Joe Pallugna
TEL AVIV--My arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on the eve of Christmas immediately gave me two realizations. One was that it is extremely colder here than I expected, and second, it is quite an expensive city.
The taxi fare from the airport to my hotel, called “The White House Tel Aviv,” was equivalent to almost P3,000 when the distance was only about nearer than Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City, to Laguindingan airport.
And when I had a simple dinner of spicy grilled chicken in coconut sauce and shimp curry and a Coke, my pocket fell shy of another P4,000.
It seems even more expensive than Tokyo or New York or Amsterdam! A pack of Marlboro cigarettes easily costs P480, much expensive than cigarettes inside Lumbia City Jail, if you could secrectly find one.
But Israel is another dream come true. And expense is a minor setback for a quarter of a lifetime of lawyering.
All the supposed stresses in life were gone with the immersion in a land awashed in history and religion, of mixed cultures and tradition, of varied architecture and lifestyles.
Here is a conglomeration of three major religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. And these three religions cater to a country steeped in history but comfortable in living together harmoniously and in peace.
A visit to Old Jaffa brought me to the St. Peter’s Church and St. George Church, old icons of history and religion. Tourists scrambled for picture-perfect shots and coffee and held on to their jackets to ward away the cold.
Of course, the route allowed me visits to the Flea Market nearby and a passage through Ha Carmel Market where shopping for souvenirs was exhilirating.
There I tasted the Fetafel, that famous snacks of Israeli residents made of meatballs and fresh vegetables with white sauce wrapped in pita bread. Surely, the haggling for prices of goods is very much like in Hongkong’s Mongkok and Temple Street Night Markets. From 200 Israeli shekels for a winter jacket, I was able to haggle to only 130 shekels. That’s the fun of price haggling.
But the most fun of all on my first two days in Tel Aviv is the hunting for street food, the fare that locals go for, in the various small restos and market stalls, in the hole-in-the-wall food stores and quaint cafes that line many of the city’s side streets and bars.
What amazed me also are the prevalence of fruits rarely on display in the fruit stands of Cagayan de Oro. Almost all roadside fruitstands and stalls sell fresh strawberries, succulent and sweet, and pomegranates and blackberries, and large atis and papayas.
But the cautious tourist who shy away from local delicacies for fear of an upset stomach can still find comfort in the McDonald’s and Burger King outlets that are always expectedly around.
My intended excursions in the coming week to Jerusalem and Nazareth and Bethlehem, and to the Acre and Ceasarea and Rosh Hanikra and Tiberius and the Sea of Galilee (the list is long and mind-boggling) will not only certainly result in calloused and sore feet, but will also affirm my faith in humanity.
These trips will make me realize that life is indeed so short in that millions of people have lived before us and millions more will be born after our own lifetimes.
It also makes us--you and I-ealize that money cannot buy all happiness. That the fleeting times of material wealth and fame will all be gone and what are left in the end are sweet memories of life gone by, of good deeds and a graceful life.
Trips to faraway places, to lands deep in history and rich in culture, meeting people of different languages and dialects, will give us a richer learning than that we obtain from academes.
And Tel Aviv city will be part of it.
Email: ajpallugna@gmail.com
