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It all happened so quick.
I was on my way to Egypt! The ultimate tourist destination….
I landed, visited the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Next day, it was announced that airports would be closing within the next week. “If you want to go home, now’s your chance, afterwards, you’re stuck here” was pretty much the message.
“But I JUST got here. Do I stay or do I go?”
I decided with my best judgment. I chose to stay. I figured being abroad when lockdown was lifted and this all “passed over” would give me a jumpstart to continue traveling and making videos (and technically it did). I’d rather be an expat abroad with the chance of ANY of the 190-ish countries opening its borders than being stuck home in America, as a citizen, not being able to leave. Besides, how long can lockdown really be? 1 month? I can live with that. – boy was I wrong!
My Initial Egypt Travel Plan
My 2019 travel year ended in typical fashion. I rounded out December in Thailand, Singapore and then a semi-sorta-impromptu trip to Bangladesh to film a video to edit while I was back home in Wisconsin enjoying the holidays with my family. As I was home, I realized I had missed it more than I initially thought I did. Rather than staying home until late January and jetting out to the Philippines like I had originally planned, I ended up staying until late February and heading to London to meet up with a friend. You know, get back into the travel mood by going somewhere familiar before going to somewhere completely brand new to me, Egypt.
I arrived in Egypt in mid-March. “Cool” I thought, “Stay a month, get a couple videos filmed, then head to the Philippines to get an apartment and base out of.” – That obviously didn’t happen!
Boom. The Pandemic.
Of course, first thing on my agenda was to visit the Pyramids and the Sphinx! Arrived at my hostel, passed out and the next day I headed out.
I woke up, it was cloudy. The forecast was rain. It never rains in Egypt. The yearly rainfall is equivalent to one month’s rainfall back home. Whatever, I’m still going and risking it. I need to see the Pyramids. It rained.
Have you ever rode a camel in the rain in the desert?
I would have never thought that was something that would actually happen in my life. But here we are. It was worth it, great start to my trip! Now what should I visit next?
My hostel room. That’s what. It only took 3-4 days into my trip for everything to go from 0 to 100. Or at least 0 to 70.
“You go home soon? Airports are closing” was a common thing I would be asked when speaking to locals. I was at a crossroads. Do I go back to where I JUST came from and risk catching anything traveling? Or do I just hunker down and stay put in essentially a third world country that may not have the best infrastructure to handle such potential chaos? Hindsight is obviously 20/20 as we have seen that only a VERY small fraction of the countries in the world were able to handle and contain it, not including “back home” USA.
I made the right choice. I stayed in Egypt. A few more days later, complete lockdown. Now it’s gone from 0 to 100.
How Long Is This Going to Last?
I didn’t know and quite frankly, I didn’t really care (at the time). The reason I say this is because although I hadn’t initially planned on staying long, given the sudden onset of the situation, I was ready to stay in Egypt for “about 2 months” I told myself. “No way was the whole world gonna be shut for any longer!” March to April, April to May, time went on and I was doing well, using my time wisely and being productive.
Obviously now as we all now know, the future is uncertain. I’m still here, as I write this – in August. 5 whole months later! My plan is to leave soon, but who knows…
What Did I Do in Egypt for So Long?
Of course, I went to the Pyramids, Sphinx, Egyptian Museum, Khan El Khalili Market and the city of Alexandria. You know, a lot of the popular must-see things. But unfortunately, nothing really was open for obvious reasons.
Aside from that, I had a lot of free time on my hands. So I just explored areas around town, made some videos, started this website, and overall tried to use the quarantine time to better myself.
I stayed mostly in Cairo but had to move around a few places during my time there. The Australian Hostel in Cairo was pretty awesome and had friendly staff (I stayed there for about 3 months of my time in Cairo). After Cairo, I traveled north to the historic city of Alexandria. It was nice to change up the scenery and great to have the cool breeze off the Mediterranean Sea.
New Videos for Bargaining in Egypt
During my time in Egypt I was able to visit the famous and ancient Khan El Khalili market in Cairo. I enjoyed bargaining with the shopkeepers and chatting with the friendly locals. However, One thing that was quite old and tiresome but new for me to share with you guys was dealing with scams. Although these happen in every country, Egypt seemed to be more “slick” about it. Check the article explaining my experience here with the Free Gift Scam in Egypt.
In Alexandria, there isn’t really one particular market. But the whole downtown area is full of shops, which are fun to explore and do some bargaining.
How the Pandemic is Affecting Travel & Planning
This might sound weird, but I never used to really plan when it came to travel. When thinking of where to go next, I would have a country or three in mind and then pull the trigger on a flight about 3 days before take-off. I really thrive on ‘flying by the seat of my pants’ (no pun intended) when it comes to a lot of things in life, and travel is no different. When all the countries were open, the possibilities were endless.
