Photo of the Day (05.31.10)

by Mike Barish on

I’m not one to spend my tourist dollars on street performers and schlock like grains of rice with my name printed on them. But I’ve always kind of been amused by the street artists who draw portraits of eager travelers looking for a customized souvenir to take home. I was always partial to caricatures. Maybe it’s because the genre really seemed to peak in the 1980s (which would explain why 88% of all caricatures involve rollerblading or extraneous headbands). Flickr user Flavio@Flickr perfectly captured the moment when this artist imperfectly captured this man’s image.

Have a picture a perfectly artistic moment? Or even an imperfect moment? Submit your best travel images to Gadling’s Flickr group and we might use one for a future Photo of the Day.

Photo of the Day (4.13.10)

by Stephen Greenwood on

This is what travel photography is all about. If I decided to omit any sort of caption from this image, you’d probably still be able to guess quite a few things about where it’s taken and what’s happening in the picture.

But since it’s not my job to make you guess, I’ll reveal that this is a shot taken near the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was captured by Flickr user and regular contributor Ohad*, who describes that this man was seemingly overwhelmed from the emotional experience at the wall. Kudos to Ohad for snapping such an intimate picture in a place like this – certainly something that many people wouldn’t have the courage to do.

If you’ve captured an emotional moment in your travels, we want to see it! Submit it to the Gadling Flickr Pool and share it with us – it might just be our next Photo of the Day!

10 Tips for visiting Bethlehem this Christmas

by Andrew Evans on

Those of us who travel to Bethlehem soon discover the huge gap between our happy Sunday School expectations and the heavy realities of visiting the West Bank in person. It’s not such an easy place to get to, though world interest makes Bethlehem far more accessible than say, Ramallah or Jericho.

Out of 133 destinations rated in this month’s issue of National Geographic Traveler, the West Bank’s little town of Bethlehem ranked the lowest. Sad but true, travel experts consider the birthplace of Jesus Christ to be the world’s worst travel destination, one that’s surrounded by a giant concrete wall with difficult checkpoints and generally tangled in a political rat’s nest.

Still, for those in search of a geographically-correct Christmas, Bethlehem offers a nice dose of nostalgia served with a serious side of political pondering. It’s also a bit of a circus, like Las Vegas with Franciscan monks and machine guns. In such a place, it helps to have a guide. In lieu of a bright star shining in the east, behold ten hints for helping you navigate the dark streets that shineth:

  1. Check the border situation constantly: security in Israel varies wildly. Peace or violence in one location does not pre-determine security in other locales, especially in Bethlehem. CNN, BBC, and US State Department travel alerts are interesting but rarely compelling. Instead, ask around in country. Learn to listen beyond the bias and get the inside scoop as to which entry points are ‘hot’ and which ones are getting less traffic. Which brings us to the next point:
  2. Plan a window of extra time: crossing into the West Bank is always a gamble. In some cases, you may not even make it, so don’t write “Bethlehem” into your travel planner between 10:00 and 12:00. Instead, plan a range of days and hope that your first attempt is successful. If not, try, try again.
  3. Hire a Palestinian taxi driver with Israeli license plates: When it comes to straddling a tumultuous border, get the best of both worlds: A Palestinian driver with Israeli papers (and driving a car with Israeli plates) is pre-cleared and faces far less hassle when crossing back into Jerusalem. They will also be much safer escorts for you while you are in the West Bank. Again, ask around and seek trusted insights from insiders.
  4. Avoid big bus tours: though safer in principle, taking a tour bus into Bethlehem is often a recipe for a painful wait at the border in either direction. Add fifteen minutes for every olive wood sculpture of the baby Jesus in your backpack. If possible, travel ultra-light (passport, camera and a bottle of water) and in small groups.
  5. Visit the Church of the Nativity backwards: the supposed birthplace of Jesus Christ is anything but peaceful, with all the wailing Russian Orthodox pilgrims and nit picky clergy who voraciously guard their little corner. Take a second to relax your religious connotations and realize that you are in a major tourist destination with crowds like those at the Empire State Building or Dollywood. Visiting the church in reverse order–saving the Grotto of the Nativity for last–can help you skip some of the longer lines.
  6. Don’t go on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day: I know, I know, that’s kind of the point, but know that it will be a Christian madhouse. Try going instead to visit first thing in the morning of December 24th, otherwise (insert joke about there not being any room in the inn, ha, ha.)
  7. Dinars or dollars: shekels have very little use in the City of David and most ATM’s disperse Jordanian dinars. Get some cash before you enter, or use US dollars. Again, the lighter you travel, the better.
  8. The Shepherds Fields of Bethlehem is a hoax: What? You mean the shepherds that saw a star shining in the sky and then heard angels singing, “Glory to God”–they weren’t actually hanging out on that specific hilltop that happens to be a ten-minute drive from the Church of the Nativity? No, sorry. The chapel and twisted olive trees are a nice reminder of a cool event, but it’s a Victorian-era invention for tourists like us.
  9. Bring a bible: The Book of Luke is probably the best and only guidebook to take with you. The book never gives false information about restaurants, opening hours, or directions, and offers some great context about the town itself.
  10. Keep apolitical: It sounds way obvious, but a trip to Bethlehem is not the time to show off your cocktail conversation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Be assured, no matter what you say, you will offend least one person. Even UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon would put his foot in his mouth in Bethlehem, so better to shut it. Talk about the weather and delve deeply into your clueless tourist persona–on this border, it’s the safest way to be.

