I use to let travel agents plan all my trips and travel in a group with everything scheduled. I lacked the confidence and knowledge to plan my own trips. That was more than 10 years ago. 

Having learned a lot from travel agents, tour groups, and conversing with solo travelers backpacking Europe and Africa, I decided to take a deep dive into traveling solo. Italy and Egypt wee my first trips I would plan on my own.

It didn’t go smoothly the first time, but I didn’t let my lack of research and planning stop me from trying. I mean if a backpacker who doesn’t speak the native language in various countries in Europe and Africa and can make it, so can I.

Is It Weird To Travel Alone?

There is nothing wrong with going through a travel agent when you are new to traveling, nervous about traveling solo or are not in the mood to be in the driver’s seat. 

Being in an unfamiliar place and not speaking the language, it can be challenging to get around if you don’t know what your doing and costly. I found this out when I was in Rome for a few days.

My thinking was since Egypt was close by I could just fly out of Leonardo da Vinci International Airport to Cairo for a couple of days to see the Egyptian pyramids, pharoahs, and hieroglyphs. 

When in Rome

Getting around Rome by public transportation was not that easy. On two different occasions, I bought two plane tickets online to fly to Cairo, Egypt. Yup, I bought two plane tickets. I missed the first flight because I didn’t calculate how long it would take to get to the airport.

So, I went back to the hostel I had checked out early from and asked if I could get my room again. Bound and determined I bought another ticket.

I missed the second flight due to not buying a train ticket from another station. I thought one card paid for the whole trip. A gentleman was coming through to check tickets. I had the wrong ticket. I didn’t have any cash on me, only my credit card because.

Who carries money these days? You do if you plan to travel to another country. I couldn’t speak Italian, and he couldn’t speak English. Needless to say, I was escorted off the train.

Got brought to the ticket counter, paid for the ticket and gave it to him. Luckily I was able to call Alitalia Airlines and speak to someone who spoke English. I was able to get to a place to have a good laugh at the mishap. I got a refund for one of my tickets.

The customer service rep said I was lucky as most folks don’t know to call and ask for a refund. I also learned flights from Rome to Cairo didn’t leave on a daily basis as they go back home. I vowed I would never go to Italy ever again…

Lesson learned it’s a good idea to have travel insurance in case something goes wrong. You can purchase travel insurance from World Nomads. World Nomads provides travel insurance to travelers from over 140 countries and is backed by reputable insurers and 24-hour assistance providers. You can click here to get a quote. Read the policy details to ensure that it’s right for you.

Ancient Alexandria in Egypt

Years later, I would begin redeeming myself and find myself attending a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program in Alexandria, Egypt. I picked Alexandria over Cairo due to cost as Alexandria was less expensive. A four- week program was cheaper versus doing a one week tour of Egypt through a tour operator. 

The students lived in the non-western area of town in apartments with a kitchen. There was a grocery store nearby. It was significantly cheaper and better to go to the farmer’s market around the corner. The dollar can go far in Egypt.

It showed, in the end, going to the airport as my suitcase filled with souvenirs for my friends and family. My plan towards the end of the course was to ask the school if I could pay for our TEFL driver to explore Alexandria.

Go to Cairo for the day, see the Pyramids and Sphinx, my friend King Tut and do some shopping. It ended up being cheaper than planning out a trip to Cairo after the TEFL course ended on my own.

Towards the end of the course, as promised, we got a couple of days off to go sightseeing. While my classmates went to the Red Sea, I spent one-day touring Alexandria and spent the next day in Cairo. I picked the Alexandria TEFL program over Cairo for one reason. King Tut.

Years before I attended an Egyptian exhibit at a museum. The advertisement mentioned King Tut and contents from his tomb would be there. Something was missing. King Tut and his mask. Did I pay for the wrong tour?

Uh nope, King Tut and the contents of his tomb to include that gold mask is at the Egyptian Museum. So, what’s a girl to do than to learn how to teach English while obtaining a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification, and see ancient ruins in Egypt.

For more on my TEFL experience, read my full post, Volunteer and See the World at the Same Time on my time in Alexandria, Egypt.

Taking on Sexual Harassment in Egypt

As a woman and a foreigner, it’s not normal for women to travel alone in Egypt. The assumption is either you’re a prostitute or a foreigner. If you have blonde hair will stick out like rare antiquity and get unnecessary attention when traveling into non-western areas.

While in Alexandria visiting Pompey’s Pillar, I saw two underground entrances. Just as I was about to approach one of them, an Egyptian male security officer motioned over to me to come to explore one of the entrances.

