Egypt Tourist Traps

Ah...Luxor! Home of a dozen of ruins and a thousand ancient years old artifacts!
And also home to Egypt's biggest scam city!
Okay, hassles and scams are everywhere in Egypt but it just seems to be much more (and worse) in Luxor!
We got scammed, overpriced and hassled the MOST in Luxor. (Boy, does it drive you crazy!)
BE CAREFUL! This is where your patience and temper will be tested!
And here we met some interesting people!

MOST OBNOXIOUS PEOPLE OF EGYPT:

1.) The Horse Carriage Driver- He was hassling and scary. (Honestly! He look like a dirty old man!) We negotiated to ride with him and we thought he would take as along the boulevard, you know? For a little romantic spin with the horse. Well, we were wrong! He took us far away out of town to the bazaars! And he kept screaming that this bazaar, was the boulevard!
Wow! What a far cry!
Then he wanted instead of $6, $10!
Well, mom just screamed at him and we paid $6! Imagine? We paid him $6 and we had to walk (a far 1+ hr walk at night) our way back to our destination and he still wanted more?
Mom wanted to throw the money at his face! (But she didn't. Good mom!)

2.) This boy, in the Valley of the queens, was selling mom a porcelain mymmy for 20 LE. (4 dollars) Cheap! Mom said yes and gave him 20 LE. And you know what? The boy looked shocked! He then said, 20 british pounds!
What? Mom said forget it and both kept arguing! (loudly) In the end, he gave it for 20 LE! I think mom felt like choking the boy!

3.) And finally, the PITS- the horse carriage who sput on mom and brother.
When mom was just strolling by and said "No." (politely) when asked if she wants to ride a horse carriage (another one), well, you know what the guy did?
He SPUT on mom!
No kidding!
It's a good thing his saliva feel on my brother instead of mom! Boy! My brother screamed "Que Asco! (how disgusting!)" and he washed it many times!
Good thing it just fell on my brother! Because if it fell on my angry mom, she said she would SCREAM and report him to the tourist police for rudeness!

Now after you read that, I hope you'll prepare that this city can really test your patience and temper. (We found it more hassling and dustier than Cairo.)

Like what my dad says:
DAD: "It's a sin city. A lot of the people's values here are all screwed up!"

BUT!

Don't ditch Luxor because of this! Luxor IS truly a beautiful city!
The ruins are unforgettable: A trip to Egypt without Luxor sucks. (You won't get to appreciate the thousand year old temples.) And plus, there are other ways to remedy the problem succesfully:

1.) Relax in the Winter Palace, an oasis in the middle of chaos!
2.) Stroll down the boulevard, ignore horse carriages.
3.) Get a hotel to arrange the horse carriage for you! (Even if it costs more!)
4.) Take a nap!
5.) Take a fascinating sound and light tour to the Karnak temple, simply more amazing at night!
6.) Don't stroll through the bazaars (here) if you don't want to be hassled! Simple! (But you won't also see the real Luxor.)

If you really can't stand Luxor, you can skip it by taking a train to Aswan or a Nile Cruise! Yes, the Nile Cruise is the best remedy- you get to stroll through Luxor with comfort and a breeze!
But you won't see the adventure of it!

BUT!
Despite being hassled the MOST in Luxor, believe it or not,
Mom and dad, STILL DREAM to go back to Luxor! (Not on a cruise!)

MOM- "I wanna go back there, just stay at a nice budget hotel and just relax at the Winter Palace and visit all the tombs!"
DAD- "I wanna go back to Luxor, it's chaotic but very fun and interesting."

See? Luxor- it may NOT the Luxor you dream of!
But once you learn to handle it,
It WILL be the Luxor you dream of!

Egypt Tourist Traps

Visiting Egypt?

Visiting Egypt?