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If you could, what are the best things to bring to Egypt that you either did bring or wish you had brought to make your stay more pleasant?
Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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lol. I still can't imagine it being THAT cold there but I'll bring the undies and the socks just in case!
How about cosmetics and toiletries that aren't normally found there? Or spices that you just can't live without and aren't offered? For example, I can't live without Adobo on my eggs, and my montreal steak seasoning. Maybe I should bring a travel kit with just spices.
Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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LOL you won't need to worry about spices on food in Egypt, and in the weeks we were there, we only saw eggs on the buffet line at the resort. We ate pretty much seafood only, so I'm not sure about steaks.
I did get a gutbuster on day 3 of our visit, and could time my bowels precisely after that. If My belly cought me chewing... 20 minutes later, I'd be on the toilet doubled over. This pleasantly lasted our entire visit, and I got to sharpen my coping skills, and lost a few lbs in the process.
Posts: 1071 | Registered: Aug 2005
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There wasn't anything I wished I had brought but didn't. I just wish I didn't bring so much. I packed as if I were staying in Michigan in autumn. Just bring some small packets of tissue to use as TP while you're out. They usually pass out tissue at public restrooms and they only give you one piece of tissue....cheap bastages. Bring stomach meds, snacks (I brought peanut butter crackers, combos, nuts, gum (Egyptians LOVE gum but don't usually buy it so bring xtra)
Bring your own shampoo, conditioner, feminine hygeine products, cosmetics, etc. They do have Pantene and Sunsilk which sucks. Their makeup is not good quality so bring your own. Bring mosquito repellant but beware..Egyptian mosquitos are pretty much immune to that shitt. Basically bring the same stuff you would bring if you were travelling anywhere else. Egypt does have everything we have here but the quality is lacking.
quote:Originally posted by newcomer: Thermal underwear, warm socks, and an electric blanket
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I love combos!!!! lol. They're the only snack that totally satisfies me when I'm starvin'!!!
Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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Yeah that's the reason why I brought them. Of course you're gonna want to bring xtra. I only brought one bag my first trip and my husband ate most of them. We like the pizza flavored best.
Posts: 2735 | From: my desk | Registered: Jul 2005
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Oh no I'm all for the cheddar cheese ones!!!!! Yum-o! lol
So the skeeters really are there in December huh? That sux. I'm like a skeeter magnet. A friend once told me that it depends on your cholesteral level..not the total level but the amount of good cholesteral. Somehow they sense it and dive right in. I dunno if I believe that though.
Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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I dunno about the cholestrol level or anything all I know is I got eaten by mosquitos. They love my ankles and nose. Something about Egyptian namoosa...they love me! I rarely get a bite here in the summer. Cairo's not so bad though.
Posts: 2735 | From: my desk | Registered: Jul 2005
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I am exactly the same as Madame, I hardly ever get bitten abroad, but all of that changed after one week in 'Sharm'- those mossies filled up on me and it was prob my own fault - like a fool I didn't have any repelant to put on. The itching was waking me up in the night for 3 days after I got back to the UK and the scratch marks looked as bad as the bite marks. TAKE A GOOD REPELANT OR COVER UP AT NIGHT
Posts: 53 | From: Dartford, Kent. | Registered: Nov 2006
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I don't know where you will be, but where I was at, spices were lacking. I never found basil, which I live on. I took "Season All Salt", and left it when I did. They LOVED it. LOL I found out that their baking powder was really what we call baking soda. You might want to check that one out. I agree with personal products. They just don't have a lot of what we're used to. Also, most of their hair is a little different. Maybe that is part of it.
I found pretty much everything I needed to be comfortable. It was just those little things that I missed. Comforts I guess.
Next time I will take some Kool-Aid for the kids, basil, corn bread packets, jar of pickles, can of OFF, small roll of garbage bags, ziplocs, Season All Salt (for them) ,Bisquick, cappucino mix, of course my meds, and tampons. They can only get the small packs of cappucino mix and they loved it. So bulk can be good sometimes. LOL But as far as food, I think I would take some things more to share my dishes than for me.
