525,600 Minutes: The Second Half

Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral

Although I was just going to pick up from where I left off, it's necessary to backtrack for a second because I accidentally skipped China's other Special Administrative Region: Macau. When my friend and I were in Hong Kong, we decided to take the ferry to Macau since it was so close. I don't have much interest in casinos, which Macau certainly isn't short of, but I loved the Portuguese architecture.

Leaving Riyadh

While I was in Taiwan, I debated where my travels would take me after the Philippines. Although it made much more geographical sense to stay in Southeast Asia, I did something a little drastic and decided to research flights to Egypt, a country that had been on my mind for quite some time. With some luck, an affordable flight from Manila to Cairo, via Riyadh, came up in my search; however, I ran into a minor obstacle when I discovered that while Saudi Arabia requires a transit visa for those with a layover longer than eighteen hours, solo female travelers are forbidden to even apply for it. Fortunately, another option presented itself soon after so my bitterness towards Saudi Arabia's obnoxious sexist rules was short lived. :o)

At the pyramids in Giza

For me, going to Egypt was an absolute dream come true, and I can't express enough how much I enjoyed my time there. Although definite highlights would include obvious activities, like taking a camel ride around the pyramids and the Spinx in Giza and touring the many temples in Luxor, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the Sinai Peninsula a couple times. On one such occasion, a friend and I joined a tour group that climbed Mount Sinai, which is the site where Moses allegedly received the Ten Commandments from God. The goal was to reach the peak to see the sunrise, which meant leaving Dahab for Saint Catherine at 1am. It was an unplanned trip so I didn't have the proper shoes to participate in such a hike, but somehow my little black flats got me up and down the mountain in one piece.

Hiking to the peak of Mount Sinai

While I was in Oman, I had met someone who had been to Lebanon a couple years ago. Lebanon wasn't initially on my list of places to visit, but listening to him talk about his

Streets of Beirut

time there immediately piqued my interest in the country. One of the most intriguing aspects of Lebanon was seeing the mosques and churches constructed right next to each other. I'm aware of the conflicts that are occurring in the northern part of Lebanon, but for a nation with such a volatile history, even the smallest signs of religious tolerance is surely something to admire.

I have several fond memories of my time in Jordan, from exploring the rose- colored city called Petra to sleeping under a blanket of stars in Wadi Rum, but my favorite one is swimming in the Dead Sea. I loved the feeling of effortlessly floating in the water, and the sunset is

Floating in the sea

something I'll always remember. If it had been possible, I would have stayed there for days.

Perhaps I have to admit that I may be a little geographically challenged and my knowledge about ancient civilizations is subpar, but it struck me by surprise to find so many Roman ruins in Lebanon and Jordan. Wandering around the sites in Baalbek and Jerash could only be described as incredible.



The final chapter of that part of my backpacking journey was Israel, which I found to be a truly special place. Finding an easy route there, however, proved to be a bit of a challenge since based on my cursory research online, flying between Israel and any of its Arab neighbors is rather pricey and takes an absurd amount of time. Just to

Roman ruins in Baalbek

provide an example of what I mean, one of the least expensive options for flying from Amman to Tel Aviv was a 20-hour flight that included an extended layover in Istanbul. In the end, it became apparent that it would be in my best interest to travel from Jordan to Israel by land.



By chance, I found a Palestinian CouchSurfer who was going to be traveling the same route so I didn't need to go alone. I'm rather adventurous and independent so I still would have chosen this route even if I hadn't met him, but it was nice to have the company for some of the journey. Although I expected the

Finally got my Israeli visa

immigration process in Israel to be a lengthy process, it never crossed my mind that I would be there for over three hours. Not only did my passport have stamps and visas from Pakistan and Lebanon, both of which made me a suspicious traveler from Israel's point of view, but I also made the mistake of admitting I would be in Palestine overnight. It was only later that I learned that Israeli immigration officers are wary about visitors spending a lot of time in Palestine because they fear they'll go to the refugee camps or be inclined to cause problems for Israel.

The Old City of Jerusalem

It's something I should have been aware of beforehand, but looking back on the situation, I'm just glad that they eventually let me through.

As I mentioned before, I loved Israel and simply adored being there. It was fascinating to walk along the streets of Palestine and Israel and to visit places I had only read about before, like the Church of the Nativity and the Old City of Jerusalem. In many ways, I felt like much of my time traveling in the months before built up to my being in

Beautiful Eilat

Israel. It could be said that spending time there brought everything around full circle for me. To be honest, although I had read several articles regarding the issue, I've never been very knowledgeable about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. I've always felt that it was a
difficult situation without an apparent solution. When I was in several Arab nations, the subject of Israel and Palestine came up on more than one occasion, but it was difficult for me to express an opinion on something I knew very little about. To this day, I'm no expert on the situation, but it was a true learning experience for me to hear various perspectives regarding the problems that plague that region of the world. More importantly, it put faces on the conflict and really humanized the issues for me, so to speak. In reflecting on my time there, I feel like ending my journey in that area with Israel provided a balance for my own views.

My travel companions to Cairo

After Israel, I had to make my way back to Egypt so that I could fly home from Cairo since two of my friends were getting married. My original plan had been to spend a few days there to see some of the sites I had missed the first time and to meet up with some friends I had made when I was there; however, poor planning on my part and a failed visa run resulted in my arriving in Cairo the morning of my flight. When I flew to Cairo the first time, I was able to get a visa on arrival at the airport; however, when planning my route home, I had overlooked the fact that going to Cairo by land required me to obtain one beforehand. While I was in Bethlehem, I had called the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv and had been told that they could issue a visa on the same day I applied for it; however, when I got there, the officer said it would take multiple days to process and advised me to go down south to the consulate in Eilat. Although I took an unnecessary trip to

Broadway with my mom

Tel Aviv, the situation worked out for the best because when I was at the Egyptian Consulate in Eilat, I met three other backpackers who were heading to Cairo at the same time I was so I unintentionally found travel buddies for the long journey between Eilat and Cairo.

Although I had originally planned to stay in Pennsylvania for just a few weeks, my time there eventually grew into a beautiful three months surrounded by family and friends. It was nice to be home and not feel too rushed to make plans with everyone I wanted to see. It was a summer filled with multiple adventures in New York City, more Broadway shows than I've ever seen in a single year, three memorable trips to Lancaster County with my mom, a return to the Renaissance Faire with some good friends, and countless other special memories I'll hold forever.