My trip to Palestine and Israel

Bethlehem Check-Point to enter Palestine

My motivation to go to Israel was to see with my own eyes the reality* on the relationship between Israel and Palestine. And although I couldn't see much of it in the 6 days I stood there, it was enough to see and feel how sad and hard life is in the WestBank (I cant imagine how is it in Gaza Strip).

It's very sad to see the opportunities Palestinians have, to see how they are prisoners in their own land (protecting wall all around, barbed-wire all around, roads they can not transit in their own land, watching towers in their own cities, check points with metal detectors in the middle of their cities, their temples striped apart and under Israeli militar control, streets closed by militars...). It is sad to see the Jewish Settlements, it is sad to see that those are in the best lands in the middle of Palestine, to see the type of land they have left for agriculture...It was also very sad to see all the young people in Israel wearing an uniform, and being afraid of everyone who looks different that them.
It is sad to see how some of them have nothing, nor even the simple right to a nation and to move around their place, and it is also sad to see how those who have everything live with fear. It is sad to see how both parts grow up with hate and anger. In general it is very very sad to know this is the world we are living in, it's hard to see how lucky we are to live in the places we live in.
Don't expect me to judge or to explain the situation there. It's very complex to explain it here, just, as a person from this century, everyone should read and be aware of the political and social reality there.

t-shirt being sold in Jerusalem

The wall in the 21sth century!

Arriving to Israel from India felt like arriving to Europe. Israel itself looks great: Organized, clean, green in many places, nevertheless seeing all the young people in a green uniform and the locals with machine-guns in the middle of the street makes your thoughts start running and changes your mood.

I took the Old Jerusalem as my head-quarter. I stood there 6 days in a pretty old hostel that looked (and probably was) like 1000 years old. Although it has been the coldest hostel ever, people there were amazing and I got great time and indications from them!
I gave two full days to Jerusalem, mainly to the walled city.
The Old Jerusalem is divided into four quarters (Christian, Armenian, Jewish and Muslim). You can imagine which is the richest and which is the poorest. Although many sad realities there, the Old Jerusalem is one of the most incredible places I've been in, and I was lucky enough to see it covered by snow.

The other parts of Israel I went were Nazareth and Tiberias. Nothing special there, just it was nice to be in places I'd heard about since I was a child (My family is very religious and I went to a Catholic school).

Then I went to Palestine. One day I went to Bethlehem and Ramallah, the second day I went to Hebron (the situation there is horrible!) and to Jericho, next to the dead-see (the lowest point on earth). It was amazing to be in the west bank, and to see and live all the things there.

The view of Jericho from the mount where they say Jesus was tempted by the evil.

I am very glad I had the chance to go there, and I wouldnt mind to go again. Specially because the food is great. I just hope next time I go there, the political reality is better. That's the real victory for Israel, for Palestine and for the human kind as a whole. I just hope next time I go there, they follow the advice in this wall:

Make Hummus, not Walls

* I believe there are many realities, or at least I've seen several in the places I've lived in. But any of those realities I've seen with my eyes was always better than the one shown in the media.

Religious views and reflection after a trip to Holy Land

Let's start for my vision about religion:
I believe religion is an invention of the human beings.
In my opinion, the thought of religion being an invention, does not make religion bad or fake. Religion in my view is within the same category of many others of our inventions, let's put one as comparison: Science.

Science is an invention of humans to explain, interpret and mainly predict the world. The difference of science is that when a new model predicts the world better than the old one, it simple adopts the new model and re-adapts. Science is an invention for us to understand the world and predict it. And we invented it because we needed to solve those issues.

In the same way, I believe we (as humanity) invented religion because we needed to solve some issues. We needed to explain creation and death, we needed to give hope to the desperate ones, we needed to organize society, to control reproduction, diseases and other health and economic issues. Those needs are that universal that all societies found and documented have had religion. (take care, the fact that nowadays we have better ways to solve those issues does not denies the origin of religion as an invention to solve real-life problems)

Now, let me believe that I made myself clear explaining that Science and Religion are both inventions of human beings to solve real problems of humanity.

In that sense, I believe none of them are bad, evil, stupid or wrong, nor it is to believe on any of them. Not because we've used religion to kill people we can state religion is bad. It would be the same to say that science is bad, evil, stupid and wrong because we created the atomic bomb thanks to it. Religion has rescued people from suicide, depression and has given hope, energies and sense of life to people in deep existence problems. In the same sense science has saved lives through medicine just to put an example.

