I have about four friends who ritually still create vacation albums, you know, like the Apple iLife Books? Well, this week, I was rummaging through my big box full of pictures, scattered in not the greatest format and it urged me to create an Album. Then I checked my Facebook Timeline to go down memory lane of my last trip to Israel in 2010. I converted to Timeline when it launched, maybe because I have early adopter condition! It was a trip that I will never forget and with Facebook converting all their user’s status updates & photos to timeline over the coming weeks, it’s a great way to look back on all your travel achievements, and near misses.

During my Israel trip, it’s a vacation I really lived a slight nightmare but checking my Timeline again, it makes me now want to create that photo Album and I suggest you do also. Want to know why my trip was so memorable & is begging to be secured into a Book? Well, I flew from SFO to JFK, to catch the next El Al flight to Tel Aviv. During the El Al flight, I was sat next to a guy who smelt not so great and to avoid the reaping of his stench, I switched to a middle cramped seat between to passengers who had prayed no one would occupy this luxury space. When I arrived in Israel, the hotel I checked into, lost my reservation and only had a tiny box bedroom left. Cramped doesn’t even describe it. A tin of sardines does. I trundled down to Eilat and nearly going the wrong way, I was a second from entering Egypt by mistake.

Upping the trip to Jerusalem, the only place I wanted to visit was Yad Vashem but the day I was to go, I discovered my rental car had been vandalized. At least 7 phone calls and 2 hours later to the rental car company, I was told to file a police report but since Jerusalem operates a strong one way system, I kept getting lost. Finally, a lady offered to direct me since she was heading the same way. She hopped in my car and amongst broken glass all over the seats, we finally reached the police station. With Jerusalem police on constant tight security, it took a further 1 hour to be allowed to enter the police station, the investigator was great and fingerprints etc were taken of my car. Then it was a matter of getting lost again to the car rental office to replace my car. Within 30 minutes, a lady at a bus stop said she’d direct me if…she could hitch a ride since she was heading the same way. Feeling like I was now doing taxi community service, I agreed. We arrived at the car rental and I was given a replacement car after a further 2 hours. The car rental manager then slammed the door on my fingers by accident. I cried. Well, I knew I’d be crying at some point that day but presumed it’d be from emotions after visiting Yad Vashem, and not an all day car break-in incident.

I was only in Jerusalem for that day only so didn’t get to visit Yad Vashem. I trundled back up to Tel Aviv the following day and en route to volunteer at a fantastic Pet Rescue Place, my car tire blew. Back at my hotel, I called the car rental office who told me they’d charge a small fortune to fix it and I’d have to wait all day tomorrow by the car for their arrival since they weren’t sure what time they could come out. I decided to knock on house doors nearby and a guy and a gal changed my tire in seconds. I called the car rental to explain this but they said they’d still charge since I was now on their appointment schedule. A minor ‘raising of voices’ ensued and finally I was absolved of paying fees.  I met a friend that evening in Sheinkin Street(an achingly trendy area), I then spent the next few hours with minor food poisoning along with random calls from friends back home who forgot I was on a different time zone. In an ill daze, I made it to Ben Gurion airport the next morning to be pulled over by the police. My other car tire had leaked and was nearly flat. I left my car with the rental office to ‘deal with it’ and scrambled home.

On the flight, three suitcases fell out the overhead compartment onto my head and nearly concussed me, I finally made it home and the next morning, I received a parking ticket, which was unwarranted and I disputed. Adding all this together, looking back now, it was a ridiculously eventful trip and it’s amusing on all levels, especially to my Facebook friends who relished in my status updates. So the next great or worst trip you take, make sure you hop down memory lane either with a Photo Album or Timeline and pat yourself on the back for a survival trip worth never repeating, yet living to the fullest!

From Heddi at myTab.co
an online travel gift card where you gift, save, plan, share and book
travels. You can do any or all this on myTab & it’s a whole new way
to travel. BTW, set a reminder to check myTab’s new design upgrade 3rd
week October. It’s fun, interactive & going to blow your mind
away…maybe to another continent!

Heddi is the Social Butterfly Travel Editor for Wandering Educators