Western Europe (9/17/08-10/2/08)

I spent two weeks with my mom and brother, blazing through 9 days in Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan and Lake Como-Bellagio)... and ending with 4 days in Paris. I then went on my way to Brugge for a couple of nights, staying with Wim, Samme and their pup Buddie.

Lowpoints:
-It was a rough start with our first 3 nights in Rome. Although the private apartment I booked was wonderfully clean, spacious, cheap and centrally located (with a view of the Colosseum right up the street)... it also happened to be right above a nightclub. Each night got progressively worse, from minor street noise the first night, to loud street noise and festive music the second, and serious thumping house beats on the third night (Saturday). Whenever the music dimmed to a lull, I would hope that the worst was over. But the sound continually crescendo-ed back up with techno sirens blaring in full force. I think the madness eventually stopped around 5am. Never book accommodation without reading adequate customer reviews.

-When my brother and I ordered some gelato in Florence, I thought the cashier was joking when she told me it was 7 euros per cone (over $10!). It wasn't so funny when she pointed to the discretely place price point tags. And the gelato wasn't nearly as good as the ones we had before (for 2-3 euroes). We stayed vigilant of tourist traps for the rest of the trip, and with my mother's hawkish eye for cost-value, we were pretty successful.

-After a late dinner in Venice, we were a 30-40 minute walk away from our apartment. After wandering about an hour, we thought we were close by... following our way along the grand canal path. I decided to ask a restaurant waiter, who was clearing up a final table outside, if we were close to our destination and he laughed. We had reached the canal path on a wrong section, and were heading away from, not toward, our hotel. Luckily, we were close to the water bus, and enjoyed a beautiful evening ride though the grand canal, tip to tip. We were exhausted, but had a good laugh - even with our short one day stay in Venice, I felt that I had sufficiently walked the city. Back at the apartment, my brother and I cleansed the room of about a dozen mosquitoes before heading to bed.

Highlights:
-We were blessed with perfect fall weather with only 1 day of rain - which we spent indoors at the Vatican Museum and St. Peters. The rain came back while in Paris, shortly after my mom brother headed off to the Paris airport.

-The expected: Stone, marble, tile, glass, paint. Pasta, pizza, meats and wine. Climbing towers, duomos, city views. Sistine Chapel, Statue of David, Mona Lisa, check.

-The moments of tranquility... taking it slow on Lake Como and in Bellagio. Sitting in Parisian parks. Cemetery Pere-Lachaise - where my brother and I particularly enjoyed... visiting the tombs of Jim Morrison, Chopin, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde... but the place made my mom feel a bit uneasy - the Taiwanese culture can be a bit superstitious, and it is considered bad luck to photograph graves. She distracted herself by collecting large chesnuts and colorful fall foliage from the grounds.

-Chilling out in Bruge with wonderful hosts Wim and Samme - taking Buddie (their cute cocker spaniel) out for city walks, Wim's delicious Flemish dinner, and wonderful conversation... everything from music and art, relationships, philosophy to enjoying laughs about Sarah Palin. On the second night, we drove to Ghent with their friend Patsy to the opening night of the season at the massive art-music performance house complex Vooruit.

Alaska (7/18/08-7/28/08)

Re-cap of 10-day camping trip around south-central Alaska with Andrey.

The first and last days of the trip were sunny, but the days in
between were often filled with clouds, drizzle or rain. On the bright
side, sun light was potentially visible until around 11pm, so we had
extra long days for activities... like hiking and moose-stalking
around Denali parks, kayaking and cruising around Prince William
Sound, fishing in the Kenai and Russian rivers, and a flight tour
around Mt. McKinley. We were lucky to have dry pockets every now and
then, but often, we just threw on rain boots and jackets and braved
the elements and wilderness.

We made good use of our rental car, covering a spectacular amount of
distance and admired the changing scenery along the way – stopping for
photos&video, making meals and mini-hikes. It sometimes felt like we
were on the run, as if trying to escape the rain. Luckily it didn't
rain as we crossed the awe-inspiring 135-mile Denali (dirt) hwy, which
was essentially an Alaskan safari… traveling along a simple dirt road
surrounded by wilderness and wildlife. We spotted moose, caribou and a
fox family. And since car rental agencies generally prohibit driving
on this road, there were very few other tourists.

