Blogs from North, Jordan, Middle East

On June 19 we left our Glamping compound for the dreaded long day in a bus. There comes a day in every tour that no matter where you are going there is one terrible day spent traveling. If you recall, we started our tour in Amman in the north of Jordan and traveled ever south to Petra. We had many stops along the way so the travel was not bad...but the reverse was not so much. We were in Petra and our evening destination was the Dead Sea Resort hotel (Holiday Inn) for 7 of us; while the rest of the travelers were heading to Amman to board flights home, or to continue with another tour. Many continuing on were Aussies! Australians have a thing that their country is so far away, about 24 hours to ... read more

Today we leave Israel and head to Aman for our final 6 days of touring. Out of the original 25 travelers, we were reduced to 6 traveling on to Jordan. We arrived at the hotel lobby before 9 AM expecting to see Khadar, who said he would introduce us to our new driver. Well, no Khadar and no new driver. By 9:15 we were a little concerned. One of our members spied a large white van sitting outside all morning and she decided to see if that was our van....It was! We were off to a bit of a rocky start. It was about 90 minutes to the border with Jordan and that went well, that is until we got to the crossing. No one had prepared us for exactly what we were supposed to do. ... read more

With the travel day, 3 hour time change and late-night bedtime, it seemed like a short night. I snuck out to breakfast, as Ken was still blissfully dreaming The breakfast area overlooked the pool with a very large selection of arabic (hummus, labneh, grilled vegis, freshly grilled flatbreads with cheese and herbs, etc) and western (eggs, bacon, etc). Ken wandered down and we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, slowly getting into the day. Our plan today was to taxi to the Citadel, and then wander to the Roman Theater and on to the souq (marketplace). Eventually we got going, and soon we were entering the Citadel with our Jordan Pass. Note to anyone visiting, get the Jordan Pass before arriving...it includes the visa and access to most of the major historical sites in Jordan. Very worthwhile! The ... read more

Bye bye Egypt and good morning to Jordan. I love Jordan. It's a first for Tanya, but my third visit in a country I wouldn't mind to live in one day. People here are just magic. Small country, great people! We landed pretty early in Amman, and for once in the Middle East, I'm renting a car for the few days we are here. They drive on the right, which even being European, I'm actually not that used to...so need to be careful on my own reflexes! Driving in Jordan is super easy, except in super busy Amman. At least they drive better than in Cairo here! We first drive to drop the bags at the new W. Place is really cool! We have landed once again one of the top suites, so it's kind of ... read more

Hi, So last time we had just arrived in Wadi Mass, the town that services Petra. We stayed at the Petra Guest House and I was expecting something small but it had been the Crowne Plaza. It was a nice place with lovely friendly genuine staff. We were up for breakfast at 6.15am and what a difference from the chaos of the Dead Sea. Our guide Ahmed arrived at 7 and we set off for Petra, full of excitement it is 50 Jordanian Dinar entrance fee which is about 50€ or £53 so we wanted to make the most of it. We knew it was going to be a long day and as you set off walking towards the valley you have no sense of what is ahead, the track is flat and uninteresting. You then ... read more