Safaga, Egypt

All we needed was one hour to get the gist of this little city. 

Sunday night, Ivan wore a tuxedo and I more a formal gown as we socialized with the guests on our Ultra-luxury cruise-ship.  Monday afternoon we went to Safaga, Egypt.  The world is so contrasting and so opposite from the lives we grew up in. 

The middle class is pretty much nonexistent.  There are no trees to identity the season.  Nearly everything was abandoned. It was creepy and weird.  A shuttle bus picked us up from our pleasant ship and drove us 15 minutes to a Holiday Inn resort.  The drive was silencing.   Here is what I wrote as I loved out the window.

Piles of dusty trash next to an empty dumpster. Piles of dirt and sand.  A great big deserted space of sand, only sand.  In the middle on a small hall is a mansion surrounded by palm trees, straight out of Beverly Hills.  Only small cars here.  Beautiful mosks, run down convenience stores.  Abandoned carnival rides.  Dirty beach.  No one had cleaned this up in months. 

We got to the Holiday Inn resort and what a contrast.  One side of the street had a few souvenir shops.  The atm gave our Egyptian money.  About $100 of Egyptian money was $16 American.  The resort was large and had a big pool, pool bar and restaurant to eat outside.  It was right on the beach and some tourists were there dancing and sunbathing and they were mostly European and wearing speedos.  The water was warm and rocky.  Only one person was in the water and it was very shallow. You could walk the length of the pier in the water and you were still only hip deep.  Then we saw a white donkey which I loved because I haven’t seen an animal in a week- except flies!!  And a man in robes asked if we wanted our picture with a camel for 1 Euro, or we could sit on the camel and take a picture.  But he let me pet the camel for free.  The, closer to the resort, we went into a souvenir shop to meet out friends. 

The shopping experience here is super super sketchy.  They talk to you a lot and ask you way to many questions.  Specific questions like your name, where you’re from, how long you’ll be here.  Whether or not you like Obama. They shake your hand, close the curtain door behind you, ask you to sit on a stool, offer you tea, or to smoke out of their bong.  Seriously.  Now of course I, being from New York, didn’t fall for it, but our foolish friends that we met there did-and this is why I know all this.  He was actually talked into buying a scarf for about $8 American dollars- $50Egyptian!!! We met the same tender.  He told us his name but all I heard was “Salami.”  Ivan told him to call him “Mr. Hoffman,” to which he responded, of course Mr. Huff.  He asked us to buy the scarf for  $20 US, we laughed and he said “ok $10.” We walked away with all our money and zero junk! 

We are very lucky to live in luxury.  Hopefully when I get off foreign waters, our country will not become like the ruins and depression that Safaga was is L.  Tonight our Italian Hotel Director here made a funny joke, “So, here in Safaga, what are the people called?  Safags?” It sounded funnier in his accento.  Today was great and tomorrow night we sing Billy Joel and tomorrow morning-7 hours I go on a submarine ride!! Wish me luck!! Xoxo~ Cruiser 

 my new friend

 shallow and clear waters

egyptian wasteland