We encountered a lot of other Alaskan animals as well – like a bear
cub fishing in Valdez, Denali hares showing off by hopping over each
other, shrews absentmindedly crossing our paths… in the sea waters
were sea lions and otters, humpback and killer whales… and flying
overhead were ravens, hawks, swallows, regal eagles, quirky puffins,
robust seagulls and a mass of kittiwakes.

The one thing I could have done without were the campsite mosquitoes,
which covered our tent every night, except when we slept by glacier
streams, when it was too cold. The people we met along the way were
extremely friendly and open, helpful, laid-back and trustful. We were
always allowed to return rental equipment after business hours on
front and back porches.

Bolivia and Peru (5/29/08-6/8/08)

Itinerary: Bolivia and Peru (5/29/08-6/8/08)
5/29/08-5/31/08: Bolivia (La Paz-Tiwanaku)
5/31/08-6/2/08: Bolivia (Copacabana-Isla Del Sol)
6/2/08-6/6/08: Peru (Cuzco-Ollanta-Machu Picchu)
6/6/08-6/8/08: Peru (Lima)


5/29/08-6/2/08: Bolivia (La Paz-Tiwanaku, Copacabana-Isla Del Sol)

I landed into La Paz, the world's highest capital city (airport is over 4,000 meters above sea level).... met Frederick on Friday evening - his friends were a warm and welcoming, fun loving mixed crowd, in their mid-20's to mid-30's (his polar opposite twin brother was a trip)... Started out in a couple of house parties, before bar/club hopping till dawn. Drinks were ridiculously cheap, and we drank plenty. I think the altitude neutralized the alcohol a bit (or maybe it was the coca or smoke-ables). Anyways, I felt pretty great - no altitude sickness here nor hang over the next day. Frede traveled on with me to Lake Titicaca for some beautiful hiking and some fun row boating to Isla Del Sol. Despite living in South America's poorest country, I found the Bolivians to be very generous and happy people.

BOLIVIA PHOTO LINK


6/2/08-6/8/08: Peru (Cuzco-Ollanta-Machu Picchu, Lima)

After the weekend, Frede went back to his job in banking, and I went on to Peru - starting off with a freezing 12-hour overnight bus ride to Cuzco for about 12 bucks. I spent the 2nd full day there heading up the Cuzco mountains with Siri, a beautiful 28 y/o girl from Marin County - she was of nordic background, born in Japan, and had traveled and lived all over the world including years in India and West Africa. We went on a mind blowing "San Pedro" journey of warmth, love, empathy, and spiritual insight. I really can't do it much justice here - but 'WHOA' - I can't recommend it enough either - I am very moved by the experience.

The last highlight of the trip was heading to Machu Picchu. Sure, there were loads of tourists... even at 5:30 am on the first series of buses heading up... but I guess I did my part by taking hundreds more pictures than I anticipated... limited only by the fact that my camera memory card filled up. But the site was massive, and it was easy to carve out some isolation. I spent about 10 hours hiking around the site, down various trails, in awe of the scenery pretty much the whole time there.

After 4 days in the region, I flew to Lima, spending my last couple of days enjoying the diverse fusion cuisine there. I stopped into Govinda a couple of times - a cafe run by the Hare Krishna, where I got a delicious 3-course vegetarian lunch for $2.50, before flying back on a red-eye back to NYC.

PERU PHOTO LINK

Southern Africa (4/16/08-4/28/08)

Itinerary: Southern Africa (4/16/08-4/28/08)
4/16/08-4/18/08: South Africa (Johannesburg)
4/18/08-4/20/08: Zimbabwe (Vic Falls)
4/20/08-4/22/08: Botswana (Chobe) and Namibia (Impalila)
4/22/08-4/24/08: South Africa (Johannesburg)
4/24/08-4/28/08: South Africa (Cape Town)


