Syria & Jordans Red or Dead

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Journal Entry: Friday, October 09, 2009

Time: 1:24 PM

moved on from the Nile resort, was very nice and the morning breakfast was something to behold, i wont need to eat for days, shame i cant take some of there coffee with me. Went to load the bike and the guy gives me my passport back, i say no rush i have to pay yet, he says no problem ? go to pay and he says no problem, i say i know but i really ought to be getting on and please could you take some money, another guy comes with good english, he says no its all free !! room food drinks mini bar the lot ?wow. that is good but it was an expensive place, maybe the best i have ever stayed in whilst traveling.
Unfortunately one good day is followed by a testing day (they have never been bad up to now ). whilst on the way to Damascus i notice the sump guard has broken again, no wonder British manufacturing is in the shit. i had the old repaired plate to fit on but i thought if i could go to one of the blacksmiths that you keep seeing at the side of the roads on the edge of the villages i could get that plate welded as i fit the old one, and this is what i did, this of course brought about much laughter and tea with the local guys who thought it great to see something different to a bus or cart to repair. Wouldn't take money so gave them my few remaining us dollars as a tip. The weld looked good too.
Carried on to Damascus without any incident, the smells from the hot earth permeated the diesel smoke from the buses every now and again to give you a scent of a strange land, the earth is a deep red and looks fertile if only you could get water to it, I had seen earlier on the news that the middle east is going through a bad drought, is there any other sort ?
Hit Damascus, not sure what day it is but it looks like Friday at five minutes past five, the place is crazy. I'm looking for hotels whilst not riding over into or under homicidal taxi drivers. I park up and walk. Hotels seem to be above shops with little or no parking, think this stems from it being such an old town. Stand still and people approach to help you !!! hotel mr, food mr ? One guy said he knew good hotel he take me, ok i say and he tries to climb on the bike, I soon put a stop to that i say you walk I follow, he says he is old.I say he wont get any younger on the bike.( although it does seem to have that effect with me ! ) A taxi driver says his friend has hotel follow him, why not i think, the old guy says don't give him money !!!!! get to hotel a couple of streets away and i go inside its a flea pit with no parking, i leave pronto. Taxi driver still outside, says he wants 100 lire, i laugh and say what for ? he says hotel. I say he hasn't found one yet and tell him to rip off someone a little less gullible and to bugger off whilst he still can. He follows me for a while which is a little worrying as i don't want him to nudge me off the bike so i faint to take an exit and the cut back to the roundabout, he is stuck in the lane and i watch as he frantically tries to get to the outside lane but fails LOL.
Try a couple more hotels and call it a day, getting a bit dispirited so head south again, dont want to go too far as i want to explore Damascus on foot. There are no hotels, it just isn't set up for visitors, hospitals are everywhere!! but not hotels, I keep going what else to do, think of rough camping, its an option but being on your own, here, maybe its not such a good idea. I see two guys on a little motorbike and pull up alongside and wave them down, I ask for hotels, they say no, further on ? no Jordan or Damascus they say, nothing else !!i say Damascus no, and well i might camp, they advise not to camp and why don't i stay with them ??
I know i had a little briefing from a friend in the army and he would throw his hands in the air and shake his head, but they looked like good guys, and I instigated the conversation.
I followed them to there house, they were brothers, two of ten, eleven now!! and two sisters mother father and two wives and associated children, see what happens with no tv or internet.
What a great introduction to Syrian life, the women are very pretty even though they keep themselves very covered up, and are especially giggly. they did not mix with the guys, just waited on them, and sat on the roof as we were either in the main room or outside.Very subservient, think i like my women a bit more how shall i say ,hmm challenging, lol.
But the more you get to know them the more they open up, and there is a very strange hierarchy in there society, about two o'clock in the morning I had to do the meet and greet with the father shake hands and rub cheeks felt a bit strange just there in my pants , I wonder what he was thinking ?most of the boys slept either on the roof or in this room, the ones that were married had separate rooms for there family's, where did they find the privacy to create all these children ?
Next day a little weary me and mo went to Damascus on the bike, his face when i wound it up, he was worried about losing his hair like me ...we rode around taking pics and then dumped the bike near to the old bazaar and mosque in the heart of the old town, that's the best thing about the bike not only can you get into these places but you can find somewhere to leave it too, and take off on foot.
had a good few hours mooching around, had some lacoste red scent made up for mo's father, a scarf thing for his mother and mo a pair of jeans as a way of saying thank-you.Also had a very nice icecream made as in the olden days, nothing like we get at home but very nice even so.
Returned home for a brew and then made my exit to the accompaniment of all the local kids racing me down the road.Very nice time, and very good people, extremely lucky i think to have such a strong family and community around them.
Made the border and exited Syria with good wishes and smiles, got into Jordan with even more smiles and wishes, not too expensive either, 10 dinar for the visa 30 day one way, months insurance 22 dinar and vehicle import tax another 20 dinar, luckily i had enough Syrian money to convert it at the border where there is an exchange bureau, but again only cash could be used.
Filled up my camelback at the last passport checks chilled water dispenser and left to a new land, again.
It was immediately apparent this place is a lot richer, the infrastructure, the roads the buildings everything was getting bigger and newer.Also the police rather than racing them on there little mopeds were stationed every few miles with radar traps, luckily I kept a tight rein on the throttle and got to Amman unscathed, and know I would like to say it was planned but im just dammed lucky, found a hotel nice and central that put the bike in the lobby ( nice ), and liked it that much i said two nights, I later find out it is king Husseins 66th birthday (Jordan commemorates King Hussein's birthday
AMMAN (JT) — Jordan today marks the 66th anniversary of the birth of the late King Hussein, who reigned for nearly five decades.)
roads were shut and it was a day off for everyone, a big parade ensued and much fun was had.I even went for a all over cut throat shave to make myself presentable, something I felt was most agreeable.
Tomorrow to the dead see for a swim and a facial..lol.



