Exotic Tel Aviv

for more Tel Aviv pix... http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhui_02/sets/72157604836293866/

Sorry that I've been M.I.A. for the past few weeks. I'm way behind on my posts! I got caught up in Turkey where I was on overnight buses for several days then to Doha where I was too lazy to get off the couch to post! Once you fall behind for two weeks, its hard to catch up, but I'll make an effort to catch up this week.

Also, my plans have changed a bit… First of all, I can’t go to my primary destination… TIBET! I had to cut Tibet and Nepal out of my trip because of the recent violence, which will only get worse as the Olympics get closer. Usually I’m not afraid of that stuff but this time is different. I didn’t want to get turned away at the Tibetan border or get stuck in there. My plan was to travel over land from India through Nepal and into Tibet. The worst thing that could happen is to be turned away at the border and have to go back overland to India… especially with the limited time I have. So Tibet is out of the question, can’t go to Europe/Russia because its too expensive (damn that appreciating Euro), and can’t go to Africa because that’s also too expensive. So, I just decided to cut out a month of my trip. Long story short… spontaneous traveling doesn't always work out perfectly.

Well, when I last left off I was in Jordan and heading to Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv has a special place in my heart, because Israel was my first taste of the middle east (in 2004). Both times I stayed with Shai (THANKS SHAI!!), which was great because I really get to see the local side of Israel. As with any country, the local life is always much better than the tourist life. I titled this post “Exotic Tel Aviv”, because most Americans think of Israel as this crazy place where bombs are going off every 5 minutes and “Zohan” roams the streets with an uzi (actually they second part is true). With that picture in mind… it might be kind of disappointing to hear that I participated in such crazy activities as bowling, renting movies, shopping, and people watching at cafes. Actually most of my time was spent eating and sleeping… here is just an excerpt from my first day’s activities…

9am - wake up and have croissants and cappucino's at the coffee shop next door.

10am-1pm - play with the cat

1pm - lunch at the other coffee shop next door.

2pm-6pm - sleep

6pm - sit in front of computer and catch up on sports news

7pm - Shai and Yafit come home and we eat again.

I wish I had more fun stories from Tel Aviv… but unfortunately that’s it. I did enjoy a lot of great food! Tel Aviv has some great restaurants… including my favorite, Dr. Shoukshouka. Last time I was in Israel, Shai took me to Dr. Shoukshouka and I ended up going back twice by myself! We only went once this time… but that was enough to satisfy my craving. FYI shoukshouka is a dish of tomato and herbs with a giant egg yolk unbroken and uncooked in the middle. Aside from shoukshouka, it was nice to trade in shewarma and felafal for pasta, croissants, and salads. Shai and Yafit turned my stay a mini food-fest... and we sampled the best Italian and Arabic food that Tel Aviv has to offer... we also had some time to try some awesome treats like Moroccan-French fusion... which was very New American-esque to me. Well... for an amateur/wannabe foodie like myself, Tel Aviv definitely hit the spot (as you can see by all the pictures of food and shopping for food in my Tel Aviv pix).

I would have to mention for anyone interested in visiting Israel that it has changed a lot since my last trip. The main difference I noticed was TOURISTS! I actually saw other tourists on this trip… last time I came the only people I saw were a busload of JAPs (Jewish American Princess) on their birthright Israel tour. This time there were tons of tourists in Tel Aviv… which made me think about WHY there were no tourists last time… which made me realize that it was much more dangerous last in 2004 … which brought me to the conclusion that I was kind of stupid for going at that time… SORRY MOM AND DAD!