1. Zimbabwe - Vic Falls: The waterfall was in full flow - wet and misty, but got a great helicopter ride view and saw a beautiful lunar rainbow under the full moon. The falls area was chock-full of adventure activities - I did a walk with 3 young lions, sunset cruise on the Zambezi river and did the world third highest bungee jump (333 ft.) off the bridge connecting Zambia to Zimbabwe. Staying in Zimbabwe was especially interesting and heartbreaking. Currency-inflation is completely amuck. The bank rate is $1 US = $30K ZIM, but I was able to trade $1 US for $50 Million ZIM on the black market. It was $65 Million Zim to the US dollar two days later. A buffet dinner at the hotel cost $30 US, but less than $12 US with ZIM money. It is difficult to walk anywhere in Vic Falls without locals desperately trying to hawk souvenirs. I brought a big bag of my old clothes and was able to trade some for souvenirs, and gave the rest away - they went like hot cakes, it became impossible to help everyone. People kept asking me for my clothes. I befriended a local guy named "Peter the pumpkin eater" who brought me into his township - I bought us a big lunch for $2 - they get to eat once a day. Tourist activities on average cost about $100 a piece.

2. Botswana - Chobe Safari: Stayed a couple of nights in a pretty sweet safari lodge - went on a couple of game drives and a river safari - saw lots and lots of elephants (which Chobe is famous for), hippos and impalas... didn't get to see any major predators, but just some wild dogs, but learned to just appreciate being in the wild bush and felt the beauty of it all - though I have to admit it was a thrill trying to track down a lion that had previously been spotted. Did an afternoon trip to Impalila island village in Namibia... was cool to see their simple way of life - there was a warm and gentle innocence about the village - bright genuine smiles.

ZIMBABWE-BOTSWANA PHOTO LINK
VIDEO: VIC FALLS BUNGEE
VIDEO: VIC FALLS
VIDEO: VIC FALLS 2
VIDEO: LION WALK
VIDEO: FROGS CROAKING

3. S. Africa - Johannesburg: Not much in terms of tourism. A city I went to for the sole purpose of education. I hung out at night with a bunch of journalism students from Chicago-Northwestern who were doing an internship there - it was cool to hear their perspectives. After spending an afternoon in the very moving Apartheid Museum and getting briefed on S. African history, I spent the next day with Nel, an ex-history professor in Soweto (South West Township), learning of S. Africa's troubled past, current problems and seeing the signs of hope. We bonded throughout the day and played off each other's thoughts and enthusiasm. It is heartbreaking to learn of all the evil happening over there - over 50% HIV infection rate, major political corruption, brain drain (emigration of the good, smart and talented) and extremely high crime - the tension is obvious. Yet the South Africans I met were warm, generous loving people who love their country very much.

4. S. Africa - Cape Town: What a beautiful city. That is what everyone says. And that's all I could think as we flew in. I did a two day overnight hike around Cape Point - I was the only person doing the 40 km hike, which got a bit dicey at times, but the isolation with nature and animals was time very well spent. The breathtaking scenery was often changing... the first challenge was making it to rest camp before sundown, which was made difficult with a couple of downpours and lost trail paths. At one point on the way back, I had to exercise some common sense and very reluctantly back-tracked an hour and half of climbing/scaling rocks before deciding it was just too dangerous. After leaving the park, I intended to hitch a ride to the train station for the hour and half train ride back to Cape Town - but instead, these two guys took me to dinner and drove me back to Cape Town. As if the hike was not enough, I walked all over Cape Town, and met Zaney, a real estate agent who showed me around her neighborhood Bo-Kaap (also known as the Malay quarter) - mosques and bright colored houses (they paint their houses different colors 3 times a year - celebrating that only in recent times have they been able to own their homes).

SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO LINK

Argentina and Uruguay (2/11/08-2/18/08)

Itinerary: Argentina and Uruguay (2/11/08-2/18/08)
2/12/08-2/13/08: Argentina (Buenos Aires-San Telmo)
2/13/08-2/14/08: Argentina (Iguazu)
2/14/08-2/15/08: Uruguay (Montevideo)
2/15/08-2/18/08: Argentina (Buenos Aires-Palermo Viejo)

I flew into Buenos Aires from LA (was there for a wedding), and met up with my buddy Josh who flew down from NYC. We were supposed to meet on connecting flights in DC, but Josh got switched from United to American due to a delay at NYC – luckily we both arrived into Buenos Aires more or less around the same time. We had a jam-packed 1-week itinerary, but in the end felt we had our fill of sights and activities... dining was excellent and cheap, 'bout 1/3 what we pay here... taxi rides anywhere around town were easy and cheap as well.

