Aqaba, Jordan 18-19 May

We were only in Aqaba for one night and a day as a stop over before heading northwards to Amman then (as was the plan) on to Damascus in Syria.



Aqaba is a tax-free resort city that has a bit of a worn air to it. Its right at the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba and there is a lot of boat traffic in the area due to the nearby borders with Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The beaches around the city are pretty awful and strewn with rubbish and glass but that didn’t seem to stop the kids splashing round having a ball. There is definitely a huge divide between the public and private beaches and the entrance fee to the latter was double our accommodation cost. Needless to say we didn’t go in there but hung out drinking tea with the locals in the tents beside the public beach (avoiding the glass!). We should have taken a photo of the public beach for comparison but only took one of the Movenpick resort beach that clearly had sand trucked in from somewhere.



We used the day in Aqaba to do admin, a load of very grimy washing (wearing the same clothes for three days isn’t that unpleasant but they do get very dirty :-)) and basically look around. There isn’t a lot to do there apart from lax out on the beaches out of the city and diving. Watched the sun set from the Royal Yacht Club terrace (no-one was around and we snuck up there unseen).



Headed out on a huge double-decker bus to Amman the next morning – we had front seats so a desert panorama the whole way.

Wadi Rum, Jordan 16-18 May 08

We had more transportation headaches getting (I think we're a bit jinxed when it comes to buses!) to Wadi Rum from Wadi Musa when the 0600 bus didn't arrive to pick us up as expected (and assured). At 0645 there was a mad dash in a taxi to chase the bus and we got on about 15km outside Wadi Musa. All a bit of a kerfuffle early in the morning but we’re learning that there is at least one transportation drama a day here. Jordan is only a small country so the journey to Wadi Rum took about 90mins and we were met by a Bedouin chap called Difallah. Difallah was the most laid back individual we have ever met (made Euan look like an energiser bunny (Euan made that comparison not me!!)) and seemed like he was in a haze and half asleep most of the time but by God was he sharp! Anyhow, he had 10 kids (6 girls, 4 boys) – imagine it?! Here are four of the girls some of whom had the blackest hair out. It was the weekend here (Friday) so some were still wearing their PJs.



Thanks to our host, our stay in Wadi Rum was very laid back – a bit too laid back even for Euan who, after asking what we were doing shortly after we arrived, got the response “you here to fight or here to travel?”. We eventually decided there wasn't any other option other than to go with the flow so went to check out the animals that were around the place before heading off hiking.

The girls didn’t even get changed out of their PJs


The camel next door really wanted to get hold of some of the chaff the goats were eating.


After hiking up through sand and rocks to see the local spring close to Rum village we got back to find the camels had been saddled and we headed out into the desert to where we were going to camp. Camels are cool to ride but a few hours in you really know about it and its difficult to get comfy. Difallah’s camels were clearly well loved – they didn’t grumble when you got on them, cringe when you went to touch them and seemed more like pets really. Our camels were hooked up to a lead camel so neither of us was going anywhere fast!

We stopped for a breather after an hour and a bit and the camels got something to drink – the one in the below pic was a real character. We got a banana out of our bag and he spotted it and moved quicker than I thought a camel could ever move.


I defended the banana at first


and only gave him the skin


but he actually ended up with a lot more than that


(before anyone has 10 fits, the ring on my left hand is just tat and there for show. I am fed up with being propositioned, getting offers of "well paid" employment, people trying to buy me off Euan etc etc so we thought a ring might deter. We feel like complete frauds but it works a treat).

After a few hours on the camels we arrived at the camp in time for lunch. I hadn’t eaten much meat since we left the UK so to be presented with a plate of lamb that had been killed that morning and cooked in a pit Bedouin-style was just too much. It tasted SO good. Euan is off meat (and food in general at the mo) after some very dodgy food in Petra. The lunch set the tone for the food in the desert and, because there was just Euan and I camping out, we just ate Bedouin food with Difallah and his family. Went off in the 4x4 for the afternoon - Wadi Rum is such a big place getting anywhere by camel or foot is incredibly slow. The opportunities for rock scrambling are huge and if climbing is your thing, there are some amazing climbing sites.



When we arrived at the camp we were very surprised to find a very pale, very American girl already there, dressed in traditional Islamic dress. It turns out that her best mate came here on a school trip a few years back, fell in love with Difallah’s eldest son (who was 15 at the time) and they married a few months later.


I spotted a likeness to the Lion King posters in London in this rock


We were dropped off to watch the sunset which actually didn’t amount to anything so spent a lot of time instead photographing the surrounding rocks, sand formations etc







That night the moonlight was so strong it was like the light in an eclipse and the rocks cast weird shadows on the sand but it was easy enough to see – no torch required at all. It got very cold and windy that night and the camels kept coming over to see whether we were food or not. Euan woke in the morning and had a bird sitting on his foot and the camels were sitting about 7ft from the end of our bed. Very cool.



