In the Hebrew Land

Shalom..Boker Tov..

Scene 1 (At Mumbai International Airport,while being grilled by security personnels,hereby referred to as SP)
SP : Who packed the stuffs for your trip
Me : Myself(Cant you see my marital status, I am single!!)
SP: When did you kept your luggage after packing?
Me : In the Room
SP : Was it left unattended?
Me : (Haan bolenge to chaar sawal aur,better tell no) No.
SP : How did u arrive to mumbai?
Me : In company cab
SP: Did you stop in between for tea\snacks?
Me : Yeah, we did
SP : Ok..so then the bag was left unattended?
Me : (ghuma fira ke ek hi sawaal) No the driver was there
SP : Was the driver aware that you are travelling to Israel?
Me : No, not at all
and many more...

Scene 2 :(While returning back to India at Ben Gurion International Airport)
To begin with same questions as above(Guess they have a list of questions to ask). Then :
SP : How do you pronounce your name?
Me : Its Ashutosh Dubey
SP : Whats your parents name?
Me : (Passpoort nahi dekha kya sab likha hai..)
SP : Okk..tell me one thing, whats the origin of your last name?
Me : (Now how do I explain the Dubey\dwivedis and the two vedas theory :P) It indicates ancient indian priest class.
SP : And the origin of your first name?
Me : (saala,hamara naam pe hi kyun?) It is the name of one of Indian Gods.
and many more blah blah..

Such arduous is the security process while moving in\out of Israel. The good thing is , I never had to open my check in luggage at the immigration. Perhpas they have the latest x-ray equipments, something which can reduce the queue size at Indian airports too.Humor apart, Israel has been a fun trip for me. while I am still at the airport waiting for the boarding, I can clearly recollect a few memories from the trip.

Office & Colleagues : It was great to see the faces of colleagues whom we talked on phone for past one year or so. The testing team for my development assignment stays mostly at Israel. So, for most of the time,we are on confrontational path. But it was pleasant to see their happy faces when we met.:)

Scooba Diving at Eilat : Wow, undoubtedly the best 30 minutes at Israel. This is one such experience, I wud like to have again and again. Watching the colouful marine life of red sea, colourful fishes,star fish and many other creatures in their natural set up was an excellent exp. We went about 7 meters deep into the sea and I saw things which till now I had seen on discovery only. Swimming with all the diving gears is such a easy thing and almost everyone can do it.

Jerusalem and Dead sea : Wow dead sea..you cant sink here, no matter how hard you try to. And moreover,the mud of dead sea is considered very good for skin so I was like rubbing those muds again and again on my body in the hope of getting a good\bright skin :). Also visiting Jerusalem for me was like visiting an ancient historical site. They have tried to keep the city in the same look as it was 2000 years ago. The market is Jerusalem was similar to what we find in say like Varanasi,Dwarka etc. The city holds a special international importance for being home to three important religions of the world. At the 'wailing wall' which is an important monumnet for Jews and is one of the boundaries of Al aqsa mosque, I found an foriegner and a Rabbi(Jewish Priests) arguing about religions. Felt like jumping into their discussion but had to drop the idea as my friends were waiting for me.


There are many more and it wont be possible to recount all of them..Overall, I am finishing this middle east trip on a plesant note(As well as the blog, because its time to board the flight..).
take care..wish me a happy flight..