Sigh of exhaustion, I had completely forgotton how demanding babies are at the crawling and cruising...
Sigh of exhaustion, I had completely forgotton how demanding babies are at the crawling and cruising stage. I might have 'remember contraception' tattooed on my arm, just in case i forget again!
Member since:10.05.2004
Reviews:14
Members who trust:21
Setting the scene…
My grandmother died in January 2004 and I hit rock bottom, I got really depressed and suicidal. I took anti depressants and saw a therapist but nothing seemed to help. I couldn't get up in the morning to get my children to school and I couldn't bare to be close to anyone, I became afraid that people would die. My partner and his family kept telling me to pull myself together; they didn't understand why I was affected so badly. In April, Just when I thought nothing could help me and nobody cared, My boyfriends father threw me a lifeline, he bought my boyfriend and me a last minute holiday off the internet and offered to have the children for the 2 week duration.
The holiday…
The holiday was to Tunisia, North Africa in a town called Port el Kantoui. It cost £290 per person to stay half board in a 4* hotel called Houria palace. He booked through lastminute.com and the tour operator was panama. We travelled from Gatwick at arriving Monastir. We had to go by coach to Kantoui which is about a 40 minute transfer from Monastir airport through what looked like a war zone. My immediate reaction was 'oh my god I want to go home' It wasn't at all what I expected, everything we passed was half built or half demolished and none of what we saw lived up to my expectations. I actually began to cry, I was so devastated. I was suffering from paranoia at the time due to my depression and was convinced that I had been sent there as a punishment for being so difficult over the past 4 months. We arrived at our hotel quite late and after checking in we lazily went to our room, followed by a porter who insisted on carrying our bags. Our room was on the 2nd floor it comprised of a built in wardrobe, double bed, and a television which showed no English programs except the news. All rooms were on suit and we had a balcony over looking the grounds, on site night club and a beautiful fountain.
Next morning
we missed breakfast (as we did for the best part of the holiday) and were up just in time for the rep meeting which was held in a neighbouring hotel. The rep was a not overly friendly English woman who warned us not to use the noddy trains, which is a cheap alternative to taxis and come along frequently proving to be quite a convenient way to get around Kantoui. Apparently our holiday insurance wouldn't cover an accident on one of them! She also warned us not to go out after dark, not to smile at the locals and to avoid eye contact with men as they see it as flirting, don't talk to strangers and only book expeditions directly through her. Last bit of information was that everything shuts by 11 except the onsite club which she warned us not to go to as locals frequent it looking for english woman. We didn't see a rep again in the fortnight we were there.
By the time the meeting was over I was ready to go home again…Terrified of the people and their culture and with a dim view of Tunisia as a whole. My boyfriend convinced me to take a walk to the port for a drink and I am so glad I did…We stopped at the first food bar we came to where we were greeted by a local man who spoke in a mock cockney accent saying things like 'it's the dogs bollocks mate' 'cheap as chips' and 'lovely jubbly'. Ignoring the reps advice we sat and chatted to the bar owner for hours, He was funny, friendly and very helpful, he told us anecdotes and jokes and recommended excursions etc, we went back several times during the two weeks but even when we walked past to go somewhere else he kept his humour and good will and always said hello.
After a day or so of exploring the town, haggling for bargains etc we stayed in by the pool to get a tan, as most days the weather was in it's 30's and there was a pleasant breeze. The hotel entertainment team made every effort to make us feel comfortable, they came over and chatted to us and invited us to the evening entertainment which we hadn't previously been to. They were great fun and about our age too. The entertainment that night and each night after was fantastic, a real variety show, they did Freddy mercury and Elvis impressions, comedy sketches and even serious singing. The lads were very talented and so friendly; MoMo, Sam, Willy and Boda (the entertainers) took us over to the night club after the show and taught us to dance different styles of dancing. This became our nightly routine and it was great.
By the beginning of the second week we had been befriended by most of the staff and had banter going with all of them, we had also made quite a few friends of other holiday makers. Sufeil, the hotels henna tattoo man offered me free paragliding if I could interest 5 other guests in coming, this was an easy task as he was offering it cheaper than the lads at the beach advertise it for. I managed to get 8 friends to join us for water jet biking 10 dinars each, Paragliding 12 dinars each and a free go on the banana. Of course I didn't have to pay for a thing; Sufeil even arranged transport there in a van and a boat ride home for us, free of charge. We had an excellent day out, filled with laughter and new experiences.
