Day 1 in Jerusalem.

I arrived in Tel Aviv from Istanbul a little after noon. I was surprised to see thousands of acres of green farm land from my airplane window.
Before arriving in Israel I spent time figuring out the train routes because it’s very expensive to take a taxi from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is about 45km. I decided to take the train from Ben Gurion airport to Hahagana station then switch to a train that was headed to Jerusalem. The train climbed through the Judaean Mountains, which were much bigger than I had expected and looked a lot like Eastern Idaho and some areas of the Intermountain West.

I got off one stop too soon and needed to take a long taxi ride to my my hostel. Unfortunately, the driver wanted 120 shekels ($30 USD) and I only had 40 shekels remaining and no ability to get more from an ATM because my wallet had been lost or stolen on Friday. I tried to negotiate with the driver but he wouldn’t do it for 40 shekels. He finally agreed to take me to a bank where I could go inside and get a cash advance on my credit card from a teller.

The driver waiting outside the bank and held my large backpack hostage while I went inside to get a cash advance. I wasn’t sure if the bank would let me get a cash advance on my credit card because I wasn’t a customer. This was the first time during my trip that I really felt out of place because all of the signs in the bank were in Hebrew. Up until this point most signs had some English on them so I could figure out where I was going or what the signs meant. Also, the bank was set differently from banks in the United States. It had a teller line like in the United States but there were people sitting in chairs facing the teller line like they were waiting for something. I thought it was strange but I decided to go up to an available teller and ask for a cash advance. The teller didn’t speak English and he just kept pointing for me to go the other side of the lobby. At least I think that;s what he was trying to convey to me. I didn’t understand and he was more than a little frustrated with me. Another bank employee finally came out from the teller line and led me to a kiosk in the lobby.

The bank employee had me enter my passport number into the kiosk and it printed a receipt with a number on it. It finally dawned on me that the number was some sort of modern day frigging Baskin Robins pull tab to be used for the next person to be served. No wonder I was getting dirty looks from the customers who were sitting watching the teller line. They thought I was trying to cut in front of them so they were getting ready stage a revolt and have me thrown out of the bank. I made my big American apoligies and sat down like a good boy and waited. When I had waited for what seem like eternity…I then waited some more. It was nearly 30-minutes for my number was called. I felt like I was at the DMV. There were plenty bank employees sitting behind their little glass cubicles talking to each other, laughing, and giving furtive looks to the customers.

I withdrew 1,000 shekels (about $350 U.S.) just in case I didn’t get my replacement debit card by Tuesday. It cost me about $25 in fees but it was worth the peace of mind to finally have cash in my pocket and to be able to pay the taxi driver.

When I returned to the cab the driver told me it was now going to cost me 150 shekels ($38 USD) to get me to the hostel because he had to wait so long for me while I was in the bank and I felt that was fair. When we got to the hostel I gave the driver 200 shekels and expected him to give me back 50 shekels in change. He asked me if I needed a taxi while I was in Jerusalem and I told him I did and he gave me his phone number. He’s a Palestinian taxi driver so he would be able to take me directly into Bethlehem without needing to stop and the Palestinian Authority security checkpoint. Israelis are not allowed to go to Bethlehem.

The driver got out of the car with me and I waited for him to give me 50 shekels in change. He got back into his car and I asked him for the change and he said no that I had owed him 200 shekels for the ride and wait time. We argued over the price and he refused to give me the 50 shekels in change. I threw his phone number back at him and told him he was ripping me off. He didn’t care what I thought and drove away. When I told the reception at the hotel the cost of the taxi with the wait time included he said that was about right.

The hostel receptionist told me it cost about 50 shekels per hour for a cab’s wait time. Upon hearing that I felt a little bad about throwing the drivers number back at him but not bad enough that I wouldn’t have argued with him again about the price he quoted me. In any event I was at my destination and I could finally relax.

I’m staying at the Panorama Hostel, which overlooks the Temple Mount form Gesthamane. This is my view of the Temple Mount and Dome of The Rock Mosque from my room.

As asked where I could get a good meal and the hostel reception recommended any restaurant near the Jaffa Gate so I made my way there on my first night in Jerusalem and this is the view of my hostel and the Kidron Valley.