Leftover notes from an Israeli press trip

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Back in March, I was invited on a press trip to Israel and wrote about the experience in the should-have-been-award-winning series “Heathen in the Holy Land.” But the trip yielded more notes, quotes, and quips than I could ever hope to fit into a series of blog posts. After looking over my notes from the trip, I wanted to share a couple leftover gems with Gadling readers, whom, incidentally, I often refer to as my own “Chosen People.“

  • A quote from one of our new Israeli friends: “There are really no celebrities in Israel since we’re such a small country. Last week I went to the market and saw three contestants on Israel’s Amazing Race.”
  • Our guide Ziv Cohen discussing the 2006 rocket attacks by Hezbollah on the Israeli town of Haifa: “We trust in God that it won’t happen again. And we trust in the Israeli army.“
  • Ziv Cohen explaining the importance of tradition: “Sometimes ‘tradition’ is just a nice way of saying it’s bullshit.”
  • The Mitzpe Hayamim in the Golan Heights region was one of the nicest hotels I’ve stayed at. In an attempt to make my friends at home jealous, I tried to take a photo of myself enjoying a bubble bath. From my notes: “I just learned that it’s impossible for a man to take a picture of himself in a bubble bath without either looking extremely dainty or looking like he’s about to pleasure himself. There is no middle ground.“
  • According to our guide, the town of Caesarea is a “new” place in that it’s only 2,000 years old.
  • From my journal: “Possible title for blog post — ‘Tel Aviv: The City That Never Schleps'”


Sinkhole travel: The Dead Sea isn’t the only place to see where the earth has caved in

by Jamie Rhein on

The story about Eli Raz who fell into a sinkhole at the Dead Sea and wasn’t found for 14 hours–alive, thank goodness, about environmental changes and the traveler’s experience. In the case of Raz, the message is look, but be alert for heaven’s sake when out in the natural world.

The Dead Sea, at the lowest point on earth, has 3,000 sinkholes along the coast and more coming. Raz is on a mission to map out those in existence in an effort to warn others where not to tread. Obviously, 14 hours in a sinkhole had an impact.

Caused by the earth dissolving underground, and the surface eventually collapsing inward, sinkholes are landmarks that attract people for a variety of reasons.

In the United States, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania are the states where sinkholes are most prevalent. There are hiking trails that lead to some of them and others are in cave country. Sinkholes have also created a place to get a bite to eat and watch bats.

Florida has the most sinkholes of any state in the U.S. There are several state parks where they play an important part in the balance of the environment. One such place is Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park in Gainsville, Florida. The sinkhole where waterfalls create an environment of lush vegetation has been a geographical curiousity since the 1800s.

Camdenton, Missouri, Ha Ha Tonka State Park– Has numerous sinkholes, caves, natural bridges and soaring bridges.

Cave City, Kentucky, Onyx Cave and Outlaw Cave–Not far from Mammouth Cave, these two caves are located in a sinkhole plain. I’m sure if you ask the locals where to find sinkholes, they can tell you. According to the descriptions of the area, sinkholes abound.

Morristown, Tennessee, Sink Holes Trail in Panther Creek State Park, Morristown, Tennessee. The trail leads past seven limestone sinkholes.

Rockspring, Texas. Devil’s Sinkhole– The 360-foot deep sinkhole is Texas’s 3rd largest cave and summer home to a slew of bats. At dusk you can watch them come out in droves. Join a tour at the Rockspring Visitor’s Center.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, 17 miles from Heber, Arizona. Sinkhole Trail-The trail leads to a sinkhole and then down into it where the landscape makes a dramatic change.

In Pennsylvania, where sinkholes create disturbances along roadways and construction sites, Palmyra has the Sinkhole Saloon. In January, a possible sinkhole in Palmyra caused a road closure pending investigation. It looked like the road was falling inward.