The following morning we went hiking (self guided of course – our host wasn’t interested in walking in the desert in mid-morning heat!). Walking in the sand is hard work and we realised pretty quickly that Difallahs sense of distance was very very skewed!


That afternoon we hooked up with a large group from Israel who were travelling with their own policeman. We weren’t sure if that made us safe or not but it was cool to talk to a bunch of people from a very different country. Israel sounds like an interesting place and we’d be there in a flash if an Israeli stamp in our passports didn’t meant that we’d be refused entry back into Syria. Now that we can’t travel to Lebanon (the border is still closed) we’ve some time to spare.

The Burdah bridge doesn’t look high but getting up there was a bit hairy and I should have known that I’d struggle to get back down! You can’t see my face but the other pics Euan took shows me chewing my lip, frowning and trying to work out how to get back down. I really was quite worried. Crocs are hardly ideal climbing footwear!


For sunset, we scrambled up as high as we could to catch light


To get a sense of distance, the wee white spec up by the rocks in the distance just diagonally left of my head is a 4x4


That night we crashed under the rock overhang rather than out in the open and had a better sleep as there were no camels at the camp that night but there were mice that were having a ball running round on our packs behind our heads. I was more worried about the mega ants that were zooming around – one of those in the bed would send me over the top.

Out of the desert early the next morning and onto the only bus (0600 again and this time we made it) to Aqaba. From desert to sea in little over an hour.

Wadi Musa (Petra), Jordan 14-16 May 08

(just to convince you that the Dead Sea is toxic to sinuses, my nose is still running).

Getting around this country is such a mission and one thing we’d recommend is either come with loads of time to spare for hitching or waiting for taxis to fill up, or take a tour. Paying a wee bit extra (tour, hiring a car or paying a driver) is worth it to avoid the hassle of finding transport around the country. It costs a lot to go anywhere between the major sites and many of them are off the beaten track. For eg. We travelled from Amman to Madaba on the local bus for the equivalent of just under GBP1 but to get from Madaba to Wadi Musa (Petra) cost us close on GBP40. Very infuriating but transport south basically stops at the verge of this massive canyon – the Wadi Mujib. Its about 1km deep and 4km across and the distance between the towns is around 30km and there is no transport in between. There seemed to be very few cars going through so you could be waiting hours for a lift. Oh, and the advice about a visa has only been tested at land border crossings, not arriving at an airport!



Anyhow, it was a great trip to Wadi Musa nonetheless and we got to see some great scenery. The guy who drove us was good value although seemed to prefer me to shut up (which I’m slowly learning to do to) and almost seemed to pretend I wasn’t there. Some of the men clearly don’t like dealing with a (lippy) women. Euan has been forced to put bartering, negotiating and conversational skills into play where I on the other hand, get to enjoy a good book!!

We had to stop for a chat as the policeman was his younger brother.


Bedouin Tents – these guys live anywhere. God knows where they get the water from but we saw one lady loading up a donkey who was carrying four big water drums.


We had to stop so Muhammad (driver) could pray


We’re staying two nights in a grungy pension about 5km from Petra but its cheap, quiet and clean beds (the most important things). We’ve not yet slept on the roof, which seems to be a popular option for backpackers in Syria and Jordan – we figured we’d pay an extra GPB2 and get a bed. We’re well and truly back under budget – a few cheap night buses and cheap hotels in Syria sorted that one out for us.

I was assured by Euan that this was definitely tat but I thought they were pretty cool nonetheless and would have bought one if I didn’t have to carry it and risk sand ALL through my pack. All the sand comes from Petra and the colours are as they are on the site – no colouring, additives or E numbers in these. There were the usual sand mountains, camels etc, but neither of us had seen anything quite this intricate.


We visited Petra early in the morning and managed to beat the hoards of tourists which was a good move. There is a bit of a walk from the town to the siq, which is the entrance to Petra. The siq, I think, is one of the most impressive things about Petra. Its basically a big mountain of rock that has cracked down the middle, leaving a gorge (estimated 3m at narrowest, 6m widest) that is 1.2km long and gives access to the valley that is Petra.

The start of the siq – not so impressive but gets more so the further in you walk.


A bit further in… (you can see some ripples of colour in the rocks)



A sneaky peak of whats at the end


The Treasury (shame about the shadow)


Looking back at the end of the siq and the entrance to Petra


The site is so huge and some folk take days to get around it. Euan was recovering from some bad food the night before (now he’s not eating meat either!) so planted himself in one place while I went exploring. Not so bad as he’s been here before and has seen the sights. I hiked up to the Monastery which was a bit of a climb and its amazing the number of lazy b*stards who use the donkeys. Honestly, as an Indian chap said to me “if you have an enemy in this life, wish that they come back in the next as an ass”. Some of the folk on the donkeys looked like they could have done with a bit of walking. The view and the Monastery were worth the effort.

The Monastery


There were also a few young goats that were playing one of the rock faces. How cute are they? Check out their ears!!


