Out of Egypt…
My time in Dahab quickly became a question of going diving or doing nothing. Both were equally enjoyable. Spent a fair amount of time with George and Grace, the Brits staying in the room next door. We went out for beers at the boat-shaped Tota Bar, which was pretty much the only nightlife option in town. The two of them inhaled a number of cocktails (it was Ladies’ Night and Grace could get 2 for 1), I stuck to beer. We all stumbled out of there a bit woozy.
Friday rolled around, the Muslim Sabbath, and even less got done. Typically the Internet is very slow that day – half the country is surfing the net before going to mosque. But this particular Friday was especially bad – then we came to learn that an undersea cable had been cut between Italy and Africa, bringing the system to a standstill. It would take another day and a half to fix things. I’d been through something like this before, in Goa, and it was a pain. I felt bad for people who were under the gun to make travel plans and the like – I had plenty of time and didn’t get that fussed about being relegated to the entirely physical world…
The Brits and I had signed up for an overnight trip to Ras Mohamed National Park, a dive mecca on the south tip of Sinai. We had to pay up front and hand them our gear at 5 p.m. Friday – we’d depart Dahab at 11 p.m. We didn’t know much more than that, except that two of the three dives would be on the famed British wreck HMS Thistlegorm, sunk during WW2 and supposedly an incredible wreck to dive.
Walking down the street that evening, I noticed the crazed Austrian redheaded woman from the long bus ride between Cairo and St. Katherine’s. I was desperate to avoid any sort of encounter, so I turned away and took the next corner. I had sort of known that I hadn’t seen the last of her, but I was trying to be optimistic. And now I’m pretty sure I’m in the clear…
Saudi Arabia is just across the Gulf of Aqaba – about 20 km away. The Saudi coastline, like the Egyptian/Sinai coastline, is mountainous – all part of the same Great Rift of Africa geography. This part of the world is also politically fascinating – Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi all come together within a few km.
The Ras Mohamed trip loomed. First, we met at a travel agency and got in a minivan that took us to Sharm El-Sheikh, 90 minutes drive. Tried to sleep during the ride. Then we reached a marine, and boarded a mediocre-looking ship. About 25-30 of us were paying customers, plus there were some divemasters and crew. They had us set up our equipment for the first dive, at 8 a.m. the next morning, and then gave us bedding so that we could lie out on the upper deck and sleep. I had brought my silk bag liner and that helped keep me pretty warm (and clean – the bag was dodgy). The boat sat there till about 4 a.m., when it left the marina and headed to the marine park. I think I woke up briefly when we started moving, but otherwise slept quite well. Grace, sleeping near me, didn’t wake up at all – George and I were amazed at her propensity for sleep.
The entire bus/waiting boat/moving boat process seemed a bit overwrought, but I guess it’s necessary to deliver you 1) to Rash Mohamed early in the morning, in time to dive the wreck before hordes of other dives show up, and 2) to allow you to get at least a few hours of sleep. And to be truthful, it was a good adventure – particularly in hindsight, like many such adventures.
Had a quick breakfast, then did our first dive on the Thistlegorm. Mohamed, our guide, wanted to size us up, so this dive was largely outside the wreck. We had Jan, a Dutchman, and two clueless Japanese on our little team.
My camera had been acting up ever since it got wet a couple days before…and now it wasn’t working underwater. I played with the controls and finally got it going – but none of my underwater pics were all stunning. Saw some tuna and a few other fishies on this dive, but the highlight was of course the wreck itself.
Back to the boat. Had a second breakfast – fuul, eggs and shamy (pita) never tasted so good. Had to endure some aimless bantering by a couple of San Diegans who were wandering the world in search of divemaster jobs. These two were nice enough, but they seemed to spend 90% of their time with grins pasted onto their faces, no matter the situation or topic. I hate overly smiley people – being happy is one thing, but I think it’s unnatural to smile all the fucking time. We soon learned that they’d both had some teeth-whitening procedure – maybe they felt compelled to show off the results and justify the expense?
Just for once I’d like to meet some countrymen who are a) reasonably mature, and 2) relatively worldly. It seems the vast majority of Americans I meet abroad are like the kiddies in the St. Katherine’s cafeteria (who were full of factoids but no organizing themes or real wisdom), or empty-headed older folks who don’t seem to have taken anything in from their travels, and act like they’re in a mall in New Jersey. The San Diegans must have said ‘re-ally?’ every 30 seconds, and of course had the Valley Girl speech impediment that started in California and has spread across the country.
