Tips for a Trip to Israel

After returning from Israel (and having some sense of coherence return to my life–although not much), I thought I’d compile a list of tips for those of you out there desiring to make a trip to the Holy Lands. Or for those of you armchair travelers who prefer seeing the world through the travel channel. You still may need these tips before the Israel episode.

1. Travel with cynical writers. I worried the trip would be made up of constant emotional breakdowns and holy moments. Israel’s a great place for them. But as Keith, one of my fellow travelers, said, "All of creation is holy lands" (or something to that effect). We’re no closer to God because we traveled to Israel. What a trip to Israel does is give a framework, a set, for you theater lovers, for understanding the Bible. Instead of emotional breakdowns, I had ah-ha moments. As I’ve listened to the Bible the past couple mornings, I’ve been able to better picture the stories, to enter into them. They’re human, earthy, real, and at times, smelly (the stories, not the writers, although . . . ). Traveling with cynical writers not only keeps the trip entertaining (which it was), but keeps it down to earth.
2. Hire a tour guide with degrees in botany, history, and archeology. It makes for a well-rounded education. One minute he rubs medicinal geranium, the next, he explains the excavations of King David’s palace. You may also be treated to traditional Jewish songs.
3. Also make sure he’s loaded with humor and patience. Especially patience.
4. Learn shorthand. It’s impossible to jot down all the new information otherwise.
5. Take a washcloth. Little did I know that most hotels, even the high-class ones, don’t provide washcloths. Using the corner of a hand towel is cumbersome. Especially when you accidentally slap yourself with it, forgetting how long and wet it is.
6. Make sure your camera doesn’t have hidden folders hogging all the memory space.
7. Don’t publish random thoughts on your blog at night after long, grueling days. You have no capacity for decent editing at that time.
8. Take sleeping pills. No matter how tired you are, you most likely won’t sleep through the night. On the plus side, you’ll enjoy plenty of sunrises.
9. Pack Band-Aids. You will get blisters on your feet.
10. Don’t shave before swimming in the Dead Sea. Don’t pick at your cuticles while in the Dead Sea.
11. Don’t fill up on the first course at dinner. The waitress has plenty more to bring.
12. Recalibrate your understanding of old and new. Anything under 2000 years old–new. Even after seeing 4000-year-old excavations, I felt that remnants from Jesus’ time were new.
13. Take The Holy Lands: An Oxford Archaeological Guide by Jerome Murphy-O’Connor. Only read the brief historical outline before coming. Each night, read the sections on the next day’s sites. This book gave me categories so I could retain much of what I saw and heard while at the sites themselves. It kept me from getting lost.
14. Speaking of, if you get lost (not that I’m speaking from experience, eh-hem), no worries! Almost everyone speaks English. I’d recommend doing so with another good-hearted scarf-lover, though. If you feel like getting behind the group, that is.

So there you have it. Heather’s travel tips.