We left Amman at the incredibly stupid time of half three in the morning flew to Manama in Bahrain for a brief stop over. Thankfully our fifteen minutes through Israel weren't spotted by the immigration officials and we were allowed to change planes.
The leg of the flight from Bahrain to Nepal passed in somewhat of a blur, for me at least. Not long after take off the stewardesses came round with the drinks trolly. I think that they must have known that the passengers were escaping from a Ramadan no alcohol zone and felt the need to provide much support, the gin and tonic that I was given looked like it was at least a quadruple. Then when the food came round shortly afterwords I was given another equally large measure.
The lack of alcohol intake during Ramadan, the unusually generous measures and having no sleep for two days then took its toll. I feel I should apologise to anyone who was on Gulf Air flight 260 yesterday and had to witness the sight of me zonked out with my trap open for a large proportion of the flight. I only woke up when I managed to dribble down my own arm. Liz never realised what a classy fella she's married!
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
14 September 2009
12 September 2009
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.
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.
08 September 2009
Dead Sea delights
Before heading off to the Dead Sea we checked out Karak Castle. It's another thousand year old crusader castle standing halfway between Shobak and Jerusalem. Si and I weren't too impressed with the castle but it did have some great views of the surrounding area which is the alleged location of Sodom and Gomorrah!
It was a fantastic drive from Karak, at over 1000m, down to the dead sea which is 400m below sea level, the lowest point on Earth. It's strange to think that all the boats in the world were floating above our heads! As you drive along the Dead Sea Highway you can see the salt crusting on the cliffs below.
Thanks to Si's Mom and Dad being very generous and giving us some money for a treat, we were able to stay at the very lovely Movenpick Resort and Spa. The hotel is very luxurious and set in large gardens which drop down to the sea and include four different pools.
We couldn't wait to get into the sea and try bobbing about. No matter how hard he tries Si can't ever seem to be able to float, however he floated like the best of them in the Dead Sea! It is a very strange sensation indeed, you literally can't sink. The water is up to 31% salt, 9 times that of normal sea water. If you were to get any in your eye or if you have any cuts it would be quite painful. It didn't mention in the guide books that 31% salt can also be rather uncomfortable on the more delicate body parts, so watch out! You can't really swim in the dead sea, if you try and do breast stroke the buoyancy of the water just flips you onto your back. As you can see below we did the time honored reading of the paper whilst bobbing about.
The hotel also supplied a big tub of mud. Dead Sea mud is supposed to be full of all sorts of minerals supposedly good for your health. I don't know about that but it was fun to get muddy and slap some on anyway.
We really tried to make the most of staying somewhere so nice. We sampled all of the pools, had some of the Movenpick's best ice cream, captured all of the free toiletries, soaked up the satellite tv, walked round in the robes and took our first bath in a very long time! We also thought they had left a box of chocolates in the room. Imagine our disappointment to open them and find dates, horrifying! We did however find a pillow menu. Yes, at the Movenpick you can ring housekeeping and choose between 10 different pillow types. Now that's choice for you.
We had a good meal at the resort's Italian restaurant and they served alcohol, but i think i must have the smallest glass of wine i have ever seen. However we made up for it at the buffet breakfast, we ate that much we doubted even the dead sea could keep us afloat! We were very sad to leave the Movenpick and head back to our normal backpacker type accommodation where even toilet paper, towels and sheets are sometimes seen as optional luxury extra items.
It was a fantastic drive from Karak, at over 1000m, down to the dead sea which is 400m below sea level, the lowest point on Earth. It's strange to think that all the boats in the world were floating above our heads! As you drive along the Dead Sea Highway you can see the salt crusting on the cliffs below.
Thanks to Si's Mom and Dad being very generous and giving us some money for a treat, we were able to stay at the very lovely Movenpick Resort and Spa. The hotel is very luxurious and set in large gardens which drop down to the sea and include four different pools.
We couldn't wait to get into the sea and try bobbing about. No matter how hard he tries Si can't ever seem to be able to float, however he floated like the best of them in the Dead Sea! It is a very strange sensation indeed, you literally can't sink. The water is up to 31% salt, 9 times that of normal sea water. If you were to get any in your eye or if you have any cuts it would be quite painful. It didn't mention in the guide books that 31% salt can also be rather uncomfortable on the more delicate body parts, so watch out! You can't really swim in the dead sea, if you try and do breast stroke the buoyancy of the water just flips you onto your back. As you can see below we did the time honored reading of the paper whilst bobbing about.
The hotel also supplied a big tub of mud. Dead Sea mud is supposed to be full of all sorts of minerals supposedly good for your health. I don't know about that but it was fun to get muddy and slap some on anyway.
