The Egypt Diaries - 26 October 2010

I woke up in my kingsize bed, covering the Egyptian silk sheets in sweat. I suddenly realise that I may not have secured my front door fully. The threat of being burgled now weighs heavy on my mind and will do so for the rest of my trip.

There are people in my building who cut their mother's throat, let alone mine to have an opportunity to ransack someone's property. I texted my good friend Sheelah who does not live far from me if she could make the journey and check that I have not been broken into. Her text reply read that she was unwilling to do it. They say a friend in need is a friend indeed - bollocks!! The proverb should really read "A friend in need is a bloody pest".

If I have been burgled I have a very good idea who the culprit would be. A middle-aged layabout who does window cleaning on the side but claims unemployment and a vast array of other benefits which he can scrounge of the state illegally. He probably has more disposable income than I do. What compounds it all is that there are other people he lives with who are of the same criminal persuasion and who would have no qualms if the opportunity arises to steal things that clearly do not belong to them. Our estate has really gone down hill over the years.

The worst thing this workshy scumbag saw me leaving the building with my massive suitcase. This filth would put 2 and 2 together and see this as a golden opportunity. I am worried very worried. However, there is not much I can do whilst in Egypt. I have to brace myself in the knowledge that when I return on the 8 November 2010 my world is going to be turned upside down - what a bloody homecoming.

Bearing this all in mind my first full day in Egypt went well. It began at 7am with a jog on the running machine in the hotel's health club. However, the so called health club is name only as it consists of the said machine, a cycle and one multi-exercise machine all contained in a room not big enough to swing the proverbial cat without the feline being adorned with body armour and a helmet.

I then went for a dip in one of two rooftop pools. There is a third pool and by far the largest(almost olympic size) located in the basement. Breakfast was fine. One small critique is that the food could be warmer.

Mr Aldo the General Manager of the Mercato introduce himself to me. I would describe him as charasmatic and personable. He was passionate about the hotel and its potential. Mr Aldo admitted that there were and still are teething problems but this was expected when the hotel opened its doors for a soft opening on the 7th October. He anticipated that the property would be fully operational by March 2011 with a fully built health spa and 3 Al La Carte Restaurants all up and running.

I left our first, and suspect many other gatherings together over the next 2 weeks, enthused about the Iberotel Il Mercato. I hope it lives up to the manager's expectations and my own.

I later strolled out to the promenade to locate an internet cafe. I did but it was closed. The rest of the afternoon I spent in my room sheltering from the oppressive heat. I watched Spiderman on the flatscreen. At 6pm it was time for exercise and on this occasion a run outside taking in great views of the red mountains at night.

Dinner was buffet-style. A good variety but as before the food could of been hotter. The desserts were sumptious. Its going to be difficult not to increase my waistband before my holiday is over.

The night was spent in Naam Bay, successfully finding an internet cafe and checking out the nightclubs of Pacha, Big Budda and the Hard Rock Cafe. The entrance fees for all were very expensive. I decided to venture into Bus Stop as it was free to enter. They had Karoke it was good fun.

I returned by taxi just before 1am. Going back to my thoughts this morning, there was nothing I could do about the situation so I decided to put on a brave face and enjoy my Egyptian experience and think about the other staff when my plane lands on the runway at Gatwick.