Final Transit

I will officially be homeless in few days. So please don’t send me a snail mail, I don’t have a physical address for now.

I sublet my apartment, packed my stuff in 7 boxes, dropped them off at friends places and now I am ready to travel. After working long hours, I quit my job, took a term off from school and arranged for this little 12 week holiday. Perhaps it was a bad move in these days of recession, but who cares, time to worry about it will only be in 2009.

Like the title says, I am headed for Russia first (3.2 weeks).

I have a sketchy itinerary for now which covers - European Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Golden Ring) and Caucasian Russia (Sochi, Black Sea). It’s a big country and I am spending very little time there. Which only means that I have to visit again!

And I learnt an important lesson from my Peru trip. Learning the local language is very very important, otherwise you are left in the middle of nowhere (not that it’s bad.) So I spent last two months learning Russian. So many new sounds!

I will, unfortunately, miss reading many lovely blogs and I will try to catch up later. While I am carrying my laptop, I do not foresee blogging from Russia.

After Russia, I’ll visit India (7 weeks) and Bhutan (2 weeks) before returning back home (Toronto) early next year.

Any advice and tips welcome. My email address is ‘mail-at-priyank-dot-com’, I’ll be happy to hear from you

cheers,
Priyank.

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Very hard to describe what I saw in the subway today. She looked like any other 35 year old mom with her 3 year old son. Yet, something was very different about them. The two were lost in deep conversations with each other, totally oblivious to the world around them. She was very mom-like, yet spoke to her son like a 3 year old kid. The child was very happy, very cheerful, asked lots of questions and seemed to be enjoying his mom’s company thoroughly. Not just me, but everyone else in the compartment were looking at the two!

That reminded me of a story.

::::

When you are 13 or 14 years old, you think that ‘nagging you’ is the sole purpose of your parents, isn’t it?

On one such day, years ago, I was getting ready for school and it was already late. I was wearing my socks carelessly (as usual):

Dad (exclaimed): अरे जरा लक्ष दे!     Hey, pay some attention!
Me (irritated): काय झालं?     What’s wrong? - (To myself: ‘He is so annoying.’)
Dad: मोजे उल्टे घालतोएस     You are wearing your socks inside out. - (I looked. Indeed the stitches were on the outside.)
Me (dismissively): जाऊ दे ना, कोण बघतय!     Oh forget it, no one’s gonna notice anyway!
…
Dad: कुणी कशाला बघितलं पाहिजे, तु स्वतः नाही बघणार का?     Why bother about anyone else noticing, won’t YOU notice it yourself?

Translation obviously not strong enough.

At that time I must have dismissed it as yet another ‘dad-talk.’ But in no time I learnt the immense value of this statement. I learnt the importance of setting high self standards regardless of other people’s low expectations. Doing things not to impress others, but to impress myself. I can write a long essay on this, but hey that’s not the intent of this post. So, picking up the cue ‘focus on other people, not on yourself’ from Randy Pausch’s ‘Last Lecture’, I simply wanted to say:

“Happy Birthday Dad!”
wait, that’s not all,
“Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad :)”

Just in case you wondered who the awesomemost parents in the world were.

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My plane too off the runway and as I watched the land of Israel from my window growing smaller and smaller, I inadvertently found saying to myself:
“येतो मी…” (yeto mee) - An informal ‘good bye’ in Marathi which roughly translates to ‘I shall return.’ *

Sounds melodramatic to me too but if my 20+ blog posts on different travel experiences in Israel were any indicators of how thoroughly I enjoyed that country, the actual feeling was many times more.

Israel is heavily Americanised (obviously) but their style of working is wayy more Eastern. I claim this after having worked with an Israeli company for five months and ofcourse you are welcome with insights. They have about the lowest city crime rates but extremely sensitive borders. The people appear to be rude but infact are simply straightforward. With Jewish immigrants from all over the world, one can never tell what an Israeli looks like. A traveler in Israel is often confused about what the country really is. The more time I spent, the more confused and curious I got

Exiting Israel is tedious. All non Jewish non Israelis are subject to questioning at the time of departure. I was interviewed for forty minutes straight. Repetitive questions are asked and someone had advised me to lie and not disclose details of my backpacking - esp going to West Bank. Thankfully I replied honestly because it is simply impossible to lie and lie again for that long! It is natural to have so much security given how much problems the country is subject to. Once the interrogation was done, they assigned a guy who bypassed all standard airport barriers and took me straight to the immigration. That was cool. The Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv is wi-fi enabled and okay comfortable.

An average Israeli is extremely aware about India. But then don’t forget - there are more Israelis in India than in Israel itself. hahaha, I’m kidding ofcourse. There are very few travelers who travel to Israel on an Indian passport and time and again the security guards simply let me pass without checking, ‘Oh you are from India?’. They added a comment like ‘I am going to India next year’ or ‘Goa is very beautiful’ or ‘Namaste’ etc.

