Jerusalem, Israel

I crossed the border into Israel yesterday. I wish I could say that it was easy, but it wasn't. I thought for sure my US passport would be the golden ticket, but Farahana Shiraz Dunn was not allowed in without an hour's worth of questioning. The custom's girl (she could not have been over 25) asked me about my name, my last name, my maiden name, where I'm from, where my family is from, what religion am I, why did I decide on this trip, how did I decide on the countries, why did I quit my job, do I have enough money, when am I leaving. I think she confused herself with all the questions. In the end, I got through, although they did raise their eyebrows again when I asked them not to stamp my passport. But I guess this is all part of the fun :)

It is Israeli Independence day! And I found out how much Israeli's like to celebrate. When I finally arrived in Jerusalem around 8pm, people were filling the streets. I headed out with another traveler I met from San Francisco and we came upon a huge street party. A concert style stage was set up for, what I assume, were popular Israeli bands, at least 50 spotlights accompanied the laser show and fireworks, I mean it was going OFF! Families were out, old and young were dancing in the streets. I saw only one young man get carted off by the police, otherwise, it was a pretty civil event given the throngs of people - this would never happen at home!

Because of the holiday, the museums were free today, so we head out. Half way there a police car pulls over and asks Steve for his passport. Next thing you know, the police have asked the poor guy to empty his pockets, dump his bag out and the entire time I'm just sitting here, totally ignored. There is no reason other than 'security'. It's a little nerve racking because these are kids, no joke, under the age of 25, wielding machine guns, questioning you.

But security aside, Israel is a beautiful country. Jerusalem is so unique with Muslims, Christians and Jews all coming together to visit the myriad of holy sites. Even if you're not religious, to walk through a town that's written about in holy books and see the Dead Sea Scrolls from the 1st Century (!) is a pretty humbling experience.

Petra, Jordan

I flew from Dar to Dubai, overnight in the airport, then to Amman, Jordan on Saturday morning. I have had my fair share of 24+ hour travel days and I have done some hard traveling, but there is nothing worse than spending the night in the airport. Trying to curl up around the armrests of a plastic chair is no fun. But, the Dubai airport has 24/7 Duty Free shopping, so i spent my time and money wisely :)


I arrived in Amman, obviously haggard from my journey, and still had a 3+ hour bus ride to Petra. I took the bus from the airport to one of the 3 bus stations, only to find out it wasn't the right station. But Jordanians are notoriously friendly, and I was headed in the right direction in no time. The Jordan I saw is desert, and not the sandy kind, but the rocky kind with mountains and scrub brush - its very desolate but beautiful. The only reason I'm in Jordan is for Petra and now I cannot find any words to describe it. Dramatic, breath taking, intense, overwhelming... they don't even come close to what I saw and what I felt. This place is magical. I spent 19 hours in Petra over 2 days. I met a Bedouin, Ahmed, who took me around on his Bedouin Ferrari, aka, mule and I got a local's point of view. Ahmed and his family live in Petra, there is a Bedouin village not far from the ruins, but he lives in a cave. I drank tea with his family and looked after their jewelery shop while they chatted with their neighbors.


If you've ever seen pictures of Petra, it's probably been of the Treasury, think Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But what you don't see is the miles and miles and miles of carved sandstone, wind and rain eroded rocks, cave formations, it's brilliant. Once past the Treasury, Petra opens up into an ancient town, with a street of facades, monastery, cemeteries...it can easily take a week to explore all of it. But I did my best with 2 days. This is one of those things you must see in your lifetime...I am truly at a loss for words.

