Survival of Jordan

My travels have taken me first to jordan. the country was very... arab. as they say, not bad, just different - but this was really really different.

we crossed the border in the afternoon. after you leave israel there's a 5 minute walk btw the countries, sort of a void/no mans land. then we reach the border. after paying fees and getting all stamped up we were on jordanian soil. the 4 of us cram into a cab and are whisked to petra, which is about an hour and a half down the road. due to stops for more cigarettes for the driver and at look out points with conveniently placed bedouins selling shit it was late when we arrived.
Continued...



shosh's parents bought her and her brother a nice hotel room for a present and we thought we might be able to squeeze all 4 of us in one room. well we though this would be possible. the jordanian hotel manager thought otherwise.
"ONLY 2 per room. NO one else!" he yelled a bit and so the other guy and i made a quick choice to split the cost of another room just for the night. a dirty hostel could wait for another night b/c we were really tired and hungry. and i'm try not to land in some jordanian prison cell during the trip.

getting downtown was another interesting experience. at first walking seemed like a good idea, but we soon realized we weren't exactly sure where to go and it was really dark. and then we heard gun shots. time for a cab.

at a kiosk near by we asked for them to call us a cab.
"my friends, my friends, right this way, here is cab"

this was not a cab. it was a big dirty van. he quotes us a fairly cheap ride to town so we get in. most of the space inside is occupied with chichy things like chili pepper lights and other hanging plastic junk. the dash board is covered in faux fur.

town was another world. big signs with things like there is no other god but allah. mohammah is the messager. these were the billboards. our "cab" brought us to a "really good authentic arab restaurant." it looked like the most expensive place in town and owned by a relative of the driver. we quickly split.

we dinned a bit down the street. the place was chosen more by the persuasion of the owner rather than our noses, but its getting harder and harder to say no to all the begging to buy. we ate outside and i spent some time people watching. something was off. it occurred to me there wasn't a single women in town. not even burka'ed. none. that was weird. after we went walking around and stopped to catch the score of the world cup. as those who know, i'm a little world cupped out right now and i started looking around. it was then i noticed this man like 3 feet/a meter away from me, staring, just openly staring at my boobs. ewww! seriously creepy. i just quickly walked away and my friends followed.

petra was our all day activity. we first needed to locate a cab outside the hotel. and what pulls up for our transportation? the very same shaggin' waggon from last night! everyone is trying to make a buck or dinar rather in this country.

this couldn't be true than with the bedouins. inside the ruins of petra you can pretty much go anywhere. we climbed like a million stairs for an hour to this really amazing look out, where we could also look out w/ fresh bedouin tea, cold coke, and water, plus an unbelievable amount of crap to buy.

also another way we could have spent our cash was donkey rides. everywhere. small bedouin children going-
"want a donkey? want a ride?"
variations on this were coming up to us w/ a donkey and going -
"taxi, taxi" or "Ferrari, Ferrari"
cute maybe the first 6 times, but when that number started to reach the 100s and my hydration level was dropping steadily, i contemplated how far i could throw a small bedouin child.

that night i trekked across the street to find a cheaper bed. there was a conveniently a small hostel across the street and i checked in. like 8 dollars a night verse the 60 bucks i split the night before. and it wasn't so bad. okay it was pretty dirty. my room was a double bed w/ hardly any room to walk around it. when i pulled the sheets back i saw bare nasty mattress. and when i took a shower down the hall a bit of sewage bubbled up. ewww!

the good thing was that the hostel had a mini bus that drove to the town by the border. shosh and her bro were staying another night, but i was petra/jordaned out and missed israel

but a cab by myself was too expensive. i remembered the guide book saying there were two types of buses, the bus company that was really nice and comfortable and one that was cheap. it also said not to take the cheap one, which was what all the locales took. i was so relieved about the hostel having a bus b/c i wouldn't have to deal with finding any of the buses.

at 6am when the manager told me the bus would arrive i was patiently waiting in the lobby. i asked the guy and he said he called the driver, but he didn't answer. i wait. 6:30. no bus. he tells me he'll call again. no answer. then he goes - "I prefer you take a cab to the bus station"

i do a mini freak out. bus station? what bus station? i explain i want to take the nicer, not local bus and where can i find that... but the man doesn't understand. really most people in town know a few things in english really really well so it seems like they speak perfectly, but really they have no idea.

so i can't get the info on the nice buses and i realize i'm going to travel on the exact public bus the guide book said not to take.

i go outside to look for a taxi. nothing comes. i wait and wait. after some time a truck drives by
"my friend, where you want to go? i take you"
my mind starts reeling. should i go? is this safe? this is some random guy. this is arab land. a women by her self isn't safe. what if another cab never comes? how long could i be waiting here?

all this mental calculating ended with me getting into the truck. i immediately regretted this decision when he began to tell me how the tourists never stay in petra long enough and all these things i missed and how it would be no problem for him to be my personal guide.
"i take you now, no problem"
and i go - "no, the bus station please"
"we go now, how much time you have?"
i tell him something about meeting people in an hour in eilat
"okay only an hour. we go now"
i cry NO like 5 times and these weren't the polite no thanks. these were like NO, BUS STATION NOW" a little scary. i probably shouldn't have done that.

at the bus station the driver grabs my bag and directs me to the bus. he throws 2 guys out of the front seat and puts me there with my bag. looking around i saw i was seriously on public transportation. 11 women in full on burkas. lots of old arab men. children everywhere. a goat.

i definitely looked a little out of place. near the end of the ride we had to stop at a check point. of sorts. people got our their IDs and a few soldiers came and looked around. then one of them pulled a guy right of the bus and we drive away. weird...

at some stop further down we picked up a guy that sat next to me and spoke english. after asking about how i liked petra he goes-
"where are you going my friend? I drive taxi"
of course he does. i ask how much and he quotes me 5, i say 4.
"for you? 4... but really the price is 5"

we finally arrive in aqaba. i get out and immediately another driver asks if i want to go to the border. then he goes 2 dinar. so i tell my i'm going with the new guy. my guy goes-
"2 dinar? okay 1 dinar"
they start getting in a bidding war over me! and seriously fighting and yelling at each other in the street. my driver is also screaming at me
"GET in the car, NOW! put your bag in the car!"
i double check that he's still planning on 1 dinar and get in. i successfully arrive at the border. all in one piece. all limbs working and i've evaded jordanian prison cells. YES!

just so happened i was 1 dinar short of the exit tax, so i had to exchange some shekels to leave. you'd better believe i was kissing the dirt when i stepped back on to the holy land soil.