I thought I was perhaps being too hard on the San Diegans – to be fair, they were nice folks. But later on George mentioned them and brought up their constant grinning – I felt like less of a Grinch on hearing his impression.
Second dive was one of the best in memory. I left my camera on the ship and just focused on the diving. We spent 20 minutes inside the wreck, going back and forth, up and down. We went through a section full of encrusted jeeps and trucks, full of motorbikes being sent to the troops in the Levant. At certain points it was a tight squeeze and I had to pull myself along using the old tires of the bikes – the rubber treads on some still looked road-worthy. Obviously not General Motors products…
Mohamed, our guide, took us one by one up into an air compartment – but told us not to breath the air as it was 60+ years old and probably not good for you. The compartment was small, but it was still a trip to be so far underwater and in a space with air, not water.
We were down there so long, at 25 meters, that we were all a bit low on air as we hurried up to do our safety stop at 5 meters. I finished my safety stop low on air – I was sucking fumes as I floated up to the surface. I’ve done this 2-3 times before, not a big deal – but you don’t want to get caught out and start your safety stop too late, otherwise you’ll feel like holding your breath and that’s not kosher when you’re ascending. I’ve gone diving so many times I feel very confident in various situations…but I don’t want to get too lazy underwater.
Had lunch before the third dive. Decent enough food – kofta (meatballs), hummos, salad, chicken, etc.
Last dive was a drift dive from Shark Reef to Yolanda Reef. Much more mellow, but lots of marine life. Saw an enormous Napoleonfish, perhaps the most beautiful fish I’d ever seen. Look it up online to see what I mean. Also saw a manta lying on the bottom. All in all, a good dive.
Came back to the boat, a little fried from all the diving. The boat headed back to Sharm and most of us lounged in the sun and took a few photos. The area really is spectacular.
Disembarked, carrying my pack and gear. Later on I noticed that I’d left my North Face fleece on the ship…and despite attempts to get it back, I never did. Someone’s wearing it as I write this, no doubt. Hmm. In Japan, it would have turned up immediately — with an apology for the delay in getting it back, no less — but I guess that’s not the case in Egypt. I haven’t had any other problems like this here…I guess it’s my bad. Oh well – I had a lot of other things to carry, and I was woozy from the diving. I guess I’m fortunate I didn’t leave any real valuables behind. Still, that fleece has been with me since I started this journey and I need to get a new one when in Tel Aviv.
Bad things do clump together. My camera was dodgy from the leak…I had had to buy a new dive computer battery..and now my parka was gone. The only course of action is to get over this stretch of bad luck and deal with all these things straightaway…which is my natural reaction, anyway.
Noticed (thanks to my Treo) that it was the third anniversary of my final day at work, December 20, 2005. It was also the first night of Hanukkah, and the Winter Solstice to boot. Perhaps good things clump together too…
Ride back to Dahab was fine. We were all exhausted and didn’t do much the rest of the night. Got up the next day and hit the Internet hard – wanted to make a number of hotel and flight bookings, managed to get everything done in a few hours. Used some American Express points to get a free car rental in Boston and a free train ticket from New York to Boston. Over the past three years, I’ve probably used 65-70% of my credit card points, but still have a fair amount remaining. Good cushion to have in hard times.
Also emailed new Turkish friend Erol in Tel Aviv…we met diving in Kas, Turkey, and agreed to hang out in TA if possible. He wrote back and was welcoming – and in fact mentioned that he and his wife were wondering where I was and if I’d already gone back to work. Not yet, brother…
George and Grace were taking off that evening – we said our goodbyes. I was happy I’d decided to stay at Penguin Village, it’s a communal sort of place and a terrific hangout. We’d hit it off nicely and had fun diving and drinking – I got their emails and will drop them a line soon.
Sent off a few emails to the Israel Hash House Harrier clubs, checking on their upcoming runs. They got right back to me – Israelis are good that way. But when I tried to make online bookings at hotels in Tel Aviv and Jersusalem, that didn’t work as well, and I needed to ring them and finalize the bookings. I love the Internet but am not about to forgo getting SIM cards in the countries I visit – I always need to make at least a few phone calls, and I feel somewhat naked without being reachable (is that a word?).
Didn’t bother with any of the desert activities in Dahab. You can rent a 4×4 and go tooling around in the desert, or join a camel safari, or a million other options. I’d already spent a lot of time in various deserts – the Gobi in Mongolia, Great Thar (Rajasthan), Wadi Rum in Jordan – and preferred to be near the ocean and with a book in hand.
