Cairo-Bring Dollar Bills

[texancruzer]

What a timely post...... :D

 

As posted earlier, I did go yesterday to the dollar store....... bought 5 packs of pens (8 in each pack) and lots of small rubber balls (bounce high ones) for the kids. Had heard these were popular items and I have room in the suitcase ! Plan to give them all away and then have room for lots of souveniers ;) Also have a bag of candy along with some cookies, crackers etc. for snacks. It will be Halloween in Egypt while we are gone (at least for us) but will leave any left over !

 

We leave on WEDNESDAY !!!!!!!!!!!

[dileep]

What a timely post...... :D

 

We leave on WEDNESDAY !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Have a great time. We leave on Nov 10 for a Photography Tour of Egypt followed by 3 days in Jordan!

[texancruzer]

Have a great time. We leave on Nov 10 for a Photography Tour of Egypt followed by 3 days in Jordan!

 

so you will be landing as we take off :D I'll wave !!!!!!

[cruisemom42]

I've posted this before, and I realize it may not be a popular opinion, but I'll say it again. I'm not sure that small items for kids (other than money) are really wanted or appreciated.....

 

When we were in Egypt, one of our group of seven was a retired teacher who had brought along pencils, pens, small notebooks, erasers, etc to give to kids. On at least two occasions when she tried to give them, they were received with mixed results.

 

In one place, outside our lunch restaurant near Saqqara, there was a small group of kids asking for dollars, trying to do any little thing that would get us to pay them. They were mostly early elementary age, so the ex-teacher gave them some stuff. They didn't seem overly thrilled but they took them with smiles. Then I noticed that they ran back to an older woman sitting on the curb who was apparently in charge of them. She started hitting and cuffing them pretty hard (one was crying) and tossed the stuff away. The message was pretty clear -- bring back money, not stuff.

 

It certainly made an impression on me. I'd either plan to give money or not give anything, as I wouldn't want to be the reason these kids get punished. They have a hard enough life.

[texancruzer]

Perhaps a $1.00 AND A BALL :D

[Lynnees]

I've posted this before, and I realize it may not be a popular opinion, but I'll say it again. I'm not sure that small items for kids (other than money) are really wanted or appreciated.....

 

When we were in Egypt, one of our group of seven was a retired teacher who had brought along pencils, pens, small notebooks, erasers, etc to give to kids. On at least two occasions when she tried to give them, they were received with mixed results.

 

In one place, outside our lunch restaurant near Saqqara, there was a small group of kids asking for dollars, trying to do any little thing that would get us to pay them. They were mostly early elementary age, so the ex-teacher gave them some stuff. They didn't seem overly thrilled but they took them with smiles. Then I noticed that they ran back to an older woman sitting on the curb who was apparently in charge of them. She started hitting and cuffing them pretty hard (one was crying) and tossed the stuff away. The message was pretty clear -- bring back money, not stuff.

 

It certainly made an impression on me. I'd either plan to give money or not give anything, as I wouldn't want to be the reason these kids get punished. They have a hard enough life.

 

How sad. The adult is showing greed in a case like that and I feel badly for the kids. Obviously this is a job for those kids under the watchful eye of a slave leader.

[cruisemom42]

Perhaps a $1.00 AND A BALL :D

 

There you go...! ;)

[Tucker in Texas]

When I was in France (Nice) on a land tour, three girls around 8 approached me with a newspaper in hand. We immediately knew what was up and husband told them to get away from me before they were closer than three feet. They kept coming and he kept saying "get away from her." Finally he had to resort to physically removing them from my space which just about killed him having to push little girls. After we moved on, he would hear the mother cussing them out because they didn't get anything.

 

Tucker in Texas

[1rocky]

thanks for the advice. I will make sure i take plenty of us one dollars.

Did any one use the egyptian pounds to buy things will in egypt

[DEL67]

We went on the Ramses overnight in Cairo. Everyone, I mean everyone you encounter is looking for a tip. This includes the Tourist Police that escort you accross the street. Bring lots of dollar bills. Everything seems to cost 1 or 2 dollars and everyone looking for a tip is happy with a dollar. The Tourist Police probably got about $20 from us for different things. I got this advice from CC and it was very helpful.

 

Also, be sure to keep Egyptian coins or small bills if you get them as they are hard to get The bathroom attendants expect tips and do not want American coins.

