A Las Vegas Diary (Part 7)
Another busy day dawns. We got up nice and early and decided we would see the places that we have not yet seen – we started off at Paris. It was brilliant in there. Lots of lovely little nooks and crannies and the decoration was excellent… There was a lot of cafes with a lot of very long queues though! You could see the legs of the inside of the Eiffel tower, and there was a bridge you could walk across. I would like to stay here I think.
We went to M&M world and were there for ages – lots of different M&M toys, we got laura a poker set, a vegas dancing girl and a host of other tat. Then we went to New York New York, saw Times Square. I thought this place looked more interesting from the outside than it actually was!
For our lunch we went to a place called FATBURGER! Paul got a king fatburger, which is even bigger. Some man next to me was throwing loads of sauce onto his crisps, so I tried a tiny bit on a chip – ouch it nearly burned my tongue off.. I suffered for about an hour, but mostly in silence it has to be said, because paul thought it was dead funny and I did not want him to laugh at me any more than he already was! They had good T Shirts there which said “FAT is the new SKINNY” I wanted one, but they had none for sale – poo!
Went back to the hotel and got ready for our limo ride. This was booked for 3pm so we trotted out and then it pulled up – wow! It was like being a celebrity! Doors opened for us, everyone gawping! Inside the limo was so comfortable great big leather chairs, little drinks areas either side, there was even a TV and a CD player!
Our driver was called Ron – and he looked like something off reservoir dogs, all black suit and communication device in his ears! He had a great big list of all the famous people who had been in his limo! Mostly American stars of course, such as Paris Hilton and the like……………… He was great – we went down to the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign and he took our photograph (this was to turn out to be the “Official Trip Photo”) “gee, don’t you know Paul Barlow” ……………
then as we still had loads of time left he took us on a tour up and down the strip and showed us all the wedding chapels etc. I enjoyed this so much – it is nice to have a taste of luxury!!!
Even better, I was planning on paying for this with my winnings but Paul would not let me and insisted that I spend it on myself! Obviously I stashed this money away quickly in a safe place and would later buy myself my lovely BELLAGIO BLING cocktail ring as a souvenir! SHINY!
Paul decided to take the PDA down to the fountains tonight to tape the show, as it would be our last one. I was dreading this. Thankfully, the song they choosed to play was “Viva Las Vegas”, so I was very happy. Unfortunately the PDA did not “save” so we had to wait for the next song which was typically “Time to Say Goodbye”, I cried, I am not ashamed to say – it was very emotional! BOO HOO! However, I cried a lot more later in the night in the Casino when I lost my stake on the VP. First night I came home empty handed! Still, got plenty of Baileys, coffee and cream – so that cheered me up a bit! And so to bed.
Our Final Day In Las Vegas
Quiet day. Didn’t do much. Time to go home… Got up quite late, packed and I went down to Palio for a coffee. Paul met me later and we went for a walk around the pool. It was so lovely.
Next time we will have to make sure we spend some time in it. Checked out quickly and painlessly, then got in a taxi 3pm (fountains came on “time to say goodbye”, did not cry this time.
We were the first people to check in. Flight home was absolutely horrendous. I am not going to write about this because I want to forget it.
All in all, the best holiday I have ever had.
A definite 5* 10/10 A1 experience that everyone should treat themselves to.
A Las Vegas Diary (Part 6)
Today we decided to go up and down the strip on the Monorail! You just buy your ticket out of a machine and can then go up and down on it all day for the grand cost of $11. Can’t complain at that! Mostly the monorail was quiet.
We initially jumped on at Bally’s and went over to the Excalibur. This is one of those places that looked better from the outside, all turrets and castle-like, but inside seemed to be quite old/dated. The interior had castle walls, but apart from that you could be anywhere, except for the one thing – they had an area suitable for children – ie amusements that were not gambling! We didn’t stay there very long!
Crossed over to the Luxor. I was hugely disappointed with this place, virtually everything was signed as “closed”. I would be raging if that had been my base! The funniest thing about there was when we were on a moving walkway, a boy was messing around and I had visions of him getting his foot trapped, but his parents were just letting him mess about – anyway, later on we saw this family again just ahead of us, and their boy was still messing (not picking up feet etc) but he fell FLAT ON HIS FACE! I laughed out loud! Tee hee!!
Back out into the baking heat and over the bridge to the Tropicana for our “$11 Island Buffet” – what can I say – WOW! I started with a fry up! Then I saw Clam Chowder – I have only ever heard of this on American TV shows, so I thought I would give it a go – I LOVED it, should have gone back for more. Then I got some Chinese noodle type thing…..You could go back and forth as much as you liked, but we didn’t go properly mental, but definitely had enough! We tipped our server $10 and you would have thought it was her birthday the reaction from her! Felt quite stuffed, but luckily we had the rest of the day to walk it off.
