Tel Aviv

I arrived in Tel Aviv late.

I had missed the train from Haifa because of an over zealous security guard and the result was an annoying wait for the next train.

Thankfully, the train ride itself was very short. Only a touch longer than an hour. It was my first experience of the Israeli train system and I was very impressed. The country has a modern European rail system that makes this small country feel even smaller.

I got out at my station in Tel Aviv feeling tired though. So instead of finding the appropriate bus, I decided to just get into a cab.... the trip was fast, but it was also unfortunately the first (and luckily only) time that I was ripped off noticeably during my travels.

Damn taxi drivers....

Nevertheless, I arrived safe and sound at my hostel, the famed Hayarkon 48. This was a place that I had been looking forward to. I had been told alot of good things about it from fellow travellers.

It was a disappointment. A crowded building with rickety beds. The other travellers in the hostel were loud and as a whole, fairly annoying. It was also one of those fantastic hostels that manages to charge its patrons for every single additional service. So the initial "cost" of the stay that is advertised.... really isn't the true cost. I had experienced this in other places such as the "Wombat" in Vienna, but at the Wombat, those costs were ignored as they were far outweighed by the service, the fun, the friendliness and the benefits that are provided.

Hayarkon 48 was relatively well located though. So I decided to use this, my final city in the Middle East, as a period to just quietly walk around.

Walking up and down the beach, I wasn't too impressed.

Again, I had been told amazing stories about how beautiful the beaches at Tel Aviv were.....

They were nice, but nothing to write home about.

So I headed inland a bit. Up Allenby and onto Rothschild Boulevard.

The trees along Rothschild Boulevard gave the street a nice serene feeling.
I strolled along for a while until I reached Sheinken Street, which I had read was THE place to be seen in Tel Aviv. It was apparently where all the best cafes and shops were located.

Again... I was in for a disappointment.

The cafes and shops may have been nice relative to what was in Tel Aviv, but were again nothing write home about at all.

All Tel Aviv did successfully, was make me miss Jerusalem.