Getting to Petra

Waking Up

I got a call from Ibrahim around 5:15 saying he’d be at the hotel in 10 minutes. Although I could have had my stuff together and ready to go, but extra few minutes allowed me finish up at a relaxed pace.  We left before breakfast was served at the hotel - but it's unlikely I would have waken up early to catch it.

Boarding the Bus

We arrived at the meeting about 10 minutes after he picked me up. We got seats at the very front of the bus - right behind the driver. We waited about 30 minutes for people to gather and the bus to fill up. And fill the bus up they did, we were over capacity by 3 or 4 people. 

 

Our Bus

 

Our stupid, awful, disgusting pig of a bus driver

The Drive

Petra was several hours away from Amman, so the drive there would take some time. The bus was full of locals, I was the only person on the bus who was not from Jordan or a neighboring country. We hit the road around 6am. Being so early, one would think everyone on the bus would appreciate some rest before arriving. Nope. Shortly after taking off the main guide loaded up the stereo on the bus and blasted music so loud it made my ears ring. The speakers on the bus were low quality and already sounded as if they had been blown. The sound had absolutely no fidelity to it - it was like listening to  very, very loud music over a telephone. After about 5 minutes on the road the driver lit a cigarette. Smoking is forbidden on the bus by law, but he nor the rest of the staff did not care. There was a woman sitting in the aisle next to Ibrahim and she started coughing. There was some dialogue about his smoking and he just scuffed. I would later find out she was scuffed because the request came from a woman. Ibrahim said if a man had asked the driver he likely would have stopped. I made it pretty clear I was uncomfortable, as I obnoxiously coughed on him over and over again. Eventually he got the point and opened his window. The wind must have annoyed him because he closed it. I kept pounding on his window until he opened it again. This set of events would repeat every time he lit a cigarette - which was probably every 10 minutes. The driver spoke little, if any, English and suggested to Ibrahim I switch seats with the group to our right. The only source of fresh air, aside from the vent above my head, was the window next to the driver. There was no way I was moving, especially since the main tour guide was also smoking directly in front of the neigboring seat. The smoking would continue for the entire ride and made the trip an incredibly awful experience. Ibrahim offered to say something to the driver, but it sounded like it would violate a cultural norm for him to do so. Thus, I insisted I deal with it. Part of my decision was probably based on the fact I didn't believe the driver would  actually listen to him. The driver heckled the woman and knew I was uncomfortable. I'd later discover there is no escaping smoking or second hand smoke throughout Jordan. Prior to arriving in Jordan I had been to several middle eastern countries (Israel, Cyprus, UAE, Qatar, possibly Oman) and never witnessed the level of smoking like I saw in Jordan.

In fairness to Ibrahim, this was not the tour group he originally had in mind. Because I did not get him my travel plans in advance, he could not plan in advance. When I arrived, literally the day before we boarded the tour bus, we went to several tour companies and went with the first one that had openings for us.

Wadi Musa

We stopped not far from Petra, at the Wadi Musa spring. From what I understand, this is the site where Moses stuck a stick in the ground and created a source of much needed flowing water. There were people bottling up the water. Maybe it's because I'm not Muslim, but I was not impressed with the well and was wondering if further disappointment was to follow.

Petra

After a short trip to Wadi Musa we boarded the bus and head to Petra. We were given around 3 hours to explore the site. The admission is expensive. 50 JD or $70 USD for non Jordanians, 5 JD for Jordanians. Included in the admission is a horse ride to Siq, a 45 minute guide, and admission into the park.

 

Entry to Petra

The first thing I noticed was a number of "Indiana Jones" shops. Given the prevalence of pirated CD, DVD, and BluRay shops I pretty much assumed all references to Lucas' creation. At first I thought the shop owners were capitalizing off of Lucas' films, but after reaching Siq I wondered if Lucas was capitalizing off of the wonders of Petra. It's impossible to capture the beauty of Petra in images. You see tourists snapping pictures everywhere as they begin the trek to Siq - I was one of them. But every corner you turn it just keeps getting more and more amazing. I went to see Al Khazneh, but the wonder is the journey there. I could see myself spending 3 days hiking around Petra. Spending 3 hours walking around Petra was not enough time to take everything in. Spending a day in Petra is like spending a day in a country while on a cruise. You take in only a glimpse of everything there is to see.

After 3 hours we were scheduled to meet in town for a buffet style lunch at one of the hotels. I had asked if a drink was included in the buffet and was told that it was. When we got there drinks were served at a bar and  cost money. I mentioned something to the guide and he insisted they were free. The man who took my money immediately returned it and apologized for the misunderstanding. Ibrahim made friends with a few people, notably a Palestinian and an Iraqi. The Palestinian, Mohammed, was in Jordan working on his English. The Iraqi was seeking medical treatment. The Iraqi was a bit of a buffoon. He had the social acumen and manners of a slow six year old, bumped into people and objects, but was overall a nice guy. He had a shaved head. While at Wadi Rum he pretty much took my hat off me and put it on his own head for a picture. He did ask, but before I could respond it was already on his head. Since he had a sweaty bald head I found it mildly disgusting. I didn't care much because it was a $3 hat from Egypt I figured I'd loose somewhere. I ended up forgetting it in the bus later that night.

After we finished lunch we boarded the bus for Wadi Rum, valley cut into sandstone and granite rock. We were to have dinner and attend a dancing celebration. This would be particularly interesting because almost everyone on the bus was a local.

Ibrahim and me, Beginning the hike to Siq

Trek to Siq

 

Siq

Me after a short hike

Amazing views after a short hike

  Me, in front of Al Khazneh

Wadi Rum 

Before we reached Wadi Rum we were asked if we wanted to ride through the dunes in a 4x4. The cost was a reasonable 5 JD. We road sitting on a bench in the bed of a pickup truck. The ride wasn't bad. It lasted about 30 minutes and continued on through sunset. The next day a Jordanian man would ask us if we felt cheated. Apparently he was promised a 90 minute tour and felt very cheated. He was very upset. I felt I got my moneys worth - 90 minutes would have been incredibly long. After the 4x4 ride we went back to camp for some dancing. The desert experience in the UAE featured a belly dancer, in Jordan the guests were invited to dance. There was no belly dancer. What's interesting about the dancing is how it's done. They have family dancing - with woman and children, and than single men dancing. The friends Ibrahim befriended dragged me out on the dance floor. Mohammed, the Palestinian, was showing me some of the dances. I really had little desire to take in the experience. I'm not homophobic, but dancing with other men just isn't my thing. Somehow, Ibrahim got away with not joining the party. I told the Iraqi that we have it much better in the states. "We get to dance with women", I joked. He didn't get it.

 

Arriving at camp

 

Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum at night - the star are amazing

 

Me, outside Wadi Rum

 

Ibrahim, me, Mohammed 

 

Sunset at Wadi Rum

Akhaba 

After the party at Wadi Rum ended he head for the bus. It was about an hour drive to Aqaba, a coastal resort city in the south of Jordan. Aqaba is directly next to the Israel resort city of Eliat. What's interesting is that there is no border crossing between the two. We arrived late and checked into our 4 star hotel. After showering we hit the town for a late meal. Ibrahim insisted I have the shawarma at one of his favorite restaurants. He was right. The chicken shawarma I had was absolutely fantastic - best ever.

Tomorrow

We didn't have a stringent schedule the next day, so we could sleep late. Both Ibrahim and I got little sleep the night before so we intended to rest well. We had anticipated the next day to begin around noon.