Memories of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Amman, Petra

Now in October of 2009 I flew into Cairo Egypt I stayed about 2 weeks then took a mix of buses, taxis and my feet ($150 aprox from Cairo to Petra and all the spaces in between ) I met another traveling woman in Dahab Egypt, Rute who I traveled with for about 2 weeks to all these places, if it was not for her I doubt I would have gone to many of them, I would have chosen other countries, but you all likely know that I love surprises and to venture a bit off track so I am very thankful that we met and that I got to experience these places and make a good friend.

Jerusalem (5 days):
The longest bus over miles and miles of empty desert land.
Crowded, busy cobbled streets
The best Falafel!!!
Being called the "N" word and being made fun of because of my fro....strange I know, but true.
The nice rooftop views..
GUNS GUNS GUNS....so many guns, and in the hands of so many youth, holding an ice cream in one hand and a gun in the other... I will keep it simple...too many guns for me
Rute yelling about the hostel...Rute yelling :)

Bethlehem (1 day):
Long conversations with Palestinian women, the smiles, the intensity, the hope, the teary eyes.
The ID pass that Palestinians have to carry on them to work in Jerusalem
The Wall, The WALL, the wires, the murals on it, the tastiest honey sweets sold outside it, men removing their shoes walking through the security check point.....oh the checkpoints....
the church, the beauty, the calmness that came over me, exhaling
No hassles....so nice


Nazareth (2 days):
Sweetest home hostel EVER!!! (run by an x police chief) Loved it! And the Turkish Coffee was great!
Charming quiet town
Church murals.
Feeling peaceful


Amman:3 days
busy city, no stares, no rip offs, an honest taxi driver !, nice, woman owned hostel---loved it! the body scrub....never knew I could be so filthy :)
being the only women in the bar, gritty rooftops, wish I could have stayed longer.


Petra:2 days
Red earth, welcoming desert, beautiful ancient city....surreal but SO REAL, my first Camel ride,

local men standing, YES, STANDING on a horse while galloping through the ancient city. ...what a great site! LOVED IT.....being tempted to live in a cave with a very charming guide....oh if I was in my 20s maybe...haha

a car window showing the king with a shotgun pointed at you....wild

food poisoning while crossing the borders of Jordan to Israel to Egypt...all in one day...and yes it can be done overland, you do not need to take the ferry.

Memories of Bali, Kuala Lumpur and an airport in Kuwait

So in early September of 2009 I flew from Darwin to Bali, which was not really in my plans but I met a fellow couchsurfer at Noodle's and he happened to be living in Bali and invited me to stay at his very large house for a few days if I wanted to go there. Why not? So for about $100 US I flew from Darwin to Bali; I stayed in Bali, Indonesia(couchsurfing, house-sitting, and family run small home-hotel) about one month. After Bali, I stayed about 5 days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which cost about $40US from Bali; from KL I booked a flight to Cairo, Egypt for about $400US. On the way to Egypt I spent one day and night in Kuwait.

Bali:
The lush green rice paddies, rice paddies, rice paddies!!!!!!!

The sweet compact offerings to the deities.

Stray dogs nipping at my heels

plastic bags blowing in the wind over those innocent green rice paddies

dancing, dancing

women sitting side saddle on the back of mopeds looking so beautifully graceful.

banana pancakes

friends and community

the simple beauty of outside bathrooms

volunteer teaching a class of teens English and watching bats cruise into the open-air classroom.

Big lizards that I grew to love...they kill bugs

peaceful smiles and laughter

little monkey faces as I speed past them on the back of a scooter

Kuala Lumpur:
busy busy busy

GIANT malls with themes!!!!! One had a rain forest theme and another had a rollercoaster INSIDE!

The diversity!, I saw a woman in a black burqa standing next to a woman in tight tight pink shorts and a skimpy tank top....the list can go on of all the different types of people I saw all in one place....no one seemed overly concerned with the differences, it was very interesting.

The huge airport where I asked for a wheelchair (I had some hip pain). The woman who pushed the chair telling me her sad story about a mother-in-law hating her for not being able to have children.

The long and TV-less (mine was broken but it seemed like everyone that fell asleep had a working TV) flight to Kuwait.

Kuwait:
The stares, and also the familiarity

The welcoming dry, sandy air

The musty smell of the airport hotel room

so many women in black with beautiful eyes

The HECTIC airport...and is there a Q? I didn't see one

The bumpy plane ride