[texancruzer]

Well, I took 200.00 in ones. Actually cashed them in for Egyptian pounds on the ship. Also took 5's and 10's. don't bother.

 

Use Egyptian money ! Easier to use when shopping etc. And boy did we shop !!!! More on that later ;)

 

Le Meridien has exchange - open 24 hours. Paid bill for dinner etc with credit card. Breakfast included in tour cost

 

Ship has exchange - open 24 hours - paid our bill with credit card. Liquor, sodas etc. Gift shop you need to pay cash - US$ or Egyptian

 

Didnt need much in Hurghada as all inclusive. We put our top-shelf drinks on our room and paid with credit card.

 

Iberotel - also paid for dinner and incidentals with our credit card. Breakfast included in tour cost.

 

bottom line - they will take pretty much anything !!!!!

 

Need coins for bathrooms - even if you have own tp. Your guide has coins if you don't have any.

[Pirateskigirl]

I had $50 in US Dollar bills and that worked great.

Our Guide from my April 10 day Egyptian tour told us that the tourists should not be giving the children any money because all that does is encourage the adults to continue to use them to get tourists money instead of putting them in school where they can get an education. It just keeps the cycle of poverty going. Just food for thought.

 

Please know that very few restrooms in Egypt cost money to use. So giving baksheesh is not neccessary unless you want to tip. Bring your own TP to avoid paying for it unless you want to pay for it.

 

They will take US Dollars, Euros and Egyptian pounds. Enjoy the trip :)

[texancruzer]

A few other tidbits. Be aware that the school system is staggered. Some kids go in the morning, some in the afternoon. So if you see kids out - they probably go to school......just not when you see them. Egypt is working very hard to see that the kids go to school. Never saw one beg. Only try to sell you something. A bracelet, a scarf, bookmarks.....something, but no begging.

 

Our experience was most bathrooms want a token. I had my own toilet paper some of the time, when I remembered to get it out of the bag my dh was carrying......but they still held out their hand for a coin. Sometimes they did not continue to ask but sometimes they did. If you don't have your own tp, you NEED a coin and don't expect very much tp :rolleyes: They dole it out VERY carefully !!! HaHa.

 

We found Egyptian pounds so much easier to use. When you exchange on the ship or elsewhere you know what rate of exchange you are getting (we got 5.76 for each US $) and haggleing was easier too. Boy are they good at that !!!!! Dh is an attorney so he knows how to bargain. But they were a challenge - even for him. Fun tho.

[cruisemom42]

A few other tidbits. Be aware that the school system is staggered. Some kids go in the morning, some in the afternoon. So if you see kids out - they probably go to school......just not when you see them. Egypt is working very hard to see that the kids go to school. Never saw one beg. Only try to sell you something. A bracelet, a scarf, bookmarks.....something, but no begging.

 

Our experience was most bathrooms want a token. I had my own toilet paper some of the time, when I remembered to get it out of the bag my dh was carrying......but they still held out their hand for a coin. Sometimes they did not continue to ask but sometimes they did. If you don't have your own tp, you NEED a coin and don't expect very much tp :rolleyes: They dole it out VERY carefully !!! HaHa.

 

We found Egyptian pounds so much easier to use. When you exchange on the ship or elsewhere you know what rate of exchange you are getting (we got 5.76 for each US $) and haggleing was easier too. Boy are they good at that !!!!! Dh is an attorney so he knows how to bargain. But they were a challenge - even for him. Fun tho.

 

Hi Texan, welcome back! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip -- sounds like you were lucky enough to have quite a small group. And that you did some shopping....;)

[texancruzer]

Cynthia, hey !!!!! Yes we are back and so very happy and amazed at our experience. Yes, we had only 11 in our tour. We had an amazing guide (he was so good he was picked to give the royal family of Saudi their tour of Egypt) and he went so far above and beyond the itinerary !!! He took us out most nights while docked even tho it was on his time.......we went to almost all the bazaars and smoked shisha and listened to Nubian band and etc etc etc...... he was fun, well spoken and very knowledgable. He took us into locked tombs where no other tourists were going, etc. We saw the recently discovered temple of Sekhmet at Karnak. Went thru 3 armed guards and a small Egyptian with a big key to see it. The original statue is still in the small temple and they are still excavating it. Gave me goosebumps. Our guide Ayman has been doing tours for over 20 yrs (he is 43) and knows EVERYONE and they know and love him. Everywhere we went people came up to us so he "opened doors" for us not opened for most. Awesome awesome trip.

