Sue

My girlfriend suffers from really bad IBS in England, so like you she was very apprehensive and expected to get it bad.

However, the Hilton Sharks Bay provided lots of bottled water, some arabic brand which is checked by Vittel for purity. They also had Sprite, Coca Cola etc on draught.

She never had any problems all week, that was with eating fruits and salads from the hotel restaurant etc all until we drank the bedouin tea in the desert. I should have though. I dont think they used bottled water all all to make the tea. We had beduoin tea at the bedouin night in the hotel and were fine...

Thanks but not going to Sharm. Giza & Luxor

Myself and my 2 young daughters also got locked in a shop, it was a horrible experience and they only let us out when my hubby started to kick his foot throught the door panel. Sorry you had the same thing happen to you, it really put a black cloud over our trip and we didnt go into Nama Bay again after that as my girls were scared stiff.

Hope it hasnt put you off Egypt for good though, we will definatley return to Taba (and also want to try Nuweiba) but we will avoid Sharm like the plague in the future!

Hi Sue54,
Where are you staying in Cairo and Luxor?

Americans take that pink stuff (pepto bismol) when they travel to Mexico, apparently helps to avoid dodgy tummies. Be careful with eating something as innocuous as rice - if it is stale or reheated it can be a prime suspect for upsets.

If I recall correctly, this is the third such case of being locked in a shop that has been reported on this forum, twice in Sharm and once in Luxor. I hope that this is not a new trend that has started.

In cases like this it is important not to buy anything, just remain calm, and claim that you have no money left with you. Ask for the shops card or address so that you may return later. When you get out and return to the hotel make a report to the tourism police and demand that they take action. If they say they can not do anything then ask to see their superiors. Inform your tour rep. Inform the manager of the hotel.

For people who have returned to the UK and did not have the chance to report this PLEASE try and do so now. Here are some useful addresses...

Minister of Tourism
Address : Misr Travel Tower
Abasseya Sq., Cairo, Egypt .
Tel. : 6841707 - 6828439
Fax : 6859551
Cairo International Conference Centre C.I.C.C
Nasr Road, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
Tel. : 2634637
Fax : 2637199

Tourist Police General Manager
Address : 5, Adly St., Cairo, Egypt .
Tel. : 3919144
Fax : 3916817

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/

The above link is useful as you can email letters to the editor which might help

Egypt Embassy Address:
26 South Street
London W1Y 6DD

Phone: 44 (0)171 4992401
Fax: 44 (0)171 4993304

Hope that helps.

Attention Sue! Please if you don't stop panicking you will ruin your holiday.
Good tips for Luxor area.
1. Drink only bottled water, plenty of it. Keep well hydrated.
2. Don't get too hot and then drink lots of icy cold drinks; this will cause stomach spasms.
3. Eat hot cooked food only and in your case no salads.
4. Egyptian pastries often have honey on them, a natural antiseptic, so reasonably safe to eat.
5. Use the omelette chef at breakfast, have them well done, gives you lots of options.
6. Slice your own bread & toast it, check first that it has been properly displayed with a napkin cover.
7. Use the individual butters and jams.
8. Be down for meals early, the food has been out for less time and fewer people have been in contact with it.
9. Limit the amounts of places you eat to the ones that seem the safest i.e. your own hotel, they will not want it to be full of sick holidaymakers. The more places you visit to eat the more risk you take of getting a dodgy tummy.
10. Wash your hands with antiseptic wipes or gel every time you handle money or come into contact with well used surfaces, example taxi door handles, toilet doors, lift buttons, hand rails, keys etc.
11. Do not put to your mouth near any drinks can or bottle without wiping it first with a hand wipe, or better still use a straw in a wrapper (that you have borrowed from McDonalds & taken with you)
12. Remember that just because it is bottled water; don't drink directly from it, clean it first.
13. Be polite and refuse any hospitality drink that you are offered in shops, say you feel poorly so as not to offend.
14. Try to avoid touching your mouth and face with your hands, it is amazing how often we all do this, especially if it is hot.
15. If you do start to feel ill, get the hotel to call out a doctor straight away. They are very good and it won't cost you an arm and a leg (about £20.00 sterling)

All of the above is only a guide please don't get paranoid about it, just use your common sense and you will be fine. If you travel to a less developed country you have to take more precautions, it is not like being at home.

