Delights to Frights from Aqaba

I got a lift out of Wadi Rum camp site by the lovely German couple who were been driving around Jordan with a hire car, they where also headed to Aqaba and offered to give me a lift into town! (YES FREE RIDE!)



Once in Aqaba i must admit i became a quasi backpacker, and checked into a "mid range hotel" that had the luxury of a double bed, air-conditioning, breakfast, my own toilet and wait for it... a TELEVISION! YES it even had a satellite movie channel and was picking up Israeli stations from the other side of the strait!



After all the walking around Petra and the desert i was in much need of rest and relaxation. Comparing the beaches in Australia to the 'beach' in Aqaba, infact the whole strait actually, really didn't impress me all that much. I dont dive or snokell so i guess im limited for activities along the strait. On my first day i had lunch, stocked up on some fruit and retreated to my hotel and spent the rest of the day in bed eating fruit and watching television! It was great actually! It was hilarious to watch western movies (haven't seen one for ages) actually i didn't watch a full movie cause i was constantly dozing off.



In the evening i ventured out and stumbled upon a...wait for it.... A CHINESE TAKE AWAY! I had tears of joy! Though This initial excitement was quickly damped by the prospect of it being really BAD chinese, if this was to be the case, then i would be extremely disappointed and my whole evening would spiral out of control from a bad dining experience! I sussed the place out. Ambiance? TICK (the red lanterns really where enticing) Alcohol? TICK, a rarity in Jordan. Menu ranged from beef szchwuan to steam fish... Okay, it was looking good so far. I ventured in and order wonton soup and beef chow mien noodles... I specifically asked the waiter if it was chow mien noodles and the he asured me they where chow mien! (AMAZING! im actually going to eat chow mien noodles! ive been craving asian ever since the 1st week in Italy!) My wonton came out and the soup was a bit tasteless and the pastry was nice, but the taste of middle eastern beef was very overwhelming, i think its normally pork inside, anyway, no pork here PPFFT... Next? out came my Chow Mien noodles.... my heart sank. It was friggen spaghetti in a bowl with some stir fried crap... I ate half of it and pushed my bowl across the other side of the table and sulked in the puffy leather booth i was sitting in. After some time i spotted what i thought was the lady chef behind the bar. Mrs Min (lets call her that, i forgot her name) Mrs Min revealed that she was not the chef but infact the owner and asked how my meal was. I told her straight out that the wontons where okay, but its unfortunate that my noodles where not infact Chow Mien noodles. She sympathised with me and apologised, for the order of the Chow Mien Noodles hadn't arrived from Taiwan this week. I then sympathised with her and her inconsistent ordering and we then both fantasised of a restaurant fully equipped with proper asian ingredients! Mrs Min invited me back the next night as she promised to whip me up something off the menu! The next evening i returned for the most glorious asian meal ! It was a simple but extremely tastey stir fry of beef with mixed veggies, broccoli and black mushrooms with steamed rice! IT WAS MOUTH WATERING! i scoffed it all up! I thanked Mrs Min for the wonderful suggestion and she informed me that the order of the Chow Mien Noodles infact arrived that morning! IF only i stayed another night in Aqaba!





When i wasn't eating Asian, i was eating Mc Donnalds for lunch, and Mc Flurries in the evening! Sorry but Aqaba had all these delights in such a close proximity! When i wasnt eating i was watching movies and ... actually yes eating again! I bought a rockmelon which seemed to last a long time, i cant say i ever eaten a whole rockmelon to myself, its amazing how many slices you can get out of one rockmellon! Rockmellon and apples and pessermens! Fruit Salad YUMMY YUMMY!



Ahh i havent really mentioned Aqaba ... Okay well.. Aqaba is set up as a free economic zone, so alot of business pay only somewhat 6% to 7% tax, a significant drop from the rest of Jordan. This is done i believe to promote business within Aqaba which will inturn boost tourism. But alot of shops in Aqaba are just full of cheap imported shit from China and again, the stores are lined with the same shops for streets and streets. (and theres also an alarming amount of "chinese massages parlours" ) Its was funny because driving into Aqaba, at first it was like, "WHOA look over there that must be Aqaba... oh no... wait... thats on the other side of the strait... Oh that must be the Israeli side... yeah... thats Elat" Its hilarious, Elat is majorly built up, has huge sky rise apartments and hotels and flashing lights and uniformed streets and waterfront resorts... then you look on the Aqaba side, and the beach is lined with agriculture crops. Admittedly there's a lot of building going on with major resorts going in such as the Sheraton and Hayyt. But Aqaba for me was really a point of call before crossing into Egypt.





