10 things not to do in Luxor, Egypt.

Spend Money.

Apart from your flights and hotel room, you'll be hard pressed to spend money in Luxor, unless you allow yourself to be ripped off or wish to buy pashminas and replica relics. Everyone will try to help you with everything, including pointing at something for your to photograph and then ask you for money for what they did, be firm and polite and say no.

A taxi from the airport is LE 80, around £4, ask and confirm the price before you do anything and check it's LE (Egyptian Pounds) and not $ (Dollars).

Expect to pay up to LE 700 per person for a full day tour of the West Bank, to include the Valley of the Kings, a couple of temples and the tour guides, brothers, Alabaster or Papayas shop. You will have to pay extra to visit Tutankhamen. You can however do this cheaper yourself, but I'd recommend a tour guide a) to tell you the     history b) to stop you being hassled and c) to get
                                                                                    you back to your hotel.
You have to pay your hotel bill in foreign currency, you are not allowed to pay in Egyptian Pounds, but you can withdraw local currency from the cash machines. Banks are heavily guarded, but don't let anyone try to assist you and preferably withdraw money in pairs.

No one will have change anywhere, and will delay giving you change in the hope you won't bother waiting.

Bring Kids.

Don't bring kids with you unless you are prepared to keep a very close eye on them 24/7 and entertain them yourself. While the hotels have pools, they are a long way from the rooms, terraces, life guards are rare. There are no facilities in Luxor aimed at entertaining children, whilst there is a MacDonalds, there isn't a play area, there are no swings and slides to be found or public parks and internet is scarce.

Use the Internet.

Leave that laptop at home. There is little if no wifi in public places and in the hotels, you are limited to two devices per room. Wifi is often limited each day and costs around $10 per 250mb. Your mobile phone provider will sms on arrival with cost of calls, but if you wish to buy a sim card, you can only get this at the airport.

Drink coffee.

I found one coffee shop that served anything that resembled the coffee I like to drink. Nescafe seem to have the monopoly over here and a latte is 2 powered tubes and over heated milk, not nice. Ask for a cappuccino, it's likely to be from a Nespresso machine.








Drink the water

We've travelled to many locations around the world and we often forget to check if we can drink the tap water. To date we've never been ill from drinking the water, but one of us, usually Peter, has had food poisoning. Brushing teeth is ok, but avoid ice in drinks, ask the waiter to give you the bottled water to open, so you can check the seal and personally I avoid foods with high water content such as watermelon and cucumber.






Shop

There are NO high street stores in Luxor, all you'll find are local shops, souks and markets, mainly selling souvenirs and replica, tacky and low quality, clothes and bags. You'll be hard pressed to find a supermarket, corner store, pharmacy, so bring all your toiletries and medications with you.




Queue

December and January are the height of the tourist season, but don't expect to have to wait in long queues for anywhere, there are sadly few tourists coming to Luxor since 2011, due to the current political climate.

Get tired

Luxor is a relaxing place to visit, tours start early morning, 3 days minimum stay to visit all the sights, take a trip on the nile, fit in a hot air balloon trip and enjoy leisurely drinks and meals in the hotel.


Walk anywhere

Don't expect to walk anywhere in Luxor, the second you step out your hotel you'll be inundated with requests to use taxi's and horse and carriages. If you do get a taxi, the driver will tell you he will wait for you at your destination, until you've finished, so don't pay them until you get back to your hotel.





Relax with personal safety

There are many warnings about travelling to Luxor and Egypt in general. The biggest risk is around mosques at prayer times and if you see large groups of people forming, then it is advised to leave the area and not hang around to see what is going on. Use the hotel safe for your passports, laptops, etc and only carry with you cash and cards that you think you'll need each day. Keep your bag in full sight at all times.

How much does it cost to live in Dubai?

This is a question I get asked a lot. There is an expectation that expats around the world are living the life of riley with over inflated salaries and benefits.

There are two types of expats, those on a local contract and those being paid from their country of origin. For those on local contracts, especially in Dubai, they pay no tax on their salaries, but they are also not allowed to make investments in their home country and pensions aren't available in the UAE. My hubby is on a local contract and makes his pension payments to the company in the UK, but as he isn't employed in the UK he has to make the company contribution also. For others they have to deal with the fluctuating exchange rates, transfer fees and the delay in their salary reaching them.

