Israel with Gena and Cheburashka
Good afternoon, dear applicants!
We would like to share our personal travel experience with the so-called. Genoa and Cheburashka (Sinai Voyage, Sharm El Sheikh). On February 13.2013, we arrived in Sharm El Sheikh on a ticket from the Pegas Touristik tour operator, to the Dessole Nesco Waves hotel. As for the conditions of rest for this tour, everything is OK, we will not go into depth, we just have to say that the next day upon arrival we were gathered in the Conference Hall for an INFO meeting with our guides from Pegas Touristik, where we were told about the possibilities and costs of various excursions. In this trip, we were interested in two points: Israel (at Pegasus, a ticket per person cost $ 210, for 1 day), diving near Tiran Island with 2 dives ($ 90 per person). The PRICE LIST, "to put it mildly" seemed astronomical ...
Going on a trip, we were initially aware of the exorbitant prices of local (well, or near-local-)))) excursions and events, if they are purchased directly from the guides at the hotel, and we studied all the necessary "materiel" in advance back in Russia. As part of the tours we are interested in in Sharm, the maximum number of positive reviews was from the local tour operator Sinai Voyage (Sinai Voyage) - they are also Gena and Cheburashka-))). And now we are sitting on the terrace of our room in the evening, after the INFO meeting (at which, by the way, we were "told" about the sad experience of tourists who used the services of local tour operators, to put it simply, they were intimidated), weighing all the "FOR" and "AGAINST" we already we realized where we were and that it was 250 km to the Israeli border through Egypt by bus, on the roads on which there were NO: no traffic lights, no road signs, no police officers controlling traffic.
Moreover, the roadbed is a continuous serpentine, along which, at NIGHT, a large highway bus rushes (at an average speed of 110-130 km / h), driven by a driver who does not understand a word of Russian-))); Then the border crossing in the city of Taba (Egyptians are not allowed into Israel, just like Egyptian buses), i. e. the crossing must be carried out independently; Then get on the Israeli bus and the rest of the night, all the next day and the next midnight, on it (and this is about 700 km more, on roads of similar type, speeds, and driver): After that, the reverse border crossing and again the Egyptian bus to Sharm El Sheikh. The data set of circumstances "Colds" the blood.
But as they say, whoever does not risk does not drink champagne, because simply the vacation budget will not allow buying tickets from Pegasus : -) There is no choice, we dial a local Egyptian number with Gen's signature, a domestic character picks up the phone, with an Egyptian accent-))), however with a fairly well-delivered colloquial speech. We express our intention, share concerns, recommendations of our Guides, receive an invitation to visit the Sinai Voyage office and make sure on the spot that this tour operator is trustworthy. We take our word for it, we agree to a one-day tour to Israel (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea) with a cost of $ 70 per person, instead of "Pegasus" - $ 210 per person. We get a short instruction for further actions: Estimated time of departure - 20:00, we will send you the exact time by SMS on the day of departure somewhere at 16:00; Departure by "shuttle" to the exit from the city, where a large bus will be waiting, from the hotel checkpoint, because to the territory not declared by T. S.
not allowed; $140 - hand over to the guide, take passports, towels, etc. EVERYTHING!
On the day of departure, we go for reconnaissance, in order to determine the location and distance to the hotel checkpoint, we leave the hotel reception towards the exit, we pass 300 meters, we can see the barrier (we make a small omission, but about it later), turn around, go back to collect things and prepare for departure . At 16:20 we receive an SMS in which the departure time is 20:30. Hour "X" is coming, we are ready - we go out towards the checkpoint of the hotel. We approach the checkpoint, greet the hotel security staff, explain why we are standing here, to which they explain to us that we will be expected not at this checkpoint, but at the next one, because the Dessole territory combines two hotels: Nesco Waves and Nesco Joyous ! -))) We need another 800 meters to the checkpoint we need!!!
The time is 20:15, we run headlong - with a tongue on our shoulder we run up to the outer border of the Dessole territory at 20:34 where a Toyota shuttle full of "ours" is already waiting for us, we are met by an escort, makes sure that everyone is waiting for us, jokes in "Egyptian style" about 4 minutes late ($100 per minute of waiting), we give him $140. We sit down, start moving, we go to the exit from the city, where a quite worthy, large bus of the "German" manufacturer with all the amenities awaits us, we sit down and set off on our "adventurous journey" to Israel. On board the bus, we are greeted, albeit with a "strong" accent, but still a Russian-speaking guide-accompany on the Egyptian side, who explains the details of the trip to us, distributes various documents necessary for our trip (in particular: application forms for exit-entry to the territory of Egypt, insurance), stickers, instructions, etc.
