Two Vastly Different Experiences: Egypt & Europe

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, where you may be:

Two vastly different experiences. Yep, that’s the theme of this update.

Let’s get right into it… I went to Egypt!

What do you first think of when you think of Egypt? Probably the pyramids. Most people think that right? The pyramids are a popular tourist attraction which I’m sure many people would like to visit.

The pyramids, and Egypt in general, are certainly a cool place to visit. However, unfortunately, photos you may see from Egypt don’t tell the whole story.

I am sorry to say, but Egypt is a tough place. To date, I have traveled to 30+ countries but have never had the type of experience I’ve had in Egypt.

Egypt is a difficult destination primarily because of the desperation and constant and annoying scams. I get it - tourism has been tough for years, and Egyptians partially rely on tourists for income. Over the years the Egyptian Pound has significantly decreased in value and salaries have not increased in years. Due to Covid, politics, and safety concerns, lots of tourists have avoided Egypt and decided to go somewhere else. One of my guides told me that 2009/2010 was the last good tourist season.

Let’s talk about the positives for a moment. In general, Egyptian food is very tasty. And I can say with certainty that Egypt has the BEST mango juice and mango ice cream I have ever tasted. It is so fresh. It is so good. There is nothing else like it. Egypt has a unique and fascinating history that cannot be found anywhere else. (And I’m not talking about the pyramids. You can find pyramids in Sudan!) And let me try to put this in the most positive way possible - the handful of Egyptians I met who did seem genuinely well-intentioned were very friendly and kind.

But sadly, not everyone in Egypt seems to be well-intentioned or kind. This ties back to the desperation I mentioned earlier. So many people scammed me. So many people wanted a ridiculous “tip” for just the smallest of things. So many people followed me around and tried to bring me to their shop to buy something. And sadly, that ruins Egypt’s image. In Egypt, I became much better at saying no.

After having some time to digest my experience in Egypt, I don’t hold anything personal against the people there - I just found people there trying to constantly sell me things to be incredibly annoying. (I also met a Swiss couple who were in Cairo for a day to see the pyramids and they told me they were very disappointed because of the similar treatment they received.) In the end that is why I think Egypt is tough. If locals would calm down a bit and stop trying to scam people all the time then it would be a much more pleasant experience. And besides that Egypt has lots to see and is very safe. My time in Egypt won’t stop me from going anywhere else in the future, and even though Egypt wasn’t my favorite place I would still tell others to go to have their own experience. But maybe I’d recommend Ukraine or somewhere else first.

But what did I do while in Egypt? I flew into Cairo, from Dubai, and stayed there for several days. During that time I explored the city (no one's favorite city) and went to the pyramids. I was scammed at the pyramids of course, but I really enjoyed seeing them and riding a camel. Camels are super cool!

Next, I took a night train to Luxor. Luxor is in Central Egypt and the night train was great! Super comfortable. Great way to travel. In fact, it’s considered the “luxury train,” so that was nice. In Luxor, I checked out the Valley of the Kings which consists of historic temples and ruins. Egyptian history is very interesting.

And one of the last things I did was take a boat ride on the Nile. That was very enjoyable. The Nile River is the longest in the world and is very important for Egypt - Egypt is currently having some diplomatic difficulties with Sudan and Ethiopia over a proposed dam on the river. Egypt is extremely reliant on the river; if you look at a satellite image of Egypt you’ll see that everything not along the banks of the Nile is basically desert.

After staying in Luxor for a few days I returned to Cairo via the cheaper and more local day train. It was a long journey (12-13 hours). My second time in Cairo was better - that’s where I found the best mango ice cream.

And then I returned to Europe. This is where the contrast between two tourist destinations was very evident. After spending a couple of days in the Netherlands (home for me), my mom and I (who had flown in to visit) went to Italy. Italy is great! When it comes to tourism Italy does everything perfectly. Great food. Great weather. Great places to visit. Solid tourist infrastructure. Friendly people. So much to do and see. We had a great time in Italy and I see myself going back many times in the future.

Next, we went to Slovenia. What a great place! Ljubljana is probably one of my new favorite European cities. A small city with a relatively limited number of things to do, but it’s the type of place I could hang out in for weeks. Fun fact: Ljubljana was voted to have the best ice cream in the world. Slovenia is also home to Lake Bled, one of the best nature destinations in Europe in my opinion.

As I write this, I am at a mountain hut in the Austrian Alps. It is my second time in Austria. We’ll be here for a week and after that, I head home to the Netherlands.

Two Vastly Different Experiences: Egypt & Europe

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