Got given tickets at MGM grand to watch a show and give our opinion. But we won’t be doing that – like Paul says, people usually “pay” us for our opinions!
Back on the monorail from MGM grand all the way down to the Stratosphere. This area of town is really seedy – saw our first wedding chapel down here – as well as a couple of homeless dudes… It had an air of sadness about it, like it was closing down. The Stratosphere itself has rides at the top, but we were too chicken and went into the viewing tower instead…. Didn’t realise just how tall this building was until we looked out at the view – lots of signs saying do not lean on the glass, yeah, as if! I would be too afraid of falling through the glass…
I got one of those squished pennies as a souvenir.
We also got iced coffee at the stratosphere’s Starbucks (which I didn’t really like – it wasn’t actually what I wanted – but I didn’t know the name of what I wanted so just ordered it and hoped for the best!) Walked around for a bit, did lots of “viewing” and then went back down the lift. “Down” seemed to be a lot faster, I could feel my ears popping!
The Biggest Souvenir shop in the World is here, so of course we nipped in and bought all our pressies. They had a severed hand in a jar with a notice that this is what happened to the last shoplifter they caught – haha – I am surprised anyone would have the nerve (or the opportunity) to steal from this shop, bearing in mind the amount of security they had. We got our receipt marked with a highlighter pen by the security guard on our exit for some strange reason??
Friday is quite a big night in Vegas so we got dressed up posh (I wore my cream dress) and hit the Bellagio casino. Drank lots of “cocktails”, we got invited to join the “Players Club” and I won lots tonight – if I remember correctly I got $22, then $30, then $53… YAY ME!!! I decided I would spend this money on the hire of a stretch limo to take us to the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign – extravagant or what! (Luckily, I had read in a mag that a limo only costs about $70 per hour.) – only pennies eh!
Went to bed highly excited at living the life of a high roller.
A Las Vegas Diary (Part 5)
Got up quite early today to make sure we got to the front of the queue to go on a gondola in the Venetian. We firstly stopped off at Caesar’s Palace, and luckily we timed it just right and managed to get to see the Animatronic Show “Fall of Atlantis”, which was funny. He had a son and a daughter who were fighting about who was going to be in charge but they ended up destroying Atlantis with their Fire and Ice fighting tee hee!
Over to Venetian now. No queue for the gondolas, most people are probably still in bed! Look at the painted clouds, remember this is indoors!
It was good fun, we shared our Gondola with a couple from Georgia, and the fella sang “rainy night in Georgia”, but he sang the wrong words – which he did to most songs – making up his own comedy versions of things like “That’s Amore” it was nice sailing down the fake canals, we went into Fake St Marks Square, and had our photograph taken again by the official photographer. We did an awful lot of walking today.
Crossed to the road to Mirage (half an hour later, we got there)
Had a look at the Rainforest, then we decided to go and see Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden, because we heard they had baby tigers and dolphins. Again, luckily our timing was spot on because we did not have to wait to get in. The dolphins didn’t do tricks, they were allowed to be themselves. We were underneath the tank looking through the glass walls and saw a dolphin making a call of nature. Seen hundreds of dolphin shows, but that was a first!! The baby tigers were just the cutest thing! It was their feeding time as well so there were handlers in with them and they were being bottle fed. They looked like they were having a great time – rolling round fighting and playing with each other.
Left Mirage and walked down to see MacKing at Harrah’s. He was just about to start his show – and I think it is fair to say he was the funniest magician I have ever seen! He had people up on stage, did card tricks, disappearing money, made a bear appear in a tent, used a “cloak of invisibility”. Very clever magician! I was crying with laughter at most of it! Adult but not rude – which I should imagine is quite a tough thing to do?
For an early tea we went to Dennys, which was ACE – that burger and chips was probably the biggest I have ever had. I cut mine in half and gave it to Paul.! Mostly because I did the old “eyes bigger than belly” and ordered a coke float as well!!! Haven’t had one of these since I was a kid, and it was just as nice as I remembered it to be.
Tonight we got a cab downtown. Met a lovely taxi driver who told us a bit about the current situation in Vegas which was kind of sad. Tourism not what it used to be, lots of frat boys who don’t spend, just get drunk and act stupid etc. He said him and his wife were moving away because there was no jobs, and what there was were being given to oriental people because they would work for less! Sounded a bit like home with the Poles!
He dropped us off at the Golden Nugget. We had a stroll around and took some photographs of things like Glitter Gulch and Pete etc. Lots of little stalls selling souveniers and tat. We went into the Golden Nugget and played a bit of VP. I had a big win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Got 4 ACES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cashed it in of course. I was drinking Beer tonight, it was not really a cocktail place, but I think I got a little bit drunk. Haha!
