Smogginess Tapering Off ...

Today, the haze reached super hazardous level and an all time high. It would not have been so bad if there are heavy rains coming to wash away all the haze, but unfortunately, this happens to be our hot and dry season, hence not much rain during this period. In fact, except for Sunday night, there has not been any rain for the whole week! And the haze just keeps accumulating, causing people distress and breathing difficulties.

However, for the last hour, the skies seem to have cleared a lot. At least I can finally see what is outside my office window relatively clearly, including the overhead bridge in the distance, as compared to the past few days when I could barely even make out the buildings opposite! The index seems to be dropping drastically. Seems that it has reached its peak and tapering.

Hopefully this keeps up and then we can finally have relatively clean and fresher air around! And I can start work as per normal on Monday!

Preparing To Exit ...

Today is the last working day for me in my current workplace. I am really going to miss this place, especially the people here. So far of all the places I have worked at, this is the place with the best working environment and one of the nicest bosses. The only trade off is the prospect may not be as good, but there is no perfect combination.

In a short while, I will be having my exit interview and clearance. Wonder what kind of questions I will be asked? If asking about the company, shall I speak the truth? Hmmm... I always wonder what is the purpose of exit interviews when I do not even know if they accept people's feedback and improve the structure after that!

So for now, another phase of my life has gone, and I will soon be starting a new phase. I hope the new company will be even better, in terms of the people and environment!

Haziness ...

I just came back from a farewell lunch with my boss ... and the haze condition is getting from bad to worse! I always wonder if the scale that our government is measuring is accurate? It sure looks much worse than what is indicated on the index!

I am supposed to make a trip to Batam (again!) this weekend, to make up for the disastrous trip the last time round. I thought since this time round, I have booked a hotel around the city centre and will be mostly around the city area, hence the trip may be better? Unfortunately, due to the hazy conditions, it looks like a trip there is out of the question for now.

How long more are we going to breathe in this smog? Luckily my colleague managed to get the rounder masks so I have been living off that! Otherwise, goodness knows how much polluted air I am going to inhale!

My Farewell Lunch

I cannot believe this is my last week, or rather, last few days in this company! Culture wise, this is the best I have been in. The people are friendly, there are hardly any politics, and the co-workers are fun to be around. The thing I will miss the most is the colleagues I have grew rather close to. Hopefully this time round we can really keep in touch and not just lip service anymore like always.

Today a group of them gave me a farewell lunch. I am so touched! This is the first time in my life I actually have a farewell lunch, or rather, the only time that I feel I would actually be missed! The only other time was in another company where my boss gave me a farewell lunch, but two other colleagues followed. Another time was with those colleagues in another company I was close to, but that was only a few. As for the other places, well, I was just so hated that people rejoiced more when I left, hence no one gave me a farewell lunch.

Tomorrow I will be lunching with my boss. He specially asked to lunch with me. Again, I am fortunate that I have a good boss in this company, which is why makes it even harder for me to leave. But sometimes good opportunities come but only once in a lifetime, and if I am to miss that, goodness knows how long more I need to wait again, if there ever will be another one!

Hopefully my next company will be better, in terms of culture, people and environment!

Going Past Israeli Customs

In all my years of travelling, I have always gone past customs very smoothly. This time, going to Israel is a big hassle. Our travel agent already briefed us beforehand that before we board the plane, the customs officers will ask a lot of questions. I think because they are so afraid of terrorists that they make everyone's lives inconvenient.

In the first place, our luggage cannot be locked, as the customs officers will open at random and check. While transiting at Bangkok, we handed over our passports, and then the grilling started. We were asked questions like :

1. What is your purpose of going to Israel?

2. Do you know anyone there?

3. Did anyone give you anything to bring over?

4. Did you pack everything in your luggage on your own?

5. How long will you be staying?

This is the first time I came across customs officers asking so many questions! I do not think any other airlines or going to any other countries, is ever so troublesome. In the first place, even if we answer the questions in a politically correct way, who is to know? I may be a terrorist for all anyone cares, but still answer the questions in a politically correct way! No terrorist is going to blow the cover so easily!

But the main thing is we managed to make the plane and off to Israel we went! But our passports were not to be stamped, otherwise countries like Malaysia and Indonesia will never welcome us again! Hence, we had to specifically tell the guy at the counter not to stamp our passports, so he printed out a white immigration card on the spot for us and that would be our entry visa into Israel.