So none of them are bad in itself, the problem is in the subject who uses the invention.

I am not against religion, as I believe everyone has the right to believe in something, as I believe everyone has the right to choose how to orientate its political and sexual life.

But during my trip to the Holy Land (and a bit in India too), I realized something is wrong in how religion is lived: It is very sad that religions (or religious people) tend to worship objects (such a wall-the wailing wall-, a rock-the temple of the rock-, or a "grave"-the holy sepulcre-) instead of worshiping the greatest creation of those gods: Us, the Human Beings! And that twisted view, of worshiping objects instead of humanity has led us to humiliate, dominate, torture and kill each other, it has led us to kill the greatest creation of those gods. That's ironic, wicked and dam sad!!

Holy Sepulchre Church - People worshiping a stone

Heavily armed Jewish settler in Hebron worshiping a wall

unarmed Jew worshiping the wailing wall 

Poorly armed Muslim protecting the Temple of the Rock, where muslims worship a rock

Discussion: I still have parts of my vision that I haven't clarified yet. One of them is regarding the symbolic nature of the human beings. One could say that they are not worshiping objects but symbols, which as humans, makes us unique. I still have to thing about it.

So far my only conclusion, is that religions should worship the human being and nature as a whole, rather than particular human beings and particular objects from the nature.

My experience in India and tips

Thar Desert near Jaisalmer 

Disclaimer: I am going to express what I felt in India, my impressions during the trip and about the people I crossed with. Those opinions are framed within the circumstances I lived. I don't want to hurt nor offend anyone. 

In simple terms I summarize my trip to India like this:

* India is horrible, but the trip to India is a life-experience.

* One two three: NOTHING FREE, four five six: NOTHING FIXED: seven eight nine: INDIA SUPER FINE.

In India there are unique sights, just that the operative cost to get there is quite high (infinite noise, infinite dirt, cheating all the time, lies everywhere). Therefore you must have the right mindset in order to enjoy the trip.

The first 10 days of my trip were very tough, mentally I was not well prepared for India nor for the kind of people I met (mainly cheaters and liars who destroyed my trip). I got a breaking point in Delhi, where I changed my attitude and my plan, which was quite ambitious at the beginning. Those changes helped me to enjoy the trip better and to learn many things about myself that I didnt know before:

• I am very strict
• I can be aggressive while negotiating (at least with Indians that you know they are cheating you all the time)
• Although I am a loner, I am not as loner as I though I was.

In India your mind boundaries move forward, your tolerance increases to unexpected levels. All that makes you know yourself better and that is why I feel the trip to India is a life-experience.

My tips for those going to India

• Carry toilet paper with you all the time
• Get a SIM card as soon as you get there and register yourself into a web platform to book the trains yourself
• DO NOT TRUST travel agents (yea yea, not all of them are bad. but the majority of those I crossed with were.)
• book the trains yourself, either through the web platform (for which you need an Indian number to log on), or on the train stations (the main stations have an office for foreigners)
• Eat in the places locals eat 
• Don't let your self believe people are nice because they smile to you, or because they ask you where are you from or what is your name. Usually they want something out of you (to ask you for money, to buy them something, to drag you into their shop, etc), it's not just that they want to be nice with you. Believe me!, you are not the first nor the last tourist for them, you are not special for them!
• Carry a sheet for the bed and for some trains, or a thin sleeping bag
• Learn how to shake the head as they do, it is very useful during negotiations.

I recommend people to go to India, just go there expecting the worst and your shock might not be that hard. Dont expect anything to work smooth, most probably it wont. Still the trip is worthwhile to be done, you might meet good people, you'll see great places and interact with a culture of thousands of years. 

Facts about my trip to India

My trip to India was a whole life experience. I'll need several posts to develop and digest it, this one is the easiest one: the facts.