There was a band playing who played lots of ROCK – they were really good – lots of air guitars being waved around.
The Freemont Street lights came on and they were brilliant! The first show was a tribute to Queen and the songs were “We Will Rock You”, and “We are the Champions” . This was quite emotional as the screen showed clips of soldiers, American flags, doctors, teachers, firemen etc…….. American Schmaltz at it’s best – quite emotional though – even for a hard heart like mine! It has to be seen to be believed. It was amazing. Later in the night they played Lynard Skynard’s “Freebird” – it rocked!
There was a guy standing in the street with a big board displaying a Brain challenge – with a $100 drawn on it, to make you think you might win it if you get them right. I got them all right of course, but then he started banging on about Jesus and how you had to be born again to get into heaven – YEAH BUT WHAT ABOUT THE $100!!! I told him I was sorted for religion and that us Catholics could do what we wanted and just go to confession – and that I would not be burning in hell cos Jesus was my mate – he didn’t seem very happy with that – then Paul told him about the hundreds of different religions and that they were all rubbish– I bet he was really glad he picked us!!!!!!!!!!
My winnings were really burning a hole in my pocket now, so I saw a cute little Gucci bag and decided to treat myself to it. Got a taxi home. Straight to bed!
A Las Vegas Diary (Part 4)
Well, here it is! The BIG 40!
I don’t feel any older! Woke up nice and early, Paul sang Happy Birthday to me, and I opened my cards. We decided to have a Fancy Pants Fine Dining Breakfast this morning so we went to Café Bellagio.
I had Maryland Crab Cakes with Eggs Benedict. Our waitress said “Gee, that’s the best thing on the menu” (good, I thought!) and it was – it was better than good! It was easily the poshest food I have ever had, it was scrummy, yummy, and moreish! Mind you – it was about 5 times the price of a breakfast anywhere else – but I think it was 5 times better! Some people are never satisfied, a woman on the table next to us was complaining and I was intrigued how the server managed to both be nice and slightly cold towards her at the same time! She was American and it was “get me a ….” No please, no thank you…. Of course, we as usual were unfailingly polite!!!
Went back to the room and got ready for the ride of a lifetime! We got picked up at 11 in a truck (in the one part of the hotel that was not air conditioned – god it was hot) Bus was nice and cool. Went to another hotel to pick up – nothing like as nice as ours! Some stupid woman talked ALL THE WAY on her mobile phone. Still nothing could alter my mood – I was totally wound up with excitement!
Get to the airport, get weighed and get put into 3 pairs. Thankfully Mrs Talkalot was not with us. Just one nice couple, and one couple who could not speak a word of English! The pilot explained that the trip would be split into 3 so we could all have a go at the front. We made the non-english speakers go front first! She looked terrified and was holding onto her seatbelt with clenched hands for most of the journey. It was weird taking off it was a bit like a car starting – then we went SO HIGH! Look, there is Lake Mead, there is Million Dollar Mansions (I told everyone that a million dollars would buy you not much more than a decent sized town house where we come from!! ) – there is the Hoover Dam (I got great photos of that) He explained about all the erosion and the water level dropping over the millions of years. Quite amazing to think how short life is compared to big things like that!
We landed and were given a small snack and a glass of champagne! It was surreal – I couldn’t believe I was “in” the Grand Canyon!
Time to get back on the helicopter, Paul told the second couple that they could go up front next, but they didn’t really get to see much – just more canyon, flat desert etc. then we parked up and got some petrol – then it was our turn to sit at the front. We definitely got the best part of the ride! He was all over the place – up and down looking at all sorts of things – we were really high up – it was dead exciting! Went over the lake again and Red Rock etc. Then – there was Vegas in the distance! We went downtown and then took a trip along the strip looking at all the hotels. MEGA EXCITING! He played Pink Floyd’s “Money”, which I thought was very appropriate!
Got off the helicopter, and bought the obligatory photograph! Then back to the Hotel. After a short rest, we went to Bill’s Gambling Hall for our Steak Special – YUM! I got a starter of prawns, paul got chicken strips – my steak came with a jacket potato and salad. I was really full. Paul had to finish my food for me. I was full half way through.. very nice. Then I bought a darling tennis bracelet and pair of pearl and diamond ear-rings from a jewellery stand in Bill’s with the money I got off Bob and Ruth.
Back to the hotel, small rest – then got ready and went to Jubilee!!
