My stint in Jerusalem was brief and pretty uneventful.. It was very interesting, but that doesn't make for good blogging, so I'll have to weave some of my patented writing magic to give my followers the hit they have come to crave like the rabid dogs that they are. So here goes:
Leaving Steve and Gavin back in tel aviv to cry and eat their own faeces in my absence, Zac Arryn and I bussed to Arryn's aunt in Kefar Addumim, a small settlement just in the Westbank, or 'greater jerusalem' as many prefer to call it for political reasons. Our first time not in a hostel so far on our trip we were in for a pampering of biblical proportions. (I've done the appropriate research, the closest thing to pampering in the bible is that bit where the prostitute pours perfume on jesus's head - Mark 14:8, Matthew 26:7).
One very cool thing about Kefar Addumim is the hitchhiking. To make the 30 minute drive to Jerusalem affordable with petrol at well over 2 dollars a litre, everyone hitches rides with everyone, so long as their numberplate is Israeli and not Palestinian.
A distinct difference I noticed between tel aviv and Jerusalem is that in tel aviv everything costs, while in Jerusalem a lot is free (at bars that is). We managed to finagle (spelling?) 16 free shots, nagila and popcorn with entry to a bar, not understanding that in doing so we were enterring a non written contract to buy drinks. When 2 of the 16 of us ordered drinks the staff were not impressed...
My wifi is running out so I need to rap this one up quick.
Other highlights:
- The Mayan (waterhole) in the middle of the desert which falls 10 meters only to refill in a minute from cracks in the rocks. Couldn't work out how it worked. Many a fat girl got stuck when the water went down.
- Got acute bronchitis, coughed up some blood.. U know, regular stuff. On antibiotics now which make my skin photosensitive (and I'm off to 40+ degree Eilat).
- We shared a hostel last night with a creepy middle aged Finnish guy, with zany antics as the result.
Off to the heat of Eilat!