LAND OF CHRISTIAN PILGRIM: EGYPT - ISRAEL - JORDAN

 I'm PSYCHED to finally be able to share more about travel again after a while. WOOT! You must've been dying to know all about it, haven't you? There, there, everything will be revealed HERE! An end to the unanswered DMs so that all of you will read through this blog post! So first of allll, it's my first time doing solo traveling! Alright, not totally solo because I joined a tour, again, but yes, I was by myself and the rest of the group are strangers I only came to know during the travel. The others are also mainly family, and my main concern would of course be the photographer. Who'd be taking my photos?! So I had to muster my courage and ask for anyone to do it. It was a lot of trouble because I had to do heavy editing on each pic, but everything turned out fine thanks to technology! Also, later on I found out that my tour leader's first impression of me was this freak who's up for a pilgrim alone! Meanie, but I did want to go to Egypt so bad! All in all, the bucket list is checkedd!!

Alright, let's start one by one! So in this trip I went to 3 countries: EGYPT, ISRAEL, JORDAN, in a total of 12 days including the flight. I just knew Egypt is included in Africa, so I have in a kind of way been to Africa (outskirts)! I flew with Oman Air. Jakarta - Muscat (Oman) for transit - Cairo. Total time spent in flight would be 12 hours, excluding transit time that differs on each trip. Brace yourselves!

How much was the ticket price? I had no idea, because I bought the tour package from Golden Rama. ATS, my favorite agent, didn't have Holy Land package. Per person would be IDR 35.560.880 nett. It includes everything (visa for 3 countries, food, hotel, and return flight). Anyway if you sign up for 1 person, you'd need to sleep alone in the hotel and that would charge you another IDR 10,500,000. Most netijens thought I went with my church friends AHAHAHA since the trip included church masses and all. I was even surprised that this trip included a pastor to join us! Anyway for people who asked if it was possible to not do a group tour, I think you could. However, all the places I visited was ALL for group parties, so I have no idea to get there by yourselves.

Before we start, I have to apologize that since I signed up with a tour, it wouldn't be that informative because I had everything easy and prepared. Planes, price, and restaurant recommendations wouldn't be part of this blog post. However, what I want to share with you is my experience highlight. There were too many places so I'll condense and show you the best ones. Enjoy!

EGYPT

First of all, visa. I had no idea because everything was arranged for me, but since I googled for you guys (praise me, netijens!), thank me later!

Documents required:

1. Completed visa application form

2. Photo 4x6 / color 2 pcs (background white)

3. Sponsor letter from the office & from family (if not working)

4. Invitation from Egypt (for business)

5. Copy of bank a/c (min. 3 latest month)

6. Valid passport (min. 7 months)

7. Copy of passport

8. Non-indonesian must be holding KIM's/ KITAS

9. Itinerary of ticket and hotel's booking

10. Copy of marriage certificate and family certificate

Administration fees:

1. Business visa: single entry USD 60, multiple USD 95

2. Tourist visa: single entry USD 40, multiple USD 65

Procedures:

- After the documents are submitted (Mon-Fri 9am-10am), the embassy will process it and ask for visa authorization from the egyptian authorities in Cairo

- Visa authorization may take a couple of weeks

- Applicants may inquire about the visa authorization through the following numbers (021) 3143440/ 31931141

My hotel in Cairo is just 5 mins drive to Giza Pyramids! It's the hotel view as well, and per night, if you checked in by yourself, would be around IDR 1,200,000. Not bad considering there's 5 star facility such as a complete gym and two swimming pools, one with warm water and the other regular one.

I took this at around 6:30 am, which is 11:30 am WIB (GMT +7, in case you wonder). Cairo is 5 hours late compared to Jakarta.

Yep, it's not a mountain.

Looks too legit for a hotel gym, isn't it? Don't worry about missing your workout!

