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Published: June 30th 2009
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Wow, so much to write. Internet has been a little spotty - deal.
Bethany, Nathan, McKenzie, and Rachel took me to the bus station in Fang, for the 3-hour van ride to Chiang Rai. I already miss them - crap. I sat next to a monk on the ride down, and he knew English fairly well. He even negotiated me a kickin' fare for a tuk-tuk back to the airport!
Steve's travel hint for today: when your new monk friend negotiates your fare, you win.
The flight to BKK was uneventful - I ended up spending a little more than I normally would to get a decent hotel right near the airport. It even had a fitness center - spot on.
As I planned my Jordan itinerary on the flight to Abu Dhabi, I began to get a little nervous about how this was all going to come together. Uncharted waters (sand?), these. By the time I landed in Jordan and picked up the rental car, there was no time to think about whether or not I knew what I was doing (hint: I didn't), it was sink or swim.
I ended up staying in Madaba,
This looks important...(?)
Any ideas? What should I have paid attention to here? at a popular ex-pat and western tourist hotel. Finding it...hmm, scratch that. Finding *anything* in Jordan is hardly straightforward. Signage on the highways is easy enough, but there's no street signs, no straight roads in town, and the chaos all around you pretty much guarantees a series of split-second decisions. Mostly wrong.
So I ended up parking the car and asking 5 different people where the hotel was (salaam alaykum...Mariam?). After walking half of Madaba, I finally found it - 1 block from where I'd parked. Shukran.
Yesterday (Monday) I drove up to Mt Nebo, which is the mountain overlooking Israel which Moses climbed to see the Promised Land. And it's true - you can see, from this one spot, Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, and shining in the distance...Jerusalem. Not far at all.
Then to Jesus' baptism site. Some places, esp. in Israel don't always strike me as the genuine article (i.e. "This is the place that Jesus slept once"), but this site has a lot going for it in terms of proof. I was in a group with an older guy from N. Carolina finishing up a business trip, and our guide was extremely helpful.
And,
Jesus Baptism Site
The channel on the L-hand side is the ancient channel for the Jordan river. The river has since moved further west. Most of the infrastructure dates from the 5th c. AD. This area, just north of the Dead Sea, is where John the Baptist based himself. it's not terribly hot - actually feels about like a hot summer day in Colorado. I didn't realize how much I missed the dry air.
Then cruised around looking for a petrol station (not nearly as easy as you would think), and more than a few folks at the station were wondering just how a blonde white guy was driving in Jordan. The goat I nearly hit a few minutes later confirmed their attitude - there's just more variables driving here than I know what to do with. It's a fun rush.
From there, it was the desert highway past Queen Alia all the way down to Wadi Musa, home of Petra. I met some awesome people @ the hotel (which was *way* easy to find), which I'll tell you more about tomorrow.
Insh'allah. - steve g
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Janelle
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Awesome!
What you are seeing and experiencing is competely awesome! I can't imagine what it would have been like to be on Mt. Nebo. Very cool Steve!