The days following my trip to the Dead Sea went nothing like I imagined. Initially, my plan was to apply for my visa to India, finally tour Tel Aviv, and spending some days leisurely wandering the city before heading south to Eilat along the Red Sea on my way to Petra. Even after traveling for the last seven months, I’m still surprised how frequently I’m wrong when it comes to predicting the future, but I have to say it’s always an adventure. The very first lesson I learned way back in Faro, Portugal was never, ever, ever let an opportunity to travel with good company pass by.

After spending a few days wandering Jerusalem, I took a tour out of the city to visit Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea. Normally, I prefer to do things on my own instead of paying for someone to shuttle me around all day on a tour, but the logistics of getting to Masada, the Dead Sea, and back to Jerusalem via public transportation were extremely time-consuming. It took a little bit of convincing to get me to sign up for the tour, but I met a group of travelers on my first day in Tel Aviv who had great things to say about the Dead Sea tour. After mulling it over a few days, I decided to take to plunge and sign up.

In the days following my trip to Bethlehem for Christmas, I spent my time exploring the rest of Jerusalem. While I greatly enjoyed wandering the city with my friend Ron, now I had a opportunity take leisurely strolls through town, revisit the sights to take all my pictures, and explore distant places we didn’t have time for earlier in the week. Jerusalem is a remarkably fascinating city to learn about and I am repeatedly surprised by how many important religious landmarks are crammed into this relatively small plot of land. To any travelers out there considering a visit to Israel, I highly recommend spending at least a week in Jerusalem, there is far too much to see in just a couple days. Today I want to share my three favorite attractions in Jerusalem: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall, and the Dome of the Rock.

Six months ago, as I sat waiting for my flight to Portugal to begin my trek across the world, I remember wondering where I would spend Christmas this year. It's a seemingly random thought considering the holiday was months away, but the last time I went traveling (during my exchange in Milan) I ended up missing Christmas with my family for the first time in my life. Thanks to an ill-fated snowstorm, instead of celebrating the holiday with family, I enjoyed some quality alone time in a Frankfurt airport hotel scavenging food from the vending machines. Not quite what you would call "Christmasy," but that's life. This time around, however, I'm voluntarily skipping out on the holidays, but was I destined to spend Christmas 2014 in a lonely airport hotel or in some other exotic location? Of all the possible outcomes I imagined, I never thought I’d be celebrating Christmas this year in the very town of Bethlehem!

After spending only one day in Tel Aviv, I headed out for Jerusalem to meet up with an old friend, Ron, who I met during my travels in Kiev, Ukraine. Many of the travelers I meet along the way ask to reach out if I’m ever in their hometown, but rarely do our schedules align - as in the case of Stephan from Cologne, Germany. I'm always hopeful to cross paths again with the people I meet on the road, but I know it’s always a long shot. When Ron messaged me saying he had a few free days to visit Jerusalem, I scrapped my original plans for Tel Aviv and quickly departed Tel Aviv even though I’d just arrived into the city. Since Ron is originally from in Israel, I couldn’t pass up the chance to travel around with a local.

While my arrival to Israel was remarkably pleasant, I remember hearing horror stories of travelers being detained and questioned for hours on end by the Israeli border officials. Given Israel’s location and checkered history, I understand the necessity for these this kind of security measures, but I was terrified being single man traveling alone with no solid plans would throw up a few red flags. I can’t stress this enough, not a single person I’ve encountered thus far on my trip has ever said anything good about their experience crossing the border into Israel. In fact, several people (and even web sites) said that if you don’t get detained at the border for at least 2 hours, you haven’t had the “true” Israeli experience.

My last stop in Turkey, Antalya, is a popular local vacation destination along the country's southern coast. I knew next to nothing about the city prior to my arrival, but Antalya came highly recommended by my fellow travelers and all it took was Google image search to sell me on this idyllic paradise. The pictures reminded me of the ever-intoxicating Croatian coastline, but I assumed the pictures online were either heavily photoshopped or taken at the most beautiful time of the year. It is the middle of December and so far Konya (my previous city) was depressingly rainy, Göreme was insanely cold, and Istanbul was both! I spent hours trying to lower my expectations of Antalya, but much to my surprise it is a spectacular city with easily the best weather I’ve experienced in so far in Turkey!

