mhwhite

We just got back from Egypt on Wednesday and although it was interesting to see the sites, we'd never go again. Cairo was one huge garbage dump. They obviously don't have any method of trash collection. Fortunately we stayed at the Hilton Pyramid Golf Resort in the new part. The ordinary Egyptian people were very nice but the vendors everywhere spoiled the time we spent at the various sites. Even after two weeks we fell for a "free gift, no money" at the Giza Plateau. After he removed the pieces of white cloth and put them on our heads and gave us three pyramids, we should have known it wasn't free. We gave him some money but he took the pyramids back, and the experience and the fact that my camera took blanks after he handled it, took away precious time viewing the pyramids and I was so upset and got no photos. Even when we walked around a site for a bit on our own, after our group had done so with a guide, there was always someone who wanted to point out something so that they could ask for money. You could never trust the vendors as they shouted out prices and often put the item over your shoulder and didn't seem to realize that we'd be more interested in looking in their shop if we saw something we liked if they'd just quit bugging us. In a shop in Luxor I bought some gifts as everything was priced and in Edfu the same little box I bought for 25 egyptian pounds, was quoted as 240 on first enquiring (an almost 10 to 1 markup). Last month we went to Israel and had the most wonderful time in contrast.

Grcxx3

Sorry to hear that you had a bad time. But since this is your first posting, I have to assume you didn't use this forum to help plan your trip or to help you understand what to expect (such as how to deal with the vendors). Sounds like a major lack or research/preparation.

Grcxx3

Just a note about your box purchase - if you are talking about the mother of pearl inlaid boxes.....it is quite possible that the cheaper one was made primarily of plastic and the more expensive one of real mother of pearl. It is quite easy to see the difference when compared side-to-side.

I would be suspicious of one that cost 25 LE since that is only about $4 USD. A price of 240 LE (about $40 USD) would be more appropriate for a real inlaid box.

QueenofDaNile

Sorry the vendors and the garbage bothered you so much that it ruined your experience. Guess I was so thrilled with being in Egypt it didn't faze me. I went first on a tour, loved Egypt so much that I arranged a private tour the next year. As Grcxx3 said it's good to have an idea what to expect. Either our guides would help ward off the hawkers, or we would firmly say "la'shokran" and keep walking or "hire" a young boy to act as an unoffical guide who would chase off all competition.

kcrotzer

What a pity about your experience. I too was so excited to be in Egypt that I didn't even mind the trash everywhere and decided instead to concentrate on the positive aspects of the trip. Did you not have a guide to help you find your way around? My mother and I went to Egypt in February and hired Ahmed Hamed Yousif to be our guide. I felt very safe and protected from a lot of the stuff you mentioned ruined your trip. Would definitely recommend taking a private guide when going to Egypt!

mhwhite

As I mentioned, we did have a guide, but she couldn't be with everyone in the group every second. There was no lack of preparation as we have traveled extensively and I always do a lot of research before a trip and had Fodor's book with me. We had a 6 night Nile cruise which was very nice and 3 nights in Hurghada at the Marriott but I guess the thing that bothered me most was the time the vendors took away from looking at the various sites and taking pictures. I realize that the boxes are not inlaid mother of pearl but the man who tried to sell me the one for 240 LE finally came down to 25 LE when I told him that's what I paid, so it results in not trusting the vendors.
This is just a warning to those traveling to Egypt for the first time.

Grcxx3

mhwhite - I am really sorry you had a bad experience. But I guess that's what my original post was about......the vendors, and other "Cairo issues" have been discussed extensively here. I don't know if you read any of them postings or not, but since this is your first posting I didn't think so (apologies if I'm wrong). I haven't looked at the Fodor's book in a while, but I don't think it really covers this issue in the detail that might be needed.

I guess with living there for so long - I got used to the vendors. If the first couple of polite "no thank yous" didn't work, then I got more forceful. Helped to know a little Arabic. While some of their tactics were annoying - some of them were amusing and quite creative. My kids still laugh about it. Bargaining is an art....my DH was great at it - he'd have everyone laughing as the negotiations went on. I wasn't very good because I just didn't want to waste time/energy haggling over the equivalent of $2.

Trash - yeah it's there. It is still very much like a 3rd world city - hard to get away from that. Some areas are worse than others. The city we live in now has the same problem.

I would go back to Cairo in a heartbeat - love the place, love the people......then, of coures, the history!

viaggi

I love Cairo and Egypt as a whole. Wonderful people. Wonderful place. It is hard to fault people who are trying to make a living. I have always found that a good attitude, a smile and a "La Shokran" (no thank you in Arabic) went a long way.

Egypt is a poor country and the standards there are different for many things, but it is the history and the hearts of the people that stay with me, not the garbage or hassle.

But to the original poster's point, yes, you do have to pay attention and remember that in general the people you meet are a lot poorer than you. It is highly unlikely that you will get anything for free. Vendors can be handled fairly easily as mentioned above. I would go again in a heartbeat.

mileagemaven

Basically I have to agree with this post. The garbage didn't bother me, and people were great (they really appreciated that I speak Arabic), but the vendors make life such a hassle that even I, who lived in the Old City of Jerusalem for two years, and am a market-lover of market-lovers, saved shopping for a tourist store in Cairo. The hucksters are beyond amazing.

Spent two weeks in Egypt after having spent two weeks in Israel. An amazing difference, but then again, that's comparing apples to oranges.

No, the garbage didn't bother me, but the level of poverty was astounding. I can't understand how the world can look down on Israel for conditions in the Gaza Strip; from what I've seen on television, people in Gaza are staying at the Hilton compared to the poor of Cairo.

nelle_1234

I too LOVED Egypt. I knew going it was a third world country so I guess I wasn't so put off by the trash and the vendors who are trying to make a living...albeit not the way we would but that is their way of life. I think you need to respect the differences in the cultures/countries you visit. Not to mention having a sense of humor.

I do not think it is fair of you to lay all the blame on the Egyptians. You even said in your initial post that after 2 weeks YOU should have known that it wasn't a free gift. I found that a firm no while looking directly at the vendor stopped the constant sales pitch.

My guide told me that the average uneducated Egyptian made about $40 US a month and the average educated Egyptian could make $200 US a month. So that helped put their tactics in perspective.

I would LOVE to go back to Egypt. I'm just waiting for my nephew to be a little older and then we'll be off me for my 2nd time and him for his first.

Bob1

We are heading to Egypt in November. This report does not surprise me.

We have visited India and China in the last few years along with Burma...the stories are all the same. Sometimes the stories that go with the junk you bargained for are better than the junk! When my wife got upset about giving some guy 50 cents more for something than one of her buddies did I told her she was taking this stuff too seriously....and the 50 cents means something to these people.

If you are not willing to put up with it, do not go. And...a good stong "NO" goes a long way.

Abbyo

So, how do you get a guide in Egypt?

Luisah

<<When my wife got upset about giving some guy 50 cents more for something than one of her buddies did I told her she was taking this stuff too seriously....and the 50 cents means something to these people.>>

I agree, but a women's instinct for a "bargain" overrides all.

I paid $5.00 more than the voracious bargainer in our group for the same item in Morocco and felt stupid for a while and then put it in perspective. When I told a Moroccan friend he said "His family probably ate meat that night." That $5.00 meant a lot more to him than it did to me.