International travel comes with its own ups and downs and every trip has new and sometimes unexpected experiences in store.
I have covered a large swathe of Egypt in my last six posts, featuring all the important features of various sites spread across the whole of Egypt. My present post is a sort of mini advisory in relation to travel to Egypt. Once the Corona Pandemic subsides and the tourism once again takes off, this should come as handy to those planning to travel to this historically rich African nation.
Egypt being an African country, one should not expect the level of modernisation and facilities that one comes across in developed countries of Europe and North America. I am sharing some of my experiences, some pleasant and some scary. Hopefully these will come handy to the travelers to this country.
As Egypt is a Muslim country, anyone coming from a non-Islamic country should have an idea of about their culture and traditions and should respect and follow them so as not to offend the local population. As such the country being overtly dependent on tourism, the people in general are friendly, co-operative and cheerful. General population is fair complexioned, in contrast to the population of majority of African countries, who are black.
Potable water : One has to depend only on bottled mineral water, which is available easily in the markets and hotels, although the price of bottle may vary depending on your location at the time of requirement. Hence it is always advisable to carry one's own water bottles. The tap water even in the star hotels is not potable unlike in Europe and America.
Egyptian Pounds and British pounds : The Egyptian currency is called Egyptian Pound which is roughly equal to approx. five Indian Rupees, while the British Pound equals ninety six Indian Rupees. It is not uncommon to see street vendors fleecing you by first offering some article by quoting the price in just pounds and when the time comes for payment they haggle and make you cough out British pounds instead of Egyptian pounds. One should carry US dollars or British pounds while going to Egypt. As the selling and purchase price of Egyptian pounds is considerably different, one is bound to incur substantial financial loss in currency conversions, if one carries Egyptian pounds.
Caravan movement : It is advisable to travel in groups, whether going by Car or by Coach. This is especially applicable to travel which has to pass through large stretch of desert where the population is minimal. Two such routes are Aswan to Abu Simbel and Luxor to Hurghada. Highway robbery is common and hence most of the times tourist coaches travel in large groups forming a caravan and these are often accompanied by police vehicles at the head as well as tail of caravan.
Entry to Pyramids : Entry into the Pyramids is officially allowed by paying the entry fee. The entrance to the pyramids though exciting, can be scary for some, especially in the Great Pyramid (Pyramid of Khufu). The height of the passage at many places is between 3 to 4 feet and one has to walk in crouched posture. This may be problematic for people with back problems. Secondly there is a feeling of claustrophobia associated with oxygen deficiency as you are in a completely enclosed chamber.
Fleecing of tourists : As is the norm in many tourist hubs, the fleecing agents are always looking for easy preys among tourists. One such instance comes in the shape of offer of free camel rides near the Pyramids. Once you are done with the ride, you will be made to pay through your nose to get off the camel. Nothing comes for free in this world. Although as Indians, we are used to such fleecing in our own country and are partially immune to it.
Local items worth purchase : Egyptian cotton is considered to be of high quality and durable. One can hope to get good bargains when looking out for cotton garments. There is a central market named Khan el-Khalili, which is like Chandni Chowk market in Delhi, where one can get good bargains and great variety. Papyrus plant is native to Egypt and has been used manifold since the time of ancient Egyptians. The writing material made from this plant is used extensively for paintings, and some of the paintings can last for hundreds of years while preserving their lustre. The plant is also used for making reed boats, mats, ropes and baskets.
Egyptian guides : If you are visiting a historical city, you need to have an expert guide to navigate and narrate and not having one is bound to ruin your trip. As Egypt is heavily dependent on tourism for its economy, the local government has made it mandatory for official guides to clear their official exam of history and architecture and to regularly update it by appearing in regular exams. We were fortunate to have a lady with extensive knowledge as our guide. She took all the pains in explaining the details and answering our relevant and sometimes irrelevent queries.
Hot Air Balloon Ride : Hot air ballon ride is quite a popular sport in Egypt and they have expert pilots to navigate these machines. The hot air balloons rise in the air with the help of gases like helium and hydrogen and once in the air they float just by the guidance of air drift. One ride of approximately twenty minutes is completed on the bank of river Nile in a sandy plain.
The day we took this ride, there was a comparatively strong air current, which accidentally took us across the Nile into a residential area where we witnessed women and children below, in their houses, waving at us enthusiastically. Ignorant of the fact that we had accidentally crossed the river we enjoyed the ride and waved back at the cheering households. After some time we landed in a sugarcane field which had been just cropped. The pilot of our hot air balloon never showed an anxious expression, although technically we were in trouble in not finding a proper landing site. So much for the skill of the pilot. Inspite of having skilled pilots, accidents do occur as happened in 2013, in which 19 out of 21 tourists on balloon were killed.
Terrorists targeting tourists in Egypt: There have been few incidents where terrorists have gunned down the tourists. One such incident happened at Hatshepsut temple and other at the seaside resort of Sharm el Sheikh. One has to bear in mind this risk, while travelling in a terrorism affected countries.
With this I finish my Egyptian blog and will be gladly welcoming you to my next single episode blog of the smallest country in the world - The Vatican City.