This hotel's toilet has jet washer btw!!!! *important information*

GIZA PYRAMIDS

Apparently there are thousands of pyramids that are thousands of years old as well... and they come in many sizes! Here's the entrance ticket that costs around IDR 130,000. Sadly I'm not that big of a history fan, so I didn't listen to the local guide at all :) Anyway, there is one biggest pyramid that you can climb since it's shaped as stone stairs of sort, although you still can't enter any of them.

                        They say no climbing, no touching, but in reality below... I have no idea.

Here's the view from the top! (ok not the top, top, it's like 1/16 of it.) Beautiful, but sadly obstructed by travel buses. It kinda ruins the mood, and there were also countless locals who'd offer you to take instant photos, kinda like Jakarta's Kota Tua.

I went here at around end of March and temperature was pretty nice, just like Lembang. Air was polluted and sun was crazy though, you'd feel filthy. Since it's a desert, prepare face masks if you don't wanna have black boogers!

Restroom in the middle of desert: true salvation.

It's middle east, what'd you expect? Camels!

The 2nd spot is pyramids taken from a further distance, which only took me around 7 minutes drive. Also I have no idea if it was even the ones that I visited since everything looked the same. See? I'm clueless :'( At least you can take a look at my photos!

Senyum P****dent :D

THE SPHINX 
Everything is located in a close quarter, so this was also close to the pyramids. In Instagram, it's quite trending to take a picture as if you were kissing the Sphinx. Don't ask me why......

Perhaps because it seems like doing duck pose?

Thennn here I am becoming popular again! This happened in Turkey and India as well! If in Turkey I was said to bring luck, I'm not sure what would be of me here!

How do I fare?

Awkward :)

OLD TOWN

They mostly sell papyrus, a kind of plant that produces ancient papers. People of old used to write in these, so it has real "vintage" feel to it, or ancient, I have to say. Since it's something that is close to the heart of civilization, papyrus is such a thing that holds history together! The price of these papyrus ranges widely, from the cheap to expensive ones since they have pictures in it and sold as souvenirs.

Hieroglyph replicas! Gosh so lovely!

CHURCH OF RUBBISH / SIMON THE TANNER CHURCH

Why is it called Gereja Sampah? In order to get here, you have to go through alleys of junkyard. We rode a city van, which is a cool term for angkot. Traffic was chaotic with counter stream driving etc. It needs real skill and patience to get here, since you gotta cover your nose. I luckily got an enclosed van so I didn't smell anything much. But anyway, real church is supposed to be located in places like these, don't you think?

The church is located behind this rock. It's still used for mass, but I feel that this church is mainly attended by tourists though.

"and upon this rock I shall build My church" being taken literally. Breathtaking.

How often do we invite Him like this?

NILE CRUISE

It's the Nile river that cuts Cairo, longest river in Africa. The cruise, excluded from the tour package, is USD 35. It includes food buffet, bottled water, and belly dance show. The cruise's name is NILE SMART BOAT. It's perfect to go during afternoon to catch the sunset while cruising along Cairo. You'll also ride it with the general public and the ship itself has 3 stories. Restaurant, swimming pool, and the outdoor rooftop with synthetic grass. Unfortunately, weather was crisp cold and windy.

Romantic.

MARAH WELLS

Done with Africa, now we're back to Asia! We rode the bus past the border in Suez Canal to the well of Marah, where Moses turned the bitter water sweet. Marah means bitterness in its original language, which gives me an insight, that if we WELL up our anger, it becomes source of bitterness. Also, from here up we can still see the red seas, where Moses delivered the Israelites from Egypt.

Here are my local guides, named Rami from Sito Tours. He's just the best! Silly, yet kind, funny, and informative at the same time!

SHARM EL SHEIKH

This is my favorite town in Egypt! It's such a tourist city with much beach vibe, just like Bali! The distance from Cairo to this city is 9 hours bus drive though.... But anyway it's worth the while since they feature a lot of renowned resorts such as Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriot, Movenpick, Hilton, Four Seasons, etc. We spent only a night here for transit to Mt. Sinai. Preparing ourselves to a hike!

Look at this theme park! Unfortunately, it wasn't part of the tour! Hiks.