I got really dressed up tonight, wore Sam’s black dress and my new ear-rings. I loved the show, it was proper old school Vegas with rhinestones, feathers, dancing girls – and was probably the tackiest thing I have ever seen – it was ACE. Paul hated it, and wanted to fall asleep! A particularly tacky part was the Sinking of the Titanic, which morphed into some “GOD BLESS AMERICA” high kicking type of thing – most odd! Rushed out to go to the toilet after it was finished, by the time I got back, the photographer had gone, which was a shame, because I did not get chance to buy my obligatory photograph?!?! Back to Bellagio, back to Casino – Paul’s turn to win tonight – but he gave his ticket to me!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Las Vegas Diary (Part 3)
Today was particularly busy. Booked our Grand Canyon Trip with reception for 11am tomorrow morning. Then we went to the MGM Grand. “Grand” is an understatement.
I think this has to be the biggest place I have ever seen. I believe it has over 5,000 rooms! We walked and walked and walked! Stopped off at a great restaurant called “Rainforest Café”. The USP here is that it is full of animatronic animals such as elephants, gorillas, snakes and every so often there will be a thunderstorm where there will be lightning and all the animals wake up and start making a fuss! It was really funny! We got our picture taken stood next to the elephants. Had a 3 egg omelette with mushrooms, ham and peppers. It was YUMMY. It came with breakfast potato. Me and Paul did not know what that was – turned out it was miniature roast potato squares.
Then it was 11am, time for the lions to come out to play! We got a really good spot right by the front and were so lucky that it was the two younger male lions, who were very lively! They were massive! We went under a tunnel, I could not believe the size of their feet!
Crossed the bridge walkway and ended up in the Tropicana. There was supposed to be a free show here, but it is not on any more. We didn’t really want to see the shows they had on (titanic), so we did some gambling instead. Cocktail waitress here got me a pina colada (YUM) and I had my first big win on the slots!! $47. I was only playing the quarter slots – so that was a really good return I thought – I got 4 of a kind – think it might have been 4 Queens. I was delirious with excitement when the “win” total kept going up and up and up – I thought “keep going”……….. YAY ME, the BIG WINNER!!!!
Went across the road to the Venetian. This hotel has painted roofs that look like sky with fluffy white clouds, which adds to the confusion as to whether it is day or night (especially when you are still jet lagged). We saw living statues, and a display of jugglers. Again there was amazing fountains (they seem to really go for water displays in Vegas). The Venetian has a re-make of St Marks square – which was most strange. My friend Ruth would be in the real St Mark’s square at the moment, and here I am in one as well! Haha!
There are two gondola rides in the Venetian (inside and outside), we joined the queue for the inside one but were told we need to book our ride. But it was busy, there was loads in the shop wanting to book, so we decided to come back another time. While we were there, we decided to go to Madame Toussads, and that was fabulous! Everyone was there, Brad and Angelina, Sly and Arnold – even Hugh Heffner! There was a really good part called “scream”, which was quite gross. They had a Princess Diana, and of course a shop – where you could buy a variety of tat that didn’t seem to make sense – such as Halo characters and bags for your 360?!?
Nipped into Bally’s to buy our tickets for Jubilee! Luckily we had a half price voucher. 70 dollars a seat is quite expensive for Vegas! Paul spotted an internet station so he checked up on work, whilst I went to a jeweller and spent my VP winnings on a lovely charm for my bracelet. It is a green Faberge egg with encrusted diamonds no less!
Strolled on over to Bill’s Gamblin’ Saloon and took in the Big Elvis Show. I thought he was great, in a corny, tacky kind of way. Apparently, he is not as “big” as he was, in that he has lost 500lb on his diet! His backing singer was better (in my opinion). It was good fun though, he got some women up and they had to dance and the best one, as voted by the audience, won a prize – never found out what the prize was –it was most likely a CD of his greatest hits!
Back to the Bellagio, were we nipped into the Baccarat Bar. I had a Bellagio Cocktail. Mega Posh!! Paul had a Becks !!!! It was dead relaxing here, bowls of peanuts, blown glass – people showing off with champagne haha!
Back downstairs to the casino tonight. Found a new drink of Bailey’s, Coffee and Cream. This will turn out to be my regular tipple of the trip. I love “cocktails”, they just walk around asking who wants drinks, and all you have to do is tip them a couple of dollars. It seems once they know you are there, they do come back quite a lot. I got quite drunk pretty much every night!
Relatively early night tonight 1.30am (ish) BIG DAY TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!
A Las Vegas Diary (Part 2)
Got to the Hotel, which has to be seen to be believed!
Saw the million dollar blown glass ceiling – wow – and just like about 10 million others I took a few photos!
Luckily the “Check in” was not busy, so we got seen pretty much straight away. Found the room, 5060, I was blown away!!! I think I might have shed a couple of tears!! The view from the room was like a picture, we were at the front of the hotel so had a good view of the strip, and even better, we could see the fountains!!!!!!!!!!!!! Result!!!!!!! . It was not yet 3pm so they weren’t on yet, but I knew to get Channel 22 on when they started so I could hear the corresponding music.