Noticed while walking along the ocean promenade that they’d uncovered the remains of the ancient port here. Dahab was under the control of the Nabateans, who also created Petra – this was where they brought in and sent their goods. I was getting a decent sense of how this place was set up two thousand years ago. The modern-day political borders are nearly meaningless in the historical perspective.
Went for one more dive, to Abu Hilal, a beach dive – good change of pace from the Ras Mohamed boat dives, with the crowded conditions on board. The dive lasted nearly an hour. Came up refreshed and satisfied – I’d done enough diving now and was ready to move on.
The fat guy manning the diveshop desk asked me to sell him my iPod Shuffle, he’d seen me with in when I went running. I told him I’d like to, but needed it for exercise. I think he understood. I guess it’s still not that easy to get genuine Apple gear in Egypt – but I’m sure you can do it. Just have an Israeli guest bring one along or ship it there…
Had the guy in the Penguin Internet café make me a CD of local music. Haven’t listened to it yet, but this is the sort of thing I do far too sporadically. To be fair, Dahab is particularly well set up for this – there are various ‘music shops’ offering to make you CDs with MP3s…you don’t see this in many other places, I seem to recall Sihanoukville in Cambodia also had these shops, and there were some places in Thailand.
Had a headache from the long dive, took a good nap. Was happy I was done with the diving, I’d probably done as much as my body could handle.
Had my final Dahab dinner at ChillOut Restaurant. The food in Dahab isn’t that cheap – particularly when compared to room prices. I was paying US$15 a night – and a decent resto lunch or dinner was about US$10, without drinks. Comparing everything to room prices per night is the metric I default to, for better or worse. I guess the room is the core need, and if you start paying a multiple of that for food, you might be off base.
ChillOut wasn’t cheap, either, but the meal they give you is expansive. Ordered the chicken kebab – which was preceded by lentil soup, pita, hummos, salad, and accompanied by a ton of vegetables and rice. I couldn’t come close to polishing this off and waddled from the table. Even when I try to keep an eye on my diet, I get torpedoed…
Next morning had a final rooftop breakfast at Penguin. Tried to avoid Hassan, the employee I’d met upon checking in – he has some bizarre belief about the Pyramids being built 70,000 years ago by a race of giants. I think giants are mentioned in the Bible, but come on. I got those ‘Chariots of the Gods’ books out of my system when I was 12…
During breakfast got into a discussion with some Aussies and a Belgian dude about politics and the environment. And it became even more clear to me what an opportunity the US has lost in the past 8 years. In Belgium they recycle nearly all their waste…when in Japan I had to sort my trash into 3 categories, and did so happily…in Boston there seems to be no recycling scheme, at least not for household waste. I was stunned to learn that in early 2006, after returning from Asia. In Belgium (and even in the Thames, in London) fish are coming back and the air is improving – the EU, despite its flaws, is having a positive impact on the environment, and European (and Japanese) companies are far ahead of their US counterparts in this regards. In the US we’re still trying to figure out how to prompt the carmakers to manufacture smaller models…in Japan and Europe they’re 20-30 years ahead. I think GM and Chrysler, and probably Ford too, will have to go through bankruptcy and eventually, if they survive, become much smaller, perhaps niche companies. I hope I’m wrong.
Camera seems to be working fine now. Need to think about whether to take it diving again – will probably test the case extensively beforehand. The more crap you have, the more it weighs on you…
Packed up, checked out, and got in a minivan to take me to Taba, on the Israeli border. An older Aussie guy, Dave, was in the van, and we picked up a few others en route. I had just read that the Hamas-Israel truce was over and that things might get hot around Gaza. I trusted my general good luck with things like this – as I’ve written, I usually miss catastrophic events by 2-3 days. Still, I wouldn’t be hanging around the US Embassy in Tel Aviv or going to huge rock concerts while in Israel…
Had a brief moment of concern looking for my passport, but found it in the bottom of my small pack. When I lose it, it’s always there.
The Sinai east coast drive is fantastic – you’re wedged between mountains and sea, and right across the gulf is Saudi. Went by a number of camps and hotels, and lots of half-finished buildings. In Egypt you don’t pay taxes if they building isn’t ‘complete,’ so you see plenty of such places. But here I’d chalk it up to lack of tourists – the place was deserted, and a bit eerie.
