What did I do wrong?

As planned I woke up early and spent the day by the pool soaking up the Egyptian Sun, Mawuan slept until midday but then came to join me. It was perfect no one else was around except the odd hotel staff member that would stop by to see if we wanted a drink every so often. We played the music we liked through the pool speakers and took a dip in the pool whenever we started to feel too hot.

One of Marwuan's oldest friends called he was staying in the next city Sharm El Sheik and because Marwuan had been busy until now running tours back to back they had not had a chance to catch up in a year, so plans were made that we would take the hour long journey this evening to meet up for a drink. The sun was starting to go down I collected my belongings and made my way back to the room. I was looking forward to spending some time in Sharm El Sheik I had only spent a few hours there while on tour the year before and loved the vibe I got from the place. Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Arab world. Many tourist from Europe and Russia visit and it was much more populated than Dahab due to Na'ama Bay which is in the centre of the town. Here you find shisha cafe after shisha cafe, restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe, MacDonalds and KFC as well as nightclubs that fill to the brim of tourist. All the big chain hotels are located in Sharm so you get a verity of guests not just divers and back packers like Dahab.

We took a private car to Sharm this car would drive us there and wait around until we were ready return to Dahab it cost us 300LE (around $43) The drive to Sharm is beautiful the whole way you are driving through the golden granite mountains of the Sinai desert. Occasionally you will see the odd tree standing alone but the rest is just mountains. We have to go through 3 police check points where I have to show my passport and visa to the army. Each man at the check point either has a hand gun attached to his waist or a automatic rifle hand over his shoulder. At first this is quite intimidating but after a while you get used to it.

In Sharm we walk through the main street to my surprise the cafes still have many customers. Each cafe looks simular with flashing lights, low tables and colourful bright cushions on the ground to sit on. Each table have different colour shisha either to the side or siting in the centre of the table which the customers pass around their group. You see puffs of smoke lingering above the tables but the smell is of strawberry or apple. Music is blearing out of the cafe speakers some cafes are playing Arabic music and others are playing English music that was popular a year ago in Australia. Staff of the cafe try to entice you to enter their cafe by dancing out the front while calling you in. Some cafes have bellying dancers entertaining their guests; one cafe even had a dancer with a large snake around her neck.

We did not enter any of these cafes today we went to Hard Rock Cafe to eat then met Marwuan's friend at an English pub called Monty's. The pub was small in size at most could fit in 60 people. On the walls it had cartoon pictures framed of famous people and the roof was covered in napkins that visitors had wrote on with black pen then taped to the ceiling. Marwuans friend greeted us as soon as we walked in. You could tell they were both very happy to see each other after this long time apart they kissed each other on the cheek. All the tables were full so we took a seat in one of the tables that was already occupied with 2 English girls. The rest of that evening I spent sculling cocktails and talking to the English girls while Marwuan caught up with his friend. We all got very drunk and danced in the centre of the bar to the R&B music that the dj was playing.

We stayed at the bar until it closed which was around 3am. Walking back to the main road to meet our driver I was walking a few steps ahead of the boys they had their arms around each other and were swaying side to side. I am always a fast walker and find it hard to slow down I was hoping they would pick their speed up but they were to into their conversation to notice. A group of men were walking the opposite direction and one of them made a sexy comment towards me. I just ignored it but Marwuan must have heard because he came running to where I was and started yelling at the group of men. It got heated very quickly men were pushing each other and fist were flying. Some people were trying to pull the two groups apart and thankfully Marwuan listened and walked away. He came over to me and grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to his side. Yelling at me he said "When we go out this is where you walk. Not in front of me not behind me. HERE!" I was in shock I didn't know what was going on. I kept silent until we reached the car. In the car I asked him why he was mad at me I didn't do anything wrong but he did not speak to me. He did not speak to me the whole drive back to the hotel and once we reached the hotel he went straight into the room with the two beds and slept there for the night. I laid in bed waiting for him to come into our room but he didn't. The next day was Valentines day how was that going to be would he be ok with me then. I kept replying in my head what had happened and how I was in the wrong but I just couldn't justify why he treated me this way. I finally fell asleep worrying about what was the rest of this vacation was going to be like.

President steps down

We were woken up by a phone call; it was Marwuan's mother she called to say that Hosni Mubarak had just resigned from the presidential position. Marwuan quickly ran to the remote and turned on the TV. I looked at my phone it was 4pm in the afternoon we had spent another day in bed. So much for me working on my tan while here in Egypt I was thinking. On the television we could see the revolutionist going crazy in Cairo. Hundreds of thousands of protesters crammed into Tahrir Square erupted with joy.People were waving Egyptian flags, dancing, singing and some even crying with happiness. These people had been camped in the square for 18 days now. And it had all paid off in the end. Still daylight fireworks were being let off in the sky. Even though I was not Egyptian and did not go through the 29 years of Mubarak's authoritarian lock on power, corruption, economic woes and widespread disparities between rich and poor, I felt joy come over me also. I couldn't believe I was in this country when such a milestone was taking place.

After watching the celebration for an hour we needed food. We asked the hotel for a menu but they told us that a lot of the things on the menu were not available at the time because they had no guest when something ran out they did not bother replacing the items. They did offer to go out and buy us whatever we wanted but we decided that we would go in town and see if any celebrations were going there. We called a jeep and made our way into town. In Dahab there are no taxi's as such but if you want to go from place to place you either contact a jeep driver or you flag down a Bedouin driving a utility truck and jump in the back tray.

In town there was no mass celebration with people dancing in the streets but the restaurant and shop owners were out on the path talking to each other and saying "Marbook" to fellow Egyptians that walked by which means congratulations. Marwuan stopped at a few restaurants that he went to regularly to talk to the staff. Even though I couldn't understand what they were saying I could tell that the news of Mubarak resigned was the greatest news they had heard in a long time. They were speaking so loud and waving their hands in the air while they spoke.

Continuing our walk through town we walked past a Muslim Brotherhood headquarters were people were starting to gather. These people were the happiest I had seen yet. Briefly Marwuan explained to me that Mubarak had treated this group very badly and because so they had to do most their work underground. They had a car with some children sitting on top waving an Egyptian flag that began moving down the street honking its horn. Behind the car was a group of people with a larger flag chanting in Arabic. We stood back and watched for a bit then Marwuan joined into the chants. I could tell that he wanted to join in to the celebrations. I told him to go and join. At first he was hesitant. "I need to go use the internet cafe anyway" I said. There was no holding him back now he had my approval. He ran off to join the parade yelling out the chants. "I'll meet you at the internet cafe when you're done" I yelled he nodded and continue to make his way down the road. As the parade made its way through the streets shop keepers would leave their shops and join in the parade it was forming to be quite a big group by the time I left them and walked into the internet cafe.

