The other day, the original plan was to go on a boat to visit a national park.  However, due to choppy waters, the boat was cancelled at the last minute.  The boat was scheduled to leave at noon, and I didn’t have a Plan B for the day.  So, I decided to ask my Airbnb host whether she could recommend any good beaches around.

1. Selecting a Beach outside Pula

Now, Pula is on the coast.  But the coastline is more or less industrial, due to its large shipbuilding industry.  There aren’t any beaches in Pula itself, but there are some just outside of town.  In order to figure out the right beach for me, she asked two questions: crowded or quiet beach?  Rocky or pebble beach? The first question was obvious and of course, I chose a quiet beach.  The second question, however… rocky or pebble?  I wasn’t really sure how to answer.  I know that pebbles on a beach were annoying, so was a rocky beach the right choice?  It was the only other alternative, so sure.  Rocky beach it was.

For 50 kunas | $8.50 USD, my Airbnb host offered a roundtrip ride to the beach, so away we went.  And after a few minutes ride outside of town, we arrived at Lungomare.

2. Lungomare, the Rocky Beach

There was a small ladder, like in a swimming pool, leading into the water.  And although the water was brisk, at best, I decided to go in completely.  Go big or go home, right?

And wow.  The water was choppy.  But not only that, because it wasn’t a sandy beach that I was used to, the surface below was uneven, at best, and of course, still large rocks.  I was in the water no more than 5-7 minutes being tossed about, and even scraped the bottom of my foot at the surface of one of the underwater rocks.  Enough was enough.  I was here to relax, and sometimes listening and watching the sea are more relaxing than being in it.

As soon as I stepped foot on land, I knew something was wrong.  A stinging sensation from my right foot as I made my way over to my towel.  As soon as I sat down, and wiped the debris off my feat, I could see the spikes.  It wasn’t a scrape at all.  It must have been a sea urchin.

WARNING: 

there are ugly pictures of my feet coming up… stop now if that grosses you out

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I spent the next 20 or 30 minutes removing the spikes.  There was about 10 of them, no larger than a mechanical pencil lead.  One had gotten underneath my pinky toe.  That one hurt to pull out.  But the rest of them came out relatively easily.  But there was still something left underneath the surface.  A black dot where each spike had once been.  I sat there squeezing and scraping, as if it were a small splinter underneath the surface, until I could do no more without any tools.  I was googling sea urchin spikes and what to do, and there is a reason the black specks were left.

This is the site I referenced, and if you ever step on a sea urchin, READ THIS SITE.

You only see the sea urchin spike as a spike, but the tip of it is actually more like a barb.  Although you can pull out the spike itself, the barb is still left in there.  I decided to leave it be and to enjoy the warm weather and sounds of the sea.  Whatever venom was pumping through my body couldn’t have been much due to the small nature of the spikes itself and the fact that there were only 10 or so of them in my feet.  But, as a fair warning, people have known to die from being stung by sea urchins. I guess if I were truly honest, I didn’t want the Airbnb host to think I was a dumb tourist, for being stung by sea urchins within the first 5 minutes of being dropped off at the beach.

After about an hour and a half or so, I texted my Airbnb host, told her what happened and asked her to pick me up.  I asked whether she could bring me some vinegar or take me to the market to buy some.  From what she told me, almost everyone in Pula has been stung by sea urchins at some point.  That made me feel exponentially better.  And honestly, mine was not bad compared to some of the stories she told me.

3. Vinegar foot bath

When I got home, armed with a giant vat of vinegar and hot water, I began my foot bath.

For those who know me, know two things: One, I hate vinegar and everything to do with vinegar.  Two, I get very squeamish when there are injuries related to feet.  So this foot bath is literally my worse nightmare.  And the smell… Awful.

Soak your feet 30-45 minutes and the remaining spines should dissolve from the vinegar.  (Side note, this is also true if you accidentally get a fish bone stuck in your throat… which, ironically has also happened to me.  You should drink vinegar or something extremely acidic to soften the bone, so it will go down…).  Anyway, wanting the maximum effect from the vinegar, I soaked my feet for an hour.