Dave the Aussie was a nice guy, and well-traveled. Case in point: he’d spent a month in Ethiopia. Anyone who’s been there is generally in my good books. But he was pretty guileless for a traveler – he had just a few Egyptian pounds on him, had no Israel guidebook or idea where to stay in Eilat, just over the border, and really didn’t seem to have any plan for his 8-10 days in Israel. And he’s a longtime high school teacher in Oz – I’d have thought a teacher would at least do a bit of research, but not Dave.
Clearing the Egyptian side was easy enough, just had to buy a little exit stamp to put in the passport. Then went through the X-ray machine – I had to show my Leatherman knife, whereas Dave pulled out a huge machete he’d bought in Ethiopia. That kept the Egyptians busy for a few minutes. I wanted to get going, as I hoped to get a bus to Tel Aviv that night. We moved on – then Dave couldn’t find his exit stamp. I said I’d catch him up ahead, and walked across no-man’s land to the Israeli entry facility.
The Israelis were quite pleasant – informally dressed, relatively young (I imagine they’re mostly Army conscripts), and friendly. Got asked a few questions at the first barrier, then walked on to the X-ray machine. They were amused by my knife – a knife in Israel is a child’s toy. Then got to the actual Immigration counter – got asked a lot of question there, my passport is so fat that I expect this.
Meanwhile, Dave sailed right through. I’m Jewish, he’s not, but at the end of the day we’re both white guys from friendly nations.
Shared a taxi to Eilat’s bus station, then cooled my heels there for a couple hours. Was going to take a shared minivan, but few people opted for that, and these don’t leave till full. I waited as long as I could, then ran over to the public bus ticket booth and got a ticket for that. Boarded the bus and we started off.
I had tried to help Dave pick a hotel in Eilat, and pointed him in the right direction. And the bus station security guard had also given him some ideas. This guard and I had had a good chat about Israel and the US before I got on the bus. He had red hair, you don’t see a lot of redheaded Jews around…
The ride through the Negev was interesting. At certain points there are mini-forests of trees, all planted by hand, in perfect rows. Reminded me of some pine forests in Japan. I guess we’re making the desert bloom, but it all looks funny.
A sandstorm came up, and it was hard to see outside the bus window. And it got dark very early, by 5 p.m. Slightly depressing winter evening, methinks. The bus itself was pretty full, and there were a few black people on board. Were these Ethiopian Jews, I wondered. Israel was looking a bit more diverse than it had years ago, when I’d briefly visited Tel Aviv.
Got into Tel Aviv around 8:30 p.m. Took a taxi to my hotel, which was near the sea. Prices in Israel were quite high, and I was already missing the bargains in Egypt. At my hotel, the receptionist was brusque (Russian-looking, no surprise), and I had to go to an ATM to get enough cash to pay for my first night. When I had tried to book this place on the web, they offered short-time/hourly rates, which gave me the impression that this was a ‘no-tell motel,’ i.e. a part-time brothel. I wasn’t changing my impression just yet.
When I got into my room, I wasn’t any more thrilled – it was pretty ordinary. But it would do for a few nights – I wasn’t in the mood to hotel-hop.
After a shower headed to Mike’s Bar, nearby. Sat at the bar near a group of LA teachers and administrators. I can tell you that school principals aren’t averse to drinking – I wondered now about my primary school principal, Dr. Dittami, if he had any sort of secret life, or at least nightlife.
One principal, Robert, sat there sipping a Sauza tequila. Nice enough guy, but afflicted with the ‘LA Syndrome,’ i.e. when you talk to someone from LA (or anywhere in Southern Cal), they’re always distracted and their eye contact is limited. I despise that, and probably would hate living in California for that reason alone.
Had a few local GoldStar Beers – these are a bit dark and highly drinkable. Recommended. Bravo Israel! In general it was nice to be out of the Muslim world, with the two-week India trip excepted, I’d been in Muslim countries for 3 months and it was refreshing to see scantily-clad women and people downing drinks with abandon. Robby the bartender handed out ‘green machine’ shots and it felt like being in New York or London.
Meanwhile, the weather was shockingly bad – very rainy and windy. Dahab had been a bit windy, but pretty warm, even at night. I was missing my fleece and resolved to get one the next morning. The storm worsened during the night, I sat and had a few more beers until it cleared enough to get back to the hotel. Perhaps this was the Promised Land, but the weather was shit.
Got up and went out to get a fleece. Walked by the huge US Embassy, right near my hotel. Took a photo but didn’t linger. There’s a seedy little cafe/bar right across the street – interesting juxtaposition with the Embassy. In other places – Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, India – the US Embassy is secluded, or at least far from any place where people could plausibly linger. I guess here in Israel, general security is so tight that it’s easier to put the Embassy in plain view.
