Christmas Break Part 8: Dakhala

We went to three different oases during our time out in the desert, but only stayed at two: Dakhala (1 day), Farafra (1 day) and Baheraya we basically just drove through it with a one hour stop. We were originally planning on spending a day in Al Kharga but we decided against it because we didn't want to deal with a corrupt police escort on our arrival and so we just skipped right through it.

Dakhala was an interesting place. It was a REALLY quiet town and I must confess that it was really nice, especially since I was sick. Dakhala was were we spent our New Year's Eve, this is where I shivered the night away and it actually wasn't too bad- definitely not a traditional New Year's, but not bad.

The hotel we stayed in was the classic run-down "nightmare hotel" you see in movies. It was a really funny actually, the guy was offering us 15 LE to stay the night there, so we decided to check it out first because that is REALLY CHEAP! We were going through looking around and there were cracks in the wall, a hole in the window, and the floor was really dirty. I asked why the shower didn't work, he went and did some crazy stuff and then this tiny trickle came out of the showerhead. He said, "See! The water is working so good!" I wasn't too worried about the shower and just wanted to lay down because I was feeling pretty sick.

We agreed to stay for 12.5 LE each and it wasn't too bad until the Egyptians next door started smoking only God knows what. They were definitely smoking more than just their cigarrettes! That's all I'm going to say. The stay in the Anwar "Hotel" was an experience that will definitely be memorable. I wouldn't be bothered in the least bit to do it again, but lets just say I won't be seeking out the opportunity diligently ;)

The following morning we woke up and went to explore the ruins of the "Abandoned Old City". It was really intriguing. The old brick homes looked really arcaic in that they fit the decription of a African village you'd find in a remote area. That's my best description. While we were exploring we met a kid that actually lived there with his family. It was really shocking to see them living in this complete ghost town. The kids little brother came out of one of the ruins of a house and he completely caught me off guard! The little boy had really blonde hair and green eyes, that's a REALLY RARE thing in Egypt. The kid was really cute and I figured they were probably struggling to make it and they didn't even ask me for money so I left some money with their mother.

It was a reminder of how blessed I am to have grown up in the United States. We have so much opportunity and the options to pursue whatever career we want. Here in Egypt they are trapped by the stupidity of their education system and their "unspoken, but understood" class system.

We left the ruins, waved goodbye to the family and headed towards the mini bus station. We met a guy from Norway who was going to bike all the way from Egypt to S. Africa. He seemed like a really adventurous old guy. Anyways, we got on board a crammed mini-bus and headed out into the desert towards Farafra.