NFR: Have extreme itching due to infection or insect bites? My doctor gave me a "FORMULA" that works

I don't mind the sharks although the hammerheads are nasty-looking. But put a bear underwater; I'd

be running.

The problem with some of the islands is that the reef around them, of course, contains the best the water has to offer. You can go outside the reef, but it's just blackness. And inside, where all the fun is, is all vulnerable to the cruise ship dumping. With so many ships daily, it's difficult to contain them all. I mean that people get on the boats and are dumped by the dozens into the water, apparently not being told how to behave to their best advantage, splashing around so much that no fish would come near them anyway.

I remember the first time I came up to the surface from a fairly deep dive to find a local boat had dumped off a bunch of ship passengers. I laughed so hard, I was choking. They were all wearing white BCs (I guess) and it looked as though a feather pillow had broken. I've never forgotten that sight.

I'm on my soapbox but I really think that these ships should do more to inform people/passengers so that they and the people around them get more out of the experience and to protect the environment that they rely on so uniquely.

The Blue Hole in Belize sounds like fun. So much to do in life.

 
Sorry to take so long

but John does. He went to work for Saudi Arabian Airlines and we lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which is right on the Red Sea. He started diving when we got there and we did a huge amount of traveling. We never could understand people that had such an opportunity and never went anywhere, just back to the States. One couple came back and was so excited about going to the new Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and seeing the Sphinx. I just had to say to them that it was only a 1 ½ hour flight to go see the REAL thing. I really could not understand that. Anyway, some of the best diving is on the Red Sea and John loved Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. Both areas are just lovely! And he also did a lot of diving in S. E. Asia. All over Thailand, Ko Samui and Phuket. We went on a live aboard dive boat one time out of Phuket for 1 week. For the life of me I can’t think of the Island chain the boat went to but it took all night to get there. There were reports the first day that Whale Sharks had been spotted in the area and they were really trying to find them. They never did but he thoroughly enjoyed every second of that trip. I just loved sitting and watching the cook prepare all the meals while everyone was on the dive. Her English was limited and my Thai was even less but you know how two women can communicate when it comes to the love of cooking. I would watch her cut fruit into beautiful shapes to have on a platter for them the moment they came out of the water and carrots into flowers etc. for what ever dish she was preparing and one day I asked her why she spent the time doing that for these guys who didn’t even notice. She just pointed to herself. She did it for the self pride in her craft. One day as she was preparing the lunch meal it was really rough and suddenly she was gone. I was perplexed as the divers we just coming back on board. As soon as they we all on board the Captain got the boat moving to get to a more sheltered area for more calm. When I realized he was driving the boat AND starting to get the meal cooking I asked where she was. He said she was below…sick! I just jumped in and took over. She had already cut everything and it was pretty clear what she had in mind so I just did it. The Captain was so appreciative and told all the divers I had cooked the meal. She was back up and going strong a few hours later. So there’s my food related.
He also enjoyed a night dive in Bali and I sure enjoyed the lobster he brought back for the hotel to cook for us!
And in the Philippines he had one day (note that is 1) of great diving on the Island of Mindanao. That was the first day we were there and the rest of the week it stormed! The only way to get to this little Island is by boat and that also means that everything on the Island came by boat! We were ok with not having any dry clothes, (no dryers) and no hot water when the temperature is usually in the 90’s and now is freezing but when they started to run out of beer and booze we started to panic! LOL! Luckily the storm finally passed and the boats hit the shores. I have never seen so many people hauling product in my life! Just think of all the food items it takes to run a restaurant. But we finally had cold beer and all was good. The bad thing was the next day was our day to leave. Ah, memories are wonderful aren’t they? Where ever we traveled we always bought one really nice thing from there so when I look at my living room I can say…oh that was Morocco, Israel, Cyprus, Egypt, Viet Nam etc. I’m so glad we did that. Anyway, I think John would recommend going to Egypt for great diving, in particular, Sharm el Sheikh. You and John could really enjoy sharing dive stories!

 
Lovely stories. Yes, making memories is so important for me, too. Thai food alone, is

a huge memory. I can just swoon over the thought of it.

funny tale of the Sphinx!

 
There is a restaurant here with that name... I'm often tempted to go in and let them know...

 
Wow. The Similans are incredible...and a live aboard would be sublime! In the Andaman Sea

I've got a fantasy about diving the Andaman Islands. They're between India and Thailand, owned by India. But they're lowlying and I understand they were badly damaged in the Tsunami. As remote as those islands are, I wonder how the recovery is coming along.

