2025-01-14 31 34
| Tue 14 Jan 2025 in 31,34: 31.8343327, 34.6905713 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
In a... ahem... pay-by-the-hour luxury hotel in an industrial area surrounding the Ashdod Port.
Participants
Plans
I have an art delivery in Tel Aviv, so I might as well make a train day of it. After dropping off the art I'll take the train down to Ashdod and a bus to the general area of the hotel.
Maybe. It's a very embarrassing place to walk into and there's a good chance I'll chicken out.
Expedition
I took the train from Tel Aviv towards Ashdod at around 11. Moovit actually recommended I get off the train at Yavne rather than proceed to Ashdod, because there's a bus that stops at the nearest highway junction to the hotel after which its a ~12 minute walk. This I did, though the junction was under construction and there was a massive traffic jam in the last 200 meters before the bus stop.
Getting off at the bus stop, I crossed a field to a dirt road along which trucks periodically drove. The dirt road went past a major electrical station and hooked around a parking lot for the many many trucks that serve the Ashdod port. I wore only one earbud to listen to a podcast, so I could step to the side every so often to let a truck past, but at some point decided that it would be safest to have both ears open.
After ten minutes I reached the built-up part of the industrial area. It wasn't entirely clear where the hotel was, but the point is in that direction, 300 meters.... I walked down the street, found a likely-looking (and open-looking) gate, and stepped inside.
It was a perfectly normal loading bay for a warehouse, with one worker inside. I approached and told him who I was and what I was doing there ("I'm playing this game...") and he readily agreed to let me step into the warehouse. But it was clear at the entrance that the point was a couple of dozen meters behind his warehouse's back wall. I asked him how I could reach it (nervous that it might turn out to be in the love hotel after all) and he said it'll be in the warehouse next door.
Well, that's not a problem. I asked for advice on how to get in (seeing as I had already passed that warehouse and didn't see an entrance) and he told me where the gate was.
Back outside, turn right, find the gate, open it. It was a perfectly normal loading bay for a warehouse, with one worker inside. I approached and told him who I was and what I was doing there ("I'm playing this game...") and instantly realized I was talking to the wrong person. This guy was easily in his 80s and had no idea what I was blathering about. "It's like Pokemon Go without the Pokemon," I said to this man who had clearly never heard of Pokemon in his life.
"I'll take you to the owner," he finally says to my relief. But on the way he adds, "Just say you're from the Income Tax [Authority], you don't have to go through this whole..."
"I'm not from the Income Tax [Authority]", I said with a nervous laugh, thus cementing his certainty that I was.
Luckily, the owner was a much younger man, who after my explanation readily agreed to let me into the warehouse. But as before, we stepped into the doorway and instantly I saw that the point was 60 meters away, well past his back wall. He recommended I go to the warehouse next door - the one I had already been to - but after showing him the point on the satellite photo he told me I needed to go around the block.
I went around the block and found an entrance to another warehouse. Aha, this is much more promising! The point was clearly within view, only about thirty meters away, and there were about four workers sitting around chatting. I debated with myself: do I go up to one of them, or do I talk to the guard?
I decided to talk to the guard, which was probably a mistake. I approached and told him who I was and what I was doing there ("I'm playing this game...") and he said, flat out, "No."
"Why not?"
"Because you can't come in."
"Okay. Thanks anyways," I said, and left. I went along the wall on the outside of the warehouse to find the closest spot to the point - Geohash Droid briefly said 12 meters but I wasn't able to catch it that low - took the screenshot, and left.
I headed back to the highway junction. Annoyingly, the bus I needed went past while I was waiting for the light to change, which meant I couldn't take the bus-to-train route back to Tel Aviv if I wanted to make it in time for lunch with my brother. So instead I took a direct bus.
The first thing I told my brother was: "I didn't go to a love hotel in Ashdod today."
"Why did those words just come out of your mouth?" he answered.
I love geohashing.
Photos
Art delivery
The dirt path with lots of dangerous trucks
Blurrily entering the industrial area
14 meters away
The truck parking lot