The Room itself was luxury personified. It has a great big Armoire with a TV in the middle, mini-bar with everything you could have wanted – and the bathroom was amazing – it was bigger than my kitchen and had a lovely big shower cubicle and a great big bath that you could swim in if you wanted! I was so excited! I was also glad that our room spent most of its time in the shade, so was always nice and cool. All the lights and curtains worked by switches near the bed – I would keep the curtains open until I was ready to go to sleep.
I cannot explain how great it was going to sleep whilst looking at the neon lights of THE FLAMINGO! But, back to the present. It is still day, our bodies are telling us it is 10pm, but because we have gone back 8 hours, it is only mid-afternoon!
Luckily, I wrote an itinerary. The first thing was to look at Bellagio Gardens. Dad told us these were massive, all the websites rave about them – so I had them down for the whole afternoon – they were beautiful – with lots of lovely flowers, moving displays such as trains, and a bear and a daddy bear, but we had seen it all in ½ hour!! Kept thinking “I am in the Bellagio Gardens! – Fancy that!” There is a lot of work here for a lot of people keeping this lot nice I reckon!
Caesar’s Palace is just next door, so we thought we would pop over. After about a 15 minute walk we finally entered into the main lobby. Lots of people milling around, looking up at the fresco ceilings etc. There was an amazing indoor fountain. What I remember most was a little Chinese boy who must have been about 3 or 4, ending up in this fountain and being plucked out like a flailing fish by his dad! Don’t know if he had been pushed in by his brother – there was lots of shouting from his mum and dad, yelling and screaming from him – and he was then dragged away looking like he was heading for a hiding. Classic!
This place has an hourly show based around the “Fall of Atlantis” and I really wanted to see it, but it wasn’t on – there was a sign saying “due to technical difficulties (or some such thing) there would be no show” – OH NO!!! Still, we have a week, it is bound to be fixed before we go – isn’t it?!?!?
Saw the aquarium, with lots of big fish – got some good photographs, hopefully they have worked.
Lots of amazing shops in Caesars Palace. There was also great big escalators that went round in curves! We went up and down them a few times! Haha!
We went to a little New York deli type place for something to eat. Paul got a tuna sandwich and I have never seen so much tuna between two slices of bread. It must have been 2 bowls full!! My sandwich was amazing too! We had our first experience of free fill-up drinks, but didn’t bother. Full up after the mega butties! A man came in to ask the price of something and re-coiled in horror – yet we thought everything was dirt cheap! That’s the advantage of a weak dollar I suppose?
Stayed in Bellagio casino tonight for our gambling. Got free cocktails for the first time… I made Paul get a Mojito but he didn’t like it, so was soon back on the old “southern comfort and lemonade” – still, more for me! “COCKTAILS” . Went to bed at 10pm (which to our internal clocks was about 8am!!)
Slept like babies!
A Las Vegas Diary (Part 1)
Mum and Dad came and took us to the Ronaldsway. Had coffee and watched planes coming and going. Laura is excited to be staying with mum and dad, but my excitement to be going to VEGAS is mounting with every second! Can’t wait to get on that plane!
Flight out was uneventful. Got to Gatwick in good time, a monorail ride and short walk and we were cosied up in our Airport Hotel, Sofitel which I am going to give a SSS rating, for what has to be the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, and a bath to die for!!! Small emergency when my filling fell out courtesy of chewing gum, so we did an emergency run to boots for a DIY filling kit! Had a lovely night here watching TV and chilling. Early start tomorrow!
The Next Day
Back on the monorail to the departure terminal. Checked in and went through to wait. Luckily the gate was soon called, Gate 13, and we looked on the board where it says it was a 15 minute walk away (well, it wasn’t, – it was about 5) There was a massive queue, but after we had got through the last passport check, there were still hundreds of people behind us! Typically, we were in the part of the plane that was called to be filled last, but no worries – we had our seat, so there was no rush! Sat next to a very, very quiet man who worked on his laptop the majority of the journey – he visibly perked up when we could see the strip from the plane and he pointed out things to me. Plane was brilliant – loads of things to eat, and do, and play. Great stuff! Time flew by! (I won’t be saying this on the return journey though!)
Plane lands, I can’t believe how excited I am!! LV airport (McCarran is very small), but oddly enough security is nothing like as bad as I thought it would be – the lady who took our Visas and fingerprints etc chatted to us and was very nice. Got out into the heat OUCH! In the hundreds! Luckily there were taxis there so we jumped straight into one
“BELLAGIO PLEASE” How wonderful to be able to say that! Taxi driver notes we are British and asks us if we are from “London or Manchester” – still I am guilty of thinking every American is from New York!
