A small word of thanks

Day 16: Back in good old T2 (for now)

Sunday 19 June - 47 weeks ago

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The Egyptian tour of the Coloured Seas Trip finishes in Sharm El Sheikh on Sunday, 19th June 2011 from 19:30 in T2 Hadaba. We would like to thank our sponsors, the bike and dive clubs, the hotels and the many Egyptian people who have welcomed and assisted us with this trip. In particular we thank Martin our website designer who has dealt with the daily ‘raw material’ of text and photos, turning it all into something that looks way more professional than anything we could ever have hoped to achieve on the road.

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Day 14: Hurghada to Ain Sukhna

Day 14 : Hurghada to Ain Sohkna Out of benzin on the road side

Friday 17 June - 48 weeks ago

Al Bahr al Ahmar , Egypt

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Quiz nights in ex-pat pubs involve a mish-mash of questions designed to steer around the fact that when you don’t live in your own country anymore the knowledge of subjects like sport, politics and celebrity news often go by the wayside. Music is quite safe, geography features heavily too, because it’s relevant wherever you are, but asking a Swedish diving instructor ‘who is the landlord in the BBC TV series, Eastenders?’ is a little unfair. So, the questions were a little different from what we’re used to in the UK or France. I went to a quiz night in London a couple of years ago and scored one point (it was a question about Egypt!).

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Day 13: Anemone Metropolis with Pharaoh Dive Club

Day 13 : Diving in El Quseir. Anemone wonderland.

Thursday 16 June - 48 weeks ago

Al Bahr al Ahmar , Egypt

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It would be easy to think that in a faraway place like El Quseir, life would be laid back and not taken too seriously. However, there’s something about the dive industry and the professionals who run it that provides the efficiency when you most need it and our pickup arrived as planned, bang on 7:30am. That was earlier than the normal pickups for Steve and Clare of Pharaoh Dive Club but we had three dives to do today and needed to get away by early evening.

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Day 12: Marsa Alam to El Quseir

Day 12 : El Quseir, Sri Lanka refugee boat

Wednesday 15 June - 48 weeks ago

Al Bahr al Ahmar , Egypt

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We had hoped that today we’d be able to visit the southernmost part of Egypt, El Shalatin. This is a town at the edge of the disputed border with Egypt and Sudan. Leaving Marsa Alam, we traveled south to Berenice, where there is a series of military checkpoints. It is in this region that tourists may require permission and a local guide to continue down to El Shalatin. This isn’t because it’s hazardous or with problems; the area is a vast military zone with various bases.

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Day 11: Deep South camp, diving Abu Ghusun

Day 11 : Wreck diving at Abu ghuzun

Tuesday 14 June - 48 weeks ago

Al Bahr al Ahmar , Egypt

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Marsa Alam is a beautiful wilderness and even with some development it has not suffered a change of image, typical of some other Egyptian resorts. Quite simply, Marsa Alam is too big to develop; it’s not really clear where it starts or ends as the coast and desert run for miles and aside from a few buildings only the sign posts give an indication of where you are. There is a clear town centre and central point but the camps remain well outside and it is unlikely that their style will change much. Many people come to Marsa Alam for peace and quiet and a relaxed life style.

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Day 10: Aswan to Marsa Alam

It fits in the elevator too!

Monday 13 June - 48 weeks ago

Aswan , Aswan , Egypt

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Riding through the hotel corridor next morning and out of the hotel entrance raised a few eyebrows but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do! We didn’t ask the Four Seasons as there were too many chandeliers and ornamental antiques in the way but the thought did cross our minds!

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Day 9: Luxor to Aswan

Karnak Temple. Day 9 : Luxor to Aswan

Sunday 12 June - 48 weeks ago

Luxor , Qina , Egypt

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Riding through Luxor town you can see the first monuments which are the Karnak temples. You can either go inside for a good look around and walk among the mighty ancient columns, or just view them from the road if time is tight. There is a lot to do in a day in Luxor but it’s worth spending time walking around the structures of at least one of the temple locations. A little further out of town is Hatchepsut where we parked up in the huge car park built for about 100 coaches. There were none!

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Day 8: Tom’s Divers House at Safaga, then Luxor

Pool

Saturday 11 June - 48 weeks ago

Luxor , Qina , Egypt

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If yesterday was ‘biker’s day’ then day 8 was ‘diver’s day’ and with two huge shipwrecks and some amazing marine life making an unlikely appearance, it didn’t disappoint. We left the Amira hotel in Safaga and joined the boat, Calypso, down by the small jetty.

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Day 7: Cairo to Safaga

Day 7 : Cairo to Safaga Meeting the Bike Club Egyptian Riders

Friday 10 June - 49 weeks ago

As Suways , Egypt

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Today was definitely a ‘bike day’. Not just because we rode 570 km from Cairo to Safaga, but along the way we met many other bikers.

A chance meeting at the Dahab benzene station on day one resulted in a chat with the newly formed ‘Egyptian Riders Club’. Yann posted a photo of us all on the site that evening. Today we ran into them again 30 km outside Cairo and they were travelling to their weekly gathering along the new Ain Suknha road. Well in Dahab they numbered just six, but today we rolled into their club gathering at a traveler’s café and met 25 of them and their absolutely glorious machines.

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Leaving Four Season Alexandria. Thank you for the very nice suites with view. Special thanks to the engineering department for fixing my broken pannier ! (Yann)

Wednesday 8 June - 49 weeks ago

Al Iskandariyah , Al Iskandariyah , Egypt

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Leaving the Four Seasons Nile Plaza in Cairo was hard because …well, it was the Four Seasons and that was the last of our stays in Egypt. We also wish them a happy birthday being 50 this year. It was 1961 when the chain was formed in Toronto, Canada as a motel for the traveling motorist. The concept is simple, ‘treat others as you would like to be treated yourself’. Nothing else to say, but thanks to Oliver and all the staff in Nile Plaza.