However, in Israel, due to the demarcation zones between the Israelis and the Palestines, there are border crossings to go through. Before we were due to go into Palestine territory, we were asked to bring along our passports. So we had to bring our passports to go to Bethlehem, which is in Palestine territory. Yet there was no checks that day.

On the last day before we were due to leave, we had to go deep into the West Bank, which is Palestine Muslim and Bedouin territory. We all had our passports with us and our luggages in the coach. Upon coming out from the West Bank on our way to Tel Aviv, two uniformed officers stopped our coach at the gantry and came up the coach to check our passports. For some reason, my passport was confiscated.

Besides me, three other ladies' passports were also confiscated. I wonder if it is due to the fact that I went Malaysia and Indonesia recently? In any case, the uniformed female said all those with their passports taken, had to take all their luggages down and go to the little room in the corner.

I had to leave the coach and take my passport. I got a real fright, as I thought could it be I had been going Malaysia and Indonesia quite frequently lately that I had to be detained in Israel? I could see my mum's face turning ashen.

We took our luggages and put it through the scanner. All our luggages were stopped. We were asked to open our luggage and let them see what was inside. My two bottles of wine were discovered and they took a look at the wine.

The other girls' were scanned for wine, Dead Sea products and water. As long as there is bottle, tube, jar and whatnot, we had to declare and let them check. Luckily they did not discover the tubes of Dead Sea Mud Masks I kept wrapped in between my clothes!

Afterthat, our hand luggages were being scanned. Mine was fine. But those that had iPads and laptops had to remove them, let them check, and scanned again. Finally, everything was in order, nothing was confiscated, our passports were returned, and we could board the coach again. Thank goodness! I was actually imagining how life in an Israeli prison would be like!

But the delay cost us our last venue of Jaffa Port. I would love to have gone there, but unfortunately, we already took so long at the social mission at West Bank, so even if there was no holdup, we were still running on tight schedule. My mum was especially angry, because she was upset that the person in charge of the social mission trip got carried away and took such a long time, hence holding up everyone else, which made us unable to go to Hebron Old City.

Yet when I and the other three got detained at customs and everyone in the coach were wondering what happened, that person took the opportunity to ask the rest of them to fill in the feedback form, just to "save time" while waiting! My mum kind of told her off for being insensitive!

When we went to the airport, very early just in case, again it was another round of questions. We were departing, not arriving, yet the customs officers again asked us if anyone gave us anything to bring out, or if we accepted any gifts from anyone. 

Hence all things that were given to us, like the bag and cap from the travel agent, the tour booklet, the wooden oil lamp from Nazareth and the olive wood communion cup from The Garden Tomb, had to be in our hand carry and declared at the customs.

After going through the customs, we had to bring our luggages to scan. Most of us did not pass the scanning and were asked to go for a luggage check. When I got to the counter, the lady asked if I had wine inside. I said yes. She then asked how many bottles? I said two. She asked me what kind? I said one white and one dessert iced. After that she was satisfied and let me go. Again, they did not notice the Dead Sea products I had in my luggage, whereas the rest were being asked and searched for those!

Finally I was able to check in at the counter. And I managed to get a window seat this time for an overnight flight! After going past the customs, things were smoother, and we did not have anymore hassle before boarding the plane. We could even have our dinner and shop at the duty free shop before boarding.

It was smooth all the way until the plane arrived at Bangkok for our transit, and then on the next flight back home. Finally I was home, and I so would not want to go through that again! I really will not mind going back to Israel, but oh, the customs itself is really a big hassle that it makes me think twice about going again!

Useless Mobile Plan In Israel

Before I left, I signed up for a local mobile plan in Israel to prevent incurring roaming charges. The card was given to me on the day I checked into the first hotel. Unfortunately, even though I signed up for a data plan, the data was somehow not working. And I was not able to send text messages for a while. So I ended up just using the phone to call.

Later on, I was able to send text messages out using the local number, but still no data plan. Initially, I wanted the phone plan because of data. I thought I could still surf the internet, check my emails, and even send whatsapp messages out.

But then the coach we were in has free Wifi, and the hotel has some Wifi too. So overall, the data plan was not much of a use. My phone ended up more of a white elephant than anything else, with the occasional phone calls and text messages.

And it is not as if the phone plan is that cheap! I had to pay a deposit plus daily rental charges, in USD! The only good thing is that I was able to get a refund on my deposit and the unused portion of the plan upon returning. 

