Israel & Palestine Travel RECAP 🇮🇱🇵🇸: 7 Days of Culture Shock, Cost & Safety Observations

Israel & Palestine Travel RECAP 🇮🇱🇵🇸: 7 Days of Culture Shock, Cost & Safety Observations

So, I want to do a quick recap of my time here in Israel. Uh, it’s been phenomenal. Uh, my trip has been based in Tel Aviv. So, I think uh that’s why my trip went the way it did. Had I been based in Jerusalem or in Hifa or had I changed my home base throughout the 7 days I was here, it may have affected my trip. Actually, I’m certain it would have affected my trip. Not better or worse, but just in a different way. As the days went on, I just wrote down a few notes of things that I noticed about Israel. Um, if you’ve been on my channel before, you know that I’ve I do videos like this all the time. And if you’re new to my channel, feel free to hit that subscribe button below. And let’s jump right in. [Music] So, one interesting thing that I noticed was that there are armed military everywhere in Israel. And it makes sense when they’re, you know, guarding something or they’re near a military base, but you would just see like armed military people like on the bus or on the train and their clips are out the gun, so they’re not on duty, but they’re armed. They they have their assault rifle with them at all times. And everybody in the Israeli military is like 17 to like 22. They’re all super young. And then when you go to a lot of the tourism sites, you’ll see the Israeli military there, armed, of course, crossing the border into Palestine. and even sometimes just in really large or busy squares. I even saw a group of I’m assuming they were military uh armed individuals, but they were in civilian clothing. So, they weren’t even in uniform carrying around their assault rifles. I’m assuming they’re going to work or something. That’s just something that stood out to me. So, I’ve been spending most of my summer in Italy and I was in Naples like a month ago. And before that, I’ve been in South America for 6 months. So, when I got here and the locals said, “Oh, you know, the drivers here don’t drive very well.” No, the drivers here they do fine. Uh, and actually I’ve even noticed that at least here in Tel Aviv, the drivers are super friendly. They definitely let the pedestrians go by first. Many cars have stopped for me to cross the street, which I would never expect in Naples or most of South America or Beijing, China for that matter. So, I disagree with the people who say that the Israelis don’t drive well cuz I think they do all right. Having spent so much time in South America recently, my cost appetite is definitely changed. And here the food for whatever reason is really expensive. I mean not just more expensive than South America but even more expensive than Italy and in the US. I mean I can go to you know McDonald’s or Burger King get something on the dollar menu or get street food in South America again for a dollar or two. I haven’t found anything that’s a dollar food here. If you buy a falafel which is super cheap that’s 12 shekel. So I mean that’s like almost four bucks. If you buy a soda, you know, not even a 500ml, but like, you know, the 350, the smaller cans, those things are like 10 to 12 shekels as well. And of course, I mean, this is an average. If you go to super touristy place, it’s going to be even more expensive. But if you even go to where the locals are going, where they’re shopping, uh, the food is not cheap. I’ve been eating a lot of schwarma, and the cheapest schwarma I’ve found has been 30 shekels, and that’s like almost n bucks. But the food is pretty good. And since I do a lot of walking tours and walking around the cities that I’m exploring, I’ve noticed that there’s a huge standup scooter and ebike culture here. I mean, you can even just rent the scooters using the app, you know, scan it with your phone and you can go. And the ebikes, a lot of the workers are using them and people who are dressed nicely. So, it’s not just, you know, people going to the beach. This is everybody’s using these scooters and ebikes. And interestingly enough, you know, I’m in the Holy Land and they’re always in the news for, you know, violence or conflict or something like that. And so when you tell people you’re going to go to Israel, they’re everybody’s like, “Oh, be safe. You know, be vigilant. Watch your back.” And I mean, I’ve walked around these neighborhoods late at night, early in the morning, and I’ve felt 100% safe. I mean, actually, I feel safer here than a lot of places that I’ve been where people aren’t worried about your safety. So, one beef I have with Tel Aviv are the cockroaches. I mean, I haven’t I haven’t seen this many cockroaches in like New York. It’s It’s bad. I don’t know where they’re coming from, but cockroaches abound in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv has some massive cockroaches. These things be everywhere. Israel is geographically located in Asia, but by proximity, I think it’s actually closer to Europe. So, based on my experiences in Asia and in Europe, I’ve made a list of just comparisons of how Israel stacks, like how European is it or how Asian is it? And of course, these are all generalizations and stereotypes. So, let’s start with how Israel is more like Europe. And the first thing I noticed uh that actually surprised me was that