A hour passed and still no Marwuan I tried calling him but no answer, I decided I would take a walk through town centre to see if I could see them gathering somewhere. But I could not see them anywhere. I stopped at one of the restaurants and ordered a thickshake. I was starving by now I still had not eaten since waking up but a thickshake should do me over until Marwuan returns. Another hour passes by I am sitting looking out to the sea when Marwuan finally calls me. "Where are you I'm at the internet cafe" I laughed did he seriously think I would still be there. I told him my destination and he made his way down to meet me. When he arrived he was hot and exhausted, he drank a whole bottle of water before I got a word out of his mouth. "So where were you?" I asked. He explained to me that the parade just kept getting larger they had ended up walking to the edge of town and then once there they all started dancing and singing Egyptian songs. "They are still all there" he said "but I knew you would be alone so I caught a jeep back here". "Oh how nice of you" I said sarcastically. I was not angry but a little over waiting to eat. He could tell I was a little frustrated so he apologised. We ordered some food and once I was eating I was back in a good mood. By the time we finished eating the sun had gone down behind the mountains. That night we went up to a bar and had a few cocktails before heading back to the hotel for a early night. I wanted to get some sun tomorrow so I didn't want to be out all night and sleep the next day away.

Back to where we fell in love

When we reached Dahab I noticed that it was also lacking the tourist, Dahab had not had any protests as it was a small town that used to be an old bedioun fishing village that now tourist flocked to because of its laid back atmosphere and amazing diving sites. I expected that tourist would still be here as it was an 8 hour drive from Cairo, far away from the trouble but I was wrong most the tourist had left. As we drove through the town I could see that the army had also increased the their presence. Army officers with their jeeps were parked in the centre of town and had taken over the police check points that we had to drive through.

Our hotel was situated right on the Red Sea about 10 minutes out of the centre of Dahab. It was a little run down but because we were not married we could not stay in any other hotel.Other hotels would ask for papers proving marriage because that was the law and if they got caught with an Egyptian staying with a westerner without papers the hotel would face serious fines.We could only stay here because Marwuan knew the staff very well because this was where he stayed every time he came to Dahab with his tour groups. Walking to our room I noticed we were the only guest. We were given one of the suites which consisted of two bedrooms. One bedroom had a King size bed and one had two singles. The main room had a balcony off it that looked over the Red Sea towards the red mountains of Saudi Arabia. The staff at the hotel had made swans out of towels and placed the on the King size bed.

The swans did not stay on the bed for long. As soon as Marwuan could get rid of the hotel staff we were into each other. Not seeing each other for 3 and half months we had a lot to make up for. Hours went by where we were lost in the sheets. Exhausted from the activities both Marwuan and I passed out and did not wake up until Marwuans phone woke us up. I got out of bed to look out the window and the sun had gone down it was past 8pm in the evening. We spent the whole first day in bed. What other way would you want to spend it. Both staving we went to have a shower to get ready for dinner. Drinking duty free alcohol that I had purchased on my journey while getting ready we both were laughing and dancing around the room. I was happy really happy everything was perfect.

Once ready we caught a jeep into town to get dinner still I couldn't believe how quiet it was. Last time I was here the restaurants were full of tourist talking and laughing loudly but this time each restaurant only had a few table full some restaurants had no guest. The restaurants we decide to eat at we were the only ones there. Honestly it was nice because it Marwuan and I could chat to each other quietly over a glass of wine while listening to the waves of the sea hit the rocks. We took our time at dinner even though the food was out quickly we didn't rush off after we finished eating.

Marwuan got a phone call from a friend that knew that he was coming to Dahab and wanted us to meet up for a drink at his hotel. At first Marwuan said "No" to meeting tonight because we had only arrived today but I told him to ring back and say we could. I had been drinking a bit of wine and we had been in bed all day I didn't want to go back to the hotel yet. I also was excited to meet some of Marwuan's friends and find out how Marwuan is around people that he knows well. So we finished our bottle of wine and walked to meet his friends.

Marwuan introduced me to Mohammed and Waled. The bar we were at was run by Mohammed but was not open to the public today so we sat at a table in the corner. The bar was a little freaky because we were the only ones there it was not lit up but you could still see fishes and sea creatures painted on the walls in fluro paint. Walking to the toilet I was looking in all directions thinking that someone would come running out at me. The toilet had no toilet paper lucky I had my hand bag with me filled with tissues. You had to be always prepared in this country at restrooms because the majority of the population does not use toilet paper they use running water to clean them self.

Marwuan had bought a bottle of whiskey with him that I had got duty free. The men were very excited it was a rare occasion to drink a good imported bottle of alcohol. They were smashing down the drinks straight so the stories were coming out. They both told me what they had heard about me and that they were interested in meeting me as much as I was in meeting them. Both of them told me that they have never seen Marwuan so into a girl as much as me before but I thought it was just the whiskey talking so I just laughed it off and changed the subject. Marwuan went all shy for a while after that so there must be some truth behind it I remember thinking to myself. We sat around talking about the situation that was going on Egypt at the moment for hours.After the bottle was polished off we all called it a night and we caught a jeep back to our hotel. Almost 4 in the morning we laid in bed watching the protesters in Cairo on the TV until we both fell asleep in each others arms

Night time prayers

I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow it was about 8pm by the time I got to bed. I remember hours after I went to bed Marwuan came in and gave me kiss on the cheek goodnight before he went to sleep, it must have been very early in the morning because not long after I heard the call for morning prayer blasting through the window above my head. The mosque was directly across the road from the house so this was the loudest call for prayer I had heard yet with the speaker pointed directly at us. Marwuan's mum woke up and hoped from bed and covered her hair shbegan to pray, whispering to herself standing on a little rug she had facing towards the mosque. She didn't know I was watching as the room was still dark with little light coming through the bedroom door, I was intrigued I had only seen how Muslims pray on television. She would bend down on the rug placing her forehead on the ground then sit up on her knees then back up on her feet again she did this two or three times once back in the kneeling position she would turn her head side to side like she was greeting someone then back on her feet. This went on for several minutes. After the prayer she uncovered her hair and went back to bed and minutes later was snoring.

Because I went to bed so early I now lay awake not able to get back to sleep, I thought about sneaking out to Marwuan but the sun was still not up yet. So I laid there thinking about religion. Marwuan had always said to me he did not mind if I was Muslim or not but would that be different when I lived here. Marwuan's mother did asks me earlier in the evening if I would convert to Islam and as I had also told Marwuan I would read into it but I am not changing just because I am moving to an Islamic state. I had heard many bad things about Islam and I remember after September 11 I was scared for a little while of anyone resembling a Muslim. I grew up in a country town with no or very little contact with this religion I only knew what I had seen on television or in a movie. I did now have a few Muslim friends and staff back in Melbourne but did not know much about the religion at all. I have to make sure I asks lots of question to Marwuan when I get the chance and when I get back to Melbourne purchase an English version of the Quran to wrap myself around Islam because I'm sure I will be asked if I will convert by many people once I am living here.

