Tel Aviv - A Glimpse into Israeli Culture

July 31-August 3, 2023

Shalom friends and family,

I flew from Crete to Tel Aviv, Israel to meet my friend Kip who also lives in Hawai’i. My flight was delayed so I got in around 2am on the morning of July 31 and made it to my hostel around 4am. Kip and I ate the included breakfast the next day. Although the breakfast was relatively bland and radically different from an American breakfast, it was a solid option to have because Tel Aviv was incredibly expensive and it was a good way to save some money. (I've seen some sources say Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world.)

After breakfast, Kip and I walked 30 minutes to the beach and hit a volleyball around and got in the water. It was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so we were thankful to have the Mediterranean to swim in and cool off, even though the water was too warm to be refreshing. The beach reminded me of Sydney, Australia in that there were tons of activities going on like running, swimming, surfing, volleyball, foot volley, paddleball, and more. Also, like Sydney, the people were very in-shape and attractive, probably from all the time in the sun doing their activities.

We took a break from the beach to cool off and had lunch at an Indian restaurant and then relaxed at the hostel before going back to the beach for a sunset surf. We rented some cheap foam boards and got out there for an hour before the rentals were due back. The waves were decent and we each caught several. We were at a shore break which is different from all the breaks I’ve surfed at in Hawai'i, where they crash on the reef far from shore. The waves crashed more frequently which was great, even though they crumbled more and weren’t as good as the best waves in Hawai'i. It was a fun session and we were happy to have surfed in a new place.

After surfing, we walked past some volleyball and foot volley courts that were all occupied. I was surprised because they’d been completely empty earlier, but it must be because people were either working or because it’s so hot during the day. I asked a lady standing by a court what the situation was for getting on courts and she said it was groups of friends that brought their own lines and balls and used the courts. She said she’d ask the guys playing if they wanted either of us to join and they ended up needing some players so we got some games in. I played a couple with three local Israelis and then Kip joined in for a few. We were pretty evenly matched with our opponents and lost some close games. We were glad we worked up the courage to ask the Israeli lady if we could play because it ended up being really fun. We got dinner on the way home at a Doner Kebab place with delicious food and generous portions.

The next day we had breakfast at the hostel and then took the bus to Kip’s friend Jacqueline’s hotel. She and her family were going on a day trip and they kindly invited us to join. There were seven of us on the tour (Kip, me, Jacqueline and her brother and parents, and a local Israeli guy in his 40s or 50s leading the tour). The tour guide was knowledgeable and funny, and he made the day entertaining.

Our first stop was a town called Caesarea, which is basically the ruins and rebuilding of a city built by the Romans around 20-10 BC. There was lots of fascinating history and the ruins themselves were striking.

After walking around there, our guide took us to an Arab town for lunch at a local spot. The guy running the restaurant barely asked us what we wanted and started bringing out free “salad”, which was a bunch of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern vegetables, spices, sauces, salads, and pitas in tiny platters. It made ordering really easy because we got all this amazing food included and then just had to decide between some meats, shawarma, or kebabs. The food kept on coming out and we ate our hearts out because the food was so delicious and flavorful. The power went out a couple times during our meal and we asked our guide if we should be concerned but he said it happened all the time because restaurants kept expanding and used more energy than they’d originally been provisioned on the electrical grid. It added to the experience and made me appreciate the food even more. After eating, we were served Arab coffee, which was strong and distinct from American coffee since it has cardamom, but good.

We continued after lunch to some botanical gardens and walked around and watched a film there. Our last stop of the day was at the Bahai Gardens in Haifa. The gardens are built on top of this cliff and are separated between different levels. There’s a great view looking down from the top of the cliff to the gardens and expansive city below. The day trip was nice, and it was fun meeting Jacqueline and her family.

Kip and I stopped at the beach after the tour and played some 4v4 beach volleyball with locals and swam. We grabbed some groceries for dinner on the way home to make a simple dinner of pitas, hummus, cheese, peppers, and meat, and then went to the rooftop and played cards and chatted with some people at the hostel.

The next day, we ate breakfast at the hostel and then took a free walking tour around Jaffa. The guide was funny and entertaining, and we met some cool people on the tour. There was a group of nine of us that went to a restaurant called Old Man and the Sea for lunch afterwards. It was fun going to lunch with the big group and we became friends with several of the people there and hung out with them in Jerusalem, Jordan, Egypt, and even Vienna!

We stopped back at the hostel after lunch and then continued to the beach to swim and pepper a volleyball with most of the same group that had been at lunch. On the way home, we passed through some of the protests about the proposed judicial changes. We’d heard from some locals that they were unpopular, especially in progressive Tel Aviv, and that we’d be likely to see them. There were tons of protestors and they had several streets shut down.

In the evening we went on a pub crawl with the group we’d been hanging out with all day and some others. We mingled at the hostel for an hour before heading out. The first bar was one that had a couple levels to it. The ground floor had a dance floor that was initially empty but started to pop off by the time we left. The upstairs was a cool outdoor patio that had many more people. We danced a lot and went upstairs to chill. The second place we went was a club with American hip hop music and tons of people in a more traditional club environment. It was so loud but the music was great and we danced ferociously. The third place was a club with techno music. It was still fun to dance but we were getting tired and techno isn’t really our jam so Kip and I left around 2am. I was pleasantly surprised at how cool and local all the places on the pub crawl were since I had been expecting them to take us to tacky tourist bars.

The next day, August 3, we lounged in our hostel in the morning and checked out around noon. We said goodbye to the cool people we’d met over the last 24 hours. I was thrilled with all the fun, interesting people we met: Michael and Alex from England (who we ended up traveling with to Jerusalem, Jordan, and then Egypt), Ellie from Germany, Jera and Edwin from Australia, Rebecca from America, Silke from the Netherlands, Tommy from Scotland, Melissa from Colombia, and many more. After goodbyes, we walked and took the train to our Abraham hostel in Jerusalem.

Overall, I was somewhat surprised by Tel Aviv. When I think of Israel, I think of the ancient history and religion and holy places of worship. Tel Aviv certainly had some elements of history and religion, but the modern, cosmopolitan nature of the city shone through much more brightly. The city felt similar to NYC or SF in many ways, with lots of boutique clothing stores, trendy cafes, and happening night life. It was eye-opening to see this part of Israel, and it really changed my perspective on what Israel is.