Thursday, December 07, 2006
Israel Experience (Part I)Shalom
There are few flights to Israel and they all cost a bomb. A ticket on SQ/Lufthansa costs about $3,700. A poor gal like me had no choice but to take Turkish Airline, which though costly at $1,800, was still less than half the price of a seat on SQ. This means connecting flights are a problem though. I spent 12hrs flying to Istanbul, 10hrs in transit (!!!) and another 2hrs to Tel Aviv. I was seated beside this old (I’m guessing Turkish) lady, who managed to lose her shoe and I couldn’t bear to watch an old lady with poor eyesight on her legs and hands searching for her shoe so I offered to look for it instead. Yes, we found it.
I usually have no problems falling asleep on moving vehicles but it was difficult on this flight as her daughter who was seated across the aisle moved to stand beside me (I was at the aisle seat) and talked over my head to her mother. Her granddaughter seated behind me added to the distraction by puking non-stop throughout the flight. And my in flight entertainment did not work. It was not going very well.
The 10 hour transit was just as tedious. I finished a mystery novel in about two hours while drinking a hot chocolate, walked around for the next two hours, sat in a café for lunch for another two hours, walked aimlessly for the next two hours, and in desperation bought a Harpers Bazaar magazine for 11 Euros (about 22 SGD!!) to pass the time for the last two hours.
Lucky the flight to Tel Aviv went relatively well. The guy who checked my ticket even tried to advise me to ask the customs not to chop my passport (or Muslim countries may not allow me entry in future). It took me one whole day (24 hours ) to reach the Holy Land.
St Andrew’s Scottish Guesthouse
There is a wide range of accommodation in Israel. Apart from hotels, you get hospices (not for dying people but for those on religious visits) and kibbutz (a kind of socialist community which recently started providing lodging for travelers). We managed to book two nights’ stay at St Andrew’s Scottish Guesthouse. It’s quite a lovely hospice, and I especially liked the friendly chef who prepares the breakfast, who was enthusiastic in making sure we enjoyed our breakfast.
St Andrew’s Scottish Memorial Church & Guesthouse was built in 1930 to commemorate the Scots who died liberating the land from Turkish rule during the First World War.
Labels: Travelling
Just The Girl @
12/07/2006 07:50:00 PM
St Andrew’s Scottish Memorial Church & Guesthouse was built in 1930 to commemorate the Scots who died liberating the land from Turkish rule during the First World War.