Chris and Roxy have left Sharm
Two of the most loved inhabitants of Sharm El Sheikh have left, Chris and his German Shepherd Roxy who were part of the furniture in Chris's Bar (now Camel Bar). This is a personal tribute from us who know them and who will also miss them.
"Nah, forget about the bullsh*t above, it's just for sentimental bast***s."
Oops! That was a typical Chris quote that squeezed itself into this story. All these years we've had to put up with his South African bad manners, coarse language and rudeness. Here comes another infamous Chris quote:
"What's such a gorgeous young lady doing with this ugly old man?"
This story wouldn't be complete without mentioning the smelly fleabag Roxy, that dreadful animal! We all had to step OVER him just to be able to enter the bar. He was trained to sleep EXACTLY in the doorway at the main entrance, just to pi** people off. His main task (whenever he was awake) was to keep all male dogs out and to welcome all females of any breed with a grunt and a wagging tail. (Hmm, reminds us a little of Chris, doesn't it?) But he was a pathetic guard dog though, shouldn't be allowed to call himself a German Shepherd at all...
!Well, Chris and Roxy are gone but life in the bar will not change. The other manager Pete is fortunately still here to keep up the spirits of Camel Bar, both internal and external! He will continue to entertain you with his British sarcasm, I mean, sense of humour. Pete now has a new partner in crime, a fellow British guy named The Tequila King. His alias is Mike and you can see how happy he is for his new job right here pictured on the right.
"Hello, hello, what's going on here then, you horrible lot?"
Not again, where did that Chris quote come from?! Oh, the party! To say that things got out of hand when the big boss opened the bar is an understatement. Have a look at these pictures from the leaving parties. The bar opened, and Chris danced on the bar for the first time ever! Then there were affectionate farewells to his former bosses.
Please note! The above story is not intended to offend anybody (other than Chris of course!). It's meant as a joke with a twink in the eye, and anybody who has ever met Chris will understand this story is filled to the brim with sincere warmth. Chris has lived in Sharm El Sheikh for 13 years and was running the most popular hangout in town, Chris's Bar at Camel Hotel. His companion Roxy was the most cuddled dog in the whole of Sinai.
We wish you well, Chris, in your new "job" where we know you'll just be sitting in a chair with a beer in one hand and a fishing rod in the other. See you in Mozambique!
Paris-Dakar Rally 2003 ended in Sharm El Sheikh
After 18 days and over 8000 kms the Paris-Dakar rally finally ended here in Sharm El Sheikh on the 19th January 2003. There were 343 cars, trucks and motorbikes at the start in Marseille but for the last leg of the race between Abu Rish and Sharm El Sheikh, there were only 189 vehicles left.
Mitsubishi was the big winner in this race and took the first top three spots in the car category. The Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka and his German navigator Andreas Schultz won the race. This was the second year in a row that Masuoka wins the Paris-Dakar rally. But the French driver Peterhansel was expected to win this year. He ran into trouble after hitting a rock only a short distance from Sharm El Sheikh. And he lost his top spot to the Japanese after being in the lead by over 20 minutes. Peterhansel has previously won the race on motorcycle and was hoping to become the second driver ever to have won on both two and four wheels.
In the motorcycle race, the famous KTM machines dominated the top spots and the French driver Richard Sainct won this category. Last but not least, there was the monster truck class which saw Russian Kamaz vehicles in the first and third spot. The winning machine's team consisted of Vladimir Tchaguine, Semion Yakoubov and Sergei Savostine. Enjoy some action pictures from the Sinai desert and Sharm El Sheikh below.
Camel Dive Club at the Boot Show in Düsseldorf
Camel Dive Club and Hotel participated for the ninth time at the famous Boot Show in Düsseldorf, Germany. The event, which is Europe's largest diving show, took place over nine days, 18-26 January 2003, and received some 320.000 visitors from 67 countries.
Many old guests of Camel visited our booth and shared their latest diving stories. Most people enquiried about Camel's special offers and wanted to know more about our Red Sea dive sites such as Thistlegorm and Ras Mohammed. Quite a few divers asked for shore diving, and the best House Reef in Sharm is located right in front of hotel Iberotel Grand Sharm. There you will also find Camel's satellite dive centre right on the beach.
The diving video in our booth drew a lot of spectators, especially the sequence with hammerheads. And our tempting underwater pictures made many people wish they were in their wetsuits getting ready to take a giant stride into the Red Sea.
Others just wish to come and enjoy sun and sea without going under the water and Sharm has a lot to offer for non-divers as well. Numerous tour agents offer desert excursions and even trips to Cairo. And of course there are lots of water sports like windsurfing, para-gliding and kayaking.
London International Dive Show
The London Excel Dive Show was as always fun and buzzing and a great opportunity to catch up with agents and diving organizations, to buy a new torch, have a go at what's new on the market and have a few drinks with clients who have now become friends. Camel dive school manager Carrol Flowers went to London for the show.
"I love to meet up with clients at the show. A big thank you to our agents for sending so many clients and helping to make their holiday with us carefree. We only have to add the excitement."