Sunsets on the Boardwalk

 Israel 2007, Tel Aviv  No Responses »
Jan 252010
 

When travelling , one is often surprised at the disparity between what you see on the news and TV and what actually exists in reality. Growing up in Trinidad, when Israel was mentioned (typically on the TV or Newspapers, because Trinis don’t really think about the Middle East in the grand scheme of things, we have our own drama with Manning and Panday and Ramesh), the only thoughts that came to mind were those of war, terror, fighting and death. It’s all you saw on CNN. One becomes a little densensitized to the whole affair, to the death and pain. You hear the stories in the news, “ XXX die in city center bombing”, “Suicide bomber kills XXX number of people in the main market”, and other similar stories.

As much as traveling can help expand the horizons of your perception, it is always difficult to overcome childhood biases and stereotypes. Walking down the boardwalk in Tel Aviv was as much an exercise in breaking that terrible thought association as much as it was to enjoy the sights of beautiful sunset on a lovely warm evening, with the waves crashing on the shore, the smell of hummus, wine and sea salt wafting through the air and the sound of Arabic music all around.

As the evening wore on, the joggers and evening enthusiasts came out, for a swim, walk or just enjoying the company of a friend . You can also catch enjoy people playing matkot. Matkot, according to Wikipedia, “or beach paddleball, is a popular traditionally non-competitive game in Israel, sometimes called Israel’s unofficial national sport.” It is played with two players who attempt to hit the ball back and forth as many times as humanly possible, creating a high-risk environment where beachgoers can enjoy the possibility of being hit in the head by a ball flying at Mach-2. I’ve seen Israelis playing the game on Ipanema and Copacabana … they do seem to love the game.

Walking along the Boardwalk, you realize the small pleasure of enjoying that sunset on the coast of Tel Aviv. The history, the sand and just the vibrant energy of the people. I asked many people I met, about the threat of war and fighting to the North and the responses were consistent. People are accustomed the fighting and the war and all have their own politcal views, but they all agree that life has to go on and they can allow the events in the region to dictate how they live their lives. In Trinidad, we just have to worry about Manning and Panday, people in Tel Aviv have to worry about fighting, bombing, gas attacks, and this is after they spend their mandatory time in the army.

Everyone seems to just enjoy the heat and the restaurants along the Boardwalk.

But for now, it’s easier to forget all the world’s problems and just look at sunsets

 Posted by rishiray at 6:40 am  Tagged with: , ,

Leaving Tel Aviv for London

 2007, Israel 2007, Tel Aviv  No Responses »
Jun 192007
 

Leaving Tel Aviv was something else on this trip. Since I thought that the majority of the security was actually when you were coming into Israel, I was typically relaxed on my journey back. From the hotel, I had to get a cab from The Dan Tel Aviv to the airport. So I got a cab in front the airport and typically when I asked the fare… his response was 150 shekhels. From the initial trip to the hotel from the airport, the flat rate that was charged was 130 shekhels, so naturally I was like “WTF?!?!”. So I countered with a 120 shekhels, he countered with 140, then I stuck firm to 120, he came down to 130, and I stayed firm again and then he came down to 120. Of course, he took his sweet old time in getting to the airport, but for once I planned lots of time ahead since Heather had told me about the difficulties she faced. Now of course leavinga great view like this

and a boardwalk like this

 

is kinda tough!!

Well when I finally got to the airport… check #1, a guy looks at me coming and ignores everyone else and pulls me out of the line to question my documentation, however I had Peter’s explanatory letter in hand and printed for such an occasion. The guard read the letter and sent me along my way. Before I got to main gate, I was stopped by another guard, another passport check and again went along. Finally I get to the security line up, and then the trouble started. I get this retarded girl who spoke poor English, and then proceeded to question me about everything under the sun, including my parents being from T&T. In fact, I was really getting annoyed by the irrelevant questioning. So I told her so, so she brings a supervisor, of course I realized that I’m going to get through the grill anyway and they were going to search everything in my luggage, so I just went ahead and did the whole piss poor tourist thing, including telling them that their questioning was stupid and irrelevant.
Of course, I am taken out of the line and of course duly searched and my luggage is taken apart and searched as though I were Osama himself. The good thing though is that they check you in and everything, when they decide to screw you, and of course send someone to cuddle with you like the real thing, when it is over. By that time though, I had decided I had enough of Israel and was time to leave. The duty free section in Tel Aviv was like a shopping mall though and I found two bottles of 30 yr old Rum but I was so pissed about the whole searching experience, that I decided that I didn’t want to buy anything from the country. So of course I got on my flight and headed to Vienna and then London.