We spent the first night in the San Telmo district of Buenos Aires. We wandered around the area most the day, and watched an excellent tango show at the El Viejo Almacen in the evening. Next, we headed off to Iguazu. That evening we caught a South American variety show/buffet dinner on the Brazilian side of the falls – cheesy, touristy, but fun. We spent the next day roaming around Iguazu and getting doused (under the survivable smaller falls) during the water adventure ride. Next, we flew to Montevideo, where we strolled around town and I had steak overload at Mercado del Puerto (the Port Market), along with a glass of medio y medio (champagne mixed with white wine).

On Friday, we headed back to Buenos Aires for the weekend. Where other cities claim to start late, Buenos Aires actually does; we often started dinner past 11pm, and clubs don't start till 1am - and were very impressive by international standards. Friday night was spent at "Palacio" and Saturday night at "Amerika." At "Amerika" there was a big crowd of guys from the Atlantis Cruise ship, so it was pretty festive.

Some highlights around Buenos Aires were wandering around the Recoleta cemetery and surrounding handicraft market, the San Telmo antique fair, Botanical Jardin, La Boca neighborhood, Malba museum, visiting the local sauna, meals around Palermo neighborhood (where we stayed) and a wonderful late afternoon spent at Tierra Santa, the world's first religious theme park, located next to the local airport – it was kitsch heaven.

ARGENTINA AND URUGUAY PHOTO LINK
VIDEO: EL VIEJO ALMACEN TANGO
VIDEO: IGUAZU DEVIL'S THROAT

Egypt and Scandinavia (12/23/07-1/7/08)

Itinerary: Egypt and Scandinavia (12/23/07-1/7/08)
12/24/07: Norway (Oslo)
12/25/07: Istanbul layover
12/26/07-1/1/08: Egypt (Cairo, Alexandria, Black-White Desert)
1/1/08-1/3/08: Norway (Oslo)
1/3/08-1/5/08 Sweden (Stockholm)
1/5/08-1/7/08: Norway (Oslo)

work in progress

12/24/07 Monday – arrived into Oslo in the morning – spent day getting over jetlag, hanging out at Edwards and preparing for our Egypt trip.

12/25/07 Headed out Tues morning – arrived into Istanbul for a 6 hour layover – quickly caught a cab to ------ the cab driver had shut off the meter at the last minute, so we were suspicious about the trip, but the local police was able to help us confirm the pricing. With the flight late and the cab ride in, we were left with just over 2 hours to wander around before we needed to head back – so we did a quick walk around of the blue mosque and aya sofia… then wandered into a corner local food joint for some grub and tea. Headed back to airport to hang out – impressed with the design of the airport. Arrived into Cairo – Edward had arranged with the Sheraton for vip service – and since it was already 1am, it was pretty cool to bypass the passport line and get a limo service to the hotel. A bit of a mix up at the hotel as they gave us a “regular” room, and not the “preferred room” with Nile river view. They told us they would get us in the correct room tomorrow.

12/26/07 Wednesday. We got breakfast downstairs and headed to the tourist office in the Sheraton – and noted what we wanted to see – and arranged car service/tour guide for the two days. Since it was nearly noon – we decided spend the afternoon at Giza and see the great pyramids and the sphinx. Our tour guide Ahmed was great – very informative and likeable. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by a papyrus store – the sales person gave us a demonstration on how papyrus paper was made. I bought an astrological and hieroglyphic chart. We enjoyed the hotel vip lounge (sushi, snacks and drinks)… and had dinner in the Japanese restaurant later for dinner.

12/27/07 Thursday. Early breakfast and 9 am tour start time. Ahmed could not make it, so we had a replacement tour guide – young 22 y/o girl just out of university – her English was good enough, and she wasn’t as trustworthy as Ahmed, so that put a damper on things – but she did make up somewhat with her enthusiasm – and I believe it was her first tour. We headed to the older pyramids at Saqqara and Dashur, and stopped by Memphis (the original ancient capital of Egypt) – there wasn’t much to see there, but glad we made the stop. Then back to Cairo for lunch and perfume shop where we tested out a bunch of basic scents that were used as the foundation for so many of the major designer perfumes. The sales person was quite entertaining and informative – Edward bought a 4-perfume box set. We then headed to the Egyptian museum and had a whirlwind tour of the grounds, and the most memorable (and macabre) part was walking through the two mummy rooms. Back at the hotel we crashed out.

