SO, WHAT'S THE HARM IN SHARM' ?

 

Last year was our 15th wedding anniversary, did you know that ?
Well, to be honest, unless you're family there is absolutely no reason why you should.
But because it was, and the Missus had a week off from work because she had to use up some holiday,
we decided to go away somewhere and relax in the sun,and, given the weather in the UK was absolutely bloody abysmal we decided to go to Morocco.
However, what with the floods in Spain, I thought I'd better check the long range weather forecast just to make sure we were going to be safe, Morocco not being that far off the coast of Spain on the other side of the Mediterranean.
Guess what ? The long range was awful. Wet and windy and a high of twenty degrees, so that was off then.
Check the cheap flights again and come up with Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea.
The weather looks good on the long range. Twenty Six degrees sounds fine, it's like two am in the morning in the Gambia and we're quite used to that, so we thought we'd give it a go.
Why not. After all, we've never been there before, and it's only a week, so let's do it.

So... It's booked, and the critical phrase is 'All Inclusive' which covers all meals etc, plus, we've booked
the hotel's shuttle taxi/van to get us from the airport to the hotel both ways, in and out.
Two weeks later we're safely esconced at Luton airport awaiting our flight out.

Ok, two things about Egypt which might provide a headache or two if you haven't been there before
(and we hadn't) but I'd looked it up, and checked it out in the two weeks prior to going, and the first
thing is, You can't get any Egyptian pounds as they don't allow it to be taken out of the country.
If you're lucky, you can find a few at the airport (we did) but you can't order it from the bank or Post Office before you go.
The plan is, you exchange money at their end when you fly in.
And...
You need to apply for visas in advance, otherwise you have to do it at the airport when you're trying to get checked in for your boarding pass, and it takes ages and causes the queues to get even longer...
See... It helps if you know all this stuff in advance because when you're booking in at the airport you
certainly don't need any more aggro' than you're already going to get.
(Oh dear, did I set your bloody scanner off again... ?)
Time to hit the duty-free only to find out that those cunts from the Labour Party have decided to raise the price and the tax on tobacco products from £135.00 for ten pouches to £185.00 for ten pouches instead..
I knew it was a mistake to vote for a knight of the realm in charge of a party ostensibly from the working class...
And yes, that goes for the so-called Liberal Demo-twats as well.

 
And then, of course, there is a delay on the flight out...
Brilliant !!!
It's a four hour flight at the best of times, and this certainly isn't going to be one of those...
Mr Cynical seems to have taken over.
He usually appears when I'm at an airport...
Finally, we're allowed onto the aircraft and looking at the time, we are definitely going to get there late.
There's only snacks on board (cheap flights) but apparently they'll sell you an alcoholic beverage or two...
You couldn't make this stuff up, but that seems to be the way of the world these days.

After we've landed and identified our luggage we are given a form to fill in which should, if everything
has not gone tits-up totally, be the same as your visa details that you've already sent them, which come up on their immigration department's screens which you have just queued for forty five minutes to go through...
Made it...
We're through... Hang on, that bloke's got my name on a piece of cardboard...
Yes, I am he, and we are escorted to the back of the room while he finds the other three names on his list, for this is indeed the man with the hotel's shuttle van and he's ready and waiting and we're sorted...
Ok, we're sorted, as are two other couples, but he is missing one and they are definitely on the passenger manifest, so he's taken us all out to the van and gone back inside for another look.
Forty five minutes later, he's found our missing lady who apparently, has had her booked accomodation
changed within the last twenty four hours, so she is now NOT staying where she was actually booked into when Love Holidays accepted her booking.
Good 'ere, innit ?

But at least we're now out of the airport and moving...
By now it's midnight and we're knackered, not to put too fine an expression on it.
Fucked. Cream-Crackered. Exhausted. And bloody hungry too...
But finally, we're dropped off at our hotel which is not in the city centre, more outskirts I would have said, who welcome us profusely, apologising for any delay, and tell us to immediately go through into their restaurant where, now we've got our all inclusive wristbands on, we are going to get fed, because they have saved us a sort of snack because we were expected...
Blimey !   Didn't expect that.  
Yay... We've had a bit of food.  
Hmmm... I'm beginning to like this place already...
Then they take us to our room.
Second floor, overlooking a swimming pool and the odd tree and a few bushes as far as I can tell in the darkness.

 

Balcony, with two chairs and a small table on it outside through the patio doors.
Looks reasonable anyway.
The beds are two singles pushed together, but what the Hell, we can do anything else like unpack
in the morning.
Sleep...