Vaj

I, woke up around 9am and used the wifi facility to make a few calls on skype....this iphone is such a great invention.... I decided to do the walking tour as in the lonely planet guide book, need to make a start somewhere... While walking down Rothschild blvd I turned into Sheinkin street; came across a roadside cafe that sold houmous and pita bread...I have been soo looking forward to having this...it cost 20 shekels which in my opinion is kind of expensive but hey i cant be in hunger now can I ? Went near the Yemenite quarter and saw Kikar Magen David (Round about where 6 streets meet) and went down HaCarmel Street through the market areas... It felt a bit like walking through Pita Kotuwa (Fort Area) in Sri Lanka. Thereafter after going ... read more

Got to Luton around 920am and Nathan had organised through the easyjet ticket desk which is run by Menzies a speedyboarding for me which came in quite handy... I bought 3 doughnuts from KrispyCreme and the guy said for another £1.45 I can get 3 more so guess what heheh. The flight was uneventful howevr during the decent to Tel Aviv there was a ligtning bolt which was a little scary but the cabin crew said don't worry it happens all the time. The Ben Gurion airport walk to the immigration area is very grand with a very tall ceiling and it looks really nice... I was expecting some excitement at the immigration as always but they asked me why I was visitng, for how long I was staying, my fathers name and my grand fathers ... read more

I kept waking up like every 2-3 hours and finally couldn’t sleep after 6am, was just lying and waiting because everyone else was still asleep. Everyone woke up around 730am and no one here takes a shower. Everyone just washed their face and hair and that’s it. The dinner table was brought outside and the sun was just popping out and it was cold. I really enjoyed sitting outside with the sun rays warming me up. They heated the coffee and brought bread and a bowl of olive oil and everyone kept dipping the bread to the olive oil and that was breakfast. The people here don’t brush their teeth either. I was planning on leaving after going to Chenini and Douiret so decided to take my backpack. Before catching a camionnette to Chenini I left ... read more

I woke up early morning at 6am and went to the hill nearby to see if there would be a good sun rise but nope pretty disappointing. Got back to the hotel to have breakfast as it’s included in the price and was given bread, butter, jam and coffee. Sometime I just wished they just don’t bother but then again you got to learn to appreciate whatever that’s given to you. The couple I met yesterday also came to have breakfast just when I was going to finish. They had spoken with a taxi driver the previous day and negotiated to go and see 3 places for 20 dinars each. They asked me if I wanted to join. I said sounds like a plan. They said the taxi guy was busy in the morning and he ... read more

Early morning took a shower and went to the louage station to catch a louage to Tatouine. I was the 2nd person in the louage and we had to wait till 6 more people turned up. Near the ticket counter there was this guy who looked like a student and fortunately he spoke English. I asked his if it was faster to go to Gabes and then get another louage to Tatouine as Gabes is closer to Tatouine and probably have more people in that route. He confirmed this and in fact he was going to Gabes too and I happened to buy the 8th ticket to Gabes. So our louage went to Gabes immediately. This way I also have the flexibility of going to Djerba if I change my mind because Gabes is the common ... read more

Life was getting too comfortable in Sousse and it was time to leave and see the rest of the country. I went to Sfax from Sousse and I got into Sfax at 11am. Found the ferry port and found out that the next ferry to Kerkennah was at 1230pm and the next at 1430pm. Decided to get a room in the Sfax medina and then walkabout the medina and take the Kerkennah ferry at 1430. I realized later that this was not such a good idea. If you ever come to Sfax take the first available ferry to Kerkennah. If you want to see Sfax (of course there is nothing much to see) leave your backpack in the ferry port and check out the medina. I got to the Hotel Medina and while filling in my ... read more

Woke up early morning and went to El-Jem to see the Roman Colosseum. Houssem said he will be having lunch with his friends and for me to join. The louage which is the easiest form of travel between two places however at times can be very time consuming. Even though I got to the louage station at about 845am by the time we left to El-Jem it was about 930am. It took nearly 1hour. The Colosseum was magnificent. Most of it still remains. I got back to the louage station at 1230pm to be in time for lunch however the louage left El-Jem at 1300 and by the time I got back to Sousse most of Houssem’s friends had gone and only 2 people had stayed back. We went and had lunch at the Art Food ... read more

I got into the Tunis louage station at 830am and took the louage to Kairouan. The louage took 2hrs and cost 5 dinars. The first thing I noticed in Kairouan is that people are more tradionally dressed than other parts of Tunisia and there are loads of butchers. Dead animals hanging on hooks and cow heads being displayed is very common. For the first time in Tunisia I also saw rabbits, don’t think they were being sold as pets. Just passing the louage station you come across a fruits and vegetable market and yes they probably do grow their own oranges considering the amount of oranges available. After talking to a few locals I found my way to the medina. While walking to the medina, outside the medina I found a shop selling wholesale lentils, chick ... read more

Woke up at 715am and did the 3s's and went to the bus stop at 8 and met Bilal. We took the bus which cost 410millis and took the train to Monastir. Monastir is a brilliant place. The Ribat is gorgeous and the beach is stunning too. When you climb the rocky area which is connected to land by a little bridge you could see clearly through the turquoise blue water. One couple asked me if I could take a picture of them. They spoke to me in English and I was quite surprised because generally everyone mistakes me for a Tunisian and I thought they were Tunisian too. When we spoke I learnt that they were a Pakistani couple from London living near to where I live and working near the Heathrow airport. What a ... read more

Woke up at about 9am and had breakfast. Ricky, Houssem and Iwent to the bus stop. I went to the medina to check out the Sousse medina while Ricky went to Tunis to spend the day in Tunis before catching a flight to Egypt. Houssem went back home as he had lots of homework to finish and I proceeded on my own to the medina. The views from the Ribat were very beautiful and the mosque courtyard looked quite impressive too. It’s a pity that they didn't allow people to the viewing area as it would have been a good place to take people shots. It was being refurbished. Houssem sent me Adam and Rebecca’s number as they were not doing anything Houssem said I could meet up with them for lunch. I texted Adam and ... read more