Hours passed by as I nodded in and out of sleep, the room lit up with the sunlight coming through the window it had to be after 7am now so I got up and walked through the apartment. Everyone was still asleep as I snuck up to where Marwuan was sleeping. I gave him a kiss on the forehead and he mumbled something but did not wake. So i just sat there for a while watching him sleep. But I got impatient after about 10 minutes so I shook him a little. This time he woke up a little startled. It took him a second or two to realise what was going on. He pulled me close and kissed my forehead but I pulled back quickly I didn't want his family to walk in and see us like this, what would they think of me then. I sat back up in one of the chairs and told Marwuan about me seeing his mother this morning and what I had been doing for hours. He nodded his head but was not in the mood to talk about religion now "We have heaps of time to talk about that" he said "Let get some breakfast".

By the time Marwuan actually moved from where he was sleeping a good thirty minutes after he said "lets get breakfast" his whole family was up. Mumma and Sally were getting ready for work. They both worked at the Cairo International Airport so we would all go together as Marwuan and I had to catch a plane to Sharm el Sheik in a few hours. Breakfast would have to wait until we got to the airport as we had no time to prepare anything now.
At the airport it was time to go our separate way from Sally and Mumma as we were at a different terminal. This would be my goodbye to them for this trip as I was flying directly out after our trip to Dahab. Both of them hugged me for a long time. Sally kept telling me that mumma and her both loved me would miss me very much. I got a bit teary even though I had spent only one night with them I felt like I was already a part of their family. Once they were out of site I hugged Marwuan and thanked him for inviting me to meet his family. Now I was excited about the future very excited about the next 9 days that we would be spending alone in Dahab. What was going on in the rest of Egypt with the protest were very far at the back of my mind.

Meeting the family

When I departed off the plane this time I felt straight away that things were different in Egypt. The airport was pretty much empty unlike last time I was here I stood out like a sore thumb I could tell by looking around that I was the only westerner woman and could only see one other westerner man in the customs line ahead of me. The customs officer took his time checking my passport asking many questions about my reason for visiting honestly I felt like he had nothing better to do so he was wasting his time talking to me. When I collected my bags from the conveyor belt a man was right beside me asking if I needed assistance to take it to the car. I declined and made my way to the exit.

At the x-ray machine I was asked to open my bag by security and was being questioned again about my reasoning to visit Egypt during this time. Over and over again they asked if I was a journalist. And my answer was the same no I am meeting my partner. After going through my whole bag throwing my belongings on the floor in the open area they found no signs I was a journalist and told me I was free to go. Later I asked Marwuan what would it matter if I was a journalist and he told me that the president did not want the world to know what was going on here at this time. Apparently downtown many international journalists were getting beaten, locked up and questioned and one or two even killed because they were supposed spies for international agencies.

When I was out of the airport Marwuan was nowhere to be seen I stood and waited for 15 minutes then gave him a call. He said he was stuck in traffic due to a demonstration that was taking part not far from the airport so I had to wait patiently in the heat for just under an hour. I was cursing to myself this was not a great start to my vacation I told him that he must be there waiting when I walk out the airport especially in the current situation then I saw him running in my direction. I ran over to him and gave him the biggest hug not letting go of him for a good 4 minutes it was so good to be back in his arms after being away from each other for three and half months. The anger I was feeling only minutes ago was long gone He apologised for the delay and told me that he ended up jumping out of the taxi and running part the way here because the traffic as no longer moving.

All baggage in a taxi we were to make our way to Marwuans family home, I was feeling very nervous about meeting his family but also very excited that I was now with Marwuan I kept looking at him and smiling as well as looking what was going on the side of the road around us. Army tanks were parked every 500 meters or so with men standing on them or in front of them with guns in their hands. Now it felt real I was in a country that was in a bad state but still I felt safe just being with Marwuan put all the worry about what was going on in the country to the back of my mind.

When we arrived at Marwuan's before entering the apartment my heart started racing what if they don't like me, "should I be wearing a head scarf to meet them" I asked Marwuan. He laughed "No you are not Muslim there is no need for you to wear one". Good good I had a few questions that I wanted to ask Marwuan that I thought about on the plane about his family but I had been caught up in the moment of seeing him I had completely forgot until now and it was too late. Marwuan rang the door bell and not long after his sister answered.

I was greeted with big hugs and kissed four times twice on each cheek to be honest I was a little confused about what was going on back in Australia we greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek but not 4 kisses. His mother came rushing over with her arms wide open here we go again big hug and 4 kisses. Ok this must be the normal here I will keep that in mind for the next person I came in contact with.

Next was his father bracing myself for the hug and many kisses i leaned in to say hello but his father stepped back and shook my hand "Welcome" was all he said and walked away. I was lead into a lounge room where the furniture was wood but painted in gold and lots of little porcelain trinkets were on tables around. I later found out that most Egyptian houses were designed the same. A sitting room for guest that was dressed with grand furniture and all your treasures on display. This is not the room you hang out in on a daily basis only enter this area when you are trying to impress them.

Marwuans mum and Sister Sally sat down with me in the grand room while Marwuan took my bags into the room I would be sleeping. Marwuans mum who I will now refer as Mumma knew very little English, Sally studied English but did not use it often was my only way to communicate while Marwuan was absent. You could tell that Sally was nervous speaking with me and even apologised a few times about her English but I understood her fine so she had no need to apologise. It actually was quite funny because Marwuan mum was asking questions flat out and poor Sally had to translate.

Marwuan returned and Mumma went off to set the table which was in eye sight. I could see the food being put on the table, worried I whispered to Marwuan "are there more guest coming" No joke there was enough food to feed an army. I was asked to sit at the table. Tired after being travelling for 24 hours and not hungry, all I wanted was a bed I took my seat at the table. In front of me was 2 roast chickens, pasta bake, a plate of chicken schnitzels, plate of beef schnitzels, plate of Egyptian rice for each seat, a bowl of soup called Molokhia (which is a slippery leafy soup which may sound not great but is surprisingly very nice. You spoon it on to your rice and yum yum yum) also flat bread was scattered around the table.

Everyone other than me dug in, you could tell that they had been waiting for me to arrive to eat. Hardly cutlery was used Mumma was breaking up the chicken with her hands placing pieces in front of everyone it was not like I was not used to using my hand to eat because I had been to India many timesand thats just what they did there but I wanted to ensure that I was acting proper meeting Marwuans family for the first time, my plate was stacked with food that mumma had placed. There was no way in hell that I could eat all of this but slowly I started making my way though the mountain of pasta, meat and rice.

While eating the questions kept coming from his mum and dad with marwuans and Sally's help I was able to communicate. Marwuans dad Raafat must not have know much about me prior other than I was a westerner because he asked me if America was good a good place. Both Marwuan and I laughed but corrected him that I was from Australia. I think we embarrassed him by his face expression but he kept talking by telling me that he had been working in the Airforce as a mechanic.

