A Survival Guide in a Hot Exotic

One year before graduating from college, in order to catch the tail of the last summer vacation in her life (as she really thought at the time), Xiao proposed to go to Egypt. I ask why? Xiao shook her head dashingly: "I want to see the pyramids and the Sphinx." The reason is too good, anyway, I have no idea, and immediately agreed.

It was only later that I learned that traveling to the Middle East in extremely hot weather is not an easy task, especially for backpackers who yearn for romantic and poor travel. To avoid repeating our mistakes, please keep the following four points in mind.

 Clothing:

Sun oil, lip balm, wide-brimmed hat, light-colored and loose-fitting clothing are of course indispensable; long-sleeved clothing can protect the skin from prolonged exposure to ultraviolet rays under the sun, and pay attention to perspiration and reduce body heat absorption. Fever-reducing patches, portable fans, and UV-blocking sun umbrellas for children with a fever can also help cool down. For security reasons, a waist bag that is close-fitting and can be hidden in a coat is also a necessity for carrying documents and belongings.

In countries where Islam is prosperous, female Muslims are required to be ashamed , wearing a headscarf commonly known as hijab حجاب ‎ (hijab), or خمار‎ (khimar), and more advanced is to cover the whole body, usually except for the face and hands , requiring all parts of the body to be covered (the clothing is called Polkadot ), and the eyes are not exposed.

More than once, in Egypt and Turkey, men whistled at Xiao, shouting in English, "You are sexy!" Xiao is just afraid of the heat, wears T-shirts and shorts, and looks as thin as a boy, how can she be sexy?

Female tourists can bring a large silk scarf with them. In the face of embarrassment or to visit palaces and temples, they can put the silk scarf on their legs and immediately change into a long skirt, which is not only refreshing, but also convenient to remove.

 Eat:

It is safer to bring your own dry food , otherwise eat ready-to-cook meals such as Turkish rotisserie (döner kebap) gobit, which is wrapped in pita bread , or gobit in Turkish , added to salads, sauces and vegetables such as carrots and red cabbage etc., occasionally with mint .

There are a lot of flies in some dry areas, but it's not a big problem. Unless the epidemic is rampant, the bacteria can't survive in the hot sun. At first, we would be vigilant to remove flies from the food, but because the weather was too hot, the movements became lazy, and it was okay to not touch the food.

Water is the most important thing! In the high temperature of more than 30 to 40 degrees, be sure to bring enough water , or even two to three times the usual capacity; sports drinks that supplement electrolytes and carbohydrates, and even salt cakes are also saviors in the heat.

When I went up the mountain in Luxor, I was hit by a heat wave. When I was hot and tired, and my lips were dry, I found that the last drop of water had been drank. First, I fainted due to lack of water. , half dead to pay for water, but also grateful that the hawker is willing to carry a bag of water bottles and climb up the middle of the mountain to sell it. As soon as the lid of the water bottle was turned on, I knew something had happened. The lid of the bottle had never been opened. I suspect that the hawker poured uncooked raw water into the empty water bottle. As for whether the water bottle was picked up by tourists? I dare not think about it any more. Fortunately, we didn't have diarrhea or gastroenteritis afterward.

 Live in:

Back then, in order to save money, we stayed in the cheapest homestay room, which cost only HK$14 a night, but we regretted it again and again. First of all, the door lock is extremely simple and vulnerable. We use rope to tie the house door, and then use our own lock to strengthen the security, but we are still nervous when we sleep. Besides, I feel like there are lice in my bed, and they bite me. The biggest problem is that there are only fans and no air-conditioning. I am really regretful. I was too hot to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and took three cold baths to cool down. Then I looked at the luxury hotel opposite and lamented: "Even if it costs 1,400 yuan a night, Some money can't be saved!"

Remember to stay in an air-conditioned luxury hotel !

 Line:

The next day, not long after I set off to visit, my body sent out an alarm: dizziness, headache, nausea, shortness of breath, and cold sweats... I deduced that it was heat stroke.

Xiao summoned a carriage to take me back to the homestay, while she continued the journey alone. I am unfamiliar with the road in life and I am blind on the road. After heat stroke, I feel dizzy and my heart is both scared and confused. However, in the face of the local coachman who likes to bargain, I still have to hold on, pretend to be energetic, and refuse to double the car. Unreasonable demands for fares, insisting to only pay the fare agreed before getting on the bus. When I paid, because I didn't have any change, I also gave a large amount of paper money. I was glad that the other party didn't see through my illness, and didn't take the opportunity to steal the money and ran away on a horse, otherwise it would be worse. Be good, and prepare more fine coins next time.

Regarding the trip, I have to mention our night bus from Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to Luxor. Because of the desire to buy time to visit, Xiao proposed to leave the train and take the night train to Luxor. I have no objection. But I found that buying bus tickets is already difficult. A large number of people are crowded in the small window selling tickets. There is no order at all, there are no clear instructions, and the conductors can't understand English!

After fiddling around for half an hour, I finally got to my only strength - being observant, and with a beast-like intuition, I dared to beg a passing local man in a suit for help! You must know that the middle-aged men in Egypt are as tall as a mountain, and the locals have the habit of pitting tourists... Fortunately, he was really willing to help, squeezed out the crowd to talk to the conductor, and bought a bus for us. ticket. Therefore, there are good people and bad people everywhere, and the key is to have the ability to judge good people and bad people among peers .

That night was also an unforgettable night. The bus was full of passengers and the deafening loud music was playing. The vehicle was precariously advancing in the desert. In the early morning, the bus suddenly stopped in the wilderness, and then the driver asked me and Xiao to get off the bus. The locals were all sitting firmly in their seats. The two young Japanese tourists in front were also motionless, and they were not called to get off the bus. It was pitch black outside.

When I noticed the subtle atmosphere in the carriage, my heart became clear. The driver wanted to knock us again. If we were fooled, he might dump us in the desert and ask us to pay to get on the bus. God damn it! How inhuman. So we suppressed our panic, pretended not to be afraid of English, bowed our heads and didn't get out of the car. The driver scolded us for ten minutes, and finally drove again unwillingly under the urging of other passengers.

After a thrilling night, we finally reached Luxor and visited the famous Valley of the Emperors. According to the instructions in the travel book, we hired two donkeys to walk along the bumpy cliffs. All I can say is that when a person rides on the back of a donkey, the whole person is thrown up and down. I feel like I am being ridden on the back of a donkey, and all the bones in my body are scattered.

To sum up: you can only choose spring and autumn to travel to the Middle East ; also, save more money to go on luxury travel , although poor travel is interesting, but it is really too dangerous. Also, if it gets too hot it will melt.

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