Wow today has been crazy! We arrived at the airport in Tel Aviv, Israel for our El Al flight to India. We went through security and then walked up to the check-in desk, we handed the nice ladies our tickets and passports and waited as she checked them. She gave us a sympathetic look and told us there was problem, we had not known that we needed visas before we got there, we had been under the impression that you picked them up when you landed. So... we had a problem on our hands, where would we go? The first thing we did was call Igal, we told him that we may need to come back, but we weren't sure. Moving along, we realized that since the next three days were and Israeli holiday and that the Indian embassy wouldn't be open and it takes five days for them to issue a visa so we would be stranded for over a week the final decision was to keep moving.

So where would we go? Well the options that were offered were:

Montreal, Canada: wrong direction
Johannesburg, South Africa: wrong direction, (but would still like to go)
Paris, France: been there, done that
Cairo, Egypt: done that too
Bangkok, Thailand: perfect

So Bangkok it was, we called Sheraton and they booked a room at The Royal Orchid Sheraton, canceled our flight to India and we were off. We boarded the plane at eleven thirty and arrived ten hours later (fourteen with the time difference) in Thailand. So here we are, we enjoyed a meal and show last night with traditional Thai dancers that can bend their fingers almost all the way back, and Thai food which is our favorite!

Sad news too, here in Bangkok it takes five working days to issue an Indian visa, so it looks as if we may have to skip India but we still need to do some checking in.

Bugsly

Today was a busy day helping Anat to get ready for a big family party to celebrate Igal's 50th birthday. We cooked and organized everything all day. Then at about 6:00 in the evening, people started arriving to watch the Israeli basketball team Macabee play Moscow's team in the semi-finals. If they win, they will play again on Sunday in the final game of the season.

All in all, there were about 30 family members at the party to celebrate with Igal. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, great aunts, and more! It was fun to meet everyone for real. The food was great, barbequed chicken and meat, lots of salads, and then, dessert was great! Anat had Michael make a chocolate cake which was really good. I think Igal had a great birthday. I was glad we were here to celebrate with him.

Bugsly

ps. by the way the Macabee team won!

This morning after a great breakfast with Anat, Igal, Rotem, Omer and Alon, we headed out to the Tel Aviv shopping mall called Azraeli. We met my Grandma Rachel and my Dad's cousin Ronit. It was great to meet her! We had a lot of fun shopping together and then stopped to have lunch. We shopped some more for birthday presents for Igal and Grandma Rachel and then headed back to Anat & Igal's house for the evening.

We had a really nice dinner together and a great time talking and getting to know each other. It's the first time my Mom, Michael and I have met them. They are really wonderful and are making us feel very much at home. It's so good to be with them.

We were tired after the long day and went to bed.

Bugsly

Today Mom, Dad and I spent most of the time at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and Museum in Jerusalem. The museum part is new as of February, 2005, the 60th year after the war was over. The museum is designed to take you through the history and experiences of the Jewish people from before the war, during the war and after the liberation from the concentration camps. It was incredibly well laid out and had lots of personal video testimonies of survivors and witnesses to the war and the camps. The Hall of Names had records of victims and survivors of the war. There was big screen in the Hall that pages through all of the names on an ongoing basis. It was very powerful to see all of the books filled with the records of each victim.

There were lots of artifacts and replicas to help the visitor experience something of what it was like during the war. It was very sad and I am glad I visited the museum.

After the Museum, we went through the Children's Memorial. It was carved in the rock and was created to honor the 1.5 million children who died in the war. Inside, it was very dark and there were mirrors with lit candles to create the effect of many, many candle flames burning. In the background, a voice read the names of the victims and the country where they came from. It was very sad to see all of those lights that burned out.

When we were done at Yad Vashem, we grabed a taxi and headed over to visit my Dad's cousin Trevor Katzman and his family. Michael and Grandma Rachel had gone to their house earlier in the day. When we arrived we said our hellos to Ros, Sarah, Abigail, Bathia, and Aaron-David. The other 3 kids were out and about. We had a nice visit and then jumped into Ros's car to go see her husband, Trevor, son Dani and eldest daughter Deborah who were just finished work for the day.

We found their office in Jerusalem and said hello. It was really nice to meet more of their family. We had dinner together and said our goodbyes (for now!). They helped us find a big taxi so we could take Grandma Rachel back to Tel Aviv too. We got to Anat and Igal's house at about 11:00. Long day!

This morning at 11:00 we arrived in Jerusalem. We checked into our hotel, had a short rest and then headed to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City. Since we have one day here, we tried to see everything possible. First we had lunch in a falafel place before diving into the Arab Market. Upon entering the street where the market started, I was amazed by all of the color and smells. The alley was narrow and sloped downhill. At one point in time, we went through an alleyway that was filled with skinned animals, different organs floating in liquid, and skinned cows feet. There were pelts on the ground and blood and hair too. The smell was horrendous. My Mom said it was the most disgusting experience she has had in her life and that she would happily walk anywhere not to have to go through there again.