I have been promising pictures for a month! I know, but the Internet connections have not been great and one picture can take up to 30 minutes. I'll keep trying :)

Ngorogoro Crater, Serengeti, Lake Manyara

Sorry for the delay in updating my blog - internet is sloooow in Africa.
Ok, so I have had quite an exciting week...first the safari:

Ngorogoro Crater
Dad and I met Richard, our safari driver, in Arusha. We had the limo of all jeeps! 4 rows, GIANT 4 wheel drive, let me tell you we needed it, and a pop up roof. Again, I'm blessed with a former Indy car driver, well actually more like a Baja desert racing driver. I swear he could not drive below 50mph, and we were on some serious dirt/boulder/rock/sand/mud/crater roads, made worse by the rains! But it was so fun! What added to my experience is that you could stand up, in the car and pop out the roof, holding on for dear life of course, b/c Richard couldn't find the brake. I felt like a kid on a roller coaster ride! It was exhilarating and scary at the same time, like riding in the back of a pick-up, or being on a motorcycle w/ no helmet! LOL

So our first day we drive to Ngorogoro Crater. The rim is at 7500 feet and we descended 2000 feet to the crater floor. We saw flamingos in the lake, a rino and it's baby, elephants dominating the landscape, it was unreal. At one point we stopped the car to watch a lioness chase down a zebra - I swear I'm on National Geographic!! She wasn't successful, but it was thrilling to watch. She and her family came right by the car and drank out of a puddle we were stopped by. I mean they were so close - I-Could-Hear-Them-Drinking. holy shit.

Dad and I went all out and stayed at the Serena lodges (thank you, dad!) throughout our safari. Our room opened up onto a balcony overlooking the crater. Again I'm pinching myself.

Serengeti
The next day we drove to Serengeti. Hello, I'm in AFRICA, and in the SERENGETI, are you kidding me?! Ok, can you tell I'm completely overwhelmed? We drove through thousands of wildebeasts and zebras migrating south, I mean through, we had to wait for them to clear off the road. We saw every animal there is to see - lions, cheetahs, leopards, a million types of antelope, hyenas, buffalo, giraffes, I mean I could go on and on.

The scenery was amazing, I will definitely get some pictures up when I get to a faster connection.

Lake Manyara
The Serena lodge in Manyara was my favorite, it overlooked the lake, which is like 260km across or something ridiculous like that. Richard took us to the game park where we pissed off an elephant (ok!) and it came charging after us. For the love! Richard threw the jeep in reverse and we were flying out of there - it was a half-assed charge, but you don't mess around with elephants.

After 4 days in the car with Richard behind the wheel, my core muscles are toned and my arms bruised from holding onto the roof. What an incredible experience.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Holy Shit, I'm in Africa.
I swear I have to pinch myself 3 times a day - I cannot believe the things that I'm doing.
I have been here for 5 days or so, just taking it easy. My cousin lives here and owns/operates the community swimming pool where the local schools send their children for swimming lessons - it's so ridiculously cute, I can't tell you. I promise to put some pictures up!

As many of you know, my family is from Dar es Salaam. My parents left in 1969 and my dad, who's flying in today, hasn't been back since. So I'm really looking forward to sharing this experience with him.

Dar is a big city, I think 4 million or so, and is much cleaner than India :) For those of you who are looking on the map - its on the East Coast, right under Kenya and the equator. So needless to say it's HOT! April is the rainy season, so we get massive downpours for 15 minutes or so and then blue sky. Africans are a beautiful people, they are always smiling, laughing and singing. No one is in a hurry to do anything, it's all very laid back...

I've had some amazing food here. The other day my cousin took me to the Kaytee shop (I'm not sure that's how you spell it, but whatever). It's a TINY shop with 3 tables 9 chairs and you just sit where it's open. We had had kebabs, oh my god, I ate 7, at least. I think it was ground lamb, deep fried with coconut chuntey and chai so sweet your spoon stands up. Wow.
The fruit here is unreal, some of it I've never seen before. Everyday I've had something new and you know that's new for me, b/c I eat just about everything.

So Dad and I are going on a safari next week and then spending a few days in Zanzibar. Sounds fantastically exotic, doesn't it? lol. Pictures for sure next time.