I was always looking for garbage bags and ziplocs though. The area that I was in, they were hard to find. Actually, I never did find ziplocs.
If you take special medications, like for depression, blood pressure, etc., I would take those. I had to try their version of some of this, and they were not the same. I didn't do well on them. Basic meds though they have plenty of, and are much the same.
Yesssssssssss the little tissue packs. LOL Actually, I needed those in most homes I went into too. Most of what I found was the pitcher.
Oh and CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!! Their chocolate is just not the same. When you do find like a snickers bar or mars bar, they are pricey. Give them a treat. Take them some Hershey bars and a bag of kisses. I never found cocoa powder either. But then again I was just trying to cook certain dishes in a small town.
If you want other beans than Fava, take them. LOL My guy brought me a bag of beans one day. They looked like great northern or baby limas. I never found out what they were. I guess he thought that is what I was used to since it was expensive and the only other bean he found. Fava is common for Egypt so the other must be what we eat right? LOL Was sweet though. I still remember the sweet look on his face when he pulled them out of the bag.
As far as clothes, layers is usually safe. Dont forget the slippers or sandals, cuz all the floors are filthy. There is just so much dust there. They laughed at me when I bought a mop and cleaning stuff. I know I mopped more than a dozen times. When I left my feet would still get black from the floors.
This is just from my experience. I hope this helps. PM me if I can help you.
Have fun!
-------------------- شكرا و أللام عليكم شيبى Posts: 2133 | From: Redneckland | Registered: Oct 2006
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OH, I always bring my own hair conditioner, face cream, make up and all those beauty products. Some things you can find here at a really high cost, other things are not available or bad quality. So if you have a favourite brand you cannot live without, DO bring it. And bring your own tampons too. They are too expensive here and not that common.
Winter is surprisingly cold, bring a warm jacket, shoes and very warm sweaters.
If you like peanut butter, bring your own, here its either (again) expensie or bad quality. Same thing if you like Mayonaise and salad dressing! And yes, Gum!! especially those that comes in little aluminium packets and you have to pop them out, like excel, cant find it here. Egyptian gum is flavourless after 5 min.
All spices are available, unless you have a favourite spice mix then bring it but the individual ones, no problem. There is no liquid vanilla extract either. They only have sugary powder stuff that remotely taste like vanilla.
Posts: 370 | From: Montreal, Canada + World expat | Registered: Apr 2004
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Mosquito attraction has to do (usually) with skin color, the whiter the skin, the thinner it is, and so the little pests smell your blood easier than others. I have the same problems so I feel with you.
Posts: 13440 | Registered: Feb 2006
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I always bring my own hair conditioner, face cream, make up and all those beauty products. Some things you can find here at a really high cost, other things are not available or bad quality. So if you have a favourite brand you cannot live without, DO bring it. And bring your own tampons too. They are too expensive here and not that common.
Every time I go to Cairo I buy as much conditioner, shampoo, and make up as I can, as I find the quality to be better than the one in Europe. Example the conditioner "citre " which you find in Alpha Market is one of the best product I've tried for my hair. Regarding the make up, when I travel there, I buy it from the Egyptian airport in the duty free shop, which is much cheaper than any countries in Europe.
I understand that there are not many choices for clothes as is very expensive but about cosmetic products Egypt is very good, you can find a lot of excellent product from America, as well as from Egypt.
Posts: 1182 | Registered: Sep 2005
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well we each have our preferences. I personally cant stand Citre, which by the way we have in Canada as well. And yes there are many imported cosmetic products such as St-Yves, and others available here but most of them are more expensive in Egypt than in Canada. Then again, it really depends on the product; some imported things are cheaper here than abroad such as Nivea, Oil of Olay and most anti-wrinkle creams and gels.