So much still to do in Israel:
- Golan heights: See Syria from the forested mountain top
- Negev Desert: Camp in the beautiful sand and natural formations
- Eilat: It’s more of a romantic place so I won’t go alone
- West Bank: Explore more cities
- Gaza: Whenever possible…

All this shall be done soon *

At Mount of Olives, with Dome of the Rock in the background, Old city of Jerusalem.

°   Here is the link to all travelogs on Israel.
°   Here is the link to the Photo Gallery.

I hope you have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing this travel series. Your comments/critique is solicited and greatly appreciated. I am sure there will be bits and pieces that I will keep writing about.

cheers,
Priyank.

* I will be going back to Israel in the Fall of 2009 for a whole semester at Tel-Aviv University!

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Jaffa, western port of the Canaanite empire, 1470 BCE.
Pharaoh Thutmose III sought to regain Egypt’s control over the lands as far as Syria. He presented large baskets full of ‘gifts’ to the governor of Jaffa, an important port city of Canaan. Little did the governor know about armed Egyptian warriors hidden in those baskets.

Jaffa (जाफा, also called Yafo), located south of Tel Aviv, is among the oldest cities in Israel and consequently has a very turbulent and bloody history.

Jaffa port and a Turkish Minaret

History:

Archaeological evidence shows that Jaffa was inhabited some 7,500 BCE, which is really really old It occurred in recorded history only around the time of Canaan’s and was subsequently controlled by various powers - Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Jews, Arabs, Mamluks, Christians, Turks, Napoleon, British etc. (not necessarily in that order!).

In 1947 when the UN plan to divide Israel and Palestine was declared, Jaffa, being a Arab town, was designated as an Arab enclave inside Jewish Israel. Riots followed and in 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Jews conquered Jaffa. Arab residents fled. In 1954, Tel-Aviv and Jaffa were united under a municipality and Jaffa, or Yafo as it is called today, was converted to a cultural and historical center.

Today, Yafo has a mixed population of the three religions of the book.

Clock tower built in the honor of the Ottoman ruler

Welcome to Jaffa - the place from where I blogged months ago.

Seen in the picture is the clock tower of Jaffa, a monument erected in the first decade of 20th century in honor of the Ottoman Turks. By local standards, this is a brand new structure! In the old days, the clock square served as a welcome plaza to people who arrived to the town. There are markets (called shuk/शूक्) and narrow streets all around.

Guarding the sea port

Tourism:

Parts of the Old City have been renovated, turning Jaffa into a tourist attraction featuring old restored buildings, art galleries, theaters, souvenir shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and promenades. Several remodeling projects were underway and I think the government is actively promoting this area as a pleasant drive away from the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv. Large number of visitors are seen during evenings and weekends, hanging out on the spiraling paths looking over the Mediterranean sea.

A typical alley. An art store appears suddenly in one of those little rooms

The old town itself is a maze of narrow stone streets and buildings. There were expensive cafes, restaurants, art galleries, souvenir shops and even a couple of museums. There are a couple of Churches and chapels, remainants of the Crusader era and a large Mosque that broadcasts a melodious morning azaan.

The Wishing Bridge. Apart from world peace, I wished for lot of money for myself. Neither came true

Doing ‘nothing’ in Jaffa

Since I was very stressed at the end of my travels and work, I simply cooled off for two days and did nothing but hangout on the stone façades soaking the breeze from the sea.

One of my most pleasant memories was having a breakfast in a rundown eatery. It was full of cab drivers are wage workers but the food was heavenly. Simple pita bread, spiced hummus, falafel, fried eggplant and other assorted vegetables. Inspite of having similar kind of food for two weeks, this place somehow remained etched in my memory. I watched people moving stuff in carts and shouting from one end of the street to the other, signaling by hand gestures that the truck can pass. It made a great animation while writing my journal and sipping endless cups of mint tea. Occasionally someone would pass by and say hello. A simple ‘Walikum es salaam‘ reply would bring a wide grin on their faces.

On my last day

Series to be concluded in the next post.

Pictures and slideshow: Tel-Aviv and Yafo Photo Gallery

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“Haifa to work, Jerusalem to pray and Tel Aviv to play.”
That’s what they say!

I was in Tel Aviv (तेल् अवीव्) for 9 whole days! Doing what? Ah, school work, the reason for which I went to Israel in the first place As a result, I was unable to see anything worthwhile in the city other than my hotel and the Tel Aviv University and uh the road commute!

Tel Aviv, seen from Jaffa

Happy New Year 2008!!

