Day 6 of Jordan

Today's plans were all based around going swimming in the Dead Sea.  So we packed up our things, mapped out the route and headed out.

Along the way we came to find out that we could also visit Jesus's baptismal site and decided to that too while in the area.  None of us are super religious but found that it would be intyyueresting to see anyway.  We had just missed the bus and would only need to wait a few minutes for the next one.  

Soon enough we were on the bus with a small group of people and our tour guide.  The actual baptismal ended up being very different from what I had imagined but it was cool to see the ruins. The tour ended on the Jordan river where we could see people on the other side of the river being baptized.  That was really neat to see how other people who are religious had taken this trip to this area for a very specific reason.

Afterwards we headed over to the Dead Sea.  Swimming in the Dead Sea is very relaxing but also hard.  The salt of the water keeps you floating but also very easily flips you around.  Transitioning from the Dead Sea to a pool is also very difficult because you expect that the water will keep you afloat but it does not.

After hanging out in the sun we decided that it was time to find some food and head back into Amman. Afterwards we headed out via taxi to go to happy hour.

Day 5 of Jordan

After a decent nights sleep and breakfast we packed up our things and head out from camp.  After bumping along the wadi for one last time we arrived back at our car. Our next and final destination would be Amman the capital.  It was about a 4 hour drive from Wadi Rum.  The hardest part was getting through Amman traffic to find our hotel.  The hotel that we had originally booked ended up not being what we had hoped it so we packed up our things again and began to search for a new hotel.  With shady internet we did end up finding a hotel that would meet our needs.  Finding that hotel proved to be the biggest challenge though.  After about an hour of driving an asking multiple people we finally made it to the hotel.

After unpacking we decided to head out to find something for dinner.  We found this great place with a good happy hour that would suit our needs.

Day 4 of Jordan

Today was an early morning.  We are off to Wadi Rum to hang out with some Bedouin people.  The day started with us once again attempting to find a quick and easy road out of Petra.  What was suppose to be an hours drive turned into 2.5 hours but the road we took sure did take us to some amazing over looks.  Sadly we did not have a chance to stop and take pictures.

Once arriving at our destination we were greeted by our Bedouin guide and saddled us up onto camels and we began our trek into the wadi.  Our first stop was an area where there was as still a natural after spring that produced a bit of a water.  From this point we joined up with a small French family and the rest of the day was spent bouncing around the wadi in the back of a pick up truck going from one area to the next.  One stop was designated a sand boarding spot where Inara and Damien decided to conquer the mountain and try it out.  Finally ending the day climbing to the top of a mountain to watch the sun set.

Then we arrived at our camp site where we were greeted by more Bedouins, tea, and dinner that they had cooked under ground in a large barrel.  Later some musicians played some music while student from a university exchange program learned how to dance traditional dances.  Damien decided to help the band by joining in as a drummer.  The rest of us just sat on the side lines watching.

Camping with the Bedouin was not exactly roughing it in a tent.  We crawled into a plush and bedded cabin and fell asleep under nice warm blanks.  Sleeping was such a great reward after everything that we had seen and done.

Day 3 of Jordan

Today we left Aqaba and begin our trip back up north with our first stop being Petra.  Petra has been a long time bucket list item and it was a required must do for our trip.  

Getting to Petra seemed easy enough based no the map instructions that we had but we were quickly proven wrong when our car navigation system wanted us to take roads that no longer existed.  With the help of google maps put together with Garmin maps we found our hotel which was right outside of old Petra.  We quickly got settled into our rooms, put on comfortable shoes and headed out on a small trek to see old Petra.

The walk to the treasury was just stunning.  You could either walk to whole way yourself or you could ride a horse or even take a horse drawn carriage.  We walked the whole way since it was not that long of a walk. Plus it was a nice day and we don't get to walk that often.

The treasury was all that I had hoped it would be. Walking beyond the treasury was also interesting to see what other structures there were.  W did not make it to the monastery because apparently that is a 6 hour walk and none of us were ready to quite walk that far.  That could be left for another time.

After exploring old Petra we at down at our hotel's bar to have a few drinks nudged to grab some much needed food.  Ending the night with doing a bit of shopping and finally bringing the chairs in our rooms out onto the balcony and watching the sun set on the city and just reflecting on where we were and how amazing life can be.

If you would have asked me upon graduating from college if I would ever go to the Middle East, I would have probably quickly responded with "probably not".  But to be currently sitting in the Middle East and exploring all of its wonders it prove that life can really take you anywhere.

Day 2 of Jordan

A day of complete relaxation was all that was on the plan for today.  We started the day off with buffet breakfast that included anything that your little heart could desire even pork bacon. The rest of the day was spent on the beach soaking in the sun and watching some stunt planes fly above our heads.

After soaking up the sun we decided to head out into Aqaba to see what the city had.  We ended our wandering at an Irish pub where we ended the night with multiple pitched of drinks and good food.

Day 1 of Jordan

2am is an ungodly hour to have to get up at.  But when traveling, getting up at 2 am is only slightly ungodly.  The pure excitement of traveling helps with the getting ready process.  

Today we flew away form Kuwait for spring break to Jordan.  The trip began with a very very short layover in Doha.  Because our flight was late arriving in Doha we had an even shorter layover.  Thankfully they were loading the plane late too and we all made it onto the flight.  Upon arriving in Jordan we grabbed our bags, stocked up on duty free and headed over to find our rental car.  The trip would continue by car down to Aqaba.

The drive down was absolutely amazing.  Mountains on all sides and very friendly police officers who would continue to welcome us to Jordan along our drive.

After checking in we wandered around the hotel, found dinner and continued to hang out in our hotel room enjoying each other's company. 

Hello it's me again!

A year has gone by and so much has happened but my blog would never know that because it has been ignored.  Sorry blog. Having spent the year working on my masters program, any other type of writing was not on the list of things to do.  Since my last post the major events that have happened are as follows:

Went to Thailand and rode elephants

Enjoyed the Latvian song and dance festival in Latvia 

Traveled around Croatia for the summer with my cousins

Decided that this year was going to be the year that I focus on my teaching and getting out of Kuwait

Rethinking getting out of Kuwait

Signing a 2 year contract to be the grade 3, 4, 5 tech teacher

Celebrated turning 30 in Dubai with my close friends

Visited India for a tech conference

Currently hanging out in Jordan with good friends

Getting back into blogging one day at a time.