Are we there yet?

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One of the benefits of living in Ireland is the close proximity to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. And, for this trip we decided to take advantage of that and explore Jordan. While I have been to the region many times for work and actually living in Saudi Arabia for 2 years, Ken has had limited exposure. As Jordan is considered one of the safest, and has some amazing sites this was the perfect way to introduce him to the wonderful hospitality, great food and see some cool things in the process.

Ken was thrilled that I actually booked flights that did not leave at 6am, which always means we have to be out the door at 345a. A reasonable 1140a flight meant normal sleeping and some time to enjoy coffee before starting the journey. For this trip, we are booked on Turkish Airlines through Istanbul both ways. On the return, we will actually spend the night there, which means a very quick overview of what I predict will be a city/country we want to return.

We got to the airport, made it through security and because of my status were able to enjoy the Lounge for an additional coffee before boarding our wide-body aircraft for the 4+ hour flight to Istanbul. Flight was full, and between books/movies we were able to occupy our time easily. With a 3 hour time change, we landed at 645p and learned that we had been rebooked on Royal Jordanian Air, which was scheduled an hour later, and then was almost an hour delayed. Instead of arriving around 930p, we were now arriving at 1130p. Groan.

Anyone reading this knows we travel a lot, so airports are not a big deal. However, we were obviously not at the top of our game as we went (and hung out) at two different gates that were not ours. One we figured out somehow, but the other the only reason we didn't try to board a plane to Tehran was because I went up to ask a question. Oops. After 2 missteps we found our gate, finally boarded and after 1.5 hours landed in Amman, Jordan at 1130p.

Visa, passport and taxi were not complicated and by 1230a were checking into the Amman Marriott. We were warmly greeted and asked two things 1. would we like to be upgraded to a suite, although it was a smoking room? The answer is no, we will keep to the fresh air in a normal room. 2. Would we like a 1/2 bottle of wine and a cheese plate as a welcome gift? Uh that is a no-brainer, yes. And once we got settled into our nice, no-smoking room our welcome gifts arrived, which was a nice end to a long day (albeit now 145a).

Tomorrow exploring Amman!

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