I Really Really Hate the Fucking Ferry

This having been my fourth time on the Arab Bridge ferry between Egypt and Jordan, I feel I am somewhat qualified to comment on it. It is a living hell.

The trip between Damascus and Cairo need not be the ordeal it is, rendered thusly only because of the ferry. I personally love buses. Bus across the Sinai, followed by bus to Amman, bus to Damascus? Sign me up! But that little stretch between Egypt and Jordan, that little sliver of water the Gulf of Aqaba, usually takes close to a day to cross.

Why the ferry? Oh, Israel, you hateful little slice of a country. Seriously, do you need Eilat? You have another ocean for ports and beaches. But no, Israel decides that they need Eilat, necessitating the Arab Bridge.

Eilat is sandwiched between Taba in Egypt and Aqaba in Jordan. But does the ferry make this short route? No! It goes all the way down to Nuweiba on the Egyptian side. This itself is hardly the source of all the misery, as the actual trip takes an hour (by ferry - three and a half by barge).

There is one ferry and one barge a day. Only. Arrive at the Aqaba port at say, 2am, and you have yourself a good 12-hour wait until you kiss the sweet Egyptian soil. Arrive in Nuweiba at 6am, because it is the only real option from Cairo is the 10pm bus, and you have a good 14-hour wait to greet Jordan's dirt.

This is with the ferry. The barge, only 10 dollars cheaper (out of freaking $50 from Jordan to Egypt, and $70 from Egypt to Jordan) seems to be a lower layer of hell that even my cheap ass refuses to descend into. Arriving at Nuweiba at 5am (our driver was crazy fast) there was a line of men boarding the ferry. At 5pm when we started boarding our ferry, the barge was still in Egypt. I think they were going to leave soon. So those poor bastards were on that damn barge all day before it even took off.

Our ferry was supposed to leave at "oh, about 3 maybe, God willing". So we sat down in a little run-down ahwa after waiting around 2, maybe 3 hours to buy tickets, ordered coffee, tea, ate La Vache Qui Rit cheese and bread, and smoked shisha. Met a kid from freaking Mason, Michigan (right next to the old hometown - I believe we are rivals) who lives in Amman. Hung out with a nice Palestinian boy, and met some British dude who I let remain in his delusion that his Egyptian shisha for 200 guinee was "a steal" (the most expensive of my three had cost 60).

Ladies first: I know I have griped about this in the past, but it is nice getting to cut a whole bunch of men for being a lady. However, I really, really hate the foreigners first rule. We're in Egypt, and all the Egyptians are told to stay back while the foreigners buy their tickets, board the ferry, etc. Even worse, it seems as if the western foreigners are pushed ahead of the Arab foreigners. This trip was the worst I have seen this phenomenon, as literally the first bus (buses take you from the terminal to the boat - no just walking the 200 meters allowed) was all westerners. We had stayed back, cause there's no reason to get flustered - boat's gonna leave when it's gonna leave.

Previous times, there has just been a hustling of ladies to the front: Arab ladies, Egyptian ladies, American ladies. I prefer this as it means I don't have to wait long AND I don't have to feel like a giant shit for getting special "Western treatment". I'm getting regular ol' lady treatment.

We finally got into Aqaba at about 8pm or so, and were saved waiting by Rachel. On the boat they take our passports, and then in the arrivals hall we wait. After 20 minutes, Rachel says fuck this and walks into the office, 5 minutes later walks out with our passports and we get out before the rest of the foreigners. "What did you say?" I ask.
"Marhaba," She says. (Hi).

I hate the boat, especially since there's no alternative. How to get from Egypt to the rest of the Arab world? Israel ain't exactly an option for most people. So the shitty service and exorbidant price of the Arab Bridge continues.

There's more to hate, but I have only so much time to dwell on such unpleasantries. I am at Dera'a, on the Syrian - Jordanian border. Somebody's visa expired and we have to wait while a new one is issued. In Sha Allah.