12/28/07 Friday. Decided to have an easy day in Cairo. We headed to Islamic Cairo and walked around the markets Khan Khalik and past several mosques – and watched as so many people arrived for their afternoon prayers and chants blasted over loud speakers throughout the area. We headed back to the hotel early as Edward was not feeling well (and I felt pretty exhausted as well from the previous two days) We ordered in and went to bed early for our trip to Alexandria the next day.

12/29/07 Saturday. After breakfast, we caught a cab and headed to the train station. Getting through the line and getting tickets was a pain, as there were no clear signs. We eventually got on a train – probably the slower local one, as it was not very clean and took 3 hours (as opposed to 2.5). It was nice to breath some fresh air when arrived in Alexandria – we headed down to the catacombs and walked around underground, and then on our way back to the center, stopped by a pillar and a funeral procession passed us by. We hit the bay and had lunch at the Sofitel – could tell Edward’s health was sinking again… so we aimed to catch the 3:30p train back to Cairo. We enjoyed the walk down the Corinche (boardwalk) down to the Biblioteca, which was architecturally impressive – and we had just enough time to wander a bit inside and make it to the train station in time – unfortunately all tickets for the day were sold out, so we shot strait down to the bus station and caught the 4p bus to Cairo. The traffic going into Cairo was pretty rough, and it took us bout 5 hours to get back – we ordered room service again and called it a night. Edward decided it was best to take a day of rest the next day as he was starting to run a slight fever – and I decided to make a 1 day journey out to the white desert.

12/30/07 Sunday. I spent the morning negotiating with a cab driver on a rate to the white desert. We finally decided on a rate of 650 pounds ($118). It was a long ride out, but once we got to Bawitti and made a stop in the desert oasis museum with a bunch of clay figures depicting Bedouin life. After lunch in Bawitti, the cab driver then tried to arrange a driver to take me out to the black/white desert for 400-500 pounds, and when I mentioned that I didn’t have more money to spend, he said he could just take me to the black desert and then head back to Cairo. I suspected fleecing, but after consulting with a lady from SF (who was an archeologist living in Cairo, who called her friend to confirm fair rates) – I conceded to paying 800 pounds total ($145) to go all the way to the white desert. We made a stop in the black desert and I climbed to the top of one of the largest mounds in the area. Then we continued driving out to the white desert. Then the lame-ass cab driver starts to complain, saying that his car is not suited to drive out into the desert… then every 10 minutes says that we’re already in the white desert and questions if I’m expecting to go all the way to Farafa (the next desert oasis, which is about 40 km from the north end of the white desert)… and he tries to tell me that the guide book I have is 30 years old and out of date, and the landscape has changed – and bunch of other bullshit that just pissed me off, so I decide to just ignore him and tell him to drive. It was a bit frustrating that even my one attempt to find peace in desert nature was tainted by this annoying cab driver. We eventually made it to the white desert and I was happy. The cab driver tried telling me that I couldn’t walk out into the desert, and that I needed a Bedouin guide, but I really had had enough of entertaining anything he had to say. So I walked out and had a wonderful hour of peace and picture taking… it was so eerily silent that my ears rang – and I watched as the sun slowly began to descend.

We started our 500km (300 mile) drive back to Cairo – it was about 5pm, so I estimate that we’d be back in Cairo by 11p. It was going to be a long ass drive. About 60K from Cairo, we pull to the side of the road. The dumb-ass cab driver did not fill all the way up on gas while at Bawiti (probably to save on gas and get a cheaper rate in Cairo I suspect). Luckily a Haliburton truck pulled up minute later and they tied the taxi to the back of the truck. It was a bit frightening riding in the taxi just 2-3 feet behind the truck. About 5 minutes into the ride, the rope broke and they had to re-tie the vehicles – and I asked to sit up in the truck this time. We got near Cairo and the truck driver decided it was time to leave us. The taxi driver and I caught a shared taxi van to the nearest gas station, and I parked myself at the neighboring KFC while he went to fill a contain of gas to bring to the taxi… He picked me up at around 1am, and I was back at the Sheraton at 1:30am. Edward had stepped out for a short walk – and when he got back, we headed to bed.