This part is hella crowded during evenings. The whole street is packed with people hanging out along the area.

I have no idea if they have it here or not, but I happened to stumble upon this and I ended up having eaten 6 of these during the whole trip. THAT GOOD.

Heading to Naama Bay, we only rode glass boat to see rocks from the ship, costing us USD 20 per person (not included from the tour). There are also parasailing, diving, snorkeling, scuba diving, submarine trip. Ain't those interesting?

Belle. Beautiful.

At Sharm El Sheikh, we spent a night at the Sheraton, which was dead gorgeous. It faces the beach, with a level 7 lobby because the beach is on ground zero. We literally needed to only go downstairs to the beach, and since the rooms are facing east, sunrise is just a curtain veil away. There are some Santorini like photo spots and a variety of buffet food. THE ONLY concern was that, I'm not sure if I was being paranoid, but they have this creepy aura in the hallway, and after I got to the room, thankfully, NOPE, IT GOT WORSE!

But look at this majestic view though.

                          Ain't it jaw dropping? It was just in the hotel area. Price is around IDR 1.1                                     million a night, which is still worth the stay! Gosh it makes me feel like swimming!

Interiors!

ST. CATHERINE

Sharm El Sheikh to St. Catherine (Foot of Mt. Sinai) was about 3 hours bus ride. View was much better during this trip, it kinda reminded me of Australia with so many hills. Anyway, prepare yourself for the cold! Wind was just crisp, I meant sharp, it 's better for you to wear windbreaker, scarf, hat, and even gloves. It was that cold because of the wind speed. Thank me later!

Ok so it's supposed to be the tomb of Prophet Aaron, HOWEVER my guide said it's the counterfeit. The real tomb of his is supposed to be in Jordan. HMM. Conspiracy.

Across the tomb of Aaron, there was the golden calf location that is mentioned in Exodus 32: 1-35 where the Israelites demanded for a God. Well well well, don't we like to create our own Gods? This is why whatever we create with our own mind will never satisfy! 

There are only 3 inns around this area, and this is where we stayed. It is said to be the best among the 3, but LET ME BE COMPLETELY HONEST, it seems to be the worst. It's dirty and dark, although thankfully it didn't feel as horrific as Sheraton. The price per night is around USD 65.

Here's me wearing the traditional outfit of Bedouin tribe, which is available for rent from the inn!

MT. SINAI

FINALLY! It's where Moses read out the 10 commandments. I'm so thankful I got to be here! Getting to the hiking spot takes around 10 mins drive in a van, and there we go!

So getting to the peak has 2 options for you to chose from:

1. Walking from the bottom to the neck of the mountain 3.5 hours + climbing stairs (756 steps) for another 1.5 hours, which kinda spends for 10 hours return trip, OR!

2. Camel ride to the neck for 1.5 hours for USD 30, and climbing the stairs for another 1.5 hours, which spends a total of around 6 hours.

Why don't they have the option of going down with a camel? Since it's going downwards, they said it'd be really painful for anyone's crotch to deal with HAHA! Let alone a man, even! Not joking though, that's what they said!

You'd know which one I picked, right? HA! Anyway, camel ride for 1.5 hours was also exhausting, to be honest. My hip was tortured and since they didn't have any SADDLE, I had to keep my balance at the expense of my core muscles. The hike as well as the swaying of the camel just pains you entirely with lasting impact for the next few days. Anyway since it was a night hike, on top of having to bring a flashlight, you don't get to see the view. Well, that's the risk of joining a tour, you don't get to have a say. However, they said it was because hiking in the afternoon would be scorching hot, in which they have a point, although I'd prefer to stand the heat and see the majestic view from above, but it's ok, because it means I gotta go back here again someday! WOOT!

In the middle there would be some small shops that come together as a resting area. Anyway since I used to be a mountain kid, this hike felt like nothing, so tourist friendly so you don't have to be afraid! The path is considered comfortable compared if you really wanted to scale a mountain, which I did before I started blogging about my trip HA!