Sharm el Sheikh
Sharm el Sheikh – 10 Days At The Cleopatra Hotel
Having traveled around Europe and the Mediterranean extensively over the last 5 years we thought this year we would try something different. Having a 10 year old daughter we didn’t want to go too far off the beaten track so after watching some travel channels we decided to go on a visit to the Red Sea Riviera, more specifically Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt which I think most people would regard as one of the more up and coming destinations in world travel. After a lot of research we were happy in our choice expecting a cheap, friendly destination, obviously not Europe but familiar enough to have an enjoyable family holiday. It really appears as though the Red Sea is being marketing in direct competition to the Mediterranean resorts and we were really looking forward to our relaxing holiday in the sun with added excitement of experiencing a different culture.
We booked our one week trip with LastMinute.com, Med Hotels being the tour operator (having recently being bought by LastMinute.com). We were staying in the 4 star Tsokkos Cleopatra Hotel. The Tsokkos chain consists of more that 25 hotels and we considered it to be a safe bet particularly with regard to food hygiene standards and staff quality. All literature confirmed that the hotel contained an entertainment program (very important when you travel with children) and a large number of facilities ranging from several restaurants to a beauty salon. Again we prepared for the different culture by reading as much material as possible from sources including tourist guides and websites; we were fully expecting to have to barter in every shop and to tip for most things. The Egyptian people were described as being friendly yet very good salesmen. Our holiday to the red sea in Egypt contained very little of what we expected…
Within minutes of landing at Sharm el Sheikh airport we were being hassled, harassed and ultimately ripped off. We wanted visas which “should” cost £15 each, the Egyptian official wanted 450 Egyptian pound (i.e. from now on) which is not £45, it is close but still more. There was no opportunity to pay in a different currency as we had been advised. Anybody not wanting a Visa was treated appallingly (A visa is not required if you only plan to visit Sharm el Sheikh itself). When you pass through passport control you will find a baggage trolley is thrown in front of you, very nice except when the hand comes out and the bloke is demanding “tips in English”. He has cornered all the trolleys in the airport and this is the only way to get one, I have no problem with tipping for a service but this man has done nothing more that steal the public baggage trolleys. This is not a friendly happy experience but an aggressive, intimidating really annoying one, I can think of no worse a way to start your holiday. It’s worth noting that there are plenty of security guards around at this point, all of them giving each other piggy backs and monkey scrubs! When you finally get outside of the airport you will face the gauntlet of making our way to the coach. It’s about 200 yards uphill to the coach park and the pavement is lined with people wanting to push your trolley. They will not take “no thanks” for an answer, if you are elderly or struggling you may need a hand, we were fine but still the trolley was grabbed away from me twice and money was demanded, again this is not a nice request but is extremely aggressive. You will need to wrestle your trolley back or pay up. The only way to get rid of them is to say you have no money, the reps offer no protection for the holiday maker and you are left to battle on. We finally got to the coach and I put our cases away, our med hotels rep was talking to a local who I presumed to be the driver, just as was finishing putting the hand luggage on he picked up my wife’s bag and put it on the cases, can you guess what is coming next? “Tips in English”. Presuming this man was the driver (after all the rep was hugging him and seemed very friendly), I gave him a pound, he then moved onto the next coach, hmmm I guess he wasn’t the driver after all? We’ve probably been in Egypt less than an hour at this point, we’ve not been left alone without people wanting money for maybe more than 2 minutes. Everybody from the officials, security, and holiday reps who are supposed to be there to welcome and look after you are only interested in extracted every last penny you may have, no matter what the currency. It soon dawns on me that we are like lambs being led to the slaughter. That was our welcome to Egypt. I should mention again that I was mentally prepared for Egypt and it’s culture but with it all being quite friendly and good natured, it’s really not. The passengers on our coach all appeared a bit dazed and confused at what had just happened.
The Cleopatra Hotel
The Cleopatra Hotel was about a 40 minutes coach ride from the airport, it would probably be quicker but in Sharm el Sheikh there is a strange traffic management program where instead of junctions they use turning points that may require you to travel several hundred yards in the wrong direction just to turn around. Anyway this all adds to the fun and confirms that you are not in Europe. The hotel itself like all in this area closely resembles a fort, high walls and security guards are a must. Whilst on the coach we passed several tent cities and many groups of young men sitting at the side of the road. It is again another firm reminder that you are in a different culture and we found all this quite exciting. The Cleopatra was not what we were expecting, for a start it is much smaller than the travel agents would have you believe. There was confusion with our booking in that we had booked 2 adjoining rooms. At first the hotel wanted to offer us 1 room with 3 beds in it, I’m so glad we did not accept this, the rooms are small by any standard. Eventually we settled on 2 rooms together although not adjoining on the premise that when people left we would get our adjoining rooms. To be fair to the Cleopatra this mix up was not their fault but lastminute.com had failed to inform them of our requirements. Still it felt like we had to barter for the rooms we had paid for. On reaching the rooms it was very clear that they were not rooms normally used by guests but rather holiday rep bases. Our toilet leaked and the neither fan was working. The wiring has to be seen to be believed. The view from our balconies was that of the building site next door (luckily most of this was obscured by the Hotels security wall). This did not resemble 4 star in any way, luckily we were only to use these rooms for 2 nights before we could move to our new room. Our new rooms were much better, over looking the bar area (there was only one bar), the rooms were bigger, cleaner and we felt much happier. Still it must be said that this was not a 4 star hotel. This room lottery was repeated by everybody we met in the hotel, it appears as if you will be given a rubbish room until you complain.
