Travel Bugs

The track record we have of capital cities that we actually like is not great. Usually we feel that the capital could be a miss in the countries we’ve been to thus far. I always feel a bit of FOMO if we don’t visit it though. When we landed in Amman, Jordan, we were stunned how such a brief, one-hour flight from Cairo could make such a huge difference—in how things looked, operated, and the vibe we got from the people. We were instantly welcomed by the friendly and open-faced citizens of Jordan. We picked up our rental car (a tiny little Suzuki Alto that Callum barely fit into) and navigated the hilly capital city to locate a boutique hotel in the heart of the tourist centre.

The room was small but comfortable and I was thankful for a comfy bed since it was in Amman I finally succumbed to a cold. I think I got sick from the pollution of Egypt and didn’t feel that bad physically, just had a constant runny nose and a bit of fatigue.

We enjoyed a delicious local dinner of falafel, hummus, flat bread, and the customary tomato-cucumber plate, along with pickles. Everything was very fresh and tasty and ranks as one of our top three favourite meals we’ve had in our first month of this travel escapade. It cost us about $11 AUD for the both of us to eat our fill.

I decided to rest the next day while Callum walked the city, visiting the Roman Theatre, which he says he loved. The size of it was grand and he could imagine sitting there as a spectator 200 years ago. He also walked to the Citadel where he had a great view of the city below. He made friends with a cat, the first of many cat friends we met while in Jordan.

Later that evening we managed to trudge up up up the hilly streets to make it to Rainbow Street, which is full of shops and restaurants which would all be open if it were summer…being winter, we felt like the area was fairly dead. We did find a sushi restaurant which accommodated my picky palette and created the most delicious bowl of noodles, chicken, and vegetables—exactly what a girl with a cold needs. This meal might be number 2 on my list!

The next day we drove out to Bethany Beyond the Jordan which is the Baptism site of Jesus Christ. It was straightforward to get to the location, where you park your rental car and take a shuttle bus to the site. We were five tourists with one required guide, who rushed us along to all the places and didn’t actually explain a single thing. We figured he must do this walk about six times a day every single day, so he wasn’t too interested in engaging with us.

Seeing one of the first churches built was surreal and touching the water of the Jordan River where Jesus stood was special. It was a very humble location, very unassuming. A simple wooden platform built on the banks with the river grasses brown and dead because of the winter season. The water looked brown and murky. Israel was a mere 20 meters away from where we stood. I felt like the guide should have come down with us to the stairs leading to the water and talked a bit about the significance of where we stood, but we were left alone to make our own prayers, imagine things, and take pictures.

We were hurried along back to the shuttle and driven back to the visitor’s centre where we discovered our rental car was completely dead! Callum accidentally left the headlights on and we were stuck. Before panic set in–we were sort of in the middle of nowhere–I noticed two men sitting on a bench near by. I approached and asked if they could speak English. “A little” they said. I explained our car was dead and asked if they had jumper cables. Well! These two big Jordanian men leapt into action and took over. They directed us to push our car out, got their cables, tightened screws, and perfected everything. We were well taken care of by what I termed “Jordanian Dads” and happily went on our way.

Our next spot was glorious: The Dead Sea. Callum regrets not booking a couple of nights stay at the Dead Sea, as the Holiday Inn Resort we bought day-pass tickets to was gorgeous and relaxing, and we enjoyed our afternoon there so much.

Firstly, we changed and made our way down to the water. It was quite a trek down from the first level of the hotel. I was worried I would be too cold to swim and that the water would be frigid. The temperature wasn’t too bad outside, and as I’m sure anyone with basic scientific knowledge would assume, because of the high salt content of the water, the temperature was warm, and after the initial shock of cold for the first 30 seconds, the water felt comfortable to me. And I bobbed up like a cork as soon as I lifted my feet! I remember firstly feeling a strange sensation when I was walking in…almost like I could feel the fat of my belly and thighs starting to float before the rest of me was floating. It was so weird! And wonderful! The smile did not leave my face the entire time I was in the water, nor did it leave when we went for a dip in the pool after rinsing off and having lunch.

We were starving for a meal and included in our day-pass was entry to the dining room where the most amazing buffet was ready for us. There was so much food and so many options, I was in my element and definitely ate way too much. I tried about five different desserts, as well. I love a buffet.

After satiating our appetites, I changed back into my swimsuit to enjoy the only pool available during the winter season. It was a gorgeous, heated pool with a hot tub nearby. I love being in water.

We did have to pack up our things and drive back to Amman that afternoon, and we had a dinner close to our hotel before sleeping very well that night. We stayed in Amman three nights which is probably two more than most people. What I liked about where we stayed was it had everything close at hand: a couple coffee shops (including Starbucks!) a few tourist shops, a couple art-supply stores, and restaurants nearby. Also, the main sites to visit were an achievable walk away. Amman was a great capital city and definitely worth our time.