Tel-Aviv Fisherman at Sunset


Treasury from Above - Petra, Jordan


Wadi Rum Sunset


Sunset at Petra with Bedouin friends


Ranya - the cutest Petra saleswoman...ever.

You wanted photos...you got photos!


Abed jamming though sunset - Petra, Jordan


Arab Children - Jerusalem


Haggling in the Arab Market - Jerusalem


Chillin' with Smohammed - our guide in Wadi Rum


Playing Matkot on Tel-Aviv

Crossing Borders

This trip has so far been a non-stop adrenaline rush that seems to be getting exponentially better with each passing day.

While I could have continued wasting away on Tel-Aviv beach for the rest of my trip, I decided it was time to take a few day trips before trekking to Jordan. After a great day trek to Herzeliyah (which, while getting out of TA, was still laying on a beach looking out at the Med), I took a spontaneous day trip to Jerusalem. After linking up with Basia, (a sweet woman from Poland who lives in NYC) on the bus-ride over, I met up with Sanaz, a friend of mine in LA who is studying in Jerusalem for the summer, at the Kotel (Western Wall). We spent some time at the Wall (which never loses of it’s awe-inspiring power) and then grabbed some Felafel nearby. Sanaz headed to class and Basia and I paraded around the Old City, visiting the Arab Quarter (bought a beautiful Star of David necklace), the Christian Quarter (visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher- where Jesus is believed to have been crucified), and finished out the day on the Old City rooftops which offered a gorgeous panoramic of Jerusalem.

Coming back to the city that night, a big group of us went to catch Dub LFO, an Israeli reggae band at this bar Lima Lima. Shirlee, who was leaving for Prague the next morning, played spectacular manager as she approached the lead singer of Dub LFO to say the following: “My friend Jay is a beat-boxer back in the States. Listen to him for a few minutes, and, if you like what you hear, he’ll open for you.” If you haven’t already guessed where this is going, I dropped a minute of beats for them, they loved it, and I had a 10-minute beat-box opener in my first week in Israel. I opened with Come Together, then the Sh’ma Israel beat-box, and closed with Moments in Love > Pony. As I was departing for Eilat and then Jordan the next day, I could not have asked for a better last night in Tel-Aviv.

Off to Eilat the following day. Basia was also planning on going to Jordan so we matched itineraries and met in Eilat for a night before cruising over to Jordan. Now, I’m not sure if I can verbalize just how bizarre of an experience crossing the Eilat-Aqaba border is. You taxi up to the Israel side, pay your entry visa, and then literally walk across a good 100 yards of “No Man’s Land” before arriving to the Jordanian side of the border. Quite bizarre, indeed.

Jordan has been serendipitous from the moment we arrived. We checked into the Bedouin Garden Village in Aqaba, right across the street from the beach, where we then snorkeled, laid out, and jived with two other travelers from Israel and Italy. Next day, we shared a cab to Petra to visit its famous monuments – Treasury, Monastery, and caves. However, better than any of the typical tourist stuff were the experiences we received by going off the beaten path.

On Day 1, we hiked up a bit to the Petra Museum only to find it closed. Seeing a small trail around the corner, our curiosity got the best of us. Circling about 200 yards around the perimeter of this mountain, we discovered the home of the only resident of Petra, Mefle Bedoul. About 70, he was perhaps the kindest and most gentle-spirited man I think I ever came across. I imagined someone stumbling into someone’s property back in the States where they probably would have received a shot-gun in their face and “Didn’t you see the ‘No Trespassing’ sign?” However, this man, fully employing the Bedouin lifestyle, invited us into his home for tea and cookies. If you’ve never met any Bedouins, they are some of the most interesting people planet. They tend to thrive in tents in the dessert and have very little but give whatever they have to complete strangers. They will bring you in, cook for you, offer you shelter under the premise that if they should ever be in your town, you will return the favor without hesitation.

So, Mefle told us the story of how his family purchased five caves in Petra seven generations ago in the 1400’s. He knew everything there was to know about this land and was eager to share it. He even remembered meeting Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg when they were filming “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” as well as Michael Jackson when he came to Petra to film a music video (I believe “Remember the Time”). Quite a meeting to say the least.

We then hiked up to the Monastery where we met some more Bedouins, these ones who played the “oud,” a guitar-looking instrument native to the Arab world. We hung out with them through a most incredible sunset before heading back down to Wadi Mousa, the town that houses Petra, where our hostel and warm beds were awaiting us.

Today, we spent Day 2 gallivanting around this amazing place. We started hiking a set of stairs and just kept on them until we approached a most incredible view of the Treasury from above (pics coming soon, I promise!). We then cabbed over to Wadi Rum, known in Jordan for offering the most expansive panoramic views of the dessert, ideal for a sunset viewing. And here I am now, back in Aqaba, tired after two very long, action-packed days. Tomorrow, we re-cross the border back to Eilat and then catch a flight back to Tel-Aviv. Turkey on Wednesday!

Everything Sababa

Day 5 in Tel-Aviv. First official entry since the journey began, mainly because I haven't stopped moving since I got here. But, when my friend Ben asks, "Where's the next installment you lazy bastard?" I figure it's time for entry Numero Uno.

After arriving Monday afternoon with a post-Tylenol PM/Pinot Noir grogginess, I looked out the window at my favorite and most beautiful landscape in the world. I grabbed my backpack and walked outside with the intention of catching a Taxi but instead walked straight through the Taxi/shuttle/car lanes to a small park just outside the airport. I gently laid my bags down, knelt down, and kissed the holy land.

