Okay, so what a wild/day night this was.
Truly, what a wild day/night the whole trip was, but that’s beside the point.
[Also, side note: In case it’s not clear, I’m calling this Day 1, as I originally got in super late at night, so this was the first official actual ‘day’.]
So, the main place I stayed in Giza through this trip was a little hole-in-the-wall spot, which I won’t name, because I wouldn’t recommend staying there (and I don’t want them to see me talking about them, because I don’t want them to ever talk to me again, but we’ll get to that later).
Anyway, at the time, the small red flags I saw weren’t wild yet. So, I’ll round those up later.
And let’s just start with the morning. I had booked a car from a place recommended by one of my travel books to take me up to Alexandria and show me the sights, and then leave me there for a night.
(I’ll get to why I wanted to go to Alexandria tomorrow.)
I verified multiple times that the driver would speak English. I don’t speak any Arabic, and the drive is a couple of hours. And I really like to be able to talk with people and learn things.
So, I wanted an English speaking driver.
I was promised I would get an English speaking driver.
In the morning, I was a little jet lagged, so I got in the car with not much more than a “Hello!” And then I took a nap.
Once we were like an hour from my hotel, I woke up and asked if we could stop for water.
He spoke such little English, he couldn’t even understand me when I asked if we could stop for water.
Now, to be clear, I absolutely do not expect people in other countries to know English. But when I very specifically book something (e.g. a driver) and am paying for it, and verify many times they will speak English… then I do.
(Just like if I were in America and needed an interpreter of any kind. If I booked someone who told me they’d speak in that language, I would expect they would.)
So, anyway, we make it up to Alexandria, and then he starts taking me around to some sights.
I try to ask questions like where we are/what we’re going to see. He doesn’t understand me and can’t help me.
Okay, and then you kind of have to know this weird story about my debit card for context, so I’ll tell that tomorrow.