  Jordan
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 3977 Jordan Tips.7827 Jordan Photos.2 Jordan Videos. Jordan Pages by coceng
| Page Views: 1,092 Last Visit to Jordan: April, 2005 | Petra & The Expensiveness Of Jordan... by coceng - last update: Jul 14, 2005 |
EURO TRIP 2001
EURO TRIP 2002
EURO TRIP 2003
EURO TRIP 2004
MIDDLE EAST TRIP 2005:
LEBANON
SYRIA
JORDAN
EGYPT
April 2005 :
Petra, that was the first thing I knew about Jordan before I read anything about this country.
Thanks to Indiana Jones movie, the one with Sean Connery in it; I wanted to walk along the donkey path between huge rocks like Sean Connery did on a donkey. Well, I could just walk with my own 2 feet.
I thought it was a movie set until I saw a poster in Brussels (Belgium) that I discovered the path was actually exist !
It's in Jordan & it's called The Siq...
2005 would be my Middle East year; I told myself that I wanted to walk along The Siq & I didn't want to wait to see The Pyramids either in Egypt !
Initially wanted to fly direct from KL to Amman but I got cheaper ticket that made me flying to Lebanon, then to Syria & passing through Jordan instead !
Jordan is expensive ! 1 Jordanian Dollar is more that 1 US Dollar !
Planned with some people which only 1 person that I really met, that was in Amman.
Crossing the border from Syria was an experience ! People advised me not to but I did it anyway.
Got cheated on the very first day made me be awared of things & people that I would encounter in Jordan !
The north is windy & a bit chilly. Maybe it was in April.
The North :
In Um Qais, I managed to see part of Israel, Lake Galilee...Amazing sights especially at sun down !
Ajlun has a fort perched on a hill & Jerash has a big Roman (ruined) area.
Then to Amman, a bustle city; A Roman Theater is nice...Met up with Ahmed & slept on his sofa.
Next to Madaba to see The Mosaics; Had times to see The Dead Sea, no I didn't have the time to float on it but rushed to Mt. Nebo...Scenic views ! Moses must be looking at the same sceneries aeons ago.
Karak , almost in the middle of Jordan has another castle or fort...again perched on a hill !
The South :
The south is hot, boiling hot sometimes !
Petra was amazing ! Spent 1 whole day there; Climbed up to The Monastery & High Place of Sacrifice...You can hire donkeys, no problem but I walked with my own 2 feet.
Too bad that all my digital photos taken in Petra were lost due to my memory stick error, whatever that meant...
I was so pissed that I purposely missed Wadi Rum !
Rushed to Aqaba just to take the ferry to Nuweiba; Thought that I should take new photos (new travel life ?) in Egypt !
Jordan is expensive ! According to me.
Jordan is also hassle-free except in Petra which an invite for tea meaning that you have to buy something from them The Bedouins!
Or you get the remark, "Not Nice !"
You will also hear, " Look !... Free !"
Meaning if you are looking it's free, if you want to have it, then you have to buy it !
People don't really speak English but tourists areas no problem.
Public transports are cheap if only you know how much they costs as the locals do. In some areas, we have to wait until there are enough people on board for the bus to move; This could take minutes or hours !
Schwarma, not eay to find !
Jordan is nice but expensive ! |
| My Itineraries Around Jordan... |
MY ITINERARIES...
16th April (Saturday) : In the morning, I was in Damascus, Syria; Then seeing The Roman Theater in Bosra (still in Syria), crossed the border to arrive in Ramtha in Jordan ! Then a bus to Irbid, got conned of the bus fares when the bus stopped in Irbid. From Irbid, another bus to Um Qais.
Also in Um Qais, I saw parts of Israel; Sea of Galilee & the infamous Golan Heights ! Amazing sights considering I couldn't enter Israel for this trip !
So, Jordan was the 3rd country of this 1st Middle East trip for me.
17th April (Sunday) : Morning bus back to Irbid, then a bus to Ajlun. An old Muslim fort perched on a hill; Later a taxi to Jerash. Roman ruins just everywhere & it's a huge area !
In the early evening, a bus to Amman, the capital of Jordan. Called up Adel only to be told that Ahmed would pick me up instead...
Slept at their place after a tiring day. They loved my photos !
18th April (Monday) : I decided not to stay another night in Amman but moved to Madaba. Seeing the famous mosaics was nice ! I also chartered a taxi to The Dead Sea & Mt. Nebo. Didn't swim in The Dead Sea but just played with the water & seeing Israel on the other side. Also, my taxi driver even scooped a mud for me to bring back to Malaysia. Then, he took me to Mt. Nebo, seeing mountains & thinking that Moses probably seeing the same 'highs & lows' in front of him. At the hotel in Madaba, the receptionists were laughing at me for bringing back the mud from The Dead Sea. They said the quantity that I took back was just enough for a lab test ! I should have brought tons & tons of them (the mud) ! I just smiled, telling myself that I was not that crazy (like them maybe...).
