I know the managers of the Dive Centres in El Gouna keep to this rule unless it is work experience. We also have the oil fields 90 minute drive further north and all the oil guys prefer to live in El Gouna rather than in a camp at the site. They all say they have to employ ten Egyptians for every foreigner and so they employ one to operate the photocopier, one to fill it with paper, one to replace the ink, one to carry the paper

The average Egyptian wage is 50 pounds sterling per month I believe. Even some Europeans working in bars here earn only LE50 for a day. I am lucky that I get my income from my house rented in the UK. Any work here is very long hours and small wages. Unless you are selling property to Brits! One of the guys selling real estate in Hurghada has often offered me work at ridiculously high wages. But he works 24/7, he never switches off from selling to people. I am sure he must be very rich but the stress, wow. It's Egypt and things don't happen like they do in Europe and certainly never on time. And just the thought of having to drive on that road between El Gouna and Hurghada everyday is enough to put me off with all the accidents. But I am very lucky that I am in the position I am.

I don't want to keep adding negative things to this forum I just want to tell it like it is. With the recent price rises in fuel, etc. the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. This makes for a lot of unhappy people in Egypt.

For a couple of years I was dog sitting for people when they had to return to Europe for a holiday. It is so difficult to know what to charge. European prices or Egyptian prices? They are earning Egyptian wages too. I was charging LE50 per day. This goes a long way in Egypt. Unless you want to go to a bar and then it buys you just two glasses of Egyptian wine. I loved doing this job at first because it was just now and then. After two years I could have taken care of someone's dog every day and every week. And a lot of them used to be ex-desert (wild) dogs which are wonderful dogs in the house but take them out and they are so nervous and aggressive when they meet anyone. I was isolating myself so I didn't go near any other dogs or people to avoid any conflict. Plus all the constant sand being brought into my house after the dogs have enjoyed swimming in the lagoon. And the continual stress about whether they are going to eat some poison and the thought of having to call the owner to tell them their dog has died. Thankfully this never happened while the dogs were in my care but many dogs I have cared for and loved to bits died in the owners care through eating poison. So all this stress for LE50 per day? Needless to say I gave it up