Got to the Dizengoff Shopping Center, asked a North Face-clad guy there where he got his, and he pointed to a shop upstairs. Lots of hiking and camping type stores here – Israelis are real outdoors people. Bought a Lowe Alpine fleece, not cheap but I need it.
Walked around for a few hours. Checked out the Carmel Market, an orderly bazaar in the old Yemenite Quarter. Still raining, so didn’t cover that much ground. Traded texts with Erol, turned out he had to entertain some (other) foreign guests that night, from his company. He was off to Istanbul the next day, but will be back January 4th, so we may see each other again before I leave Israel.
It’s Hannukah now – lots of menorahs everywhere. Kind of pleasant.
Went back to my hotel. The guy at the desk (the owner?) whined at me, I hadn’t yet paid for the room that night. I’d told the guy on duty that morning that I was staying, but I guess the deal is that you must pay in the morning if you’re staying. My conclusion: this was, if not a brothel, then a short-time establishment that saw lots of unsavory types looking to run out on their bill. Oh well – the price was right and I’d be OK.
I later reversed this fellow – we got into a discussion about Israeli politics, I’m fairly well-versed in the country’s history and the current (actually, never-ending) political deadlock. I think he was surprised I had such command of the topic – and he became much friendlier. Israelis are like Russians that way – a tough façade, but a warm interior. Come to think of it, these days about 20%+ of Israelis are Russian…
Christmas Eve. Not a big deal here – in Jerusalem’s Old City, sure, but not in secular, hedonistic Tel Aviv, where there are at least 6-7 go-go bars around the corner from my hotel, on Allenby Street. Now I see the brothel/no-tell motel connection…
Went for a run along the sea. Still rainy, and brutally windy – at times I was running in place. Managed to stay out for 30 minutes or so, and sweat – when the weather is nice I’ll bet this promenade is packed with joggers. I’m slowly but surely getting back into shape – I just need to do a better job with my abs and also practice more yoga – when your hotel room is small and crappy, that’s difficult, whereas running just requires a decent outdoors course.
Got back to the room, phone was ringing. The call was from Mumbai, and concerned the potential job there. The news was encouraging and good. Will probably take another 6-8 weeks to get the final OK, but the fact is that they seem to need and want me on board, and it looks likely to happen in some way, before much longer. Fine by me – I want another couple months off before plunging back in…and if I plunge back in and the plunging is more like dipping my foot in the pool, that’s OK too.
Checked out some local bars. Minzar Bar is near Carmel Market, and is full of wise guys and writers. Full of character – if I lived here, I’d spend a fair few nights at Minzar. It’s woody, a bit seedy, with cute barmaids, old music (Frank Sinatra tonight), and free bar snacks.
Tel Aviv in general has a Miami Beach sort of feel. The city is only about 100 years ago, there’s lots of Art Deco and Bauhaus everywhere…and the city, at least near the water, has a slightly seedy and rundown feel. I like it – not too precious. Perhaps Tel Aviv is the newest/latest Jewish beach city – now that Miami is mostly Cuban. Although that might not be the case with Miami Beach itself, haven’t been there for years…
Walked over to Café Bialik for a bite. They were having some live music later on, but I didn’t feel like listening to loud guitars, I had a slight headache from the weather, from drinking the night before, etc. Had a final drink at Cosa Nostra bar, then headed back to my brothel…er, hotel, to rest. Christmas Day was here…just another day in Eretz Yisrael. It was good to be here, and to have some time – why did it take me 41 years for this?? I’d visited such backwaters as Burma and Mongolia, but not Israel – shame on me.
Anyway, now that I was here, I felt a vague sense of belonging, of kinship, of sharing a secret. I sort of liked the wise-guy mentality and affect of many of the Israelis I was meeting – and it was refreshing to hear their affection for the US, which probably exceeds mine, at least in the political arena. I think the next couple weeks here will be a real learning experience for me – maybe I’ll even brush off my old Bar Mitzvah Hebrew (I only remember 10 words, at most), and try to attend a Shabbat service/dinner. My cousin Sarah has studied in Jerusalem, and is returning there in a few days, so hopefully we’ll connect and she can help me get up to speed with this young, old country. My next post will be in 2009, friends – see you on that side of the calendar. Over and out.
Tags: 1, Travel
mbsloney
Happy New Year Mike
happy nEW yEAR Mike! Cheers!