Today I just received an email saying my phone (card) has been returned, so the number and account is officially terminated. Their billing cycle is on the twentieth of every month, hence I would get a refund into my card within five days.

Hence the lesson learnt is that, it is not necessary to get a local number in Israel, because there is Wifi available. Or maybe my tour group happened to be fortunate. Of course I cannot speak for all, especially for those who chose a different mode of travel. But all I can say is that, unless there is absolutely an emergency or something urgent, otherwise one can do without a local plan.

"Blurred" Vision!

The dreaded haze is back again, this time reaching unhealthy levels! At last count, it was more than 100 and counting. If this goes on, I wonder if all would need to work from home? Good news for everyone at least.

I seriously wonder what caused the huge fire this time. Some speculate that it is the palm oil industry. But whatever it is, this is really unhealthy! I will not be surprised to see people in masks for the next few days if this goes on! As it is, my eyes are tearing already from all these smog and I could hardly see the buildings opposite!

Healing Cracked Lips ...

My lips have been chapping whenever I go overseas ever since I was ten. That year we went to Genting Highlands, and I went around with painful and red lips throughout. I thought nothing of it and continued my vacation happily.

Then when I was eleven and we went to Sydney, my lips started cracking again. My aunt gave me her pot of Vaseline to apply, and it healed quite fast, so I thought I could stop applying, but it started cracking again the moment I stopped.

That was when I realise I had this problem whenever I was away. My mum said because the air overseas is drier, as well as up in the mountains, so my lips would be the first to be chapped, hence I need to moisturise them very well.

When I was twelve, we went to Cameron Highlands. My mum allowed me to apply her lipstick throughout, and nothing went wrong. So I presumed applying something to my lips is the way to go.

Through the years, I started to realise that applying petroleum jelly on my lips help a lot in moisturising, much better than normal lip balms, lip glosses and lipsticks. Since then, my lips never went bare. I would always have at least a lip gloss or lip stick on my lips.

There was a period of time when I applied my lips with white soft paraffin, which could be found only in the Skin Center, and must be diagnosed by a specialist. I went there for treatment as my lips kept chapping for no reason and it was affecting the skin around my mouth. After that, I was discharged from the Skin Center, so I started using pots of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, especially when I went overseas.

Through the years, I have tried lots of lip products, like lip balm, lip butter, and whatnot, but none actually work as well. Thank goodness that my lips do not chap as much anymore, so I can get by with any product now. Even when I went to the States two years back, I could apply normal lip gloss and my lips did not get chapped.

However, during this trip to Israel, I did not wish to take chances. Israel is in the middle east region, which means it is very hot and probably dry. I did not wish to end up with chapped lips. After trying so many products that I find average, I came across Kiehl's Lip Balm which I heard is pretty good. I was fortunate that I got a tube for Christmas and I bought a Cranberry-flavoured one on my own.

I brought these two to Israel, and applied them only when necessary, instead of every day and night and every few hours as before. In fact, I only applied the lip balm on the plane and in the mornings after breakfast. I did not even apply them when I sleep at night, except for the last two nights.

And I am pleasantly surprised that my lips did not chap! The balm glides on smoothly and I feel my lips very moisturised, so much so that I hardly need to re-apply. My lips remain smooth and moisturised throughout the trip, with no cracking or chapping! Great product!

So now that I have found my gateway to healing cracked lips, I am going to stock up on Kiehl's Lip Balm and use them for a very long time!

Braiding My Hair In Israel

I have had long hair since as long as I can remember, but during school days, I always had to tie it up into a ponytail. Due to my laziness, I never bothered to really master hairstyling, hence my hair is messy and I often let it loose instead of tying it up as I find it too much of a hassle.

However, I thought to have my hair tied up in Israel, since we were all wearing the same caps, and the weather was hot. Not humid, but just hot, so it was still bearable and not sticky. But after not having tied a ponytail for upmteen years, I made a mess out of my hair. Finally my mum offered to braid my hair for me.

Wow.. when was the last time I actually had my hair braided? I think it was before I even went to school! But my mum did a very good job, that I could slot my braid inside my cap and it would not blow off, and I could remain cool and neat at the same time.

So that was what we did. And she braided my hair everyday, until the day we transited in Bangkok and I removed the braid and just left my hair as it always is. I like braiding my hair, it makes my hair looks much neater and less floppy. And I also got to have good bonding with my mum, as it has been so long since she took care of me that way!