12/31 Monday. For our last day, we headed down to Coptic Egypt – and walked around – entered some churches. Edward headed back early, and ended up buying cartouches and walked ‘on the other side of the tracks.’ It was a cool experience walking through this local neighborhood – I took some pictures of some kids playing around, and rode the metro back to the hotel area. Edward and I then just napped and ordered in dinner – we watched new years from the balcony – nothing impressive – no major fireworks or anything…. We headed off for our overnight flight back to Oslo. Two hour layover in Istanbul where we had our Starbucks hangout with Chai tea.

1/1-1/3 Tues-Thurs. Oslo.

1/3-1/5: Thurs-Sat. Stockholm. Thurs, walk around Old City. Fri, walk around Dun

1/5-1/7: Sat-Mon. Oslo. Sat night - Thai food, then movie (shoot ‘em up) in that part of town. Sun – car wash, nice walk around the other part of town.

Romania and West Middle East (11/15/07-11/28/07)

Itinerary: Romania and West Middle East (11/15/07-11/28/07)
11/16/07-11/18/07: Romania (Bucharest-Sinaia-Bucharest)
11/19/07: Israel (Tel Aviv)
11/20/07-11/21/07: Jordan (Petra)
11/21/07-11/22/07: Egypt-Sinai (Ras Shaitan)
11/22/07-11/27/07: Israel (Eilat-Jerusalem-Tel Aviv-Ein Gedi-Jerusalem)
11/27/07-11/28/07: Romania (Bucharest)


11/16/07 I arrived into Bucharest Friday morning and jumped onto the bus headed toward the city center. Several stops into the ride, an officer came on board checking tickets, and an older man across from me had not stamped his ticket, as we were all personally required to do upon boarding. His pleas were in vain as he was written up a citation (In US dollars, $30 penalty for not stamping the $2 tix). I heard later on that others had experienced the same strict enforcement of this rule. I got out at the Victoria Plaza stop, and took a cab to the hostel. As I was checking in, this guy named Eduardo came in minutes later - he was from Dallas, in college in Illinois, and currently studying abroad in Barcelona. We decided to venture out together - starting out at the Military museum down the street, then up toward the peasant museum. We weren’t certain which one it was, so we just decided to walk around the park across the street, and then up to the Arc de triumph, then the Village museum. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and I took many beautiful pictures of the colorful fall trees and their reflection along the lake. We then slowly made our way down to the old city centre, taking a whole bunch of pictures along the way. After walking around some more, we got coffee, and found ourselves on a path toward the National Palace (the 2nd largest building in the world next to the pentagon). We then made our way back to the hostel, and hung out there for the rest of the evening.

11/17/07 Sat – Eduardo and I took an early morning train up to Sinaia – the train was packed and many people had to stand. As we approached the mountains, it was beautiful to see the landscape change from bleak rainy grey to the beginnings of snowfall to full-on snow. We walked around the city centre (which was just a street) in search of tourist information, or even a map. Everything was closed – so we just decided to ask our way around up the mountain toward the monastery, and then Pele’s Castle (which was closed). We decided to head up the funicular to the mountain peak, in search of a few sites that my London friend Ant had told me about – I remembered something about a cross that was carved into the mountainside. When we eventually got to the top, we found ourselves in a middle of a blizzard – we were not going to get anywhere in those conditions, but it was fun to brave the elements for a while - but the fun stopped when the ice melted into our socks and toes. We headed back to Bucharest, bought some groceries and cooked pasta for dinner - I vaguely remember it costing us just a few bucks. After a short nap, we made out way out to the bars/clubs in the city center. The weather was absolutely miserable outside. Started at a sports bar, then an underground packed reggae club, then to a dance club that was unfortunately empty, but the club goers were having a great time dancing around the front stage. There were a couple of young break dancers who seemed to be acquainted with the young cute go-go dancer dancing on a box in the back corner - they all looked under 20.