But NOW I am forced to plan more. And NOW it’s a catch-22.
I have to plan my next move, however, I can’t really plan because countries are updating their restrictions day-by-day. So, I should be used to that, right? Yes, I am. But really it causes some weird type of illogical stress. Maybe I just dislike being restricted and having limited choices, but it’s something that I (and many other travelers) are going to have to get used to for now.
Hopefully, it doesn’t last too long. Just gotta make sure to prepare for any sudden changes in schedule. I’m just grateful that I can still be able to do what I love, even if it means I don’t know where or what I’ll be doing next week. Just fly by the seat of your pants… in a sense.
My Advice for Traveling in 2020
Another thing that I have to consider now is VISAs. You know the little “Admit 1” entry ticket into a country? Those weren’t really much of an issue for myself as the Passport I hold is (was?) quite strong (USA). According to Passport Index, it ranks in at about 50ish (YIKES). Last time I checked, it was in the top 5 or so.
This is an issue now. I used to just go to most countries and get visa on arrival. Now, I am going to have to apply for a visa online before going and these can sometimes take up to a week to be processed! Let’s just hope restrictions to the country don’t change within that week, otherwise, some money might be lost due to application fees.
My advice for safety in these times… Just follow the rules.
Listen to procedures, apply them, and blend in. Don’t put a target on your back. No matter what your stance is on the “thing that’s going around”, one thing is for certain, people are hyper-aware now. The last thing you want is a confrontation with police, security, customs officers, what-have-you. You don’t want confrontation or even worse, trouble, especially in a foreign country.
Fewer things are more nerve-wracking than dealing with an authority figure that you don’t share a common language with. By being preventative you are being proactive. Be proactive.
My Unique Egypt Travel Experience
Although I was able to visit the Pyramids and the Sphinx, due to the lockdown I wasn’t able to enjoy Egypt to the fullest extent. I’m not a history buff or anything like that, however, there’s something about Egypt that just draws you to WANT to learn about it.
There are many sites and experiences that I am leaving unseen. Luxor, the Nile cruise, Oasis and so on. I can’t even get into the great Alexandria Library! Many of the reasons (excluding the library, that’s something different altogether) are simply that at the current time, they are not operating. There are no tourists to bring in a profit.
It’s very unfortunate, however, I am still grateful for my experience here, mainly due to some of the most AMAZING people I have met. I will be back once the world is healed.
Next Stop???
As I have shared earlier, it’s an uncertain time for travel and things can change at ANY given moment. With that being said, I just applied for and received (it was surprisingly instant) my Turkey VISA. I’ll be headed back to Istanbul! One of my favorite cities in the world! Why there you ask? Simply because it has the least restrictions on this side of the world. Borders are open and no quarantine.
To top it off, I’ll be meeting a friend from back home there to begin to travel together and make some BANGER videos for you guys, so stay tuned because he’ll probably show up every now and then!
Holy shit – I didn’t realize you were actually STUCK there! I thought you just chose to stay for a little vacation take-a-break type of thing.
It’s unfortunate you didn’t get to see everything you wanted, but it is what it is, I guess. Not the best time.
What’s the deal with your visa in Egypt? 5 months is a long time. Is it visa-free there, or did they grant extensions like China and some other countries did during the pandemic?
Yea it’s been a wild ride for sure! I’ll be back once everything calms down. There’s still a TON to see!
Hi there Colin im Happy that you are doing okey i just wonder do you know where in china i can find fake bugaboo donkey stroller duo?
Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I don’t ever remember seeing strollers, however, I have never actively looked for them either. My best guess would be in Shenzhen!
Wow…is all I can say Collin..i mean I would love to have traveled to Egypt that was my childhood dream ..but then I grew up…and I just want to see the world at 44yrs old I allowed so many years to go by because I was on the wrong path …its like I can’t remember my 20s some of my 30s I started to become wiser and live my life now at the age 44 I’m realizing I wasted a lot of my life.
I guess what I’m trying to say is i admire you and your travels help me dream and hope that Maybe I’ll get to travel as you do. I’ve been watching your videos for the last 4yrs and I must admit I wish i could bargain for some knock off sneakers i think that would be so fun…so that’s why I watch your videos.. just keep making longer videos there’s lots of viewers/ subscribers who need a visual vaca every now and then.
Respectfully
Exmo Gonzalez jr
Wow thanks man! I really appreciate that!
As cliche as it sounds, it’s never too late to start. I only left home to go to China with $1000 in my bank account and decided I would figure everything out once I get there (albeit I already had a job lined up).
