Blogs from Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel, Middle East - page 45

“What’d he say?” I asked the young Jewish boy to my right. “They are going to shoot it,” he replied in his classroom English. Brushing the traditional curls out of his face, he reemphasized, “The robot will shoot the bomb.” Standing on an elevated portion of a building, Raf, Dan, and I lean against the wall, taking in the scene below us. The Israeli police have established a 50 meter perimeter around a bicycle chained to a street sign. An innocuous looking backpack hung on the rear of the bicycle. Every move cautious and calculated, a bomb disposal robot inches closer to the backpack while a somber policeman focuses on a television display, his hands resting on an array of joysticks on the side of the bomb disposal truck. A crackle of Hebrew on a megaphone, ... read more

So I'd like to apologize to the 5 of you who are subscribing to this blog for the barrage of emails..but we just got internet again and as all addicts are apt to do, we're getting as much as possible in as short a time as possible... Thailand wrapped up amazingly...Because of the King's birthday, there were about 5 days of partying all throughout the Kingdom. When I turn 80, you better believe I'm going to party for 5 days...anyway..in celebration, the people of Bangkok decorated the city with massive plywood arches decorated with gold fabric and decorations made out of blank CD's. I assume they decorate the arches with fake CD's in honor of the fact that the backbone of the Thai economy is bootleg programs and DVDs... Also because of the birthday party there ... read more

I didn't much care for the hostel at Jerusalem. It was damp with just an exhaust fan. I felt like i was in a hole! I was up by 7am and checked out by 9am. A quick stop at the information center at Jaffa gate and we were on our way to see the old city. I had barely taken my first snap when it started to rain. And then it poured! My tourist map was pulp in my fist as i shrugged my shoulders trying to fight the cold. by 10am it stopped raining and the sun was out again. We were close to the jewish quarters now. I pulled out my map of the Via Dolorosa and we were now on our way down the 14 stations of the cross. We spent the entire ... read more

It is simply impossible to imagine a more religiously enigmatic city than Jerusalem. Amongst the old city of about 1 sq klm, the Big 3 religions have some of their most significant temples of worship all competing for a piece of the prime reverential real estate cake. I found it mindboggling to have the Wailing Wall butting up against the Al Aqsa Mosque. Watching orthodox Jews going through their paces against the Wall in the shadows of the Temple Mount on one side and the previously mentioned mosque on the other is prime front seat viewing. These orthodox Jews can be the subject of some cynicism on the part of the more secular section of Israel's populace, having the pseudonym of "penguins" bestowed upon them. Apparently the penguins are the only Israeli citizens exempt from the ... read more

When travelling, plans can change suddenly and drastically. After leaving Dahab, we headed up to the popular resort of Sharm El Sheikh to meet up with my parents for a week of snorkelling and lazing around the beach and pool. The day before we were due to meet them at the airport, I checked e mail to find that my dad had been taken into hospital with a kidney infection and subsequent blood poisoning, so they had to cancel their trip (hope you are feeling better, dad!). As we had already done the major highlight of the area, snorkelling and diving on the magnificent reefs of Ras Mohammad National Park, we decided to move on. This decision was helped by the fact that our accomodation was very basic, mosquito-ridden, and overpriced, and the only transport out ... read more