11/18/07 Sun – Eduardo and I headed to the Romania history museum, and then headed to get coffee around the city center. We parted ways as he prepared to head back to Barcelona, and I made my way back to the National palace for an indoor tour and around to the modern art museum in the left wing. Afterwards, I made my way back to the hostel – met some more backpackers and we ordered some pizza for dinner, and I began my preparations for my trip to Israel. Arrived at the Bucharest airport just over an hour before the flight, which was the beginning of the security fiasco (in short, I was body cavity searched and not allowed to board with any of my personal belongings - and when I arrived into Tel Aviv, my shoes and camera were missing. I was eventually able to reclaim my shoes upon my return to Bucharest, but my camera was gone forever. I was a bit bummed that I lost all my pictures of Bucharest - but thankfully after writing a claim letter to El Al, they agreed to pay for my new camera and the pair of shoes that I bought in Tel Aviv.)

11/19/07 Arrived into Tel Aviv before dawn - and watched sunrise as I walked toward the beach - and checked into a hostel nearby. Then walked around – down a stretch, then went shopping around for new shoes and camera. Food was delicious. The malls were very american-like, except the security screening at every entrance. Britney's new album was blasting at one of the shoe stores.

11/20/07 Overnight bus down to Eilat. Crossed to Petra. Lots of older white tourists, weather was hot and pleasant with occasional gusts of wind that would blow sand everywhere. Election Day in Jordan.

11/21/07 Taxi Ride – Leaving Petra, we dropped this Danish rock climber off at Wadi Rum - the mountains around Wadi Rum were so beautiful, and I'm glad I got to see it, if even just for a few moments - then headed to Aquaba ferry crossing over to Nuweiba in the Sinai-Egypt. Took a taxi ride from Nuweiba Port past Nuweiba City (which looked pitifully dirty and abandoned) to Tarabin. At the entrance, I passed a couple of young Israelis and asked them if they had a place they could recommend to stay, and they told me to follow them to Ras Shaitan. I was a bit hesitant, since I knew it meant heading further north and that I would likely not be able to make it out to Mt. Sinai/St. Catherine’s monastery. But it felt like the right thing to do, and so I decided to let go of the “itinerary.” Once we arrived in Ras Shaitan, I knew that I had made the right choice – for the first time in the journey, I felt at absolute peace. It was the most wonderful evening – having great meaningful conversations. This young Parisian guy who was taking a year off from his Physics study, and had spent the last several months working at a Kibbutz, and this lady from Denmark, who frequented this camp, and was en route back to Cambodia where she was on her latest assignment from UNESCO. I loved hearing her stories of her experiences around Thailand – and how this one rather rude French kid had set off fireworks that accidentally set fire to a young British couple’s hut, burning all their belongings. The young couple reported the incident to the authorities (in order to be able to make an insurance claim), and the kid stubbornly refused to accept responsibility, and was eventually called out and put in jail for 6 months (spending that New Years in jail).

11/22/07 Enjoyed the day in Ras Shaitan, doing so yoga in the morning and snorkeling early afternoon - but spent most the day just lounging around having great conversations and enjoying the views in silence. Towards sunset, I met Andrea - she was also heading back to Tel Aviv that evening so we decided to travel up together. As I was crossing the metal detector at the Taba border crossing, someone bolted by my right side - and I thought he was being chased. It was a bit disorienting because I had a very clear view of the panic in his eyes, and in his body language - tearing through the station as fast as he could in any way possible. Then seconds later, a whole bunch of people came running... along with security guards shouting out in Hebrew. Finally got the message that there was a bomb and I bolted out as well, leaving luggage and passport behind. Turned out to just be a bomb scare. Roughly 45 minutes later, the 'suspicious vehicle' was determined to be bomb free, and we returned into the building to "officially" cross the border.

Andrea and I then went to the gas station to hitchhike (or as they say there 'tram') to Tel Aviv - along with another guy from Ras Rhaitan who was headed to Jerusalem. The last time to catch the last bus a few blocks away came and went... but I was willing to believe in Andrea, and she believed that we could find a ride. I think us another 15-30 minutes, but a lanky nice-looking guy around my age pulled up in a nice car, and offered us a ride to Jerusalem... Andrea and I had intended on going to Tel Aviv, but it had crossed my mind earlier that I would end up in Jerusalem that night, so we decided to go with the ride. It was a beautiful ride - as per 'tram' custom, we didn't talk much... and our demon driver was blasting Elton John as he raced through the full moon lighted Negrev desert. He got us there in just 3.5 hours, crossing through the west bank area.

