Tunis, Pre-WSIS

I love Middle Eastern Airlines!!!

First, I'm quite sure that no one would decide to hijack the plane - or else the whole middle east would prosecute that particular Muslim and send him to a den full of wolves... err tigers perhaps. LOL. That is, if he's still alive. Hmmm... maybe they have something to prosecute families too?! just kidding!

Anyway, second, the leg ROOM. It's simply amazing how PAL seem to not realize than not all Filipinos are that small so we need more leg room. I think they may have patterned the PAL airlines to that of the jeepney. So, I can't help but marvel at the leg room available in the middle eastern airlines.

well, I do have a lot of things to say about the backrest. It would kill you if you ever have to sit on it for more than five hours. It's so curved at the wrong place that people with back problems will experience torture. And it doesn't help that your next flight is 7 hours away in an airport so small that you can literally see the people overcrowding the dutyfree shop below. Boy am I glad the airport was crowded on our way back so we had to stay for nearly an hour inside the plane so I didn't have to spend 3 hours in the stop over wihtout any chairs to sit on.


Enough about the airlines: Tunis.

As I said, Tunis is simply amazing. It's very European and you can see French Architecture everywhere. It has a great railway for going around the city plus a better train route to other cities. Transportation is cheap and if you have the WSIS ID, then you can even go for free! :)

It has Tunis has one Cathedral, which is also the only Church in the city. In nearby Carthage, there's another Cathedral, but I wasn't able to attend mass there so I don't know if it's being used.

The security was sooo tight that everyday, we had to take the 07:30 buses to Le Kram or else we won't have any other transportation to the WSIS venue. The hotels were packed with metal detectors and security service like you wouldn't believe. It wasn't until I got to speak with a Tunisian that this was tight not just because of the officials attending the WSIS, but because of the Jordan incident and due to a whole lot of other political economic reasons that I finally understood why the security was such. I mean, you see security forces on the streets carrying assault rifles - who wouldn't be scared?!

I got addicted to mint tea. They make the best ones in Tunis - so far.

I've never drank so much red wine in my entire life! IFunny thing is, it has only managed to keep me warm and give me some of those allergic effect people get when they're not used to taking in so much alcohol. I can honestly say I didn't feel any effects of it aside from the red spots probably due to the weather. I even set my foot and bought a new coat since I couldn't stand the temperature anymore! And sometimes even when there's some sun, it's still not enough to keep you warm without a coat.

I've met some great people. Darn! I wish I could show you photos. It doesn't seem to be working nowadays.

Will give you more info during WSIS and post-WSIS.