|
Dahab's hippie-like image has since long become a
cliche, yet it is as good as people claim. The
average age of Dahab's tourists is probably around
20, but far older visitors can feel just as welcome.
Dahab is in some ways an unlikely resort: the
beaches are not very good, the nearby coral reefs
are since long gone. But there is a mood here which
is very appealing, even if part of the easygoing
attitude is thank to widespread use of cannabis. But
if you don't want to use drugs, nobody will push you
and nobody will mind.
The main attractions of Dahab are the unique
on-the-ground restaurants, a mixture of Hippie and
Bedouin styles and developed over a few decades.
Large cushions and low tables are placed next to the
sea, and decorated with colourful cloths. Most of
these restaurants have fish stalls in front, where
you pick the fish of your choice and get it prepared
according to your wishes. Delicious, quite
affordable, but a bit up from the price level of the
average Egyptian restaurant. After finishing your
food, you just lean back in the cushions and rest
for as long as you wish.
While Dahab quickly runs out of daytime attractions,
there are plenty of small companies offering a wide
range of day trips.
The Blue Hole, a few km north of Dahab, is probably
Egypt's most infamous diving spot. The hole is a
shaft that starts just a metre below the surface of
the sea. The dark zone on the photo above is the
place.
It goes 80 metres straight down, and the main trip
for experienced divers is to dive down to a depth of
60 metres, then pass through a tunnel to the outer
edge of the reef before returning to the surface.
People die here almost every year, mainly from
nitrogen narcosis. It is apparently too easy to
start diving all by yourself. This should only be
done after years of training or with an experienced
guide next to you.
But the Blue Hole is not only for divers, it is
chillingly fascinating for snorkelers too. The
corals are colourful, fish abundant, and you can
tickle your nerves by swimming along the edge of
this hole which has no visible bottom.
Ra's Abu Galum is a nice camel ride north of the
Blue Hole. It is a genuine bedouin village, with
ramshackle huts on a sandy bank next to the ocean.
There might be a few hundred people living here.
What is perhaps most rememberable with the place are
the boys and girls playing naked on the beach,
swimming like dolphins, and appearing totally free.
Their attitudes resemble little the strict rules of
relations between men and women in the rest Egypt.
But when puberty comes their freedom gets terminated
by marriage.
Guide books and many travellers rave about how much
money they save by getting a diving course in Egypt.
Prices start at US$350 all included. You should
check ahead if this really is cheap for you.
In my native Norway, one of the most expensive
countries in the world, prices start at US$320, and
then you can feel sure that you have not ended up in
the hands of a bad instructors. And Sinai has just
as many bad instructors as good. And you will not
either get instruction in cold-water diving, which
all divers should get a grip of.
|
