Amman

We ended our trip through Jordan and the Middle East in Amman.

Amman is the first big city that we've been to since we left Cairo over five weeks ago. It felt very strange being back in the big smoke amongst all the hustle, bustle and traffic.

Our first problem was disposing of the mighty pea. We had to drop the little fella off in the centre of Amman and were a bit apprehensive. Driving in the desert and smaller towns isn't too bad as there's not that much traffic to contend with, you're more wary of the donkeys, camels and children that wander aimlessly into the road. However; after witnessing the chaos of the roads in Cairo we weren't sure how bad Amman would be. It wasn't quite the all out war of the Egyptian capital but it was still fairly full on. We only nearly got mangled the once and thankfully made it to the drop off point without damaging the car (or ourselves).

Amman's not the most exciting city we've been to but we still managed to entertain ourselves for three days. It's not the prettiest city either but it does have a certain wonky charm about it.

Amman's the site of the Roman city of Philadelphia and there are a few remains scattered around including an amphitheater and an old citadel on the hill overlooking the town.

We also managed to sneak a trip into the cinema but there wasn't much of choice, Day of the Dead or GI Joe (no contest - zombies all the way!).

Our accommodation in Amman was a bit crumbly. The Bedeiwi Hotel and Hostel had great reviews on Trip Advisor and Hostel World but our experience was a little different, it made an attack by zombies seem quite pleasant. Once we negotiated the stroppy cow on reception we then had the fun of our room to contend with. In the first room we were given the fan didn't work and the toilet didn't flush. When we complained to the owner he suggested to use a bucket instead. I should point out that he meant to flush with, not to go on! We said that it wasn't good enough and wanted a different room. The next room we were given was marginally better as the fan worked and toilet flushed. However, the toilet seat wasn't attached and the toilet itself wasn't properly screwed to the floor. Sitting down was quite a test of your balance. It was a good job that it was Ramadan and we could get any alcohol otherwise there could have been all sorts of toilet related injuries! The sink wasn't attached to the walk either so if you grabbed that to steady yourself you would end up in even more of a mess squashed between two lumps of porcelain.

The beds were also horrible too and looked like they were straight out of a Victorian sanitarium or prison. They had been partly hacked about with a saw and had jaggedy bits of metal sticking out which Liz managed to gash her leg on. It was a long way from the Movenpick Dead Sea Resort and Spa, they didn't even have a pillow menu!

In the early hours of tomorrow morning (at 3:30) we leave the Middle East and its deadly toilets behind and fly to Kathmandu via Bahrain. Lets hope that the immigration folks in Bahrain don't see our little Israeli diversion.