Israel Is Awesome!

Basically, I loved Israel! I had such an amazing time there both on my own and with friends who were so unbelievably kind to me. Apart from how nice people were, I think one of the things that struck me most was that I was in the first world again! It was so nice not to be harangued by shopkeepers, nice not to have to cover up my scandalous shoulders, and nice to be in a place where things simply work the way they are supposed to! Unfortunately, first world “luxuries” come with first world prices and Israel was really quite expensive! For the first time since I started traveling, I had set a reasonable-to-high budget for myself ($50/day); it was pretty much impossible to stick to it most days. Had I not arrived a day too late, I probably would have joined my friends in their protests against the ultra-high (and rising) costs of living in Israel!

From the little news I got wind of, I understand that there were issues with the Egypt-Israel border and possibly even with the Israel-Jordan borders. Luckily, I had no issues whatsoever. I crossed the border from Taba (Egypt) into Eilat (Israel) without issue, though on the Israel side, I had to show my passport to enter the immigration area, then show it again before security scanned my bags, then again to an officer asking preliminary “are you carrying a weapon” questions, then to another officer asking about my visit, and then one last officer upon exiting. Good thing I didn’t have anything shady planned :)

I started in Eilat which is your basic resort town, except it “comes” with more Russians than I could have possibly imagined! I stayed with Elinor, a young woman my age who I had met when traveling in South America.


We met at the border crossing from Bariloche (Argentina) to Osorno (Chile) and again on a bus from Salta (Argentina) to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile). I traded my alfajor (chocolate dipped cookie sandwich) for her ham/cheese sandwich; we both thought we got the better deal :) I really am so so lucky to have met her because not only did she show me around Eilat, take me snorkeling, buy me fat pants, and introduce me to an amazing schwarma place, but she also set me up with some really great people in Israel.


*Snorkeling the Red Sea and seeing my first octopus!

*Immediately after Eilat, I actually went to Jordan, but more on that later... Next (Israel) stop: Masada!


The thing to do in Masada is a sunrise hike up to the palace/fortifications that were solidified in the 1st Century CE during Herod the Great's time. The hike was really cool and very worthwhile because the higher you climbed, the better the view you got of sunrise over the Dead Sea.


The history of this place is pretty amazing too and you definitely get a sense of that when you’re up there. During the Jewish-Roman War (The Great Revolt), the approximately 960 people living up there committed mass suicide.


*The diamonds mark the spots of Roman encampments

Ten soldiers killed everyone up top and after one of the soldiers killed the remaining soldiers, he fell on his own sword. They left food stores to show that the people of Masada had not starved to death. When the Romans arrived, all they found were dead bodies. Two women and five children had hidden from the slaughter and lived to share the story of the people of Masada. Groups of IDF soldiers will come to Masada after they complete basic training and can be heard shouting either "Israel shall not fall again" or "Masada shall not fall again."



On Soldiers and Security: Israel is developed and “Western,” but the security and military presence is different from anything I’ve ever seen. You go through a metal detector and your bag is searched when you enter a mall for instance. My friend said to me, “this happens in America, right?” … Um, no. There are young soldiers everywhere too, and many of them carry their guns. I’m pretty much never around military personnel and the rare times I am, they are not carrying M16s. It was definitely a bit startling at first but I guess I appreciate the military presence – it was, after all, an off-duty soldier who thwarted an attack on the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem :)


Ein Gedi: Located approximately 20 minutes from Masada is the town of Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi is right on the Dead Sea! I was able to visit a Nature Reserve with waterfalls(?!) and then do my much anticipated float in the Dead Sea.


Ever since my high school freshman year history teacher talked about her visit to the Middle East, I’ve wanted to go – I think it’s the only place I’ve ever definitely wanted to visit, and for 10 years! I was advised to walk straight into the sea until I couldn’t walk anymore.... I walked maybe 2-3 steps and I felt myself buoyed up and pitched forward. I turned over onto my back immediately (because all the drowning warning signs scared me) and had an awesome float! It feels like you're laying on one of those inflatable lounges meant for the pool. Definitely do not go if you've just shaved or if you have any cuts because it stings really bad. Although there are a few drawbacks (I had an open blister on my hand that stung for a good two hours after I got out, the water feels very oily, and even after I showered, I still got salt stains all over my dress...), I'd recommend it to anyone because it was one of my trip highlights!



Adventures in Israel will be continued, but up next: A quick stop in Jordan to see Petra!

