Blessed by heaven. Or one more thought on whether it is worth going on an excursion
It's no secret that today the Internet pages are full of questions from happy tourists planning their quick vacation about reliable and trusted local travel agencies. Another question is what do we invest in the concept of their reliability? Most likely, sitting at the computer at home, we are looking for a company that will provide us with an interesting excursion (i. e. a professional guide), a comfortable visit (comfortable means of transportation and excellent time management) and the best price (usually the lowest. . . ) .
Five days ago, my husband and I matched the description of such tourists by 100%. When planning another vacation in Egypt (5th time for me and 7th time for my husband), we knew for sure that we would go on an excursion only with a local company (why pay more? especially since we have already used the services of local agencies more than once). This time we went to Taba with the intention of visiting Jerusalem.
The choice of the agency was approached responsibly: for several days I cruised the world wide web, looking through all kinds of topics and discussions, getting acquainted with the websites of agencies and reading the reviews of tourists. As a result, I selected the 4 most popular ones, to whom I sent letters with questions and wishes. The answers were not long in coming. After talking for a short time (2-3 letters) with each of them, I chose the most pleasant company for me to communicate with. Indeed, in fact, there is no particular difference in price and the number of reviews posted on their sites. Therefore, I sent all the necessary information, packed my bags and my husband and I flew to meet the sun, sea, corals and new impressions : )
The tour was scheduled for October 31.2010. Let me remind you that we decided to visit the holy places of the Jewish land.
Clearly, as scheduled, the bus for us arrived exactly at 22:00. At this stage, a discrepancy occurred on our part. Namely, in the afternoon I ordered breakfast cereals from a sweetly smiling receptionist, and at 21:50, when it was time for us to get them and go to the bus, it turned out that the hotel had a documented agreement with the tour operator from which we arrived in Egypt, that Breakfast can only be ordered by a hotel guide. With a scandal, we still got breakfast. But the bus was delayed for 7 minutes (for which I was terribly uncomfortable). Then everything went like clockwork: our group arrived at the border first, at about 00:00, so it passed quickly and smoothly. On the Israeli side, we were warmly welcomed, put into the ill-fated bus and sent along the many times worked out and interesting, it is worth noting, the route of the excursion we had chosen.
At a stop near the Dead Sea, our guide Valentina sat down next to us - a woman of "prickly" appearance, but with a gently flowing voice, great knowledge and professional ability to present information in an interesting way. She skillfully guided us through the holy places of Jerusalem (experience and connections do a great service to tourists). We practically never stood in lines, and every little stop she filled with an interesting story full of facts. Then we went to the unrecognized autonomous Palestinian land. Here the guide turned out to be a phlegmat (his name seems to be Chaim... I didn’t even remember the name : ) ) - he didn’t tell much, but the tourists who were tired after 12 hours of the tour did not show much interest. In general, it seemed to me that we spent more time in the souvenir shop than in the Church of the Nativity. During one of his monologues, he mentioned that we also had to visit the Catholic Church, but not the fact that it works. We didn't go to church. We had lunch and went back to Israel. The next and last point of our program was swimming in the Dead Sea. And Valentina sat down with us again.
All 2.5 hours of the way to the bathing place, she amused dozing and even sleeping tourists with stories about the lands, wars, achievements and defeats of the Israeli people. I also dozed, and every time I woke up I heard a new and new story : ) The bus swayed along a serpentine road surrounded by rocks and cliffs. My husband slept soundly next to me. We could almost see where we were swimming. Valentina voiced instructions on precautions when swimming in the Dead Sea... When exactly what happened is what differs by $ 60-100 an excursion from a local company from an excursion purchased from your tour operator...
I was sitting under the window closer to the middle of the bus, so I was not destined to see what was happening. Therefore, I will describe what I heard and felt:
An exclamation of horror from our guide into the microphone (which woke up my husband, and, most likely, the rest of the sleeping passengers).
The crunch of stone sand.
Four hits in the bottom of the bus - with takeoffs and landings; performed by a huge car on the hills of the Israeli roadside.
My husband pressed me to the seat with his hand.
Crying "Lord Jesus, have mercy on us! " from the mouth of a woman right behind me.
Cracked windshield.
Clouds of dust outside the window.
No, life did not fly before my eyes. But the brain pulsed and the whole body tensed in anticipation of what would happen next. Personally, I expected the bus to fall on its side and start rolling head over heels somewhere down. But a miracle happened - and he stopped in a normal, upright position.
People jumped up from their seats.
Someone started yelling that the bus was on fire. . .
Bags and souvenirs from the upper shelves under your feet.
Broken two emergency windows.
The driver kicked the door open.
Everyone left, trying not to shake the colossus - after all, few people knew where and how we stopped.
The bus was not on fire. It seemed so because of the dust raised by a column.
And now to the facts.
The bus flew off the road in the most appropriate place for this (if such a wording is generally acceptable). The rock remained behind the previous turn; rocky formations, cliffs and the dead sea are on the opposite side of the road. And, if we had already moved out on the next turn, we would have ended up right there. The bus came to a stop, its rear wheels sinking into a small gap between the stone slabs.
There were 43 of us. Not counting the driver and guide. We all turned out to be lucky. We escaped with fright and minor bruises and scratches. Valentina hurt her spine. . .
Yes, I forgot to mention the reason! It is banal to tears and hysterical laughter - THE DRIVER WAS ASLEEP.
Well, do you still think that saving a few tens of dollars is worth the risk? After all, this amount can be considered as the salary of a second driver, for example, on which local agencies save so much, with the sole purpose of offering you the lowest price so that your choice falls on their company.
And can anyone guarantee you the same happy ending? Indeed, in any other case, you find yourself far from the hotel, your operator, without a single document stating that you bought an excursion from this company (whose name, by the way, appears only once - in the process of searching through the Internet. In Israel and in Bethlehem we were received by completely different travel agents). We did not even have life and health insurance in another country.
On this I want to sincerely wish you, dear tourists, a wonderful holiday and vivid impressions! I also hope that my story will convince you that it should be as safe as possible. After all, I, unfortunately, did not have a chance to read anything like this before our vacation. Remember that life is like a crystal vase - it captivates with the brilliance of its facets and can be filled in accordance with your desires, preferences, goals. But…. it, like a vase, can easily break.
Love and take care of yourself!
