It takes only one person to make a moment frustrating and one person to turn it into something meaningful. Mahmud gave me courage and above all gave me comfort. It's people like him that are the reason why I do this. They give me a push forward onto what I came here for—they are my drive.
Tourism in Egypt is one of the leading sources of income that is crucial to Egypt’s economy. Knowing this it makes a lot of sense the way some people interact with you as a tourist—they want your money to slip from your pocket to theirs, that simple. A day before checking out of a hotel I had stayed in Port Ghalib, I asked the receptionist what was the best way to get to Luxor. He took me to the guy responsible for transportation and I repeated to him the same question. His response was straightforward, basically telling me that the only way to Luxor was in a private taxi that would cost me 150 euros. I smiled surprised and said, “that’s crazy, that is too expensive, is there another option you can give me?” He then told me that the lowest he could go for was for 100 euros and I quickly refused. Of course it made sense that a private car from one city to another would be pricey but the problem was, he wasn’t giving me other options. I asked him if there were any public transportation like a bus, train, shuttle, etc. that would take me there. He completely shut down and said ‘no’. I sarcastically said, thank you and he sardonically said you are very welcome. I went to bed unknowingly of how I would get to Luxor but all I knew is that I needed to get a good rest because I, for sure, was going to get there.
Lesson One: You will ask for help and help will not be given
I woke up early and fueled up in the breakfast buffet as I felt I was probably not going to eat for the rest of the day (yup). Checked out, and the receptionist asked me if my transportation had been set, I told him no. Then he told me how then will I leave, I responded with an I don’t know and left. He didn’t stop me, he didn’t even care. Basically, he fanned my flames.
Lesson Two: All you have is yourself
I walked from the hotel to the main highway to see if I could get help there and in about 3 kilometers of my hot and sandy walk a van from the scuba diving company saw me and stopped. He gave me a ride to the highway, which was just about 500 meters more, while asking me what my plan was as I responded, I don’t know. Worried, he gave me his number and told me to call me if I needed anything. I hopped off and thanked him. Saed didn’t have to stop, but he did.
Lesson Three: You will be helped when you haven’t asked for it but heavily need it.
The port where the hotel was located is gated by guards and I asked them how can I get the Marsa Alam (about sixty kilometers south from where I was). I was thinking that I could maybe get a ride there then to a city called Edfu and from Edfu to Luxor. The guard told me to get on the side of the highway and ask for a ride from the cars passing by, basically hitch hike. So I did as the guard said, I crossed the road to the side of the lane heading South, faced the cars and raised my hand as they would drive by. There was a young man about twenty standing there too, smoking a cigarette and after a few cars passed he told me, “Sit in the shade I can stop the cars.” I smiled at his kindness and told him I was okay standing there waiting alongside him.
After about fifteen minutes a Suzuki Carry pulled up, which was one of those shared vans that pick up and drop off people heading the same direction at a very cheap price, this is how most locals transport themselves (I’ve taken similar to these in South America and Mexico). We then sat together in the van and off we went. His name is Mahmud and he worked in the kitchen for a hotel in Marsa Alam, he spoke little English but his kindness was easily translated. He reassured me to head towards Edfu then to Luxor. Along the way he told me to be safe and wished me luck. Without me noticing, he had paid for my transport. I insisted he didn’t have to, but he did. His stop was sooner than mine so suddenly he hopped off and before I knew it I was waving goodbye. I think I waved at him about eleven times. Mahmud made my heart smile, he made me know that everything was going to be okay.
Arriving at Marsa Alam and hopping out of the first van I asked for Edfu, they pointed at a van and I stood right in front of it. I asked to the men by the van in how long will it head out and no one could give me an answer as no one could understand me. But then one man told me ‘come with me’, naturally I would had stayed put but I thought he was going to take me to someone who spoke English, so I followed. He pulled out a chair from the ticket office, put it in the shade, and told me ‘sit’, and so I did. I couldn't understand him but I understood he was trying to comfort me by offering me a place to sit. A few more minutes passed and soon realized the vans don’t take off until they get full which after a few moments, it did. After a long three hour drive West across the Egyptian desert, a lot of heads banged together with the car’s movements sleepily then there was me with eyes wide open checking the GPS every five seconds. As we arrived to Edfu I thought to myself ‘one more van, that is all’.
It took one hour for the van from Edfu to Luxor to fill and we would all wait quietly in the hot heat for more people to arrive. Three became five, then eight, then finally we were twelve. Never have I felt more excited to hear the engine of a car turn on. This drive North lasted two hours, the distance was a lot shorter but the stops were more frequent. In the perks of it all I was sitting in the left side window, the highway was on the east side of the Nile River. As I saw the sun slowly set on the west side of the river I could feel it’s warmth. As the warmth of the sun would slowly decrease I closed my eyes and thought, ‘everything is okay’.
Final Lesson: There are a million ways to get to a single destination don’t let anyone tell you otherwise
To get to Luxor I spent 4.50 euros, I rode in three vans, I spent six hours of my day traveling, and I was guided by the kindness of strangers. It didn’t matter anymore on just getting there but how I got there. Nevertheless, I did.
Oh how I live for this shit.
Disclosure: I was very lucky, I do not recommend this to anyone. I put myself at risk in a foreign country and the story could have easily gone elsewhere.