Farewell to India

India offered me every emotion and I took advantage of it. Now that my time here is over, I've had a few days to think back on my almost 2 months in this country. When I started planning my journey, I remember thinking, India will be easy, 6 weeks will pass quickly. But I could not have been more wrong. It's not just the traveling that was difficult, I was difficult. Within the first 2 weeks I became Farah the Traveler. I had my game face and my suit of armor on, nothing was going to get in...but that's not the point, is it? How do you experience a culture so vastly different than what you know, when you have a wall up? I mean, I had to navigate train stations, find places to stay & negotiate purchasing toilet paper, while 1 billion people are breathing down my neck and my personal space isn't my own anymore because I'm sharing it with a family of 7, their goat and a crate of chickens. How do you let that in? I don't know either, but you do, and not because you have to, but because you want to. I thought I knew myself but I never thought I was capable of the things I've done. It's not just India I've let in, but a side of me I've let out.

I am Farah the Traveler, but I'm softer. I have learned to open & follow my heart while my brain takes a break. And let me tell you, that is harder for me than you can imagine. I SO want to make lists, call ahead, check the reviews on line & get the best deal. Those of you who know me, know I am a planner! This is where meeting other travelers becomes invaluable. Adventures, advice, and proper English become good tales and the people attached to those tales become family. That's why I extended my trip for a week. It didn't feel right to be leaving when I had just met these people...I felt like my adventures were just beginning.

India wasn't ready to let me go, and when I needed friends, companionship & a reason to stay, they were all delivered...I will always be grateful for that.

Munnar

What a change of pace and weather I've just had! I traveled from Alleppey to Kottayam by ferry and then took a bus to Munnar. This 'hill station' is at 1500m, and we are very close to the highest point in India, I think 2600m...I have no idea how high that is, but it took us 5 hours to get from the ocean, at a steady climb, here. And what a ride that was, the bus driver was a former Indy car driver, I'm sure. There's a torrential downpour, thunder, lightening, the whole bit, and we are bobbing and weaving all through traffic up this 2 lane, crazy, windy road, hugging the mountain wall one minute and breaking off asphalt on the cliff side the next minute. Of course I'm seated, again, at the front right across from the driver. About 3 hours in, while my toes are curled around the bar in front of me to prevent me from eating windshield, the driver turns to me with a rag and says 'clean'. Which means I'm to pry my clenched butt cheeks off the seat, actually lean forward and de-fog the side mirror and window. Is he insane?! For the love. But you know, when you have that seat, there is some responsibility...so I take a deep breath and lean forward.

I do get a chance to enjoy the scenery on the drive and it is stunning! Tea and cardamon plantations everywhere, they've planted tea like napa is planted with grapes. The bushes are tightly packed with teeny tiny rows between for the pickers to walk and they undulate with the contours of the landscape. I feel like climbing up onto the bushes and barrel-rolling down, just like when you were a kid!

It's finally cool. I dont' know if I've mentioned, but the stifiling heat/humidity has been a little ridiculous. However, for the first time since I've been in India, I wore my fleece the other night. Lovely...there's actually FOG in the morning, and it cools down at night. Definitely my kind of place!

I'm having so much fun and I've met so many fantastic people that I've decided to extend my trip in India for a week, so more to come....

The Backwaters

I've just come off the backwaters in Kerela and it was absolutely stunning. The Backwaters is a maze of rivers/channels/lakes that wind through the towns of Alleppy, Kottayam & Kollam. One of the girls I've met, Sue,and I decided to do a punted canoe ride, instead of the houseboat, and we got to travel through channels that are only accessable by small boat. The ride was amazing...the scenery is so lush, it's like what I picture the Amazon to be like, but without the anacondas and piranhas. We went through villages, women harvesting rice & washing clothing at the river's edge, kids swimming and every now and then we would surprise a bather :) The ride was very peaceful and relaxing and I really got a feel for village life. Our guide took us to his village and we met his family, we drank right out of a coconut and shared mangos. It's all been surreal.

Random tid-bit: The men in Kerela all wear sarongs, but instead of having them long, they take the ends of the cloth at the bottom, bring them up and wrap it around their waists, the effect is like a mini-skirt. So all you see is Indian men with their little legs sticking out of a skirt LOL - and of course, they're constantly adjusting it so you never know what kind of show you're going to get.