Since the beginning of my trip, whenever I mention plans to visit Turkey every traveler's immediate response is, "You have to visit Cappadocia!" Oddly enough, many people recommended Cappadocia to me even ahead of Istanbul, but I figured they couldn’t all be wrong - there obviously must be something special about this region of Turkey. I honestly didn’t have even the slightest idea of what I would find, but looking back I’m thrilled I visited. I’ve seen numerous exotic locations so far on my travels, but none compares to the incredibly unique landscape of Cappadocia.

Over the last three weeks in Istanbul I've become quite familiar with the city and it's slowly beginning to feel like "home." After weeks of exploring, I know where to get a good meal in town, where the best bars are in the area, how to bargain a bit (even though I'm still comically inept at it), and even how to navigate the Grand Bazaar without getting lost. I've wandered across the city numerous times, walking over 10 miles on most days, yet there are still parts of this great city I've yet to explore. There’s just too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it, but thankfully I had some help courtesy of a local friend.

Five and a half months of continuous travel takes its toll on any backpacker. While I’ve slowed down my travel schedule to make my lifestyle more sustainable, eventually the constant moving was bound to catch up with me. Many people back home think it’s absurd I need a "vacation from my vacation,” but the reality of the matter is that long-term travel is far more tiring than you'd expect. While travel is absolutely thrilling, it boils down to a lot of logistics planning. Since no two days are ever the same, I am forced to constantly pay attention to my surroundings, figure out solutions to a variety of novel issues on a daily basis, and adjust my short term plans based on a never-ending array of unexpected changes. Thankfully, my three weeks in Istanbul was a return to a “normal” life that I’d long since forgotten and gave me the chance to explore the city at my leisure.

Today marks the third week I've been in Istanbul and I still haven’t seen everything I wanted. The city is massive, full of excellent food to sample, incredible sights to visit, and stellar nightlife to keep you entertained for months on end. While I still have much to see, I hit the ground running and, as promised, here is the rest of my story from my very first full day in Istanbul. Starting from where I left off in my last post, my compatriots, Alex and Zoheb, and I had just finished our prayer in the Sultan Ahmed Mosque were off to continue our exploration of Istanbul.

The city of Istanbul is many things, but boring is not one of them. After two and a half weeks of living in the city, there are still areas I have yet to explore even though I spend my days walking around town for miles at a time. Of all the wondrous things I experienced during my visit, nothing was quite as unique as the view from across the Galata Bridge in the middle of town. 

One of the greatest thrills I get out of traveling is the chance to finally see all of the cities, monuments, and attractions that I only heard about on TV or saw in textbook pictures. From Big Ben in London to the Louvre in Paris or the Parthenon in Athens, I’ve experienced the feeling dozens of times before, but there is one building in particular that stands out in my mind as the quintessential monument that I felt would forever remain just a picture - the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. At first glance, it may seem a bit strange that out of all the monuments in the world, this Byzantine church, turned mosque, turned museum holds the number one spot in my mind, but it's all the result of an unexpected class I took years ago back in high school.

My arrival into Istanbul from Plovdiv showed me just how far I've come with regard to traveling; things that terrified me early on in my trip simply rolled off my shoulders. Every time I arrive into a new country there is a flurry of activity, strange new customs, and numerous unknowns that I have to problem solve around until I finally arrive at my next hostel. Ironically, what I am beginning to understand about traveling is that the more issues and unknowns I face, the more entertaining traveling is for me. I know this strategy tends to backfire on me from time to time, but even then at least I have a story.

After spending the last several days in relative isolation in Belgrade, my experience in Sofia, Bulgaria was a breath of fresh air. The city is remarkably well kept and, even though the architectural styles of the communist era leave much to be desired, the buildings throughout town create an excellent atmosphere for aimless strolling. Sofia is an enormous city full of fantastic people, great food, and a thriving nightlife, but best of all, it's dirt cheap and a haven for backpackers trying to stick to a budget. There are plenty of attractions to entertain travelers both young and old alike, and even after spending a week in this great city, I still didn’t have enough time to see everything I wanted.

During my stay in Belgrade I found a variety of great restaurants, bars, and attractions scattered throughout the city, but the most interesting activity for me was a visit was the Nikola Tesla museum. The relatively modest, seven-room museum tells the story of Tesla’s life, his remarkable inventions, and exhibits a rotating collection of his personal effects. I’ve seen more museums than I care to count at this point in my life, but in honor of my Tesla-mad friend, Artyom, who I went hitchhiking with a few months back I felt it prudent to visit.