4. Foot Surgery

The black specks were still in my feet after the vinegar bath, and I was getting conflicting advice on whether the skin would eventually push it out on its own or if I should continue my efforts to try and remove it.  I decided better safe than sorry, and thus began the “surgery.”  After disinfecting a needle and my nail file, I first filed off a layer of skin and then began removing the black specks one by one.  After a few hours, I finally removed them all (or so I thought).  Gross, I know.

In the next few days, as more of the spine came to the surface, I had to go back in with a needle and remove some of them.  So now, for the most part, it’s all gone.  I will say that the spines definitely go in deep, and you have to use the needle to get under the spine and push it out. 

5. Recovery

The next few days, I slept more than normal, not sure if that was effects of the venom coursing through my body or just physical exhaustion recovering from an injury like this.

In the end, I survived.  I think the important lesson to remember, especially when traveling alone, is that you have to remain calm.  Google is your friend.  You’re not the only person in the world that has undergone such an ordeal, and panicking will do no good.  Searching for a solution to solve it yourself is easy, if you can manage to stay calm.  Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to stay at the beach, with the venom coursing through my veins, but that was all I could do to remain calm given the circumstances.  In the end I survived, and if this ever happens to you, you will too.

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/

1. Late night arrival into Tel Aviv & Jerusalem

I arrived from Vienna at nearly 1 am into the Tel Aviv Airport.  I was questioned at immigration for being a single traveler on holiday in Israel, which I take it, is not normal.  Since it was Saturday at 1 am when I arrived, the Sabbath already began and my transportation options into Jerusalem were limited.  My airbnb host said there would be some Nesher taxis I could take for about $16 USD.  Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t find one and the only taxis there quoted me about $100 USD.  At a certain point in traveling, and when it’s getting on near 2 am, stop arguing and just make sure they take credit card.  So there I was, in an overpriced taxi van.  I sent a “find your friend” notification of my whereabouts to my friend, just in case.  You really can never be too careful.

Taxi misadventures

The taxi driver asked if I wanted metered fare or a flat fee.  Knowing that flat fees were allegedly illegal, I chose the metered fare amount.  There we were – driving along the highway in near-darkness. My driver pointed out very innocuous things like… a large power plant … or a convent where the nuns don’t speak. None of which, I could see.  I’m watching the meter, and it is creeping up very fast. I now know that my taxi fare will exceed $100. 

We were nearing Jerusalem when all of a sudden, the driver pulls over on the side of the highway. 

I am REALLY glad I gave my friend my location at this point, because there is no telling what is going on…although her being in America, what would that really do?

He asks me for my credit card.  I’m dumbfounded, but clearly not going anywhere.  As I’m reaching for my card, he turns off the meter.  My brain went to sinister places because it was near 2 am. In reality, we hit the flat fee amount on the meter, stopped the meter, and went for the flat fee instead, to save me money.  You could’ve just said something, instead of just pulling over on the side of the highway near 2 am and freaking me out. <y late night misadventures didn’t stop there. My Airbnb host neglected to tell me, that taxis cannot fit on the alley in front of the unit.  The taxi driver proceeded to drop me off about 2 blocks away from my actual apartment, at around 2:30 a.m.  Not pleased.

One final note about the evening and my first impressions. Everyone says Reykjavik’s drinking water tastes like sulfur.  And I agree – it does.  Jerusalem’s tap water, after boiling, tastes way worse.  Way.  Worse.  It’s supposed to be drinkable, but really, it was awful.

2. Breakfast at Aroma

The next morning, parched and completely dehydrated, I set out.  Not much was open on the Sabbath, but I managed to find a croissant and a coffee at a place called Aroma.  It was packed to the brim with people.

Recharged and stomach happy, off I went. 

3. Garden Tomb

First stop was the Garden Tomb, which is allegedly the burial and resurrection site of Jesus.  Nestled in a peaceful garden, there are areas set up around the garden for people to hold sermons or sing hymns. Both of which happened during my short visit. There was a peaceful, calming air in the atmosphere.  You’d never even realize that a large Arab marketplace was just steps outside.