After struggling through the food I had to ask if I could excuse myself to go to bed. I was exhausted. I was shown to my bedroom which I would be sharing with Sally and his mother. The house was a two bedroom house but the woman slept in one room and Raafat Marwuan's father slept in the other. As Marwuan worked away he would share with the woman when he was home but this was very rare that he would be home. However because I was staying in the woman's room Marwuan was not allowed to sleep in the same room so his mother made a bed on the floor for him in the fancy guest room. This felt strange in the beginning and a I thought quiet strange but I had to understand different cultures. In the back of my mind I hoped that if Marwuan and I were to grow old together that we would not be sharing different rooms.

Most the relationships in Egypt are not based on love especially in their day. I will give you an example Sally Marwuans sister met her now husband at work he liked the way she looked so Ahmad the man I am speaking of asked for her hand in marriage, he then asked Sally's mum to meet him, once she then approved Marwuan met him and approved then he was introduced to the father (which is a big thing) once father meets the potential groom to be Sally's father asks that Ahmad provide a house for the bride (to own the house) and to be able to provide for the wife without her working and also to furnish half the house. It is the wife's family responsibility to furnish the other half. Once approved by father the engagement period is about a year. During this year couples are not allowed to meet without future bride's fathers consent and time alone is very very rare until married. Man come to brides house to spend and get to know his future wife also phone calls are allowed. Most Egyptians are virgins until married.

Egypt here I come

I tried to contact Marwuan to see how things were going last time I spoke to him he was on the bus back to Cairo from Dahab with his tour group, he had told me that people on the streets had been approaching the bus with batons and machetes searching to see who was in the bus but then would let them pass once they noticed they were tourist. I asked if he was scared but he told me he was a little unease but that they were just residents protecting their area from thugs and protesters.

Today I could not get through to him each time I called his mobile all I heard was a message from a lady speaking Arabic I tried throughout the day without any luck, I was keeping a close eye on the news though the internet it was then announced that the Egyptian government had cut all phone lines and internet access in the country to prevent people from communicating, the government was worried that the more people spoke through social media the worse the situation would get. Social media was how the protest was organised in the first place. The fact that I could not contact Marwuan in anyway was worrying but I had a feeling that he was safe.

The next day Marwuan contacted me the government had lifted the restrictions he told me that for the last two days he and his group had been camping out at the airport with lots of other tourists and expats trying to get flights to leave the country. He said that the army and police were protecting the airport so I had no need to worry. Most of Marwuans group had left the country but he was sticking around helping other tour leaders with their groups as it was crazy at the airport. Food and water supplies were low he was trying to keep the sprits up of those that we still stranded. At this point it looked like I would be cancelling my trip.
I contacted the airline and they informed me because of the situation I would get a full refund if I decided to cancel but something was telling me not to cancel yet I still had 5 more days until I departed so I thanked the person I was speaking to and hung up the phone.

The next day Marwuan left the airport after spending three days there. We were able to Skype and I was able to get up to date with the situation. Apparently things had calmed down there was still the odd riot downtown but everywhere else had calmed down. They say that up to a million people were downtown Cairo protesting for the president to step down however he did not look like he was going anywhere. The Army had now taken over control of the security as the Egyptians no longer trusted the police saying that they were all corrupt. Marwuan again told me that if I wanted to cancel my trip he would understand but I did not want to cancel. I was not spending much time in Cairo anyway I was only there a night then we would be catching a flight to Sharm then driving to Dahab far far away from Cairo.So I told him that I would still be coming.

The day of the trip had come even though everyone around me was telling me to cancel my flight and think about my safety the Australian news programs were stating that there was a chance that a civil war could break out if the president did not step down. Marwuan said that it was not that bad so I was insistent that I was going. At the Melbourne airport I checked in and told the clerk I was going to Egypt. She looked up at me with a crazy look and then asked me if I had been watching the news and if I had any idea what is going on there. I replied I had was well informed as my partner lives there. She nodded and smiled and told me to have a safe trip while handing back my ticket. At the customs counter I was asked where I was going and when I said Egypt again the clerk asked me the same question. My heart was beating fast I was starting to question if I was doing the right thing or if I should turn around and return home. No all will be fine Marwuan will make sure that I am safe he would not let me come if it was not safe I walked through customs and took a seat in the waiting area.

Is it safe to visit

A few days later I had decided that I should sell my car to assist with my saving plan. I had my car for two years and still had one more year of repayments but I saw that as dead money that I could be putting into my savings for travel. Once my car was up for sale a lot of people started to believe that I was actually going ahead with my plan. My car was sold a week later. I guess I didn't expect it to sell so quickly and once it was gone I was a little lost I was back to catching public transport which meant a bus and train to and from work every day but I was saving money and that’s all that matter to me at the time.

Each morning on the bus I would call Marwuan and he would talk to me most the way to work, we would talk about everything, sometime though we would run out of things to say and just sit on the phone in silence just knowing that he was on the other side of the phone would make my heart race fast. My phone bill rocketed through the roof the money that I was supposed to be saving was going to my phone company my highest bill was $500 for the month and I could not continue paying that if I wanted to have enough money to pack up and leave Australia. I had to tell Marwuan that I could not continue calling him each day and that we would have to email or text while he was on tour because he did not have skype available during this time. It made it hard for both of us as we were not having the regular contact like before.

Little things started to trigger fights because we were interpreting things the wrong way via text and emails, because we could not hear the tone of the voice we would jump at the wrong conclusions. The distance was starting to affect us and we still had four more months until we were due to meet up again. We were both started to question whether we were making the right decision we were basing a lot on a holiday romance and a relationship that was only long distance, if we continued like this we would not be together by the time it came for me to leave Australia. That’s when Marwuan came up with a plan. Valentines day was three weeks away and he asked if I could come to Egypt for valentine's day, It sounded like an awesome plan but it would cut into my savings with the flight alone being $2000 and I would not get paid holiday pay as I had just returned from Christmas holidays I said I would think about it and talk to my boss if I could take the leave.

That night I could not sleep all I could think about was being in Egypt for Valentines day. It would be our first valentines day of hopefully many more to come how awesome would it be if we could spend it together. The next morning at work I asked my boss for the leave. He said he would think about it but it was very unlikely because he needed me at work due to it being a busy time for recruiting and it was my portfolio to do all this for the centre. My heart sank but held on to hope that he would say yes. I told Marwuan that night I had asked for the leave and I will know tomorrow the answer however I was still concerned about the money it would cost to come at such short notice. Maruwan told me not to worry about any money he would have it covered, it would be his gift to me. All I had to do was get the leave and find the flight and he would do everything else as well as reimburse me for the flight once I got there.

Again I had a sleepless night anxious to find out what my boss would say about the leave. Once I got to work the next day I approached my boss for his answer. He declined my leave he needed me there during this time. Back at my desk I could not hold back my tears I was devastated I was not only looking forward to going to Egypt to see Marwuan I was sure that if I didn't go this time our relationship would not make it the next 4 months. I took some time to myself in a meeting room to calm down. It was then I decided that I would resign then and there. Something told me that I needed to go to Egypt and that was the most important thing to me right now. I regrouped and went into my managers office I sat down and told him that if the leave was not available I am sorry but I would have to resign. I did not want to put him in a tough position but this trip was very important to me and I needed to go. He had no choice he really didn't want me to leave before the end of May like planned so he approved the leave. A part of me felt terrible and guilty that I put my manager in this position but I was happy that I didn't have to resign because I really needed to have this job until I was due to leave.

