We arrived in Luxor, Egypt on Wednesday late afternoon. As soon as we stepped off the plane we were hit by a brutal heat wave. After everyone piled onto the bus, we were driven to the back entrance of the airport. There were only two other planes there besides ours.
As soon as we walked into Luxor International Airport, we were bombarded with questions like, "taxi?" "visa?" "money change?" There were taxi drivers lining the walkway on both sides right inside the entrance holding up signs with names written. We looked for ours, but didn't see it. We figured maybe he was waiting outside. We then were asked by another man, apparently there to point people in the direction they needed to go, if we needed visas. He pointed to the visa counter where paid $25 each for a 30-day allotment. After that we waited in line at customs, which only took about 10 minutes. Once we got through customs we headed for the exit, not knowing that we were not allowed to get back in. I tried, and was greeted by a policeman who, after blocking me with his body said, "no madam, sorry." He was very polite, but I felt a bit intimidated by the interaction. The reason I was trying to get back into the airport was because our taxi driver was a no-show, which we are sure is only due to a communication error on our part with our hotel. There were several men standing outside the airport waiting for the tourists to exit so they could offer them a ride to their hotel, carry their suitcases or sell you a map. The local men and young boys are constantly trying to make money off of tourists here, and they are quite aggressive in their approach. I give them all an A+ for their persistence. So there we were, standing outside the airport with no ride. The only option is to take a taxi unless you are on a guided tour in which case you are greeted by a tour bus. One man approached us wearing a long linen dress and sandals. He asked us if we wanted taxi. We asked him how much. He motioned for us to follow him and did not give us a price. We asked him again how much, and he still wouldn't say anything. Finally, Kale said, "ok, la shokran," which means no thank you, and we started to walk away. As soon as he realized he was losing a sale, he said, "ok, one hundred pounds each." We were told the price should be one hundred total, and politely declined. About 100 meters from the airport exit there were a bunch of cabs parked, and we decided to head that way. Sure enough we were approached by a taxi driver who said he would take us to our hotel for one hundred pounds each, and we started to follow him to his car. As we were following him, another cab driver approached us to see if we wanted a ride, and we said no because we had already procured a ride. This did not make him happy, and he started yelling at our cab driver who just walked away, leaving us with the man who yelled at him. We were basically standing in the center of a bunch of cab drivers wearing their calabelias, which are the long linen "dresses" I referred to earlier. We decided just to follow the angry man, and let him take us to our hotel. He opened the trunk for us to put our backpacks inside, and as Kale was taking off his pack, another man jumped in front of him, took his pack, and threw it in the trunk. When we climbed into the backseat of the cab, the man who threw Kale's bag in the trunk stopped our door from closing, and asked Kale for a tip. Kale asked, what for, and the man started touching his pockets to see if there was money in there. It was scary at the time, but we just told the driver to go, and he sped off. We finally made it to our hotel about 25 minutes later.
After settling into our $14-room, we decided to walk to the city center. At this point the sun was setting, and all of a sudden we heard a man's voice singing a song. The song was amplified throughout the city on a speaker. It was actually not a song. It was a prayer. Our hotel is right next to a mosque, and they pray/sing four or five times throughout the day. As we started our walk to downtown, we were greeted by a few taxi drivers and a few men on horse-drawn carriages. They all asked us if we wanted a ride, and when we said no, they just kept following us and continued to ask us if we wanted a ride. They will literally jump into their carriage, and have their horse follow you while continuing to ask you if you want a ride. It was a little too much for me to handle after the craziness at the airport, and after walking about 20 meters, I told Kale I wanted to go back to the hotel. Luckily the restaurant in our hotel was featured in a magazine that lists good places to eat in various cities. We decided to tackle the city in the daylight, which seemed less intimidating. After a great vegan meal, and friendly conversation with our servers we decided to call it an evening. We were dead tired after a long day of traveling.