4. Muslim Quarter and the Old City

I spent the afternoon walking around, trying to make my way to the Western Wall.  It’s supposed to be open on Saturday , but you’re not allowed to take pictures.  But I couldn’t access it for the life of me.  There were some parts, I guess leading to Temple Mount, where Muslims told me I couldn’t go. Only Muslims were allowed on Saturdays.  I didn’t think I was that close to the Temple Mount, but needless to say, there was a very large area that I could not access.  Everything to the right of the black line, I could not get to.  But did you know that the majority of the Old City is a big marketplace with winding alleyways and stalls and shophouses?

Regardless, this area is covered by my tour the following day.  After roaming around the Old City for quite some time, I was tired and hungry. 

5. Lunch at Menza

On my walk back home, I passed by Menza, which was also on my list of places open during the Sabbath.  I stopped in for a deliciously fresh salad.

After my wonderful lunch, I went back to my Airbnb for some Netflix and rest before my mad dash to a hot restaurant to try and snag a table.  If you’re in Jerusalem for only one meal, this is the place you need to try! Check out my dinner adventures and review here!

6. Jerusalem & Bethlehem Tour

For the next day, I signed up for a Jerusalem tour, which also covered Bethlehem (in the West Bank, Palestine). The tour operater agreed to drop me off in Bethlehem, albeit with some degree of judgment. I think the actual response was, “But why would you want to [stay in Bethlehem]?” I’m pretty sure my response was: “Why not?”

It never ceases to amaze me where old Roman roads pop up. And they are so well preserved!  No wonder all roads lead to Rome.

I’m not really going to talk much about my tour, because it started raining and was cold and extremely windy.  To come full circle, my “Jerusalem syndrome” began with the extreme weather I experienced on this tour. It resulted in a 2 week long illness, for which I literally have just recovered.  Anyway, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.  And to begin, here I am at the Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall).

Crossing into the Bethlehem, in the West Bank

Parting Thoughts – my 36 hours in Jerusalem

And with that, my tour and my time in Israel was over.  Jerusalem, for me, felt a little too chaotic and a little too loud.  I expected peacefulness and serenity. Given that Jerusalem is the center of three major religions, I imagined the “Holy Land” to be more calming than the city turned out to be. Perhaps the experience is different for those who are more religiously inclined. But it was definitely an experience. 

Day 1 Recap

• 10 AM: coffee and croissant at Aroma | map
• 11 AM: Garden Tomb (free) | map
• 12 PM: Muslim Quarter and the Old city | map
• 3 PM: late lunch at Menza | map
• approx 7:30 PM (1 hour after sunset): dinner at Machneyuda | map

For my Day 2 itinerary, click here.

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Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/

1. Overnight Bus from Yangon to Bagan

When we last left off, I had just gotten back to the hotel in Yangon for a quick shower and rest, before taking a taxi to the bus station.  I remember the hotel manager asking me a ton of questions about my bus, which bus company it was, what time it was leaving, the whole nine yards.  I was confused at the time. 

But when we were pulling up towards the bus station, I could tell why.  IT. WAS. ENORMOUS.  and had food stalls and little convenient store stalls.  There must have been over 100 different buses that left from that depot.  Now it made sense when the manager told me and the taxi driver to go to a specific place in the bus depot.  (I won’t call it a bus station anymore, because really, it felt like an outdoor market that happened to have buses going to and fro from it.)

After waiting a while in your stereotypical SE Asian bus waiting area, the bus left almost right on time.  I was going through my records to see if I could remember how much the bus cost.  It was maybe $20?  It was a “luxury VIP” bus, which meant it had nice reclining, leather chairs.  There was supposed to be wifi, but, well, Myanmar..  They gave us a bottle of water and a thick blanket, which was appreciated.  You never know with buses in Asia.  Could be roasting or frigid.  The bus was scheduled to arrive in Bagan around 5 am.

2. Arrival into Bagan

{Side note: I stayed at the Bagan Umbra Hotel.  As I was researching for this blog post, I was looking for the hotel name in my files.  I typed it into Google and I began looking at the photos.  It literally did not ring a bell at all.  I think I blocked a lot of this trip from my memory.  This is the first time I’m really thinking about it, or talking about it in any detail.}

On the way to the hotel, we were stopped at a checkpoint of some kind, to see if the taxi driver was carrying tourists.  Mind you, this is around 5 am.  And I had to promptly pay for my entry ticket into the archaeological, protected zone of Bagan.  I’ll let you make your own judgments about what that fee was all about.