We were staying on a bed and breakfast basis as we envisaged having the opportunity to eat out most nights. Something that didn’t happen due to the dreaded Pharaohs revenge. The majority of guests in the hotel were staying on an all-inclusive basis and we did join them for some evening meals. The hotel food comprised of buffets for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dinner choice was quite a bland mix of beef, chicken, potatoes, pasta, various soups and small amounts of root vegetables. Breakfast was the usual choice of a couple of cereals, a continental style breakfast or eggs in various guises. The staff whilst being in the most part very friendly (especially with children) were very keen to get your plates and in particular cutlery away from you as soon as you have finished, or before in some cases. This of course limits what you can eat but more importantly imposes a feeling of urgency on anyone left eating. Again this did not feel anything like 4 star, we were glad that we had not paid the all-inclusive price. On the subject of all-inclusive the actual operating of this within the hotel was something I had never seen before. As well as a wrist band (which is standard) guests were also required to sign for every drink, snack, meal, EVERYTHING. This made getting something to eat or drink an ordeal, there were plenty of waiting staff but only one person where you could sign for things. As B&B guests we also had to sign for everything against the room and settle the bill the next day. No cash payments are accepted in the hotel at all. Staff would comment on us not being all-inclusive and yet all-inclusive guests were complaining of the incredibly slow service they received. On settling this daily bill we would never get any change, adding more expense to what were incredibly expensive prices anyway, for a 3rd world country with a poor currency the actual costs of a drink within the Cleopatra are more expensive than you would pay in the average bar in England. This lack of change is something that appears to be common in Egypt (certainly Sharm el Sheikh) and tourists should be wary of the practice of locals not having change when a price has been agreed, you. We were staying in a hotel that was part of an international chain, if I choose to leave a tip that is one thing, but for reception to not give change as a rule, then that is another. I’m not talking about pennies either, over the course of our 7 days I imagine we paid about £35 extra to the Cleopatra reception. This left a feeling of being robbed on a daily basis until I decided that it would be best to leave the bill several days at a time before paying, at least this would limit how much extra we were “tipping”. A wiser policy still would be to not pay a penny until leaving.
One final thing about the Cleopatra you should be very wary of the “mini-market” as advertised within the hotel. This is not as you would expect somewhere to buy a packet of crisps or a drink for your room but rather a selection of small gift shops run by very aggressive salesmen. In fact the hotel will not allow you to buy food and drink from anywhere but the hotel, whilst we were there a young lad had his onion rings confiscated only to be given back when leaving! This appeared very strange, especially as he was an all inclusive guest and the hotel already had his money. The shop keepers pay a premium to be situated on the tourists door step and are a constant pain, you soon learn to avoid them and most guests find themselves scared of this lions den. Again, expect no protection from the hotel staff, who will gladly point you in their direction should you require anything from some change (which is then not available) to an excursion. Prices are over inflated (even by Sharm el Sheikh standards) and the only excursion we wished to book was cancelled eventually because the salesman could not deliver what he had promised, 3 days after a deposit had been taken. What makes things worse is that the left luggage area is in the middle of these shops meaning that you are unlikely to be able to avoid them, at least on your last day. Of particular note is the perfume seller, he will lock you in his shop and not let you go until you have bought his fake perfume at £30 for a small bottle. Using a well worn sales pitch it is very hard to escape without parting with your money, in fact on our way home we heard of a Irish couple in a different hotel who were followed back to their room by one of these hotel salesman demanding money, this all seems very wrong.
Overall our opinion of the hotel was not good. Bland food, poor rooms, a constant smell of sewage (That you eventually become immune to) and rules that made it feel more like a prison camp than a 4 star hotel. We knew of people that had paid £2000 for 1 weeks all inclusive (for 2 adults and a child) , they were devastated. What must be said is that it appeared as though the Cleopatra was trying to improve, what appeared to be senior management were around most days we were there over looking things, the entertainment crew must also get credit for trying so hard to keep everybody smiling, that said it still has a very long way before it could be regarded value for money or anywhere we would wish to stay again.
Sharm el Sheikh and Naama Bay Area
The area around the hotel was empty and you never felt very comfortable walking anywhere, so as a rule most people travel by taxi. The main shopping and tourist area around Sharm el Sheikh is Naama bay.