Now for the journey into Egypt. I firstly thought i was going to stay in Sinai for a little while, maybe spending a night around st. Katherine's monstary, climb Sinai, then jet to Cario. But after reading some reviews on line, i really didnt feel like waking up at 3am and then hiking up a long ass trail and watching sunset with a group of pilgrims. So i thought ill go to Sharm El Shak so i can wear my speedos on some beach and relax... But the prices of the resorts in Sharm really didnt fit my budget. OKAY, so ill stay a few nights in Dahab before i go to Ciaro... Whats there to do in Dahab?... hmmm... snorkel and dive in the straight... yeahh... not me... OKAY, so ill just go straight to Ciaro then... let me see what time the boat leaves... and we arrive when? maybe 2? maybe 3 hours? maybe 4 inshallah!... right.... So, this is the joy of trying to plan an itinery in the middle east, nothing is certain, and everything is done in un urgent Hallah Bin Shoof, Inshallah type of manner!




The next part of my day went like this... the 'fast' Boat leaves at 12.30pm but you have to be at the port by 10.30pm... (shit arse departure procedures and departure tax) Boat left the dock at 1pm. (actually the boat was very nice i must admit) and arrived at Newiuba port by 3pm. (fast boat? yeah right) We where allowed off the boat at 4pm though gained an hour from the time difference. At this point in time, i dont think i have the mental capacity nor can i begin to find the words to explain what a diabolical shit arse visa process it was at the port to gain an entry into Egypt. Ill paint a little picture, it wont do the shambles at the port justice though. Picture lots of cargo boxes and crap coming off the boat from Aqaba, which everybody was carrying on carts fit for donkeys, mix that in with lost tourists being pointed in the wrong directions to and from the bank, to the processing office, to the pick up visa office and mix it in with lots of shouting and people everywhere! That was the scenario getting off the boat!



Then it was time to catch transport out. I had the option of two buses to Cairo and wanted to suss out the service taxis at the taxi rank outside the dock, but once i left the dock the customs officer said i was not allowed back in (but the bus station is inside the dock? I DONT GET IT? ) THANKS! so i bit the bullet, chose to stay in the dock and bought a ticket for a shitty bus into Cairo which left at 4.30pm and was meant to take 6 hours.

I got on the bus with and this guy in front of me plonked his ass in the chair and reclined it all the way back. It was like i scene from a movie. I was squashed in my chair, and the chap next to me was falling asleep on my shoulder. Within hallf hour of the journey, there was multiple pushes back from the dude infront , with me responding with kicks to his chair huffs and *TISK*... His last heavy push back on his chair made me clicked it! I whacked his chair in front with both hands then tapped him on his shoulder, waited for him to then went off at him ! he probably didn't understand a word of english, but he got the gist enough for him to get out of his seat, recline the chair up right, look at me and say "BETTER" in arabic, and move to the vacant seat in front of him! HA! i then responded in arabic (to my surprise) with "MUCH BETTER, SIT, SIT" Ha! I won! we then had a staring competition when the bus stopped for refreshments, my look said "just try sitting in that seat infront of me again and its on you shit!"



The bus was painful and finally arrived in Ciaro at 12.30pm. Thank god for my Ipod, it has helped me relax and zone out during many of my Journeys! I arrived at my hostel by 1am. checked into the only single room available, then upgraded to the double bed when i realised my single bed was missing slats in it. It was impossible to sleep in! The last thing i wanted was a sleepless night after a whole day of travel!



As much as i hate it, it really doesnt pay to be nice here. For instance, in order to change beds during the night i had to go wake up the reception dude who was sleeping on the lounge room floor. It was rather inconsiderate of me, but i wanted to sleep properly. If i didnt argue with the dude infront of me on the bus, i would have died on the bus! (well, not really but you know what i mean) If i didnt argue with the taxi driver who dropped me off at the Aqaba port to give me change from my 10JD, i wouldnt have had enough Jordanian Dollars to pay the exit tax and then i would have been screwed! You get the flow, the list goes on, especially now that im in Egypt.

~Wait i think i should start a new blog for Egypt!

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