Tunisia - there to be explored! (Tunisia)

Member Name: AlGale

Product:	Tunisia
Date:	17/08/04 (903 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So much to see and do, Cheap!, Hot (by the sea)

Disadvantages: VERY hot (in the desert), Flies I suppose

It was just over 2 years ago that I visited Tunisia, but it remains one of the most adventurous and exciting holidays I have been on, and quite apart from the standard package tour many people take.

The thing you have to decide straight away is what sort of holiday you are after ? a relaxing one in the sun, or an all out adventure. I suppose if you have 2 weeks there you could do both, but there is so much to see and do, that in 1 week you have to choose which you are going to opt for.

We chose adventure!

Planning is everything if you want to make the most of your precious time, and bar one oversight (train times), our plan generally went very well. The schedule was to have a day getting to know the local area (Hammamet) and transport systems, i.e. trishaw and taxi costs. We also spent this time exploring Sousse, finding the train station, getting a train timetable and doing a bit of relaxing by the pool later in the afternoon.

On day 2 we caught the train to El Jem and had a look at the Coliseum. That is a MUST. You can get an organised trip and no doubt pay through the nose, but honestly, why bother? The trains are cheap, even when you pay a few extra pennies to upgrade to 1st class. They are punctual, clean and comfortable, and it gets you to mingle a bit more with the locals. They are all very friendly people, and all seemed very polite. The Coliseum itself is very impressive, and even though we went in May, for most of the time we had the entire place to ourselves.

On day 3 we caught the train to Tunis, the capital. This is obviously like it or loath it place, and to be honest we were of the latter sort. I think we are not big bustly city type people (we didn`t like Kowloon much for this reason either!). However, we did get to try some of the delicious sticky date pastries Tunisia is famous for, and I went to a barbers and risked having a shave. Not the first time I`ve done it, but for 50p it certainly i
s an experience. I was so impressed at both the barbers skill and his prices, I gave him a 100% tip and he nearly fainted!

Next the adventure really started. We got an all night train deep into the desert. Again it was quite cheap (upgraded to 1st class again for pennies) and we slept quite well, albeit just for a couple of hours. When we woke we were approaching an old mining town called Metlaoui, and the sun was just beginning to rise over the sand dunes. It was just gone 5 am, but as we lent out of the open train doors as the train sped along, we could already feel the heat from the sun ? quite different to how it felt nearer the coast!

We pulled into the station at about 6am. This is as far as the train goes into the desert, and from here you have to get a shared taxi to your final destination. Easier said than done! All of our fellow passengers sped off the train and piled into the few waiting ones! Another problem not planned on was that down in the desert they speak Arabic and French ONLY! My pidgin German and basic Chinese were of no use at all? and yet somehow we got by.

The heat was really getting up already, and we trudged off, not really sure how to now proceed. Our destination was Tozeur, for no other reason than we liked the sound of what we had read about the place. We had no accommodation when we got there either, but this all adds to the adventure. I was sure we`d be able to find something!

We made what enquiries we could, and as the word ?taxi? is pretty universal, we made progress. We did find out that our pronunciation of Tozeur was wrong however ? it is pronounced toe-zer. This discovered, we soon found the taxi rank, and after a short wait one was full enough to set off. And what an experience! Crammed to the gunnels with smiling and animated local people, Arabic music blaring out of the stereo, and racing along what passed for a desert road. The trip cost a few quid!

We tried a fe
w hotels before we cold beat one down to a good price. It wasn`t as cheap as I thought it could be (can`t remember exactly what it was now), but the hotel WAS nice. As it turned out, all the other (French) guests left the next morning, and for our remaining 2 days we had the entire hotel and pool to ourselves!

Now this might sound stupid, but the Sahara desert is HOT! When we went for a walk through the small village, all built up around an oasis of palm tress, we had to carry a bottle of water with us each. We were almost constantly drinking from them. By 8 in the morning it is roasting hot, and we could hardly wait for the pool guy to finish cleaning it before we simply had to get in.

Top tip! Don`t bother to take travellers cheques with you ? they have never seen them! However, there is a cash point, and getting money via that was a cinch. Bizzare!

In the village they have the obligatory Tunisian delicatessens, and these are bliss ? they are air-conditioned. Getting back out into the heat is a lot harder though.

We pretty much bummed around for 3 days just trying not to overheat, but on the last day we arranged (via the only English speaking person we had met) to get a taxi tour. Not usually our sort of thing, but as it was too hot to do much else we went for it. And I`m so glad we did!

Firstly we headed off for a different oasis, and a leisurely drive though it. Then we set off again via the desert ?road?. The driver was determined I was going to learn the entire French language during this trip, and talked to us non-stop in French. Suddenly he grinned and took a sharp left off the road and shot off across the desert. He was still talking away when I caught the words ?Star Wars?. Sure enough, all of a sudden we came to the ?house? where Luke Skywalker lived in A New Hope. A good Kodak moment!

Last but not least we again shot off across the desert. This time the destination was the climax of th
e trip ? a huddle of tents where we changed into Lawrence of Arabia garb, jumped on a camel each, and strode off a mile or two up the sand dunes to watch the sun set over the Sahara. Absolutely gorgeous, and an absolute must.

Soon it was time to get the train back to our original hotel back in Hammamet, and then to get the plane home. As I said, the whole holiday was one of the most adventurous I have done, and one of the most enjoyable. We both look forward to the opportunity of doing it all again. Next time we are going to take our son with us - when he is old enough to survive the heat!

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