I arrived at the hotel and immediately showered and slept.  At this point, I had a restless night on the bus, having spent all day walking around Yangon, with an early flight in from Singapore.  We are about 30 hours after I left Singapore, and I’m finally sleeping in a bed.

3. Motorbike Rental

I woke up around 10, just early enough to catch the tail end of breakfast.  And immediately, I set out on foot to see what was near by.  Low and behold, there is a little shop that rents motorbikes.  I don’t remember how much it cost, nor do I remember how long I had rented it for.

Anyway, I rented the thing and spent the morning zooming around town, going to different places.  It was so much fun.  The views, the locals around town.  And Bagan is just so scenic with it’s thousands of temples dotting the horizon.  Including these random ones that I stopped off at.

As I was driving around, I passed a sign that pointed to the archaeological zone of Bagan, this way.  And I thought of that fee I already paid.  So I turned off the main road, onto a sandy road towards the zone.  All of Bagan is pretty remote and spread apart, so I was lucky when the motorbike slipped on sand, that people were actually in the vicinity.  The motorbike slipped, I must have hit the breaks and all I know was that I landed on my face.  In the sand.  No helmet, of course not, it’s Myanmar.

Thankful for Good Samaritans

It’s a good thing people were around.  To at least help me up, pour some water on my face and help me wipe some of the blood away.  There were sand and rocks everywhere.  I could feel it still on my face.  The motor bike fared better with a broken head light and mirror.

The thing about traveling alone is that, I had no choice but to drive myself back to the hotel.  Think about it.  Bagan is a super remote place.  This sandy path I was on, I doubt had a name, and even if it did.  Could I describe it?  I wasn’t even sure I was really going to said archaeological zone to be honest, because I know I passed by a different sign on a paved road earlier on in the morning.

So not only did i have to drive back to the hotel, Old Bagan/New Bagan are connected to the main town, Nyaung-U, by two parallel streets.  One is bigger than the other, but big is relative.  I took the wrong one.

But.  Taking the wrong road did lead me to the pharmacy, where the owner and his wife kind of looked on at me in horror and proceeded to use iodine and alcohol to help me clean my wounds.  I’m truly thankful that these people were there to help.  And that I didn’t necessarily need words to communicate, because honestly, I was probably at a loss for words.

And then, I had to continue to drive myself back to the hotel.  What a nightmare that whole ordeal was.  I’d deal with the bike shop owner later time, and eventually pay them $50 for the damage.  I later found out that technically, they owed me money for the accident.. apparently that’s how Myanmar works.

4. The rest of the day

I don’t remember if I had already scheduled a Burmese massage beforehand or if I decided that was a good idea since I needed to relax afterwards.  And that’s when I realized my legs were bruised up too.  Anyway, I spent the rest of the day by the pool, sketching and drinking fresh fruit juices.  I remember ordering room service that night and watching Guardians of the Galaxy (1) on my tablet.  The next day, I had a photography, village walking tour with Three Treasures that I was really looking forward to. And that will be my story for next time.

Mini Public Service Announcement

But before I go, one quick story.  I had lunch with one of my friends earlier this year, let’s call him J, and I was telling him this story.  J’s college roommate is from Hawaii and apparently things like this happen all the time in Hawaii or Asia in general. Tourists come in, thinking it’ll be a great idea to rent a moped or motorbike to see the place, don’t know how to ride, don’t know the rules of the road, and definitely don’t have a helmet.  And then they get hurt. Public service announcement:  It’s super dangerous without a helmet.  I could have easily suffered more damage than I did.  And with no helmet?  It was inexcusable for me to lower my own safety standards just because Myanmar’s safety standards are lower.  Never again.  Be smart people.  And since I’m sure you’re all curious what I looked like post-accident:

I’m fine now.  Was just definitely in shock and a little banged up at the time.  I’m still figuring out this blog and it’s kinks.  I wanted to show a picture of my bruised legs, but for some reason that wouldn’t take.  Oh well.  You’ve seen legs.  These ones were just bruised.

Also, I’ll post again on my tour of Bagan that I took the following day, because it is definitely worth a dedicated post.  The guide was great and let us do things at my pace.

So remember, safety first.  And try not to be a dumb tourist… in any manner.

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/