Some of the rocks looked like they’d had hot wax (or caramel sauce?) poured all over them


And the colours were stunning


Check this out – only a small section


But the colours were everywhere


The 7000 seat amphitheatre


Donkeys put up with an awful lot


Showing off

Madaba and around, Jordan 12-14 May 08

We were only in Amman one night – got there very late and what a hoohah going through the border! Everyone off the bus, ALL bags off the bus, ALL bags looked into (except ours – we obviously don’t look dodgy yet but some of the looks the locals gave us were!) and then a lot more faffing before everyone loads their own bags back into the bus hold then on the bus. All takes hours. Then there is the duty free stop where the prices were so so cheap – we nearly bought bottles and bottles. Get this. 1lt Absolute Vodka for GBP£7, 1lt of Bombay Sapphire Gin GBP£6 and a carton of Marlborough for GBP£6. Needless to say, booze and fags were loaded onto the bus in vast quantities by others but I’m pleased to say we walked empty handed. Sigh.

We took a bus to Madaba (we’re over big dusty cities at the moment) the next morning and another nightmare trying to find the bus station which had moved again! Argh! We got on a local bus, were directed by a big tall Arab man who 1st shook Euans hand, then mine, then wouldn’t let mine go all the time rattling a never ending stream of Arabic at me until I managed to free my hand. Euan said “he was just telling you he liked your smile” – yeah, whatever!! There isn’t much in Madaba except a famous 6th century mosaic but there is plenty of things to see nearby. We negotiated with a local service taxi to take us to the Dead Sea and around for the day. It seems that you can only swim in the Dead Sea in certain places and the beaches are man-made and maintained. The other challenge with Jordan is that public transport is minimal and limited to the main cities which makes it really difficult to get to sites off the main highway. Apparently the Dead Sea has got 20x more bromine, 15x more magnesium and 10x more iodine compared to normal sea water and reading it described as an “oily broth” is very apt. It is a very very cool sensation to be suspended vertically in the water or bob around on the surface like a cork but if you’ve got any grazes or scratches, no matter how minute, jeez they’ll sting like anything.

Amman Beach, Dead Sea


Along the Dead Sea highway were the best signs we’ve ever seen. Check this out. How cool is this sign?!


OK, there are a few pics here (huge novelty factor for me). Euan had already had enough of bobbing (you can’t do much else!) and had already got out to take pics. I’d managed to spash myself in the eye so was already squinting and stinging but didn’t want to get out.

Oh, yes. The mud pack was great but the not-so-helpful man behind me spread it on my face too


OK. This is my biggest tip ever. If you’re in the Dead Sea, whatever you do, DO NOT put your head under. I didn’t mean to, honest. I was a bit excited about it all but being so careful not to get any in my mouth (got none) or eyes (got quite a lot) as just dipping your finger in and licking it is enough to induce your saliva glands to go into overdrive. I’d managed to be pretty careful for most of the time we were in there and my eyes were stinging anyhow so I was just sitting there playing round in the water with my knees up at my chest like a ball (a stupid stupid idea) when the weight of my legs must have shifted a bit too high and I rolled backwards so quickly I didn’t have time to fix the roll. I went right under in a backwards roll, got completely dunked and while I managed to close my eyes and mouth, the stuff went right up my nose. This, we now know, brings on the symptoms of having a massive cold. My nose ran (and is still running 10 hours later) trying to get rid of the stuff, I got a massive headache and inside my ears hurt. It was (and still is) quite funny but seriously, we didn’t see anyone else coming out with wet hair. What a complete idiot!!!

Pre-roll (there is no post-roll fortunately) with my eyes already stinging


Stopped off at Mt Nebo which is where Moses first saw the promised land. It was pretty hazy when we were there but we could make out Jericho and the Jordan/Israel border. It didn’t look like much if I’m being honest.

The promised land….? Hmm…..


The rock used to close the church door was much more fun


Being a Kiwi in Jordan is quite good. At all the police checkpoints today, Euans passport got hidden under my Kiwi one, the driver just said in Arabic that he had a New Zealander on board and we got waved on through. These guys had these massive Hummers painted a sand colour with machine guns mounted on the roof. Really cool and a bit annoyed I didn’t get a photo. We were quite close to the Israeli border so police presence was high. Our driver was asking if we were married (and unfortunately the easy answer is yes otherwise propositions go on all over the place) and the he wanted to know how much Euan had paid for me. I was getting ready to thump him (Euan) in case he said “not much” but he was surprisingly complimentary. Then the driver asked how much would a Kiwi wife cost…. I really think he believed Euan had bought me. Disbelief. Its hot hot hot down by the Dead Sea – a really baking heat but because the sea is like an oil and you can’t splash around much, swiming isn't actually that refreshing. A very cool experience nonetheless and a highlight for me thus far. Euan has been here before so was a bit less enthusiastic and excited than I about the whole thing. Another day in Madaba then we think we’re off to Wadi Musa to visit Petra and have organised two nights in the desert in Wadi Rum. Taken in by 4WD then going the rest of the way by camel.