Jordan rocks
Men chat and smoke at coffee shops that dot the dusty streets – there's something so male and great about that. Hello, the kids shout. Then inevitably: You're welcome!
No. Not the model/porn star. The country, and by extension, so far, the Middle East. I've been invited at least four times to have tea and share hookah with awesome people – and I've only been here two days.
The food rocks. Mezzes: spicy tomato dip with garlic and peppers and mint. Grilled chicken and goat and stuffed pastries. Did I mention the tea? And cheap! Two falafels cost 30 cents.
Men chat and smoke at coffee shops that dot the dusty streets – there's something so male and great about that. Hello, the kids shout. Then inevitably: You're welcome! Random strangers stop me in town, pat my shoulders and ask me if I need help with directions. And here's a first for me: because it's low season, lots of sights waive the ticket charge – at some, there's no one there, as they leave the doors open for visitors. Walking through empty Byzantine churches and crumbling palaces all by myself is a surreal experience... no tourists, no touts — just the experience of traveling in a strange land, with my own private discoveries.. awesome.
At one point, a souvenir shop owner saw me fingering a postcard and said, "Go ahead, take it – free.. for you my friend!"
Heading to Petra tomorrow – hopefully I"ll get to stay in a Bedouin camp under a billion stars.. but more later on my visits in Jordan thus far.. the only stickler is the transportation: from Madaba, there is no direct bus to Petra, so I'll have to take the local bus to the town of Diban, hop off, hitchike across the Wadi Mujin canyon, hire a taxi to Karak, wait for a bus to get full to Wadi Musa, and taxi to the campsite.
At least, that's how I think it will go...
Sounds totally awesome! Can't wait to follow your trip through Jordan, Egypt and Turkey!!!
I'm going home next week, very excited!!! But gonna miss YuppieNomad by a few days >=(
Safe travels!
Posted by: Sharon | September 01, 2006 at 05:12 AM
Thanks! I reccommend Jordan very much.. and I've only been here a week! I'll def. come back.
Posted by: j.fisher | September 05, 2006 at 03:09 AM