Crossing Borders – Egypt to Jordan

There are no land borders between Egypt and Jordan and travellists have no choice but to cross the Gulf of Aqaba from Nuweiba. There are two ferries daily (but possibly not Saturdays). Fast / Slow ferry-boats cost US$70/US60 departing at 3pm/2pm, and i am told the fast ferry (one hour) is worth every cent extra. Unfortunately it has broken down at the moment so i have a three hour journey instead.

Tickets can only be purchased with US dollars, and these are not always available at the local banks. Thus i have to dip into my precious, much dilapidated hoard. Just enough left to pay for a Syrian visa – or so i hope.

It seems highly appropriate that the ticket seller in the office tells me there is an extra US10 port fee, but it states on the ticket that i have paid US60. When i ask to see his superior, he quickly changes his tune. “Oh yes – it is included after all”’.

During the Haj tickets must be purchased well in advance.

The ticket office is opposite the Red Sea Port entrance in a sand coloured building signposted only in Arabic. It is recommended to get to the terminal two hours before departure. Customs and immigration can be very slow.

The ticket office inform me that the boat is scheduled to depart at 3pm, the immigration officer confidently tells me the boat will depart at 2pm, but on board the boat, an announcement in Arabic informs us the boat will leave at 4pm. It finally departs at 3.45.

Whilst the Arabs around me get their passports stamped on the boat, my passport is confiscated and i am told i can collect it again in the immigration office in Aqaba. Whilst Lonely Planet also mention this, i hate being seperated from my passport for however short a period. Sure enough it is waiting for me in the dock outside immigration and the visa is valid for a month not 14 days as claimed by Lonely Planet.

It takes some three and a half hours before docking, although the chaos on arrival means i don;t disembark for a further hour. True enough my free Jordanian visa is stamped into my passport, but only for 14 days. One of my first jobs will be to get this extended only possible in Aqaba or Amman.

A taxi (metered) costs JD2 into the centre form the dock.

For those tracking ALITD, Jordan marks our thirteenth country in eleven and a half months. And we still have a few more to go.

When in Rome...

Egypt self-defines as a secular state, but it is predominantly Islamic nonetheless. Both men and women cover themselves up wherever they are.

Strolling along the beach in the morning i come across three young European women sunbathing in bikinis. Indeed one of these women is topless sunning her breasts in the warm sun.

One hundred metres further down the beach, hidden behind a beach hut is a middle-aged Bedouin man, fully decked out in white jaliba and red and white turban. In his left hand he is holding a pair of binoculars clamped firmly to his eyes whilst his right hand is savagely beating at his groin. Totally disgusting!

I am inclined to go over to him and say something, but what is the point? This guy has hit jackpot as far as he is concerned, and the European woman should be more culturally aware of what is appropriate in an Islamic country.

a local woman on the beach

Nuweiba

Lonely Planet – Middle East describes Nuweiba as having a “catatonic feel of a post-apocalyptic beach resort” and i certainly have to agree, especially after the recent People’s Revolution.

Nonetheless, the beaches seem reasonably clean, the mountains shimmer behind the coastal front and i can look across to Aqaba at night, my next destination in South Jordan.

sunset over South Jordan

Lying further to the south is Dahab, once a major highlight of hippy convoys in the late Sixties which has resortified itself and further afield Sharm El-Sheikh, which even to Boy (an annual visitor) has completely lost any magic or charm. At least here in Nuweiba the original Bedouin still prevail.

sunrise over Nuweiba

The town is inconveniantly divided into parts, and Soft Beach Camp lies slightly to the North. The port and it’s ATMS lie to the south.

Most of the resorts have their own restaurants, although none seem to be cheap in comparison to the rest of the country (E£25 +) you could do worse than check out Dr Shish Kebab. That’s my kind of doctor! The Net cafe just behind charges E£5 per hour, but is really slow.

The beach-huts are somewhat flimsy and basic, although they do have electricity, and a one person hutis reasonably priced at E£40 including a quality breakfast – and a choice of Egyptian/Continental. They also have some comfy corners both in the restaurant and on the beach and rent out snorkel, masks and fins although there is not much underwater life to see directly off-shore. They also boast their own resident pelican.

Like many of the hotels and guest houses they hope to make their money on a number of guided tours and camel treks.


beach huts at Soft Beach Camp

Suez to Nuweiba

It’s an expensive hassle getting out of Suez to Nuweiba.

I had been told that the main bus station doesn’t have direct buses to Nuweiba, but there are microbuses. I pick up a taxi outside the Arafat hotel and the taxi-driver takes me to the microbus centre. Only to be told that there is only a “Special Taxi” to Nuweiba – for E£400. Finding someone who speaks English is tricky in Suez at the best of times, and it takes some 30 minutes to find someone who can help me. I am told i can head to “Tunnel” in a taxi (E£30) and there is a microbus hanging out by the slip road into Sinai. We wait for almost 2 hours before the drive tells us if we pay E£50 (usual fare is about E£40) we can leave immediately. Twenty minutes later we hit the road.

There is a heavy military presence across the Sinai desert and we stop regularly to show passports/id cards. The desert is flat and barren almost all the way through to Taba. Taba is the border crossing through to Israel. From here the desert changes with grey rocky outcrops close the Red Sea. Having not seen an ocean since Tanzania, it’s great to view the sparkling blue waters. Massive tourist development scatters the shoreline – most half-completed shells of swish chalets and up-market hotels. Clearly it’s been earmarked as the new Sharm El – Sheikh. And pretty it is too.

Finally arriving in Nuweiba, four hours from departing Suez i take a further taxi to Soft Beach Camp where there are a few elderly fat Europeans (predominantly German) and a smattering of backpackers. At E$40 for a small, very basic beach-hut it’ll do for a few days before i take the ferry across to South Jordan. Just not convinced it’s the right South Jordan i should be visiting at the moment.

More on Nuweiba to follow.