Rampurple

My trip to Jordan was interesting and refreshing. A lot has changed in Jordan during the past 10 years. I will just post brief thoughts on the main activities/trips I made while I was there.

Distant Heat
I think the reason me and my friends had a good time there was just because there was good music and good friends to share a good time with.

I personally think the event was not organized well enough. Nothing major… minor things that make a difference. There are a couple of things I can list but let me just point out one. We got VIP tickets since we wanted an area to sit, with tables for our drinks, and we could place our purses there while remaining next to it. We get to the venue, head to the VIP lounge, and we don’t find a place to sit! We spoke to some of the people who work there, and around an hour later they managed to give us a couch and were promised a table. We got the table over 4 hours after we got there, with an ashtray which I was demanding so I won’t have to throw my cigarette butts on the ground, and I honestly think that was arranged for us because I told the guy that we want to order bottles but there is no place to put them.

I have to give credit to the security personnels there. I had a real good experience with them. They kept their eyes open worried something would happen to us girls.

I expected a LOT more people to attend the event. At the end of the day, I didn’t care. Me and my friends were there to have a good time and enjoy some good music. I did. It was not the highlight of my trip though. I did not go to the remaining events so that I can enjoy more of Jordan.

Petra
Petra is approximately a 90 minute drive from Aqaba. We were extremely lucky to have an excellent taxi driver called Hakam who loves Jordan so much and wanted us to see everything! Our drive to Petra was pleasant and he kept stopping at prime locations for us to take some good photos.

At Petra, we took a horse carriage down to the main square. I must say that the horse carriage is the most uncomfortable ride I have ever taken lol. I would have preferred riding on horseback and wish I did.

The place is remarkable. I think a person would need 2 days to explore the whole place. I loved the place. I think if you are in the area you really should visit the place. I can’t explain about it much, you have to be there to see the greatness of this historically powerful kingdom. Pictures don’t even show the greatness of the place.

Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum is approximately a 50 minute drive from Aqaba. It’s a desert where mountains of rocks simply look gorgeous especially in the afternoon light. The sand is red and the place is amazing for safaris and camping. It’s a great place to go if you feel like being in the desert nature and trying to feel serene.

Mount Nebo
Mount Nebo is approximately a 30 minute drive from Amman. It consists of an ancient church surrounded by some ruins. From Mount Nebo you can see Israel, and if I am correct, this is the place where Moses stood and pointed to the land below, calling it the promised land. It also is the place where Moses is buried. The church (I think it’s called St. George Church) is an ancient church full of great mosaics. Outside the church is this great sculpture of a cross that is just gorgeous!

Aqaba
I believe Aqaba has great potential to develop further with promise to become the next Sharm El Sheikh. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel which I think was an excellent choice. The hotel is a 5 minute walk to town and is right by the magnificent Red Sea. 10 minutes away from Aqaba is an Israeli city called Eilat. As a Lebanese, walking along the Corniche in Aqaba and seeing Israel across the bay (imagine walking in Ain Mreisseh and seeing Jounieh across the bay), its amazing how they live at peace.

A restaurant I liked in Aqaba was Mama’s Place, which is an Italian restaurant around a 10 minute walk away from the hotel. I had sea food pasta (can’t remember the name), and it was really good. Their service is real good as well. I did not like Burj Al Hamam (located in the Intercontinental). Their food and even their narguileh was dull and bland. I had breakfast twice at the hotel. Once from the buffet at their place called Corniche which was real good and I ordered the Arabic Oriental Breakfast once to my room and it was real good. I had a burger at the hotel’s coffee shop once and it was bad. Their ice cream is real good though. As for pubs and clubs, Aqaba doesn’t have much of a night life, and compared to Lebanon their nightlife is dull but I tried out two places. One was an English Pub called Rovers (near Mama’s Place) which was real dull and shuts down at midnight!! and we also tried out Martini’s which was nice but not spectacular. They have a Lebanese singer called Salvador who sings there and he created good positive moods which made the evening fun. I have to say though that I found Jordan cheaper than most places I have been to. The alcohol is really cheap too. Most Jordanians find Jordan expensive since their salaries are low.

Amman
I didn’t stay long in Amman, a total of 10 hours (including the trip to Mount Nebo near Madaba). What I can recommend in Amman, and enjoyed so much is a restaurant called Reem Al Bawadi. Their food is amazing! No alcohol is served there though. I don’t know if its regular for Amman or just that one restaurant.

I must say that I did enjoy this trip. It was relaxing and refreshing. I returned to Kuwait energetic and fresh!