During the second week we were lucky enough to be invited to the wedding festivities of a bar mans brother. We were collected from the hotel in the morning and taken by mini bus to the out skirts of Sousse, away from the tourist areas and away from civilisation as we know it. It took over 3 hours to get there and we had to change buses in a more traditional part of town. We arrived at his mother's home to the warmest of welcomes, a feast had been prepared especially for us and we were treated as a king and queen. I was dressed up in traditional clothes and gold shoes and dragged around by my hand for a tour of the homes. Nobody except Mohammed (the bar man) and his young sister spoke any English and as Mohammed was called to help with preparations we stayed close to his 12 year old sister for translation. The buildings were small oblong shaped without furnishings except mattresses on the floor for both sitting and sleeping on. The walls were all undecorated apart from the odd poster of local sporting heroes and religious pictures. We were fed all day long on lamb in chilli, bread dipped in chilli and sheep's brains
Pictures of Port El Kantaoui (Tunisia)
The coast
stuffed with rice in chilli. I mean literally fed, the mother who was a toothless lady literally tore the meat apart with her hands and put it into our mouths! All the ladies played with my hair and stroked my face and told me repeatedly I was beautiful, They squealed with excitement when I took out my camera and each of them insisted on being photographed, I used a whole film before the festivities began.
Plastic seats had been hired and put out either side of a makeshift stage. At about 7pm the guests arrived, 2000 of them, they came in buses, cars and mopeds (none of which looked road worthy). All dressed in traditional dress, the men who mostly looked like biblical shepherds; (some even carrying staffs) sat over one side and smoked from the hubbly pipes. The children from as young as 2 were just left to roam and the woman who were all beautifully made up and dressed in bright silks sat over the other side. After giving every child a high five a and teaching them to do thumbs up we were taken to our seats which was as close as possible to the stage and speakers and the families of the bride and groom were sat behind us. The local militia was also there just in case of trouble. The night consisted of more feasting, belly dancers, singing and a tradition in which every guest gives money to the new couple in order to build them a house, which will be next to the groom's mother's house. This part took hours as every amount given was shouted out over the speakers then received with excited screeches and squeals. A few gun shots went off during the evening and we saw a man get beat up and evicted by the militia but I don't know why.
We were supposed to stay the night but I became ill just after midnight when the festivities were about half way through, I had a very poorly tummy and as there was only one toilet (hole in the ground) and no toilet paper or plumbing I wanted to go home, Mohammed found someone to drive us and we said our goodbyes. This is an experience I will never forget.
Nearing the end of our stay we began hearing stories of a wonderful trip around the rest of Tunisia that some of the guests had been on, where you visit historical sights and market places, an oasis and take a camel ride across the Sahara, the cost of this was about £100 each with was more than we had left by then. We told our Tunisian friends that we would have liked to have gone and Sufeil hatched a plan…His friend picked us up at 3am and drove us in his Mercedes to all the places listed in the trip, we visited Hammamet, Sousse, Sfax, El Jem, Dougga and Carthage. We stopped in tiny villages and watched the children going to school, we ate in little local cafes, we saw the oasis, spoke to the cave dwellers and rode across the Sahara desert on camels, and we slept on the drive home and arrived at the hotel around 2am. The whole trip cost £100 and the best thing was, we shared the experience with Sufeil who had never been further than Sousse before.
Currency…
Tunisia has a fixed currency market which they keep around 2.2 dinars to the pound. This also means that it is hard to obtain any currency before you arrive and that it is illegal to take any back home with you. Oops!
Hotel: Stylish modern property with comprehensive facilities. Within easy reach of beach and resort's amenities.
Location: 450 yds SE of tourist office, among other hotels. Local shops, stalls, bars and restaurants 300 yds. Golf club just under 1 ml. Reserved section of beach 300 yds.
Exterior: Substantial 4- to 5-storey building (1997). Most rooms with balcony. The president of Tunisia has his own suite at this hotel and the hotel was built and is owned by his brother in law.
Interior: Mix of modern and local styles. Airy atrium lobby with smart designer furniture. Stylish split-level lounge bar with piano. Spacious buffet restaurant. Alternative smart a la carte dining room. Moorish cafe. Large theatre.
Grounds: 2 pools on either side of building: rectangular (35 yds) beside road and quieter freeform (35 yds), both surrounded by terracotta-tiled terraces and fringed by lush hedges and lawns. Plenty of straw parasols, loungers and white garden furniture. Small rock garden. Entertainment stage.
Amenities: There is an onsite nightclub which is free for guests. It opens at 11 when the entertainment in the theatre room closes and stays open till about 5am. There is also a gym and a spar offering massages etc for an extra price. Next door is a water park and close by is the port, a zoo and an amusement park all within a very short walking distance.
Food: The food is buffet style, both hot and cold, plenty of choice and all delicious.
Language: It is a bilingual country with most people speaking both Arabic and French. Staff can speak pretty good English.
Sorry that this review was so long, I have so much more I wanted to put in, I totally recommend Port el Kantoui as a holiday destination, thank you for reading. Nikki x
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Bravo on getting a diamond for this one. By the way, you have a small mistake - you wrote the rooms were all "on suit" and I think you mean "en suite". This isn't my type of review, by the way - I like to know about the attractions that *most* people would be able to see. But because of all the personal experience here, I decided to rate this VH after all. Looking forward to reading more from you.
skrg28 25.10.2005 09:14
Went to Port El Kantaoui last year, great place, good holiday.
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Sep 30th, 2005
(Oct 1st, 2005)
exceptional by (15%):
very helpful by (85%):
