An unplanned detour into the desert, it took one full day of traveling (11 hours on to separate buses) to reach the Siwa Oasis, which is situated near the Libyan border in Egypt's western desert. Arriving without any knowledge of local hotels we choose one of the cheapest near the bus stop and then quickly left for dinner, as we were exhausted and hungry. This proved to be a mistake. Upon return to the hotel and with closer inspection we found a cockroach in the bathroom, feces on the floor (who knows the source), walls painted in natural hues with dirt, tile floors that have never known Mr Clean, sheets that had evidence of countless past inhabitants grimy bodies, and a bed than broke when Mike sat on it. Now the normal response would have been to leave, but as I mentioned we were exhausted. As backpackers we were prepared. Out came the sleeping bags, our own pillows, and ear plugs, to prevent cockroaches from crawling into our ears (this is a valid concern as Alisha, Andrea's sister, has reported numerous instances of seeing people in the ER with this exact scenario). The final touch was sleeping pills to ward off any possible insomnia resulting from our current situation.

To be fair Siwa itself was a unique destination with beautiful surrounding desert scenery, the best dates in the world (picked fresh from the tree - Andrea ate about 2 pounds or more), and it still holds on to an old world atmosphere with donkey carts more numerous than vehicles in the streets. The locals add to this atmosphere with men wearing white, flowing, cotton robes and turbans, while the women are unique in that they are COMPLETELY covered (black burqa with a black mesh covering their eyes, and gloves!!!). Siwa also has some interesting cultural traditions regarding the relationship between men - I won't go into detail here but it is interesting to read about and for us it was interesting to talk with some nonlocal Eygptians about.

October 27th - 31st
Cairo

November 1st - 4th
Siwa Oasis

November 5th - 7th
Aswan, Abu Simbel and Luxor

November 8th - 15th
Sinai Peninsula (city of Dahab)

Egypt country summary