We really tried to make the most of staying somewhere so nice. We sampled all of the pools, had some of the Movenpick's best ice cream, captured all of the free toiletries, soaked up the satellite tv, walked round in the robes and took our first bath in a very long time! We also thought they had left a box of chocolates in the room. Imagine our disappointment to open them and find dates, horrifying! We did however find a pillow menu. Yes, at the Movenpick you can ring housekeeping and choose between 10 different pillow types. Now that's choice for you.
We had a good meal at the resort's Italian restaurant and they served alcohol, but i think i must have the smallest glass of wine i have ever seen. However we made up for it at the buffet breakfast, we ate that much we doubted even the dead sea could keep us afloat! We were very sad to leave the Movenpick and head back to our normal backpacker type accommodation where even toilet paper, towels and sheets are sometimes seen as optional luxury extra items.
06 September 2009
The mighty pea
Well we've got our own transport again which is great. This time it's a bright green little number, like a moderately sized pea, only with less power.
Once again our vehicle is so woeful that you need to turn the AC off if you want enough umph to get up the hills. At one point Si thought that I was going to have to get out with the bags and push!
The driving conditions aren't too bad here in Jordan, at least it's a little calmer than Egypt. The biggest dangers are the enormous number of unmarked speed bumps and the high probability of meeting a speeding car on the wrong side of the road.
Today's trip went well though. First we visited Little Petra, very much like it's larger cousin but . . . smaller! It was well worth a look in and best of all we had the place entirely to ourselves.
Next stop was Shobak Castle, a thousand year old desert crusader castle, which we were really disappointed with. It didn't even warrant leaving the car! We carried on up the Kings Highway to our next destination, Karak Castle. The scenery en-route was fantastic, very much like the Grand canyon in some places.
However we did have a bit of a shock when for the first time in 5 weeks some clouds appeared in the clear blue sky, horrifying!
It was too late for the castle by the time we arrived in Karak so we headed to the Kir Heres restaurant for tea. It was rumored in the Lonely Planet to be the only place in town serving alcohol. When we asked if we could have two beers the waiter looked at us as if we were very dubious and said yes but we had to move tables from the front of the restaurant to sit behind a curtain at the back to drink our beer! Not that we are alcoholics or anything but we do enjoy a beer at the end of a hard day's sightseeing. Alcohol is quite hard to come by in Jordan and is only served in a few restaurants and hotels. But now that it's Ramadan even most of these places won't serve it at the moment. We were reading in the Lonely Planet that in Pakistan in the 70's the only way to get a drink was to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor declaring that you were an alcoholic. Only with this certificate were you allowed to buy drink, so it could be worse!
Once again our vehicle is so woeful that you need to turn the AC off if you want enough umph to get up the hills. At one point Si thought that I was going to have to get out with the bags and push!
The driving conditions aren't too bad here in Jordan, at least it's a little calmer than Egypt. The biggest dangers are the enormous number of unmarked speed bumps and the high probability of meeting a speeding car on the wrong side of the road.
Today's trip went well though. First we visited Little Petra, very much like it's larger cousin but . . . smaller! It was well worth a look in and best of all we had the place entirely to ourselves.
Next stop was Shobak Castle, a thousand year old desert crusader castle, which we were really disappointed with. It didn't even warrant leaving the car! We carried on up the Kings Highway to our next destination, Karak Castle. The scenery en-route was fantastic, very much like the Grand canyon in some places.
However we did have a bit of a shock when for the first time in 5 weeks some clouds appeared in the clear blue sky, horrifying!
It was too late for the castle by the time we arrived in Karak so we headed to the Kir Heres restaurant for tea. It was rumored in the Lonely Planet to be the only place in town serving alcohol. When we asked if we could have two beers the waiter looked at us as if we were very dubious and said yes but we had to move tables from the front of the restaurant to sit behind a curtain at the back to drink our beer! Not that we are alcoholics or anything but we do enjoy a beer at the end of a hard day's sightseeing. Alcohol is quite hard to come by in Jordan and is only served in a few restaurants and hotels. But now that it's Ramadan even most of these places won't serve it at the moment. We were reading in the Lonely Planet that in Pakistan in the 70's the only way to get a drink was to obtain a medical certificate from a doctor declaring that you were an alcoholic. Only with this certificate were you allowed to buy drink, so it could be worse!
05 September 2009
Petra
History tells us that Petra is the location where in 1938 Indiana Jones found the holy grail, thus saving the world from Nazi domination. Or at least that's what anyone who grew up in the 70's or 80's has been lead to believe.
Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom and was at its peak about 2000 years ago. The Nabataeans controlled the overland incense and spice routes that linked China and India to the Mediterranean. The profits and taxes that this generated funded the building of the city.
