Anirudh Tomer

Anirudh Tomer

I enjoy conducting scientific work, visiting mountains, cooking, landscape photography, and solving problems. I am currently doing statistics/machine learning in the field of medical science and biology for a living.

Israel (2018)

I traveled to Israel to be part of a Biostatistics conference as a PhD student. The conference organizers sponsored my flight tickets and hotel in Jerusalem. My wife joined me on this trip, and together we explored Jerusalem and Eilat for over two weeks. The Israeli desert Negev is spectacular, and I would love to see it again.

Trails

Red Canyon near Eilat

Food

Food in Israel was delicious. Sometimes it was as cheap as eastern Europe and sometimes as expensive as western Europe. At the end of the trip, the food that I still remember the most is the humble hummus of Abu Shukri in old Jerusalem. Old Jerusalem has plenty of food gems. I wish to revisit it.

Transportation

In Jerusalem, Eilat, and Tel Aviv, we needed an Israeli bus pass. These bus passes could only be recharged in some shops. It was a pain to figure out the locations of these shops. Thankfully the bus drivers never cared much about us not having the pass. We also did hitchhiking in Eilat, but it was quite difficult.

People

In old Jerusalem, it was easy to make friendly conversations. Having Indian looks helped as everyone knew something about Bollywood. Palestinians and Israelis both treated us with respect and love. Overall, Israelis were a fun bunch as long as you did not come in the way of security.

Special Experiences

Food in Jerusalem left us speechless. Hiking in the red canyon made me fall in love with the desert. Besides from there, I could have a nice view into Egypt's Sinai as well.