Sunday, June 30, 2013
Hello Jerusalem :)
Well, what a long day. Said goodbye to the parents at Luton Airport around 11:00am before my flight left the ground around 12:45. Flight seemed longer than 5 hours, especially with little leg room and the fact that I can't sleep on planes... Anyway, got through the airport ok and took a shared Nesher taxi to the Abraham Hostel in central Jerusalem. I'm meeting interesting people already, shared the taxi with a London solicitor who gave me a run down on the history of the local politics and had a chat to a civil servant in the Scottish parliament!!! Got to the hostel after experiencing the mad late night driving and got settled pretty quickly. I'm sharing a dorm with three others so still got plenty more people to meet :). I'm writing this from the computer room with an ice cold coke and listening to the karaoke upstairs. It sure is a lively place with a great atmosphere. Orientation tomorrow morning along with a walking tour of Jerusalem so I should have some good photos. Can't wait to get cracking and get some photos taken. Bring it on!!!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Fit 3 months of kit into a bag? Challenge accepted :)
Hi everyone, so departure day is rapidly approaching. This time next week I'll be in the air and on my way to Israel :). I'm getting pretty excited and I can't wait to get going. My brother jetted off to Cape Town yesterday night to start his adventure there (3 months learning how to kitesurf and then teach it to kids out there), well he calls it an adventure it seems more like a holiday to me and the parents....
So with him gone the house seems strangely empty.... but no matter, it gives me all the space I need to pack for 3 months in Israel. I'm hoping for a lot of sunshine and soaring temperatures so I'm packing shorts heavy along with an industrial supply of SPF 50 suncream. My sunglasses and hat are going in aswell, along with my Shemagh (bought in Oman at easter) and my day glow orange and black turban to attempt to keep the sun at bay. I've also disocovered a second use for my turban, a picnic blanket :). Although i'm not sure what capacity there'll be for picnic sites on the Golan......
Alongside plenty of "ready to trash" t-shirts for work on the lodge, i'll be taking a nice shirt or two for any nights out in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. With some local trekking on the cards, I plan on taking my walking boots along with the obligatory foot powder and blister treatments in the first aid kit.
I was alarmed however to discover that I only have 3 pairs of underwear, no doubt my brother raided my underwear draw to make sure he had enough..... no don't worry bro, its not like im going away for three months aswell!! With this in mind, I think a shopping trip is on the cards over the next few days :/.
So, I think im pretty much there with packing. I just need to finalise a few things and put it in a bag :). In other news, I've discovered that things like having access to money and a mobile phone whilst i'm in Israel weren't as difficult to sort out as I thought. I'm taking a Thomas Cook cash passport loaded with US$ along with some shekels I already have. I'm reliably informed that ATMs will give me shekels when I use my cash passport so no wories there.
With regards to a mobile phone, i've ordered one on a long term contract from Israel Phones which I can pick up at the airport. It'll let me communicate with any friends a make in Israel and in case there's an emergency. At only $38 a month its quite a good deal (compared with $500 for 3 months offered by other companies!!).
I've also found a great little travel journal so I can keep a personal record of my gap year. It was a bargain at only £12 on Amazon and its got plenty of space to write in :). I think it looks quite cool aswell.
So, all that really remains is to shove everything in my bag, charge the camera and head off to the airport. A week today the adventure begins and I can't wait to get going :). Hopefully, the next blog entry will be from sunny Jerusalem :).
So with him gone the house seems strangely empty.... but no matter, it gives me all the space I need to pack for 3 months in Israel. I'm hoping for a lot of sunshine and soaring temperatures so I'm packing shorts heavy along with an industrial supply of SPF 50 suncream. My sunglasses and hat are going in aswell, along with my Shemagh (bought in Oman at easter) and my day glow orange and black turban to attempt to keep the sun at bay. I've also disocovered a second use for my turban, a picnic blanket :). Although i'm not sure what capacity there'll be for picnic sites on the Golan......
Alongside plenty of "ready to trash" t-shirts for work on the lodge, i'll be taking a nice shirt or two for any nights out in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. With some local trekking on the cards, I plan on taking my walking boots along with the obligatory foot powder and blister treatments in the first aid kit.
I was alarmed however to discover that I only have 3 pairs of underwear, no doubt my brother raided my underwear draw to make sure he had enough..... no don't worry bro, its not like im going away for three months aswell!! With this in mind, I think a shopping trip is on the cards over the next few days :/.
So, I think im pretty much there with packing. I just need to finalise a few things and put it in a bag :). In other news, I've discovered that things like having access to money and a mobile phone whilst i'm in Israel weren't as difficult to sort out as I thought. I'm taking a Thomas Cook cash passport loaded with US$ along with some shekels I already have. I'm reliably informed that ATMs will give me shekels when I use my cash passport so no wories there.
With regards to a mobile phone, i've ordered one on a long term contract from Israel Phones which I can pick up at the airport. It'll let me communicate with any friends a make in Israel and in case there's an emergency. At only $38 a month its quite a good deal (compared with $500 for 3 months offered by other companies!!).
I've also found a great little travel journal so I can keep a personal record of my gap year. It was a bargain at only £12 on Amazon and its got plenty of space to write in :). I think it looks quite cool aswell.
So, all that really remains is to shove everything in my bag, charge the camera and head off to the airport. A week today the adventure begins and I can't wait to get going :). Hopefully, the next blog entry will be from sunny Jerusalem :).
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| Oscar (the dog) clearly likes to get in the way of my packing |
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| My travel journal, a great find on Amazon :) |
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