The Cairo Airport

Trip Start Jul 25, 2007
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Trip End Oct 16, 2007


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Flag of Egypt  ,
Sunday, September 2, 2007

You really only need to know two things in order to travel in Egypt:
1) Cash is king, no one wants to see a credit card. This is because it is difficult to steal a percentage of the money when a credit card is used.
2) Everything, and i mean everything in Egypt is a scam or a trick to seperate you from your money. And you will needs lots of it, because you need cash for everything, even paying the bill at a five star resort, and the bank machines rarely work at all. So bring lots and lots of cash with you, in Euros, and hide it really really well.
Having said that, the Pyramids are very interesting, but it is hard to enjoy them with 5 men talking to you all at the same time trying to trick you into 5 different mistakes. This is the first place on my entire trip that I had to be rude and tell people to GO AWAY loudly and with anger, or they will just never stop until they get money, and lots of it. A taxi here consideres a tip to be $20US, and any less will get you the saddest face in the world and an argument. But if you give it to them it is worse, because then they know you can be tricked and then you never get rid of them. They try to become your best friend and take to to one store after another where massive pressure to buy is applied until you agree. All the western people here have the same horror stories. I am happy to be leaving and going to Istanbul. The airport in Cairo is not air conditioned, security is a joke, and it is the most crowded place on Earth... grrrr
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