MONTHLY UPDATE…DUBAI + EGYPT

After Dubai we hit Egypt! Country 48 for me baby! And, it was Cameron’s second time since 1991. Egypt blew both our minds! In a good + equally bad way.

I booked this trip with the same company I used for our trip to Kenya last June [honeymoon]. If you want an intro, drop us a comment. They’re great + you don’t get charged to use their service. They have pre-created trips with 3 price range options or you can fully customize one if you prefer. I generally go the custom route. Regardless, I highly recommend going on safari! Seriously, add it to your bucket list.

While there…we gazed at the Great Pyramids of Giza in awe, tested our claustrophobia inside the middle of one, got tossed around on a camel’s back [I have mixed feelings about it, but Egypt is the only place to do it], drank Egyptian history from a firehose, stared into the eyes of a mummy, cruised down the Nile in style, scuba dived in the Red Sea, + took so many pics + videos it’s disgusting.

Here are the things we loved…Egyptian history is probably the coolest I’ve come across thus far. The opulence of it all! Not to mention, the engineering + mathematical marvels that still stump scientists today. We loved connecting with the locals + hearing how much pride they have in their country. Being there during Ramadan took it up another notch as well. We arrived right when it was starting, + the traffic was INSANE…like 30 minutes to cross one bridge! It was very reminiscent of India. I loved learning about the Muslim culture. The Iftar feasts + buffet spreads were NEXT LEVEL! I’ve never seen so much food + tables full of sweets in my entire life.

Now for the parts we didn’t love. Cairo is very very dirty + poverty stricken…to the point where we didn’t feel inspired or comfortable leaving the hotel. The air quality is horrible due to 22 million people living there, and I’m pretty sure 90% of them smoke. My sinuses were not having it.

The worst part…the constant male gazes, leering, + general creepiness coupled with the oppressive male culture left me nauseous + angry. On one of our flights, I got into a disagreement with a male flight attendant. When Cameron went to use the restroom, the flight attendant gave him a lecture about how he needed to have “his wife” to listen to flight attendants. Translation, I need to listen to men but more importantly I needed to listen to him specifically. Barf! My tongue was bleeding from that one. The hate + disdain I saw in that man’s eyes had me wondering what he’d do to his wife if she ever challenged him in public or behind closed doors. I don’t want to know + no thank you.

Without question, we both thought scuba diving was gonna be our favorite. Unfortunately, that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Sharm El-Sheikh is overrun with tourists, tacky all-inclusive resorts, + reminds me of Cabo for the Middle East [I mean no offense Cabo lovers]. The worst part…the dead + trash infested reefs in Ras Muhammad. So incredibly sad. Once hailed as one of the best places in the world to scuba dive + it’s practically destroyed.

We know what to expect when visiting third world countries. And, even when we think we’re prepared, we’re not. Every time we leave we’re extremely humbled + grateful for the lives we get to lead. While there, we know we’re practically a walking ATM, but the “baksheesh” + nickel + diming was non-stop every day + night. It’s such a mult-faceted + nuanced issue it’s hard to process. We’re saddened by corrupt government officials and wish we could help everyone but sadly we can’t.

Ultimately, we’re glad we went to Egypt. I loved crossing off that bucket list item. But, it wasn’t without the full spectrum of emotions. We recommend you go, but I’d definitely book it through a travel agency. Egypt is a one trip country for me, even though Alexandria was on my list.

On that note, my goal is to be as open + honest about our experiences as possible, especially when they aren’t great. We live in a world of highlight reels + toxic positivity which is nauseating + unrealistic. It isn’t always fun or easy. It’s the going through shit that makes the sweet so sweet. And, that’s why I’m sharing the truly beautiful as well as the down right shit parts of our travel experiences. I choose real over fake + filtered any day.

I’m gonna leave it there for now. But, next month I’ll tell you all about my crazy adventures in Southern Spain [they’re pretty fucking crazy] + all the mindblowing stuff we learned at the TED Conference [Vancouver] + the Intelligent Change Summit [Ibiza].