Oh Jordan, you bastion of hope in a land of uncertainty. We left Egypt exhausted from being pushed, dragged, and swindled. We needed a place of rest and Jordan came to our aid. We wandered the ruins of Petra, swam… or floated , rather in the Dead Sea, ate falafels until we nearly burst, scaled the dunes of Wadi Rum, learned a great deal about the peace and love of Islam, and enjoyed beyond words an amazing culture and people.

We can’t wait to come back to Jordan. For such a small country it holds an abundance rewards. It was even more stunning coming from the conflict ridden land of Egypt. The king should be very proud: his subjects are some of the kindest people we have ever had the pleasure of meeting…

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June 9, 2009 – Day 166 – Amman, Jordan

We checked out from the hostel and set out to the bus station with plans of going to Damascus today. We tried countless bus companies and all that we asked refused to take us to Damascus because we don’t already have Syrian visas.

The fruit market

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June 8, 2009 – Day 165 – Amman, Jordan

Today we made our way back toward the Dead Sea to the place where John the Baptist worked, the Jordan River, and the widely accepted sight of Jesus’ baptism.

John the Baptist's new church

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June 7, 2009 – Day 164 – Amman, Jordan

Wasted another day at another embassy. Tried to apply for Chinese visa but were informed that all travel and accommodation must be booked in advance and submitted with application. So there you have, no Chinese visa for us. At least not here. Instead we’ve decided to fly to Hong Kong when we get ready to go to China and apply there. As you might guess, the rest of the afternoon was spent working out flights and costs to do that…We promise to leave the hostel tomorrow!

June 6, 2009 – Day 163 – Amman, Jordan

Aha! Some excitement today—we went to the Dead Sea! Two mini-buses and a taxi later, we were bobbing and floating around the saltiest body of water on the planet, all to the tune of $10.

Rock salt

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June 5, 2009 – Day 162 – Amman, Jordan

Alright, let’s be honest. We’re feeling a bit burned out with this whole business. We’re tired of moving around everyday, hunting everyday for a place to sleep for the night and for food a couple times a day, and we’re certainly tired of living out of a backpack. And honestly, we’re getting really tired of ruins and temples and ancient things and sweltering heat and massive amounts of sand. So, we spent the day doing very little besides just relaxing and not going anywhere (sorry dear readers, more excitement to come…..at a later date). But to hold you over, here are some photos of the pile of kittens outside our hostel!

Piles of felines

Fierce lioness

June 4, 2009 – Day 161 – Amman, Jordan

After a wretchedly smelly 3 hour mini-bus ride with our luggage stacked on top of our laps, crammed into tiny bus seats and enclosed on either side with people who do not wear deodorant (not a dis but merely a statement of fact) in the hottest climate on earth where a person breaks a sweat just sitting up in bed in the morning, we were more than happy to arrive in Amman and breathe some fresh air. Did I mention that everyone closed their bus windows because they were a bit “chilly” while we suffocated and sweat buckets in the back corner of a tragically packed, stinking, smelling bus?

Well, we grabbed a taxi to a cheap hotel and enjoyed the ”high” option of our ceiling fan and watched TV movies all afternoon, barely leaving to feed ourselves. It’s nice to have a day to not do anything. This heat really saps all our energy and desire to do anything at all. Well, except watch English TV…

June 3, 2009 – Day 160 – Wadi Rum, Jordan

“On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life. There were plants and birds and rocks and things; There was sand and hills and rings. The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz and the sky with no clouds. The heat was hot and the ground was dry but the air was full of sound…”

Shrub

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June 2, 2009 – Day 159 – Petra, Jordan

“The Pink City” of Petra holds true to its name and its allure. Feeling like Indiana Jones (ok, sans horse) we made our way through the 80 meter high walls of the amazing Siq and marveled at the random trees and bushes growing from cracks in the rock. How they can sustain themselves in such an environment is pretty incredible!

Burro in front of the Treasury

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June 1, 2009 – Day 158 – Aqaba, Jordan

What a difference a border makes! We have only been in Jordan for a matter of hours and we already love it! From the fanatastic guys at the falfel place who were ecstatic to see us as repeat customers to the clean scent-free streets and the shops that we can walk past without a single business owner taking notice of us, not to mention that no one evens seems to notice that we are foreigners or if they do they don`t care to stare at us! Woohoo! It feels so nice to be invisible again and these falfels are the best thing ever!

Yummm.... Falafels

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