That night I booked my tickets online I was due to leave to Egypt in 2 weeks for 12 days. The plan was to spend two days in Cairo meeting his family then we would fly to Dahab and spend the remaining time alone getting to know each other without other people around. It would all be great.

It was now a week until I was due to fly to Egypt and a massive protest happened in Cairo, Egyptians wanted their president Hosni Mubarak to step down. The protest turned into riots Cairo and other Egyptian cities were on fire, people were losing their lives. Western countries were sending planes to take their citizens out of the country. What was I going to do? I could not go to Egypt when it was in this state. It was unsafe I would wait and see if things would calm down I still had a week until I was due to depart.

Back In Melbourne

Back in Melbourne I thought that life would be the same and nothing would have changed but I was wrong, those two weeks away had changed me. My body was in Melbourne but I had left my heart in Egypt. Everything was no longer the same my focus was different. All I could think about was how I would be able to get back to Marwuan as soon as possible. Most the conversations I had with my friends turned to be about Marwuan and my plans to move overseas. A lot of my friends thought it was all talk and I would get over it in a few weeks like a lot of my plans I had for my life lately, but a few close friends could see how serious I was and like me knew that no matter what I would make it happen.
The first thing I needed to do was save money. This was not going to be that easy. I was living right in the middle of the party scene.

My apartment was on Barkly Street, St Kilda right at the end of Acland Street and summer was only a few weeks away. I knew that meant lots of time out at cafes and bars that were surrounding my house. That was the whole reason I had moved to that location so I could be close to that scene. I didn't want to turn into a hermit and not hang out with friends but I had to ensure that I was not wasting money like previously eating out most night of the week.

Marwuan and I would speak daily by phone calls and text messages but it still didn't make it any easier. Lucky it was a busy time of year both at work and at home with Christmas just around the corner, the days few by and before I knew it was New Years Eve. Instead of going out and spending big dollars on a ticket to a party, my house mate and I decided that we would have a low key BBQ at our house with a few friends over. One of the people I had invited over was Ben from my tour in Egypt like me he was wanting to do something low key and also I wanted to introduce him to my best friend I thought that the two of them would both get along quiet well.

The night was going perfect we were all out on the balcony watching the world go by celebrating the New Year coming in drinking champagne and smoking the sheesha that I had bought back from Egypt. Close to midnight I gave Marwuan a call to wish him a Happy New Year before the phone lines got clogged up. He was happy to hear from me and was asking all about the night. I went into my room so I could speak to him privately.

After some time Ben came in looking for me and jumped on my bed we were drunk so we were jumping on the bed playing and laughing, Marwuan did not like this at all. He got very upset that another man was in my bedroom and was laughing and joking with me while I was on the phone to him. I saw no harm in it. We were doing nothing wrong I was still talking to Marwuan I was not think I was doing anything out of line however he disagreed. He hung up on me and a few minutes later I received a text saying that he could no longer speak to me tonight while I was drunk and behaving this way. I tried to call him back but he did not answer I kept trying to call but he turned his phone off.

After trying to call for another hour I stopped and went to bed I hope that when I woke up in the morning I would have a text message or a phone call from him. However when I woke the next morning there was nothing from Marwuan. I tried to call his phone but it was still switched off. We had never had a fight like this before if we ever had a disagreement we would talk through it and be over it within the hour as we couldn't stay mad at each other. This time was different. I started to worry. I knew that he would be about to be seeing the New year himself and be out drinking for the first time since I had been away from him I felt insecure and unsure about our future. Being hungover was not helping the situation my emotions were all over the shop. Not a great way to start the year.

That day I did not hear from Marwuan at all I did not hear from him the next day also I was pretty sure that our relationship was over. I had tried to call him but he never answered I sent him text messages but he never replied I also wrote him via facebook but no response. How could he end the relationship without even talking to me about it?

2 days after New Years Eve my phone rang and it was Marwuan he was acting like nothing had happened. I could not pretend that the last two days didn't happen so I asked why he had acted that way and not answer my calls, text messages or emails. He went on to explain that in his culture he would never let another woman in his bedroom unless it was his sister, mother or partner while he was in a relationship. He said that he has been very understanding with the fact that my housemate is a male but letting another man in my bedroom is something he cannot accept. I could see his point of view but I wanted to know what other things he would not accept as I did not want to be in a relationship with someone that could change the person I was.

Marwuan said he did not want to change the person I was he loved the person I was, that’s why he was in a relationship with me he said that he will have to make a few adjustments to get used to the western culture just like I will have to make a few. He made it very clear I would not have to change I just had to respect his feelings and not put myself into situation where I would disrespect him.We made an agreement that we could not go days without talking about the problem again and if anything was ever upsetting each of us we would talk about it that moment and not ignore the problem.

We spoke for hours and by the end of the call I felt like we were back to the place we were before New Year's Eve.

Time to go home

The next morning I wake up bright and early I was really struggled sleeping beside Marwuan all the beds we were staying in were single beds so it was always a tight fit I was used having a queen size bed to myself back home. I got out of bed and kissed Marwuan on the forehead he tried to pull me back into bed but I wanted to get back to my room before Mel woke up. Back in my room Mel was still asleep so I jumped into my bed and fell asleep for another hour.

When we both woke up Mel was still feeling ill she was sticking to her guns and not leaving the motel room today she was going to do a bit of reading and watch a little television but mostly catch up on sleep as she did not get much in Dahab she was out most nights to early hours of the morning drinking and dancing, she wanted to be refreshed for when she got back to Melbourne and back to work. I told Mel everything that was spoken about between Marwuan and I the night before she was amazed that I had committed into a long distance relationship with someone that I had only known for two weeks. She tried to reason with me about the difficulty and asked all the questions that I had been asking myself. A lot of the questions I yet did have the answers to give I told her that I was just going to go with the flow and take it a day at a time and if it did not work out then I can say at least I gave it a go. Mel didn't believe that the relationship between Marwuan and I would last a few weeks but that was her opinion I took what she said on board but it did not make me change my mind I wanted to see where this could go.

After a few hours of hanging out in the room I got a call on the room phone it was Marwuan he had just woken up and was wondering what our plans were for the day. I told him that Mel was not leaving her room today so I was free all day to do whatever he had planned. He asked me to come to his room and he would call his mum once I got there to confirm the lunch that he spoke about the night before. Again I snuck through the halls of the Indiana hotel to Marwuans room. Like the previous day all the staff I passed was too busy playing on their phones to notice where I was going No wonder the hotel looked so run down the staff never did anything. Marwuan called his mum but unfortunately she was working today but could do tomorrow instead. This was not possible for me as Mel and I were leaving tomorrow late afternoon also Marwuan had to go to his office tomorrow to meet his manager because we was meeting a new group tonight to start another tour. The look of disappointment on Marwuans face said it all it really meant a lot to him for me to meet his family. Secretly I felt relieved I was not ready to meet his parents yet but I did not want to hurt his feelings.

