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Karen Johnson
I'm an independent single woman who loves to travel. Favorite place to visit in a new country? The grocery store.Kuan Yin
Scroll down to read my previous posts, and check back often for more pictures and stories.
Until then, here are some of my favorite quotes about traveling:
"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. "
- Lao Tzu
"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine."
- Caskie Stinnett
"It is better to travel well than to arrive."
- Buddha
“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people’s hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.”
- Herman Melville, "Moby Dick"
"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Silverado Squatters"
"I am rarely lost. Sometimes I'm just taking the scenic route."
- Karen Johnson
"In the end it will be OK. If it's not OK, it's not the end."
- Anon.
Travel Blog Posts
Border Crossing – Eilat to Aqaba and Back
Published: May 10th 2013Middle East » Israel » South District » Eilat
May 10th 2013
I grew up reading Cold War spy novels and watching James Bond movies. Border crossings and the exchange of enemy agents often figured prominently in such fiction. Those stories had at least a brush with the facts, though; the Glienicke Brücke, a small bridge linking Berlin in West Germany with Potsdam in East Germany, was the site of many such exchanges. I was reminded of those stories as I walked across the lonely border between Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan. I took an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Eilat. This flight left from Terminal 1 at Ben Gurion Airport, not Terminal 3, which is for international flights. I got there a little early, and the terminal was full of IDF soldiers, most of them carrying machine guns. Other than the lady in ... read more
May 8th 2013
Tel Aviv is an eminently walkable city. That is, if you keep a sharp eye out for bicycles, electric skateboards, electric scooters, and the occasional in-line skater. You also have to be able to ignore all the cars and buses honking at you if you have the nerve to cross the street when they want to make a turn when the crossing light is in your favor. The City of Tel Aviv dates its beginning to 1909 when a group of Zionists, wanting to leave the squalor of Jaffa, parceled out land on the sand dunes north that city. Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv, drew up the city’s first master plan. He envisioned it as an urban village, incorporating gardens and open spaces into urban life. The population of Tel Aviv grew dramatically ... read more
There Are No Camels at the Camel Market –Tel Aviv
Published: May 5th 2013Middle East » Israel » Tel Aviv District » Tel Aviv
May 5th 2013
OK, so it’s my own fault. When I was reading up on Tel Aviv before my trip I read about a large, open air fresh market. In my haste, I misread the name of the market as the Camel Market. Looking for it on the map, I also found the Camel Market south of Dizengoff Center. When I got here, I found that it is actually the Carmel Market on HaCarmel Street. Damn that tiny print on the map! Whatever its name, the Carmel Market is a treat. Stretching for about a quarter of a mile along a street closed to traffic, Carmel Market is crammed with small stalls selling all manner of fruits and vegetables, and cheese, and household goods, and fish, and souvenirs, and prepared foods, and underwear, and more. It’s crowded and noisy ... read more
May 3rd 2013
My main reason for visiting Jordan - other than living out my “Lawrence of Arabia” fantasy – was to visit Petra. Petra is an incredible Nabatean city carved out of the cliffs, dating back to the first century BCE. There are still Bedouin who live in the caves of Petra, making this a city that has been inhabited for at least 2,500 years. To that end, I had arranged with my hotel to hire a taxi for the day to take me the 128 kilometers from Aqaba to Petra. The hotel manager assured me that this was a driver he trusted; the driver would wait for me while I explored Petra and drive me back. The fee was JD85 (about US $120) which was steep, but it was certain, unlike the buses. My driver, Naef, spoke ... read more
May 1st 2013
I was a young teenager when I first saw the movie “Lawrence of Arabia,” and fell immediately in love with Peter O’Toole as only a teenage girl can. In fact, if you mention “Lawrence of Arabia” to any woman of a certain age, she will get a spark in her eye and sigh, “Yes, Peter O’Toole.” Here was a man, handsome, courageous and strong; you just knew his swash wouldn’t buckle even under the harshest conditions. There is a moment in the movie when Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) and Sherif Ali (Omar Sherif) peer over the edge of a cliff and Lawrence proclaims “Aqaba!” I vowed that someday I, too, would see Aqaba. Aqaba today is a dusty, flyblown, rather dirty town. It’s a shame, really. Aqaba is on the Red Sea, and scuba divers come from ... read more
