last week, on my 5th day of being in cairo at 5pm, just as the sun was going down,i entered a taxi and right away the driver locked the door. i tried to put the window down but he motioned the air condition was on. he kept staring and smiling and talking to me in arabic and then put his arm at the back of the chair, tring to be subtle about trying to touch me. then i insisted he open the car door and he said okay come sit in the front seat so i can feel the cool air. i was waiting for him to stop so i could run out the car but it was not until i reached my hotel, i got out. when it came time to pay him, i didnt have small bills so i had to give him a bigger bill and he didnt want to give me change back. he eventually gave me a bit fo change. i got out of the cab but he went away too fast for me to take down the license plate number. luckily, i was not assaulted.
tips for solo female travellers:
do not smile or make conversation with taxi drivers-be very brief-do not feel you are being rude. they take smiling and conversation as signs of interest, and they will insist on telling you they are divorced
ask for the metre to run before you get in, they will often try to negotiate a price instead, and claim their metre is broken. if so, leave the cab and take another one.
pay the driver only when u leave the cab, so they cannot lock you in if they demand more money
wear a hijab( even though it doesnt really make a difference. ) or better yet-a niqab(face covering veil with eyes open). i bought one from the market.
wear a wedding ring
try to carpool or take the micro bus (van) or metro. but only get in a micro bus if there are other people in it. metro is very safe as they contain women-only cars.
wear dark sunglasses and avoid eye contact with the driver
**if you are going out late an night, pre-order a yellow taxi (it costs more but it well worth it as they are easy to track in the event the driver does something) check wikitravel , the cairo section for the number
