The Dead Sea: Floating Bodies And Mud Baths

One of the many perks of working at a hostel is that you'll always be informed of the best places to visit, and you'll always have company wherever you might want to go!

Since there isn't really much of Tel Aviv to visit as a tourist, most of the time, the guests venture out to visit Jerusalem, The Dead Sea, or cross the border to Jordan for Petra.

I was lucky enough to have been able to do all three of these... Last week, I posted about my Trip to Jerusalem. This week, I'll take you through my Dead Sea experience with The Danish Invasion! :)

I met these 4 great ladies from Denmark at the hostel, who were all nice enough to let me tag along on their day trip to Masada and The Dead Sea. I personally didn't know squat about Masada... but I didn't mind, as long as I got my dose of sea salt!

MASADA

So, Masada, as it turns out, is an ancient fortification located in the South of Israel, overlooking the Dead Sea. King Herod built palaces here where you can still see remains of... And to this day, is considered one of Israel's most popular attractions. 

I can see the appeal. It has a spectacular view, and the ruins are pretty amazing. It's a bummer we had to pay to get in though... Luckily I was with a group of students - and I got a Student Discount along with them! Thank you, Asian genes!!!

DEAD SEA

After a long and winding drive through the desert, we made it to the salty waters of the Dead Sea! Yay!
OK a few fun facts about the Dead Sea.

1. It's surface and shores are 427 meters below sea level -- Earth's  lowest  elevation on land
2. It is one of the world's saltiest bodies of water. I tasted it. My tongue burned.
3. You float. It is literally impossible to sink.
4. No fish or sea life here, folks. Too salty. Hence the name.
5. The Dead Sea has mineral-rich mud that you can smear all over your body, and is scientifically proven to improve your skin's natural processes

We got there just before sunset, and the colors were amazing! When we finally managed to get into the water, it was such a funny sensation, bobbing up and down like a cork! You really float! It's so funny! I remember trying my best to swim down and pull all my weight underwater... But it won't let me! The water just plops you back up the surface and raises your legs... It made us look like we were sitting on a floating device!

MUD BATH

We weren't going to let the opportunity to lather ourselves up with the famous mud from the Dead Sea... so as soon as we saw someone walking around like he fell into a tar pit, we tracked down where he got his mud from, and we scrambled over to that part of the beach to cover ourselves up with the magic gooey stuff!

OK - we found it, and it wasn't pretty. The mud wasn't very clean, there was trash around it, and it was a little rocky. Luckily, this lady came up to us and showed us where to extract our mud from! She pointed to a tiny hole in the ground and said - "Reach into that hole right there. That's where the good mud is!" 

And so that's what we did! She was right! The mud inside was warm, soft, and oddly satisfying!

We may look cute and funny... but that mud smelled like rotten eggs. Reminded me of how it smelled in Rotorua because of the sulphur. I was surprised at how it didn't really bother any of us though... We just kept going until we were completely covered!

We kept it on for 20 minutes or so before washing it off in the sea again. I have to say though that what everyone says about that mud is true. My skin felt like a baby's bottom afterwards... I couldn't stop feeling my skin! And when I got back to the hostel, people who didn't even know I went to the Dead Sea said I looked like I was glowing!

Amazing!

And so that concludes the Dead Sea experience. We did both Masada and the Dead Sea in one day, it was exhausting, but really worth the day trip! If you're in Israel, you really can't pass up this experience.
The drive from Tel Aviv to Masada took a couple hours, Masada to the Dead Sea was another hour, and the drive back to Tel Aviv was another 2 hours give or take.

Next Stop: Petra, Jordan.

In other news... Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :)

Trip To Jerusalem

Random thought: I have no idea why the game, "Musical Chairs" is called, "Trip to Jerusalem" in my country.

Now that that's out of the way... YES I made it to Jerusalem! :)

After working/volunteering at the Overstay Hostel for a full week, I decided to spend my day off in Jerusalem with my new friend, Fernando. Jerusalem is about an hour away from Tel Aviv by bus - not too bad!

I was looking forward to finally visiting that place for a few reasons... First, is because my father really wanted me to see it. When I spoke to him about my plans to travel the world, he specifically said to me - "Go to Israel and visit the Holy Land". My dad is probably the most traveled person I know... and if out of all the countries he's visited in his lifetime, The Holy Land is what he chooses to recommend to me, then it must be good. I was raised Catholic, and my dad is quite religious... so it's nice to see this trip as a way to honor him and his wish for me to see it.

