Egyptian Men Part 2: Money Both Talks and Flirts

I got off the train nearly 15 hours later, and made my way to my budget motel. As I entered, three young men were sitting in the small lobby. I announced who I was and that I had a reservation. One of them checked me in while another asked me if I wanted to take a tour bus to Abu Simbel and Philae Temple the next morning. Sure did! Turns out the bus left in four hours, so I thanked the guys, paid my money and headed to a bed belonging in the most budget of budget motels.

Maybe sleeping in my clothes detracted the bedbugs and lice I knew I was certain to make friends with during the short night of sleeping fully clothed on top of the covers, but I rested well enough to stagger into the lobby for my bus. The sites were extraordinary, the bus sleep was everything you expect, and I returned to the motel that afternoon wondering what would come next.

Turns out I didn’t have to wait long to find out. The 25-year-old man who organized my trip soon knocked on my door and asked me if I liked my trip. Yup! I loved it! He invited me to tea with him, and I wasn’t going to turn down an offer like that. I joined him for an hour of sipping tea and smoking sheesha. He described the village where he grew up, how he got his PhD in special education but found himself working in tourism because it pays better. Apparently money talks in every language! Being the good little tourist dude that he was, he asked me what else I wanted to do in Egypt. I quickly answered that I wanted to ride in a felucca.

One quick phone call and ten minutes later we boarded the small boat where two of his friends worked.

My tour guide unofficially worked overtime if a customer who sparked his interest let him put in the hours. He asked me what else I wanted to see, I pointed at a glowing mosque, and off we went on a walking tour of Aswan where he pointed out his apartment complex, favorite barber, and stopped at a shwarma stand where he bought me some dinner. We walked around the mosque, and he asked me if he could show me his favorite place to drink juice. How could I resist?

We drank strawberry juice on a restaurant balcony overlooking the pretty picture of Aswan at night. He invited me to visit his village the next time I was in town, and he told me that a month would be enough time to really enjoy all of it. A MONTH?!! I’m doing a two day tour of Aswan and Luxor, each with a million sites to see, and he offered me a month to kick it with him, is family, and their donkeys. Awesome! As sweet as that is, it’s an offer I just don’t see myself accepting. Instead of taking him up on that offer, I asked him if he had knew of anyone who could show me around Luxor. Sure enough, he organized a tour for me the next day, starting at 10:30 a.m. when I got off the train in Luxor.