 Posted by rishiray at 3:59 pm

Working at Ness in Tel Aviv – 18th June, 2007

 2007, Israel 2007, Tel Aviv  No Responses »
Jun 182007
 

Final work day with Hagit at Given Imaging, got most of the SAP data issues under control, got the position to position issues completed via custom RFC. Long day as usual. Once the day was done at 6pm or so, Itai and I headed off to the hotel, but I expressed my insane craving for a bacon burger, since being in Israel, there was a precious lack of good beef or anything resembling bacon. As much as I liked the breakfasts at the hotel, I was pretty sick of the same breakfast in the morning of Coffee, Fresh Juice, Tabouleh, Pine nut cabbage salad, hummus and some tuna salad. This sounds great if you have to have it for 2 days, but when you have some variation of it for the past 8 days or so, you’re pretty sick of it after a while.

So we went to a place called the Burger Bar… and it is exactly as it sounds, a bar that sells decent burgers. I got the biggest patty, which was about a 1 1/2lb of beef, some guacamole, stewed onions and 4 slices of bacon. Break out some shoestring fries and a Strawberry daiquiri.. and you have a champion meal. So some good conversation and what not, then back to the hotel to get ready for the trip to London in the morning.

 Posted by rishiray at 4:08 pm

Jerusalem Photo Log

 2007, Israel 2007, Jerusalem  No Responses »
Jun 162007
 

http://rishiray.smugmug.com/gallery/3011865_ioZPA#163516912_j8rCK

 Posted by rishiray at 4:13 pm

Floating in the Dead Sea? Don’t open your eyes!!

 Dead Sea, Israel 2007  No Responses »
Jun 152007
 

Getting to the Dead Sea is fairly easy – in fact it is quite easy and you can approach from a number of directions in Israel.

  • From Jerusalem (39km from Northern Dead Sea)
  • From Eilat (220km from Southern Dead Sea)
  • From Tel Aviv (98km from Northern Dead Sea).

Since, I was situated in Tel Aviv, then it meant taking a tour from Tel Aviv will also subject you to the mandatory tour bus shopping experience. This is always my main pet peeve about these organized tours. I have no desire to eat at the sponsored restaurant and I have no desire to shop for anything. However, if you want convenience, then this is the price to pay, in addition to your valuable shekhels.

Of course, one doesn’t really need to figure out that it is an awesome tourist attraction with facilities to match. As the lowest point in the world at 394.6 m (1269 ft) below sea level. That being said this area is saturated with pricey resorts, day spas (many people believe that the mud of the Dead Sea has special healing and cosmetic uses), and admission fee-only beaches ready to gouge as much as possible out of visitors.

The Dead Sea is about as much of a surreal experience as you’ve been lead to believe. Normally, I don’t really subscribe to hype but once you wade into the “waters”, you’re hit with a myriad of sensations. Before explaining, one has to understand that the salt concentration of the Dead Sea fluctuates around 31.5%. It’s about 8.6 times as salty as the ocean—and anyone can float easily because of the natural buoyancy. Think about that … almost 1/3 of the brine is solid salt.

A rock could float here, so no matter how terrible a swimmer/floater you are, floating is beyond effortless. Your main mission here is to avoid the liquid touching your face and head. instead, all of your energy and attention is diverted to keeping the salty brine from entering your eyes, nose or mouth. The water is very gritty and noticeably thicker than any other type of ocean water I’ve ever encountered.

Of course, me wanting to “experience” this nonsense … I just had to dip my head in the brine. I’ve tasted some foul, bowel retching things during my travels, but I’d be happy if I went the rest of my days without such an experience again.

  • Think about putting a pound of salt into a glass of water and then trying some of that.
  • After that, take some epsom salts and then put it in that glass and try to mix that. Now try that.
  • After that, take some rotten eggs shells, break them up and toss them into the glass. Now try that.

Combine the smells and taste from that mixture and you’re just starting to approach what my tastebuds had to endure. In sampling the Dead Sea, there is an instant inescapable convulsion of spitting and gagging that leaves your mouth in misery long after you’ve guzzled the last of your water.

Now after tasting this nonsense … there are other things to worry about, in that the salt immediately crystallizes on your eyes – hence opening them becomes almost impossible unless you like the burning sensation in your eyes. Then all your skins starts pickling – note that I took a shave 3 days before going to Masada/Dead Sea. It felt like someone was taking a cheese grater to my skin. Every little nick and cut on your body instantly starts screaming, while your body pickles at an alarming rate.

Additionally, in walking through the mud, the solid salt deposits will scratch your legs and back, if you fall in. Prepare for pain, as each scratch will feel like a sword in your chest.

That being said … would I do it again? Hell yes! Floating was awesome, free facial and body scrub … good for my skin. Next time, I’ll know better than to dip my head into the brine.

Lessons learned for next time:

  • Wear Sandals
  • Don’t dip head into brine
  • Don’t taste brine
  • Before using a towel … use the showers. They’re there for a reason. Towelling before showering will require a new towel.

Masada & Dead Sea

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