October 19 – From LUXOR to EL QUSEIR
The taxi driver who should take us to the bus terminal, near the airport, offers to go directly to Qeft for 150 EGP. We reach this town well in advance.
Qeft is the unexpected surprise of the holiday. A small “real” town, where there are no paved roads, the main street is crossed by very few cars, a few Ape Piaggio and many donkeys, towing carts with various loads, including gas cylinders. Very photogenic
The bus station is a kind of chicken coop, under a hot tin roof. I sit on a lopsided bench, without realizing that, on the wall a few centimeters from my back, there are billions and billions of ants emerging from a pipe
Sitting next to me, there are women with covered faces and dressed in black who look at me like if I was a Martian. The attendant tells us that our bus (20 EGP) will arrive at 11.00; Instead, it’s late, and expected at 12.00. Meanwhile, Lorenzo keeps friendly relationships with the local people, who want to buy his watch and his camera. They are cordial, they offer coffee, tea, but he refuses, frightened by the hygienic conditions of the bar, where men are sitting smoking shisha.
Our bus, Upper Egypt Company, who comes from who knows where, is a shocking clunker, dirty to suck. Many seats have torn lining, the foam padding protrudes from gashes, it seems that a bomb fell on them. Once left, I try to explain to the driver, in Arabic, that I do not really have to go to El Quseir, but in a hotel that is located 22 km south. He asks me the name, and I feel reassured to see that he knows the Utopia Beach Club. We cross the desert, without encountering any village, passing a series of very beautiful mountains and canyons. On Tripadvisor, some users described El Quseir like a bombed Afghani village. I smile thinking at this definition, the town it is not actually very different from the Nubian villages around Aswan, and it’s the same in all the poor countries of the world. At about 16.30, the bus reaches the entrance of the resort. The receptionists are very surprised that we got there on the same public bus used by them.
The reservation of Utopia room deserves a story inside the story. I had been attracted by the beach reviews on Tripadvisor. But it was not possible to book this hotel through Expedia, Booking, etc. The only possible way, in Italy, seemed to buy a whole week + flight through a travel agent. By chance, I came across the website of a German tour operator, which sold rooms daily and not linked to weekly blocks. As I do not speak German, I was helped by my neighbour, to book 4 nights in a superior room with sea view all inclusive, at 177 Eu each.
Check in procedure lasts 3 seconds, no problem, no hitch. They give us a yellow bracelet, (never worn before in my life!), and assign us room nr 339, located in the largest pool area, at first floor. If we were further up the sea view would have been even more beautiful. In any case, we are happy as well, the room is large, bright and have a nice balcony, the bathroom is beautiful
We leave our backpacks, and immediately rush to the beach for a quick refreshing bath. It’s tea time, 17.00, and we join crowds of blond people. The resort is in fact attended by 98% of Germans
The sun sets early, at about 18.00 it is dark.
October 20-21-22 – Relax at Utopia Beach Club.
The property is very large, the garden is green and well maintained, clean pools
In the evening, a vague smell of sewer, our room is not affected, but in any case it is not so annoying.
Every morning 2 half liter bottles for each are left in our room. These can again be filled at dispenser which are spread everywhere. I think it’s a wise thing. Regarding food, I think it’s ok
I have always found clean plate and cups, whatever they wash them only with water or not. On the other hand how could the ecosystem survive, with too much detergent? The beach, outside the hotel fences, is a garbage dump, thousands of plastic bottles brought by the tide. So, dispensers are a good idea, but they should try to do more. .. Breakfast is great, everything and more.
Lunch can be eaten at the smaller swimming pool, the one close to the beach, where they serve pizza and pasta (never tried it) and at a restaurant, where a buffet is held
In the evening, the buffet is various, there is really everything, salads and raw vegetables of all kinds, two types of soup, rice as a side dish, different bread types, some yummy, homemade pasta instantly cooked, pasta pies (probably recycled food, but tasty), boiled vegetables, meat and fish, plenty of cakes and sweets, and fruits. In short, a paradise! Room cleaning is done every day, but they do not change the towels (maybe because we do not leave tips ??), in any case, I stretch them out to dry on the balcony, and there is no problem. Two light bulbs in the bathroom breaks, and they are immediately replaced, the sink is leaking, and it is immediately fixed, we do not even have to call.
