Мой отпуск My vacation

This (2006) year, at the beginning of October, we decided to escape from the chilly weather somewhere warmer and thus purchased tickets to the Charm Life Paradise Hotel through the East Life Tour to Hurghada. Of course, it is difficult to fly in an airplane, about 5 hours, but there are a lot of impressions, especially when the cloud cover ends and you see the earth. I took a few shots, it’s a pity that I left the camera in my luggage, and the photos on the cell phone don’t come out so well. From the very first minutes on earth you plunge into the heat, but it was cool to fly, although on the way back they turned on the stove so that the heat and stuffiness were incredible.
Our adventures began with accommodation in a hotel. It turned out that our rooms were given to the Germans (we had to live in another hotel) and we learned this information thanks to one punchy passenger who was traveling with us. I didn’t know that if you go abroad, you need to write an application for roaming, otherwise the cell phone will not catch there. We could not call, and our activist got through, but the case did not move. We were offered hotels to choose from, so I recommend writing down how many stars the hotels that suit you have, how they speak about it.
And we went to the hotel, where we spent our rest. The hotel is very comfortable, although large - lots of rooms. We somehow decided to get to know each other, where, we found a way out to the roof, but although it is not intended for tourists, we admired the panorama, found a fountain (like a mushroom, and water falls from it), a pool in the courtyard. To get to the fountain, you need to go down to the first floor (the reception is on the 2nd floor) and everything is right along the corridor, it's a long walk, but it's beautiful. They say that in that pool the jacuzzi is turned on at 8 o'clock in the evening. At first, we didn't even know that. The hotel is very green, beautiful, gazebos, where it is very pleasant to sit in the evening, listen to cicadas and admire the southern night. In the evening, the hotel is very beautifully lit, it is a pity that I did not have a night film. True, the beach is small and ships are moored in the sea, but there is enough space to swim, but it sometimes happens that while you swim out to a deep place, you almost go over your heads - at times a lot of people splash in shallow water.

At first, we were given such a number that we turned around in unison and left. The hotel consists, as it were, of 2 components, we were first shown the old wing, but we flew to 4 stars, and what we were shown to 4 does not pull.
We decided to go to our hotel and sit there until we were blue in the face, throwing up a scandal for a change, it might work. Then we were offered another room - two-level. On the ground floor there is a mini-kitchen, a wide bed, but a little short, as it turned out later, I slept across, a refrigerator, a TV, it shows 1 Russian channel and a bunch of foreign ones, a balcony. You go up the stairs, immediately on the right hand there is a built-in closet, a rather spacious, combined bathroom, but as it turned out later without an exhaust hood, on the left hand there is a room. It has 2 beds, 2 wardrobes, a bedside table, a mirror with a table and a balcony. Each floor has an individual air conditioner. True, everything is already in need of repair, something is moving away, plumbing is on the verge of fantasy: something hangs, breaks, the water does not drain well, but few people know Russian, mostly English, they fix it for a long time, but at least they fix it. And somehow dirty, when we entered the room, the table and chairs on the balconies were gray with dirt. Of course, you can think that I am imagining things, but I went to Turkey, to a 3-star hotel, and I have something to compare with.
At first I like the food, it seems varied, but the assortment practically does not change and by the end of the vacation there is a hunt and you can’t look at anything. It's bad that they don't expect the Germans to like to eat. They occupy the hall half an hour before meals and then sweep everything away. You go after them, it happens that the Germans will eat all the meat, and the rest will only have potatoes. By the way, potatoes are often undercooked, and porridge is generally brought cold. Once they even sprinkled it with crushed ice, the next time with coconut, then pomegranate was added there, but all the time the porridge was cold. Unfortunately, they did not understand us, we tried to explain that many people like warm porridge, and they lived without porridge.