Try not to look at the time “wasted” but just ahead at the future. Can’t change the past but you can make a better future.
Anyways, thanks again for the encouragement, I really take your comment to heart.
-Collin
Im going to Istanbul from the UK next week. Planning to be there from the 10th to 16th. Might see you around in the grand bazaar!!! Take care, enjoy your travels!
Yea!! It’s great here! The Grand Bazaar is really fun, let me know if you have any questions!
but it’s the biggest tourist trap, very expensive and you can find a ton of the items inside, outside with a fraction of the price.
Also, if you came to Alexandria again, let me know, it would be a fun experience to show you around the good places and tell you the real prices of the purchases before you start bargaining.
Yea that would be fun! I’ll let you know next time I’m there! Thanks!
Hey Brother, I belong from Pakistan. I want to invite you in my country. Come to Pakistan and feel the hospitality of Pakistani IDK why this people think Pakistan is not a safe country.
BTW Damm !! I also thought the same that you are staying there for the little vacation. But Holy Moly that was a hard time for You.
Pakistan is on the list! I really want to come through! I appreciate your recommendation and comment!
As a Egyptian, i am really proud of you that you could handle staying in such period all alone within the lockdown. I love ur videos though n stay safe.
Hey thank you!
Yea it was really tough but made it out the other end 😛 You stay safe as well and thanks for commenting!
Hey Collin. Well it must be really bad for you, especially because your content depends on this.
I wish you good luck on those next months!
PS: if you want to make content, I really recommend the market near Jaffa Gate in Old City, Jerusalem. It’s an amazing experience! You”ll love it! There are not that many fake brands but a lot of good products. And the bargaining there is insane!
Best,
Luiz
PS: Brazil here 🙌🏻
Hey Luiz,
Thanks for the recommendation! I really wanna go there and check it out!
As far as travel goes… It seems to be getting somewhat back to normal so now I can get back out there and make some sick vids! Also, is Brazil a good spot for markets?
You have to visit dahab city it’s close to Sharm-elsheikh .
I’m Egyptian and i assure you that you gonna love it.
Yes!! I have heard EXCELLENT things about Dahab. I will go once I go back to Egypt! Thanks for the recommendation
Wow, sounds like a crazy experience. Are you full-time YouTube now? Also, how did you find living in a hostel during lockdown — I’d imagine it was pretty full-on haha.
Yep! YouTube (and also Facebook now too)
Living in a hostel was both fun and not. I found a nice place that was quite big and cheap so I felt safe during that time. The lockdown wasn’t fun though. I think I went 3 months without ANY interaction with anyone except for the delivery drivers bringing me food! Got a lot done but was quite boring as you could imagine!
Do you have more video content accumulated and not yet published? Was there something from Singapore? Would love to see more frequent updates on your channel.
At the moment, no. I’m just going day-by-day. Now that I can travel again, it’ll be more frequent though! Also, as far as Singapore goes, I tried to find markets but they didn’t really seem the bargain type. I was gonna try anyways but I was only there for like 4 days. I DO plan on going back there though and getting one filmed!
To Colin-san ^_^
I watch your videos often, they are quite funny and great! I am from Japan and studied Egyptology at Waseda University. Several things I like to teach you of Egypt, Egyptian DNA are identical to ancient Egyptians as DNA tests have been conducted on modern day Egyptians and to mummified remains. Foreign Abrahamic faiths and foreign language that came into the African continent influenced Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and most of the other countries in Africa with new languages, though none intermarried.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlHCx-GfOV8
Coptic being the last phase of the pharaonic language is what translated the Rosetta Stone and Coptic Orthodox faith is still practiced today, it would be great if you have the chance to visit the Coptic Cathedral.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKaqB8QtR4
In Japan the Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is fluent in Egyptian and studied at Cairo University
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuriko_Koike
Some fun facts: Egypt’s economy is at 6.5% GDP, it is predicted to be the 7th largest economy by 2030 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YHzpxn6psk
They are building a massive new capital bigger than NY and London combined, worth beyond 70 billion dollars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKST8x9apnU
would of been great if you can film there, hardly any youtubers went or even know of the massive redevelopments of many new cities, infrastructure and tear downs of old towns being revamped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTO4AdxCMws
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdiAAoVc-W4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGYGDUbdEmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDnC_3xRw30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFLyG3UX6z0
New El Alamein city
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQa_EhfVqIU
Egypts Silicon Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGa8xxcPsQ0
Casinos in Egypt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP1a5H2QMA0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZh3rYeycpk
Clubbing in Egypt
Sinai Peninsula in general has great island beaches which is the best for cinematography to film, such as Sharm, Dahab, Hurghada etc.