So here's my local guide in Mt. Sinai! It costs you around USD 40 to go up and down the mountain and yep it's kinda pricey. Anyway I talked a lot with this guy but I was afraid he thought of it as flirting (I hope not) because in the end he didn't want the money..... I felt bad though, but thanks Ahmed!

Here we are at the peak! The freezing temperature is the experience I won't forget, since there's no view to remember!

Ok why is every pose is a peace sign. Is it because I'm doing the pilgrim for Prince of Peace?

ST. CATHERINE'S MONASTERY

Still within the same area, I came here during afternoon, which is still as cold and windy! Gosh it was excruciating! This is the place Moses saw the burning bush during Exodus 3:1-22, which includes the walls of lamentation. Talking about burning bush, Moses was walking the other way as he saw it. This reminds me of a turning point, of life, of decisions as well.

In front of the monastery, you get to post a picture on a camel for USD 5. I had to, since it didn't show anything during the NIGHT ride. Yep, still petty about it!

1 lingering question on my mind is that why are the Bedouin's teeth this brown??? What do they eat I wonder... Google it for me and let me know through my instagram DM!

ISRAEL

Here's my white and blue Israel visa! We went from Taba border crossing and I didn't know how to get it since the tour did it for me. Anyway since it was a land route, bureaucracy was kinda bad because they require a few x rays and all AND we had to all hand carry our luggage to check! Anyway I heard from rumor that Egyptians aren't allowed to Israel. Why though? Is it even true? Again, let me know if you have any idea!

First I went to Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. This was supposed to be a 30 mins drive but it ended up taking around 1.5 hours! Thanks, fellow tourists that who share the traffic! April marks summer, yet it was still 8 degrees when I was here! Weather was rainy (and windy) sooo, BE. PREPARED. Majority of the people are Christians and Moslems. Egyptians speak Arabic while Israelis speak Jewish. Anyway, the time difference is that Israel is GMT+3, 4 hours slower compared to Jakarta! 

CHURCH OF THE NAVITY (BETHLEHEM)

This is the ultimate tourist spot BECAUSE inside of this church is where Jesus Christ was BORN. Look at the crowd soon! This is why we parked at Bethlehem City Center (some kind of a shopping mall), then walked to the church for around 15 minutes!

Traffic, even for pedestrians.

Here's a pic of the beautiful church altar, which looks awesome. Yet it wasn't crowded at all because the main attraction is the cave where Jesus was born. The line at the bottom is queue BEFORE the church opened. I queued for around 1.5 hours to get inside. Imagine how it'd be like in the afternoon... 

The inside of the cave is just crowded with people and you don't get to spend too much time because of the queue... Gosh. what a letdown, but I guess every believer would wanna be here!

OK, this spot on the bottom only allows you to touch and be around for 5 seconds before taking turn. CRAY.

OLD CITY (JERUSALEM)

Here's the tourist area where everything is walking distance and the town is filled by Jewish people. Since it's a holy city with a lot of historical venues in the Holy Bible, I guess that's what.

There's the gate of Herod,

Pool of Bethesda: wanna get healed?

Gethsemane Park! Too bad there wasn't enough time to spend the night praying like Jesus did, or not too bad?

Room of the last supper, which kinda sent me shiver every time I remember doing the holy communion. Everything started here! His body and blood, broken and spilled for all of us :')

King David's Tomb Cave

Wall of Lamentation

Put your prayers!

TOMB OF JESUS IN THE HOLY SEPULCHURE

It's not within Old City anymore but still in Jerusalem. This place is also TOURIST DENSE, since it's where Jesus' tomb was, laid down near Golgotha. Queue was for 1 hour, better than where He was born, since perhaps the mood here isn't as festive, which is why church gets more crowded during Christmas only, Easter next, and ordinary days last. Anyway, we go around this dome for ONLY 30 seconds. Sad.

Ta-da!