God bless my cabbie who, upon seeing my intense hunger, offered me Turkish coffee and cake on the way in. I arrived to the apartment of my friend Shirlee from Toronto who moved to Israel six weeks ago. Little did I know she lives a 5-minute walk away from the beach. Great catching up with her - we met up with her chill friend Matt and we headed towards the beach.

Tel-Aviv beach is. just. gorgeous. Unlike some of our beaches back in the States where people go mainly to show off their pectorals and throw pick-up lines at the g-string clad honies (I'm looking at you Santa Monica), the beach here lacks all pretension. Watching my first Israeli sunset since my Birthright trip in February '07, I realize that sometimes you get the most out of life...by lying on a beach and doing nothing. Instantly, all of the effort, stress, and anxiety I put into making this trip happen vanquishes as I stare in awe as the sun slowly dips behind the horizon...

The next day I met up with Deb (or "Gingit" as she is known amongst the Sababa crew for her long, red hair) my eternally positive Costa Rican friend for a bike ride around Tel-Aviv. She is here on a 5-month program called MASA and is most likely making Aliyah come September. We grabbed lunch at Bar Gurion, a little hut on one of Tel-Aviv's many S'derot (S'derot are pedestrian/bicycle paths that divide the traffic lanes and make the streets a pleasure to walk or ride. We then rode along the beach north until we hit Yarkon Park, an expansive field of beauty that surrounds the Hayarkon River. We snoozed under a shady tree and then headed back to the beach for the sunset. I then met her boyfriend, Kfir, who instantly made an offer that has since eased my Tel-Aviv life immensely: his bicycle.

The past couple of days have been some of the most relaxed, stress-free of my life. I've been clubbing (highly recommend Apartment 98 and Uptown on the port), exercised on Tel-Aviv beach's "gym," and took a day-trip today to Herzeliyah for my friend Natalie's beach party. and have caught the sunset every night since arrival. Sometimes, for no apparent reasons, I will smile and then slowly start to laugh. I feel like I would have to sit down and intentionally try to find something to complain about.

This is the first time I've been in Israel without going the "organized tour" route. I must say experiencing this country on my own terms is phenomenal. Living with locals and experiencing the daily routine, I conclude that the Tel-Avivians are a people who do not take this beautiful city for granted. They get out to the beach as often as possible and are fully cognizant of just how amazing the place is they get to call "home." Instead of concerning themselves with mansions and Ferraris, they work enough to get their cozy beach bungaloo, car that gets them from A to B, and are...happy.

I've spoken with several friends about my itinerary and have decided that, to effectively manage my time as best as possible, I am going to nix India this round (3 days is just not enough) and focus fully on Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and Nepal. So, the new tentative itinerary looks like:

6/20 - 6/22: Tel-Aviv, Israel
6/24 - 6/26: Petra, Wadiram, Jordan
6/26 - 6/29: Eilat & Tel-Aviv , Israel
6/29 - 7/02: Jerusalem, Israel
7/02 - 7/06: Istanbul, Turkey
7/06 - 7/09: Aegean Sea Cruise
7/10 - 7/12: Tel-Aviv, Israel
7/12 - 7/26: Nepal
7/26 - 7/28: Amman, Jordan
7/28 - 7/31; Tel-Aviv, Israel
7/31: Home

I deduced earlier today in Herzeliyah that life is basically a series of successive epiphanies, each one exponentially larger and more intense than the preceeding. I anticipate all of the revelations and life lessons that this trip has already and will continue to provide...

Accelerating Consciousness

We've all had revelations that we felt compelled to share with everyone we know. My most recent epiphany was sparked by my reading of Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. One of the most powerful points I found (and I'm paraphrasing here) was: At any given moment, the universe will only give you whatever experience is most critical to the evolution of your consciousness.

It was only after many events took place in my life over the past few months that I truly grasped the significance of this statement. Every event in this world - both positive and negative, internal and external - is occurring at any particular moment so that we, as the participants in the moment can learn, grow, and evolve to our optimum as human beings and, moreover, world citizens.

This revelation catalyzed my decision to embark on a journey to evolve my own consciousness, for which the rough (and I emphasize "rough") itinerary looks like:

6.15: Depart from NY
6.16 - 7.02: Israel
7.02 - 7.09: Turkey
7.10 - 7.13: Amman and Petra, Jordan
7.13 - 7.16: New Delhi & Agra, India
7.16 - 7.28: Nepal
7.28 - 7.31: Israel
7.31: Home

While I look forward to reconnecting with old friends in Israel, taking a 3-day boating trip with friends from SF along the Aegean Sea, and helping my friend James in Nepal with his non-profit project (www.dorjhanafoundation.org)...my main goal over the next 7 weeks is to interact with everyone, accelerate my sense of awareness and remind myself that - while we live in an increasingly on-demand age with ever-advancing technology making us all the more reliant on computers, Blackberrys, Facebook, etc. - most critical of all is human connection.

As I'm not a fan of mass e-mails (this will be the only one), I'm going to attempt my first travel blog accessible through www.rollinJStone.blogspot.com which will detail the journey and showcase photos throughout the next seven weeks. Subscribe at your own risk!

Safe travels in your own journey,

Jay
www.rollinJStone.com