Avoid Hustlers at The Pyramids ๐ช๐ฌ
1,452,006
Published 2022-05-28
The entrance to the pyramids complex is very close to Mena House, where I was staying, but I still had to do my best to avoid getting hustled on the short walk to the ticket office.
There is an area, right next to a police checkpoint, that's used as a car park for rickshaws, camels and horses. Men stand outside, trying to convince you that is the place to buy your entrance ticket to the pyramids. It's not. It's the place where these scammy hustlers try to sell you overpriced camel and horse tours.
I avoided those scammer's trap and made it to the real ticket counter, where things were well organised. I walked straight up to the counter and bought my ticket for 200 EGP ($11 USD / ยฃ9 GBP roughly, at today's rates.)
You can also buy tickets to enter 2 of the 3 main pyramids. I've visited the pyramids before and been inside one of them, so I didn't think it was worth doing it again. There's nothing inside them. Just some small dark empty rooms. It's also forbidden to take photos or videos inside there.
As I entered the pyramids complex, several men tried to give me "gifts". I put the word in quotes because they're not really gifts. It's common practice for these guys to give you a cheap cloth headscarf or little trinket as a gift "for welcome you to Egypt" and then demand money from you.
I avoided these hustlers near the entrance and was able to explore around the pyramids complex for a good while without getting hassled. The ratio of hustlers to tourists wasn't too bad. There seems to be enough tourists to supply each hustler, so they aren't too sticky. When you brush them off, they just wait for the next tourist, rather than following you and hassling you.
I did fall victim to one scam artist of a hustler though. I saw a camel with a tattoo and asked the owner about it. He gave me a stick and told me to hold on to it. That was to keep me there while he finished up with his previous customer, who had jumped on the camel to get a photo taken.
The camel man told me he wanted to take a photo of me on his camel. I asked him how much that would cost and he said "Whatever you want to give me is no problem." I asked if 20 was acceptable and he agreed.
As soon as I got on the camel and handed him my photo to take photos, he demanded that I put my GoPro camera away. He wasn't even satisfied with me putting it in my pocket. He wanted me to put it in my bag.
His reason was that it was somehow a problem for the police, which is total nonsense. It was a problem, only for him, because he was planning to scam me and didn't want to be exposed.
The scam was that he didn't just want to take "a photo". He wanted to take a bunch of photos and force me to go for a ride around. I kept demanding that he stop and let me off the camel but he refused. I knew how this was going to turn out and that the longer I was on the camel, the more money he'd be demanding from me, so I just kept yelling, telling him to stop. Eventually he let me down.
Remember the 20 that we agreed I would pay him? I tried to pay him 50, acknowledging that he took more than just the one picture, but he was very angry, telling me that 50 is nothing and that I should pay him 200 - 300 Egyptian Pounds or give him some "American money."
It was only when I pulled my camera back out that he was friendly again and agreed to accept the 50. When he thought it was just me and him, he was his mean, scammy, horrible self. What an awful man, a scammer and a disgrace to his country.
Thankfully, after that experience, I did find an honest camel man. He took me on a full tour for 1 hour and helped me take some better photos, for only 150. That shows how cheeky the first guy was demanded 200 - 300 for a few minutes being forcibly led around.
The honest camel man's name is Hamdi and his WhatsApp number is +201222893392
0:00 Going to Ticket Office
2:51 First Hustler
5:15 Camel Men
9:58 Egyptian Headscarf
14:09 Sphinx
15:16 Khafre's Valley Temple
17:53 Touching the Pyramids
20:49 Stories from the Pyramids
25:55 Scammer Camel Man
34:24 Honest Camel Man
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All Comments (21)
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The pyramids are a fun and interesting place to visit, despite all the hustlers there. Here's the WhatsApp number of the honest camel man. His name is Hamdi. +201222893392
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I can't believe it... You actually did found an honest guy not trying to scam you in Egypt... It's a bloody miracle!! Great respect for that guy, seriously!
