Aqaba

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October 11, 2013



Our time in Wadi Rum had come to an end (sadly!) so it was off to the southern tip of Jordan and the town of Aqaba...port city on the banks of the Red Sea, didn't really have much of a plan but thought we'd check it out...we had booked two nights there, with a spare third night that we would either spend in Aqaba or keep it as an extra night in Amman...but with the nice weather and more liberal atmosphere (i.e. pints and patios were available!) we decided to stay the three nights...haha...

Spent the first day exploring the waterfront...local beach was happening, lots of locals enjoying the sand and water...had our first pint(s) on a patio which was great...we booked a dinner cruise that evening which was fun; cruised the harbor and had a good laugh and drinks with some Saudi guys, very funny...and we would see them periodically over the next couple of days, yelling at each other across lanes of traffic...haha...

Next day we hopped a shuttle to a private beach and spent the day there...pretty cool, had a nice pool and a nice beach, went for a couple of dips in the Red Sea which was fun...had lunch and just really chilled out, not a whole lotta culture that day...finally had some yummy seafood at a restaurant recommended by one of the guys at the hotel, definitely the thing to do in Aqaba...

Decided to have a lazy day our final day here, so just poked around some markets, back to the waterfront and tried to see the fort at Aqaba but it was unfortunately closed to maintenance...

Not much to report here but really enjoyed it...we had been up and on the move for a few days so it was nice to just relax before heading back to Amman...and it was really cool being able to sit in one place and see Israel across the harbor, with Egypt a bit further down, Saudi Arabia to your left and of course Jordan all around...beautiful spot...

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Photos

Waterfront in Aqaba...
...oh yes, the Red Sea...

Train
Cab driver stopped to show us this on our way out of Wadi Musa...tourist train, but also used to shoot movies as well...

A Day at the Beach...
...the locals enjoying themselves...camel and all! Haha...and that's Israel across the harbor, very cool...

View from our room...
...not too shabby!

On the boat...
(KC)

Beach Day
...can't remember the name of the resort, very cool though...

Chillin' on our balcony...
...sweet...(KC)

Al-Sharif Al Hussein bin Ali Mosque
...beautiful mosque along the main drag...

And of course...
...turns out the Rovers Return is a chain, found one in Aqaba as well...haha...

Sunset in Aqaba...
...as seen again from our hotel room...nice...