2008/12/02

Tel Aviv

Jaffa in the distanceI had a bit of an adventure going to Tel Aviv from Akko. I took my first train in the middle east and it wasn't as simple (or maybe it's just me) as I thought it would be. I thought the train would be a direct one, it's on the same railway, but the train I got on wasn't going to Tel Aviv. I realized that after asking some passengers, and got off in Haifa to transfer to the correct train. In my hurry to get off, I forgot my guidebook along with my train ticket on the train.

There were to issues with that. The most obvious was that I don't know my way around Israel and without the guidebook getting around is a lot more difficult. The not so obvious issue was that getting out of a train station requires a ticket. The gates open only after you put the your ticket through.

Self portrait on the beachAt the Tel Aviv train station, I sought out the station security and explained to them what happened. To my surprise they were extremely helpful and even arranged for someone in Haifa to get my guidebook and bring it to me in Tel Aviv, at no charge. I was blown away by the service. Within an hour I had both my ticket and my guidebook and I continued on to the city centre.

There's no historical sights in Tel Aviv. It's a very modern city right on the Mediterranean coast. The beaches are clean, the weather is great and the water looks quite inviting. Directly south of Tel Aviv is a town called Jaffa. It has some historical sights, but nothing compared to the places I've been to so far. Still, I'll make the best of my time here and explore it and Tel Aviv tomorrow.


Tel Aviv on the horizon:

Fishing near Jaffa port:

An off centre photo of me by a lady who seemed to have trouble lining up the horizon:

Jaffa from Tel Aviv:

Kite surfing on Tel Aviv's beaches at sunset: