I ventured directly to the little town of neuweiba. Even though the bus driver took my ticket and tore it in town he failed to relay that the current stop was in fact neuweiba. As we headed out of town I saw the port name and asked the driver who immediately stopped as I gather my belongings and hopped off the bus. We had probably only driven a quarter of a mile or so and we practically out of the town. Walking back in the direction the bus had come from many people stared or asked where I was going or of I needed help. It seemed like I appeared displaced or lost. There weren’t any visable guest hoses and the hotels looked deserted. Trip advisor has given me many options when I had searched. I opted to check in at the only hotel I had seen across from the bus stop where I should have gotten off originally. It took a few minutes for someone to help me and there wasn’t a guest in sight. There were no internet cafes and wifi was unheard of. At this point I really was feeling lost and took the room to at least have somewhere to put my bags and chill while I assessed the situation further.

The next morning I rose early and headed to the beach where surely I would find a nice place to stay and other travelers. Walking wasn’t an option as the Egyptian sun was blazing. I took the first random cab to the closest “tourist beach”. I arrived at green beach a few minutes later. There were some random people who appeared to be working but there was still the distinct feeling of being in a ghost town. The next place I saw someone working I approached to talk to. He immediately left and returned with the English speaking manager mondo. Mondo informed me that neuweiba was a super chill spot where people came to do nothing and get away from everything. It hadn’t Occured to me that the beach was intentionally empty. Years ago Israelis flooded the beach still with the intention of chilling and being removed. So there were many guest houses built or being built to supply the demand. They were spread out and empty. The hotels had stopped construction and many guest houses were closed. Israelis were now no longer coming to sinai due to a change in law making it much more difficult to cross the Isreal Egypt border. I took a charming hut right on the beach and enjoyed the calm, quiet, stillness. I discovered snorkeling and there were many reefs to explore.

A week later I headed an hour away to dahab which was said to be much more populated and totally different than neuweiba. This wouldn’t take much. At least I wouldn’t have to take a cab to go into the nearest town. Dahab was filled with super markets, shops offering various goods and services, plenty of restaurants and an overall chill vibe. There were many travelers and tourists. It seemed like diving was the thing to do as there were dive centers everywhere. I had never been scuba diving before. After researching I found out I could become a certified open water diver in 3 days and for only $220! Egypt is the cheapest place to get your certification. What and wow! I needed to go to sharm el sheik to extend my visa in Egypt but vowed to come back after wandering around to become a certified diver!! Yay!!!