19th April (Tuesday) : Had to wake up early just so that I could catch the university bus to Karak to see the Karak Castle. I couldn't sit for 2 hours because all the seats were 'unofficially' reserved for the students !
Yes, maybe all these students also had their coffins reserved for them ! Huh !
Arrived in Karak, high up & had to drag my luggage. After ample time in Karak, I had to reach Petra, the highlight of this trip in Jordan.
First, from Karak...took a bus to Ma'an. I had to wait for the bus to fill in enough passengers in Karak before it finally departed to Ma'an.
In Ma'an, another waiting time to a point that a man was so annoyed that he started to make a big fuss of, "How much longer do I have to wait !?"
Finally, I reached Wadi Musa...the town leading to The Ancient City of Petra. Checked in to a hotel which only accepted men. |
20th April (Wednesday) :
Entered Petra at 6 am. walked along The Siq, amazing ! Feeling good as this path was also done by Sean Connery (the actor), although he was on a donkey ! Spent 1 whole day around Petra. Climbed up to The Monastery...2 hours !
Climbed up to The High Place Of Sacrifice, another 2 hours ! I was bushed going down & seeing too many people, students mostly I decided to go out ! Feeling good, feeling happy !
Stopped by at a photo shop then suddenly things went kaput ! There's a problem when the photo shop tried to download my photos from my memory stick into a CD-R ! ALL my photos taken (previously) in The Dead Sea, Mt. Nebo, Karak Castle & Petra were all gone !
The photo shop blamed my memory stick & I (secretly) blamed them ! Well, I had to blame someone didn't I ?
Thank God I still had my photos from my other (cheap) camera...Nevertheless, I was just went moody after that !
Still, I 'picked up the pieces' & still went for Petra Night Excursion & I had to refotmat my memory stick just so that I could take some night photos around Petra. Didn't enjoy much...Slept early. Didn't feel good at all ! NOT at all !
21st April (Thursday) : I woke up early, I wanted to leave Petra ! I wanted to leave Jordan. No, I didn't think of what happened the previously day as a bad omen or something like that but I was guttered ! Really guttered ! After all, I was all around Petra & I did some good hikings & climbings around Petra; It's just that I don't have any more photos from my sweet sweet memories while sweating them out in Petra !
I took a bus to Aqaba. Yes, I purposely skipped Wadi Rum ! Sure, I wanted to be in a desert but in Egypt, which was my next destination & no more in Jordan...
In Aqaba, I bought the ferry ticket (USD 39) to Nuweiba in Egypt. It was the fast ferry...only 1 hour.
Had some nice companies on the ferry; A German girl studying Arabic in Irbid (that bad place for me ! Read the above text, will ya !) & it's nice listening to her story about how the Jordanians accepting her especially she had a piercing on her chin ! Also sitting next to me were 2 elderly sisters from German. They were really nice ! They lent me their pen & asked me to keep it for good. We arrived in Nuweiba..in 1 hour's time. Was it getting better for me ?
Do you really want to know ?
I can say that after arriving in Nuweiba, I would hurry up to Dahab, so see my photos & happenings around Dahab then !
Anyway, bye Jordan ! Bye Ahmed, bye Adel, bye Ala...& a few other people that I didn't call & meet up because I just wanted to hurry up with my trip...
I like to come to Jordan again ! No, not that I want to go to Petra again just to take photos ! I would sure love to see Wadi Rum & of course meeting people that I met & that I didn't meet.
One day... |
> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]
| Pros: | "Still A Whole New Great Sites/Places To Explore !" | | Cons: | "Too Expensive For Me ! Maybe Not So For Most Of You..." | | In A Nutshell: | "At Least Come To PETRA !" |
coceng's Jordan Travel Tips
| Overview | Things to Do
Tips: 3 - Photos: 3 | | | | Restaurants | Hotels & Accommodations | | | | Nightlife | Off The Beaten Path | | | | Tourist Traps | Warnings Or Dangers
Tips: 1 | | | Transportation
Tips: 1 | Local Customs | | | | Packing Lists | Shopping | | | | Sports Travel | General Tips |
 coceng's Jordan Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for coceng about Jordan | | | | |
matcrazy1 Thu Jul 21, 2005 19:59 UTC
I would love to visit at least Petra and to see the dead Sea... Original pyramidis in travelogue :-) |
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