"What would you like to do today?" Marwuan asked. "Would you like to go out for lunch somewhere or go look at any sites around the city?" I thought about it and like Mel I was also exhausted and over site seeing "Would you mind if we just stayed here for the day?” It was my last full day in Cairo and all I wanted to do was stay in and have Marwuan to myself and not share him with anyone else in the world. "That sounds perfect "he replied. So for the rest of the day we spent it in bed talking about our past and our future dreams laughing at each other's silly stories and every so often getting tangled in the sheets with each other. The day was fantastic much better than any site seeing. We didn't know what the future held for us but we were with each other now and we were going to make the most of it.

At 8pm Marwuan had to go upstairs to meet his new group so I made my way back to check in on Mel she was not alone Ben was hanging out with her like Mel he had also a tummy bug so the both of them spent the day watching movies on Bens laptop. I was going to catch up with Marwuan after the meeting and asked them if they wanted to join us on the roof for a drink but as I expected they declined Ben was leaving that night and Mel still in her PJ's was not moving.

Marwuan called when he was finished with the meeting he was taking the group to the pizza place around the corner for something to eat and asked if I wanted to join them. I was starving so I accepted. Meeting the new group was strange because I got to see the people that would be spending the next two weeks with Marwuan. When I was introduced he introduced me as his girlfriend and told them i was Australian so straight away I go bombarded with questions. I didn't tell them that I had only met him two weeks ago i said that we had know each other for ages but I just joined Marwuan on his last tour. They all seemed to believe my story.

After dinner Marwuan and I went up to the roof we were meeting one of Marwuans best friends he was coming to join us for a drink and bring some exported vodka. Again I was introduced as Marwuans girlfriend. Hearing it this time did not sound strange to me I liked the way it sounded. Sammy was the name of Marwuans friend and like Marwuan he was a tour leader. Marwuan kept getting called off by his new group members during the time Marwuan was away Sammy started throwing the 100 questions my way. Answering them all the best of my ability apparently I won him over i later found out by Marwuan.

The next morning Marwuan woke up before me he had to go down to the lobby to meet his new group. Today was the day I had been dreading for the last week I got up and went up to my room. Mel was feeling better and was packing her bag; we were to get a taxi to the airport in a few hours. I sat on my bed looking through my camera at all the new memories I had made over the last two weeks I called Mel over and we looked through them again together laughing at all the photos. It was an amazing two and half weeks but now time to head back to reality. After packing my bag we checked out of the hotel i met Marwuan in the lobby it was time to say goodbye. We went out to the street and held each other tight for the longest time I could not hold back the tears anymore there was a massive lump in my throat no matter how many times I swallowed I could not get rid of it. My body was trembling I looked up at Marwuan he was not crying as much as me but there were tears in his eyes. I turned around and Mel was standing there she was also now crying. "Look at us anyone would think someone just died" I said laughing while crying at the same time. Marwuan now was jumping in a taxi he had to go meet his manager at the office. I couldn't watch him drive off I had to look away Mel was holding my hand. Would I really ever see him again?

My phone was going crazy text message after text message all from Marwuan. Telling me not to be sad and then the next one said he was now crying his eyes out in the taxi the next one a minute later telling me to tell him when we are in a taxi on the way to the airport. They just kept coming I didn't have time to reply before another message would come through. Mel and I still had an hour to kill before we had to leave for the airport so we went for a walk near the hotel to find somewhere to have lunch.

When in the taxi to the airport I texted Marwuan and said I was on my way. The whole way to the airport I was reminiscing the time I had spent with Marwuan the tears kept flowing. We reached our terminal and as soon as I looked towards it Marwuan is standing there with a big smile on his face. What was he doing here? I put my backpack on and ran over to him. "What are you doing here?' He said he couldn't let me leave the country without giving me one last kiss. Butterflies took over my stomach. He came into the terminal with Mel and I and did not leave until we went through the check in gate. The whole time he held my hand so tight that I could not feel my fingers. This time when we said goodbye it was not as hard because something in my heart told me that no matter how difficult the next six months would be we would work it out because we truly loved each other.

The truth comes out

Back in Cairo and the smell of smog hit you again as soon as you get out of the bus by the time we arrived back to Cairo it was dinner time. We checked back into hotel Indiana and then went straight out to dinner. Tonight would be the last night the group would be together our tour ended tonight some people were leaving after dinner and some the next day. Mel and I still had 2 more nights before we were due to depart Egypt. I did not want that time to come.

We all packed into 2 taxis to go to dinner 5 people were squished in the back of our taxi and I was sitting on Marwuans lap in the front seat, my neck and shoulders slouched over so I could fit in the car. The taxi driver was not fussed that his taxi was filled to the brim in Egypt there is no law for the amount of people you can have in your car as long as the driver can see where he is going. You also don't need to worry about a seat belt unless you are the driver of the car but never have I seen a driver wearing one.

20 minutes later we arrive at our restaurant Deals we had to walk through a dark hallway to a bar/restaurant that has no windows and is dimly lit cigarette smoke is lingering in the air. There are a lot of mirrors on the walls and a few LCD televisions playing music videos.  We sit on stools at a tall table and order our food and drinks. I was happy to see that they had imported alcohol it was very hard to find imported alcohol in Egypt, only 5 star hotels and fine establishments served it and at expensive prices compared to the local stuff. But well worth it when you found it because the Egyptian alcohol even though cheap always gave you the worst headache.

After dinner we went around the table said a few words about each other. It was a good positive way to end the tour. Marwuan and I got teased a lot about our holiday romance but it was all in good fun. After a few more drinks everyone went back to hotel to get ready to leave to their next destinations. Marwuan and I stayed behind at Deals we had nothing planned for the next morning. Mel was really tired so she went back to hotel with the group Marwuan and I said our goodbyes it would be the last time we would see a lot of them ever again.

When everyone left we moved from the tall table and took a seat of one of the smaller tables in the corner. I sat close to Marwuan he had his hand on my thigh. "I can't believe the tour is over" I said "It went by so quickly especially the last week in Dahab". Marwuan nodded I knew then he was thinking the same as me, with the tour being over that meant that we were closer to saying goodbye.  "How would you feel about meeting my family tomorrow?" Marwuan blurted out; surprised by this question I laughed "You're joking right?"

He was not joking he was serious I stopped laughing. He told me that he been thinking about it the whole time we were travelling back to Cairo he said that if I accepted he would call his mum in the morning and ask her if she would be home tomorrow afternoon and if she would cook us lunch. "Umm I will have to check with Mel we planned to spend some time exploring more of Cairo before we went back home."  