Rude And Rip Off Service Providers In Israel

In Israel, most of the sales people are very nice, but we came across one that is really nasty. He sells good quality pashminas and clothes along one of the stretches of Via Dolorosa of the old city. My mum fell in love with a black pashmina, and his asking price was USD15.00, and when my mum asked if he could lower the price, he just asked, "Are you buying or not?", to which my mum said, "Not at this price". After that, he just threw the scarf back and said, "Fine, no big deal."

Can you believe that? We decided to go somewhere else, but since we could not find another place with a nice scarf at a good price, my mum decided to go back there again, as she admitted that the quality of his products are really good in comparison, and upon thinking, USD15.00 is pretty reasonable for that kind of quality. She asked the person where the scarf was made, he just asked, "Can you read English?". We said yes, and he then said, "Then please read the label!"

However, the label consists of Hebrew words, with just "Jerusalem" stated in English, hence we only wanted to clarify. Finally we established that the scarf was made in Jerusalem, and my mum asked again if it is indeed 100% cashmere, the person just turned the scarf over grumpily and pointed to the wordings "100% cashmere".

We bought the scarf and went off. His attitude was really a turn off! Should he not serve customers with a smile and a gracious attitude, considering so many tourists from all over go there to shop? It is inevitable there could be just some who may not be able to read English!

After we were done with our shopping, we wanted to hitch a cab to go back to our hotel. We had to go past the Jewish Quarters onto the main road. We saw two cabs, and the drivers said we had to take both cabs. They quoted us USD20.00 each. We then said that price was a bit high, considering there were six of us and we would prefer to take just one cab.

The first cabbie said if that is the case, then we walk. So we said, ok, we would walk. We walked all the way downhill from the old city to the main road, and saw a big SUV cab coming. We waved at the cabbie and asked if he was able to bring us to our hotel, to which he said yes.

We then asked how much, and he quoted us USD5.00 per person, making it USD30.00 for the whole cab, but we could all get into the cab together. Considering that it was almost dark and it was his last shift, we decided to just take it. And the cabbie was so nice to drop us directly at the door of our hotel, instead of just the car park!

Our experience in Israel would have been better if we did not encounter some of these rude people. But I guess these people are everywhere, and we just get to see all kinds of people when we go places, is it not? These are the things that make experiences memorable and meaningful.

Israeli Souvenirs

I guess people must be wondering what kind of souvenirs Israel has? Before I went there, I was wondering the same thing too. I thought perhaps they would have local coffee and tea, which incidentally, I bought back one can of Israeli coffee powder for my boss and one box of Israeli black tea for one of my colleagues.

But what about other things? There are beads, jewellery, caftans (lots and lots of them), pashminas, praying scarfs, religious artifacts and Dead Sea products of course! However, the things in Israel are not cheap. Our tour guide himself says that the living standard has gone up a lot, and besides, for a country that uses USD as an "unofficial" currency, how cheap can the living expenses be?

In any case, during our little shopping trips, we managed to bargain the prices down. So I got a beautiful turquoise long flowy skirt that can also double up as a tube dress for just USD20.00, slashed down from USD50.00.

My mum got a white caftan top and a black pashmina. She also got a ceramic plate with the words "God Bless Our Home", which she slashed down to USD10.00 from USD25.00, with a free stand at the same time.

As for me, besides the long skirt, I got some Dead Sea mud masks for myself and friends back home. I also got olive wood rosaries that look like this :

My friend asked me to get her a Jerusalem cross, which is the most expensive so far, costing around USD100.00 (which I managed to slash down to that price) :

This is what a Jerusalem Cross looks like

But of course, my favourites are the fridge magnets that I got to add to my collection, as proof of my travels :

And these that my mum got for me :

This is my favourite so far.

We also managed to buy some candy at the duty free shop at the airport, which I took a box to distribute to my colleagues after I came back. My mum got her neck massager pillow and more Dead Sea products to give away. Hence we came back very happy and satisfied with all our purchases! :-)

Following The Footsteps Of Jesus

Finally I am able to blog about the trip, even though the individual posts have been up in my travel blog. But this will be the exact sequence of events as per our trip itinerary. We went to the airport around five in the evening on Monday 3 June, even though our flight was at eight at night. This is to ensure the entire tour group is around, then we checked in and ensured our luggage was tagged to "Tel Aviv" instead of Bangkok, where we would be transiting.