Filming inside the pyramids would be good too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpuwMX1dHtQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK_WYnjp5gA
Egyptians invented beer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOcMGNTClVY
An Egyptian invented Femtochemistry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxM7iORPmm0
More History on Imhotep
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzMmgbNevP0
Inside Bibilotheca
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6DgIUy9z6w
Egyptian themed montage on movies + vaporwave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuy41LQ42wE
Rami Malek from Mr Robot
Sorry to put many links, wanted to inform you, cause sadly around the world not much is being said about the new developments in Egypt and in the developing world, hoped you would also catch more nice background shots if your still there of the pristine beaches in Sinai too which looks close to Hawaii ^_^
Hope to see more great content from you soon, come to Japan too!
Satomi
Wow! It seems you have a lot of love for Egypt! That’s amazing and thank you for all of these links! This is extremely helpful and hopefully I can get back there sometime soon and check them out! That stat about the biggest city is insane, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of that!
Anyways, thanks for all the useful information!
Satomi-San
I found your wealth of information regarding Egypt to be both diverse and refreshing. I appreciate your dedication and passion to learn about Egypt’s history and in understanding its culture.
I too, make every attempt in learning about histories and cultures. About a year ago, i started watching live streams on twitch.tv (predominantly a gaming steaming platform) of people traveling around Japan, S.Korea and Taiwan. For me those streams became such precocious windows from which to view life as it is in these countries.
Hopefully one day streaming becomes widely accessible with better internet, not only to view more countries but to perhaps start streaming from Egypt.
Best wishes,
Hussein
Hey Hussein!
That’s amazing! It actually wasn’t until I visited Egypt that really sparked my interest into learning about history. There’s just something about Egypt that MAKES you want to learn more, it’s amazing really.
I agree, I hope one day, internet becomes reliable enough in countries such as Egypt to where live-streaming can be possible. It really does offer a glimpse into how the country really is!
Anyways, thanks for commenting!
Collin
Colin, what an interesting read. I was curious how nomads like yourself were faring during this pandemic. I love following your bargaining trips and was stoked to see that you made this blog in your last video. Props to you for using the quarantine time effectively! Very interesting to see some “behind the scenes” stuff that isn’t available on YouTube. Looking forward to checking back in here every now and then to see what else you’ve got in store.
Stay safe!
Hey Justin,
I really appreciate that! Fortunately, I left for Egypt right before the pandemic and now am currently in Turkey. Going forward, it’ll just be “playing it by ear” on which places I can go to or not! And yes, you’ll definitely see a lot more behind the scenes stuff here, so stayed tuned!
Hey man i am egyptian ive learned english for about 5 years and some of them they never learned english or even care about but they are not speaking much of it they are nice people i hope you enjoyed egypt durning these times but you out come back anytime if you want ive met tourist people back then 4 years ago i was not speaking english a lot
but they talk with me nicely ive watched all of your videos they are cool and fun but anyway thanks for coming here
Hey that’s great! Yes, just about everyone I encountered was nice!
Hey Colin, Im a huge fan. Always watch your content. I really appreciate this egypt series. Recently I found out my Great Grand Father was born there, guess I’ll have to visit sometime soon, Im from Argentina.
If you need any help with your wordpress site, maybe performance optimization, anything, hit me up Id love to help you.
Cheers
Hey! Thank you for watching and coming here! That’s awesome how you just found that out, I would highly recommend a visit! -Collin
I thought egypt was open all this time. Like anybody could come and go. Im surprised you need a visa to Turkey as an American. I just went there the other day with a Canadian passport. Just had to do visa on arrival. Craziest thing is they didnt ask for my PCR and didnt even check my temperature at any point on the way into the country.
Yea, I’m pretty sure I could’ve just got on arrival as well, just decided to play it safe. I was also surprised at the lack of hassle to get into Turkey, haha. Literally the easiest immigration experience I’ve ever had!
Hello Collin, It was nice to read your preference in Egypt, I’m Abdallah, Pilipino-Egyptian, I feel sad that you experienced Egypt in lockdown, Even though i really you would’ve enjoyed your time even more without the lockdown and the pandemic the world is facing,
Anyways, The people here will always be kind to you whenever you come again!, And make sure that you’re always welcome in Egypt whatsoever, Also i am a new subscriber to your channel!
And i really liked your content a lot, You’re the best!
-Abdallah ahmed, Lives in Cario
Thank you! I really appreciate that! And you’re absolutely right, everyone was great and made me feel welcome! Thanks for subscribing 😀
Hey Bro, you should come to bargain here in Brazil, there’s many places here in “25 de Março”, “Shopping Oriental”, “Shopping 25″…..now I’m living in Portugal, but if visit there someday, You can tay in My home!!!
Peace