On our second day we ventured into Naama Bay with a ride in the hotel taxi. It later turned out that we were dropped of right in the outskirts of the actual tourist area we wanted to visit. We never made it that far. Within a few minutes we had been pestered and taken into a little shop selling “authentic” Egyptian papyrus. There were people sleeping on the floor, clothes hanging up and Hassim the owner was really keen to lock the door get us some drinks and show us his art (yes he had hand drawn all these pictures!). We were here to experience a different culture and we certainly had that. THREE HOURS later after we had gone through the pictures one by one twice, he had taken us to the cash point, we’d had free drinks we left with 2 pictures and a hole in our pocket for 450 ie (about £47). His starting offer was 2000ie (£200) for each picture so going by the tourist guide of one third of the starting price we thought we’d done ok (I guess the locals have also started reading these books). He did seem very nice and was certainly friendly enough even phoning the taxi to come and take us back to the hotel, still we knew we had been done but had no idea how much, boy would we find out later. One of the things he did say though was that Sharm el Sheikh is only for tourists, there are no women, children or old people living here. Men come here to work and send money home. It is basically one great big tourist trap and has as much in common with Egyptian life as London does. For those of you looking to discover the real Egypt don’t give Sharm el Sheikh a second thought. On our last day we found a small market that had prices on goods, the actual pictures we bought could have been purchased for £3 each here. Whilst it’s one thing to experience a culture and barter whilst shopping you’d hope that the locals were not trying to rob you blind. It certainly appears that in Sharm el Sheikh the locals have become very greedy and with every piece of tat is given a price tag of hundreds if not thousands of Egyptian pounds. Buying fake goods and tatty souvenirs is all part of the average holiday experience but you would expect to pay a cheap price, especially in a country with such a devalued currency.
We did venture into Naama Bay again later in the holiday, this time at night. We managed to make it into the main tourist area this time and had a great time. The streets are lined with people smoking the …pipe in open air bars, there are enough shops to keep even the biggest shopaholic happy and strangely enough you feel as if you are experiencing some of the real Egypt. The fact that there are plenty of tourists about also means that you will have the chance to shop and walk around in relative peace. The restaurant choice is enormous and you could easily try a different cuisine for every night of a fortnight holiday. Our only regret is that we didn’t discover Namma Bay by night earlier in our holiday, when we think of the money we spent on the hotels dull food that could have been spent in these cheap yet very nice restaurants.
I have deliberately left the best part of Sharm el Sheikh to last, the beaches, snorkeling and scuba diving. The beaches tend to be quite packed and there are plenty that you will have to pay to visit, the fee is only nominal though especially when you consider the fish on show. Of particular note is Ras Umm Sid beach, here you can go snorkeling with fish as colorful as Nemo by only going out to water that is knee deep. This makes it an extremely child friendly area and the looks on their faces can certainly make your whole holiday to Sharm el Sheikh worth while. I’m not going to go on and on about the beauty of the coral reef and fish as there are already whole sites dedicated to the snorkeling and diving that can be had in this area of the Red Sea, but needless to say the pictures you see will never to it justice. My wife’s highlight of our whole trip was swimming over the edge of the reef into the open sea, this is a memory that will live with her forever.
Sharm el Sheikh, our conclusion
So the thing is would we go back to Sharm el Sheikh? I think that if it was for a honeymoon or maybe a backpacking holiday I would. If it was for a family holiday then for me I wouldn’t, the med is a far more child friendly environment (you can walk around, pools have lifeguards etc) and it is also cheaper, which has to be a consideration for anybody especially if you are taking more than one child. Besides this you will only truly get the best out of what the Red Sea has to offer if you can go diving or snorkeling out of your depth which is just not something most parents would want to do when they have kids to look after. As a family man the whole area just had a feeling of being slightly unsafe and it is not something that I would wish to go through with young children again. Overall we enjoyed our time in Sharm el Sheikh DESPITE the local sellers, we did get to experience a different culture however here are a few tips that will make your trip a far more enjoyable and bearable experience:-
- Make sure taxi drivers have change when you have agreed the price
- Egypt is a no flush zone, bring some baby wipes
- ALL of the shop keepers are on the rob (this whole place is a tourist trap), be warned and expect it
- There are plenty of nice cheap places to eat around Naama Bay, avoid all inclusive if you can
- When shops say they have no change they are lying, 1 and 5 pound notes do exist in Sharm, it’s just the locals don’t like to part with them!
- Even the duty free at Sharm el Shiekh airport is over priced (£15 for a box of chocolates and some boiled sweets), if you want to bring sweets back, buy them elsewhere
- Bring one currency and stick to it, shops will try and confuse you by switching between Euros, Sterling, Dollars and Egyptian