Egypt Travel Guide
The Bare Bones
Population: 62.5 million
Area: 1 million km2
Currency: Egyptian Pound
Language: Arabic
Religion: 90% Muslim 10% Coptic Christian
Cash and Plastic
Hard cash works well in Egypt with major banks able to exchange readily. The same applies to travellers' cheques. Exchange can also be made in hotels and exchange bureau. Major credit cards are widely accepted and ATM machines are increasingly widespread. All these guidelines are apt to go out of the window the further off the beaten track you venture. Make sure you have change available for tipping; this is a society that runs on Baksheesh (tipping and haggling). Try not to be palmed off with tatty notes anywhere, you may have trouble spending them.
Health and How to Maintain it
If you are properly organised and follow a few simple, common sense rules your stay in Egypt should pass without problems.
Go and discuss your trip with your GP well in advance of going - at least two months - he will give you the most up to date advice. Expect that he will suggest Typhoid, Hepatitis, Diphtheria, Polio and Tetanus as a minimum. Depending on where you are planning on travelling to he may also suggest anti-malaria treatments.
Take sensible precautions with regard to the heat and dehydration.
The water is safe to drink but to be on the safe side stick to bottled water.
Make sure meat is properly cooked and vegetables well prepared, avoid the shellfish.
Anyone providing medical care will require cash payments; ensure you get a receipt for claiming payment back later.
Make sure you have ample medical insurance to cover any illness or accident that may occur. This should include being flown home if necessary.
Law and Order
Egypt is, generally speaking, a very safe place to visit. Beware pickpockets in the main tourist areas; there are always a small number of people who will try and scam foreigners. Violent crime is almost non-existent but women - especially travelling on their own - may find themselves receiving mostly harmless but persitent attention.
Do not get involved in the consumption possession or trafficking of narcotics. Penalties are harsh and may even extend to the death penalty. Being a foreigner in no way earns you immunisation from the law.
Visas and other Paperwork
Almost everyone going into Egypt needs a visa. These can be obtained from Egyptian Embassies at home but the easiest way is to get it at Cairo airport on arrival. It doesn't take long and is fairly cheap. Visas allow one months stay but can be easily renewed at passport offices.
These days travel permits are not required for the interior of the country but check the most up to date information.
Keeping Safe and Sound
All the normal rules apply. Do not travel around with more money or documentation than is necessary. Do not wave cash about. Use hotel safe deposit boxes. Tell people where you are going and when you are coming back. Try not to travel alone and follow any local advice regarding places to avoid. Terrorist activity is unusual but no stranger in Egypt so be vigilant. Carry photocopies of passport and visas with you leave the real thing behind at your hotel. Use common sense.
Getting Around
There is an extensive network of public transport in Egypt. Buses and trains are cheap but crowded a great way to meet the people. Travel in Upper Egypt is difficult so check before making plans for instance you are only allowed on certain trains. The car is a good way of seeing the country at your own pace, petrol is cheap but the distribution network is not comprehensive so you may want to carry a spare can. Driving can seem at bit haphazard so be wary. Drive on the right and do not get caught speeding the police take your licence and you need to jump through hoops to retrieve it. When driving ensure you have your licence and passport with you.
Insurance
Make sure you have loads. Have comprehensive cover for loss or theft of luggage, money or documents. You will also need ample medical insurance in the case of accident or illness.
What about the Weather?
In the mornings it tends to be hot, whilst in the afternoons it is hot. That's in the summer. In the winter, however it's mainly hot.
The desert can get cold at night and in the north, in the winter, it does get a little cooler and wetter but in the main it is hot. And very dry.
So, What's it Really Like?
Lets get one thing straight right from the start; Egypt is so much more than just a one-attraction place. There are many reasons to visit the country not just the big pointy, very old, stony things that reside in a Cairo suburb.
Egypt is very much a mix of old and new. In the cities expect to see guys in suits going to work in the office; outside the urban areas you will see agricultural life pretty much as it has been for hundreds of years. Of all the worlds Arab nations Egypt aligns itself most closely to the West yet it is still staunchly Muslim by religion. Egypt is also the closest thing the Middle Eastern Arab countries come to being a democracy.
Egypt historically is not significant just for its role in ancient history; it lay at the heart of so much of the turmoil of the twentieth century. It is very much a country of the present.
|
|
|