With his smartphone light on, he showed me some hieroglyphs. As we continued to get deeper into the entrance, I slowly began to realize I went into the wrong entrance as there was no one else in the area except him and me.

To make matters worse, I was standing on the edge of a ledge and the only way out was down. One more step and I would have fallen into the dark abyss.

How deep the fall would be I didn’t know, but I needed to come up with a plan. I could push the guy out of the way into the dark abyss, make a run for it. Likely get arrested, charged with murder, and locked away to never be seen again for attempting to protect and defend myself.

All of this was going around in my head as the Egyptian male security guard got closer to me saying, “match?” over and over again while pressing his junk against me as I moved closer to the ledge to create some distance. What the heck does “match” mean?

Being deployed for nine months with half a day off on Sundays working 12+ hours a day, coming home for a couple of days before hopping on a plane to Egypt for four weeks, I wasn’t in the mood to play games, be groped or sexually assaulted.

There was only one thing to do. I didn’t get the name “bulldog” for nothing. I allowed my anger to build up and with a stern tone told him, “turn around and get your a$& up the stairs NOW!” He laughed, cooperated and did what he was told.

As I came out of the entrance and looked around, there was a group of tourists flocking around a second entrance where the ruins of the great temple of Serapis were underground.

The area I was in was still under construction and not open to visitors yet. I didn’t get to see the great temple of Serapis, but hey at least I got to see some hieroglyphs right?

I felt like a complete idiot. How did I allow myself to get tricked? I had been wanting to come to Egypt since I was a kid and let my excitement for Egyptian ancient ruins distract me from going somewhere I shouldn’t. That was the first and last time. The ruins I did see, were lovely.

Mind you this was a year before the “Arab Spring” when many female foreign journalists covering Tahrir Square experienced being mobbed by a group of men groped and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions.

There is still an old way of thinking that it’s okay to treat women like objects. Unfortunately, to this day, sexual harassment and violence of women in Egypt is still an everyday occurrence. If you’re attacked, its seen as your fault.

If you are thinking about traveling solo, sharing this story isn’t intended to scare you or deter you from exploring. I was more embarrassed than shaken.

I was in the best shape of my life and well if something did try to go down physically, let’s just say I wouldn’t have been the one in ending up in the dark abyss of a former temple.

The travel lesson here is being aware of your surroundings. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut and get the hell out of there. Make sure you tell the hotel or your host where you will be.

Learning a couple of phrases in the local language, speaking or yelling loudly can help to deter harassers and scare them off.

Luckily, I had a hired driver scheduled to pick me up at a pre-designated time who arrived within a couple of minutes of the incident to get me out of there.

Roman Crypts and Catacombs

Eventually, there will be a place you want to go visit not on the tour group itinerary. Your only option to see the place may be to take public transportation to get there. This happened to me when I was in Italy the second time around. I wanted to see Roman crypts and catacombs.

I found a tour operator Viator that offered a tour with hotel pick up. It was the same tour operator I had used back at home. The company was reputable, safe, but was way too expensive for me at the time.

There was another problem. I wasn’t staying at any of the main hotels in Rome. I was staying in a hostel located far away from the city center. There had to be another option.

I went online to search for the website to buy tickets, write down the address and looked up the bus route on Google Maps. Off I went. I didn’t speak Italian and showed the bus driver the name and address of the place. Between his broken English and my nonexistent Italian, I got off at the right stop for the catacombs of San Callisto.

It was nice not to feel rushed and could spend enough time learning about the early Christians of Rome. The whole experience cost less than $15. $9 for an admission ticket not including the cost to take a bus there and back. Going through a tour operator would have cost over $100.

It was nice not to feel rushed and could spend enough time learning about the early Christians of Rome. I can’t remember how much it cost, but the whole experience cost less than $15.

$9 for an admission ticket not including the cost to take a bus there and back. Going through a tour operator would have cost over $100.

The Silver Lining

I am glad I missed my flight to Egypt when I was in Rome. There were social and cultural norms I was not aware of until I got my TEFL welcome letter. Running in long sleeves and pants in the summertime in 100-degree weather in March was not the norm for me.

It was here I was introduced to street food and wanted more. The last discovery was rice ice cream. Next time I return, I will see the Valley of the Kings and cruise down the Nile River.

My take three in Italy won’t be in Rome, but perhaps in the Italian countryside. I continue to travel solo and make friends at the same time while building great memories.

At some point, you have to take the plunge and become a visitor, not a tourist. Learn from your travel mistakes while creating memories at the same time is the name of the game.

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