I can’t believe it’s October already. I was partying at a club in Tel Aviv while having a glass of Champagne for 10 NIS ($2.5) followed by some bar hopping. The reason I mention this is because it is weird to have champagne in a noisy place, never done that before. My Israeli friends said that I cannot return before seeing the sunrise, and I laughed. I am not 19 anymore but that day was different

Tel Aviv is a party place. The city doesn’t sleep. I walked over with some friends to the beach well past midnight on a Friday night and the place was quite busy. Brazilian drums only make the weekend homecoming from military service more fun. Most Israelis in the 18-22 age group are in the military which is pretty stressful, so imagine their excitement when on break. Needless to say, sex is easily available and Israelis are extremely approachable overall.

The Ha Carmel Market

Ha’Carmel Market
(open everyday except Saturday)

Seen too much touristic stuff? Here is the place where you get to see the real side of Israel. Ha Carmal is a huge bazaar (shuk) with rows and rows of hawkers who put up stands on the street. There are more stores hidden behind those on display in the middle of the road. It makes for an excellent walk - very noisy, smelly and crowded. The market has clothing, footwear in addition to fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, desserts, fish and meat. There are stores that bring spices from Asia and Africa. It is amusing sight to watch women haggle over stuff with the vendors This market is very small compared to an average bazaar in India but still enchanting enough.

Boreka is a Turkish-Bulgarian puffed pastry filled with cheese and potatos (and other fillings). I had fresh ones at a place and they were heavenly. I also bought a bag of assorted candies which have a universal taste.

Vegetable vendor भाजीवाला

Nachalat Binyamin
(open Tuesday and Friday)

Arts, crafts and street performances. Those words are enough to describe Nahalat Binyamin, the artists’ bazaar. Blame me for not carrying enough batteries but I will try to paint a visual image of this place.

A street plaza dotted on both sides with colorful people exhibiting very interesting wares. A painter who drew landscapes, next to him a craftsman who made designs from broken pieces of glass, next was a Guitarist playing Kletzmer music. Suddenly I was stopped by a man dressed excellently like Lord Shiva who said ‘Om’ and left after I handed him two Shekels. An interesting array of delicate jewelery, handicrafts like glass wind chimes, woolen dolls, furniture crafted from bark of a tree, matchstick models of houses and ashtrays shaped like birds.

It is such a pleasure to walk through this market and stop by to appreciate their art. I must have spent a couple of hours picking up souvenirs

So many types of bread!

Safety

I must mention that Israel is one of the most safest places in the world to travel - when talking about petty crimes on the street or problems to tourists. They seem to have only big scale problems - like wars and bombings.

Unlike Peru or Russia (hearsay), policemen are invisible in Israel. Except at places where you expect them - bus and train stations, entrance to the university, and ofcourse the border checkpoints with West Bank. I haven’t been to Gaza because it was risky (almost prohibited) for tourists to enter that area. While in Israel, there were rocket attacks and retaliation and stuff like that which is seen as ‘normal’. Security largely depends on intelligence reports and is tightened if required.

Market Street, Ha’Carmel Shuk

Neighborhoods

Tel Aviv streets are great for walking - since I did not go to the crowded downtown area. I loved especially the area around Allenby and Rothschild streets. That is an area with a young population and consequently has good places to eat, have coffee and drink. My hotel was on the beach close to the Tel Aviv port - now remodeled to an entertainment block. A walk along the sea is always pleasurable. I understand that to the reader this may make no sense oops.

Candy!

Bene Israelis

The Jewish community living in Maharashtra, India, predominantly the Konkan coast are known as Bene Israelis. Most of them have emigrated to Israel but they maintain a strong link to their roots, including annual India festival, danceforms (lavni, kathak etc) and even a quarterly publication (मायबोली). They speak Judæo-Marathi (जुदाव मराठी) which is Marathi characterized by a few loanwords from Hebrew and Aramaic.

I had the pleasure of visiting a Marathi Jewish family for dinner. It was indeed a pleasure to have a delicious traditional meal - with खोब-याची चटणी, पुरी, बटाट्याची भाजी, उसळ, श्रीखंड (some traditional foods of Maharashtra). And little did I imagine that I would be speaking Marathi in Israel !

A हलवाअी and his Desserts! मीठाअी. Ask for a free sample!

Tel Aviv is like any other international city. It has both, upscale and fancy - and rundown and boring areas. The airport is located about 30 minutes from downtown and is conveniently connected by comfortable train. The city is served by a very good bus network called Dan.

Blue blue Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is very beautiful. In December-January it was OK cold and I saw people swimming. Tel Aviv beach is very long and beautiful. There is a nice promenade along the coast that leads straight up to Jaffa, the old port town. I will be heading there next, my last stop.

Pictures and slideshow: Tel-Aviv and Yafo Photo Gallery

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