By way of Epilogue
Trip Start
Jul 10, 2002
1
2
50
Trip End
Aug 30, 2002
New York,
New York,
United States
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Mid East Trip I [written c. 2003?]
On 28 August 2002, a Wednesday, exactly 7 weeks after I'd departed JFK airport, I'd arrived back there. By and large re entry was relatively painless -- luggage delivered in reasonable time, nothing to declare so no baggage inspection, etc. But as I handed my passport for the fourth time for a cursory look-see, the sour, serious functionary felt obliged to comment that this was a dangerous time to be visiting the Middle East. With some annoyance I responded that at no time did I ever feel in any danger -- which was quite true. But then as I walked away I recalled that there were a number of times, particularly in Palestine, that I thought or expressed an emendation of a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem "IF": "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, ...", you probably don't really understand the situation.
At any rate I had returned safely, soundly, enriched but never terrorized. Actually it was a small sample of but four of perhaps some seventeen countries counted as "Middle Eastern" -- namely Jordan, Palestine, Egypt and Syria. Note I say Palestine, not Israel and with good reason. Though this was actually the second country I visited I shall treat of it last since it requires the most discussion.
By the way, anybody who thinks being a World Traveler, WT for short, is easy work, let me disabuse them of such a misconception. It is often tough going, frustrating and sometimes stressful and not always rewarding. But in the end the payoff must be worth it since we keep going back. Transportation is probably the biggest problem. After deciding where you want to go next, [often a tough decision], how do you get there? -- plane, train, bus, camel or foot? Where does the vehicle depart from and what are the schedules -- not easy info to come by when you don't know the language and not many know yours. Connections or lodging on the other end. And the world over, it seems most rickshaw wallas [ie taxi drivers] feel they would be failing their fellow practioners if they didn't start out asking for at least four times a fair price for the ride. Count yourself lucky, or a skilled negotiator, if you wind up paying only twice as much. Generally, over the years and world I have seldom felt taken advantage of when it comes to lodging [ though you can almost be certain that the rates have gone up since the last edition of the Lonely Planet guide. That's not only due to inevitable inflation but if a lodging gets a favorable nod from LP, demand predictably increases and by the iron law of S & D, the price rises.]