 The Golgotha hill is still inside Holy Sepulchure, climbing from the stairs near the entrance of the church. Since the hill is only used for mainly prayers, the queue was shorter, as usual.

PATER NOSTER

This is where Jesus taught the apostles for the Lord's prayer. You can find a lot of these on the walls, written in numerous different languages. Entrance fee was supposed to be 10 shekels = around IDR 40,000.

There I am!

Ours! Fun fact, did you know Catholic's version is a bit different? Other Christian denominations use this version though.

Panoramic view of Jerusalem. You can just pull over by the road. Parking was free, but you're not allowed to stay for long. Beautiful, but sadly not optimal since weather is always cloudy, therefore it's always grayish!

DEAD SEA (JERICHO)

It's said to be the lowest point of Earth. Town is so small and most people come here to swim on the dead sea. Weather was supposedly freezing at 9 degrees but it wasn't windy at all! So it didn't feel that cold despite the temperature!

Here's the Dead Sea. DEAD CROWDED. You can't drown here due to the high level of salt in the water. Hence, everyone seems to be interested in floating on the Dead Sea, like dead men.

The beach that's supposed to be full of sand is nothing but mud here. Beware, it's so slippery! Anyway, people believe the mud could be used for skin care, healing, used for face mask, etc. There are even shops that package the mud and sell them as proper skin care products. Also, there are limiters so that people won't swim off too far from the shore. Oh well, capitalism.

BAHAI GARDEN (HAIFA)

This one's located at the town of Haifa, peak of Mt. Carmel. You'll get here during trip from Bethlehem to Tiberias. Psst, this view is free! You can just pull off, park, and enjoy the scenery. Awesome, ain't it?

TIBERIAS

 Took around 1 hour bus ride from Bethlehem. It's not as jammed and cold as Bethlehem, which is great news. I wore shorts and slippers at night. Alright SO! This Lake House is where I stayed, and I love them for the good food buffet with a lot of varieties! Any kind of meat is available, although you won't find something like sushi of course HA! Price is around IDR 2 million a month, but place's decent.

My bus driver is so sweet! I'm the only one from the group who got this fridge magnet :') It holds strong emotional value and it made me so grateful for the kindness.

Here's my local guide during Israel trip! He's 44 and seems to be a regular partner of Golden Rama tours. He's such a gentleman: he lent me jacket, covered me with umbrellas, treated tiramisu, and we hang a lot during night time because I'm the only solo traveler and as he doesn't know anybody anyway so it's more convenient!

Now he's my Golden Rama tour guide for the whole 12 days trip. He's grown more mature than his young age, which is a good thing!

MT. HERMON

I am so GRATEFUL to have gotten here. So I heard that this mountain's snow will be gone after April, which is why it's a destination only for March. However, I went here in April! It took 2 hours bus drive from Tiberias, and here we can play with snow, skiing, and riding the cable car. I LOVED IT despite the bone chilling temperature. Just so you know, I hate winter and cold weather, karena dingin itu menyiksa bep.

Way up!

Cable car to the top took 15 mins. View was just majestic, and since I've never been to Titlis, this one is good. Anyway, watch your phone because it's risky to have it fallen. I don't even know how would you walk back and look for it in the snow!

Me time :3

This one's facing to the bottom. Ain't it pretty?!

Here I am at the peak! Anyway there's nothing on the top though, just the snow but watch out, snow's slippery and your feet could sink.

PETER'S FISH

We were brought to a restaurant called Tanureen in Galilee. The restaurant was totally filled with tour groups and the tables were as long as Jesus' last supper one. Anyway, the place sells the species of fish that Peter used to fish. There are other restaurants who do so, and bottom line, the menu is typically fried fisn with fries and lemon. Middle eastern menus.

YARDENIT (SUNGAI JORDAN)

This baptism in Tiberias offers any kind of baptism for any denomination, sink, splash, newly baptized, repeat baptism, etc. Renting the white robe costs USD 10, and if you want the baptism certificate, you need to book beforehand, costing you USD 3.

Betawi...

