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Arrived in Tel Aviv »

Joichi Ito
Nov 08, 2004 - 00:53 UTC »

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I made it to my hotel in Tel Aviv. It was more hassle than I've ever had before, but people were polite and it was bearable. The women at immigration gave me a short glare, but she didn't stamp my passport when I asked her not to. It was a bit hard describing what I was doing in Tel Aviv since she didn't know what Internet or venture capital was. (or at least in English.) The most unbearable part is that the hotel said they had high speed Internet on the web site, but for some reason they don't have it now. Maybe they're out of modems or something. So I'm stuck with crappy, expensive GPRS. At least GPRS works though.

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6 Comments & Trackback

6 Comments

01. Anonymous - Nov 08, 2004 - 01:03

I didn't realize it was optional. Why not get the stamp?

02. Jill - Nov 08, 2004 - 01:28

There'll be other countries which will let you in more happily if you don't have a stamp from countries they don't like...

03. Ehud - Nov 08, 2004 - 04:45

There are quite a few Wi-Fi hotspots around Tel-Aviv.

04. mb - Nov 08, 2004 - 11:48

make a print-out of the website & ask for your money back.

(hey, israeli travelers are known as the most hard-assed and despised bargainers throughout the world. may as well try to get what you paid for)

05. Ron - Nov 08, 2004 - 22:43

Hey Joi,

I used to live in Israel. Every once in a while I would go with my friends to an extremely cool club near Tel Aviv that was an underground crypt/ancient building (?) and it was lit by hundreds of candles placed in the walls. I wish I could remember the name. If you have time, check it out.

06. Nicola - Jan 23, 2006 - 19:55

I think that a website called Tel Aviv Guide (www.telavivguide.net) mentions hotels with good internet connections, though I think these days almost all the hotels are set up quite well. Many cafes also have wireless which makes things very convenient.