In Thailand, food has this incredible role in the culture. I've spent several trips there. At one point, I was on a rafting trip in the North. The rafting company was owned by a French guy who told me that in the off season, his tours were popular with the Thais but they were SO particular about food, he ended up sending all his river rafting guides to a cooking school. He considered it a necessary aspect of his business...like the bare minimum. If the food is not up to Thai standards, he was quite convinced of a loss in reputation that would have a serious impact to his business.

Then a couple years ago, I went back to Northern Thailand and took a few full-day cooking classes and an evening vegetable and fruit carving class. Apparently art classes in school include carving the intricate flowers and such in fruits. And my instructor, in her downtime, that was what she did. She was always looking for new ways to carve various vegetables and fruits. I had a chance to hang out with her and another cooking school instructor. We went to dinner and it was interesting to see their reaction to the food. Just like the chefs I know here...very analytical and analyzing how they would change things if they made that dish instead. It was too much fun!

 
Orchid, thank you so much! What a lovely post! I know of Sharm el-Sheikh and it's high on my list.

Sounds like you've experienced some really great spots! (Behind the scenes, I'm cooing, "ooh, I want to go there, and there and there!")

Funny story about the Luxor. It kills me about people and their travels (or lack of travel.) Right now I live less than 4 hours from Vancouver, BC Canada. It's an amazing city. Post 9/11, now you are required to have a passport to go to Canada. My co-worker who has traveled throughout the US said, "I'll never go to Canada now!" "Why?" "You need a passport." "So?" "It's just too much trouble." Oh good lord! You know in Australia, even babies are required to have passports? This woman thinks nothing of driving from Seattle to New Mexico but getting a passport and going to Canada? That's too much trouble. I'm astonished!

But my own parents are like that, so I get it. When I got my passport, I had it sent to their house as my permanent residence. Then when I booked a flight to Europe, my mom didn't want to send me my passport. Ugh. Guess she knew there was no going back once I left the country! And you know what? She was RIGHT! LOL!

When did you leave Jeddah? And I see on this map that you were close to Eritrea and Ethiopia. Did you ever get there?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Jeddah,_Saudi_Arabia_locator_map.png&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Jeddah,_Saudi_Arabia_locator_map.png&h=1470&w=1500&sz=636&tbnid=O9UE_2jEs_QJ::&tb

 
I know what you mean about the reefs. It makes me sick. I've been on some day-trip

snorkeling ventures and you'd see people standing in their fins right on the coral! They had this attitude like, "So? I'm on vacation." It's this brazen sense of entitlement at any cost that just kills me.

Same thing when I was in Mexico. I was in this shop and an American woman was there with her daughter pawing through the merchandise. Each thing she'd pick up and say, "How much is this in *dollars*?" Over and over again she'd ask the woman for each thing she touched. Finally I had to leave, afraid I'd end up blurting out something I'd regret. I kept thinking, "What's the problem???? Can't you divide by 10?" Ugh.

 
This will probably be long and NFR. We left August, 2001 and we didn't go to either.

Many Eritreans and Ethiopians live in Jeddah for work. I called it slave labor because of what they are paid. It's still good for them but honestly? Sinful! They feel fortunate to have the work and the responsibility they have to send money back home to help their families is huge. We traveled inside Saudi as much as possible which is actually not that easy. You must get travel documents from the government to where you want to go as well as permission from your employer. But it's an amazing country and really sad that the world can't experience it. Taif, Yanbu, Dammam, Jubail, Abha. For short, near by long weekend trips, Bahrain and Yemen. One incredible trip to Petra, Jordan. And if you ever go to Egypt you MUST do a Nile Cruise! You don't have to GO to the monuments...they just come to you! Oh man, now I'm craving a good Shwarma!

http://shell.dim.com/~travel/Egypt/Nile_Cruises/body_nile_cruises.html

 
It's so true! Food and Thais are one. I think anyone who has been

to Thailand finds that out as soon as they arrive. I think the first words I learned, after Hello, was "My Pet (don't know how it's spelled, that's how it sounds) which means "No Hot". Don't get me wrong, I love spicy but when you're eating on the street, which is what we always did, those words were critical to me so I would be able to eat anything! I still can smell Bangkok.