Another thing I didn’t like, in the dining room there is such a vat with a drink. It is apparently concentrated and it is diluted, at first it was tasty, and then it was diluted to such an extent that the water was only tinted with water. Soon they changed it to a reddish drink, but I don’t like lingonberries, but the taste was similar. I liked to eat a dry breakfast with milk in the morning, but on the last day the milk was strange, not the taste of milk, but as if water had been added there. While I was waiting, I heard the conversation of women, they were just talking about milk, that it is powdered milk, they just bred it. I don't know, I haven't seen it, I won't vouch for it. It’s bad that they very rarely give fruit, and if they do, it’s of such quality that we would hardly have bought it at home, and some grab so much that many don’t get it. But sometimes there is delicious meat, pancakes work out well. And the bar in the dining room - while you wait to die of hunger, the queue goes faster on the beach. They give local bottled wine, but I don't like wine, and my father didn't like it. There is beer, but according to him it is weak, but he likes strong drinks. You can order a cocktail: rum, sprite, ice. My father liked it, and if there is a little rum, then nothing tastes to me either - I tried it once.

There is an Italian restaurant on site, the choice is small, but the pizzas are delicious, but while you wait for them, you will lose all your patience. I once went to a restaurant, made an order, and an hour later it turns out that there was no order, they forgot to give me the menu, I thought I was sitting waiting for pizza, but it turned out that it was just like that. But in the evenings, the restaurant is very cozy, pleasant music plays, a candle burns on the glass table, small lamps light up on the walls, the restaurant is very nicely lit, a warm breeze, but the service spoils the mood. I then spent almost 2 hours in this restaurant. But in bars and restaurants you can ask for sprite, cola, mirinda, tea. You will not be bored, as long as you have the desire to have fun, for this the hotel has an animation team. Exactly at 10.00 they begin to announce on the radio that today. You can do morning, water gymnastics, play volleyball, water polo, bochu, table tennis, dance belly dance. The animators are very charming and friendly people, they also sign up for an Italian restaurant if you want to try it. There is a disco for children, daily show programs at 10.00, you can go to a disco, maybe there is something else, but we arrived so tired, and the time difference made itself felt - we mostly slept and rested. Only towards the end I came to life and went to water gymnastics a couple of times.
You can go surfing or get a massage, in principle, there are very such men there, many charming, handsome, and they will serve you quickly and joke, fill up with compliments, and some, apparently, so as not to waste time in vain - in plain text: come with me. But in beauty you won't refuse them. Such eyes, and eyelashes, and they hang noodles on their ears. But I didn't really like this kind of consumerism. But if you keep them at a distance, they instantly forget about their eternal love and find a new victim, and it’s best to go there with your boyfriend or immediately say that you are married, they won’t stick like that. But I didn’t go for a massage, instead I went to the jacuzzi. On the side, there are, as it were, 2 jets, just for two. The direction of the water can be adjusted, turned where the water is running from, and excellent. Just for those who have back pain, in general for the whole body, then so good. True, the water is coldish, but you can get used to it. From the jacuzzi under the bridge you can swim out to the paid bar, or turn and swim to find yourself in the pool. It's not deep, but you can gurgle. There is a very shallow pool for children.
