"Along the Nile is where you will find most of the silly boys who want you to ride a felucca," Alaa told me.

"Silly boys" was Alaa's extremely understated way of describing the touts. He was angry that Egyptian economy was so dependent on tourism and said that this resulted in the "silly boys" who sometimes made him hate Luxor.

The touts are not something to take lightly. There is hassle everywhere in Egypt, but Luxor cranks it to a new level. At least in Cairo, people have jobs unrelated to tourism, and unless they work in a shop, they generally let you get on with your life. They've got better things to do. In Luxor, many people live directly off your dollars—you can see the neediness in their eyes.

The taxi and hotel touts know the train schedules and wait at the station for arrivals. When I came from Aswan, a crowd greeted me. I had foolishly believed that as a solo traveler I'd be more inconspicuous and less desirable as a victim of overeager salesmanship. But no less than six men followed me while I walked around the station, searched for a phone outside, and tried to orient myself. Like the tail to my meteor, they followed me unfailingly, watched me call Alaa, and stayed right behind me. When I snarled, "WHAT?!" they answered," We just want to see who you're calling," like that's the most natural thing. I snapped, "Do I look like I need SIX HOTELS?" but it didn't make a difference. They didn't leave me alone until I returned to the train station and hung around policemen. After Alaa picked me up, to my great relief, a single look from him was enough to make the "silly boys" shrink away.

Walking along the Corniche can be unpleasant, when it really should be so nice. The view is pretty, the breeze is refreshing, and watching the feluccas glide gracefully along the water is good entertainment. But every couple minutes, these moments of peace are shattered by cries of, "FELUCCA, LADY?" and the next 5 minutes would be spent trying to convince the touts that no, I did not want to ride, no, I did not want to just look; no, I did not want to guess the price; and in most cases, no, I was not interested in having dinner with a nice Egyptian man after work. Oh, the "silly boys."

I sometimes thought I could escape the touts by walking on the town side rather than the Nile side of the Corniche, but felucca men would cross the street to ask me to either ride with them or date them. And the other side was no escape from the various taxi and caleche drivers, who'd slow down to my walking pace while wheedling me for a ride.

The touts are not harmful, but extremely annoying. And I felt like I missed many good photos because I had only a split second to get a shot before someone caught up to me or was afraid to raise my camera and call any more attention to myself. The touts really brought me down and had me leaving Egypt with mixed emotions, mainly because of my experiences in Luxor.

Still, next time I plan to harden my skin. "Silly boys" will not get in the way of good travel photography. I will turn down sales-pitches-cum-clumsy-advances with good humor rather than irritation. Luxor is not a horrible place. I have to remember that. Good people are everywhere in this small city, and the touts should just be part of the background noise. My perspective has improved on the Luxor situation after traveling through the rest of the region; life in Egypt isn't easy, and I understand why people in the tourist industry resort to such tactics. I hope I can return to Egypt, and even Luxor, one day with greater patience and leave deeply in love with the country, knowing that the touts are not complete jackasses, but simply "silly boys" earning a living.

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