Egypt. Everyone said it was too dangerous for a woman alone, so of course I went anyways, chose to avoid hotels and tours and instead couch-surfed my way through most of the country and enjoyed meeting some of the kindest and most generous people while also having many of the temples, tombs, and historic sites largely to myself. “You are a sister”, so many Egyptians told me before they brought me into their home, gave me a bed, cooked for me, introduced me to their entire extended family, and accompanied me to some of ancient Egypt’s most stunning treasures. I loved every beautiful mosque and madrasa, the colorful and chaotic markets, sailing the Nile at sunset, people-watching from the Great Sphinx of Giza, the sheer magnitude of the Pyramids and temple-complexes, the soulful Quran recitations and calls to prayer, the Turkish coffee shops on every corner, the homemade Egyptian foods, the long train rides into sunrise, and the mystical feeling that I was traveling through time. But above all, I loved staying in local homes, the inspiring conversations and connections with Egyptians, and discovering that Egypt isn’t how Western media portrays it — not even a little bit, not even at all. This is list of my trip’s highlights. Almost all of them are easy to visit alone; you don’t need to be part of a tour, and you certainly don’t need to pay extra for special or private transport.