[Calgary cruisers]

Many people in Egypt will ask for "tips" or rub their fingers and say "baksheesh" for doing anything for you even helping you up stairs. That does not mean you should tip them anymore than some one demands money from you when they take your arm on the escalator at home. A tip is okay if you ask for help and get it or someone is particularily helpful and goes out of their way to assist you and you accept that assistance. A one dollar tip in Egypt is huge. The bathroom should be 1/4 egyptian pound (yes that is 5 cents not a dollar - this is the cost of a token to use the bathroom at the Cairo train station which has attendants). You don't need to tip bathroom attendants who demand money but if you take their toilet paper and if they are actually cleaning then one egyptian pound (20 cents) is a large tip. The cairo museum has a man in the bathroom "demanding" money from tourists and he waves a handful of dollars. What a joke. He can make a huge amount of money doing this and only because tourists are carrying around their own wad of dollar bills. Just say no thanks and walk by. You need to get Egyptian money. Handing out dollars to everyone just encourages more of this begging from tourists and makes it hard for everyone as you are followed by people hoping to score a dollar for anything. It does not make you look generous it makes you look like a wealthy foreigner showing off your wealth. What would you think of someone throwing around 50 dollar tips at starbucks everytime someone brings them a creamer. Don't encourage parents to turn their children into beggars by giviing money and gifts to kids. They have handlers who use them to be cute and collect that dollar which might be a days wage for some. You can always leave some toys with your guide for his family or even for all his children's classmates.

 

We should all be generous and help out so contribute money to a good local charity or better yet buy lots of snacks and drinks and trinkets from people who are actually working. You can always leave the stuff with your guide or even your ship's steward if you don't really want or need it. Support the local working economy not the beggars disguised as "helpers".

 

The vast majority of Egyptians are truly helpful, friendly and will go out of their way to help you without demanding money. The ones seeking the tips are a tiny minoirty but they are the ones hanging around the tourist spots.

[texancruzer]

Guess you didnt get to the pyramids........ we had a tourist police ask to have his picture made with us and him......for a tip, of course. And I guarantee our guide would have been insulted had we left toys for his kids. He is highly educated (two years in England) and pretty well off in

Egyptian standards. As far as handing out dollar bills, if you gotta go and need toilet paper......and no "coins" in sight.....well, they got a dollar bill from me ! I also remember having to "pay" to use the bathroom in Pisa, in euros...... at $1.50 to 1 euro exchange rate it was almost a dollar :eek:

 

Our guide (he was with us 24/7 for 14 straight days) gave us alot of input about baksheesh. I, for one, had no qualms with tipping well in this country. The economy depends on it. I feel that if I am fortunate enough to have the means to travel and enjoy their country, sites and more..... then I can spread some around. There will also be beggars - no matter what country you are in. We have some outside the grocery store here - more in the winter when all the homeless head south. As for the children begging (which we didnt see much of - they mostly try to sell you stuff)...... our guide informed us that the schools are staggered.... meaning some kids go in the morning and some in the afternoon. So do not think that if you see a child selling trinkets in the bazaar in the morning he does not go to school.....chances are he runs home at lunch to get to school in the afternoon.

 

All that said, I did leave a bunch of items for our room steward when we left...... pens, toys, candy etc...... I know they got spread around too :)

[Lynnees]

We just spent a couple of days in Cairo on our Azamara cruise. Yes, there were a lot of people wanting to sell you things for a dollah - some we bought some we didn't. Our guide gave us a coin when we needed to use the facilities and we took our own tp with us.

 

As for amounts, I gave what I felt it was worth to me. If I bought an item from a vendor for $1 or $2 that was the value to me. Yes, we had several police and army males try to have their picture taken with us and wanting a dollah. We didn't because we weren't interested. At the pyramids we had a number of young teenagers who wanted their pictues taken with us - them with their cell phones and us with our cameras. They didn't want any money - they just wanted to practice English and have their pictures taken.

[dijid]

We are ex-pats in Europe considering an NCL Med. cruise. We have very few actual dollars on hand it the banks charge a lot to exchange. Would euros be acceptable (and yes, I know 1€ = $1.33, so a 1€ tip would be even more.)