Israel is quite multi-racial. And you know, looking at their history, they’ve taken in some immigrants from other countries. But I was just surprised to see so many black Israeli. You just don’t see black people assimilate with culture in too many places as much as they have here. The United States, France, UK, Brazil, places like that. A lot of places there’s usually a clear distinction like they’re from another country and they’re not considered locals, but here in Israel they’re the black people are Israeli. They’re black Israeli and that was pretty cool. And if you’ve been following my channel for a while, you know, one of my least favorite things is to see a beautiful woman and go try to talk to her and she pulls out a cigarette. Like that’s end of conversation for me. And in Israel, uh, you know, a lot of women smoke here, so it’s just bad luck for me. How is Israel more like Asia? So there are no lines. Like in a lot of Asian countries, people just go to the front and if there’s space, they fill that in, assuming that nobody’s there, so I’ll fill that space. Uh Israel does that, too. Yeah. So lines are just not one of their strong suits. So most places that I have been that haven’t been inside of a tourist location have had free toilets, and I’ve just been super thrilled about this. I absolutely hate paying to use the bathroom. I think that’s ridiculous. Yeah, I’m talking to you Europe. my time in Asia, generally toilets have been free. And if they do cost, they’re super cheap. They’re not one euro to use the bathroom. And I don’t care how clean it is. Why would I have to pay €1 to use the bathroom? But I did notice in Palestine they were charging to use the toilet in all the places that we went unless you go into an establishment or something like that. So something to note. Free toilets. Good job. So, when it comes to markets and going to markets to buy things, Israel is definitely more like Asia where, you know, the sellers were going to be a little bit more aggressive. They’re probably going to walk up to you and put stuff on you like here, try this on real quick or here, put, you know, here’s a sample or here, here’s the food, just go ahead and eat it. And, you know, they’re not even going to tell you the price. They’re going to try to get you to get the thing. And then you’ll pretty much commit once you’ve started using it or once you’ve tried something on, you’re more likely to buy it, I guess. And that’s just a sales tactic that you see more often in Asia. Europeans aren’t usually so aggressive with their sales technique. And then of course, just like most Asian countries, you can negotiate your prices here. And so when you’re walking around the streets of Israel or even in Palestine, you look at the signs and you look at if you’re looking at the sign, there’s no English on there, you have no idea what these signs are saying. And I feel like this is an Asian thing. You know, in China, if you don’t read Mandarin, just characters scribbles. Japan, Thailand, um the Asian languages tend to be much farther from English. So when we’re in Europe, you know, Spain, France, Germany, we don’t speak these languages. I can read it still cuz I can I see there’s an alphabet. I see letters. Even, you know, Poland, Russia, Slavic languages, you know, you can, oh, this like a backwards K like you can kind of guess. Here, I mean, I Arabic is, you know, doesn’t mean anything to me. In Hebrew, it’s like, okay, all those letters look exactly the same. And there’s going to be things that Israel is both like Europe and Asia. And one specific thing that really jumped out to me is whenever you’re in a supermarket or anywhere where there’s music playing, they’re usually playing some sort of American music and it’s uncensored. I mean I And this is even in South America. This is everywhere outside of the US and Canada. I’m not even sure if the UK censors their music, but you just hear all the words to all this music and it’s like all right. And there’s just kids walking around the supermarket. And so yeah, don’t be surprised when somebody from another country just walks up to you and drops all kinds of, you know, profanity cuz that’s what’s kind of music we’re exporting. That’s what’s in our movies. For the last 3 days, I have done paid tours through a company called Israel Tourists. And it’s just been easy. Most of the tours start at 6:30 or 7:30 for the pickup and then it either goes to Jerusalem or Jerusalem comes here. Most of my tours started at 6:30 cuz we’re going toward Jerusalem and out past it. So, these tours are great for the lazy planner or somebody who just wants to be fully guided the whole way. Just somebody there kind of holding your hand, telling you what you’re looking at, you know, what to do next. It just simplifies things, especially if you don’t feel like doing the type of research. You get transport to in and around and then return transportation back to wherever you started. And that’s included in the tour price. And obviously these prices are higher than if you just catch public transportation and go out there yourself or you know find an audio guide on the internet which is totally doable. I did that in Jerusalem or there’s free walking tours in a lot of these locations. So you can definitely travel for cheap but again for the convenience you pay a little