Sunday 31 January 2010

For OG...

While I was browsing through my pictures in Dahab, I realised something. I wanted to share the pictures with my fellow blogger, Ocean Girl. So dear OG, these pictures I dedicated specially for you and your love of the Ocean. Enjoy!

The view infront of our hotel...

Can you imagine how Nabi Musa cut across the Red Sea?!!

I love this picture :)

Wind surfing...

Mountain range in the background...

The corals...

The colour of the water was amazing...

One of our pit-stops...

The best thing that I liked about the beautiful view was probably because of the stark contrast. Mountain range, desert sand and vast body of water, it was so dramatic. Love it, love it, love it!

Saturday 30 January 2010

Egypt : Having fun on deck...

Titanic tuuuu...hehehe

After about half an hour of watching corals, we were asked to get on deck and enjoy the view from there. It was breezy and warm, the perfect weather to be on deck. I love the colour of the water. It was blue-green (aquamarine), really beautiful. The pictures here definitely did not do them justice to say the least.

The kids had fun playing on deck. Some of the girls even got a place to play with the water. We could see several people surfing and diving or snorkeling and it was the perfect day for it. Just enjoy the pictures.

They loved it!

A surfer at the background...

Goofing around...

It was really windy...

Amir couldn't even open his eyes...

Playing in the water...

The boys...

My family...

Aliah's tragedy...

Aliah finally got her henna tattoo in Dahab. She was so excited about it. The man told her that she could not wash it for an hour or so, so she walked around with her right hand held up high. I asked her to be careful so that the tattoo won't smudged.

She was happy...

The simple design...

That night we booked two rooms. We thought that Afzan wanted to share one room with my husband while I slept with the kids, but he had other plans. He met his friend and slept at another place. So we were left with one empty bed and we decided that Aliah should slept in her father's room because the boys won't budge from me...sigh. I reminded Aliah to wash the henna before sleeping.

The next morning while I was busy with the boys, Aliah came in. I saw her coming in and I was speechless. There was henna tattooed on her face! I was really angry at first but later on I could see the funny side as well. My first thought was that she would be embarrassed being seen outside looking like that. But what to do? What's done is done.

When I asked her what happened, she told me that she forgot. She told me that she slept when my husband ordered her to sleep and without thinking she slept. When I asked my husband why he didn't ask her to wash it off first before going to sleep, he said that he didn't know that you had to wash it off...sigh. I felt like killing them both. The bed sheet was also dirty with the ink...sigh.

Actually, I pitied my daughter and thought that she would be the laughing stock among her friends. But, Alhamdulillah, they were very sporting about it. At first Aliah was a bit conscious about it but later she forgot about it completely...sigh.

Showing off...

On the hand...

And on her face...sigh.

Friday 29 January 2010

Egypt : The Glass boat experience...

The night before, we decided to go to see the fishes and the corals in a glass boat. It was not that expensive, around LE35 per person. So, around 8.30 am, we started our journey...in a small jeep! Yep, it was a very small jeep. I was afraid that it would topple when we got in...hehehe

They were excited...

Junaidi's family in another jeep...

When we arrived we saw the boat and everyone was excited. The view was so beautiful but I was busy taking care of the kids and did not take many pictures...sigh. Inside, we could see glass partition where we could see the bottom of the sea. We sat surrounding the glass and the captain steered the boat towards several area full of fishes and beautiful corals.

Hadi was busy trying to identify the fishes...hehehe. One of the corals I remembered was the brain coral which looked exactly like a brain. Apart from the numerous fishes, I also saw many sea cucumbers. I wish I had a better camera...sigh, but I do feel grateful that I could see many Allah's beautiful creatures up close.
Kak Faridah's family...

We were about to move away from the jetty...

Small fishes...

Beria2 Kak Faridah...hehehe

Having fun...

The 'brain' coral...

So close to the corals...

I felt a little bit sad because I saw several fishing lines that destroyed the corals. Actually I felt that the boat was too close to the corals also...sigh. It was also sad to see that many dead corals lying on the sea floor. Anyway, I felt that the kids enjoyed themselves tremendously, especially Hadi. It was definitely worth every penny we spent...hehehe.

Pictures around Sphinx Hotel...

I took many pictures around the hotel in Dahab. The weather was very nice and cool from the breeze. But seriously, I love the view of the sea. The kids did manage to dip their feet in the swimming pool while we were busy checking out of the hotel...hehehe. Below were some of my favourite pictures. Enjoy!

The kids with Chieko...

Hadi and Kak Long...

Resting...

Kak Long playing with the water...

They were busy playing...

It would be nice to have a BBQ here...

Aliah with her friends...

My cutie pie :)

Thursday 28 January 2010

Egypt : Dahab (New Sphinx Hotel)...

We arrived at the New Sphinx Hotel at night, so we didn't really explore the area. When we woke up the next morning and went to have breakfast, I fell in love with the spectacular view. It was so beautiful because our hotel was at the waterfront and infront of us, we had a wonderful view of the Red Sea. The kids were excited with the swimming pool but unfortunately, I didn't bring their swimming suit...sigh

We had a light breakfast and joined Kak faridah's family in exploring the beautiful area. I just wished that we had more time there for the kids to enjoy themselves. Looking back at the pictures, it could be one of the most beautiful places that I've been my entire life. I could see Saudi Arabia at the other side of the Red Sea. It was simply stunning. Just look at the pictures...

Our verandah...

The entrance to the reception area...

The swimming pool...

Beautiful manmade pool...

The souvenir shop...

Beyond the swimming pool was the Red Sea...

Wonderful, wonderful view!

My family...

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Egypt : Dahab...

We arrived in Dahab around 9 pm. After checking in the hotel, we explored the town. Dahab is one of the popular tourist destinations, full of shops selling t-shirts, carpets and other types of souvenirs. We walked along the the row of shops and bought t-shirts for the kids, had drinks in one of the street cafe and later bought several bottles of sand. Aliah had her hand tattooed with henna (something that she's been wanting for ages) and the boys got small toys and books on Red Sea creatures. Dahab's definitely alive at night but we were tired and made our way back to the hotel around 11 pm.

At the fountain...

At the stall selling the 'sand'...

Beautiful bottles...

Hadi was interested...

He was happy with his Nemo toy...hehehe