JESUS BOAT

This wooden boat is replica of Jesus' sailing in the sea of Galilee. Yes, it endured the storm and Peter was there when it was stormy and the boat was about to sink, only for him seeing a figure walking on water. Anyway, we began by singing Indonesia Raya. Also, according to the website , there was supposed to be a demo of how Jesus and his crew used to fish with the net, which I didn't experience. Ship trip took around 50 minutes ish, and we got to see the beautiful sunset. We went around Kapernaum (Jesus healed Peter's in laws), Mount of Beatitudes (where Jesus preached the beatitudes), and Tabgha (where Jesus turned 5 bread and two loaves into miracle!)

"It is I, do not be afraid."

That's about it! Remember, I didn't put everything on the blog since I went to NUMEROUS destinations. Now it's time to go to JORDAN, on the way to Petra!!! WOOT! It's called Red Rose City, and we took the road trip with another different visa, colored pink!

JORDAN

Since we crossed by the Jordan River Crossing through land path, we arrive at As Salt. It took another 1 hour bus ride to Amman, the capital. Since it's the capital city, they have Starbucks, malls and branded stuffs there. I only went to Mt. Nebo though, didn't spend the night here since we had to head to Petra, staying the night after 4 hours bus ride. Anyway, here we use Dinar, that costs more than USD. I love the city temperature, it's more like Cairo!

MOUNT NEBO (AMMAN)

Here, Moses was shown by the Lord the promised land. End of the journey, Canaan. They have the memorial of Moses here and from the top, view is amazing: imagine how Moses felt when the Lord said to him "This is it! Look at that! But you won't go across :)" Anyway, ticket is JD 2, around IDR 40,000.

Captivating.

So that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life (John 3:4-15)

HOTEL MOVENPICK (PETRA)

Hotel is relatively new and priced at around IDR 6,000,000 a night. Crazy. It's just so strategic because other than that, their food was just moderate, pfft.

Sunset view from the hotel!

THE TREASURY

HERE'S THE MAIN THING! Everyone who visits Petra just want to see the wonder of the world. Entrance ticket alone is JD 50, IDR 995,000. Masyowloh missqueen sobatque.  But everything inside was worth it! Must see. You can even visit this place alone since people here are mostly scattered, not really in groups.

Tips and tricks! Read this if you ain't taking a tour!

Going inside with feet takes 1 hour, and it's quite far to get inside, but as a youngster (cie) I didn't feel that exhausted since I was busy taking photos, with these majestic stone on my side and all. Anyway for the elders, there is an option for horse riding, since ticket already covers for that. Mind you it's not a cart, so it's one horse per person.

Honestly, the sun was such a pain and you better prepare cap, shoes, and long sleeved jacket. It was breezy and I didn't sweat during 2 hours return walk.

They have these for local vibe OOTD. The turban costs around 5 JD (IDR 100,000), and it's the best seller!

You can't take good photos on the horse, and that's why I chose to walk!

Toiletttt

Starting from this descend, the view just gets better. Everything on your left and right is just so gorgeous!

Beware of passing horses as well!

My local guide in Jordan is 30 years old, and I didn't connect that much since I only spent 2 days here. Here we took a picture together in this elephant sized and shaped rock!

THERE IT IS! I was ecstatic when I got to see it ahead of the rocks. It's not just good in the photos. It's THAT good.

We aren't allowed to go in btw, so I have no idea. Anyway, crowd was also crazy.

Riding the camel to take photo was 5USD for around 2-3 minutes. Easy money for them, huh? 

Anyway what I dislike about this place is that the local people offer their service to climb and take photo from the top (you might've seen it in Instagram, because it's everyone's spot, but because it's that beautiful as well). They LIED to me telling that you have to use local guide to climb because you might get lost etc, but after that I googled and found out I didn't have to. Bummed. Completely fooled and I didn't go....

Jordan only took a moment and then we went back to Amman to go back to Jakarta via Muscat with Oman Air. That would be it for this time. I hope you enjoyed reading anddd see you on my next destination!