"Ahh Home, Let Me Go Home"

(For days, Edward Sharpe and the Magentic Zeros' "Home" was stuck in my head...)

After about 20 hours of flying time (14 hours DXB-IAD, 5 hours IAD-LAX), I'm finally home! Mom was waiting for me at the airport and I think we were both so happy we almost cried. Good thing the luggage carousel was there to distract us :)

I had dim sum for my first meal back and it was incredible; Oceanstar in Monterey Park is pretty much the best place ever! I am now getting used to a few weeks of cushy living - it's definitely an adjustment: My first night back, I woke up thinking I was either late for something or trapped somewhere - I simply didn't know where I was. In the dark, I groped for my purse and started trying to find a way out. Luckily, I chanced upon the light switch and realized I was home. Really weird!

Anyway, I've got Israel, Jordan, Dubai, and The Kindness of Strangers to update you all on and then I'll give the blog a rest for a bit since life in the US isn't all that interesting :)

Thank you so much for following me in my travels so far!

Mt. Sinai

I hiked Mt. Sinai! I left on an 11pm bus from Dahab, got no sleep because of loud, drunk, and singing Russians, and grumpily side-stepped camel poo on my way to the top. It was about 2.5 hours up and me and my friends didn't appreciate our guide who seemed to be rushing us to the top. He was moderately entertaining in that he named our group "Jimmy" (or maybe that was his name?) and he'd yell "JIMMY!" every twenty minutes or so. Like someone with turrets :)




The starry sky was incredible! The views were spectacular as the sun was rising! Great topography! Altitude made it cold though and my friends and I sat there freezing at the top until the sun came up. We didn't even bother with the St. Katherine monastery on the way down - too tired. The Russians were already passed out in our transport van when we got down :)

Red Sea Relax

I happened to be staying in a dorm attached to the Red Sea Relax Resort and relax is exactly what I (mostly) did in Dahab. Dahab, btw, is just wonderful!


Arrival was a bit shaky as the bus from Cairo to Dahab was stopped at no less than four passport checkpoints. This wouldn't have bothered me so much except that the incredibly irritating man next to me would literally snap his fingers in my face to wake me up (it was a night bus trip from about 12am-9am). Besides the obnoxious snapping, what annoyed me was that I never got checked! I apparently do not look like a terrorist (surprise, surprise), and they did not check my documents at any of the stops.


Once I was checked into the resort, my time in Dahab was yet another vacation from my vacation. I would spend my days diving and snorkeling and my evenings having dinner with my friends, usually beach side. A lot of restaurants line the promenade and overlook the sea - you sit on cushions, lean against pillows, and hope the cats dont take any of your food.


Most of the places provided spray bottles in case we wanted to shoo the cats away. :)

So I know I raved about the seafood meal I had in Alexandria (and it truly was the best meal I'd had in Africa then) but now that I've had dinner at the Sea Bride Restaurant in Dahab, it takes the best meal grand prize. This place was AMAZING!


You arrive to a bed of different seafood on display and you select from an array of fish, squid, shrimp, clams, and lobster. They weigh the seafood you select, run the price by you, and cook it to your specifications. They start you off with a seafood soup, hummus, babaganoush, salsa, salad, spiced rice, and pita. Then they brought out our sea bass, calamari, and jumbo prawns. So so incredible! I'd recommend this place to anyone - Dahab is perhaps even worth a trip just to eat here!


Apart from Sea Bride, Dahab is also really great (and more known) for its diving and snorkeling. I did some of my best diving in the Red Sea. At Golden Blocks for instance, I saw an enormous moray eel (more than a meter long), and a sea turtle feeding for a while before it swam away. El Bells/The Blue Hole was such a cool dive! You descend down "the chimney" to 30 meters before doing a swim through into this great blue abyss. The Blue Hole goes down to something like 800 meters so all you see is this deep blue nothingness in front of you, and a reef wall on your right. Really amazing! (It's called El Bells because as divers descend the chimney, their tanks sometimes bang against the sides, sounding like church bells on the surface.) Stupidly, I thought my underwater camera didnt go to 30 meters so I only have pictures from snorkeling The Blue Hole/Canyon:


snorkeling "The Canyon"



I'm not sure if my pictures do it any kind of justice, but Dahab is really a wonderful place. Go there! lol I only wish I had had time to explore more of the Red Sea coast - I hear Nuweiba is even better! Next time perhaps, I definitely want to come back here :)