more but this company does a fairly decent job of offering that. And one really cool thing is that they have free Wi-Fi on all the buses. And I didn’t buy a SIM card here and glad I didn’t cuz you know on these tours I get the free Wi-Fi so I can upload stuff and send pictures to my friends and family no problem. But having said that um there were times where the you know tour guides weren’t super organized or they miscommunicated gave us wrong information about times and meeting points and you know sometimes some issues arise but in general traveling with the tour company wasn’t a problem and I I have generally positive experience traveling with them. So, my time here in Tel Aviv has been really cool. Tel Aviv is just such a cosmopolitan city. I just really was not expecting it to be so modern. And I mean, I feel like I can be in New York or Shanghai. It’s Paris. It’s it’s like any of those big cities, which is really nice to see cuz that wasn’t the image I had in my head of Israel. The image I had it was more what I saw in Jerusalem. Lots of holy places, lots of older buildings. But even Jerusalem, I felt was quite modern. There’s a modern section to Jerusalem outside the old city. So, Israel is not just, you know, old there. It’s it’s a modern, up-to-date city as well, which surprised me, but in a good way. And here in Tel Aviv, I’m actually staying near Jaffa, which is an I guess it’s another city, but it’s an old port city, and a lot of history is from here. And it’s actually just really cool to stumble upon Jaffa and do the walking tour there. And I had a really good guide. So, it really made that free tour feel like, you know, wow, I’m getting way more than my money’s worth cuz it was free. and and it was a good tour. And with Jerusalem, I did that on my own. I caught public transportation and went out there and did a free walk-in tour there. Again, I had a really good guide. The the guides here are really good, especially the free tour guides cuz the guides I paid for, they were okay. But, you know, when you’re paying for it, you expect even more. And I felt like I got more from the free walking tour guides. So, if you’re debating on whether to take a free walking tour or a guided tour, uh, make sure you do your research on how good those guides are cuz the free walking tour guides are really good. Sandmans is really good. My tour to Hifa, Ako, and Cesario were really cool. Lots of history. Um, information that I just didn’t know much about. And I’m really glad I did those tours. Unfortunately, because you’re doing three cities, you don’t get to see as much. Uh, and Ho, we were there like all of 30 minutes just to do the gardens. So, if you really want to explore these places more, uh, you’d have to, you know, take public transport station. And I’d considered doing that, but I’d already been in country for 4 days. I just was feeling a bit lazy. And that’s why I went with the the tour and I’m I’m glad I did. It worked out really well. Did you see me vlogging here? You can walk right in the shine. Oh no, he didn’t. And then the Dead Sea tour um with Masada and um Ingetti. Oh man, those are really cool. I did I never heard of Msada or Inggeti and yeah, there’s they have some really serious historical relevance and it was a fascinating surprise and I’m glad that I went. And then of course the Dead Sea was everything people say it is and uh my skin felt so smooth after. So you know of course you got to get some products and take it home, share with friends and family so we can all have smooth skin. And then the tour to Palestine, Bethlehem, Jericho and the Jordan River. Um again just really cool to kind of go to the places where Jesus was born and where he was baptized. You know, these are stories that whether you’re religious or not, the history comes alive when you can actually see the location where these things happen versus just reading about in a book or hearing somebody tell you the story, going there and seeing it, you’re like, “Okay, now it it means so much more to me.” And when you learn more about the culture in the region, you can apply that to the history that you’re learning, the information, and it makes it makes sense. You’re like, “Oh, that’s why they did.” Okay, I totally get it now. And I met a lot of great people, as I always do when I’m traveling. I got to interview them on some of the trips that I went on and just again experiencing the world. I’m just having a a great time. I know it may not look like it, but I am celebrating my 60th. Wait, what? For real? That was a good one. Wait, you’re serious? Well, I’ll be That’s enough. Okay. It’s been a long journey. You know, some people don’t even make it this far and and and I have and I’m just I’m just really grateful. I mean 60 I mean that’s I can’t tell if you’re being serious. On this trip I visited my 60th country and that’s it’s just it was thrilling. Oh, I see what you did. Good job. You need to stop and I’m glad to have done it and glad that I got to share it with you. Glad you got to be a part of it. I want to thank you all for following the channel, for supporting me. Make sure you hit that like button. Make sure you share, subscribe, leave some comments below if you’ve been to this area, if you have questions about u my trip. And I look forward to seeing you on the next adventure.

