I have heard so
many bad experiences from many other travelers who fly out
from the Ben
Gurion Airport, and now what I have expected finally came.
Since my flight
is at 5:10am in the morning, I have to be at the airport four
hours early! And sure enough, two security guards approach
me once I got in. They ask me a couple of questions,
i.e., where am I going, what is in my bag, etc., then ask
to see my passport and tickets.
After that, they
take me to go to a security bench where one of them search
my backpack, while the other keep asking me questions, over
and over. Luckily I got so many tips from the other
travelers on how to deal with the situation, otherwise, I
would really don't know what to do.
As I though the
process is over after they returned the airticket and passport
back to me, one of the guard asks me to following her into
another room, did a body search (luckily don't need to take
off any cloth!), follow by a throughly exam on all the items
I have in my backpack!
By the time I
got out of the room, check in, got to Gate 35 where I wait
for my 5:10am flight, it is already 4:00am! I am exhausted!
It is indeed a long and tedious process, yet it all goes smoothly
without any major issue. Hmmm... just another experience!
Israel is a beautiful
country full of history. It is very easy to travel on
your own. They have great transportation system.
Cities like Tel Aviv and Eilat are very westernized.
With today's unstable situation, I still think that Israel
is a safe country to travel if you avoid the hot spot, i.e.,
Gaza Strip or West Bank. But of course, caution is always
needed. Food is good, people are great. I am so
amazed by the perfessionalism of the riot police, soldiers,
and security guards.
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