Not normally nervous when arriving in a new country (anymore), I was definitely on edge when my plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport. I knew security would be intense and I was mostly prepared, except for one sizable oversight - my exit flight from Israel hadn't yet been booked. Of course, this isn't something I make a habit of doing, but in my rush and exhaustion from the past few weeks, this one slipped through. I realized it when I searched for the confirmation amongst my documents on the flight from Istanbul.
So I prepared to rant about the extend of my round-the-world trip and left the plane hoping I'd get to see the light of day. Now I know how people feel when they land at JFK for the first time.
Who Are You Really?
I was immediately stopped by a young and serious looking man as we disembarked. He asked if I was on my own and I explained that I was meeting a friend here from London who would be landing in a few hours, joining me for a week in the middle of my trip around the world.
Unimpressed, he said, "Well that's a long way to fly just to meet a friend."
To which I thought a classic line of my brother's, "Yeah...but I'm great."
Remembering that I was probably speaking to one of the best trained interrogators in the world, I opted for a slightly more tactful (and honest) approach, "Yes, you are right. I'm very grateful she can come along."
That seemed to work, and we moved on to the usual addresses of my hotels, plans of places to visit, etc. I braced myself for the dreaded evidence of a departure flight, but luckily I'd passed whatever test he was putting me through, and with a polite smile he sent me on my way. Phew.
The conversation then played out again twice more at immigration and again just before baggage claim. The staff was stern, but extremely polite, and I felt no animosity towards them. Israel is a country that has basically been at war since 1945. This is part of the price you pay when you visit, even if you are American.
Since we arrived on Friday afternoon, ALL public transport was shut down for the sabbath. So the normally cheap and efficient bus system was sadly unavailable, and I took an extremely expensive cab into Tel Aviv as the sun was setting. I was immediately impressed with the modern road system and large, beautiful buildings in the center of the city. But coming near the hotel, I got hints of what was to come...
No place I'd travelled to surprised me more than Tel Aviv. Its the beach, really, that makes it so wonderful.
Like a Sneaky Waikiki
Clearly the main focus for locals and tourists alike, the Mediteranian beach is clean, warm and only steps away from most of the places in the city you want to visit. It's like Waikiki without all the honeymooners.
I met Patricia at the hotel, thrilled to see a familiar face that wasn't Tom (no offense, of course), and full of excitement to finally be in Israel. I'd read more about this country than perhaps any other, but as we walked along the waterfront, I realized most of it had been politics and strife, but I actually knew very little about the real people and their lives.
We found the people to be friendly, smart and attractive; the food was an excellent combination of local and international, all very fresh; and the public mini-buses, when they started again on Saturday night, were fast and useful. Plus, you can surf!
It was amazing to me that there was no sign of the fear and hatred we hear so much about in the news.
Patricia and I had an ambitious agenda for our week in Israel and Jordan, so sadly we were only able to spend a night and a day. But in that time we spent a few hours on the beach playing in the waves, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the open air bars, and taking in some of Tel Aviv's historical sights. I watched young entrepreneurs ducking out of the office for a few hours in the surf and felt like this was somewhere I could live. Imagine my mother gasping right now.
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