Day 88. Friday October 29th. Back to Egypt and we can see four countries from our balcony.

Ferry from Aqaba to Neweiba and then bus to Taba, Egypt. From what we have seen of Jordan we are impressed and would like to come back for a longer visit. The people are friendly and efficient and the country seems well cared for and clean with little litter etc. The roads are well maintained, the cars are newer and there is plenty of road space for them. Unfortunately a sad reflection upon Egypt where, although the people are just as friendly, but, where 50% are illiterate (much skewed toward women), they care much less about their environment. As in Egypt we feel safe in walking around at night. The Guide Book Lonely Planet has a good explanation of why you correctly feel safe in Egypt. It seems that their families and social groups enforce a high moral standard with intolerance for infractions. The tour guide bribes us through the Egyptian customs so we by-pass the unfortunate many that are waiting to be processed by the officials and none of our suitcases are opened. I guess that baksheesh meets the moral standard.
We are in the Movenpick Taba and we can see four countries from our suite’s balcony-Egypt, Israel (we are right at the border here), and, across the gulf, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.