The city started to decline when the Red Sea route that harnessed the monsoon winds opened up, bypassing Petra. By the 11th century the city was lost to the West and remained that way until it was discovered by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
Entrance to the city is gained via the Siq, a 1.2km long gorge with 80m high sandstone cliffs. The Siq starts off quite wide before it narrows to barely a couple of meters.
At the end of the Siq you get your first glimpses of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh), the most famous sight in Petra (and final resting place of the holy grail!).
The Treasury is believed to be the tomb for the Nabataean King Aretas III, who ruled during the first century BC. The whole building is carved out of the sandstone cliff and makes a truly spectacular sight.
Although Petra is most famous for the Treasury there's also a lot more to see. It's a vast complex that contains over 800 sites including more than 500 tombs and a Roman style amphitheater and colonnaded street.
There's also some incredibly strange shapes weathered into the surrounding sandstone.
The second most famous site is the Monastery (Ad-Deir). The Monastery is hidden high up in the mountains and is accessed via 800 steps hewn into the cliffs.
It was a fairly strenuous hike in the heat of the desert. You can get up to the Monastery on the back of a donkey but even Liz refused stating that there's no way an adult can look anything but undignified perched on the back of one.
We also got to see Petra by night, where the route through the Siq and the Treasury are illuminated with 1500 candles.
Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom and was at its peak about 2000 years ago. The Nabataeans controlled the overland incense and spice routes that linked China and India to the Mediterranean. The profits and taxes that this generated funded the building of the city.
The city started to decline when the Red Sea route that harnessed the monsoon winds opened up, bypassing Petra. By the 11th century the city was lost to the West and remained that way until it was discovered by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
Entrance to the city is gained via the Siq, a 1.2km long gorge with 80m high sandstone cliffs. The Siq starts off quite wide before it narrows to barely a couple of meters.
At the end of the Siq you get your first glimpses of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh), the most famous sight in Petra (and final resting place of the holy grail!).
The Treasury is believed to be the tomb for the Nabataean King Aretas III, who ruled during the first century BC. The whole building is carved out of the sandstone cliff and makes a truly spectacular sight.
Although Petra is most famous for the Treasury there's also a lot more to see. It's a vast complex that contains over 800 sites including more than 500 tombs and a Roman style amphitheater and colonnaded street.
There's also some incredibly strange shapes weathered into the surrounding sandstone.
The second most famous site is the Monastery (Ad-Deir). The Monastery is hidden high up in the mountains and is accessed via 800 steps hewn into the cliffs.
It was a fairly strenuous hike in the heat of the desert. You can get up to the Monastery on the back of a donkey but even Liz refused stating that there's no way an adult can look anything but undignified perched on the back of one.
We also got to see Petra by night, where the route through the Siq and the Treasury are illuminated with 1500 candles.
03 September 2009
Wadi Rum
Yesterday we left the "delights" of the Aqaba coast behind and headed for Petra, stopping en-route for a 3 hour detour around the desert at Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum sprung to prominence for being the setting of T E Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, later filmed by David Lean as Lawrence of Arabia. It was here that Laurence fought with the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks during the First World War.
For the tour around the desert we left the comfort of our air conditioned taxi and jumped into what is probably the worlds most dilapidated Toyota Landcruiser. All of the interior, with the exception of the seats and steering wheel, had fallen off, most of the exterior was in a similar state and at random intervals the bonnet would open itself. The vehicle resembled one of those exploded views of a car that you get in a Haynes Manual. Best of all though was that every time we stopped (or the engine cut out) it could only be restarted by removing the gear lever from inside the car and using it to poke/batter something in the engine.
The desert scenery around Wadi Rum is just stunning.
The wind, sand and water (when it does occasionally rain) have sculpted the cliffs, mountains and canyons into some striking shapes.
As part of our tour we got to see the ruins of a 2000 year old Nabataean Temple, had a hike to a desert spring and got to climb some huge sand dunes.
The sand on the dunes was unbelievably hot, so hot that it melted the adhesive holding my shoes together. I think the heat had quite a strange effect on Liz too. Here, captured for the first time on camera, is the incredibly rare sight of Liz running!
Once Liz regained her senses we also got to explore Khazali Siq, a narrow fissure worn into the side of a mountain, and then headed for a clamber over one of the many naturally formed rock bridges.
Despite the cruddy nature of our 4x4 the tour had gone really well, that was until we got to the end. We then discovered why all of the interior had fallen off as our driver became possessed by an idiot and decided to head back through the desert flat out. We spent more time in the air than on the sand. It may have been an exciting experience if the driver had of looked remotely in control. As we hurtled our way back through the sand he decided to do a dangerous high speed swerve in order to try and deliberately run over a dog. This resulted in Liz flinging a volley of abuse at him and the loss of his tip.
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