waking up

I arrived in Hurgada a couple of hours ago and it just hit me, I feel like I just woke up from a long dream. life in Dahab has an dream-like feeling to it, that was intensified by leaving it for this busy big city. I had my last lunch in dahab, took the bus to sharm el sheik from which I took a high-speed ferry to Hurgada (a two hour trip rather than the 8 hours by bus)... once I got here, its not what I expected it to be at all.. I knew that I didnt want to stay here, but I have to come here to move on from sinai to the south of eygpt// I have heard from tourists in Dahab about hurgada's 700 room hotels and 11 pool resorts (which I havent tried to see, I just wanted to figure out what I am doing) but behind all the glitz on the sea is a pretty big typical egyptian city with half-finished concrete buildings, microbuses, car horns, shops everywhere.. the usual.. I really dont like it here.. its not my kind of place. this is my first chance in a month to really sit down and blog.. I have to wait for a bus leaving at 1 am (in two hours) for Al-Qusair, a city that I never knew existed until two days ago..

I dont like the way people do business in this big cities especially if there is tourism... everyone is at risk of being ripped off.. especially by taxi drivers.. I already overpaid so much money just on taxis...
strange to see myself overpaying for a taxi when I see people from the hordes of russians here taking the micro-buses which cost less than one pound!

I already miss Dahab, its gorgous! and I felt really comfortable, met great people, hooked up with hot guys including a 20 year-old Bedouin... the staff at the penguine village were amazing, flirtatous and super friendly.. its a different egypt from Alexandria and Cairo.. its the egypt I usually talk about even before I actually found it. I really dislike the people in the cities, and I am falling in love even more with the people of the desert.. just like last year in Siwa, this year the people of Sinai are becomin my obsession.

Here, just after I arrived and my attept to find a cheap room here to spend the night failed, I returned to the bus station to inquire about the Qusair bus.. then got a Foul&Falafel dinner and was inspired to eat on a sidewalk one block from the busy station area... I sat next to a man in a gray galaba...as I was eating he asked me "you dont look like you are from here" to which I replied "I'm from Alexandria" as I always reply to that question when in Egypt. we started talking.. I dont remember what the conversation was about but it was more or less about life in egypt, here in Hurgada and where he is from ASWAN! I was excited to meet an Aswani before going there.. I had a good feeling talking to him, so I invited him for a tea and shisha... very nice man, he promises to be my guide in Aswan!