This trip is organised by World Vision Singapore, their inaugural trip to Israel, part of their "Faith In Action" programme. The tour group coordinating this is Omega Tours and Travels, incorporated under New Creation Church as their revered pastor goes to Israel quite often.

When we reached Bangkok, it was a hassle trying to get up the El Al plane to Israel, because the customs officers asked a lot of questions. Finally, we were able to board the red eye flight and then I just caught up on some snoozing since it would be an eleven-hour flight.

Incidentally the Israeli airline plane is an old-fashioned plane, with only a central screen, no individual screens, and still with ashtrays on the arm rests! How long have I not seen an ashtray on the arm rest? Plus I could not get the window seat I wanted, so I was squeezed in the middle seat of the middle section, hence was rather uncomfortable throughout the flight. In the end, I was not able to sleep that well.

The arrival hall at Ben Gurion Airport

In any case, we reached Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport around half past seven in the morning. After going through customs, we collected our luggage and were then met by the local tour guide and coach driver from Sar El Tours, an Israeli Christian tour agency. We were given caps and backpacks from the agency, how nice!

Our local tour guide is a real mix of cultures. He is descended from Arabs, so the Palestines recognise him as one of them. He was born in Israel, raised in a Greek Orthodox Christian family, attended Hebrew Jewish schools, and able to read the Quran due to his Arabic background. He then married an Armenian Orthodox Christian, and able to speak about seven languages, including Hebrew, Israeli and English. Hence we are really fortunate to have him as our guide, since he is a walking Bible and due to his background, he is also able to grant us access to Palestinian territory which are otherwise out of bounds to the Israelis.

Anyway, we started our tour immediately. Our first stop is Caesarea, where the Caesarea Maritama is. Caesarea Maritama was built by King Herod and the remnants of the fort and dried up moat is still there. We stopped there for breakfast, before proceeding on to our next stop - Mount Carmel, for a paranomic view of the Galilee region. Our next stop is Tel Megiddo before we had lunch there. The details of these can be found here.

After lunch, we went on to Nazareth, the place where Jesus grew up, before going up to Mount of Precipice for a bird's eye view of Nazareth. The details can be found here. After that, we passed by Cana in Galilee (which I did not manage to grab any photos unfortunately since it was only a drive by), where Jesus performed his first miracle changing the water into wine, before reaching our hotel, the Rimonim Mineral Hotel, in Tiberias. Dinner was at the hotel then we had an early rest. End of the first day.

We started the second day after breakfast at the hotel with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and exploring the Ancient Boat Museum on the opposing shore. After that, we went up to the sites Jesus went to, namely Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Church of St Peter's Primacy, and Capernaum, before stopping for lunch at a restaurant specialising in St Peter's fish.

In case anyone is wondering, this is what St Peter's fish looks like :

After lunch, we went down to the Jordan River baptism site, before going back to Tiberias for the Galilee Experience. Actually the Jordan River and Galilee Experience were not included in the itinerary, but because we managed to finish all the places before lunch, the tour guide kindly gave us extra perks by bringing us to the Jordan River baptism site and then to see the Galilee Experience.

The Galilee Experience is actually a theatre cum gift shop in the heart of Tiberias, facing the Sea of Galilee. In there, one can see the history of Israel and how Jesus went about in Galilee. We were also given free ice cream and coffee, and we could spend some time shopping in the gift shop too.

 A little scroll found in the theatre of the Galilee Experience

After that, some of us, including my mum and I, went shopping around Tiberias city. The city area is popular with both locals and tourists alike, so there are many shops catering to locals, hence most of the signages are in Hebrew. We managed to buy a top and two pairs of slacks. Since the local shops did not prefer to use USD which was what we changed, we paid with card instead.

After the shopping trip, we took a walk back to our hotel for dinner. It was about a half hour walk from the city area to our hotel. Along the way, we passed by little streets, mountains, churches, and even a hole in the cave called "Tomb of Rachel"! Unfortunately, this "Rachel" was just someone famous in Tiberias, and not the Rachel who was Jacob's wife. We even saw the sun setting on the Sea of Galilee. And that ends the second day.

Sun setting on the Sea of Galilee

On the third day, my mum and I woke up early. We wanted to catch the sunrise, but unfortunately, by the time we went down, the sun was already up in the sky. Still, we managed to catch a glimpse of the early morning's sun rays on the Sea of Galilee.