Posts: 370 | From: Montreal, Canada + World expat | Registered: Apr 2004
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That makes perfect sense, Smuckers. My skin is VERY fair.
quote:Originally posted by With a name like Smuckers: Mosquito attraction has to do (usually) with skin color, the whiter the skin, the thinner it is, and so the little pests smell your blood easier than others. I have the same problems so I feel with you.
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My skin is wicked fair too with tons of freckles. I always say someday my freckles might just all blend and then I'll finally be darker!! lol. They must like freckles too then!
I use clinique so I'm guessing they won't have that there. I actually found these portable charmin rolls the other day in Target. lol.
Ok now I'm going to look for a portable spice thing. I mean I can use those snack ziplocs I guess and just label them but there must be a more easy way and then I can leave them for him and he can use them. He's cooking for himself now so I want to teach him how to cook a few easy things so he doesn't eat out all the time.
Well it will be December anyway so I'll just wear my jacket that I'm wearing now which is kind of like one of those quilted jackets.
This is all good stuff..keep it comin!!!!
Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:Originally posted by doodlebug: I use clinique so I'm guessing they won't have that there. I actually found these portable charmin rolls the other day in Target. lol.
I recommend those flushable wet wipes you can buy in the stores now, Charmin, Cottonelle, Scott. You can buy several packets of travel-size to fit in your purse.
Just don't flush them, OK? Put them in the wastebasket. I don't think they are good for the sewer system.
Posts: 8794 | From: 01-20-09 The End of an Error | Registered: Dec 2004
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Nope no Clinique in Egypt. Just bring your own stuff. Little packets of tissue are more portable than portable TP rolls. Get yourself a travel packet of baby wipes. They have a lot of spices in Egypt I wouldn't bother bringing any. You think now you will be concerned about all that stuff but once you get there it'll be the last thing you care about. Like the spices for your eggs and such..I would bet you won't even eat eggs there. Most Egyptians don't eat eggs for breakfast. Or steak seasoning...you probably won't eat steak unless you go to Chili's or Fridays. The best thing you can do is erase everything you normally do from your mind. Egypt is a lot different than here and they do things a lot differently. Just enjoy it for what it is. Don't try to make it like here. What fun would it be if it were exactly like here?
Sheba...I found dried basil at Carrefour. Also they have basil growing all over the place in Egypt. The imam at the Abu al Abbas mosque in Alex picked some and gave it to me.
Posts: 2735 | From: my desk | Registered: Jul 2005
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well we each have our preferences. personally cant stand Citre, which by the way we have in Canada as well. And yes there are many imported cosmetic products such as St-Yves, and others available here but most of them are more expensive in Egypt than in Canada. Then again, it really depends on the product; some imported things are cheaper here than abroad such as Nivea, Oil of Olay and most anti-wrinkle creams and gels.
yes as you said we all have our preference,in my country there is not any citre shampoo at all and got very surprise to find such kind of good product in Egypt.
I agree that some import product are cheaper than other but I also like some Egyptian product no all of them are bad.
Posts: 1182 | Registered: Sep 2005
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I notied u r so worried abot ur visit to Egypt (clothes, what to pack...etc). Treat Egypt as a normal place, u will find virtually everything that u want here
Enjoy dear and let me know if u need any help.
Posts: 50 | From: Cairo | Registered: Jul 2004
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I did have trouble finding hairspray, of all things. But I also discovered I didn't really need it over there.
Posts: 8794 | From: 01-20-09 The End of an Error | Registered: Dec 2004
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I brought it with me but never used it. Don't bring aerosol hair spray. I made that mistake.
quote:Originally posted by Left.Side.Lying.State.Of.Mind: I did have trouble finding hairspray, of all things. But I also discovered I didn't really need it over there.
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Sheba...I found dried basil at Carrefour. Also they have basil growing all over the place in Egypt. The imam at the Abu al Abbas mosque in Alex picked some and gave it to me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the info. I never saw a Carrefour. The biggest supemarket I found was Sultans.
But then again I was in a small city.
What city were you in? Maybe next time I can find what I'm looking for.
Thanks for the help.
