The Trip North

Israel has a great public transportation system.  Buses, trains, and ride services, in addition to cabs and car rental, make it relatively easy to get around the country. 

Buses and trains utilize a prepaid card known as Rav Kav to pay for rides.  The cost of these trips is removed from the card by scanning an NFC chip on the card when entering a bus or a train station.  There are also apps available to transfer funds to refill your card.  In addition, there are apps like Moovit, that keep track of train and bus schedules and will give you directions on how to reach the proper station to board, when to exit,  and how to walk to your final destination.

With all of those advantages, travel should be almost seamless. There is the minor factor of human error. You have to be able to understand the map and to a degree the directions. For example, if you are told to take a slight right when exiting the bus, are you facing forward or backward? If you are turned around and confused, how can you tell if you’re walking in the correct direction to reach the bus stop or your destination? If a street curves around, intersects with other streets and then continues on, or changes its name somewhere in the middle of your trip, it can cause some confusion. I have experienced all of these issues on more than one occasion.

In fact, I think I experienced all of them trying to get from my Airbnb to the train station with two suitcases, a backpack, and a bag of food. I eventually made it, however, and managed to board the train to Nahariya.

As burdened as I was with my carry-ons, maneuvering on a train was somewhat of a challenge, which is why I stood for the first several stops until a seat or pair of seats opened up.

I made it the rest of the way without incident. Upon arriving, I considered whether I really wanted to complete a 20 minute walk to my Airbnb with all of that baggage . I didn’t think for long. Almost immediately I called for a cab, who promptly got lost on the way there.

For those who have been following from the beginning, fifteen minutes after I got there, I was finally reunited with my missing luggage.

I think it was much less worse for wear than it’s owner. I can’t speak for the suitcase, but I know that I was glad that the day’s travel was over.