Репортаж с места боевых действий Report from the battlefield

I am writing from the scene of military events. . . Bullets whistle overhead. . . Tourists do not climb out of the trenches. . . Approximately this was how the trip seemed to be at the height of the revolutionary events in Egypt. But since it was possible to refuse the trip only at one's own expense, and Mubarak was not sweet, it was decided to go. There were a whole plane of such volunteers from the Anex tour. Takeoff and landing were successful. Africa met us on schedule and with the smiles of the girls of the same Anex. The strongest impression: from -10 Boryspil you get to +25 Hurghada. I don’t know why they complain about Anex, but in our case everything went off with a bang - they met, settled, informed as expected. Now about the hotel - our "troechka" is a territory with three sleeping buildings of a five-story height, in which people only sleep. In the middle of the courtyard there are two pools, but due to the cold water (they are not heated), no one swam in them. Across the road from the "troechka" (there is also an underground passage - it leads directly to the beach and an overhead passage - it's more convenient to go to the dining room) there is "Sunny Days Palma". This is a "four" infrastructure which is used by the guests of the "treshka". But for now I’ll return to the sleeping buildings "Sunny Days de Mirret" (3 *). All (! ) Rooms in this hotel are two-room apartments: a bedroom, a living room, a balcony, a kitchen, a bathroom. The idea is certainly not bad, but the condition of the furniture and technology leaves much to be desired. A bit scary, but everything you need is available, the bed is clean, the mattresses are comfortable, there is hot water. It is quite possible to spend the night. Of course, this hotel is not for lovers of "golden bidets", but as an option for an economical vacation it is quite acceptable. Now about 4 * - in the dining room the food is normal (you definitely won’t be hungry) As the specifics of Egypt - the concept of sausage in Egypt and in the CIS countries is very different - you can eat their "sausage" with great difficulty, but a great alternative is cheese (similar to "feta", "Cheese"). I will not dwell in detail - everyone has their own tastes. On the territory there are two swimming pools with a bar (in one of them). Pools without heating. There is a fish restaurant - quite a decent institution. Very friendly host Mario (or maybe just a senior supervisor - it's hard to understand, but he introduced himself as the owner). Several bars (beach, lobby). Playground for kids ages 5-6. Windsurfing rental. boards. Several billiard tables (additional fee), a tennis table (free of charge) and a spa (more on that later). That's probably all. Now let's talk about the sea, which is the main attraction of this country. Hurghada is certainly not the best place to explore the underwater world, but since I had nothing to compare with, I liked it. The beach at 4 * is a sandy lagoon fenced with a net from the nearby city beach. It is not "ice" in terms of cleanliness - the wind constantly blows from the sea and carries all kinds of garbage that local "bag hunters" are conscientiously trying to catch. At times it looks comical - a native dressed in woolen clothes with a net at the ready is chasing a plastic bag in coastal waters. Entering the lagoon is very convenient for children and women who do not like the thrill of swimming with sharks : ). I will say right away - there are sharks in the Red Sea, but they did not come to us : ). A little further on the right hand (look at the sea) begins a shallow of dead corals. At 100 meters, the depth begins (5-7 meters - no more), where a flooded barge lies on its side. That's where my friends and I swam to see the fish. There are also live corals. Of course, this cannot be compared with Charm, but for the first acquaintance with marine life it is quite enough. Tours. . . When planning a trip, of course I wanted to visit Luxor, but. . . Local pranksters offered "free excursions to Cairo" on the beach, but due to the revolution, all long-distance excursions were banned. Personally, we used the services of a local tour. Agency "Sophitour" - located in the city on Sheraton Road (new city). A Russian-speaking girl Natasha (Dnepropetrovsk) works there, from whom we ordered ATVs to the Bedouins and a boat trip to El Gouna (with swimming on the reef and fishing). It cost us $30. e. per person each excursion. The coordinates of "Sofitur" are on the Internet (own site). There were no complaints. But I want to warn tourists: optionally, you are accompanied by a videographer who films "everything that moves", and then offers to buy a disk as a keepsake - 25 USD. e. On ATVs, I agreed to this "service", but I will not advise others. I explain - the operator "neither be, nor me" neither in Russian nor in English. Therefore, my attempts to find out the quality of video shooting, video parameters, format, etc. (I myself am fond of) ended in nothing. With grief, in half, through the guide accompanying us, I found out that "everything will be fine, played on DVD, duration 1.5 hours. " As I understood later - the operator himself is "complete zero" in video editing. Like that bear, he was taught to press the "on-off" button and that's it. In short - the quality of shooting for 2 balls (antediluvian video camera), the shooting technique for 2 balls (often he shot a person to the waist - without a head), etc. , etc. The film was ultimately 25 minutes long. , of which 15 min. we flashed by, and then there were shootings from the Bedouin village, but with other tourists (! ). The result is a complete mess. On a sea trip, we no longer resorted to the operator's services (Ah! He also had a VHS camera! ). Now let's talk about the spa on the territory of "Palma" (4 *). Having the experience of Turkey, on the very first day we sent our wives for massages, peelings, etc. Here it cost more than busurmans - they took 45 USD. e. and as it turned out later from the words of the girls - not so high quality. In general, they did not like it. But these are working moments, the most interesting thing began later - our friends (husband and wife) agreed on daily massages at the SPA. The situation in the salon is of course cool, but on the very first day they stole 100 USD from their pocket from the cell (which was locked with a key !!! ). e. and local 200 tugriks! It was impossible to prove anything (all the money was not taken! ) and the mood was spoiled. So that my friends do not feel sad themselves, I decided to support them. On the penultimate day of our vacation, the guys and I went to the fish market (located near the Marina embankment) to buy fresh fish and shrimp (the kitchen and everything you needed was in the room - we decided to try real seafood). The choice is certainly impressive (probably with a variety and new species). In general, in this market, having relaxed and lost my vigilance, I became a victim of a pickpocket, having lost my mobile phone. Citizens! Be careful! Keep money in the Savings Bank! Since the crime did not take place on the territory of the hotel and no one came at my call (like ours), the next day, having sent my friends to sunbathe on the sea, I went to get acquainted with the local police department (or, as they call it, the tourist police). I will tell you my impressions. . . You will swing. . . The situation in the police department - as during the Civil. . . Everything is old and worn out. . . But that's not the point. What I would like to note: all police officers (in hotels, at the checkpoint of the police department) speak English. But when they took me to the office of the local "operas" (it was written "investigation officers" on the door), I was 1 hour and 10 minutes away. I sat on the couch and only then their boss (judging by the form and behavior) bothered to ask me: "What happened? " (by the way, he also knew English). After listening to me, he said that an interpreter was needed and we waited another 40 minutes. After the specified time, a representative of Aneks arrived. With his help, we completed all the necessary documents and safely departed on our business. Now I'm waiting for the revolution to end and everyone will look for my phone : ). But I did achieve the main goal - I looked at how the Egyptian police work. This is my hobby - to watch how the police work : ) I saw it in Romania, I saw it in Egypt, I worked in Ukraine myself : ) The result is a normal country - Egypt. I personally will go there two more times - to look at the fish in Sharm and in Taba to visit Israel. So keep it up! If you have questions - ask. How can I help : )