It was a “not so good” Monday morning of July 4, 2011 when my Boss suddenly called me. Obviously, he’s not in the mood so I was hesitant to talk to him (he might scold me due to my tardiness!). He just told me that there is a training in Israel and since I’m the one handling the equipment, I will be the one to be sent. I need to get my passport and coordinate with concerns so the necessary documentation be processed immediately….and departure is on July 8. Is this a joke!!! God! This is a wonderful joke. Don't you just love being surprised with a good news?
So off to Israel…
First thing in mind???? Not the training of course! But Holy Land! My mom and I used to dream about going to Holy Land for a pilgrimage..and now here it is!!!! And everything is FREE (without filing for a leave)!!!! So for four days, I was full of excitement.
After almost two days of travel – PHL to HK (3 hrs.), 5 hrs. lay-over in HK, HK-SWZ (12 hrs.), 6 hrs. lay-over in SWZ and SWZ-ISR (5 hrs.)…here we are…….Hello Israel!!!
the Israel flag...
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| this is their huge airport...too bad, i was not able to take more shots since we are in a hurry... |
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| Inside the airport... |
We arrived in Tel-aviv on a Saturday afternoon (which is considered Sabbath Day for Jews). The moment we got out of the airport doors, the heat welcomed us. It’s really hot. Another less than hour travel to the hotel. Along the way, we saw an orange plantation. I'm quite amazed!
This is our hotel - Hotel Leonardo Basel Tel-aviv . For me, it's a 3 star hotel since its furniture are quite old already. Service is just so-so. Staff are not quite quick on requests. What really sucks is my internet connection inside the room. It's a wi-fi zone and yet, I had failed connection during my 5 days stay here.
Anyway, breakfast buffet here is quite good since there is a lot variety of cheese and bread. Don't expect to have hams, sausage or any kind of meat for breakfast anywhere in Israel. As per their belief, you can't mix meat with dairy products when eating.
Another good thing here is the free access to the business room where you can use the internet and have some food..sometimes grapes, plums and other local fruits and lot of juice drinks to choose from.
I also love the scene from my window. I can see the sea and the sunrise from there.
So after unpacking, we checked the beach. The hotel is just 10 mins from the Mediterranean Sea. It's already 6PM and yet the sun is still up. Summer here means longer day time.
There are a lot of tourists on the beach. Mostly are Europeans with great bodies. We are the only Asian there and we looked so alien.
There is also a lot of restaurants along the shore, plus two hotels, one of them is the Hotel Rembrandt which I'm sure has a better acommodation.
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| we have better beaches than this |
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| biking and walking are typical activities here |
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| some of their architecture... we are not far behind in terms of architecture |
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| their solar power source...non-stop a/c puede! |
1. Israel is so progressive. Philippines is quite far behind in technology, education, agriculture, etc.
2. I only saw one beggar in my entire stay here.
3. People here are so beautiful and disciplined. Tall, tan and lean people.
4. People seems authoritative and alert. You can sense that they are not trusting.
5. Tel Aviv is full of contrast. For one, the Holy Land resides in Israel, but the people are so modern. People love to party or maybe since it is summer and mostly are tourist in our location. They walked around in skimpy swim wears.
6. PDA is all around the corner. Couples are always kissing and hugging. No one will care if you are there or not. They mind their own business.
7. It is an expensive city (19th most expensive in the world). A mineral water here costs around Php150.00/500ml. Be sure to have a lot of money when traveling here since there are a lot of souvenirs, nuts and dried fruits that can be bought aside from the food you will buy.
8. They are healthy eaters. They always munch on fresh food. Most of their foods are grilled. I haven't seen pork being served in the restaurants. This is the Middle East (hehehehe).
9. I have not seen any policeman in the area; but a lot of cameras in every building.
10. They love to walk under the sun with their dogs. I have seen a lot ofdogs of different breeds.
11. It's so refreshing to walk around since the air is so fresh.
12. Food servings are usually big. Even McDonald's burgers are 3x bigger
than what we have here (and that is just the smallest there).
13. They value their family so much. Every weekend is usually spent with
their families.
14. They don't wash their cars. For them, it's a waste of time. Maybe
due to sand storms?
I have traveled all over the Philippines and some in China. This is the first time I encountered this and in a foreign country, so I was really afraid. Added to this, my officemates have left me in the check-in counter since it's not allowed to overstay there. I'm so thankful with Sir Gammy, for accompanying me till I was declared "clear".
I was so frightened with the security guards interogating me with a lot of questions (that took almost 45 mins.). This 45 min. span is the longest 45 mins. of my life.
I was not allowed to go near my luggage or touch anything. I can't even ask a question. They just keep on asking me - if I'm the one who prepared my luggage. If nobody approach me, stuff like that. It made me paranoid. I don't have any phone with me and I don't have any contacts from ECI Israel.
After taking out my things from the luggage bag, they found out the metal crucifix. Then, they just left my things scattered on the counter. I was not even told that I'm already ok and need to fix my things. They just left and after a while give me a signal that it's now OK.
With this frightening experience, I'm still thankful that I was given the opportunity to see Israel. I will treasure this forever since only 5% of the total Christians in the whole world were able to see the Holy Land.
I wish that I can return there with my family.
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