1. Sheep and goats chill out on roofs.
2. Cars and goats share the highway.
3. Everyone smokes shisha.
Old and young, in cafes, on the streets, in back alleys… And no one seems to share, because it’s so cheap.
4. Egyptians stuff rice in everything.
Stuffed pigeons, stuffed wine leaves, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed cabbages, stuffed – you get the idea.
5. The income gap is pretty extreme.
You’ll see the really rich and you’ll see the very poor, but the middle income group is hard to come by.
6. It’s really common for Egyptians to own a nice summer home somewhere by the beach.
7. They have some of the most persistent, ruthless and
sly touts out there.
A few invited me to take photos of them, and then extended their hand out to me, expecting a tip.
Also, look out for the guy who kindly offers you a flashlight in the tomb, and the guy who eagerly decodes
the paintings for you.
8. When they are not after your money, the locals are sincerely
nice and friendly.
9. They love Asians.
Me, a Chinese girl in Egypt? Photos, questions, and more photo requests, I was a rock star.
10. The Pyramids of Giza are cool, but a tad bit overrated.
It is located near the city, aggressive touts will tail you until you ride their camel, and it’s really just
a dark empty space inside. Go, but don’t expect too much.
It’s majestic, I know. But trust me when I say the awe does not last too long.
11. Continuing with our theme of overrated tourist destinations,
the Sphinx is the tiniest damn thing.
Trust me.
12. You mind will be blown at the Egyptian Museum,
and the Valley of the Kings and Queens.
Over 120,000 treasures unearthed from the Pyramids and tombs are stored in the Egyptian
Museum that has been filled to the brim. The colours and stories of paintings in the tombs
in the valleys are so vivid, your simple human brain will go “wow” a million times and more.
13. Tahrir Square? It’s literally a small roundabout in the
middle of a street.
They way the media made it up to be, you’d expect it to be a tad bit bigger.
14. Parks and greenery are very hard to come by in Cairo.
People would set up chairs to hang out by the side of a busy highway in what little greenery
they have. The only proper park I went to, Al Azhar Park in Cairo, required an entry free.
15. Someone turned up the saturation of the colours at
the Red Sea.
It’s so insanely vivid and beautiful, it’s surreal.
16. Shopping can be really cheap.
(if you don’t get ripped off)
17. The Nile River is not exactly the cleanest thing.
Dead cows have been seen floating there.
18. But, you can still fish at the Nile River.
Just make sure you don’t fish a dead cow.
19. The sunsets are intense.
20. The mosques are breathtaking, peaceful, and blissfully
tout-free.
If you see a climbable minaret, climb it.
21. When it’s not too hazy, the triangular silhouette of the
Pyramids against the square boxes that is the Cairo
skyline is quite a sight to behold.
In retrospect, the Pyramids are more majestic from afar than they are up close.
22. Ancient Egyptians did not only mummify humans, they
mummified their pets and animals as well.
23. And, they have pretty good beer.
But what do I know about beer? Anything tastes good on a hot Egyptian summer day.
And there you go, an honest observation of Egypt from fresh Malaysian eyes. I gotta say, Egypt was a very, very fascinating country to visit. I will definitely return for more surprises, and to feel like a rock star again.
– This story was originally published on www.meimeichu.com – read more from Mei Mei Chu here.
Zafigo republished this story in full with permission from the author to hopefully bring the story and the author to a larger audience, simply because good authors and stories should be read by as many people as possible! If you are keen on Zafigo republishing your stories that will be of interest and useful to women travellers especially in Asia and the Middle East, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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