There are shops at the hotel, very friendly sellers, but it’s a pity for the plants at the entrance to the hotel, at least they would be watered or something, otherwise they are somehow gnawed, the leaves are hung, the ground is hard stone, just like with a palm tree on the 2nd floor. But with water in Egypt, tension, to brush your teeth, buy drinking water, you can’t from the tap. We got water from the cafeteria. Also, all valuables, money, documents, cell phones, all small things - hand everything over to the reception, there is a safe. Everything yours is put in an envelope, you write the room number and time, you sign in the acceptance column, and when you want to take it back, in the issuance column, it is mandatory. Don't leave money in the room - it's the only way they scam. It’s very good to walk in the evenings, the sidewalks are huge, lined with beautiful tiles, such awesome lighting, cars drive there only with sidelights, it’s so light. And there are no traffic rules, signs, traffic lights, but there are no accidents, we have not seen them, so do not risk renting a car if you meet such a service. You can go to McDonald's, try local ice cream on the street (I recommend banana, mocha, coffee, but don't take vanilla - utter disgusting), but there are countless shops. On the first day, we were so frightened that we generally swore not to go anywhere else (although we couldn’t stand it). In two hours we covered the distance, which we then covered in 15 minutes! You go, they start asking you something, the main thing is to start a conversation, and then they drag you into a shop, start giving you tea, chatting away and you won’t escape! At first, I recommend not to buy anything, look around, bargain, the price can sometimes be brought down twice. You can simply not respond to the calls of merchants, tell us if we have it or not, then you can still take a walk. At 4 o'clock you can go to the old city. There are a lot of taxis, buses, everyone is beeping, offering everyone a lift. But a taxi will be more expensive - $ 1.2 per person, and if the bus is 1 pound (about 5 pounds in 1 dollar, but the exchange rate is 5.5 pounds. 20 dollars 114 pounds) per person. If you go to the old city ask him: bass? If the bass says, i. e. bus, ask the price - always agree on the price in advance, then ask down town? And when he confirms you can go. And ask Yelgun back?
If he confirms, you can go, or show the name of the hotel, he can also take you. In the old town, we went to the cotton shop karlus (there are two of them) - there are very cheap towels, you can buy bathrobes, T-shirts, tights - high quality knitwear. But I bought tights in Yolki-Palki (if you leave the hotel and go to the right for 10-15 minutes, on the left hand side), it's cheaper there and the quality is not worse. And if you leave the hotel in the evening to the left, after 10 minutes, on the dark side of the street, on the left they will start selling fruit. And how many bags, but different ones! And the slap! In general, there would be money, but where to spend it will help you. By the way, on the way back at the airport, a lot of things are also sold, there is a liquor store - vodka, liqueurs, from about $ 11, perfumes, cosmetics! In other stores, there are T-shirts, postcards, towels, all kinds of pendants, by the way, the toilet is paid there, they told us that it was free, but we impudently got through, they won’t take our money, but the dollar - where is so much change from their local? In general, here are my impressions, I just got upset, some of the souvenirs were missing, not expensive: 10 pounds, about 60 rubles for our money, if someone goes to Hurghada, I would buy it for me, I would return the money. Maybe it's impudence, but I'm unlikely to go to Egypt again, maybe I'll be lucky to return my thing. Just in case, my address is on the internet, marisha_pozd@mail. ru

As for excursions, we took three: Cairo, Luxor and coral islands. The islands disappointed us, we expected more, but the guide was great, a master of all trades, and he will draw a tattoo, and show competitions, and play on the “drum”. Of course, they don’t call it a drum, but we liked the sound. So, in principle, you can go, it all depends on the place. Luxor and Cairo - interesting, though tiring for so much time on the bus to go. Take plenty of water with you, they sold us a liter on the bus for 5 pounds and exchange it for a pound - go to the toilet, or take a picture with the Bedouins (5 pounds, another photo 1 pound, as required), they give a dry breakfast on the road, and on When you return, you should expect a late dinner, but we never waited for it - we were too tired and wanted to sleep. In Luxor and Cairo, they will tell and show everything, it’s very interesting, it’s a pity that they don’t give enough time for inspections, as they say galloping around Europe: everything is running. We looked at the pyramids, the sphinx, it's impressive. Whoever didn’t have time to buy a digital camera - run to the store, I rarely take pictures, so the old camera was lying around, and how many frames were missed! I didn’t take enough film, and there was no night film, but at night it’s so beautiful! Cafes, shops, hotels are all illuminated, and palm trees! There are often gazebos and local men rest in them, or in a cafe. Try a hookah, we never got around to it.
I saw our girls, but already dressed in Egyptian - all closed, with babies, but they obviously went to dads, they don’t look like moms. At the beginning, women were not seen at all - Ramadan began, you go and only men, it’s not so usual. In general, you can go to Egypt, see.