Second is because of the Western (Wailing) Wall. Someone once told me that the wall is "magic" - and I completely understood what he meant. For thousands of years, people pray on that wall... The energy that surrounds it must be so powerful, I wanted to feel what it's like to be enveloped by that power.

And lastly... I guess because the stories about Jesus was such a big part of my childhood and the way I was raised... I was really curious and eager to walk the same footsteps as the Greatest Man Who's Ever Lived.... If that.

JERUSALEM

My first impression was that it was completely different from Tel Aviv, and that it was beautiful. The views were spectacular, the walls of the Old City made it look like a fortress or a castle... and we all know how I love castles... :) So I was pleasantly surprised...

The Market is quite colorful as well... The stalls were adorned with jewelry, clothes and Middle Eastern merchandise, which made going through those little cobble stone alleys all the more interesting!

THE WAILING WALL

Everything they say about The Wall is true. The energy over there is different. I don't know why I thought it was going to be happy energy though... I guess I assumed people went there more with thoughts of hope, which is a positive energy. I assumed wrong... because as soon as I stepped foot in the vicinity of the wall, the feeling I felt wasn't happiness but heaviness. Like there was a weight that pulled on my chest all of a sudden.

Phewww it was a little rough... But I managed to get close enough to the actual wall to say my own petitions, and observe the women who were praying there.
It was a little disappointing to see people with their IPads and Iphones, some even chatting on their phones - right next to the women "wailing" at the wall. I guess I just thought the place would be a little more solemn... you know, "holier" than what I saw. Then again, Jerusalem has become such a touristy city, I really shouldn't have been surprised. I couldn't help it though...
Nevertheless, I said my petition, walked backwards (as a sign of respect) the way I saw the other women do, and went on my way.

CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

This was one of the highlights of Jerusalem for me. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is defined as the place where Jesus was crucified, and where his tomb was. It's a beautiful and huge church... probably one of the best ones I've ever visited in any country. Not necessarily for its beauty -- more for it's authenticity. There were hallways and several floors of stone that made the church seem more like an underground city... It was pretty eerie, actually... Priests were chanting around every few minutes... Nuns were following them around as they bless different corners... It felt like we had no business being there at some point.

We did get to see all the things we needed to see though... It took us nearly an hour, but it was an hour well spent.

Underneath the altar is the exact location, and supposedly the remaining rock that was left
from where Jesus was crucified. 

This is supposedly where Jesus' body was laid when he died from the cross

Getting in on the action

THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

The Yad Vashem is the world's largest repository of information regarding the holocaust. That is not an exaggeration... It is huge, and it is borderline information overload... BUT you get in for free, and it is amazing. You can spend an entire day going through that museum... I spent a couple hours and I was exhausted. It had incredible information though, and I managed to sneak a few photos (they said no pictures but everyone had their cameras!)

These are the shoes of the Jews who were killed during the holocaust

Holocaust Memorial

Jerusalem was amazing... It's a great city and I'm really glad I went. It's probably the one city in Israel that stands out to me - and I didn't even have enough time to explore it all.
Maybe next time - I'll go back, do another round of Jerusalem... then head over to Bethlehem and Nazareth too.

I DID manage to swim in the Dead Sea though... watch out for details and photos on my next post. :)

Halloween In Israel

This post will be short. I waited till the Halloween Party was over to write... because It IS Halloween after all, and I'd like to be able to post about it today, even if I'm about to pass out!

I am in Israel, safe and sound, working at Overstay Hostel in Tel Aviv. I arrived here on Monday night, and the first thing I asked my new boss was, "Um... will you have a Halloween party?"

This question made him laugh because it came out of nowhere. When it became apparent that they never really had any plans, I eagerly volunteered my services to organize a Halloween Costume Party at the hostel for the guests, and he was all too happy to oblige!

Before I knew it, I was back to my old self again! Running around, planning the party, getting all the materials, decorations, candy, you name it! After I had decorated the reception area (with the help of the other volunteers I was bossing around of course), the guests started to get into the Halloween spirit!

The challenge was trying to find costumes, since Overstay is a backpacker hostel, and we were all - well, backpackers! We hardly had any clothes, let alone a costume! Luckily the hostel staff had a whole bunch of costumes and props in their basement... stuff that they've used in a Zombie Party they had a few months ago! Everything they had were made available to the guests, and as I had hoped, they ALL got into it! I managed to borrow my roommate's brown shawl and used it as a skirt to become Tiger Lilly. It was a bit of a fail though since everyone called me, "Pocahontas". Oh well... both Native American :)

An Argentinian Hippie and Tiger Lily manning the bar

And as for the party? Well, let's just say that if a party gets shut down by the Israeli cops TWICE in one night, one can safely say people had a helluva good time!!!