Along with the room key, they gave us a card to take towels at the beach. Every time you return the towel, they give you back the card
If it gets lost, the penalty is 100 EGP.
In reception, bulletin boards show the various activities and excursions proposed by tour operators, damn expensive. Same for the internal taxi service, 50 Eu one way to Hurghada.
We are concerned because we do need a taxi to get to the airport, to go back to Cairo.
Twice a week, there is a shuttle bus to El Quseir, cost 25 EGP. We decide to go there, to see if we can organize our transfer to Hurghada without depending on the hotel .. we take occasion to buy some food as well, because the one sold in the hotel shop is expensive.
The shuttle leaves at about 10.30, and pretty much allows us 2 hours of stay. The “Afghani bombed village” comes to mind, indeed, it prevails a sense of abandonment
It seems to be back to Qeft, but here there are less people. The promenade hosts a number of desolately empty restaurants under flowered canopies
Our priority is to buy reef shoes and hydrogen peroxide, because Lorenzo was cut on the corals. We buy the shoes (40 EGP) at NemoTec, whose owners are two guys with long beards who looks like ayatollahs. I do not dare to bargain, since I did not even understand the price. I thought it was 50 but they, instead of fooling me, give me the correct change, repeating the exact price in English.
When we arrive at the pharmacy I feel lost. At NemoTec it was easy, the shoes were shown on a display, so it was enough to indicate them and ask “bikam?”. Here, however, the shelves are crammed with stuff, how will I communicate if the store clerk, a woman covered in veils from head to toe, does not speak English? Fortunately, the problem does not arise, she talks very good English, and we pay 5 EGP a flask .
We still have some time, and we have must hurry to find a taxi. We have already seen some, but they were busy. Fortunately, next to the main roundabout, we stop one. He asks us 250 EGP to Hurghada airport, I try to bargain, but the driver is irremovable. In any case, these 30 Eu are always better than the hotel 50, not to mention the prospect of traveling on a bus. Since the driver can read English, I leave a card with my details, and I hope for good fortune. We will have to wait for him in the street, he can’t enter the complex, in fact.
Then we can dedicate about twenty minutes to look at souvenirs in various shops. We do not buy anything, and I regret this, but I have great expectations on the Khan El Khalili bazaar, at Cairo
Let’s say one of the reasons why I chose Utopia were the positive reviews related mainly to the easy reef access. This seemed important, since my boyfriend is not a great swimmer. But even I, to tell the truth, do not rejoice in the idea to jump off a dock on a windy day and float on the outer reef with the fear of being thrown to the right and left by the waves
We got it. The corals, it is true, are not the ones I saw in Redang, Malaysia, but it is also true that there we jumped off the boat, and here we are a few meters from the beach
However, there are many colorful fish. I must admit that I never moved away too much from the shore
..Offshore surely it will be different .. On the last day, there is a lot of wind, and red flag, but the water is barely rippled so really there is no problem, although the current is quite strong. Unfortunately, I see people putting their feet with fins on the corals when tired
Oct. 23 – From El-Quseir to Hurghada to Cairo
Our flight from Hurghada to Cairo leaves at 13.40.
The taxi driver is waiting for us at 10.00 at the main entrance of Utopia, the one next to security, which block us. The reception call twice the security on the phone, to know where we are going, they are worried since we did not book any transfer, or taxi… They say they do it for our own safety, but I feel more that they are angry because we did not arrange with them.
In the stretch of road from Quseir to Safaga there are very few resorts, and nothing else. The sea in many places is Caribbean turquoise, and becomes awesome close to a hotel complex called Magic Life, forming a large lagoon. The part of Hurghada I see the car window is a huge cluster of condos, many of whom are looking for a buyer. The buildings show a certain elegance, but as a matter of fact, adding them to several water parks, and Disneyland-style hotels, the addition is a mess. Rather than such a mess, I prefer a thousand times the desolate stillness of El Quseir! This time the flight is delayed, and we land at Cairo at 15.45, instead of 15.10.
Now the fun begins, and when the going gets tough the tough get going