Salaries may be higher than the UK, but for my husband his salary is based on 30 years service to his employers, stems from him having a degree and just being damned good at his job. There are also housing benefits and a car allowance plus 1 return flight for him, myself and the teen to the UK, but when you're paying school fees, which is the only option in both Dubai and in South Africa where we lived previously, or in our case boarding school fees, it doesn't actually stretch that far, we also pay a mortgage in the UK and although the house is rented out, it is often empty. Don't forget the exchange rate and the cost of transferring the money. We also make more than one trip a year to the UK and the teen comes out 3-4 times a year. We can only afford to buy and run 1 vehicle as we don't do credit cards and loans, never have and never will. Throw into the mix I haven't worked for the past 5 years, we are more than 1 salary down every year.

Being on a local contract has more benefits, mainly being there is no need to keep converting the currencies to work out how much things are going to cost. Although we do have to do that when we travel to the UK as we have no income over there.

It is an automatic response to want to convert and especially coming from South Africa we were in for an initial shock as for the first month we were spending Rand and not Dirhams.

Basically there is no way we can compare our income in South Africa to our income in Dubai. Everything is just 3 times as expensive here as it is over there. When we visited the UK we found it to be twice as expensive as South Africa especially as we were still spending the Rand.

Waitrose is everywhere over here and like the UK very expensive. I picked up a lettuce for AED25/£4.50. it was just an ordinary lettuce. I've now found that if I shop at Carrefour I can buy lettuce for AED10/£1.77

A Starbucks coffee is AED17/£3 a full tank of fuel for a BMW 5 Series was AED100/£17 fuel has increased by 25% since we arrived.

A taxi fare from Dubai Mall to home, through the city, at any time of the day or night is AED35/£6

The train or bus from the mall is AED10.50/£1.95. A pint of beer or glass of wine is AED55/£9. An average meal out is AED400/£70. A Big Mac will cost you AED12/£2.10. Cigarettes cost AED20/£3.40 a packet.

We pay AED17,500/£3,100 per month to rent our villa, there is little difference between living out in the suburbs or in an apartment in the Marina. Rent is also payable a year in advance and we are responsible for all utilities and municipality fees.

We have to pay road tolls, a fee to register the cat and dog. Oh don't forget the Medical Aid, it's not provided free by my husbands employers although they do contribute towards it. The Doctors charge AED100/£17 for a consolation which is not refundable and most practitioners take payment after each treatment and theres a slow and painful process to go through to claim your money back.

It is very difficult to make comparisons when you're paid on a local contract, you spend money differently when you live as an expat. We have relatively low electricity and water bills in the winter, yet the costs are huge in the summer with the air con running all day, around AED2,800/£500

Of course there are plenty of bargains to be found and many offers and deals available especially in the summer when there are less tourists and with the outside attractions, such as 2 for 1 deals with water parks and meals out.
Knock off designer gear is available throughout Satwa and Kamara, but that is off little interest to us. In the Creek and surrounding areas you can find the souks which are wonderful to visit if you want to buy kitchen items, material and have a dress made, a variety of souvenir shops, do your food and clothes shopping, visit the markets for fresh fruit and vegetables at more than half the price but with it being so hot in the summer, we haven't been down those places since the middle of June.
There are the equivalent Pound Stores such as Daiso found in the local and larger malls the AED7 stores, where you can buy stationery, party goods, make ups, cleaning chemicals and equipment, toys.

It just takes some time to find these places, through exploring or word of mouth, it takes time to get used to the new currency and it's actual value, the spending power of the Dirham.

The main thing to remember in Dubai and South Africa is that prices are pretty much standardised when it comes to global products that are manufactured locally and under licence. A bottle of Coke for example is AED9 regardless of wherever you buy it, unlike the UK where the price varies depending on location. i.e service station, cinema, garage, corner shop or supermarket where prices fluctuate greatly.

i'm not complaining about the cost or standard of living in Dubai, I'm merely answering some questions that are put to me on a regular basis.

