We packed our bags and grumbled our way to the Arab bus station, stopping only for juice and hangover snacks. I slept a little on the bus but before long the sights got too interesting to sleep through. We got out first glimpse of the wall only 25 minutes after leaving Jerusalem, the towering wall looked more suited to a high security prison than the outskirts of such a metropolitan city and as we skirted along the edge of it we saw watch towers, cameras and guards dotted around. This was my first 1984 feeling and it stuck with me throughout my time in the West Bank. As we crossed our first ever checkpoint I was a little confused to why we weren't actually checked but I guess it made sense for the IDF to concentrate on protecting their land as opposed to who's travelling into the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian side of the wall gave me my first uplifted feeling - despite the oppression and the daily struggle Palestinians had found a peaceful and free outlet to express themselves: graffiti. It was even more powerful to notice that the majority of the graffiti targeted the situation (the wall) rather than being anti-Israeli.
10 minutes from the checkpoint we entered the centre of Ramallah. Ramadan was noticeable, especially with the lingering hangover! So we tracked down some food (with the help of two curious but sweet local girls) and headed back to our balcony to stuff our faces and watch the world go by. This lead to what can only be described as the weirdest interaction with a local...A man on the street corner spotted our not so secret snacking and began waving, then smiling, then disappeared and within minutes was at our room door! He introduced himself as George and in the next second offered Ed a massage. He wouldn't take no for an answer, Ed was sat coerced into a chair and George began casually squeezing his shoulders. This strange spa treatment didn't last long and it seemed I was his next target. George's true motives were revealed! With a shaky hand he squeezed my thigh and then made a quick exit from hotel!
We headed out to roam the streets of Ramallah once more and this time our wandering was much more fruitful. There were pet shops and toy shops and shoe shops galore, and my favourite cafe - Stars and Bucks, a clever take on our ever growing Western brand. People everywhere shouted "Welcome" and "Salaam" and wanted nothing more than to talk for a few minutes. As darkness fell the city took on a magical quality, food stalls were set up and the breaking of the fast called for parties all round! It seemed the locals celebrated by walking up and down the 5 main streets picking at food and talking to anyone and everyone.
Ramallah was the perfect base for day trips and we definitely took advantage of this. On our first full day (and Ed's birthday!) we headed to Jericho, the world's oldest city. It was the first time I'd properly seen the desert and I felt like I'd been transported to another planet. It's not beautiful but it definitely made my jaw drop. Jericho was little more than a row of shops, a very old wall and an oddly placed Greek Monastery, best reached by cable cars. This said, there was a very welcoming feel and I could have happily spent longer there! The evening was a particular favourite of mine...on the way back to Ramallah we met a charming French man (aren't they all...) and he told us he planned to walk to Yasser Arafat's tomb. With little else to do we decided to join him. Somehow this little venture ended up with us toasting pepsi and joking about barbecuing cats for the iftar with Palestinian police!
On our second day we headed first to Bethlehem and then to the Dead Sea. Bethlehem looks very quaint but the longer you stay there the more it feels like Skegness or Blackpool! The shops and restaurants mainly cater to tourists and taxi drivers everywhere try to sell you their special tour. After a couple of hours it was obvious that Ed felt the same as I did so we tracked down a decent taxi driver and made our way to the Dead Sea. It was incredible, the sea was super hot but floating around was amazing, Ed also discovered the Superman swimming technique. My favourite part was to layer on the mud, dry out in the sun a little and then wash it away for beautifully soft skin! After a day in the sun we had an easy night, splitting a pizza and a few beers in Ramallah's finest Italian restaurant - Pronto's, delicious food cooked by a young Palestinian chef who read Shakespeare in English - something that completely blew my mind!
Ed left the next morning and I made my final day trip, a visit to Nablus and on to Qalqilya Zoo, the only zoo in the Palestinian territories. Now I understand people's anti-zoo tendencies but for me a zoo is a place of childish delight, and the children of Palestine definitely deserve these delights! Nablus seemed similar to Ramallah - built up, busy and vibrant with friendly people at every corner! It was lovely to chat to one of the younger Palestinians, Mohamad, a P.E teacher who was eager to move to Canada or America or anywhere where he felt it would be better to raise a family. He then helped me find my way to the service taxi station and I was on my way. Unfortunately this was the start of my first scary meeting with the IDF...the driver to our service taxi and a white van man (yes, they have a bad name EVERYWHERE!) had a bit of a to do, shouting and swerving and generally being a bit stupid, unknown to them we were driving right towards and IDF van. Our ID's were whisked away and we were kept waiting for about 15 minutes, when they returned mine was passed straight to me but the other ID cards were thrown straight into the front of the taxi without a cursory glance.
We quickly got back on track and within half an hour I was dropped at the zoo's entrance. It was less than a pound to get in and as I walked through the gates I seemed to disturb an eerie stillness. It turned out I was the only visitor there! Dr. Sami, the head vet and director of the zoo joined me and gave me a guided tour of the place, introducing me to the animals and regaling incredible stories about the struggle to get them there. After a tour of the zoo things got a little strange, it turned out Dr. Sami also enjoyed taxidermy and had a museum dedicated to the dead. First came embryos and skeletons, then the zoo animals that hadn't made it. Dr. Sami thought that the stuffed animals provided the perfect backdrop for an impromptu photo shoot! Finally he invited me up to his office, draped a snake around my neck, showed me a film and a book, both about the zoo and then handed me a fistful of peacock feathers to take as a souvenir!
The journey back to Ramallah was long and uncomfortable and with another bus ride to face in the morning I happily spent my final night on the balcony watching the world go by. Such a short time in the West Bank had given me a lot to think about and despite everything I couldn't help but be enamoured by the spirit of the people.
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