Jasmine Bhatt’s Egyptian Adventure: Culture, History, & More

Jasmine Bhatt: I went in October of 2023, just a few months ago in the first week of October.

Dave put together this entire itinerary, and it was for a week, but I felt like I was there for three weeks. There was so much that we did.

I took my sister with me who has always been wanting to go to Egypt. We started in Cairo and we were there for a few days. And then we went to a Betos, which was on the way to Luxor, which is south of Cairo. And we were in Luxor for about three days, three nights and four days I would say.

Jasmine Bhatt: Yes, there were so many, but I think what stood out to me the most was just the warmth of the culture. I felt so safe and warm and welcome, and David put together sort of a dream team of guides.

There was a driver, a tour, and an Egyptologist in training from France who flew out to give us a tour and give us the history of each place that we would go. Everything was curated and intentional.

Jasmine Bhatt: Well, my family’s from India and Egypt and India are completely different, just to preface it with that. Culturally, I went in kind of thinking that I’d have a little bit of an understanding of the culture just from my time in India, but it was so different. Egypt was so open and friendly to tourists. I didn’t feel as though anybody was targeted or anybody was shamed.

Culturally, I think it’s very different from the US when it comes to the food and the people. But I thought it was so rich, everybody was very integrated with their community in a different way than I noticed in the US. Our local guides knew everybody in the temples or at the sites, or at the pyramids. I thought that was unique.

Jasmine Bhatt: Usually, when I pick a trip I find myself gravitating towards a beach trip. Or even if I’m going abroad and I’m not staying at a resort or anything, I find myself just staying at the beach.

This trip opened my eyes to how much culture there is in every place you might go. We were so busy, we had something planned for the hour every day and I didn’t know how I was going to feel about that before I went. But I loved it. I walked away feeling like I really wanted to soak in each different city.

Jasmine Bhatt: I want to go back to Egypt. I don’t know when that would be, but it inspired future travel plans just in that area.

We just got to see so much in that week. As I said, it was one week, but it felt like three because there were so many variations in culture, food, and community. I would like to come back here and stay for a month.

Jasmine Bhatt: Oh, it’s so good. It was a lot of meat, rice, pita bread, and different sauces that I don’t even think you could go to an Egyptian restaurant in the US.

And my favorite was the coffee. I love the coffee there. I couldn’t even start the day without a lot of coffee and I’m not really like that here. I drink coffee, but I’m not somebody who needs coffee to start the day. I unfortunately drink too many energy drinks instead.

But we would make stops just along the way, and there would be some vendors on the side of the road that our Egyptian tour guide would know. That had to be my favorite.

Jasmine Bhatt: One thing I wish I had done a little bit more of before I went was a little bit more research into the history. Dave gave me some really good resources to look at and I looked at some, but not all of them. And I wish I had just dug in a little bit more so that when I was on these tours I would be able to absorb them even more.

But even despite that, I think that triggered the desire to dive into the history a little bit more going forward. So I think it would be really good advice for somebody who’s planning to go to take a minute to look at what you want to see and the history behind some of these places.

I would just say go. I think that would be my advice: go and don’t be scared to go. I also want to mention that I felt very safe. I do think that having a guide who I trusted because I knew Dave had worked with him before really made me feel safe. It made me feel like he was family.

Also the passes, Dave told me before going that you’ll get these gold passes where you can skip lines or go at a particular time of day when there aren’t a lot of people. And that was the best thing because when we went to these different places where we had the entire place to ourselves.

Jasmine Bhatt: I do. Especially if you’re going to multiple places. I think if you just stayed in Cairo or you just went to Luxor, then it’s doable, but the experience would be different. But the language barrier I do think might have been difficult in some of these smaller areas.

Understanding the culture and what’s acceptable, what are the best places for food, the best time of the day to go to different attractions, etc. For those, I think having a guide was crucial.

Jasmine Bhatt: They’re huge. I can’t even tell you how small I felt in comparison. And when you get inside, the colors are spectacular.

There were some that you’d have to crawl in just to get into. They’re not affected by sunlight, and because of that, one thing that struck me was the color. And we got up close and personal. It was just so beautiful.

Jasmine Bhatt: Yes, I want to say thank you!

This was the most unique opportunity I’ve ever had in my professional career. To go on a trip like this one through MFL was just such a privilege and I feel so grateful. Dave planned this itinerary himself and was so thoughtful and intentional about everything.

I just loved it. I can’t wait to go back, I’m really grateful.