Watch the full series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfqsa022fxRmH7afLFKWRUxIXQZ_5pb6k

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Welcome to Part 6 of my travel series, where I give a full, candid recap of my seven days exploring Israel and Palestine!

After visiting Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, and Jericho, I share my honest first impressions and observations on the culture, security, and cost of travel in the Holy Land.

In this candid recap, I cover:
⭐️Safety & Military: My experience with armed military presence and overall feelings of safety [00:45].
⭐️Cost of Food: Why everything felt more expensive than Italy or even the US [02:16].
⭐️Culture Shock: Observations on driving, local sales tactics, and the scooter/e-bike culture [01:40].
⭐️Europe vs. Asia: How Israel stacks up against both continents (language, lines, multiracial society) [04:10].
⭐️Tour Review: An honest review of the free walking tours vs. paid, guided day trips [08:07].

This trip also marked visiting my 60th country! I’m grateful I got to share this milestone and the experience with you.

👉 All Videos in the Israel & Palestine Series:

Part 1 (Tel Aviv & Old Jaffa): https://youtu.be/kxfwvJkU32o

Part 2 (Old Jerusalem Tour): https://youtu.be/Pk0CGxSH3mY

Part 3 (Caesarea, Akko & Haifa): https://youtu.be/bWEKaxlp_rY

Part 4 (Dead Sea, Masada & Ein Gedi): https://youtu.be/Wdu34xerG8o

Part 5 (Bethlehem & Jericho): https://youtu.be/vMhBEkCd6cI

🔔 Subscribe for more global adventures: @TheTMaxTravels

Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetmax1/

0:00 The TMax in Israel Recap Begins
0:46 Israel Defense Forces
1:35 Bad Israeli Drivers
2:09 Expensive Israeli Food
3:04 E-Vehicles, Scooters & Bikes
3:27 Is Israel Safe?
3:51 Cockroaches
4:29 Racial Diversity in Israel
5:04 Israeli Smokers
5:21 No Queuing
5:35 Free Toilets
6:10 Markets and Bargaining
6:48 Reading Hebrew and Arabic
7:34 Uncensored American Music
8:09 Tourist Israel Tours
9:40 Tel Aviv Recap
10:41 Jerusalem Recap
11:08 Haifa, Akko, Caesarea Recap
11:44 Ein Gedi, Masada, Dead Sea Recap
12:11 Bethlehem, Jericho, Jordan River Recap
12:55 The TMax celebrates his 60th
13:28 Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe

#IsraelTravel #PalestineTravel #TravelRecap #CultureShock #HolyLand #IsraelVlog #TelAviv #Jerusalem #TheTMaxTravels #TravelSafety