Safety: Luxor is safe.
Yes you will get hassle, it is part of every day life but it does not have to be a problem.
Early on, you will easily be spotted as a potential customer by every Egyptian, and his grandmother!
The trick is to avoid eye contact, keep walking and forget your good manners. It is an admirable trait among Brits to be polite, so when someone stops you to ask if you can write out the address of a friend in England, we will do it! And that is the sting, you will be inside the shop having a drink of tea and being given a free gift from your new Egyptian friend. Just look at the card, pretend to be a Bosnian and walk on. Believe me Sue we have all fallen for something similar and that is why we can advise others. It is no different to an UK market scam to get the attention of customers and them sell them something. If you are not happy about going into a shop, stand outside, they will soon be out to do business. Laugh a lot and tell them how much money they are making from the item, bargain hard, don't be afraid to say you don't want something. The following is a very easy to remember phrase, think of it as the word 'NO' the more you emphasise the word the louder it becomes:
'La Shukran' = Is a polite 'no thank you' and is quite acceptable.
'La' = if said quietly, with a shake of the head, is a gentle "I am not interested" 'No'
'LA' = if said more loudly and firmly whilst looking directly at the person, will convey a strong sense of annoyance. It is the equivalent of shouting 'NO' into someone's face.
If you raise your voice you will quickly be surrounded by Egyptians, wondering what the problem is.
The tourist police are everywhere, they are fairly laid back but if they see a tourist being harassed, they will act. The same can be said for the word 'Shukran' the more expression you put into the word the more you will convey your thanks. I think that you will be saying 'Shukran' to more people than 'La Shukran' as the Egyptians are lovely people.

If like me your passion is for the past glories of Egypt, you will be to busy gazing in wonder at all the places that you have read about or seen on the television. You will be there! Standing in the same places and looking at the same things, as were seen by Ramesses the Great, Tutankhamun, Akhen-Aton, Queen Hathshepsut, Cleopatra & Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, that's got to be worth a little bit of hassle. Stop worrying and enjoy your holiday, nothing can ever be perfect.
Tez

I also have Ulcerated Colitis and was fine when we went to Nuweiba last Xmas...

Tez,
Great post and really informative,
i've been to Sharm a couple of times and after a while you get used to the attention from the sellers, as you say us Brits like to be friendly and polite i suppose thats what gives us away you're right saying act like a "Bosnian" or someone who doesn't understand english, but its hard to keep walking around with a confused expression all the time
I'm very shocked at the locking in problem that has surfaced, i found some gave the hard sell but a very firm and persistent NO did the trick followed by a smile to show no bad feelings.
If this sort of thing carries on then firm action has to be taken as tourists will not return, i suffered constant hassle in gambia on holiday and will never go there again i found Sharm to be a stroll in the park compared to gambia. The only problem is you don't want to feel defensive all the time after all you're on holiday to relax and enjoy yourself.

i went to egypt two years ago and i am returning to sharm this week. you will find that a lot of people do get ill . this is generally not due to the food and drink.
the main problem is we come from a temperate climate and generally eat non spicy, non greasy foods. we come away sit out in 100-110 degree heat all day, plough food and drink into our bodies as fast as we can and in quantities much more than normal. we then get back and put air con on full blast. basically you are throwing a series of extremes at the body and it will cope admirally for so long and occasionally it has to say enough is enough and rebels and voila illness.

a simplified version. when i was ill i stayed at the raddisson sas at taba and the management could not do enough, i even had a guided tour of the kitchens and i can telll you they were spotless.

be carefull taking too much immodium. it acts as a plug and again can cause moere problems than it solves.

top tip - if tummy plays ups speak to restaurant manager and get him to make up a bottle of half pure lemon juice and half water. this acts as a superb electrolite . it tastes like shit but was recommended by an egyptiam manager and doctor and works.

Have to say we have just got back from the dreams beach resort in Sharm and we were all ill. My other half, myself and youngest son all had tummy trouble and my eldest son had an ear infection. I don't think the food was to blame I really think it came from the pool. Unfortunately it's the type of tummy trouble that will retreat you to your room as you need to be very close to a loo. The sun gets so hot it heats the pool up so it's not refreshing anymore, can you imagine all the bacteria of other people breeding in that lot. The pool was open just about all the time and I personally never saw any of the pool staff taking temperatures, putting chemicals in or cleaning ther pool and there was a big tide mark all around the jacuzzi area.

the chicken that looked like pigeon...... probably was pigeon, a well known national dish. If the breast was stuffed under the skin, it definitely was.....

Yes you are probably right but why not just state that it is pigeon and not chicken?

No disrespect to anyone but eating flying vermin is not my idea of a good meal...other places stated that pigeon was on the menu.

Probably that then that made me so ill.

Hi Bunnigirl

When you were locked in the perfume shop was it up the side near Mcdonalds and a lad asked you for an English autograph?

When in the big shop they give you a drink and an old man comes up to you and waffles on about liking the English and that he has visited there and that his wife was Englsh? they are about 4 men in the shop, one whisked me off to the hole in the wall to get my money or else he was coming to my hotel safe to get it !!! He then invited us for dinner the next day after spending 2,400 Egyptian pounds. The young bloke gave me a massage then after charged me. We got out the shop after 2-3 hours nearly 2am.

first time in Sharm, my and my mum got lured into a perfume shop - between the russian bar and restaurants about 50m on the right. We fell for the sign my book trick.... led inmto a mall - held there for about an hour and the guy started mixing perfumes and lotions and wrapped everyhting up - the guy on the till looked nervous - we just said very nice, but we don't want it, never said yes please we will take that one etc. he had given us 2 karkedee drinks - so i threw 5 egp at him, and unlocked the door and we left.

later that day, the kid who had lured us into the shop followed us down the road shouting obscenities - I shouted some back... in arabic. The emxt night the big guy at teh shop came out - offering a 70% dioscount. We told him no, he became rude so I told him to Foxtrot Oscar or I would get the Tourist Police. Even now, when he sees me with my other half who works in Sharm, he tries to intimidate us.... I can imagine how some of you feel.

