SONG ORENEIR, OR ONCE AGAIN OBJECTIVELY ABOUT HILTON TABA, JOURNEY WITH SEVEN-MONTHLY FORCE
The dream of a young mother came true - we fly for the third time to our beloved Taba, and even through the Taba airport: me, husband, children 7 months and 9 years old. Thanks to Pegasus - this time I didn’t transfer anything anywhere, although I had fun, but it was great at the hotel. Well, more on that below.
So - flight by Orenburg Airlines. The flight was rescheduled from 14:30 to 04:30 in the morning. Okay, half a day for free. Although these half a day slept in the room. Feeding on board is disgusting. How can you ruin regular rice? It turns out that somehow it is possible. But here is the return flight - flight attendants - nice boys, helped with the stroller, asked how they had a rest, in general, compensation for the inconvenience of flying there. They fed better.
Mysterious but real Sinai stamp. Thank God, they flew well, and here they are, lovely black Arab faces and the warm wind of Egypt.
Taba Airport is small - they walked in a crowd along the stretched rope - like sheep - and the rope led to nowhere - there are no tables, we fill the migration card on our knees, Sylvia (age 7 months) - on our hands. Here Pegasus loudly announce that they would go to them for a visa (honestly they sold for 15 dollars, though), then to passport control. Aha, schaz-z-z-z! ! ! ! , we boldly pass them with printed pieces of paper with magic words for the border guards: "I am not going to any excursions and will be staying only in the hotel and will be in the Eastern half of the Sinai. my trip is less than 14 days". I still hold Sylvia in my arms, prepare a sweet smile, and take a step towards the officer in the window. The heart is beating, the mouth starts to speak, but it gets confused, the officer waves his hand, like understood-understood- slap- and here it is, REAL SINAI STAMP FOR FREE IN MY PASSPORT! Proudly I turn to my husband - I throw up my hand in victory - yes! He follows me and practically does not even open his mouth - he has the same stamp in his passport. Oh, how much pride and happiness after a sleepless night!
(For non-believers, I attach a photo of the stamp)
About a small child and Egypt. You will not believe it, but the child endured the flight and rest PERFECTLY! She slept during the flight, at the hotel by the sea she also periodically dozed off, well, except that she sometimes acted up in the canteen, but then she corrected herself. On the way back, when checking in for the flight, we were accidentally given not 3, but 4 boarding passes. Noticing a mistake when boarding the bus, the Arab asked me: “Where is the wife? ”, Then “Where is the husband? ” - seeing that there were three of us + the infant, he drank something, but the boarding officer did not take it away. As a result, Sylvia sat like an adult in a chair and slept in it on the way back.
About the hotel. Frankly, I thought that a second visit to the hotel would give some privileges. They didn't give a damn - they gave a standard, with a view of the Israeli border, without a balcony, 8th floor. Honestly. I expected more from the Hilton - the room is small, but you can live. Linen and towels were changed after being dropped on the floor (otherwise they laid the old one).
Vacuumed only once, and then, after poking a finger into the floor; minor breakdowns were eliminated, and not even in Egyptian quickly. The hotel itself has not changed. Still a green area, relaxation gymnastics, water aerobics, volleyball. There are tents along the beach with the inscription "Private. Rent $ 30 a day", one such tent is free on the beach, just have time to take a seat at 8 in the morning. Yes, yes, at 9 there are already sunbeds with difficulty, and at 10 there are almost none at all. Small pebbles on the main beach, nice for children. In the room, free of charge, upon request, they gave a kettle with tea accessories and a crib for a child. wi-fi is paid, there is a disco (for a fee) and a mini-disco for children, there is a mini-club. The water in the pool was cold, even in those that should be heated. But it's not winter yet!
Sea. Perfectly! The coral right off the coast is available for viewing, with the elder Alice we swam right on the mattress to Movenpick, where the reef is especially beautiful.
Only here is what kind of trouble awaits you: you are swimming that way calmly, and suddenly someone invisible has stung you. And so - many times, especially in the coral area. You come out of the water - there are no bites, only a slight reddening. Who are these mysterious biters? I even managed to see them on the last day: transparent "worms" with black dots inside. Their name is siphonophores. We learned about it already in Moscow.
About nutrition. The first day was just a shock. There is NOTHING for lunch! A sea of undercooked potatoes in various forms, peppery dishes, rice, some soy cutlets instead of meat and a traveling chicken: today chicken, tomorrow it is with mushrooms, the next day in a fried crust, etc. Soon we got used to it, it became tolerable. In a word. for food - a solid 4, and only because of the presence of juices from packages of 5 types. Guava is the most delicious, mango is sweet. They didn't drink alcohol.
