Escape from Tel Aviv (Oct 5, 2023)

It was early September in 2023, I was lying in my bed, recovering from a bout of food poisoning, likely from eating a cheesy khachapuri from a local bakery. While tasty, I had grown tired of only eating Georgian food, and overall I was bored an listless about the prospect of staying for another two weeks in Tbilisi. While pretty and interesting, it wasn’t for me. I had planned out the rest of the year already, as I am wont to do: five weeks in Tbilisi, Georgia (three already done), four weeks in Tel Aviv, Israel, and then another month in Marrakech, Morocco,

I woke up the next day mostly recovered, but to texts from my parents. It was September 10th, and overnight, Marrakech had been hit with one of the worst earthquakes in a long time. My parents didn’t want me to go, and to be fair, neither did I. I had realized I had already started to miss Europe. I had already started to feel like I was getting tired of the Middle Eastern vibes, despite Georgia not really feeling like the Middle East, it didn’t feel European either. Plus I was going to Israel next for a month too. Because of this, I very spontaneously decided to make some trip changes.

First I cancelled my airbnb in Marrakech, reasoning that besides the infrastructure and buildings probably being unsafe, having tourists there would probably not be the best for the country in these dire times.

Next, I decided I’d just leave Tbilisi early. Despite having originally booked the Tbilisi airbnb from Aug 21 to Sep 21, I would just forfeit the extra 12 days and move my Tel Aviv airbnb up a few weeks. Originally my airbnb was to be from sep 21 - oct 21 (note those dates), starting immediately after the end of my Tbilisi airbnb and going for a month.

Luckily, I was able to move my Tel Aviv airbnb up a few weeks from a Sep 21 start to Sep 10 start (the same day I was messaging the host). The new dates would now be Sep 10 to Oct 16, 2023, later changed to Oct 9 (note the dates).

Well my stay in Tel Aviv was quite pleasant. Expensive, but interesting. I went to various places, in Israel, Palestine, and also neighboring Jordan. The airbnb itself was tiny: a makeshift shed on top of a roof whose legality I was unsure of. It was connected via locked doors to other airbnbs and I could hear the next door neighbor loud and clear when she was on the phone as if she were in the same room. Occasionally the power went out. In fact, one powerless night, I actually met the neighbor who had just arrived and was super confused. All in all, the rooftop shed that was remodelled into an airbnb would probably not have provided much protection if hit by a rocket.

However as the fourth week started, I realized I really did miss Europe and my friends there, so I decided to leave earlier, as I had done in Tbilisi, although this time, only four days earlier. In fact, I wanted to attend a party with my friends and then stay a few weeks in Krakow, before going off to France for a couple weeks, and finally back to Hong Kong. So I booked a flight out of Tel Aviv scheduled for late October 5th. I ended up leaving Israel 34 hours before the Hamas attack.

I went back to Krakow, attended the party, which ended up not being too exciting. The next day, however, I woke up and immediately saw some messages from my ex’s grandmother (she’d been an avid fan of my travel photos even after her granddaughter and I had broken up).

She messaged me saying she was so glad I wasn’t still in Israel. Since she was in the US, she was still awake and had been watching the news. As for me, having just woken up, I had to blearily read the scary news.

I also checked in on some of my international friends I’d made while in Tel Aviv. One guy actually flew out 2 hours before the attack. Another guy actually was there but managed to get to the airport amidst the rockets.

The next day, my airbnb host reached out to me, telling me where the nearest shelter was. I’d forgotten about him, having been caught up in reading the news. I told him that I’d already left and told him to stay safe.

The next day, as the whole world watched the Hamas attack unfold, friends and students reached out to me. I allayed their fears telling them I’d left the country.

All in all, it was a series of luck that saved me, helping me get out just in time. I hope everything gets better in time.