Woke nice and early, consumed breakfast and hit the road, unfortunately all the controls had been played with and the mirrors were loose, nothing malicious just inquisitive i guess.stopped for fuel and to tighten the mirror , getting the spanners out i notice the sidestand bolt on its last threads, tighten that up too. A local guy at the garage says hi and ends up steam cleaning the bike whilst i wash my hands, wouldn't take anything, but i shook his hand till it must have hurt.lol.
Got to the Dead sea and hand a look at the movenpick hotel that i had read about, didn't like it, very clean and flash but soulless and impersonal. Maybe with a friend if you were making your own entertainment, but not for me on my own, especially at 165 dinar a night. went a little down the coast and went to the Amman Beach, at 12 dinar far better value, nice beach and showers with a fresh water pools too. Trying to swim was very very funny, you just sort of bob about and it really is true you can just lie there and read a paper,wicked. Spent a nice few hours topping my tan, others were getting the mudpacks but i didn't seemed a shame to waste it on my ugly mug.
Later I continued on southwards not sure what to do, Aqaba was a long way, Petra less so but smaller so less choice of places to stay, my mind was made for me when i got to one of the numerous check points, I needed fuel soon and the guys said it was left to Petra but no fuel or straight on for aqaba and fuel in 65Km, easy choice.
It was strange to be riding through the desert and past the fort where Lawrence of Arabia made his name, the dunes were magnificent and to see signs warning of camels and then to see some actually at work herding goats was a pleasure.I would love to be out there on my own in the night, i will make it happen, just a bit difficult camping here as its on the border and military presence is high to say the least.
I got to Aqaba late afternoon and found a hotel, bit out of my budget but i gave it some of the paddy reid school of hard negotiations at got the cost from 130 to 80 after much haggling. The place is mint with a great pool and massive bed, its that big i don't know which way to lie in it? Gave security some sweet talk and locked the bike up and its got 24hr guard in its own gated car park so it should be OK.
Nearly burnt the room down with my stove, just fancied a proper coffee so got the stove out and I must have spilt a bit of meths cause when i lit it the whole table went up, lol and the book i had put it on....no damage done...much

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Photos

Sunset over Beruit
View Heading south through Syria,

New gear
Mo trying out my gear, great time and Hospitality yet again.

Syrian meal
Really was not hungry (again ) but i really enjoyed whatever i was eating

Old town Souq
The very old Souq in the even older town of Damascus, i rode down here the day before following a truck, i thought it was strange everyone looking at me !!!!

Souq
Bit in Arabic says no motorised vehicles

Close shave
Just had to be done, felt great

Dead Sea
What a nice time was had here, really weird to start with but then you just relax and let time drift by until pink.

Hmm sign
Not one you get very often at home, nice to see them in there natural environment working not just in a zoo