 We came to this bench and sat there for a while, dipping our feet into the cool waters of the Sea!

After breakfast, we went on to Mount Arbel, to trace the route Jesus took from Nazareth to Capernaum, at two ends of the Sea of Galilee. Apparently, Jesus crossed over the hills of Mount Arbel, went on to Magdela, the hometown of Mary Magdalene, where she met him and dropped everything to follow him, and then went on over to Capernaum to stay with Peter and his mother-in-law. The view from the top of Mount Arbel is amazing!

 The cliffs as seen from the top of Mount Arbel

 The village of Magdela, where Mary Magdalene came from

 A Beduoin settlement is on the top of these hills

 The mountain where the Muslims won the Crusaders

After that we stopped a while at Korazim, one of the places cursed by Jesus. It is all in ruins now but we did not go in as the entrance fees were not included. We then proceeded to Mount Hermon, where Caesarea Philippi is. Caesarea Philippi is a ruined city that used to belong to the pagans. The place kind of reminds me of Petra.

 Caesarea Philippi in Mount Hermon

 This is for writing sand verses

 Trying to write sand verses, but too heavy!

Incidentally, Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon is around the Golan Heights region. We were supposed to go up to Golan Heights to check out the border of Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Jordan, but it was cancelled as there was bombing in Syria that day. Thus we went straight to Mount Hermon, and then proceeded to the nearby Banias Falls after that.

Banias Falls reminds me of the Blue Mountains in Sydney. The waters are rushing down, but the waterfall is not as big as some of those I have seen. Apparently we came during the time when the country just finished lots of rain so there are lots of water to gush down.

 Yes, that is all the waterfall!

We went for lunch after that at Hagroshim Kibbutz Resort. We were actually done with the itinerary for the day, but thanks to our guide, he included a trip to a local vineyard for free where we could have Israeli wine and buy bottles of wine back home!

 Entrance of Hagoshrim Kibbutz

 The local vineyard

After that, we went back to the hotel for a rest and dinner. Since there was still time, we decided to go to the spa opposite the hotel for some swim and jacuzzi before dinner. That ended our third day.

Our fourth day in Israel, we came out of Galilee, went down the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea and ended the day in Jerusalem. The day started with my mum and I waking up early again to catch twilight and breaking dawn over the Sea of Galilee, and this time, we were not disappointed!

 Twilight over the Sea of Galilee

 First rays of sun starting to rise

 This guy was camping overnight and he went for an early morning swim. Wonder if he felt cold?

 Sun starting to rise

 Breaking dawn over the Sea of Galilee

After breakfast, we checked our luggage, had them loaded up the coach, then made our way down to the Jordan Valley, where the Mount of Temptations is. This was the place where Jesus was tempted forty days and nights in the Bible, the signifiance of Lent. This is in Bedouin and Palestine terriroty, so there is a souvenir shop selling local produce. I also got to ride a camel! My adventures can be found here.

We then went on to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were originally found. Unfortunately, we could not see the scrolls there as the original Scrolls are in the Israel Museum under conducive conditions. We had lunch there and then proceeded to the beach at the Dead Sea for a floating experience, before reaching Jerusalem, where we went to Mount Scopus for a view of Jerusalem city.

 Can you see the icon of Jerusalem?

Part of the Hebrew University

After that we checked into the hotel in Jerusalem - Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, had a rest and dinner. The review of the accommodation we stayed in can be found here. And that concludes the fourth day. On the fifth day, after breakfast, we proceeded to wander around old Jerusalem city. 

We started with Mount of Olives and the Dominus Flevit Church, where Jesus wept for the future fate of Jerusalem. Then we went on to Garden of Gethsemane and Church of All Nations, the place where Jesus prayed for the last time before he was betrayed and arrested.

After that, the tour guide brought us to Church of St Anne and the Pool of Bethesda, but that was closed for graduation of the priest. So we then proceeded to the Via Dolorosa, which was the Stations of the Cross Jesus walked before he was crucified and died. After this, we went for lunch at Bulghourji Armenian Restaurant, before going to the City of David and the Upper Room, which was the site of the Last Supper. Then we went on to Church of St Peter In Gallicantu, which was the site where Jesus told Peter he would betray him three times before the cock crowed. All these can be found in a separate post here.

