Days 1-2: Tel Aviv

Think I made all the preparations I needed to.


Tel Aviv, from the beautiful Jaffa district looking north to the main city which faces out to the Mediterranean. The streets here feel very safe and well-lit at night, and in the flea market area where I'm staying, the place feels abandoned come sundown (other than skinny stray cats and the occasional dogwalker.)


The city is a total hotch-potch of styles - beautiful, immaculate, buildings stand side-by-side with derelict, abandoned structures just about held together with a bit of scaffolding. Here in the background you can see a church tower in the distance, flanked by the massive floodlights of the local football stadium.


Taking a stroll up through local markets into the busier areas, it's pretty much what you'd expect from any westernised city. The only hint that gives away past troubles are the obligatory bag-checks on entering any of the major shopping centres. People do cast suspicion on strange activity and it's awkward to try and get photos away from the beaten track. Pointing and clicking shows you're a tourist, but pulling out a tripod seemed to draw further suspicion. Things are going to get even trickier in the West Bank.


Heading back down the coast, there's a feeling of relief (and also a slight feeling of copping out) to come across some kiteboarders who thrive on having a camera pointed at them. "Sure, yes please, take as many as you can", says one of them as he promptly removes his underwear right in front of me. It's great weather for them, not so great for me and I spend an hour afterwards cleaning filters and lenses from sand and seawater.


Klaus chats with me on the spacious roof garden of the hostel. He's on placement studying keyboards in Nazareth. (Much later, I figure out he's actually talking about 'kibbutz') The next couple of days are going to be pretty wet across Israel he tells me, ("Jerusalem gets the same amount of rainfall as London, but this all falls in Jan-March") - so I abandon plans to explore Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee, and will head on to Jerusalem today to catch up with the circus.