Adventures on the hippy trail at Egypt's Sinai Peninsula

It is 30 years since I first went to Sharm Al Shaikh, when it was a totally undeveloped beach at the end of the Sinai Peninsula.

There were no buildings, some wonderful sand beaches and some spectacular snorkelling, with a very rough track to get there. The Israeli occupation had been in place for 20 years and no development at all had been allowed.

I was a student and had taken bus rides and hitched lifts down the Sinai coast, past the horrible tourist trap of Eilat to stay at the hippy hangout on Nuwaiba beach. There were no permanent buildings, but a few barasti shacks had been put up and some enterprising long-term hippies sold meals to the rest of the community and people just passing through like myself.

A few brave souls suggested going on to the nudist colony at Dahab, so that we could see if we could get down to Sharm at the end of Sinai.

When I got to Dahab I found it was just a beach, with a single character selling cold drinks which he brought from Nuwaiba every day. Everyone else on the beach had stocked up on supplies and stayed there for weeks at a time, tuning into the natural beauty all around of sand and sea.

Fortunately a rare four-wheel drive bus came by and I joined the trip going to Sharm, where I spent the day snorkelling and saw my first underwater shark. I then went back with the bus since there was little else to do. That was Sharm in 1976.

Today will be very different. I will arrive in an airport in one of the world's major resorts, with hotels from all the major chains.

My amateur snorkelling will look very paltry beside all the professional diving holidays on offer. And my retreat from the desolation of the empty Sharm of 30 years ago will be almost unimaginable in the busy resort I expect to find, with all sorts of tourists enjoying themselves in comfort.

Unfortunately, I do not plan to relax or go diving. The World Economic Form is holding its annual Middle East gathering, and I hope to listen to US President George W. Bush and many leaders from all over the Middle East discuss how they can rescue the region from the all-pervading violence.

The Middle East desperately needs such venues where political, business and social leaders can meet and try to find alternatives to the mess that many states find themselves in. If people of goodwill can find a way forward, then they are worth supporting.