Match My Freak: Hitchhiking in Egypt

Remember the time I almost got arrested hitchhiking in Egypt? 😬😬

I feel like it’s so hard to get friends to commit to plans. So many grand ideas never make it out of the chat.

One of my favorite parts of travel is how many people are up for absolutely anything!

A group of 5 of us met in Aswan, Egypt at one of the greatest hostels I’ve ever been to (📍Go Inn Backpackers, basic accommodations but the owner, Ghandi, is worth his weight in gold for all his advice!).

We split the cost of a felucca and spent last Thanksgiving floating down the Nile with food, beer, and h*sh, the epitome of relaxation. We slept on the boat tied up to a strip of sand after some drinks around the bonfire 🔥 

But backpackers can be… for lack of a better word, cheap. Our captain offered to have a shuttle waiting for us at the drop-off point, but my new friends wanted to try taking the local bus.

So the 5 of us emerged from the trees on the side of a highway in the middle of nowhere—

🚨and within moments, the police pulled over, completely at a loss for what to do with us.

We explained to them what we were doing, but it was clear they didn’t really understand. They asked where we came from, and we all pointed to the trees shouting “River!” “Boat!” “Felucca!” until one of them finally crashed through the bushes to go see for himself.

Everyone in my party handled this situation pretty badly. One of the officers kept making a sign with his hands that seemed like he wanted money, but we were all blatantly ignoring it.

One girl decided the best strategy was to treat them like a nuisance, like a shopkeeper trailing us down the road. She crossed the street and just started trying to hail a bus out of there. 

Everyone, including the police, crossed with her. She started to get annoyed and asked them to move out of the way.

In the end, after we pretended to misunderstand that they wanted money long enough, the police insisted on helping us flag down a vehicle. This was the opposite of helpful as not many cars want to stop for the police and 5 foreigners wearing backpacks.

They stopped a bus that clearly didn’t have enough room for us and talked to them for a long while. I was so afraid they were going to make some locals get out so we could sit, but thankfully they eventually let them pass.

After several false starts, we eventually flagged down a pickup truck willing to drive us to Kom Ombo Temple. It was a nice ride with the wind in my hair, the success of being on the way, and the relief of getting away from the police unscathed and without paying any bribes.

We tried to tip the drivers but they wouldn’t take our money— something everyone told me could never happen in Egypt.

We would all go our separate ways over the next two days, but I will never forget how many big emotions I shared with those travelers! We truly matched each other’s freak. ❤️