and immediately bought tickets for another bus going south. We had just enough time to grab some food before the next bus left. The bus was filthy and slow and exhaust came into the bus from a hole in the floor.
We continued along at a snails pace and had huge rest breaks at every stop which confirmed that our day would be a long one. We continued in the desert along the gorgeous Red Sea and passed an unbelievable amount of unfinished resorts which blocked our views of the beaches. Along the way the sun went down and it got dark.
At this point the bus ride stopped being fun. The teenagers behind us blasted music from their cell phones, we sat over the engine, which overheated everyone in the back of the bus and exhaust kept pumping into the inside from the hole in the floor. I eventually had to leave Gaby at the open window and sit in the front next to a stranger because I was getting a headache from the exhaust.
We arrived in Luxor at 12:30 in the morning and found a hotel around 1:00. It had been an 18 1/2 hour travel day on two different buses. We were filthy, tired and hungry. It would not go down as one of the funner days of the trip but we got to see a lot of Egypt and came close enough to our goal of getting from one side of the country to the other.
We caught the 6am bus which cruised the beautiful Gulf of Aqaba and from the beginning it became clear that we weren't going to be breaking any land speed records. First, our bus was a piece of junk. Second, the bus was traveling on a windy country road and, Third, because of the Sinai's position next to Israel and the uneasy situation between the two countries we were continuously stopped at military checkpoints and had to show our passports.
It was shocking for us to see mile after mile of Red Sea resorts along the road abandoned as the principal vacationers (the Israelis) have stopped coming to Egypt as they fear being kidnapped if they stay in the Sinai. The views were dominated by the striking blue of the sky, the reddish rocky desert and the aquamarine water. Later, as we left the coast the desert became sandy and we started driving through miles of tall dunes.
We arrived at the infamous Suez Canal and another series of roadblocks/checkpoints and we were getting the idea that Egypt was very worried about the safety of its roads. We drove in a tunnel which passed under the canal and emerged from the other side. Up on the side of the canal was an entire squadron of solders armed to the teeth with heavy-duty weapons. It looked like they were worried about the safety of the canal.
We arrived in the town of Suez and immediately bought tickets for another bus going south. We had just enough time to grab some food before the next bus left. The bus was filthy and slow and exhaust came into the bus from a hole in the floor.
We continued along at a snails pace and had huge rest breaks at every stop which confirmed that our day would be a long one. We continued in the desert along the gorgeous Red Sea and passed an unbelievable amount of unfinished resorts which blocked our views of the beaches. Along the way the sun went down and it got dark.
At this point the bus ride stopped being fun. The teenagers behind us blasted music from their cell phones, we sat over the engine, which overheated everyone in the back of the bus and exhaust kept pumping into the inside from the hole in the floor. I eventually had to leave Gaby at the open window and sit in the front next to a stranger because I was getting a headache from the exhaust.
We arrived in Luxor at 12:30 in the morning and found a hotel around 1:00. It had been an 18 1/2 hour travel day on two different buses. We were filthy, tired and hungry. It would not go down as one of the funner days of the trip but we got to see a lot of Egypt and came close enough to our goal of getting from one side of the country to the other.
Steve
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