[Hydrokitty]

We are ex-pats in Europe considering an NCL Med. cruise. We have very few actual dollars on hand it the banks charge a lot to exchange. Would euros be acceptable (and yes, I know 1€ = $1.33, so a 1€ tip would be even more.)

 

Yes, Euros will be acceptable and probably pounds. In fact, I think any currency in the world is acceptable in Egypt. :D

 

Seriously, I was never asked for baksheesh from someone who had not performed a service for me.I always gave $1.00 (US) to the bathroom attendants, this resulted in my getting a generous serving of tp, allowing me to save my little toilet packets for when nothing else was available! I was also usually steered to the cleanest toilet, and believe me, you want to be in the cleanest toilet! They were always very polite and friendly and if you don't pay them they will not say anything or refuse you toilet paper, but for many of the people in Egypt the tips they get from giving tourists directions, toilet paper, or any other service, is their primary source of income. I would rather be seen as a "rich" American tourist than a "stingy" one. :)

[cruisemom42]

We are ex-pats in Europe considering an NCL Med. cruise. We have very few actual dollars on hand it the banks charge a lot to exchange. Would euros be acceptable (and yes, I know 1€ = $1.33, so a 1€ tip would be even more.)

 

The only reservation I would express is that the 1 euro is a coin, and generally coins are not accepted in foreign countries because exchange bureaus will not exchange them. However, for all I know there is a thriving secondary currency market in Egypt and euros may be fine..... Perhaps this question would best be answered (if you're truly concerned) on the Egypt forum of Tripadvisor where they have several local experts that could answer.

 

Alternatively, you could ask your guide if you could give him or her a 5 euro note and have them provide the equivalent amount of Egyptian pounds to you -- most are willing to do this. That way, you'd probably have sufficient for a day tour.

[dijid]

Perhaps this question would best be answered (if you're truly concerned) on the Egypt forum of Tripadvisor where they have several local experts that could answer..

 

Thanks for pointing me in the way of Tripadvisor. I quickly found some great information on tipping and have concluded that euro coins are not acceptable. Unfortunately, it seems like it may not be easy to get small LE denominations while on a guided tour. As a potential solution, my husband realized last night that we have a friend coming to Europe on a business trip who is arriving early to spend a weekend with us. We are going to ask him to bring $50 in $1 bills and we will gladly exchange them for euros for him. So we should be okay.

[UKBayern]

We are ex-pats in Europe considering an NCL Med. cruise. We have very few actual dollars on hand it the banks charge a lot to exchange. Would euros be acceptable (and yes, I know 1€ = $1.33, so a 1€ tip would be even more.)

 

We always have the proper local currency in every country we travel too, but this time in Egypt was the first time we didn't for a number of reasons. Boy, did I regret it! We made do with our Euros for those 2 days, but we were massively overcharged everywhere (like times 4 or 5 what it was supposed to cost). At tourist locations, the toilet attendants and guides loved to change their Euro coins with us for a 5 or 10 Euro bill, they cannot change Euro coins at the bank.

 

Our guide was great though, providing us with the right Egyptian coins to give. She would advise us in very possible situation what was the appropriate tip and what wasn't. She was very much against giving policemen or museum attendants money, since according to her, these people make a decent wage and it encourages the police to become corrupt.

[Bowie MeMe]

In Poland a few years ago a store owner gave us a coin for the restroom in the courtyard that was "owned" by another family and earned money for the family. Someone clever came up with "zloty for the potty".

 

Our first time to Europe with two young children was perhaps the hardest! Agressive bathroom ladies would scare the 3yr old and she wouldn't go in and the bathroom lady wouldn't come out (bothered my husband in the men's room too:eek:) but worst was the bathroom lacking the lady but also lacking the white throne. Try explaining that the step and the hole in the ground WAS the bathroom when you too had never seen a Turkish toliet. The 3 year old girl was NOT buying it!

 

I take $ bills for tips -- I know that $ (or local currency if I have it is probably better) is wonderful for the giver and the receiver. This might not seem like a "job" to us but it is in many economies. Another great "ice breaker-friend maker" are individually wrapped hard candies like lifesavers. Do be a bit aware that you can gather a crowd with the candy and don't get yourself into a situation.

[texancruzer]

Try explaining that the step and the hole in the ground WAS the bathroom when you too had never seen a Turkish toliet. The 3 year old girl was NOT buying it!

 

 

:D:D:D:D:D

I remember my first "hole" !