After that, we safely fill everything in, according to his explanation, we intensively remember the procedure for passing the border in Taba, actions in case of emergency situations (almost all scenarios for the development of events are provided and have a solution), etc. “We go to bed”, after an hour we “get up "for a 10-minute "green" parking lot in the parking lot near the gas station with a mini market: WC, water, coffee, cigarettes, etc. , in general, everything you need. We go further, on the way to the city of Taba 1 more.
5 hours and here it is - the long-awaited "border", then the Egyptian bus cannot follow, we get off the bus, follow the guide, stop in front of the terminal - the last pre-border "briefing" -))) On it we will learn the features of crossing the terminal, as well as the name of the person who accompanies us on the Israeli side, with a convincing request for the correct pronunciation of the funny name - Shimon-))); The transition procedure, from the moment of entering the terminal from the Egyptian side to the moment of exit from the State of Israel, took us about 2 hours. It is worth noting only the fact that the level of security maintained by the customs officers of the State of Israel, to put it mildly, is at the "height", checking everything and everything-))) And finally, we are in Eilat. Behind the checkpoint, a new, comfortable German liner is waiting for us, our friend Shimon is waiting for us near it! A little briefing, and we set off, while Shimon is left to wait for another bus.
The rest of the night on the road, at 7:00 on the outskirts of the long-awaited Jerusalem, a nice girl joins us - Tatyana, our Russian-speaking guide, a great guide! The bus stops in front of the entrance to the "Old City" and our journey begins from the Gates and the Christian Quarter, to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Wailing Wall! A sea of emotions and impressions, after which we again get on the bus and go to a magnificent observation deck, on which the great and sacred Jerusalem is in full view! After a short "photo session", we go to Bethlehem - the holy city where Jesus Christ was born; The city is the territory of the Palestinian Autonomy, again another state-))) To Bethlehem - about half an hour's journey, and now the bus parks in a covered parking lot - further on foot!
About ten minutes to the temple, along the streets of the most ancient, sacred city ...There are many bistros and souvenir shops, sellers walk the streets offering various souvenirs, jewelry, etc. The architecture of the temple is simply amazing, we don’t even have anything close to it! One "ENTRY" to the Temple is worth something. Inside, the mythical Byzantine columns are breathtaking, on which the most ancient faces of saints have been preserved to "our" days, and even evidence of miracles that took place within the walls of the great temple. It is in this temple that the image of the Mother of God is located, on which she smiles, holding Jesus in her arms. Under the central altar of the temple is the very cave in which Jesus Christ was born, inside which, although partially, an artifact has been preserved that "remembers" the Messiah himself - his cradle (more precisely, we are talking about an animal feeder adapted for a cradle).
Part of the flooring of the Temple is raised so that people can see a part of the most ancient Byzantine mosaic, miraculously preserved to "our" days. After visiting the Temple, we had lunch at one of the hotel restaurants in Palestine, after which our bus headed towards the Dead Sea, the journey to which takes about 2 hours, gradually descending to the lowest point on earth, relative to sea level - minus 427 meters . Upon arrival, we were given one hour - this is quite enough, because you should not be in the water for more than 15 minutes, because the high concentration of salt causes discomfort, after about 15-20 minutes of being in the water, and a break in bathing should be at least 1.5 hours.
The water in the sea is clear, has a pleasant shade, but its physical properties are more reminiscent of vegetable oil: it is denser, rolls into drops on the body, and causes EXTREMELY unpleasant sensations if it gets into the eyes, mouth or wounds. You won't be able to drown in such water-))) After everyone has bathed and stocked up on cosmetics, our bus goes back to Eilat. At the border we find ourselves in 3 hours, where Shimon meets us, gives us crossing coupons and this is where our journey through the holy land ends: the return crossing takes less time, and in the Egyptian arrival zone we are met by our dear friend - the Egyptian guide, helping us pass control. Just a little bit and we, already in the bus familiar to us, go back to Sharm - El-] Sheikh, which is about 2.5 hours away. At the entrance to the city, shuttles are waiting for us, which take us to the checkpoint of our hotels ...
What I want to note: the scenario of the Pegas Touristik tour is similar, their buses parked next to ours, their group and guide met us several times, they are not able to influence the speed of crossing the border. The difference of $140, taking into account all the aspects described earlier in this article, is really significant and completely unreasonable! I would like to thank the travel company "Sinai Voyage" for a brilliantly organized trip, a lot of pleasure and a great mood! And travelers should carefully consider the issue of purchasing sightseeing tours from hotel guides ...
The Best Regards, 4401.
