The Travel Bug: Wonders of Egypt #11/12 (Desert Safari)

*Shinta and I were quite keen to try out the Dune Buggies, so we decided to sign up for the Desert Safari in Hurghada which included a 1h ride out in the sands, followed by a visit to a Bedouin camp and then riding back at night for another hour.

We absolutely loved driving our own Dune Buggies! Imagine something like a motorbike but with 4 wheels so that you don't have to worry about balancing. And since we're out in the desert, there's no road that you have to follow, you don't have to worry about hitting anything, its just enjoying the super bumpy ride and the thrill of the roar of the engines!

The Bedouin are are suppoed to be tribes that wander the desert in search of water. But these have effectively been bribed by the government with provision of resourses, so that they stay put to form a tourist attraction / theme park kind of thing.

Once we arrived at the camp, it was a mix of viewing some of the daily activities and crafts the Bedouin tribe engage in. Bread making was one such item...

A lot of the times it was set up such that visitors were "able" to purchase items that the Bendouin tribe had made. Weaved bags were one of the items I was more tempted to buy.

Basically the threads are sorted out and laid out before weaving commences. The loom needs 2 people to operate, to select the correct layer threads to appear as the design and to push these tightly against each other to form the cloth.

This guy was really skilful in making scenaries in sandbottles. It seemed fast and simple to make, but I'm sure they're a lot harder than it looked.

One thing we absolutely hated about the place was the "zoo". Basically they brought in random animals in to form a collection. It was very very sad to see them housed in very very horrible conditions. Small cages, dark and damp conditions, solitary cells.

Some of the more "fun" activities for us included a 2min Camel Ride round a bend and back...

We also paired up to try the spider buggy.

The only thing I liked about the Bendouin Camp visit, was being able to see the beautiful sunset...

The colours in the desert are really more beautiful than anywhere else.

Most of the Russians in the group tried out the Sheesha (water pipe). Luckily *Shinta didn't feel any inclination to try!

After that it was back onto the Dune Buggy for an hour drive back home. The plains were absolutely dark and there was only the headlight on the buggy to light the way back, as well as the stars in the sky above.

To be continued...