Advertisement
We arrived in Jordan early on Tuesday morning. I stepped out of the plane not knowing what to expect… Jordan is the first Muslim country I have been to and I was feeling very self conscious about my exposed arms and ankles. I soon found out that, even though most of the locals are dressed very conservatively, I had nothing to worry about.
Jordan is wonderful. The people are SO welcoming, friendly and helpful. Everywhere we went people would say, ‘Welcome to Jordan’ and offer us all sorts of advice and assistance. Jordanians love their country, and I can see why. It’s an amazing place and I can’t recommend it enough as an excellent travel destination.
The temperature, like Thailand, was between 30 and 40 degrees during the day… yet unlike Thailand there is absolutely no humidity and overnight the temperature drops to about 20C, so it is really comfortable (I was so excited about being able to ditch the headband that I had been using to cope with my humidity hair!). Like Thais, the Jordanians love their king… but that’s where the similarities end!
Besides a large tour group of Malaysian Muslim women, we were the only
tourists on the flight from Bangkok. Everyone else was only in Amman to get on a transfer to Tel Aviv.
The first thing we did was hire a car from the airport and drive to Petra. We took the desert road and the scenery was like nothing I have seen before. Desert, desert, and beyond the desert more desert! The earth is dry and dusty and there is virtually no greenery in sight. On the side of the road there are a few small shops and homes, and lots of goats and goat herders, and also some Bedouin settlements.
We arrived in Wadi Musa (town around Petra) at about 11am and I had my first taste of genuine Middle Eastern food… YUM! We devoured a bowl of hummus, fresh pita, Arab salad and a traditional Bedouin dish (it was a bit like a curry… but not at all hot), and delicious baklava. Hummus, falafel and baklava were the staples of my diet in Jordan.
Petra was great. We took two days half days to explore some of the tombs and sculptures. The place is enormous. It’s mind-blowing to imagine how it was constructed and what the day-to-day
The Treasury, Petra
We got there before it was too crowded with tourists! life would have been like. We only saw the more accessible sights, if it was cooler it would have been good to keep exploring and hike to some of the others. Our first Petra visit was in the middle of the day. It was extremely hot and extremely busy! There were tourists everywhere and local guides to speak each language (I heard English, French, Italian, Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, Russian and German). The atmosphere was hectic - horses, donkeys, camels and chariots going back and forth, carting around exhausted tourists! The next day we got up extra early to beat the crowds… and it was well worth it. The sun was not as strong and it was much quieter.
From Petra we took the alternative route through the countryside (so much great scenery and many winding roads)… and I had my first-ever attempt at driving on the right-hand side of the road. I think I did pretty well… Yuda may disagree (but HE was the one who actually ended up on the wrong side of the road at one stage!). My driving stint taught me that all the speedhumps in Jordan are invisible, changing gears with my right hand is
awkward, and roundabouts are terrifying when you’re on the other side of the road.
We visited Kerak castle (ruins of a crusader’s fort) and intended to stay at the Dead Sea… but when we got there we found that the only places to stay were luxury resorts well out of our price range. So I’m just going to have to ‘do the Dead Sea’ in Israel.
We drove on to Mudaba, a city near Mount Nebo (where Moses died) famous for the Byzantine mosaics that have been unearthed there… We stayed in a guesthouse very close to a mosque. It was a true guesthouse. The owners were Christian Jordanians (the Church of Saint George is in Mudaba) and very accommodating (even though we had no hot water, towels, soap or toilet paper). They pointed us in the direction of excellent cheap food and gave us travel advice.
The next day we made an early start to Amman… and discovered that it was only 30kms away! It was a good thing we made such an early start… because once we entered the city we drove around lost for almost three hours. I was relieve Yuda was driving. The
traffic is madness and none of the roads are straight and the intersections are VERY confusing!
Once we were sorted out we went to the Citadel. It’s amazing. It’s a site on the top of a hill in Amman with Roman and Byzantine ruins and relics. The Temple of Hercules is really impressive. It’s from the second century and has held up pretty well! Equally as impressive is a huge, 8th century, Byzantine cistern (Dad you would have liked it!).
Travel advice:
1. If you hire a car in Jordan and intend to drive in Amman… GET A REALLY GOOD MAP! And be ready for the Amman driving style (crazy) before you go.
2. Don’t plug your laptop into the network at Kindi Hotel Suites, Amman. You will get hundreds of viruses.
I hope to return to Jordan soon. We didn’t get to see anything in the North and I could have definitely spent a few more days in Amman.
Yesterday we arrived in Israel. I’m staying in Kibbutz Messilot (Yuda’s kibbutz), it’s close to the Jordanian border… the nearest big town is Bet Shean. It took us about two hours to cross the border, thanks
to the very thorough Israeli security.
I’ve met Yuda’s family and friends. Everyone is nice. But I am exhausted from trying (and failing) to understand Hebrew. Unfortunately I haven’t had many opportunities to ask in Hebrew, ‘How many children do you have?’ and ‘Where is the bathroom?’ …that’s about the extent of my Hebrew skills. Although I was very excited when I managed to read and recognise the word ‘falafel’ in Hebrew! Cheap thrills.
I will write more about Israel soon.
Sorry this entry is so long. I forgive you for not reading it properly! Keep me up to date with everything… and get on Skype! I have Skype access here.
PS...
- All my health problems have gone away… just a little bit of rash remains on my legs (sorry Ash… I will not start growing branches)
- Heaps and heaps of Jordan photos on my facebook
- I didn’t get the job. Will look for another one… next week.
- Jacqui stop checking your work email on Sundays
- Tan, tell Jase I hope his Astro-related illnesses get better ASAP
- Jill, you would be in food heaven here. Olives, tomatoes that even I like,
Yuda and Trina
taking a break at the Citadel, Amman Lebanese cucumbers, hummus, eggplant, goat’s cheese…
- Lauren, stop procrastinating! I’ll email you soon.
- I will be replying all emails ASAP… keep them coming! I really appreciate them.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.122s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 8; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0493s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb