day 2 - tel aviv - 4 oct

i woke up early so i did my devotional, then went down to breakfast, i made it down to the egyptian embassy a half hour early, there were a few people in line, not nearly as many as i'd expected, i guess there aren't a lot of israelis going to egypt these days. so i got the visa in just about an hour, (apparently, they take this ramadan thing pretty seriously). now i had the visa and not much beyond that to do except figure out a bus itinerary down to elait plus cab to the border and cab down to sharm el sheik. i went back to the hotel and tried to book a bus ticket online since i cant read hebrew i was unable to purchase a ticket . i brought my bags down and left them with the front desk. according to the map i had there was a tourists information office just down the road from the hotel, plus this deli i'd been told not to miss, on the same street. i set out to find the deli on this street, (how the emergency services find there victims is beyond me, try to find a street sign or an address) after a bit of wandering i found the deli, and soon became acquainted with the service (or should i say lack of service) in israel. i set for quite a while before the menu came my way and then the visit for the beverage was several minutes following that, finally the food order was taken, i thought it was a pretty expensive bagel until i saw the plate. the waiter never returned following dropping the plate, i might have ordered a dessert, he didn't know or seem to care. i finally had to walk up to him for my bill, then he hands it to me and tells me service is not included, i wanted to say "oh well that explains it" i paid the bill and went to walk away and he became indignant that service was not included. i was still a bit out of sorts on the value of the coins i had, so i fear i over compensated him. following my map i wandered off in the direction of the tourist information office, only to discover that no one was there. with a bit of concern, i headed back into an area where i'd recalled seeing another tourist office. fortunately they were open and the woman there was a canadian transplant (of 25 years) who helped me get a hold of the bus company and acquire my ticket for 00:30 that evening.

now i really had nothing to do, the emails confirmed i had a place on the boat, my visa was in place, i had a bus ticket confirmation #, and several hours to spare with no place to spend them, i decide to venture south on the beach toward the old seaport town of jaffa (avoiding all parks along the way) israel is eastern most edge of the timeline and they don't seem to observe day-light savings time, so the sun seems to set near 4:30, (which for a country that starts sabbath at sunset, really seems to complicate matters. i made it down to the old city in time to watch the sun drop over the med, then i wandered around the old city in dusky light (my first exposure to narrow cobblestone whindy streets. upon returning back to the area of the hotel, i went in to get my bags and just sat in the lobby for a few hours charging the battery in the computer and checking a few things on-line. round about 10:30 i decided it was time to get out of the hotel clerks way and find the city transport on to the bus station. with my three bag in tow i made my way to the bus stop. it was a bit of a struggle onto the mini bus, and all the seats in the front were full so i had to get the bags on pay the guy and then he's moving so i'm trying to get to a seat without taking someone out. there was a bit of confusion from how the entry to the bus station was explained to me. i was told the mini bus driver would drive into the complex. so i stayed on the bus, well he pulled into a gas station and looked at me like "i don't know where you think you're going but i'm not taking you there" so i found my way back to the bus station and went through the check point (just an observation, i've found that women with guns are much more friendly and flirtatious then the unarmed variety)

once in the bus station i figured i'd better have a bite to eat to tied me over until the following day since i wasn't sure what to expect. i got a falafel and for some reason the vendor didn't offer me a tray to put the sandwich and extras on, everyone after me got a tray. as it got closer to the departure time i found my way over to the gate where the bus was supposed to load. there was this shorted israeli guy wandering around drinking and smoking who chose to intentionally step on my feet several times, i'm not sure what he was saying to me, though he seemed to be getting into other peoples personal space although i was the only one he actually accosted. some girls offered me a seat to get me out of his path, shortly there after we boarded the bus (which turned out to be 4 buses, all full) the ride was not very comfortable, i guess your average israeli is a few inches shorter than me. so i was pretty cramped for the entire trip not allowing any real opportunity to sleep.