We
haven't yet had the experience of being at a beach-resort destination
during high season, that happens to be a hot spot for European summer
vacationers. Summer is the time when it seems the Euro-corporate world
shuts down to join their children on school holidays. Many Europeans
flock to warm beach destinations, especially Sharm El-Sheikh. Sharm is
one of those spots that's been designed exclusively for the
"holiday-ing" European. We saw loads of tourists from the UK, France,
Italy, Spain, and some from Germany. The few Americans we met were
actually young kids working as dive instructors at the dive shops.
Everywhere we look, we see crispy burnt bodies of tourists lounging
around in speedos (on men), and bottoms-only bathing attire for topless
women. They're slicking up their bodies with SPF 2 or 4 oil. Coming
from the modest "US" beach attire culture (aside from the few beaches
of Southern CA where women with plastic body parts are clad with tiny
Brazilian cut bikinis), this just looks a bit odd to us... However,
after a day or two, we tend to see right past the old, overweight men
in way too tiny speedos, and the G-string's dividing flabby butt-cheeks
and bare boobs. I can only imagine how the local Egyptians find this
scantily clad scene, those who may come to Sharm for a bit of rest and
relaxation, away from the crowded and conservatively dressed cities.
We had set our driver up in a nice beach front hotel so he could enjoy
a little rest and relaxation, and later we discovered that he didn't
leave his room at all on the first day because he couldn't handle
seeing all the scantily clad tourists... it's offensive to those who
live such a conservative lifestyle and strong cultural values and
behaviors.
The
beaches are crystal clear and the streets of Sharm are spotless and Mc
Donald's sponsors trash bins all over the streets... Helsinki, take
note and learn a valuable lesson here! The economy of Sharm is driven
off the Euro, and everything is priced sky high, to soak up the highly
valued currency. You can't get a hotel room under $100/night. Food
and drink at restaurants are equally as pricey, and they have a captive
market here that will pay the price... the laws of supply and demand
prevail. We ate Mc Donald's for the first time on our trip for lunch,
as it was the only affordable meal option for us, and even that, for 2
people, came to $15... and that's sharing a drink and fries! The
social cafe scene is huge here. Coffee, beer, sheesha are the main
offerings, and the cafes pack either side of all the streets. I think
there are literally hundreds of options, to sit outdoors on a
pillow-lined magic carpet seat, and gulp down a cold beer and smoke
fruity tobacco from a sheesha. It's such a mainstream activity, you
even see Egyptian women sitting with their husbands indulging in a
sheesha - what a cool sight to see. The seafood here is caught fresh
each day, and we enjoy our grilled fish at one of the many open air
restaurants on the beach. During the evenings, restaurants convert the
once golden sandy beach into a red carpeted lounge, covering the sand
with carpets and setting up candlelit tables. We enjoyed a beautiful
seafood dinner with tasty Egyptian appetizers under a moon-lit sky.
The
weather here in Sharm is hot, near 40 degrees celsius. Shop owners
keep their places somewhat closed up and are siesta'ing during the
mid-day heat, but start to assemble rows upon rows of outdoor stalls,
boldly displaying their merchandise for the wealthy tourists to
consume. There are belly dancing costumes and sheesha pipes galore;
carpets and colorful glass and metal lamps that are very arabic.
There's a mystique to everything you can buy here, and the Egyptians
have their hard selling approach. Mostly they yell out to me in
Italian, "Ciao bella, ciao bella!" "Scuzzi!" They speak a few words
of each language. If I don't respond to their first calls, they switch
to French, and then a battery of greetings in other languages, hoping
to get my attention. They break down and in their good English, resort
at last to the universal phrase we hear in most countries we travel
through, "what country you from?" They then bust out their very
Egyptian lines, "You look Egyptian... I have seen you before." I say,
"no, I don't think so." And they come back with, "must have been in
my dreams!" Ah, they're all such smooth talkers! Most of them,
however, think that I'm Italian, which is an accurate guess on their
part. If we really want to be left alone, we say we're here from
Mexico, or Costa Rica... their Spanish vocabulary beyond the congenial
"hola, and hasta la vista," is very limited, so their sales approach
dries up quickly. If we want a special price or deal, we let them know
we're American. The consistent response we get is a big smile, and the
phrase, "America #1, Very Strong, We Love Americans, We give you
special price!" And perhaps it's all just a line, but on the side they
tell us they like Americans because we're friendly, ice, and we take
the time to stop and chat with them. They say the other tourists are
not as friendly and don't take the time to stop and talk. A pretty
generalizing statement by many of them, however, we're just thrilled to
be in a Muslim country where the locals are so welcoming and warm to
Americans. They do say they dislike Bush, but that they don't hold
their dislike for him against the American people.
Besides
the Europeans populating the beaches, we also met some very wealthy
Saudi Arabians on a quick holiday jaunt. Sharm is also a very popular
destination for Saudis. One man I chatted with in the jacuzzi was
proud to have sent his one son to a private English language school in
London for the past four years, and was looking forward to sending his
other two sons once they turn 14 years old. He believes they will only
be successful in life if they are fluent in English. He also has three
daughters. I asked if his eldest daughter went to the school in London
as well, and he quickly stomped out the conversation, stating that
girls learn English words for conversation during their school years in
Saudi. Definitely difference in treatment and opportunity for women in
this Saudi family, and this man emphasized that his sons were priority.
Chatting later with his elder daughter, she dreams of honing and
developing her English skills and one day hopes to work as a teacher,
but she's not sure she'll be allowed to be a professional female, as
she says it now depends upon what her father allows her to do, and
later on, what her husband would allow her to do. I've found a similar
theme speaking with local Egyptian girls who have graduated from a
local university and are not allowed to seek employment because they
have an overly restrictive father who doesn't allow it to happen.
Somehow the young women I've spoken with seem to have "accepted" their
lot in life as dictated by male figureheads in their families, despite
the dreams of being self sufficient and educated.
Despite
being overly commercialized, we soak up the sun, seafood and underwater
sights in Sharm, and look forward to one day returning to this seaside
dream.