11/23/07 Andrea and I had a delicious vegetarian lunch at T Mol café. Then I ventured off to the Old City, western wall, where I walked by Jerry Seinfeld on my way out. Andrea was awesome to arrange Shabbat dinner for me - first got to meet of younger folk gathering at one place, then to another locale around the block with an older crowd, with food of a particular vegan diet - I don't remember details, but it all tasted so good. Going around the room, one at a time, people introduced themselves and spoke about what they were grateful for. Some people spoke pretty extensively, and side conversations often sparked, so the process of getting around the table moved very very slowly. Hours later, I headed off to Tel Aviv. I felt a bit rude to leave, but I wanted to meet Ofir in Tel Aviv, and I was ready for some nightlife. Since it was Shabbat, the public transport system was shut down, so I caught a Sheruit (shuttle van) to Tel Aviv - so convenient and just 25 shequels ($6) for the 1 hour ride. The club that I was very excited to check out was closed, so I headed to a bar instead. It was very packed, and I had a blast until the early morning meeting lots of fun people.

11/24/07 Sat – I spent the day walking up the Tel Aviv shoreline – it was a beautiful sunny day, and I watched another beautiful sunset on my way back down. In the evening, I met up with the guy who had sold me shoes earlier that Monday, and we had a good time just wandering and chatting.

11/25/07-11/26/07 – Made my way to Ein Gedi/Dead Sea. Got there around 3PM – met my two hostel mates (a couple of older gay men from SF) and we headed down to the Dead Sea to float around while the sun was still out. It began to set on our way back. Then dinner in the cafeteria, I headed back out again to float in the Dead Sea under the full moon light (this time with a German lady who offered to show me a direct path down to the waters). We enjoyed the beautiful quiet night afterwards and chatted a bit. I probably got a bit ill after that as I had a rough night (didn’t get a full blown fever, but was definitely feeling some sort of nightmare-ish stress throughout the night), and woke up feeling drained. Nevertheless, I decided to make my way to Masada with my two hostel mates. Took the funicular up to conserve energy, and enjoyed a few hours wandering around the fortress alone. It was then time to make my way back to Jerusalem. Arrived in the afternoon and took a cab to the Demascius Gate (entrance to Muslim quarters), where I headed to a hostel recommended by my two hostel mates back in Ein Gedi (and highly recommended by my lonely planet guide as well). I took a short walk around the old city before heading back to the hostel to take a nap. I woke up and met a crazy tough looking hostel mate from Scotland who was really cool. He showed me some stuff he had bought and the bumper stickers he was sticking all over town (I wish I could remember what the message was… some affirmative message about Mother nature) We headed out with this guide guy named Said, who was heavily medicated and an original ‘pan-handler’ that he had met he first arrived into Jerusalem a couple of weeks ago – and he was able to pick me up a fresh brown sack dinner (tomato, cucumber and pita) – and in return asked me to buy him a pack of cigarettes. It was fun watching Said constantly offering his services to everyone around us, and he would often disappear from us for long moments at a time. I enjoyed the quiet quirky evening, and made my way back to the hostel to retire early.

11/27/07 – I woke up early in time for the sunrise, and had a sublime view over the old city from the rooftop terrace of the hostel. I was glad to have taken it easy the day before as I now felt refreshed and able to enjoy my last day in Israel. I had an excellent refreshing breakfast and made my way over to the temple mount, which contained the mosque that housed the rock from which Muhammad ascended into heaven. I then checked out of the hostel and caught the bus line that did a loop around Jerusalem every 2 hours. I was afraid that I had missed the bus, as I was nearly 10 minutes late to the stop and it would be too late to wait for the next one (and still be able to visit the Holocaust museum and make my flight). But I oddly felt that it would all work out, and decided to wait – and the bus arrived 5 minutes later! I left the bus at the Holocaust museum where I had 2 hours to explore before I had to catch the next bus to the central station. It was a very emotional journey through the grandest of the holocaust museum – as I reflected on all the places I had been to (from Anne Frank’s house 5 years ago in Amsterdam, and my summer European trip to the holocaust museum in Berlin, terror house in Budapest, and Aushwitz). I arrived back in Bucharest, back to Friend’s hostel.

11/28/07 – The weather in Bucharest was beautiful - I checked out of the hostel and headed up to the Peasant museum, before catching the bus to the airport back to NYC.

ROMANIA PHOTO LINK
W MIDDLE EAST PHOTO LINK