Once a Fort, Always a Fort – Walking the Ramparts
Published: April 30th 2013Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem
April 30th 2013
The walls of the old city absolutely fascinated me, and when I found I could walk the ramparts from the Jaffa Gate on the west wall (not to be confused with the Western Wall) to the Dung Gate on the south wall, I was in. Entrance to the ramparts costs NIS 16 about US $4.70, but if you are looking for history and some fantastic views, it’s worth it. Jerusalem has been fought over for millennia. As each invader entered the city, they knocked down the city walls, or at least part of them. Once the conquerors were comfortably ensconced, they rebuilt the walls to repel the next round of invaders. Quarrying stone is hard and heavy work. So, instead of quarrying new stone, the conquerors would re-use the stones they had previously knocked down, or ... read more
Mehane Yehuda and the Halvah King
Published: April 28th 2013Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem
April 28th 2013
I really enjoy local farmers’ markets and wet markets. (I also like grocery stores, but that’s another story.) These are some of my favorite places to visit when I travel, and since the Mehane Yehuda Market is not too far from where I am staying, I decide to visit. First of all, the place is huge; covering several blocks. The market dates back to the Ottoman Empire and offers just about anything you can want. Fresh fruits, sure, but also nuts, and dried fruits, household goods, prepared foods, juices, fresh flowers, and mounds of delectable pastries, a never ending parade of color and smell. Vendors call to you from their stalls singing the praises – and I literally mean singing – of their wares. And of course their stuff is ever so much better than the ... read more
April 26th 2013
The Temple Mount is one of the holiest sites in the Abrahamic religions. This was the site of the First Temple, built by King Solomon around the tenth century BCE. This temple was built on top of the location of the Foundation Stone, believed by Jews and Moslems to be the spiritual junction of heaven and earth. The temple stood for 410 years before being destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar II. The First Temple contained the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Today, the Dome of the Rock stands on top of the Foundation Stone. This is also considered to be the place where Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice before being stopped by an Angel of the Lord. This story is mentioned in the Koran, as well ... read more
The Citadel and the Tower of David That Isn’t
Published: April 25th 2013Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem
April 25th 2013
My first day in Jerusalem I walked to the Old City. Jerusalem is divided into the Old City, which has existed for at least 4,000 years, and the New City, which dates to 1860. That was the point at which Sir Moses Montefiore, a wealthy Jewish stockbroker from England, built the first neighborhood outside the walls of the Old City, complete with a windmill for grinding grain. Since living outside the city walls was considered to be risky business at the time, he offered financial incentives – which sounds much nicer than “bribes” – along with employment to anyone who would move to the new neighborhood. I entered the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, which is an actual gate that used to be closed at night. Immediately inside the gate is the Citadel, which dates ... read more
April 24th 2013
I had heard many stories about the added security screening people face when going to Israel. El Al’s pre-flight security checks are legendary, and I had read horror stories about getting though (or not getting through) Israeli Immigration. There is good reason for these precautions, and I certainly understand the Israeli’s caution. I wasn’t particularly concerned. My point of departure was a small regional airport in California, where getting through security took all of three minutes. I wasn’t flying El Al, I am a near-sighted, middle-aged, reasonably pleasant woman with a US passport, and I am registered with the US Global Entry and Trusted Traveler programs. I connected in Newark to my flight to Tel Aviv. Even though I had already gone through security at my departure airport, I had to go through security again in ... read more
Kuan Yin
| Joined | April 2nd 2009 | Trips | 4 |
| Last Login | May 17th 2013 | Followers | 7 |
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Hong Kong 2009
February 18th 2009 -» February 27th 2009
Singapore
February 28th 2009 -» March 10th 2009
Barbados
December 16th 2009 -» January 2nd 2010
Bali
May 15th 2010 -» June 16th 2010
February 18th 2009 -» February 27th 2009
Singapore
February 28th 2009 -» March 10th 2009
Barbados
December 16th 2009 -» January 2nd 2010
Bali
May 15th 2010 -» June 16th 2010
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