American TikToker Sumari Barnes has a different story about Egypt, a populous tourist destination in North Africa. She flew to Cairo last summer together with her family but several things did not impress her.
Barnes who lives in Washington D.C vowed she would never return to Egypt. What happened to her in one of Africa’s most famous destinations welcoming over 11 tourists every year? Read on and find out.
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Who is Sumari Barnes?
Barnes is an American travel, food and lifestyle content creator born in Oakland but settled in Washington D.C. She always loved travelling when growing up and her adult life mirrors her dreams. Travel exposes her to different cultures which is important for her as a Black woman.
She believes in educating people about the importance of lifestyle, culture and travel and how it influences positive change in society.
What Happened to TikToker Sumari Barnes in Egypt?
American travel and lifestyle content creator Sumari Barnes. Photo/
Her experience in Egypt wasn’t pleasant and she did not hide it from the world. She narrated her whole experience on her TikTok page. It wasn’t good enough but she insists that those who have it on their bucket list can go ahead and visit.
“It is a great place to go to but it’s just not something I have the desire to go back to,” she said. What turned off so bad that she has no desire to visit Egypt again?
Too Much Travel Than Cultural Sites Viewing
Too much travel more than she viewed landmark sites didn’t sit well with TikToker Sumari Barnes. They didn’t get enough time to see all the cultural sites within the country.
Uncooperative and Greedy Tour Guide
Barnes describes their tour guide as uncooperative, cunning and dishonest.
“My tour guide didn’t listen to everything I asked for so like I really wanted to go to a specific restaurant and he like took me to a tourist dump restaurant,” she adds.
Worse, the guide overcharged for most activities he recommended. The TikTok travel content creator advises those travelling to Egypt to check out desired activities on Google and book directly.
She recalls her tour guide asking for $90 for a bucket of chicken he bought her at KFC. At normal cost, it wouldn’t go beyond $35. He took them to KFC before dropping them at their hotel and offered to buy a full bucket of chicken for which he would be reimbursed upon getting to their hotel.
“We get back to the hotel and this man says $90 for KFC and we know the price at this point. I’ve been doing conversions through the whole trip and the meal was like $30 to $35. So it’s very annoying.”
American travel and lifestyle content creator Sumari Barnes. Photo/umari Barnes/IG
Apple Watch Stolen
Her family chose to stay in Hurghada for their last night before returning to the US. They chose Hurghada because it has beautiful beaches. However, someone entered their room when they were out viewing property at the hotel and stole her brother’s Apple watch. The ‘thieves’ replaced the watch with a real apple! The hotel would later email her that the watch was found under the bed. She needed to foot the shipment cost to the US of $350.
Flight Delay
TikToker Sumari Barnes also had a nasty experience at the airport. First, she lost some of her luggage which he blames on Turkish Airlines and the hotel she stayed in at Hurghada. Moreover, she missed her connecting flight to the US from Turkey because of a flight delay from Egypt to Turkey.
Extremely Hot
She didn’t love that temperatures across Egypt were so high forcing her to wake up at dawn and do her stuff before 10 am.
American travel and lifestyle content creator Sumari Barnes. Photo/Sumari Barnes/IG
Merchants Scam
Most merchants in the market and malls made Barnes feel harassed because they sort of begged her to buy their goods. Some followed her down the road showing the same stuff and needed a tip for everything.
How Did People React?
Barnes’ followers were shocked and some spoke out of similar ordeals. One of her fans requested her to share details of her tour guide ‘for shaming’ but she politely declined.
“Please send the tour guide so that we can put him on blast,” the fan appealed. Barnes declined saying that: “I’m not here to mess up anyone’s money so I don’t want to tear him down publicly.”
Another fan added: “Egypt is not a vibe at all. I love history so it was cool seeing the pyramids but I’d never go back again.”
A fan advised her to practice the power of ‘saying no’ because it looked like most of her awful experience was on her for accepting everything.
