Sea and reef
View of the National Park from the sea
View from the desert, overlooking Dahab
Scenic tree giving shade for a little restlearn some arabic!
You should expect to be hassled to buy stuff anywhere in Egypt and Sharm is no exception even though it's nowhere near as bad as Cairo or Luxor. It's a really good idea to learn a bit of arabic to put off pushy salesmen as they'll think you're a bit more knowledgeable than the really 'green' tourist.
salaam = hello
la'a shockren = no thank you
fil mish mish! = in your dreams! (a good one to quote when you actually want to buy something but they're giving you a ridiculous starting price!)
kif halek = how are you.
don't be rude to salesmen they're just doing their job but don't get talked into buying something you don't want. be firm but polite is a good rule. don't get talked into going into someone's shop so they can write you out a business card or address of their family in england - it can get a bit embarrassing when you 'escape' when the realisation hits you that they're jus on the make. the people are lovely. Aside from the hard sell people are keen to talk to you and are generally very happy and hospitable people (even on an average wage of LE200 a month ($30) they manage to keep smiling). Our pool barman - Ahmed even took us out for a sheesha pipe and a coffee one night and fitted the bill for it. Top man! (He did make lots of tips off us mind you). Don't go over the top with tipping. Most places charge a 12% service charge. DO tip generously though when you get extra special service. Our house keeping guy - Essan was superb. We left him £10 english which was probably around 2 weeks wages. It felt nice and made his day.