What with being locked in shops, charged double, offered drugs and other stuff, I wonder if people still see Sharm as a paradise.

derwent and perfume....

here is my best description of where the shop was - bearing in mind this happened to us on our first ever venture out and within 5 minutes of hitting Naama...

From the Movenpick hotel (where alot of people wait for cabs and lifts) we walked into the restaurant area....a youngish man came straight over, doing the whole, "where are you from" "oh midlands I know midlands famous school there" (Ok whatever)! Then we were really polite and tried to explain only just arrived, going to look around etc etc

He said "no problem my friends I give you my business card and you can come back when you want"

He walked off we stayed put - he looked back and told us to follow - this was between the first few restaurants on the right hand side of the road - I remember looking up and seeing a USSR bar or building - the shop was down that side street.

As soon as we got in we were being looked up and down by another man who we thought was just the first mans friend - turned out if was his shop, they pestered us to drink with them - got offended when i said no thank you - I don't accept drinks off strangers in this country I am buggered if I am gonna do it in a foreign country.

The trapper man left, the other one locked the door behind him and proceeded to go on for a good half hour about his perfume and mixing up concoctions - we thought by just asking how much, he would name is price we could pay and be on our way......but it didn't end....he ignored my requests of "how much" until he was done and then would not open the door until we made payment.

All I recall is it was a pathway between the restaurants close to the start of the street and the USSR thing was visible.

I didnt know what all the fuss was about this Naama Bay, as described by someone on here "blackpool but tackier" sorry if that offends but apart from having a choice of foods, I should have stayed at my resort.

The more I think about this, the more I feel someone should report this, had it have been Britain, me and my boyfriend probably would have just kicked off, but in a foreign country its different, although it shouldn't be.

The shop i can describe is as follows. it was a Bazaar, and near mcdonalds, the old man had a moushache, and there were sofas present in his shop with perfume and bottles all around. As you go through his door, the till is just inside it. In actual fact there were books for everyone to sign because we looked at it before the old guy came to chat to us.

Once the old guy got on the full flow of perfume sprouting, he told us how much for an ounce etc. He then started wrapping it all up. I didnt really feel intimidated at that time, only when he told us the price with 10% discount.

When the younger guy did my facial massage which was actually nice, they whisked my husband off somewhere and shut me in this room on my own with my eyes closed whilst he rubbed all this oil on my face and neck.

Then my hubby came back, i was relieved....when he told me we owed 2,400 (approx £240 sterling) i nearly died as i only had about £40 quid on me, as we had just eaten lunch.

As previously stated the massage man lead me to a cash machine further up Naama Bay. it wouldnt except my card to start with, and although i can have out £500 sterling a day, it would only let me have £2000 Egyptian pounds leaving me short of 40 Egyptian pounds. I told the guy i hadnt enough, to which he replied that he would take me to another machine I said no as by this time i felt i wanted my husband straight away. You know the rest...we paid up in the shop the man then turned around and was quite nasty wanting to get rid of us....you wouldn't believe an hour earlier he was wanting to buy us lunch.

I am pleased with my perfume and like you had just arrived in Naama bay, what i didnt like was the hostility of getting their money. They even suggested that if i hadnt got a visa, they would come with us to our hotel safe.

It hasnt put me off going back although i would stay clear of all spices and perfumes. We had a great time and you do learn for the next time. In the Mall all the shop owners came out for mint tea with us till 2 in the morning and had a great laugh.

My experience was also a perfume shop just up from the movenpick and down a side street. As people who have already read my previous trip report will know, we didnt like Sharm at all, caused mainly by this incident. I am so glad that we had had a very very positive expericence in Taba before we got to Sharm, otherwise I would have been the first person to tell fellow travellers not to go any where near Egypt with a barge pole.

With regards to going from the heat to cold buildings with AC this can cause problems and does cause you to become quite ill.

Its called thermal shock, in the uk even though it doesnt get too bad AC suppliers still have to take this into account when designing AC systems for hotels/offices etc.

You will suffer more with this if you are constantly going into the heat and then into a cold area frequently. As a rep i am forever jumping in and out of my car, and during the summer months in the uk i get quite ill as the cars frozen yet outside its 80+ and this causes me to suffer bad headaches and upset stomach and loss of appitite.

So i just turn the AC off and get on with it and i am fine.

Hope that helps.