Bamba, Turkish Coffee and the Legendary Hezi
Angels on the Trail
Back to Basics
The traveling Israeli needs some basics to be at ease in a foreign land. Restaurants with full-fledged Israeli menus and true-to-form falafel stands apparently still do not supply all our essential requisites. There are two indispensables only the legendary Hezi (and his counterparts across India) can provide, namely:
Turkish Coffee….
and
Bamba!
Turkish Coffee, Bamba, and the Legendary Hezi
As to the Turkish coffee there’s no need to elaborate. If you are used to it, how can you survive without?
Here is Hezi at his desk with all the Israeli necessities on the shelves behind him – a full row of Bamba bags, and above, the Turkish coffee.
Bamba is the ultimate children’s snack in Israel. My daughter said “Bamba” before she said “Ima” (mom). [How insulting…
].
Furthermore, nowadays Bamba is reputed with a miraculous ability to prevent peanut allergy in later life…
Upon my arrival in India, I had several hours to spend at Delhi’s Airport. My flight to Dharamshala was delayed due to weather conditions (monsoon rains!) at destination. Getting hungry, I purchased an Indian snack from a vending machine.
Grave mistake!
I’m used to chilli peppers – red, green, Christmas – having lived for years in New Mexico and Mexico, so I did not anticipate any problem.
This innocent-looking snack, though, was on another dimension of hot…
Welcome to the land of spicy!
Ouch!
Keeping this experience in mind, it is understandable parents traveling with children and young folk still addicted to the munchie will feel the need for the good-old-good-old Bamba.
Luckily, the legendary Hezi is here to supply all Israeli needs…
King Hezi
So what would we do without you, Hezi?
Beyond learning Hebrew, changing your name to make our lives easier and importing our favorite snack and coffee, you provide for all our other crucial needs in the Bhagsu area and beyond:
- Treks and tours
- Crafting the most suitable routes for our individual or group needs
- Cheap tickets from anywhere to everywhere
- Warning us about road / weather emergencies and finding alternative solutions
- Changing money
- Drawing more than the 10,000Rs. allowed by the ATMs with our credit cards
- Finding a bus with “other Israelis” for a girl, who otherwise would not dare to travel…
- Internet services
- Packages to the Homeland
- Best price bookings
I can attest to Hezi’s abilities regarding this last one – I was about to compromise on a 700Rs room in Amritsar, but Hezi persisted on my behalf and did not let up until he got me a decent room with a ceiling fan for only 350Rs!
The “real” Israel Trail is famous for its “angels” – opening their homes for folk trudging with their backpacks on the trail free of charge. Hezi, of course, does his job to provide for his family, but the above story shows he goes beyond the call of duty. You know when an agent walks the extra mile for you…
So last but not least,
- You patiently listen and attend to all our problems, naggings, jokes, complaints, demands, anecdotes, bouts of panic…
Yes, thank you, Hezi, and all the other wonderful agents /angels helping the sometimes-not-so-easy-to-deal-with Israelis along the Indian Israeli Trail.
Thank you. Blessings.
Om Shanti.
