Okay, so since the story is gonna end with some annoyances from the hotel owner guy, let me just go ahead and start with like some of the first red flags.
So, we’d been communicating a little with booking.com and WhatsApp and whatever before the trip. And after I initially booked my stay, he asked what my plans were. I said I was still figuring it out.
I didn’t ask him to book anything for me. I just said I didn’t have plans. And when he picked me up from the airport, he was like “I booked you a guide for tomorrow.” And I was like “wait, what? I already booked a guide for tomorrow.”
And then he sort of 1/4-joking, but also a little seriously was upset that I’d booked something else, and started to try to guilt me for not using his person when I’d never written him to say I’d gotten something else.
But it’s like… well, also, I never asked you to do anything. But whatever. He didn’t make it too big of a deal. But he was kind of “joking” about how he always knew better… which like, he did live in Egypt, but it didn’t just feel like an Egypt thing, it also felt like a misogyny thing. But whatever, I didn’t want to be too sensitive at the beginning.
And then he did the thing where he opened the rooftop restaurant just for me, and that was really nice. So, that looked promising.
But then when he gave me a room, I had paid for a room with a view of the pyramids, but he put me in a room that had no view of anything. And it really wasn’t much extra money at all. It was the difference of like a couple American dollars, maybe but still, it is what I booked.
So when I tried to nicely mention like “hey, my reservation says a room with a view of the pyramids,” he got upset at me. And he was like “you ruined my surprise! You said you’re going to Alexandria tomorrow night, so I was going to surprise you when you got back and move you to a room with the pyramids! Way to ruin the surprise.”
But like… It’s not really a surprise when it’s what you’ve literally paid for (even if the price is negligible in American dollars). But whatever.
Then, in Alexandria, I messaged him to let him know maybe I should’ve used his guide because it had been such a mess.
So, I said I was looking into options and wondering if his person was still available. And he said yes. Then I said I’d asked the hotel where I was and they actually had someone, so I’d be fine.
Then he was telling me how I made a mistake the first time and I have to listen to him. So, I asked how much it would be and he wouldn’t tell me.
And I was like ‘don’t worry about it. I trust this hotel. And the price is better than the last price you quoted me. So, I’m just going with this, but thank you.’
And he’s like “Not going to let you have the same situation again” I said “hahaha” And he said “Can you listen.”
Then we go back and forth a few times where he says “send me your location.” And I ask how much. And he says “location.” And I say I’m fine. And he says “location.”
Then we just keep going back and forth, until finally I agree, because he says they’ll take me around Alexandria a bit, and one of them will be a woman, and they’ll speak English. So, because I want to have an experience rather than just a straight drive with someone I won’t be able to communicate with, I agree.
It’s slightly disconcerting that he just is like so firm about it all, but I figured that’s just his personality.
Then, there’s the fight in the reception/”lobby” area about whether our media is controlled by our government. And he just doesn’t respect my thoughts on it at ALL – even though I work in American media.
But whatever. Lots of people believe in mini-conspiracy-theories. And at the end of the day, who really cares if a stranger in Egypt thinks our media is run by our government.
So THEN, I have to get a Covid test in order to get back to the states. All I need is a Rapid test. (It just has to be an official doctor/pharmacist person. One of the at-home ones I take in my room doesn’t count.)
And this is where I’ll pick up tomorrow.