THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Fun Stuff => CHATTER => Topic started by: Method of Madness on 13 Oct 2012, 18:48
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Before I start this thread, I should point out there's a reason I put it here and not discuss. Because it's not political. At all. Please keep it that way.
Anyway, I found out the other day that I was placed for a trip to Israel via Birthright. I'll be going from December 5-16, with an option to delay my flight and travel a bit in Israel on my own. I'm almost certainly going to do this for a couple weeks, so I have two questions for anyone who's been (or lives there now).
1. Where should I go and what should I see (for the post-Birthright part)?
2. What company is best for a SIM card (to be used for a month?) I already have the unlock code for my phone. Anything with local calls/texting and data would be best, since if I have sufficient reliable data, I can use Skype to call back to the States.
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Oh my goodness, I'm so envious. I would love to visit Israel! Perhaps some day. Please please post photos.
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It all depends on your religious tack, I would pretty much think.
Geez, being in Israel during the run-up to Christmas. That'd be exhilarating and scary all at the same time.
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Restore your hope for humanity (http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/index.asp).
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I'll definitely check that out, Cold, thanks. J, I don't have any religion (I identify as Jewish, but not religiously so). But yeah, spending Christmas and New Year's Eve there (I plan on coming back the first or second) should be exciting. And the entirety of Hanukkah takes place during my guided portion, so that's cool too. Barmy, I'm thinking of finally getting a camera so I don't have to rely on my phone. (The phone's camera itself is fine, but the battery? Not so much, and I don't want constantly taking pictures to leave me without a phone or a camera.
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I imagine your tour is going to include the major sites in and around Jerusalem: the wailing wall, the dome of the rock, the tomb of Christ, etc. If not, you should really check them all out, no matter what your religious persuasion is. Even if only as historical sites, they're fascinating, and some of them involve beautiful art and architecture.
The whole of Yad Vashem is quite compelling, one of the better museums I've been to, though given the subject matter, it can obviously be heartbreaking.
If you like gardens, the Baha'i center if Haifa has one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world.
Masada is, if nothing else, a fascinating historical site.
I also remember the hike up Mount Sodom being really cool if you enjoy hiking.
If you can afford it, get tour guides when you can. Guides in Israel are highly trained and licensed, and they really know their stuff.
Probably the best thing I did in Israel was not something tourists usually get to do: the group I was with was invited to have dinner at the home of a Bedouin chief and his mother. Some of the best food I've ever had. So I guess I'm saying, if you have a chance to make friends with someone interesting, do it.
I arrived just after Christmas, but I was there for New Years. I seem to recall it being not as big a deal there because Jews and Muslims each have there own New Years. I was in Jerusalem, though. More secular cities like Haifa or Tel Aviv might make a bigger thing out of it. I remember there were some younger people partying on this one street on New Years Eve, but other then that I seem to recall it being business as usual.
A word of advice: the security at the airport there is incredibly tight. Sometimes you move right through, but if something about you strikes them as even a little suspicious, it could take a long time to get through all of the bag searches and interviews they put you through. So go early on the day you leave, like much earlier then you would in the States or in Europe. If you have to spend a few hours reading a novel, it will probably be worth it.
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Thanks for the advice! I'll be flying out of Tel Aviv, so that's probably where I'll spend my last few days (including New Years). Nothing else is certain, though.
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Know your itinerary cold. El Al security reportedly asks a lot of questions about where you're staying and when.
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Well I'll be flying out with the group, so hopefully that's not as big an issue. I'll only be flying home by myself.
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Decided to come home with the group as well, so my whole trip'll be wherever they take me. I could still use advice on an Israeli sim card...is it worth getting one to call home while I'm there?
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Will you have any access to the internet while you're out there? If so, I would strongly advise using Skype to call internationally. I have yet to find another way that is cheaper - I actually use Skype as my main phone instead of using my mobile because it's cheaper even when I'm ringing within the UK!
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I'm definitely getting a Skype number for while I'm there, I was thinking of getting a SIM card for mobile data so I don't have to rely on wifi.
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Still going as of now. Hopefully it gets better before I leave in about two weeks.
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Do not hold breath. In fact, it'll probably get worse before it gets better.
(And then there's the old adage that goes along with that: "Who said it'd ever get better?")
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I was reading today that many people believe that these current events may be the storm before the calm. Do not hold breath, but it isn't impossible.
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Well I got an e-mail the other day saying the trip was still on as of then.
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Mount Sodom
Teehee
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According to Google maps there's a Sodom cave nearby.
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Also I hear that McDonalds the world over are reliable in the cleanliness and accessibility of their bathrooms.
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I should point out that even if the trip is canceled I'm not going off on my own after, so anything I do'll be with the tour group.
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... avoid public transport. Like busses.
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I'll be on tour buses. That can't be avoided.
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That's good. Stick to those.
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Cease fire seems to be holding.
Fingers crossed for you, method!
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Thanks, Carl!
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Israel is an incredibly politicised nation so it's unlikely that you'll be able to totally avoid politics on your visit there.
If I were in your position I wouldn't want to just see the "cool old stuff" but to try and gain a better understanding of life in what is ostensibly still a new and emerging nation and how that is inextricably linked with the interrelationship with the life with the indigenous people. To me the sociological and anthropological aspect of the modern Israel is fascinating as so how it came about, functions and propagates particularly considering the parallels and differences from similar events in history. Whatever your position is, I'm hoping you won't completely avoid the political aspect of life there. I'd love a similar opportunity to witness it first hand.
On a side note, despite being non-alcoholic, beer from the Taybeh Brewery is damn tasty. Grab a bottle of you can. The light is better than the dark but both are worth a shot if any make it to the Israeli side of the wall.
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I'm going with a tour group through the Birthright program, the itinerary is out of my hands and I'm not allowed to go off on my own.
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I'll definitely try it! I love finding new beers!
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Leaving tomorrow! I'll be on here and there if the places I stay have wifi (I really hope they do, it's the only way I'll be able to call home).
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Have a good trip! Don't be a stranger!
Write if you get work!
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Haha, I'm only here 10 days. Ended up getting a data sim for my phone. Interesting point. I'm in Tel Aviv. My luggage, on the other hand is at JFK Airport until tomorrow. Wonderful.
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Still don't have my luggage, won't until Monday. Fuck Delta.
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Hoping to see pictures :-)
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Breakfast in London, lunch in New York.
Luggage in Beirut.
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My wife and I flew from Heathrow to Frankfurt the very morning that Terminal 5 opened and made a monumental mess of the luggage handling. We had no luggage during our visit. Mine was returned via Zurich about two weeks after we got home, and my wife's via a sorting centre set up for the purpose in Milan about two weeks later than that.
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I got my luggage Monday night. I think I'll put a good chunk of the pictures I take in a public photobucket so I can share them here, too. Just a few days until I'm back. It's been great so far, but I won't be sad to leave, there's been so much packed into so little time! I finally get to Jerusalem tomorrow, can't wait!