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Hamdy is the best! Thank you for leaving his details in the description! We had a layover in Cairo for 10 hours and wanted to visit the pyramids. Two days earlier I send him a message on WhatsApp and he immediately replied. He even offered us a lift to pick us up from the airport! He is such an honest guy, a welcoming and heartwarming brother! He gave us a great tour and took the best pictures! I'm definitely going back to Egypt and meetup with him! ๐๐ผ
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Based on your YouTube post we have contacted Hamdi and asked him to guide us around the pyramids including a camel ride. This guy is 100% honest and would recommend him to anyone who is considering to go to The Giza Pyramids. He is gentle, honest, well spoken Englishโฆand a pleasure to have with you.
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I love how you paid Hamdi extra. He was worth it. We were there in 2005 & we hired an Egyptologist privately for our family. He would take us everywhere, get our tickets, explain things, PROTECT us from "hustlers" & barter for us when we wanted something. It was the BEST trip ever! Also, the people are very kind. They were esp nice to my young kids! Highly recommend Egypt.๐ฅฐ
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you can tell that the honest guy was really genuine in his hospitality unlike the scammers being pushy and fake being friendly for money
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Hamdi is such an honest man not trying to scam anyone and i earn my respect to him 100%
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Hamdi really represent the good Egyptians. His honesty really recover all the act of bad hustlers and scammers around the pyramids. Wishing him have a good life ahead welcoming other tourist
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Hamdi is about to make a shit ton of money and well deserved!! Word of mouth and honestly is gonna go a long way!
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Today i was at the pyramid and i texted Hamdi and he greeted us at the base of Khafra. He was a very nice guy to be riding a camel with. Thank you for the number Dale, and he also wanted to thank you for posting his number. He said business is thriving, well deserved thanks to you buddy. Keep up the videos and the good energy. Wish you all the best!
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Aww Hamdi's reaction! You could tell he was genuinely appreciative of your kind gesture! Love your vlogs Dale, entertaining and educational! Keep it up ๐
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As an Egyptian ๐ช๐ฌ, I see that unfortunately these scammers are harming the reputation of the country, even ordinary Egyptians, who are not sellers. I often try to provide assistance, for example, in crossing the road because it is somewhat difficult for foreigners if there is no traffic light, but some people are afraid or suspect that I am like salesmen, and will ask for money, specially if giving a free gift. In fact, all I wanted to provide was humanitarian assistance without financial compensation. Just a smile would be enough. Perhaps I also need help someday in a certain country, and I find someone to help me without asking. this is how things should be going. thanks for everyone visits our country and make it more beauty with diversity of tourists.โคโค
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Hamdi was a freaking badass and a real standup guy. Made me and my girlfriend feel like family. Went above and beyond to give us everything we asked for and more. He even played photographer for my gfs extended photoshoot at the panoramic view spot haha. After the ride he even invited us to his other job for dinner which was amazing and ridiculously cheap (I'm not sure if that's a regular thing so please don't ask ๐) Wish I had booked a hotel in Giza so I could've explored the area more with him. He was just so awesome and hospitable, honestly the highlight of my entire trip.
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Hamdi is a legend! Thoroughly deserved that little extra you made his day. Congrats on 1 million by the way
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Itโs a miracle of miracles to find an honest hustler in Egypt
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It is very hard not to get scammed there :( such a nice place but these scammers destroys it almost fully.
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I hope Hamdi gets enough calls to start his own Honest Agency and I hope people reward him for ensuring that for us.
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Always nice to find a non-scammer.
Have a drink to celebrate 1M subs!
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My favorite part of this video was when you gave Hammdy the 500 instead of 150 .It's very rare to see an honest and truly positive interaction between two people nowadays and you're video inspired my actions to do more fore other people. Thanks again for another great video. All my best Boston USA..
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You have MUCH MORE patience than I would of had with those peddlers!