You know you're settled as an expat when.....

your son asks when his flight is, who he's flying with and says to you 'muuuum, stop it, i'll get my connecting flight, don't worry.'

your kids move back to their home country.

you stop converting currency.

you stop comparing prices.

you stop saying when asked where you stay? 'I'm originally from.......'

you know your way round the airport as well as you know your local supermarket.

you give up explaining the time difference when family call you.

you help yourself to lemons off your friends tree when you leave.

you stop having comforts from home sent over. i.e. tea bags and pickle.

you forget where your spouse is travelling this week.

Travelling Light, currency, plugs and other tips

I know many people who buy new clothes, shoes, make up when they go on holiday (Mother) and pack an iron, hairdryer and 2 full sets of clothes, just in case, every toiletry item they think they’ll ever need and end up bringing most of it back unworn and/or unused.

I’ve known people to pack coffee, crisps, nappies and even blocks of cheese as they’re going somewhere new and foreign and are afraid they won’t get a few of their ‘home’ comforts while they’re away for a fortnights break.

There’s a big difference though between being a tourist and an expat, once an expat you’ll NEVER holiday or travel like a tourist again, trust me.

As an expat I’m a regular flyer, back and forth between South Africa and the UK, I however DON’T travel light, with all the family, 5 kids, 2 mums, a dad, siblings, nephews and nieces etc along with friends, my case is ALWAYS full of gifts and a ‘little touch of home’ for some South African friends, there is often little room left for clothing and I tend to pack bulkier stuff as after all I’m travelling to a colder climate. I do have a store of items I leave at my mums, that I’d never wear back in SA, winter coats, thermals, etc. However, this does leave room in my case for the return trip, where I stock up on the ‘home comforts’ such as tea bags, make up and aubergine pickle and pick up Summer sale items of clothing for wearing back in SA.

I’m currently on holiday in Dubai, just a holiday for me, hubby is working and we are extending the stay for a few days, so he has packed work clothes and leisure ware, including a suit that found it’s way into my suitcase. Hmmmmmmm

This trip I’ve only packed for me. I won’t be buying souvenirs or trinkets, in fact I won’t be buying much with the exchange rate as it is, other than a thank you gift, from the airport as we leave for my friend for dog and cat sitting for the week.

My case only weighs 19kg was extremely out of shape, hubbies suit took a battering, and when plastic wrapped to guard against theft at OR Tambo it and most of that is in the form of toiletries, half bottles of stuff such as shower gels and shampoos to use up, although believe it or not, most hotels these days do provide things like this without additional charge.

There are a few things I can NEVER travel without and these are all hand luggage items. For starters it’s a ‘no, no’ to pack anything of value in hold baggage, especially coming out of South Africa.

•   Laptop, charger, Iphone and cables.

·         Plug adapter to convert from South African to British, Plugs in Dubai and at most airports use British plugs.

 Although I do have a laptop cable that has a British plug also.

·         Cable ties – for return to South Africa to use on the cases.

·         Luggage tags x 2. One used with destination and another with home address to use on return. (Don’t want people at the airport when you’re leaving to see where you’ve come from and that the property is going to be empty for a while)

·         Eye mask and inflatable pillow, not just to use on the plane, but whilst waiting for transfer, the bus and taxi ride to the hotel also.

·         Ear phones, preferably noise reduction for the plane, iphone etc.

·         Spare cell/mobile phone and charger, in case of theft and I also have 2 South African SIMS and 2 British SIMS, as I’ve discovered my SA SIMs on PAYG don’t work in Dubai. Roaming and cellular data switched off the second one boards the plane.

·         Bank cards, South African and British, already had one card declined when checking in at the hotel.

·         Local Currency, not a lot but at least enough to buy a coffee and tip the porter. I’ve always found a few pound coins help for tips, especially in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia and don’t be afraid to say ‘no thank you’ to someone offering to help with your cases at the airport. I chased a thief for hubbies passport, end of last year, who helped himself when ‘helping’ us.

·         Medical aid card or Insurance, don’t forget to inform your medical aid company before you travel.

·         I also pack a face cloth, change of top and under ware as well as a toothbrush and paste, facial wipes and a pair of socks to wear on the flight, a book and some sweets.