After the Arab Market, we found our way to the Western Wall. Some people also call it the Wailing Wall. It is the most sacred place for the Jewish people. After going through security, we entered the space where the Wall is found. We saw lots of Orthodox Jewish men dressed in black hats and coats and with long beards and curls down the sides of their faces. Some were praying and some were talking.

After the Western Wall, we went to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Via Dolorosa. It is the place where many sacred Christian sites are found like where Jesus was imprisoned, crucified, entombed, and resurrected. The Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, the Copts, and the Armenian Orthodox people share responsibility in taking care of this Church. In one of the lines, we met a man from Santa Cruz. Small world. The mosiacs on the ceilings of the Church were very beautiful.

We left there and walked through the Arab Market again (not the animal part) to the Damascus Gate. We caught a taxi back to the hotel via the Mount of Olives. From there we could see the entire Old City from above. Also a very grumpy camel was there growling and spitting at anyone that came near him including the riders!

This morning after a quick swim, we packed our bags and headed for the bus station to catch our bus to Ein Gedi at The Dead Sea. It took about 3 hours to get there after a slight mixup with our bus driver who didn't stop to drop us off where he was supposed to.

We finally arrived at the Youth Hostel and checked in just in front of three HUGE busses of students ages 10-16. They were also checking in! We found our room and it was simple, clean and had a great view of The Dead Sea. It was a little worse than a room at camp. We had dinner with the hundreds of students in the Dining Hall. I had chicken and pasta and potatoes (my favorite!). We went to bed to rest up for our hike on Monday in the Ein Gedi Reserve.

Monday morning we got up, had breakfast and headed around the corner to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. We started up the trail in David's Canyon and within about 15 minutes arrived at our first waterfall. It was small but pretty so Michael and I decided to jump in. The water was kind of murky from the air churned in from the waterfall, but completely fresh and clean. It felt wonderful! Treading water underneath the waterfall felt like having thunder thrown on your shoulders. It was great! After our swim there, we got back on the trail and headed to David's Waterfall. Unfortunately, because of the danger of falling rocks, it was closed. So, we jumped in to another waterfall instead. The water in this one was more clear but way colder since the sun had gone away. It was refreshing anyway though, and the waterfall was even bigger!

We made our way down the trail. My Dad had wished he could see some Ibex - like mountain goats (search on them!). My Mom spotted some including many babies. There were at least 20 females and babies included and only one male. As we walked further on, they just kept on popping up. It must have been the time of day that they like to eat! They seem like gentle creatures, but if you touch a baby, the mother will no longer take care of it because its scent will change.

We arrived by bus this morning in Eilat, checked into our hotel and settled into the room. Michael and I quickly jumped into our swimsuits and went out to the pool. After swimming for about 45 minutes, Mom came down and we went outside the gates to swim in the Red Sea. It was very salty but amazing to go under the water with goggles on and see the fish (even though they were dull colors). Michael climbed up on one of the piers about 50 feet out from the shore but I didn't because the barnacles on it were slimy and disgusting. Later we went out to dinner to an Indian restaurant called Tandori and had a great meal. Mom and I popped into the store next door and I got two new suimsuits. After that we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

Friday morning we did schoolwork and then headed to the pool, and then the Red Sea again. Every ten minutes or so we would have to jump out and rinse off with fresh water. We had to wash out our mouths and our eyes to get the saltiness out of them. Tomorrow we go to visit the ancient city of Petra and I am really looking forward to it.

Bugsly

For the last two days, we have laid low, repacked and gotten organized for our travels to the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. It hasn't been too hot so we have thoroughly enjoyed the weather. Tomorrow we head out on a bus to Eilat at the Red Sea.

Bugsly

Last night we arrived late on a train into Barcelona, we arrived at our hotel that is right next to the airport. The weather was fairly warm and there was even a warm breeze too. We crashed, exhausted until we woke up in the morning to go to the airport. About three hours later we boarded the plane and flew off to Tel Aviv, Israel.

Upon landing we went through a large amount of security before we could claim our bags and then went through more with them. Finally we reached the foreign passport control booth where we were questioned suspiciously and then ushered on. We pushed our way through the crowds of waiting people and then into a taxi which took us to Rehovot, a town right outside Tel Aviv where we have our cousins Igal and Anat and their kids who aren't there but hospitably offered us their home. Also their Golden Retriever, Milky, welcomed us too!

After settling in we sat back and relaxed for the rest of the day because we were sooooooo tired!

Bugsly