 
This is probably difficult to answer, but if you were going to travel that region

(Egypt, Israel, Jordan, & Ethiopia) and you had slower pace could you do that region justice with 2 months travel? Maybe 3? I know someone who spent a year in the region but I won't have that much time. I'm not a big fan of the desert, but it's definitely on my "must" list. I want to spend at least a month lingering in Ethiopia...since I've got connections in the coffee biz.

 
We

Sure you can Traca. We had to see and do as much as we could in usually a 1 week or less trip. Two months for the area would be heaven. I can talk about Egypt, Jordan and Israel. On one trip to Cyprus (it was a very short flight so we went many times) we took a 3 day cruise to Israel and Egypt. Got on board late afternoon and the next morning we arrived in Haifa, Israel. Drove by bus to Jerusalem and did a walking tour of the area. Next morning we arrived in Egypt. Drove to Cairo for the museum, citadel etc. Next morning we arrived back in Cyprus. Whirl wind? Yes, but I saw it! Another trip was to Cairo and the Nile cruise. I was on a mission in Cairo to purchase a Gahwa cart which is a hand made coffee cart that you see in the lobbies in most Middle Eastern countries and they make and serve coffee. It has two burners on the top and once we had a brunch and I made omelets. One of my favorite pieces although now I’m starting to curse the bronze top. LOL Anyway, from there we flew to Aswan and went on a 4 day Nile cruise as I told you. Much to see and I could spend much more time there, but again…I’ve seen and been there. And in Jordan we had a week. We flew to Amman. In the morning we went to Jerash for the day. Amazing and would love to have more time but again….well, you get it. LOL Next day we drove to Petra and stayed in an incredible hotel that the lobby is built into the side of the mountain. In the morning we went down into the ravine and by horseback traveled into Petra. Words can’t describe! And don’t forget some of the best diving is in Aquba. I’m putting in 2 links. One is a really good one for Jordan. Just scroll down a little and click on some of the names of the cities I’ve mentioned and you’ll get more info with great pictures.

http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/sites.html

http://www.ask-aladdin.com/whattovisit1.htm

http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/sites.html

http://www.ask-aladdin.com/whattovisit1.htm

 
I'd love to do a Nile cruise. It's been on the list. We did a quick trip to many of the regions

you're describing, so quick that it was just meant to help determine what we wanted to see in depth later. This is now later and we haven't been back.

We did a business trip in Italy for which I had independently chosen a trip at the end, about 2 weeks, that H had no idea of. I packed for him and he didn't know where we were going until the end of Italy. We were on the flight to Athens when I finally told him that we'd be doing a south Med tour.

That was fun. I hope health holds out long enough to get us back to some of these places. If not, I'll just enjoy your experiences.

oh yes, and as a food aside, I was so disappointed in Egypt when the tour operators decided that we would want a N. American meal!!! Blah.

 
DH and I did a Nile cruise as part of a tour in 1997 - I would love to go back again.

We had the most wonderful experiences in Egypt - it was the best trip I've ever been, even though DH got Pharaoh's Revenge and I thought for a moment he was a goner smileys/frown.gif Talk about frightening! Definitely don't drink the water....

Cruising the Nile was wonderful - along with the many stops ans site you see along the way. We enjoyed bartering with the folks in boats that came out to our ship when we were waiting to go through the locks - they throw items up to you on your balcony, then you decide yeah or nay and either toss it back to them or drop the $$.

We met the very nicest people there - we made friends with a cab driver on our first day, whom we called to take us on all of our excursions in and around Cairo during the remainder of our visit. He invited us back to his home, where we met his family and had tea. It was very interesting and exciting to see how others live in this big world of ours.

 
Yes, sooo much fun Lisa. I'm so glad to hear from someone else

who has experienced it. You're right, the people are wonderful. Did you have a chair or sofa to sit on or on the floor? They take good care of you. I will never forget the first time in Cairo, Hilton I think it was, we got up to the room and ordered up 2 beers. No alcohol in Saudi so that was always the first thing on the agenda. LOL We had a room with a beautiful balcony over looking the Nile and it was in the evening. Just wonderful and when the beer was delivered there was a platter of ice cold, crisp veggies. Carrots, zuccini, mushrooms, celery and more. Great memories for sure.

Edited to add:
Oh look...I made it food related!

And now I'm editing again to add something John just reminded me of. The next morning after doing some shopping we went on a lunch cruise on the Nile. Just as we finished eating we saw a body float by the boat! When we got off the boat and Nabil was there to pick us up we told him about it. He just shrugged and said, "Not to worry...someone will be along soon to pick it up". We are both sitting here laughing about it all over again!!!!

 
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