I’m going to admit, much to my embarrassment, that I knew next to nothing about the history of Serbia (or any other country in the Balkan Peninsula for that matter) prior to my arrival in Belgrade. Back in grade school, the Yugoslav Wars were either glossed over or marginalized to a couple paragraphs in textbooks that teachers tended to skip regardless. This was partly because the conflict was still ongoing and the "history" had yet to be written, but I felt ashamed for my ignorance on the topic considering I was traveling through the region. Thankfully, my tour through Belgrade proved to be an excellent place to learn about the history of the former Yugoslavia.

My travels through the southern state of Goa were a wonderfully relaxing experience. From the idyllic beaches, to the phenomenal tropical scenery, great seafood, and laid-back people, I have only positive things to say about this region of India. Generally speaking, a visit to Goa is not the most “authentic” Indian experience and since I visited right at the cusp of monsoon season I didn’t even really get to experience the party atmosphere either. Instead, I had the opportunity to see a uniquely tranquil version of Goa that I few foreigners know about.

Like many cities I’ve visited before, Pushkar came highly recommended to me by numerous other travelers making their way through India. After spending the last few weeks in the chaotic cities of New Delhi and Jaipur, I was in dire need of a break from it all. Even after living in NYC for years, I am still not capable of dealing with large Indian cities for extended periods of time; all it takes is a few hours of walking around outside before I’m completely drained of energy, covered in dust, and thoroughly dehydrated. I was told the city of Pushkar was a tranquil little escape in the middle of Rajasthani desert and I have to agree with them, it was a breath of fresh air!

The typical vacationing tourist who visits India for a week or two usually does a lap around the “Golden Triangle” that consists of New Delhi (map), Agra (map), and Jaipur (map) before heading home. When I began my trip in India, I was told great things about the Golden Triangle, but now that I’ve seen all of the cities in this famed tourist circuit, I must seriously disagree with my fellow travelers. Not only are the three cities not an accurate representation of India, but two of them - Agra and Jaipur – are actually my two least of favorite cities in all of India. 

Since arriving in India I’ve learned a great deal about my self and question a great many things in my own life. To see firsthand a culture and environment so drastically different than the one I’m familiar with back home is a tremendously eye-opening experience. A few posts ago I told you about the 10-day silent meditation retreat up in Dharamsala at Tushita. I only have glowing reviews about the course, and it inspired me to sign up for another, far more intense, 10-day silent meditation retreat through Vipassana.

It’s now been two months since I arrived in India, yet at every turn I am surprised by what this country has to offer. Every city I visit in India is unlike anything I’ve seen before in my life, but unless you manage to escape into the mountains like I did in Dharamsala, Indian cities are a never-ending bombardment on the senses full of horns, dust, heat, people, and general chaos. I’ve slowly managed to acclimate myself to the environment here and now feel I’m capable of dealing with most things India throws at me. When I first arrived in New Delhi, walking around the city was an utterly exhausting experience, but I thought I had seen the worst of it until I visited Varanasi.

Of all the questionable and otherwise disturbing images I’ve seen over my lifetime, none is more ingrained in my mind than the first cremation I witnessed at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi. I’ve long since given up on holding expectations of what I will see, do, and experience on my travels, but I never imagined that one day I would watch a man’s body burn to ashes before my very eyes. After my trip to Auschwitz a few months ago, I was curious what a cremation was like since I only knew about it in theory. It was merely a passing thought at the time, but here in Varanasi, my wish was unexpectedly granted and it’s an experience I will never forget.

The northern state of Himachal Pradesh, in India is a wonderfully relaxing piece of heaven at the foot of the gargantuan Himalayan Mountains. In the middle of it all is the small town of Dharamsala where the current Tibetan government-in-exile resides after they were expelled by China (or as the Chinese say, “liberated”) back in 1959. I was told by my fellow travelers that where wasn’t much to do in the quiet town of Dharamsala, but I ended up spending the better part of a month there specifically for that reason! Set along the backdrop of the Himalayas, Dharamsala is a world away from the overcrowded, congested cities like New Delhi. I stayed specifically in McLeod Ganj located in upper Dharamsala was just the perfect rest bit after the Holi celebrations in Vrindavan. From a ten-day silent meditation retreat at Tushita, to hiking at the foot of the Himalayas, to sliding down the side of a mountain on melting snow bank, to watching a Tibetan opera performance, and even seeing the Dalai Lama himself, I had a wonderful time in Dharamsala!