Wine, as always, only in the main restaurant for lunch and dinner, strong liquor - in all bars, as, fortunately, juices from packages. There are high chairs in the dining room, but, unfortunately, there is no children's food - at the children's table there are soy sausages, meatballs, french fries, often peppered. There is hot water, you can heat baby food with it.
About tour operator Pegasus. Oh, they amused us, these Akhmed and Nastya Oleneva! We arrive somehow in the room, under the door there is a note with a request to return the transfer order forms. What kind of garbage is this, we thought and went to the guides. Naturally, this was a leaflet mentioned by previous tourists, written in clumsy Russian, with the aim of obliging tourists to book excursions only from Pegasus.
I am attaching the photo, and the text was like this (laugh with us): "In the case of purchasing tours from private individuals on the beach - street agencies and other companies, the PEGAS TOURISTIC company is not responsible for not having information about the state rules of Egypt regarding visiting the country of Israel and when problems arise at the airport when leaving Egypt ..."That is, not only do the guides refuse to do their job with this piece of paper - that is, to talk" about the state rules of Egypt regarding visiting the country of Israel ", but also publicly throws tourists when problems arise. Fine?
Service staff. 2 years ago I sang his praises. And what? Magnificent were only the waiters in the dining room. They are just as fast, attentive, lisp with Sylvia, sing songs to her, etc. True, they forgot to bring the order a couple of times, but then there were a lot of people. Funny story with the waiters of the Shish-bish bar serving ice cream.
They understand hygiene in their own way. Waffle cups are taken directly by hand. I was indignant, dashed off a letter to the management - like, let them put on gloves. And what? We come for ice cream, there is one Arab - in a glove, distributes ice cream. Here he is distracted - he goes with his glove for Coca-Cola, opens bottles with it, throws out the garbage ...And his other comrade - again distributes cups with his bare hand. Everyone smiles and sings songs. We do not understand the Arab soul!
Contingent. Audience: the majority, unfortunately (Russians and Ukrainians), are fat women of post-Balzac age, climbing everywhere, as well as healthy men (often with chains), occupying bars from 11 am and absorbing local rum, vodka, whiskey, etc. on the beach . Further - less - Poles, Czechs and others like them - Psheshko-speaking. Much less - the Germans and the British.
We met the most charming Englishman with his wife and 2 children, surprisingly similar to the Indian from Roman Polanski's film "Bitter Moon". There are few young people. In Big Bayram, the border with Israel was closed for a day, and crowds of fat Arabs piled on. At breakfast, fat Arab wives showed off thick chains and rings, and on the beach they sat dressed.
Finally - a couple more typical pictures of the Arab East.
1) We got on the bus, the guide decided to turn on the movie. There are two monitors: above the driver's cab and in the middle of the cabin. The last monitor is turned towards the ceiling and can automatically turn towards the passengers. And now, something is stuck in this monitor. The Arab at first unsuccessfully pressed the button, then came up and began to pull the monitor - the latter did not give in. Then he kind of asked to pull the monitor of the passenger sitting next to him on his Arabic signal.
After a few pushes on the button and a synchronized pull by the passenger on the monitor - oh, a miracle - he still turned around! A film with Arabic subtitles turned on, very loudly - like an action movie, under which we safely reached the place.
2) On the way back, luggage was shone, we saw a laptop. "Laptop, laptop! " the Arab muttered. We take out the laptop. The Arab opens it, stares for a long time, and for some reason turns it on. Interesting, checks for an explosive device? Very, very brave, you know....
3) In the waiting room of the Taba airport, an Arab approached us (the same one who wrote out 4 boarding passes instead of 3) and asked us to show our passports, ostensibly to check visas (otherwise I didn’t see them at check-in! ). By the way, it was the same type who, when leaving the waiting room, asked (“Where is the wife? ”, Then “Where is the husband? ” - seeing that there were three of us + the infant, he drank something, but the boarding officer did not take it away). Summary - they are strange, these hot Arab guys...
4) And more about Taba Airport.
Both there and back. The plane stopped 100 meters from the airport building (in fact, after all, apparently, this distance was a little more, but it felt like 50 meters ... ). So anyway they were taken by bus, they would have reached much faster. What were they afraid of: that we would see the secrets of a bare airfield, or 0.5 aircraft standing at a decent distance ...No, they were probably afraid that we would take a photo and sell it to the Israelis for a lot of money. Yes, we do not understand the mystery of the Arab-Egyptian mentality and soul. Or maybe you don't need to?
P. S. You know, we lost a Dickens book here, a panama hat, a baby pelican bib and a pencil. So, at least 4 times we will come back here!
