Israel, scooters, and volleyball at Night

One of the lighter discoveries I’ve come to appreciate while traveling is the simple joy of “scootering” around a city. Yes, scooters carry their share of controversy—safety concerns, cluttered sidewalks, and general urban chaos—but in Tel Aviv I found them both useful and delightful. They are also highly regulated. For example, as I cruised down the boardwalk one evening, my scooter automatically slowed itself to 9 km/h in a congested pedestrian zone. At 9 p.m., under the glow of streetlights, I passed one beach volleyball court after another—each lit up and full of players, hundreds of them, laughing, diving, and spiking.