Sunday, April 25, 2010

Fayoum Tunis Little Swiss Oasis

I have been craving for a break for quite some time and finally I got a short window to make a trip out to the Fayoum Oasis with Irene and Le Le.  I really have no time or energy to plan a long vacation!  A short break will do.  We knew little about Fayoum and I did not plan much as I just wanted to get out of Cairo for some fresh air.  Le Le was not well the day before we were supposed to go but we went ahead anyway.  Some fresh air will be good for him I thought.


And so we headed out to the little village of Tunis on the banks of Lake Qarun where the Little Swiss Oasis is located.  The drive was an easy and scenic one and we had little trouble finding our way to the rendezvous point by the lake.  There we met Doris Frei, the lovely owner of Little Swiss Oasis.  From there, she led us through the village down some unpaved lanes leading to the small but welcoming house overlooking Lake Qarun.


It was beautiful and completely relaxing.  Doris made us a sumptuous lunch of chicken, rice, bread and some really tasty tuna mix.  The wind was so soft and breezy that we spent our afternoon napping away in the nice little room on the second floor.  There is only one guest room at Little Swiss Oasis.  Fortunately we did not round up my other colleagues for the trip.


In the evening, we took a walk around the village well-known for its pottery and had dinner at a small inn next door named Sobek.  As we were getting ready to turn in for the night, Le Le's condition took a worse turn and began nauseating.  His body temperature rose over 38.5 deg C and he could not sleep through the night.  Both Irene and I were also dragged in and out of bed as Le Le struggled with his coughs and nausea.  We have no choice but to abandon the trip to the desert and other sites such as Wadi Rayan and Wadi Hitan on the following day.  Doris was most apologetic though it was no fault of hers.  She was the most gracious host and she made us a delicious continental breakfast to mark a short but memorable stay.  It was a great pity we left in such a rush that we failed to take a photo with Doris.  Nevermind!  We shall return!

More photos in my Photo Album

Here are images of Little Swiss Oasis's brochure:

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