First Night

ok... so i got to sydney airport to check in, and the woman told me I had an illegal ticket. My stupid travel agent had booked me a flight to Bangkok, with a 1 hour transfer time, before I departed to Aman. And apparently the minimum transfer time allowed is 1and1/2 hrs. So the woman told me if my flight was delayed and I missed my connecting flight, none of the airlines are responsible for accommodating me bc I was illegally booked, so I will have to arrange alternative travel at my own cost??! Nice start to the trip. So of course, my plane takes off 45 mins late. And so the WHOLE time to Bangkok I'm stressing out about how I'm going to get off the plane, run to the other side of the airport, line up at the transfer desk for my boarding pass, organise the transfer of my luggage, and make my plane in 15 mins.

So I spoke to an air hostess who told me not to panic, she'll speak to her boss and I should try get some sleep. Of course I didn't really sleep, feeling a strange mixture of relief, excitement and stress. I'd been looking forward to this flight for ages, it's what kept me going thru my thesis.. when the day would come that I'd have nothing to do but dream on a plane... so it wasnt to be.

A few hours later I asked that stewardess what was going on, and she'd forgotten to spk to her boss, which angered me to no end, so then eventually her boss came out from the cock pit, and I explained to him my situation, I explained how none of it was my fault and I'm really panicked, and also, I came down with a bad cold the day I left- so I was looking and feeling pretty sick and I had no medicine on me. All my drama classes paid off and I was able to muster some tears... And Im blonde. To cut a long story short, I got upgraded to first class!!! And I was first off the plane, and some Thai woman in the airport came to meet me as I got off the plane, bearing a sign with my name, and she put me on one of those golf buggys and we drove to the other side of the airport, beeping at people. (I felt so cool.) I got escorted to the front of all lines and rushed thru baggage checks (they stopped me to check my laptop thoroughly) and I made it to my plane. I literally boarded, and then we took off. They were waiting for me!

Most of the people on this flight to Aman were Jordanian. Mostly men. Lots of women with head coverings. People took off their shoes, and even with a blocked nose I swear I almost fainted. I got 4 seats all to myself, so I stretched out and tried to sleep. Hotel in Aman was awesome. I was part of a cohort of about 30 Israelis who were in the same position as me. We arrived in Aman at 4am and were leaving to Israel at 4pm, so we were all shuttled into a bus and taken to the airport hotel. We had to stand outside in 6 degrees at 5am, waiting in a queue for the security guards of the hotel to check our bags. Didn't do my cold very good. We were then woken up and taken to the airport together. I made lots of friends. People were very welcoming and excited for me. They like it when foreigners speak Hebrew. There is no better place in the world to be blonde than the middle east.

My luggage didnt arrive. I waited at the conveyer belt for over an hour. I had a feeling that would happen. I met Eli- who didn't recognise me. That's the second time Eli hasn't recognised me at the airport. Memory problems- combined with hair colour change. But I don't mind. Each time he sees me, he's convinced I'm more beautiful than ever. So I'm happy with this memory loss deal.

He was supposed to turn up all sweaty and stinky as he was doing construction work for an old woman who is renovating her art gallery. Instead, he came in a nice suit. And instead of catching the bus/train, as I thought we would- Eli had borrowed a friend's really cool car. So this was the first surprise.

We came back to our place, I was so happy to be here I remember I just couldnt stop smiling, the whole way in the car. In fact, that whole night. After we dumped my bags at home (and I will write about home soon...), I didnt feel the need to shower as my flight was only 45 mins and I was pretty refreshed from the hotel.. so we went out looking for food. It was 8pm, and I hadnt eaten since 2am on the plane over to aman.

This is the good bit: we went for a walk around the block and came across a place which had a sign saying "private dining room". I walked right past it and turned around to see Eli fiddling with the keys....The place was filled only with candle lights (see pic). Think of 2 shops, and the middle wall has been knocked down, so on one side now is a large open-plan kitchen, and on the other side is the aforesaid 'private dining room'- it has just one table in the middle. And it was set for two. Lots and lots of candles.

I was absolutely stunned. Eli's music was playing in the background and the waiter was Eli's good friend- he said 'good evening Sara' (I later discovered the car also belonged to him).. This guy, Eitan, who, i later discovered, is a gourmet chef and also runs a catering business and has just started this new concept of a business- the place hasn't officially even opened yet, but it was open especially for us. He's targeting the chic/shnazzy/uber cool upper class Tel-Aviv, and the place will have one long table- to sit maximum 20 people. It will be privately booked each night for private functions and occassions. He's already made loads of bookings. When Eli and I were eating, people were walking past and the candles caught people's attention and they came in to ask what was here. (Curiosity and nosiness runs in the Israeli blood) So we were the guinea pigs.

It was soooooo incredible. We had a 6 course meal. We ate and drank and danced for 4 hours. The best food I've ever eaten in my life hands down. And the presentation of it was deserving of 5*awards. It wasnt just food, it was art! It was all very very romantic! So yeah. I cried once I sat down and the enormity of the whole situation dawned on me. All this effort for me! I'm such a sop! Eli and Eitan were laughing at me. And of course, when Eli tells everyone now how it was (cos he'd of course told everyone he was planning it) he tells them I cried. And they laugh. Well, what can I say? I'm not allowed to ever complain about anything ever again now because Eli will always remind me of how much effort he went to for organising this. Apparently, at midday that day the place still looked like a dump. Eli had spent the day shopping and helping Eitan get prepared. Jebus. Eli's birthday is on the 15th of December, I feel like I need to compete somehow...