The itinerary and the nights is each place:

Mumbai - Udaipur(1) - Jaisalmer(2) - Deshnok(0) - Amritsar(2) - Chandigarh(2) - Delhi(2) - Jaipur( 2) - Agra (2) - Khajuraho(2) - Varanasi(2) - Bodhgaya(1) - Jhansi(0) - Patnem(4) - Mumbai(1)

View Away in India!!! in a larger map

• Duration: 30 days. From the 6th of December 2012 until the 6th of January 2013
• Budget: €750 without including the flight tickets, travel insurance and visa application.
• Start and finish points: Mumbai
• Airline used: Turkish Airlines
• Modes of transportation used: Flight (From Mumbai to Udaipur), state-owned bus (Udaipur-Jaisalmer, Jaisalmer-Deshnok, Deshnok-Amritsar, Amritsar-Chandigar) and trains (all the other rutes)
• Class in the trains: 3AC (the third most expensive class), Sitting chair (they call it CC if I'm not mistaken), and the SL or Sleeper Class (quite an experience!)
• Train bookings: I did it on the train stations, avoid as much as possible the travel agents!
• Approximated distance: 7300 Km
• Company: I made the trip alone although I met some old friends in Delhi, Khajuraho and Goa, and I also did some day-trip with people I met in the hotel or train
• Weather: I went in the Indian winter, in general the weather was comfortable, between 10 and 20 degrees, although in some parts it was about 4 to 5 degrees (Varanasi was very cold) and others about 35 degrees (Patnem in Goa)
• Price per meal: It is about 100 and 200 rupees (€1 to €3), but in the places where locals eat the price is about 50 rupees (€0.7), and in the restaurants of the Indian Railway System is 22 rupees (€0.4) ;)
• Price per double room: This is very diverse, but the lowest price I paid per night was 200 rupees (€3). The most expensive was 1500 rupees (€20)
• Price per tourist attraction: about 300 rupees (€4.5). The entrance to the Taj Mahal is 750 rupees (€11) (note that Indians pay 20 rupees for that) 
• Special days: Christmas was in Varanasi, foreigners in the hotel made a little celebration. New year's eve was in Patnem and I had dinner and little party with some friends on the beach

Facts about Budapest - Geneva - Lyon - Lausanne

I'll try to remember some facts of the trip to share them, but I dont remember much, so it'll be quite plane.

Budapest - Geneva

• Easyjet has a direct connection between those cities. The airport of Geneva is very close to the city. 
• Before leaving the place where you pick up you luggage, take a look close to the exit doors, and you'll see a machine to buy transportation tickets, you can pick-up one for free!. So from the airport to the downtown is FREE.
• In front of the main door of the train station (Cornavin) you can find some places to change money.
• The city is very walkable
• The tour in the United Nations is not amazing, but it's interesting to know that place. (10CHF-student)
• The museum of the Red Cross is not big deal, honestly I didn't like it. It's cheap though (5CHF-student).

Geneva - Lyon

• The train ticket was about 33 CHF (~25€) it takes like 2 hours
• The old Lyon is very nice, small streets and lot's of bars to enjoy the night
• There is a big park with some animals and full of people on sundays, nice place.

Lyon - Lausanne

• The train ticket was 38.5€. 
• Lausanne is very walkable too. In the Touristic office in the train station you can get a map with a walking path to see the important things of the city
• I couldnt get in, but the museum of the Olympics looks amazing, plus it's located in a place that is unbelievable

That's it what I remember, it looks pathetic but better to write it than to forget it completely.

Budapest - Esztergom

This is a short trip for one day and it's perfect to take some different air from the capital, and enjoy the smooth life of a town (Esztergom).

It takes about an hour to get there, and not more than 1000 HUF (~ 4€). The bus is taken at the Volanbusz station of Arpad híd (metro line 3 stops there), you can check the time table here. The bus leaves you in the down town, every thing can be done by foot.

With no doubts the basilica is the main attraction, is the biggest in this part of Europe. It is 72 meter high, you can go up until the base of the dome for 500 HUF (~ 2€) and get a nice view of the Danube, of Esztergom and the neighbor town of Slovakia just in front.

I didn't see much to eat, besides those things you will find in every corner of this world: Chinese food and Pizza. We entered into a pizza-place, very nice, fare prices, good offer, good taste but it was VEEERYY SLOOOWW (just with us, but we got a free drink as an apologize).

After having done the main thing in Esztergom, and with the belly full, we did a relaxed walk towards Slovakia to enjoy the advantages of the Schengen Visa. There is nothing to see or to do there, but is nice just to walk around. The view of the basilica from Slovakia is nice though, so I'd recommend to catch the sunset there, as in the picture.