I wore many hats in this party. One of them is "makeup artist" - and I did that Joker's face!

I turned this beautiful boy into Khal Drogo!

Yes, and I did their faces too!

Hanging out at the rooftop!

Safe to say, the guests got "hooked" on Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

My 2013 Travel Destinations - Parts 2 & 3

On my last post, I showed you the first leg of my RTW tour – The Friends and Family Discount! I will sache around Middle Earth, hang out with a statue of an Akita, and roll around in mud at a music festival! Good stuff! On the next leg, I will get down and dirty all over Europe. This is still a very rough itinerary, but if Help Exchange permits, these are the places I want to visit. Welcome to the second leg of My 2013 Destinations:

Part 2: The Helpex Backpacking Europe Experience 

Italy

Photo from www.chrystal-clear.com

I’ve been to Venice and Florence, and only spent a couple days there. This time around, I want to visit areas that are not as touristy. I really want to learn more about the Italian culture… their food, their lifestyle… and I want to know how the Italian women maintain their voluptuous figures, having 24 hour access to pizza, pasta, olive oil and wine!

Croatia

Photo from www.akademifantasia.org

They say Croatia is the new Ibiza. I’ll have to find out for myself!

Greece

Santorini - Photo from hdwallpapers.com

Of course I’m going to Greece. How can I not?? I’m obsessed with Greek Mythology, and am convinced I am one of Poseidon’s great great granddaughters. I want to go to the Oracle at Delphi and say hey.

Israel

Photo from www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com

I want to go to Israel and do the Holy Land tour. This is the one country that my dad recommends I visit, and as the most traveled man I know, I trust his judgement. I think it will be pretty epic. I’m already getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

Egypt

Photo from Flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com

The Pyramids! Santiago! The Alchemist! Buried Treasure! My Personal Legend!

Iceland

Photo from www.inspiredbyiceland.com

I have heard so many wonderful things about how amazing Iceland is… and just this past weekend at the LA Travel andAdventure Show, I met a really cool Icelandic local who talked passionately about his country! I’ve been having reservations about visiting Iceland just because it’s so far away from everywhere else in Europe. It’s a completely separate island, and I’d have to fly there. But after speaking with my new friend, I’ve decided to go for it… Yes. I will go to Iceland! Hopefully I can see the Aurora Borealis while I’m there!!!

Spain

Photo from www.travel.nationalgeographic.com

I’ve only been to Barcelona… I’d like to explore different areas like Madrid, Ibiza or Sevilla too. Everywhere I go, I get mistaken for a Latina anyway… might as well spend time in Spain and hang with people who sort of look like me? Haha!

_____

Like I said, this is a very rough itinerary… I don’t want to set things in stone because I don’t know how things would work out with Help Exchange, and I’m still trying to figure things out, money-wise. But if all goes well, I’m hoping to be able to visit these places between the months of July and December. I plan to spend the Christmas holidays in the UK with friends and family, that way I won’t get too lonesome on the road by myself. Let’s hope I get a real white Christmas this time! :)

After the holidays, I’ll still have a few months to spare before my RTW year ends… and there are a few more places I want to visit outside of Europe that I’d like to visit before going back to California. That brings me to the bonus, third leg of my tour:

PART 3: The Magical Mystery Tour – Journey Home

I don’t know if I can accomplish this because I don’t even know if my funds will last me this long… but if I’m lucky, then these are the remaining countries on my list.

Costa Rica

Costa Rican Waterfalls - www.deviantart.com

Studies show that Costa Rica is the Happiest Place on Earth. Yes – it beat Disneyland, and I want to personally find that out for myself!

Brazil

Photo from Funzine.hu

I am going to Carnival!!! I am going to make this happen, you just watch me. I will rock a feathery costume and dance till I drop! :)

Alaska

Photo from brandonsetter.com

OK I know this is a State – but I wanna visit anyway! I haven’t been here and I hear it’s amazing! Maybe if I don't see the Aurora Borealis in Iceland, I might see it here! :)

Canada

Photo by Allie Greenman

I have tons of friends in Canada and I would love to go and see all of them before I go back home!