Back when I was a student at The University of Texas at Austin, I heard about this strange new Indian holiday known only as “Holi.” I saw the colorful advertisements plastered around campus and everyone was talking about how much they were looking forward to the even, but coming from Katy, I had no idea what the celebration was for much less why everyone was so excited for it. For those you who are in a similar boat, Holi is Hindu festival celebrated in the month of March to commemorate the victory of good over evil. There is a long Hindu mythological story behind it that you can read about here, but all I cared about was that it was an excuse to throw brightly colored powder at strangers, dunk people with buckets of water, and dance to lively Indian music. What more can a person want? From that first year at UT, I fell in love with the holiday, so when I found out that I’d be in India, the land where it all started, there was no way I was passing up the opportunity!

Without a doubt, the most iconic building in all of India (and poster child for anything tourist related) is the one and only Taj Mahal. Unless you have been living out in the African Serengeti disconnected from society, odds are you’ve come across this building either in a textbook, online search, or any travel related commercial on TV. This enormous monument is right up there with the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the clock tower housing Big Ben in London, or even the Empire State Building in Manhattan and I was not going to pass up the chance to see it in person. Just like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, I never thought I’d ever get to visit in my lifetime, but my dream finally came true!

I’ve been completely out of my element since the day I arrived in India a little under a week ago and I’ve been wandering the streets of New Delhi like a toddler lost in a shopping mall. I’ve been staring at all the pretty lights, putting strange foods in my mouth, completely at the mercy of kind strangers, collecting a variety of new illnesses, abjectly lost the entire time, and generally just trying not to die. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to catch up with an old friend from college, Kanika, who was in town visiting family and friends in New Delhi. The timing couldn’t have worked out any better and thanks to her, I learned the ropes of how to get around India, saw the dynamics of an Indian family, and got to finally up with an old friend who I hadn’t seen in years!I’ve been completely out of my element since the day I arrived in India a little under a week ago and I’ve been wandering the streets of New Delhi like a toddler lost in a shopping mall. I’ve been staring at all the pretty lights, putting strange foods in my mouth, completely at the mercy of kind strangers, collecting a variety of new illnesses, abjectly lost the entire time, and generally just trying not to die. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to catch up with an old friend from college, Kanika, who was in town visiting family and friends in New Delhi. The timing couldn’t have worked out any better and thanks to her, I learned the ropes of how to get around India, saw the dynamics of an Indian family, and got to finally up with an old friend who I hadn’t seen in years!

I’ve been in India for a little over a week and a half now and it’s been a remarkable learning experience for me. I’ve traveled halfway across the world over the last 10 months and visited numerous exotic lands, but never in my life have I seen a country and unique as India. People may bicker about whether or not they enjoyed their travels through the country, but there isn’t a traveler on this earth (or even a local Indian) who can say that India is a “dull” experience. I’ve been in India for a little over a week and a half now and it’s been a remarkable learning experience for me. I’ve traveled halfway across the world over the last 10 months and visited numerous exotic lands, but never in my life have I seen a country and unique as India. People may bicker about whether or not they enjoyed their travels through the country, but there isn’t a traveler on this earth (or even a local Indian) who can say that India is a “dull” experience. 

Never in my life have I experienced such a drastic change in scenery as the day I flew from Dubai to New Delhi. Just hours ago I stood in front of the Burj Khalifa watching a mesmerizing water show that puts the Bellagio in Las Vegas to shame and wondered what India would be like. I was in a brand-new city of the future full of all the glitz and glamor that only absurd amounts of oil money can buy, and within 24 hours I would be in one of the most overcrowded, congested cities of the world. Up until this point, I feel my entire trip through Europe and the Middle East has simply preparation for this leg of my trip - India is where I would finally my traveling skills to the test. As I boarded my flight there was a mild feeling of anxiety when I realized I was the only white guy on the entire plane.Never in my life have I experienced such a drastic change in scenery as the day I flew from Dubai to New Delhi. Just hours ago I stood in front of the Burj Khalifa watching a mesmerizing water show that puts the Bellagio in Las Vegas to shame and wondered what India would be like. I was in a brand-new city of the future full of all the glitz and glamor that only absurd amounts of oil money can buy, and within 24 hours I would be in one of the most overcrowded, congested cities of the world. Up until this point, I feel my entire trip through Europe and the Middle East has simply preparation for this leg of my trip - India is where I would finally my traveling skills to the test. As I boarded my flight there was a mild feeling of anxiety when I realized I was the only white guy on the entire plane.