By the way...as I was writing this entry in the lobby of our hotel Lionel Richie's "Dancing on the Ceiling" came on ... so awesome!
As soon as we walked into Luxor International Airport, we were bombarded with questions like, "taxi?" "visa?" "money change?" There were taxi drivers lining the walkway on both sides right inside the entrance holding up signs with names written. We looked for ours, but didn't see it. We figured maybe he was waiting outside. We then were asked by another man, apparently there to point people in the direction they needed to go, if we needed visas. He pointed to the visa counter where paid $25 each for a 30-day allotment. After that we waited in line at customs, which only took about 10 minutes. Once we got through customs we headed for the exit, not knowing that we were not allowed to get back in. I tried, and was greeted by a policeman who, after blocking me with his body said, "no madam, sorry." He was very polite, but I felt a bit intimidated by the interaction. The reason I was trying to get back into the airport was because our taxi driver was a no-show, which we are sure is only due to a communication error on our part with our hotel. There were several men standing outside the airport waiting for the tourists to exit so they could offer them a ride to their hotel, carry their suitcases or sell you a map. The local men and young boys are constantly trying to make money off of tourists here, and they are quite aggressive in their approach. I give them all an A+ for their persistence. So there we were, standing outside the airport with no ride. The only option is to take a taxi unless you are on a guided tour in which case you are greeted by a tour bus. One man approached us wearing a long linen dress and sandals. He asked us if we wanted taxi. We asked him how much. He motioned for us to follow him and did not give us a price. We asked him again how much, and he still wouldn't say anything. Finally, Kale said, "ok, la shokran," which means no thank you, and we started to walk away. As soon as he realized he was losing a sale, he said, "ok, one hundred pounds each." We were told the price should be one hundred total, and politely declined. About 100 meters from the airport exit there were a bunch of cabs parked, and we decided to head that way. Sure enough we were approached by a taxi driver who said he would take us to our hotel for one hundred pounds each, and we started to follow him to his car. As we were following him, another cab driver approached us to see if we wanted a ride, and we said no because we had already procured a ride. This did not make him happy, and he started yelling at our cab driver who just walked away, leaving us with the man who yelled at him. We were basically standing in the center of a bunch of cab drivers wearing their calabelias, which are the long linen "dresses" I referred to earlier. We decided just to follow the angry man, and let him take us to our hotel. He opened the trunk for us to put our backpacks inside, and as Kale was taking off his pack, another man jumped in front of him, took his pack, and threw it in the trunk. When we climbed into the backseat of the cab, the man who threw Kale's bag in the trunk stopped our door from closing, and asked Kale for a tip. Kale asked, what for, and the man started touching his pockets to see if there was money in there. It was scary at the time, but we just told the driver to go, and he sped off. We finally made it to our hotel about 25 minutes later.
After settling into our $14-room, we decided to walk to the city center. At this point the sun was setting, and all of a sudden we heard a man's voice singing a song. The song was amplified throughout the city on a speaker. It was actually not a song. It was a prayer. Our hotel is right next to a mosque, and they pray/sing four or five times throughout the day. As we started our walk to downtown, we were greeted by a few taxi drivers and a few men on horse-drawn carriages. They all asked us if we wanted a ride, and when we said no, they just kept following us and continued to ask us if we wanted a ride. They will literally jump into their carriage, and have their horse follow you while continuing to ask you if you want a ride. It was a little too much for me to handle after the craziness at the airport, and after walking about 20 meters, I told Kale I wanted to go back to the hotel. Luckily the restaurant in our hotel was featured in a magazine that lists good places to eat in various cities. We decided to tackle the city in the daylight, which seemed less intimidating. After a great vegan meal, and friendly conversation with our servers we decided to call it an evening. We were dead tired after a long day of traveling.
This is the mosque outside our room:
By the way...as I was writing this entry in the lobby of our hotel Lionel Richie's "Dancing on the Ceiling" came on ... so awesome!
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