-------------------- شكرا و أللام عليكم شيبى Posts: 2133 | From: Redneckland | Registered: Oct 2006
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I was in Kafr Dawar..close to Alex. I went to the Carrefour in Alex. They also have one in Maadi. I wanted to make real Italian spaghetti so I needed the basil. When I returned a few months later they still had my basil in the cupboard and my hot sauce in the fridge for me My SILs found it strange that I cooked with basil but they liked the taste so they started adding it to everything. Posts: 2735 | From: my desk | Registered: Jul 2005
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If you go to Cairo forget the spices. They have everything except Tarragon!! loads of dried and fresh basil in Carrefour. Alfa, and Metromarket have tampons, and wet wipes. The hair products are brilliant. Use the more expensive egyptian ones but still cheaper than US. You will get packets of tissues rammed into your hands every 50 yards in town so forget them. Cadburys chocolate is available everywhere and so is galaxy but if you like the hersheys !!!! stick with the galaxy type. There are lots of confectioners too that sell the belgian type but in general egypt made choco is horrible..... I would bring low salt, that is a must. Sugar you can substitute with honey which is cheap. If you want sugar free drinks the only place I have found them is Carrefour. Melody in sachets and they are lovely. But drink the fresh fruit juices from the bars everywhere especially the sugar cane and coconut.
Posts: 1500 | Registered: Dec 2005
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oh good point...do they have Coke Zero? I'm an addict!!!!
Do they have Lindts chocolates? I need one dark chocolate truffle a day or I get very bitchy. Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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Hahaha...bring your own chocolates. They do have Cadbury and Hershey's in larger markets. The other chocolate in Egypt is horrible. It tastes like chocolate flavored wax. Doodle if you're gonna survive in Egypt you gotta get over these frivolous necessities. I don't think you'd last a day at my inlaws. No one I know would be able to deal. It's rough!
No Coke Zero..where do you think you're going? Haha..they do have diet Coke and Pepsi. Whatever you do do not order a Mountain Dew. It tastes nothing like the Dew here. I got excited to see it and made my husband order us some. Uck it was gross. He was like..yeah thanks next time I'll choose what we drink. The Coke and Pepsi taste about the same. They have Fayrouz which is a non alcoholic malt beverage kinda like a wine cooler or something. Not good. The fruit juices you buy at the stores is chock full of sugar and barely any actual fruit juice. Go for the juice at the fresh juice vendors. You gotta try the aseer asab. I would kill for some now. It's def. an acquired taste and not for everyone.
Posts: 2735 | From: my desk | Registered: Jul 2005
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Well I did try camping once so I'm gonna look at it as a camping trip I guess. lol
Posts: 1808 | From: USA | Registered: Aug 2006
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you can get lindt in carrefour and diet 7up, but stick with fresh from the juice bar. Orange, tangerine and pomegranate are seasonal at the moment
Posts: 1500 | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by sheba76: Sheba...I found dried basil at Carrefour. Also they have basil growing all over the place in Egypt. The imam at the Abu al Abbas mosque in Alex picked some and gave it to me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the info. I never saw a Carrefour. The biggest supemarket I found was Sultans.
But then again I was in a small city.
I always buy basil from the old ladies who sell herbs and salad on the street. That's in Cairo, though, not in a small town, so it might be different where you are staying. The bigger supermarkets sell dried basil, for example from Sekem. And if you stay longer you could just grow your own on the windowsill ...
Posts: 3587 | Registered: Mar 2006
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True..in Cairo where Doodle is going it's not bad at all actually. Just smoggy and a lot of traffic. Lots to see and do. Just relax, Doodle, you'll do great inshallah. It's just a bit unnerving before you get there. When you get there you'll be like..I worried for nothing.
quote:Originally posted by Left.Side.Lying.State.Of.Mind:
quote:Originally posted by doodlebug: Well I did try camping once so I'm gonna look at it as a camping trip I guess. lol
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Maybe I should bring a travel kit with just spices.
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We like the pizza flavored best.
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But then again I was just trying to cook certain dishes in a small town. 
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