one hump or two?

This morning I embarked on a trip into the Sinai desert. I was picked up in an old Toyota Landcruisrer that had 366, 000km on the odometer. It's the ideal mode of transport for this part of the world. In the other vehicle in the party was a woman from the same small town in Scotland that I'm originally from. Small world!!
The track was dusty, bumpy and the desert very hot in the noonday sun. The instructions for the trip included the somewhat vital requirement that participants arrive wearing shoes suitable for walking and scrambling up rocks, water, a hat and sunscreen. IT'S THE DESERT! So of course there was a couple who arrived in flip-flops, no hat or water, and moaned the whole time. You really wonder...

Anyhow it was a good trip, and this shows a Bedouin settlement and the camels sitting waiting to give us flabby westerners a wee taste of real hard desert existence. The camel ride was actually more comfortable than you'd imagine, although my beast showed an alarming desire to break into a gallop.

Things I've noticed today:
Toyota Landcruisers are indeed invincible
Speed limits in Egypt are universally ignored, as are all other road traffic rules
The Bedouin folk have mobile phones
Thers no sand in the desert, just rocks and pebbles
Some British folk are really, really stupid
The huge private dwelling house next to this hotel is owned by the Bin Laden family (yes, that one)