5/9 - 5/11
We barely made it to the bus on time, running through the streets after we were given a new and distant departure point just as we were leaving the hotel.
The first night we spent at the Badr Safari Camp with its African-style huts, panoramic view and flies.
In the evening two Bedouin guys drove us out to an oasis where they shared some hashish. They had a funny little set-up with the spliff impaled on a stick and held between two little shot glasses. Whenever the glasses were full of smoke they opened them a crack and sucked it out. I guess it was pretty efficient, with little 'lost' smoke? After a little sightseeing the more stoned of the two turned round in the jeep and said
"Are you OK?"
"Yeah, we're good."
"I am not OK. I need some tea!"
So we went to a hot spring, way too hot to do anything other than dip our feet in, and sat around as a few other guys appeared from nowhere, a fire was lit and the tea was boiled. Bedouin tea is even sweeter than regular Egyptian tea, which is pretty damn sweet, and really minty.
The tea drunk and the munchies satisfied we watched the sun go down and headed back to camp for dinner.
The next day we went for a spin on a huge sand dune, then headed into the 'black' desert, where every peak has its own personal shadow.
We then headed to a cool, natural spring bath that we shared with a bunch of French tourists. Very refreshing.
Apparently a couple were supposed to join us for the afternoon and we waited around until two o'clock, but the couple became three and since six wouldn't fit in the jeep and the eight-seater had broken down some time last night we had the jeep to ourselves. The swarthy little guy who was our guide for the day was hilarious. We'd been waiting in the inn for a bit and he just flat out asked me how many times a I can go a night, then how long for, "20 minutes? 10? 5? 6? 7?", then how many times a week. He laughed at all my answers then proudly announces that he, or 'Bedouin men' can go 3-4 times a night with a European girl, 10 times after smoking hashish and for 30 minutes a pop. That's 5 hours a night, or 35 a week by my reckoning. He also passed me his mobile and asked me to text a girl from the Netherlands that he'd slept with on one of his desert tours.
"What should I write?"
"Anything."
"No really, what do you want to say?"
"You know, anything."
"Er, OK."
Anyway, after spending so long waiting for the couple that never showed up, he was in a hurry so we wolfed down some lunch and off we went to the 'white' desert. First impressions were uninspiring, with a sort of dusty white look in places and a 'crystal mountain' that was neither a mountain nor very crystalline. I expect a steady flow of souvenir-taking tourists achieved the latter. Suddenly we swung off-road, crest a ridge and bam, this amazing vista.
After a while here we headed off to the 'old' white desert, which had presumably become popular before the 'new' white desert that we had just enjoyed. Our 'guide' obviously loved driving, in much the same way that our Giza 'guide' loved horse-riding. He was never happier than when was slewing the car around and tearing across the desert, but whenever we stopped he basically said we could get out of the car 'if you like' and look around 'as you like'. No mention of sights, names, or even a suggested direction to explore if we left the car, and he of course had the common sense to stay parked in the shade. Luckily we did stumble across some very picturesque spots, though in the weird mushroom-y landscape I suspect there were no shortage of them around.
He picked a spot and set up our camp for the night. Some rugs, two screens and a table. Another driver and a Netherlander came by from a nearby camp and our driver suddenly and dramatically perked up. Hashish, bread, chicken, beer, jerry-can drumming and good cheer made for an excellent evening. The desert foxes, sunset, and utterly still, silent and insect-free environment made for a perfect night.
Our final day in the desert I saw the sun come up. Wonderful private moment. Then I went back to sleep. The screen was perfectly positioned to protect us from the morning sun.
The first night we spent at the Badr Safari Camp with its African-style huts, panoramic view and flies.
In the evening two Bedouin guys drove us out to an oasis where they shared some hashish. They had a funny little set-up with the spliff impaled on a stick and held between two little shot glasses. Whenever the glasses were full of smoke they opened them a crack and sucked it out. I guess it was pretty efficient, with little 'lost' smoke? After a little sightseeing the more stoned of the two turned round in the jeep and said
"Are you OK?"
"Yeah, we're good."
"I am not OK. I need some tea!"
So we went to a hot spring, way too hot to do anything other than dip our feet in, and sat around as a few other guys appeared from nowhere, a fire was lit and the tea was boiled. Bedouin tea is even sweeter than regular Egyptian tea, which is pretty damn sweet, and really minty.
The tea drunk and the munchies satisfied we watched the sun go down and headed back to camp for dinner.
The next day we went for a spin on a huge sand dune, then headed into the 'black' desert, where every peak has its own personal shadow.
We then headed to a cool, natural spring bath that we shared with a bunch of French tourists. Very refreshing.
Apparently a couple were supposed to join us for the afternoon and we waited around until two o'clock, but the couple became three and since six wouldn't fit in the jeep and the eight-seater had broken down some time last night we had the jeep to ourselves. The swarthy little guy who was our guide for the day was hilarious. We'd been waiting in the inn for a bit and he just flat out asked me how many times a I can go a night, then how long for, "20 minutes? 10? 5? 6? 7?", then how many times a week. He laughed at all my answers then proudly announces that he, or 'Bedouin men' can go 3-4 times a night with a European girl, 10 times after smoking hashish and for 30 minutes a pop. That's 5 hours a night, or 35 a week by my reckoning. He also passed me his mobile and asked me to text a girl from the Netherlands that he'd slept with on one of his desert tours.
"What should I write?"
"Anything."
"No really, what do you want to say?"
"You know, anything."
"Er, OK."
The inn was naturally cooled.
Anyway, after spending so long waiting for the couple that never showed up, he was in a hurry so we wolfed down some lunch and off we went to the 'white' desert. First impressions were uninspiring, with a sort of dusty white look in places and a 'crystal mountain' that was neither a mountain nor very crystalline. I expect a steady flow of souvenir-taking tourists achieved the latter. Suddenly we swung off-road, crest a ridge and bam, this amazing vista.
The jeep is waiting for us in the shadow of that central pillar, which gives you an idea of the scale of the place.
He picked a spot and set up our camp for the night. Some rugs, two screens and a table. Another driver and a Netherlander came by from a nearby camp and our driver suddenly and dramatically perked up. Hashish, bread, chicken, beer, jerry-can drumming and good cheer made for an excellent evening. The desert foxes, sunset, and utterly still, silent and insect-free environment made for a perfect night.
Our final day in the desert I saw the sun come up. Wonderful private moment. Then I went back to sleep. The screen was perfectly positioned to protect us from the morning sun.
This rock is supposed to be something.
This rock is supposed to be something too.
We drove to some guy's house where they all shared a bong without offering it around, then off to some other guy's house where we took a dip and partook of some excellent home cooking. The Egyptian women didn't eat with us.
In conclusion: The desert is awesome.
This marks the end of my first travel diary, dated 2010/8/6 to 2011/5/10.
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