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Give your take on all. Brave of you to have visited Egypt at this time!
I'll definitely comment on that. Almost NO international tourists at all at the Pyramids. I saw one German couple at the Pyramids, and one bus of Chinese tourists at Memphis. I definitely saw some Egyptian tourists, but not even many of them either.
Things were quite on edge in some ways, as a bit of apprehension about that. There was definitely a desperation from people who rely on the tourist trade as well.
On the other hand, it was the most bizarre thing ever to be at the Pyramids and have almost no crowds whatsoever, and the feeling that I could be just about anywhere - might as well had been in the middle of a corn field, as it felt like such a non-tourist site.
Last edited by Tiger Beer; 02-05-2014 at 02:06 AM..
What kinds of things did you see? What reason did you go? I'm awfully curious, been dying to visit anyplace in Africa for years!
What was your favorite part of the trip? Least favorite? Ahhh I have so many more questions!
In Cairo - I basically did the tourist things - Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, and a few other sites. I also went around to Muslim Cairo, Tehrar Square, and saw the American University of Cairo. Also went to a few other locations, the names of which escape me now.
In Addis Ababa - went to the National Museum, but mostly just experienced the city by going to all the tourist areas like Bole and Piazza and such. Plenty of coffee shops to experience it Ethiopian style.
As far as what I liked, I liked most things.
One of the negatives is how expensive things were in Addis Ababa. Hotels are quite expensive as are taxis. One thing I've learned from other travelers/expats is that Africa is not a cheap destination. It's not like traveling in Thailand, India, or anywhere else, where you can always find cheap hotels and cheap eats. For whatever reason, things get a bit pricey. But, on the other hand, you can also find things that are real cheap.
For example, taxis want to charge about US$5 minimum, but more preferable would be US$10. This is just to so somewhere that is 2-4 kilometers, for example. So, because of it, I ended up walking everywhere, even if it took me 45 minutes to walk there.
Hotels as well. Some basic hotel that might only be US$20 in Bangkok Thailand, will be US$100 in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Some of that stuff just doesn't seem right. I can't imagine an Ethiopian ever being able to afford $100 hotels on their salaries, so not sure if its only for ferenji (foreigners) or what. For the record, I was able to find the cheapest hotel I could find at around US$35 in a 'guesthouse'. But, again, if I were in somewhere like Thailand or Malaysia, the same room would have been $8 or $9 a night.
On the other hand, Egypt certainly DID have cheap hotels and cheap eats. It reminded me more of Southeast Asia or India or such in that regard. Maybe more on the backpacker trail, I'd imagine.
Some parts of Egypt are amazingly nice. I'd imagine the tourism being down at this point though due the instability of the country at this point.
One thing about when you travel to just about every country outside of the US, is that people know you are either American and or just not from their town (country). So everything will automatically cost you more. If you know people that are local the experience would be better because the locals know the true cost.
Hotels in Addis are expensive, but depends on where you go. The locals aren't spending money at the hotels unless they have just get away days and or there is a wedding. Weddings in Africa tend to be something of an experience and not sure where people get the money to spend on them. If you are still in Africa I hope you get a chance to check one out.
Some parts of Egypt are amazingly nice. I'd imagine the tourism being down at this point though due the instability of the country at this point.
One thing about when you travel to just about every country outside of the US, is that people know you are either American and or just not from their town (country). So everything will automatically cost you more. If you know people that are local the experience would be better because the locals know the true cost.
Hotels in Addis are expensive, but depends on where you go. The locals aren't spending money at the hotels unless they have just get away days and or there is a wedding. Weddings in Africa tend to be something of an experience and not sure where people get the money to spend on them. If you are still in Africa I hope you get a chance to check one out.
I did see weddings in Addis Ababa. I wasn't invited, but saw them driving around in cars, with video cameras filming them, and just going all out expense-wise. Pretty amazing, and the money thrown around, was quite amazing as well. I also went to see several Ethiopian Orthodox churches, and quite some festivities throughout them as well. Great to see.
Regarding costs. I do agree that things always cost more for non-locals in every country. However, it seems to get stepped up to another level in Africa compared to other places. Not only for non-locals, but just little things. For example, chapstick. Go to the store, and it's at western prices plus import costs. I think it's partially because everything is imported. Whereas if you are somewhere like Indonesia, almost guaranteed there will be some company in Indonesia that makes chapstick and sells it at local prices, etc.
So, it's not solely tourist prices, but I think lack of local manufacturers, perhaps, plus importing prices. I noticed the same things with some snacks and such. Often a country like Thailand will have some joint operation with 'Pringles' for example, and the snacks will be at low local prices. In Ethiopia, it seems like no such joint operation exists, and it's just sold at western + import prices.
Maybe I'm wrong, perhaps if I were in Kenya, there are joint operations for such things. But I didnt see anything like that in Ethiopia.
For the record, I will say that Ethiopia was a great country to see! It seems like a lot of things are getting built now, lots of cranes in the air. I really liked the people, and I imagine it could be a really interesting country and city in the years to come. It already is, but I can see being even moreso.
In cairo.. Any tips on how not to get ripped off by cabs.
Also tips on getting to/from city to the pyramids appreciated..
Ive been wanting to go, few tourists would be nice..
I went with a tourist guide and booked her for the full day. Basically it was a bit costly. But a certified travel guide has certain rights, for example, if anyone is harassing you to buy things or following you around the sites, the official tourist guide can call the police, and they'll arrest the harasser. So, immediately they back off if you are with one.
For better or worse, I arranged this tour guide with my hotel and it was a bit expensive. Essentially, I went with another guy, and we paid around US$90 EACH for the full-day of her and her bodyguard/driver to drive us around to all the sites that we wanted. They also paid the entrance charges, which was probably $30 in themselves, quite easily.
That being said, I was a million times better than my USUAL method. My usual method is to attempt to get to each site through public transportation, and then attempt to ignore all the harassers. For peace of mind on my travel the sites day, I much preferred this upfront cost, and no problem approach. Especially for Egypt.
Thanks for the info! I just came back from traveling Europe and SE Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore). I've started to think about my next trip and N. Africa is up there. Egypt to Morocco then to Western Spain and maybe Portugal. It does seem like Africa and S. America cost more for simple things compared to Asia and even most of Europe which is shocking.
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