A Brit holidaymaker who claims Egypt is getting worse with every visit said she “couldn’t wait to leave” the country.
Penny Uro, who has travelled to the north African country several times before, finds the “hassling for money and scamming culture so exhausting”.
She was allegedly bothered by Uber drivers, tour guides, street vendors, and airport staff – despite being in the company of four men and a child.
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The 41-year-old shared a video on Instagram for her 22,000 followers titled: “Reasons why I couldn’t wait to leave Egypt.”
Solicitor and travel influencer Penny said “nothing was done as part of general good service” and instead every seemingly kind act was “just a way to extract extra cash”.
“We had trouble with several Uber drivers after arriving at the airport at 11pm at night,” Penny told What’s The Jam.
“I had a child with me and suitcases.
“The first driver claimed to be from Uber, but I realised it was a scam when he didn’t know where we were going to so we cancelled it and waited for another driver.
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“The Uber driver arrived and put us into the car, as soon as we drove off, he demanded that we cancel the journey on Uber and pay him cash.
“I repeatedly tried to explain to him that I did not have any cash on me and the only method is to pay via the app.
“In the end, he stopped just before the exit of the airport and threw my suitcases out of the boot and drove off.
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“We then ordered another Uber and the same thing happened again.
“By this time it was almost midnight and we agreed that I would take money out of the ATM at the hotel as this was the only way he would be willing to drive us.”
Penny, from the Midlands, said it only got worse when she arrived at her five-star hotel.
The travel enthusiast said: “It was shocking, we were constantly harassed for tips, constantly catcalled.
“One of the men who cleaned the toilets actually followed me into the ladies and stood outside my cubicle.
“When I came out, he kept telling me I was beautiful and then asked for tips.
“Waiters would stand by the coffee machines in the morning, pressing the coffee button and asking for tips.
“They would also follow me around, asking if I had a husband.
“The state of the five-star hotel was shocking and we’ve made a formal complaint with them about it.”
Penny said she was also harassed when on the street or visiting famous landmarks.
She said: “‘Even though I was travelling with four men, it seems that doesn’t put the locals off.
“We arranged a private tour guide, but every time we stepped out of the van, locals would ascend on us with various titbits to sell.
“When we said no, they would start grabbing our arms or bags and then say things aggressively.
“We went to the Valley of the Kings and around each tomb are various men who either take your photo or let you into the tomb, and every one asked for a tip.
“Our tour guide took us to three shops despite telling him that we had no interest in buying anything.
“When we tried to leave, someone would hold the door closed and another member of staff would try and take you to a different section of the shop.
“Rinse and repeat until we had to tip the doorman to let us out.
“The guide always waited outside, presumably because he knew what was happening.
“I also had a man who tried to buy me for 1,000 camels, but that wasn’t such a bad offer my partner thought.”
Penny also encountered problems at the airport when travelling home.
She said: “Airport staff searched my handbag after it went through the security belt.
“When it came to retrieving it, the staff member refused to hand it over unless I paid him a fee.
“I told him repeatedly I had no more cash left and he said that I had to write down all my personal details and he would ‘find me’.
“These details included address, passport number, age, email, phone number etc. So I made up those details, grabbed my bag and left.
“Going to the bathroom at the airport was a painful experience with locals standing inside and withholding toilet paper and access to the sinks and hand dryers unless we tipped them.
“I’m an Amex credit card holder and have priority passes for airport lounges.
“We checked over seven times that lounge access was not subject to a fee and a representative repeatedly confirmed that it would be free for passholders.
“When we got the desk at the lounge, which was a considerable distance from where we were in the airport, they wanted to charge us $175 for access.”
Penny believes that the country has changed in recent years.
She first visited l when she was 16.
She said: “I used to get hassled a lot, but I was never put in a place of fear.
“But this time, I experienced physical force, aggression and people actively following me into private areas like the ladies toilets.
“If you don’t mind being ogled at, cat called, constantly asked for money in return for nothing, and if you enjoy your personal space being invaded, then Egypt is perfect.
“Otherwise, get back on the plane.”
Penny added that visiting Egypt is in stark contrast to Dubai where she “felt completely safe”.
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