Dahab

That's the name of the Red Sea resort Vincent and I went to when we backpacked Egypt last year. Vince alerted me to the news in today's papers that Dahab was hit by a triple bombing on Monday - 24 dead, 80 injured. It's quite scary because the resort isn't that big and we've probably been to the places that were affected, or worse still, met the people whose lives have been tragically affected by the bombings. Their livelihoods depend heavily on tourism and this is surely another blow to the area. Another, because when we visited Dahab last June, a nearby resort, Sharm el- Sheikh had been hit by a bombing just a week before.And I think there were another couple of bombings in Cairo and the resort belt last year too. I consider myself rather lucky for not having been affected by any of these acts of mindless terror. Never take what we have in spore for granted, my friend, you'll regret it.

My best memory of Dahab will always be the amazing coral reefs they have - 'The Blue Hole'. Its was like swimming around in the set of "Finding Nemo" or "Shark Tale" man..only many times better. Learning of this bombing leaves me with so many unanswered questions.

What happened to the budget resort we stayed in and the two brothers who owned it? What happened to his cute kid?
What happened to the friendly foodstall owner opposite the resort, who whipped up the best koshery ( an Egyptian dish ) I ever had in Egypt?
What happened to the cafe I had taamiya for breakfast?
What happened to the jewellery shop where we hung out with our American friends and its Coptic Christian owner?
What happened to the shopowners who sold me the shawls I got for my Mum and Sis?
What happened to the guy who sold me the miniature drum I got for Angheng?
What happened to the shop which had the Nefertiti bust I got for Amanda?
What happened to the carpet shop Vincent got his rug?
What happened to the internet cafe I checked the latest sports news and MSN-ed with friends back home?
What happened to the supermarket we bought our precious mineral water?
What happened to the juice shop I had freshly-made-to-die-for sugar cane juice?

So many questions and wonderings. But I know the answer to the thing that matters the most - That people are resilient and that life goes on.

"If everyone cared and nobody cried,
If everyone loved and nobody lied,
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,
Then we'd see the day where nobody died"

If Everyone Cared - Nickelback