I must say that, while this report is very informative, I had a completely opposite experience in Egypt over Spring Break with a group from my college. We went to a debate tournament at the American University, and also stayed an extra week to do tourist-type things.

I had an amazing trip -- from wandering the streets and bazaars to bargaining for taxi's and even for an ISIC card, it was all fun. Yes, the touts are there, and they will take you if they can -- but, thats part of the package that you sign up for by going to a developing country. As in America, and elsewhere, everyone is out to make a living in any way they can -- and American college kids gleefully throwing around dollars make as good a target as any.

If you do go, some tips...

-Go to the Pyramids early in the morning; we went at 5:30am after coming off the overnight train from Luxor and were able to bribe the morning guard to let us climb up the third pyramid. Plus, very few things beat racing the rising sun through the desert as you approach the site from the backside (the guides will take you this way, because the main entrance is closed before 8).

-Know when to bargain; in my experience, the people in our group who had the best time remembered not to sweat the small things -- if you get charged an extra 5L by a driver, remember that its 70 cents! People in our group who fought for every last EGP ended up getting in fights and feeling upset about their experiences.

Hope everyone enjoys their trips!

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