"Ok she is more than welcome to join us if she would like" I nodded and said I would ask her when I got back to hotel and get back to him. This was a big thing I knew that in Middle Eastern culture you did not just take any girl home to meet your parents unless you were serious about the relationship.  

  "When you speak to your family about meeting me what will tell them?" I asked this question hoping that it would give me more information about what was going on in his head but he turned it back onto me. "What do you want me to tell my parents?"  I took the safe road and said that you could always introduce me as your friend. "Yep I could do that" he said "but I have never taken home a female friend home before so I think they will figure out that it is something more". Just what I had thought. It was now time to talk about the future we had put it off for the last week but it had come that time where we needed to discuss with each other about what would happen when I went home. I asked if we could go back to the hotel I did not really feel like talking about it in this dark bar I wanted to see his face and look into his eyes when we spoke about our future.

When we got back to the hotel I had to go to my room first. We could not be seen going into his room together by any of the hotel staff or Marwuan could get into serious trouble. In Egypt a man and a woman are not allowed to share a hotel room together unless they are married and you need to provide your marriage certificate when booking a room with a female. If you do not have a marriage certificate and get caught in a room with a female that is not your wife you can get charged by the police.

Back in my room Mel was still up watching TV again she was not feeling very well her stomach was playing up again. I told her that Marwuan had asked me to meet his family tomorrow and she was more than welcome to join but if she did not want to go I would not if she had plans for us to do more exploring of Cairo. Mel said that she doubted that she would be leaving the room at all tomorrow because she felt like the stomach bug was back. I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her tonight but she told me to leave and enjoy my time with Marwuan she would be asleep very shortly. I said ok but I will be back before she wakes up in the morning. I always came back to my room before she woke up in the mornings I liked to be there to spend some alone time with her when she woke up.

I ran through the hotel hallways and up the stairs to Marwuan's room checking in every direction if any hotel staffs was paying attention to where I was going but they were too busy talking on their mobile phone to care too much what I was doing. I knocked on Marwuans door still looking in both directions, he opened in a towel he had just showered. "What a nice way to be greeted" I said with a smile and entered the room. No talking was going to happen now.

Lying in the bed after making love I told Marwuan that we needed to talk. He agreed that we had put it off for long enough. I told him that the feelings I had been feeling towards him were strong and some feelings that I had not felt in a very long time I felt excitement, happiness, enjoyment, jealousy, nervous and I was scared whenever I was around him I was falling in love with him. However I was unsure on how I could cope with a long distance relationship I am a person that needs to feel love and I need to feel like I am getting attention and I am unsure how he could do that when he is on the other side of the world. I also need to feel trust toward him and with the job that he does I know that new women will be introduced to him fortnightly. I'm not sure that it will work I won't have his touch or his smell to keep me going. All I will have is his voice; will that be enough to keep me interested?

He had the same concerns as me but also felt the same strong feelings towards me that he had never felt before. He said that he wanted to give the long distance relationship a go and if it didn't work that's what god had planned us. If we walked away now without even trying we knew we would both be thinking about it for the rest of our lives what if. So from that moment we made it official we were going to give this relationship a go we were going to do whatever it takes to make it work even if were on the other side of the world from each other.

After that conversation I felt relieved that we had spoken so openly and honest to each other I felt like I had got everything off my chest however I still felt very scared for the future I knew that it was not going to be a walk in the park I knew this was going to be one of the biggest challenges I had faced so far in life. Not only was it different countries between us it was also different cultures.  

Time to let my guard down

Driving in to Dahab we are stopped at a checkpoint men in army uniforms come up to the bus and ask us to take out our passports. A man in plain clothes puts his head in the door and takes each one of our passports after a quick look he passes them back nods his head and we are free to go. Our hotel is on the other side of town so we drive through Dahab. There are open spaces and mountains to our left to our right shops and the Red. It does not looked as maintained as Hurghada and the road has many pot holes. But it does look clean. You notice lots of utility trucks and jeeps with Bedouin drivers wearing scarfs on their heads. Sitting in the back of the utility trucks are people in wetsuits going to their destinations. Dahab is a world famous diving spot so divers are everywhere you look

After going through another check point we reach our hotel. In the hotel lobby we are seated while Marwuan sorts out the paper work and keys for our room. Walking to our room we noticed that there are no other guest in the hotel. The hotel was located right on the beach. The beach was not a sandy beach it was all rocky. The hotel consisted of white square brick buildings that were all lined up diagonally; each room had a wooden door at the front and a sliding glass door at the back that lead to the pool area. The room consisted of two beds a little fridge with a television on top and a table to the side of that The bathroom was small just enough room for toilet basin and shower there was no shower basin so whenever you showered water went all over the bathroom floor.

Once in the room I jumped straight into bed not worrying about changing out of the clothes I was in I was so tired I could have slept for days. My alarm went off a few hours later. I looked out the glass door the sun was going down, there were some of the group sitting out by the pool so I showered and went out to join them. It looked like they had got a lot of sun today both Ben and Nick's faces was bright red. Apparently they had spent the whole day by the pool. Everyone was now at the pool and it was time to leave so we made our way to lobby to meet Marwuan. Outside there were two jeeps waiting for us, The jeeps were older jeeps with bench seats lined below each window we all piled into the back and made our way into the town centre.

The jeeps dropped us off at what looked like a car park here were jeeps and trucks lined up dropping or picking up tourist. We walked through the town centre heaps of restaurants one after another all going right up to the water edge men were standing out the front of them asking us to go in, each restaurant had a seafood displayed in big trays for the guest to choose from. The restaurants were all lit up with different coloured lamps and filled with tourist. On the other side of the path there were shops these shops were all filled with the same trinkets that markets sold. Men also stood outside the shops asking you to enter their shops We stopped at alcohol shop all the restaurants don't serve alcohol but you can bring your own and they will provide the mixer. Mel, Lauren and I all picked a drink called ID. It was a vodka mixed drink with lime, watermelon or lemon flavour much like the premixed drinks you can get back in Melbourne. However these were 10% alcohol and very strong after two you felt very happy.

Today the restaurant we went to was called The Kitchen it served Indian, Chinese and Thai inspired food. It was good to have something other than Egyptian food I had eaten enough Egyptian food to last me a lifetime by now. I took a seat close to the end of the table Mel sat on one side then Marwuan took the seat on my other side. Ben, Lauren and Nick were across from us. The entire group was really good I had no complaint but it seemed the six of us were the loud ones and the ones that was always up for a drink so at most places we stuck together.

After dinner we went to bar called Mojito it was a bar that was on a second level that had a balcony that you could see the whole Dahab strip. We drank cocktails out of big bowls here but only had one tonight because most of the group was getting tired unlike me they did not sleep through the day so we all went back to the hotel. At the hotel everyone went back to their rooms. I was sitting in my room but was not tired so I looked out the window towards the pool area to see if anyone was up Marwuan was sitting there alone I took a drink out of the fridge and I walked out to join him.

