Grace Cheng says she felt unsafe during her week-long holiday in Egypt because she was threatened by violent scammers lurking everywhere in an attempt to rid innocent tourists of their money.
She traveled to the Great Pyramids of Giza and other historical sites during her week-long stay in northeast Africa, but she never felt comfortable as she used to dream of a wonderful holiday before.
"I felt so uncomfortable visiting Egypt... Scamming is a big issue here and I didn't really know how big it was as a first-timer," she said in a TikTok video.
"The hustle culture here is insane. Everywhere we went it was non-stop begging for us to pay for something. If I'm being completely honest, I did not feel safe here," she admitted.
Grace also said that she didn't feel safe even with a tour guide by her side. She described everything that drove her crazy.
"Don't let anyone take a picture of you, don't let anyone put anything in your hand, and don't follow anyone if they have something to show you because they will demand money from you," Grace warned.
"Ours had a lot of friends in the area and they just kept offering us tons and tons of upgrades, like climbing a rock to get a picture with the background," she said.
When she refused to pay to the scammers' demands for money, it was frightening.
"That being said though, if you have a good tour guide they will know what's real and fake when it comes to scamming. So for that, you can trust them," she added.
Moreover, Gracie would advise against going to Egypt alone yourself, particularly if you're a woman.
"When it comes to men they do stare at you, and it's not even a normal stare, it's one of those really uncomfortable stares where they'll never take their eyes off of you," she expressed.
She was not only uncomfortable in social situations but also afraid of losing her luggage whenever she lost her attention on them.
"We had private drivers wherever we went, but whenever we got dropped off at a site and left out bags in the van I for sure [thought] I was never going to see them again," she added.
Her video garnered more than 2 million views on TikTok, with plenty of comments that related to the same awful experience about Egypt that other travelers had.
"I agree. I’ve traveled the world and Egypt has been the only country where I did not feel safe," one person said.
"Every time I hear about Egypt it sounds like stress," another replied.
"I'd love to go to Egypt but I've honestly not heard a good word about it," someone confirmed.
"My sister had the SAME experience. Egypt needs to do something about it," one wrote.
