"A trip of many first times" a Hurghada Travel Page by betako3

There were three of us, fed up with Polish winter, dreaming about somewhere hot for a change. And that particular year winter was no joke, minus 30 degrees Celcius (anyone knows how much that is in Fahrenheit?) when we were leaving Warsaw. So we decided to warm ourselves up a bit on a sunny beach of Africa :) That's how we ended up in Hurghada.
Going abroad on winter holiday has become our habit from that moment on.

I had never flown a plane before and although now I'm used to that churning feeling in stomach when the plane takes off and lands, I will never forget that first time. I was slightly anxious, but mostly thrilled. And I'll always remember the magnificent views from the plane on that particular first flight.
It was also the first time I have taken pictures with a digital camera. Believe it or not, but I had bought the camera just a day before going to Egypt. And the instructions were only in German, of which I know only basics, so I did my best to figure out myself what to do with the camera (it explais why about a third of my pictures is more or less worthless).

I had travelled around Europe before and I have always been keen on noting differences between the places I visited and my native Poland. It was in Egypt that I actually realised and came to appreciate some of the basic similarities between all European countries. Like the status of women. Have you ever seen a woman working in any hotel or shop in Hurghada? I saw some native women only when that awfully nice and helpful receptionist took us on a tour around the place where he lived. And for once we became a sight for others to see: the only white, tourist-looking girls among a crowd of dark skinned, haggard looking men and women covered in dark clothes from head to toe. I confess I felt a little out of place, shy and embarrassed in the crossfire of glances and stares. And what I remembered best was the women's stares and comments I couldn't understand.