Adventure Camping in Petra/Wadi Rum Pt. 2

Going into Petra.




"You want to ride camel?!"


Just a cheesy picture actually, please.




Intense hiking.


And me dying after.


Camp that night.

Adventure Camping in Petra/Wadi Rum Pt. 1

Hiking on the "Ibex" trail (we saw NO ibex) the first day.



View of the Dead Sea.





Campsite the first night.

Insomnia

I'm still up at 5 am. Listening to the adhan, lying in my bed without a chance of falling asleep. I thought this would be the perfect time to update.

Today, (or yesterday, but let's pretend) I woke up rather late. We went to lunch at a restaurant affiliated with the nature center here in Amman. It was quite a Westernized restaurant which was especially apparent in its many mottos written on the menu including "be naughty", "be wild", and "be cosmopolitan." Hm. But the food was amazing (spicy chicken curry. I wimped out on the spicy though and let Ali choke down the chili pepper.)

After this we drove to the outskirts of town where the Palestinian refugee camp that Ali's cousin and his family live in. It was considerably different from the rest of Amman just because the buildings were much simpler in their structure. Ali's cousin and his wife were extremely hospitable and good natured. Their children were adorable and charming. We drank sage tea with sugar (which was yummy!) and yellow cake and fruit. It was a relief that we did not receive too much food as we had just eaten.

After this we went to the local mall which was like any large shopping mall in the States. Bought some food and supplies for our camping trip (which took quite a bit of time considering Daoud and Ali's attention to detail) and were on our way.

We came back to the apartment and now here I am. Being a complete insomniac.

Camping trip tomorrow that I'm psyched about. Hopefully we get some great pictures.

Quote of the day...

As Abe is smoking hookah:

David: "This will make our house smell like a Bedouin tent. And that'd be really cool." *chuckle*

Brilliant insight, Daoud.

Amman, at last.

Today, as expected, I arrived in Amman at around 7:30 p.m. After exchanging my money and getting my visa, I walked out of the terminal and found my cousin David. We took a cab to his apartment building which is built just off a rotary circle (one of I think eight in Amman) where I met Ali, David's roommate and Abe, Ali's brother.

The city is built on seven hills "like Rome" (whatta cliche I'm told). If you go to the roof of the apartment building, you can view practically all of Amman form the Citadel to the large (very large, actually. world record) flag pole flying Jordan's banner. Very cool.

We started out the evening by going to a restaurant called Jafra where we ordered a couple of dishes to share like hummus, chicken livers, and fried cheese. If I could remember the names I would write those instead but for an American reader, this is what they essentially were. We smoked hookah while eating which I discovered is common practice in Jordanian restaurants. We sat on the terrace overlooking downtown Amman which was basically two streets intersecting each other.

After dinner we went to another restaurant where we drank beer (not my favorite, I had to pour half of mine into Ali's glass) and discussed politics and diplomacy. Most of the conversation centered around the ethics of intelligence gathering and how the government acts on that intelligence. I opted out of the conversation half way through, as did Ali and we sat and watched David debate Abe for quite a while. Quite entertaining. We brought the beer party back to the apartment where we sat on the rooftop and chatted about various other things, thankfully NOT related to politics.

Now it is about 3 am in Amman and I really should go to sleep...sleeping pill now.

The French do love their designers...

I just realized there's a Hermes, Bvlgari, and Estee Lauder store in the Air France terminal at JFK. I have never seen so much upscale designer presence in an airport. The wall clocks at the gates are even Rolex.

Tres chic.

En route Pt. 3 (is that french or latin?)

As expected, I was kicked out at 2 pm from the good ol' holiday inn. I then proceeded to order a taxi and make my way to Queens Center or something. It's just some generic, large mall in Queens but it was the only place I could kill time. I had about 7 hours to waste and I was absolutely determined. I walked slower than I have EVER walked. I browsed through men's tuxedo stores and ate at the food court for a whole hour (chewing at the pace of a sloth and pretending to do things on my cellphone between bites.) I even indulged one of those kiosks with allowing them to give me their demonstration. Which consequently (due to the sales lady's aggressive nature) led to a purchase. Oops.

After three hours, I couldn't take it anymore. I had done all I could do and I decided to just make my way to the airport early. First thing the ticket worker says to me in the terminal: "Well, you're here uber early." Now I am sitting in the Air France terminal, watching an enormous amount of French individuals board a flight to Mexico City. Oh, and a guy that looks just like the actor from a funny spy movie is sitting across from me (the name escapes me right now, suggestions?).

I'm charging my phone at a little "phone charging station" which I am sitting right across from. People walking by stare at it longingly thinking that no one is around, and for a minute I think they are going to snatch it. But, they walk on, I guess their morals getting the better of them. But pretentious, bold French men keep walking by and pretending to take it to which I retaliate with an angry glare. A haughty laugh and they walk away...

At 11:35 pm, the next step in my journey begins. I fly to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris where I will then catch a flight to Amman. Good thing it stopped snowing.

Au revoir!

En route Pt. 2

So herrrrreeeeee I am....in......the holiday inn express on Long Island?

After three snow delays, over 6 hours of waiting in the Boston terminal, and an angry exchange with a taxi driver, I have only come so far as New York. The flight between Boston and New York seemed to take 5 minutes by the way. My flight to Amman won't be for another day and I am taking up residence in the holiday inn until I am kicked out at exactly 2 pm tomorrow by Jorge, the "friendly" concierge. He told me I could spend the day in Manhattan while I wait for my plane. I guess that would be enticing if that wasn't where I just lived for three months straight.

I had plans to stay with my roommate on Long Island but those fell through when she found out that my plane was leaving in the PM tomorrow, not the AM. C'est la vie. So for now, I am in New York, with no baggage (it will be meeting me in Amman, I am told) and a long wait ahead of me. Tomorrow, at 7:10 pm I will be in Amman.

Insha' Allah.

En Route Pt. 1

So far, it has been snowing non-stop here in Massachusetts and my flight has been delayed to 6:30 p.m. Gr-eaaat. I'm here waiting in Logan airport at gate A2, one of four other waiting passengers. In a couple of hours I'll be flying to JFK-New York (which is located on Long Island, my roommate recently informed me. I was not aware of this fact) and then straight to Amman, the capital of Jordan.

Many people have been inquiring as to why I have decided to travel to Jordan. The common perception seems to be that it is dangerous, far too risky for an 18-year-old Caucasian girl to be traveling to. In truth, they may be right. It sure took some convincing for my parents to let me buy a ticket! I received an invitation from my older cousin, who is on a Fulbright scholarship in Jordan doing research. I've always been interested in the Middle East, the politics, culture, and language, and an opportunity to travel there at such a young age and at such an early stage in my college career would be invaluable. I AM a Middle East Studies major after all. So here I am.

I've only been studying Arabic for a semester. I have to trust my cousin to use his skills to translate for me. We'll see how well this works out. At least I'll be able to say things such as "peace be upon you" (a common greeting in the Arab world) and thank you. Oh, and I'll be able to read the alphabet.

I want to travel to the most places I can in a lifetime and return to the places I feel the strongest connection to. I have a list of places I want to travel to in the Middle East, and Jordan seems a good place to begin. It's safe enough to convince my parents and culturally rich enough to interest me. Maybe AFTER Jordan I can introduce the idea of Syria to the rents.

Off to read Cosmopolitan, before I travel to a Muslim country. At least I also have Queen Noor's autobiography on hand (thanks Bianx!)

Ma'as salaama!