I've been home from my trip to Israel for a week now so I guess now is a good time to give alittle feedback about my trip. The country is so beautiful, the food is amazing, and the girls are gorgeous. And i don't mean one here and one there that are absolutely pretty but all of them. Its a country full of pretty people and i felt like a troll trotting around the country. But all the people in general are so nice and very helpful to tourists. Makes you feel very at home in such a foreign place.
I also got to see so many wonderful things. I got to swim in the dead sea. And let me tell you, the water burns when it gets in your eyes. I also went far enough north that i was in the Golan Heights which used to part of Syria.
I hiked thru part of Ein Geti, this lush forest which was full of water falls. Then just 3 hours to the south I got up at 4am to climb a mountain called Masada that has the ruins of a fortress built on the top. I normally dont get up that early but i wanted to be at the top for the sunrise. I got some amazing pictures which i hope to scan and put up soon.
I spent a few days in Tel Aviv to partake in the nightlife. I went to some outdoor club called Gosh. It cost me 70 shekels to get in. It was open till 7am and was open bar with admission. The exchange rate is crazy, so 70 shekels to get into a club seems steep but when you work the math its like 15$. Not bad to go home drunk. Would spend alot more here in the States to accomplish the same thing.
I spent most of my time in Jerusalem. I had a great time. I spent the days wandering around and nights going to pubs and clubs. The one thing i loved about Jerusalem is that it doesnt have such a modern feel like the rest of the cities in the country. You feel like you took a step back in time. Most probably cause of the architecture of the buildings and the street markets. I even spent a few days in the Old City of Jerusalem itself. Walking thru the gates in the wall going into the city gives you the sense of going another 2000 years back in time. I went to the Western Wall, Visited all the different Quarters within the walled city. The Arab Quarter was alitlte scary at first. You hear all these evil things about them form the media, but the ones who i spoke to were very friendly, very nice.
Everything wasnt total fun and games though. 10 days into my trip a crazy man blew up a bus and killed 21 people 4-5 blocks from my hotel. It was chaos that night. Nothing to to crazy but it gives you the sense of what you read in the papers about the Middle East is totally what they make it out to be at times. Given that i feel the media at times blows things out of proportion. The next day though there were the obvious news coverage and newspaper articles but the people in the street and around town went on like nothing happened at 9pm the night before. At first it gives you the feeling that the Israelies are cold people but after thinking about it I kind of realized that they just dont let what goes on with the bombing make them stop their daily lives. I spoke with a girl that was in the Army and she said they have that mentality cause if they close everything up to morn and what not then the crazy people that blow up the buses win cause they brought their lives to a standstill. Makes sense.
I would def go back though. Maybe next time for longer than 18 days, but my next trip is either Beijing or London. We'll see....
I also got to see so many wonderful things. I got to swim in the dead sea. And let me tell you, the water burns when it gets in your eyes. I also went far enough north that i was in the Golan Heights which used to part of Syria.
I hiked thru part of Ein Geti, this lush forest which was full of water falls. Then just 3 hours to the south I got up at 4am to climb a mountain called Masada that has the ruins of a fortress built on the top. I normally dont get up that early but i wanted to be at the top for the sunrise. I got some amazing pictures which i hope to scan and put up soon.
I spent a few days in Tel Aviv to partake in the nightlife. I went to some outdoor club called Gosh. It cost me 70 shekels to get in. It was open till 7am and was open bar with admission. The exchange rate is crazy, so 70 shekels to get into a club seems steep but when you work the math its like 15$. Not bad to go home drunk. Would spend alot more here in the States to accomplish the same thing.
I spent most of my time in Jerusalem. I had a great time. I spent the days wandering around and nights going to pubs and clubs. The one thing i loved about Jerusalem is that it doesnt have such a modern feel like the rest of the cities in the country. You feel like you took a step back in time. Most probably cause of the architecture of the buildings and the street markets. I even spent a few days in the Old City of Jerusalem itself. Walking thru the gates in the wall going into the city gives you the sense of going another 2000 years back in time. I went to the Western Wall, Visited all the different Quarters within the walled city. The Arab Quarter was alitlte scary at first. You hear all these evil things about them form the media, but the ones who i spoke to were very friendly, very nice.
Everything wasnt total fun and games though. 10 days into my trip a crazy man blew up a bus and killed 21 people 4-5 blocks from my hotel. It was chaos that night. Nothing to to crazy but it gives you the sense of what you read in the papers about the Middle East is totally what they make it out to be at times. Given that i feel the media at times blows things out of proportion. The next day though there were the obvious news coverage and newspaper articles but the people in the street and around town went on like nothing happened at 9pm the night before. At first it gives you the feeling that the Israelies are cold people but after thinking about it I kind of realized that they just dont let what goes on with the bombing make them stop their daily lives. I spoke with a girl that was in the Army and she said they have that mentality cause if they close everything up to morn and what not then the crazy people that blow up the buses win cause they brought their lives to a standstill. Makes sense.
I would def go back though. Maybe next time for longer than 18 days, but my next trip is either Beijing or London. We'll see....
~Mav