 Interior of the restaurant

It was in St Peter's church that my mum fell and hit her head. I had a panic attack as she was bleeding! Luckily, there was a husband and wife team consisting of a doctor and a nurse, and they treated her wound and bandaged her up. Luckily, St Peter's Church was the last stop and after dropping everyone off at the hotel, the drive, tour guide and tour leader brought us to the nearby medical centre for treatment.

It was a Saturday, Sabbath day, so not many were working. In fact, even our rooms were not cleaned! Still we managed to be served rather quickly. My mum needed three stitches and she was out of the clinic very fast. Kudos to Israeli clinics! We went back to the hotel for dinner, then she decided to take a rest and skipped going to Ben Yehuda Street for some night shopping with the rest of us.

The next day (sixth day) was a Sunday, and it was time for church service. We made a trip to Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born. Bethlehem is in Palestine territory, so we need a special permit to be able to go in. We first stopped at Shepherd's Field, the place where the angels went to the shepherds to tell them that Jesus was born. Then we went to a Palestine Evangelist Church for service.

We wanted to go to Church of Nativity, where Jesus was born, but it was too crowded, so gave that a miss, unfortunately! After church service, we went to the Women's Child Care Society for lunch, before going to the Holocaust Museum which was set up in honour of the victimised Jews during the second World War.

It was in the Holocaust Museum that I can see for myself the entire brutal slaying of the Jews. I have read in books, studied in history and watched shows, but it was in the museum that I was able to see the entire atrocity committed. It is really distressing to see how one person's idiosyncrasies brought about so many deaths. If any of you ever make a trip to Jerusalem, do take some time to visit the Holocaust Museum! It will take about two hours.

We ended the day with a visit to the Haas Promenade, next to the United Nations Building, for another paranomic view of Jerusalem, before going back to the hotel for dinner and a meeting with Palestinian Christians of World Vision Jerusalem, to learn what they are doing for the community in the West Bank.

On the seventh day, we went to explore the other side of the ancient city of Jerusalem. We started off with the Temple Dome and Dome of the Rock on Mount Moriah, the site where Abraham was supposed to sacrifice Issac and God saved Issac's life.

Then we went on to the Church of St Anne's and Pool of Bethesda, which we missed out the other day. It was also the site of the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. The church has the best natural acoustics I have ever heard! Voices singing there just sound so beautiful!

We then went to the Southern Temple Mount, and then the sacred site of the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, where there is a separate men's and women's entrances. The place is so strict that before we go in, there would be a bag check. We are not allowed to bring anything religious with us, ie no crosses, no Bibles, no knives. Women have to cover their legs and shoulders, and also their heads.

The Western Wall is where all the religious people go and pray, so there are little holes in the walls to slot in prayer intentions. I managed to squeeze in all the prayer intentions I brought over, as well as say a little prayer for myself and my friends.

We went on to the Jewish Quarters next, before going for lunch at Notre Dame Institute. After lunch, we went to the Israel Museum to see a model of the Holyland in King Solomon's time, and the room where the Shrine of the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept.

 Notre Dame Institute, where we had lunch

Our final itinerary in Jerusalem was Garden Tomb, the other place where Jesus was buried and believed to have risen. We went there for a little tour and to see the tomb, as well as a communion service. That was our final place on the touring itinerary. After we were done, since we were still early, we decided to go back to Jaffa Gate at the old city and the Via Dolorosa to shop at the little alley shops before going back to the hotel for dinner. All my adventures in Jerusalem can be found here.

On our eighth day (also our last day), we went to the West Bank for social mission, visiting a local kindergarten, see another local makeshift kindergarten, seeing a widow who became self-sustaining through the help of World Vision, and finally having lunch at a local Palestinian community.

We were supposed to go to Hebron Old City as well as Jaffa Gate, but because some people got carried away and took so long at the mission places that we could no longer go to Hebron Old City. So we proceeded direct to Jaffa, but because we got help up at the Israeli-Palestine border, again we did not have enough time to go, so had to give that a miss too. What a pity!

So we had to go direct to the airport to check in, had our dinner, took an overnight flight, back to Bangkok to transit, and finally, I reached home around close to midnight on Wednesday 12 June, ten days after I left!

This had been a really great trip, despite some hiccups here and there. My only regret is that I did not manage to cover all the places I wanted. Maybe next time I can make a trip there again and explore some of the other places more thoroughly!