"Hey you. What doing sitting out here all by yourself?" I asked. He said like me he had slept today so he was not tired now. I sat down on the chair beside him. We started talking general chit chat with a little flirting thrown in here and there. I knew where we were sitting everybody could see us if they were to look out their glass doors so I asked Marwuan if he would like to take a walk on the beach. "Sure it's a great night for it" he said. This was very true the sky was filled with thousands of stars and the moon was almost full so it shone off the water and there was no wind the air still warm.

We walked out onto beach trying not trip on the rocks under my feet. Marwuan took my hand and we walked in silence for a while just enjoying each other's company every once in a while we would look at each other and just smile. We walked until we came to the next hotel's beach. On this beach there was sunbeds Marwuan sat down first I then sat down in between his legs both of us facing towards the water. I leaned back into his chest he put his hands around my stomach. Now was the time for me to explain myself.

I started off by saying that I enjoyed the time we have spent together alone and I am sorry that I had walked out on him twice. I then said that I was previously worried that I would be just another notch on belt because I am sure that things like this happen all the time. Marwuan tried to talk, I asked him please to wait until I finished talking "ok" he said. I continued. "But life is too short to worry about silly things like that so I want to just enjoy the time we do have together. We won't talk about the future or the past we will just go with the flow and take it day at a time. And one more thing you have to promise not to fall in love with me" I turned around and smiled at him.

Can I talk now" Marwuan asks, I nodded and turned back towards the water. "First this kind of thing doesn't happen as much as you think it does and when it does happen I don't just tick it off a list, for you to think that of me hurts my feelings. But I can see why you are concerned I am concerned also I am having feelings towards you that I don't remember feeling in a very long time maybe I have never felt like this and you are leaving in a week. I will agree with you that we won't talk about the past or the future but I cannot promise that I will not fall in love with you because I am already falling.

My heart stopped I was still looking towards the water I wanted to turn around and kiss him but my body was frozen. After a second he turned me around "Now can you just kiss me enough talking" We kissed for what seemed like forever but was probably only minutes. I was on the biggest high I pulled away from him and asked "can we go back to the hotel now please" he smiled at me "of course."

Walking back to the hotel he stopped me and pulled me close, his arms around me so tight I could feel the pressure on my ribs. It felt so beautiful but terrifying at the same time so many things were going through my mind I was thinking that I don’t want this to be over in a week I did not want to leave this moment and go back to my normal life in Melbourne not that my life was bad in Melbourne but this feeling was something I had never felt before. I believe in destiny and fate but surely this was not mine. I had to stop thinking about it because I said to Marwuan to take each day at a time only minutes ago so I had to do the same there was no way I could bring this up with him now. Back at the hotel he led me in his room, this time I did not stop turn and run this time I followed.

 I woke up with Marwuan's arms around his waist I looked at my watch 6:30am I needed to get back to my room. I turned to Marwuan and told him I was leaving, half asleep he held me tighter "why do you have to go? Stay." I shook my head "I'm sorry but I'll see you later" I kissed him on the forehead got out of bed got dressed and made my way out the door. It was quite cold outside the sun was just coming up over the mountains. I ran to the door and opened it thank god Mel had not locked it and kept it open for me because I didn't have a key. I walked in. Two heads popped out of the blanket but it wasn't Mel. It was Rob and Louise "oh my god I'm so sorry" I squealed. I had walked into the wrong room I was in the room next door to mine. I left them dazed and confused and ran out.

At the next room I opened the door and thankfully it was the right room. Laughing at myself I jumped into bed Mel woke up and looked at me but went straight back to sleep. I couldn't believe what I had just done. It now struck me the cat was out of the bag they would now know what had happened. Like Marwuan Rob was a tour leader but in Europe and his girlfriend Louise met Rob while she was on tour with him so I was 100% sure that they would put two and two together. There was nothing I could do about it now I would tell Marwuan when I saw him next what had happened I'm sure he would see the funny side of it.

My alarm went off it was now breakfast time Mel and I made our way into the area where we were having breakfast most the group were already eating breakfast when we walked in. As soon as I entered the room I knew that everybody was aware of what had happened the previous night. I sat down but nobody said anything. I whispered to Mel that I think everyone knows she just shrugged and smiled. A few minutes later Marwuan walked in then the room started clapping. That just confirmed that everyone knew. Marwuan was all embarrassed he just smiled and said "ok guys we are leaving in 10 minutes so if you need anything from your rooms go and get it now" and walked upstairs to the lobby not sitting to eat breakfast.

Today we were going to the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is a world famous diving spot it is also known as "Divers Cemetery" because so many divers have died here due the hard diving conditions. it has beautiful coral reefs on the sides of the Blue hole so that's what we would be snorkeling today. On the way to the Blue Hole Mel, Nick, Lauren and Ben are trying to get information out of me what happened the night before. I just smile and laugh not knowing what to say because I was still yet to talk to Marwuan.When we reach the Blue Hole we are seated a restaurant that is not far from the entry of the water. The table settings are traditional Bedouin seating. We are sitting with our legs folded on mats with low tables in front of us. Our waiter Saba comes to greet us and hands us a drink menu because our food for the day is provided. Once we choose our drinks we are then walked to the area where we are to try on snorkeling gear.

I was very quick at trying on my gear the flippers were a bit big but I wanted to get back to talk to Marwuan about what our next plan was now that everyone was aware that we had been together the night before. Once back at our table I took a seat at the very end of the table and called Marwuan over. "Everyone knows what should we do?" We both agreed that we would still act like nothing was going on through the day and then at night meet up. I was happy with this plan because I wanted to still spend quality time with my sister this was supposed to be a holiday about us. Even though it was hard to act like nothing happened we both tried our hardest keeping our distance. Whenever we had the urge to talk to each other we would send a flirty text but we ensured that it was on the sly.

But as the week progressed it was harder and harder to hide our attraction for each other during the day. Each day we would become more open in front of people and before the end of the 5 days in Dahab we were very public about our affair. We would hold each other's hand in public. We would always sit beside each other at dinner and even kiss in front of the group after a few drinks. Marwuan could not believe that he was acting this way in front of his group. I had nothing to lose but he could get in heaps of trouble from his company if anyone complained but he just didn't care anymore. Being with me was more important he said. I still spent heaps of time with Mel we went horseback riding on the beach, quad biking and lot and lots of dancing and drinking.

On the bus back to Cairo we sat beside each other with my legs hanging over his. We had my iPod on with one ear piece in my ear and one in his. We had found our song Bruno Mars " Just the way you are" we would listen to this song over and over as well as many other cheesy love songs. During the whole way back to Cairo I was feeling down I didn't want to be leaving in two days I didn't want this feeling to be over. Marwuan and I had spoken briefly about what would happen when I went back to Australia but not in great detail because we didn't want to stress about at and just enjoy our time together. I knew that next year I had planned to travel overseas again but for a longer period of time so we had talked about meeting up then and travelling together for a bit but that was it. So many things were going through my mind, will we actually meet up again? will he miss me when I'm gone or will there be another girl on the next tour that makes him feel the same? Time would only tell.