A travel agent has taken to social media to reveal the reasons why she couldn’t wait to leave this one particular holiday spot that has otherwise seen a boom in tourism recently. Penny, who shares her travelling experiences on her Instagram account @pennygoestravelling, posted a video in which she shared her negative experiences in Egypt, including constant haggling and scamming.
Penny, who has been to Egypt multiple times, said her “experience worsens” each time she visits. In a caption, she wrote: “I’ve been to Egypt multiple times and each time my experience worsens. I’ve found the constant lying, hassling for money, and scamming culture so exhausting.
“Nothing that was done for us either by tour guides or hotel staff was done as part of general good service but instead was all for a way to extract extra cash on top of what was already paid.”
The video begins with a clip of Penny boarding a plane, to which it cuts to a shot of the sky from an airplane window, with text that reads: “As soon as we landed. Got scammed by a fake Uber driver. Then got scammed by the real Uber driver.”
The next thing shown is the travel agent stuck inside an Egyptian tomb, where she writes, ‘Trapped in a tomb for tips.’
Her nightmare continues, as the video shows an Egyptian local attempting to sell Penny and her friends something as they are trying to get into a car.
It then a clip of the riverbank with a caption that reads: “Paying for a ‘luxury cruise down the Nile’ and ended up on a dirty old boat driven by a 12 year old boy”.
Penny also claims she was “sent into a shop” by her tour guide and was “trapped” in efforts to buy something – an incident that she says happened twice. The “haggling” continued throughout the trip, and unfortunately, the struggles continued right to the point of returning home.
In a series of captions, she wrote: “Airport searches on repeat requiring personal info and/or money before bags returned.
“Walking miles to airport lounge which we were told were free as [we are] Amex Platinum card holders only to then demand $175 for access.”
Penny also addressed issues she experienced “aside from the money culture”.
She added: “Egypt is not for the faint hearted woman. Men will stare and say obscene things to you – I’m not sure what reaction they hope to achieve but nevertheless, these constant comments and looks can make you feel uncomfortable. Even though I was travelling with four men that doesn’t put the locals off
“If you are low on confidence and have lots of cash, don’t mind being ogled at, cat called, being constantly asked for money in return for nothing and if you enjoy your personal space being invaded then Egypt is perfect.
“Otherwise, get back on the plane.”