Jordanian Adventures Part 1

When my Dubai bestie suggested going to Jordan to visit Petra – The City of Mystery and swim in the Dead Sea I went along with it because I wanted to get away. I’m not a huge Indiana Jones fan so I really had no idea what Petra was and the Dead Sea did sound intriguing but it wasn’t high up on my bucket list.

To be completely honest I didn’t know anything about Jordan except that they speak Arabic and are a Muslim country. I signed up for the weekend getaway simply to get away.

It was a bit of a whirlwind. One day we are talking about going and then the next we are booking hotels and flights and private tours. Everything happened quickly with not much planning which is probably why we spent so much money…. but it was worth every single fil (Change in the UAE currency – dirham or AED).

I may have mentioned in a previous post that I work with a number of Jordanian teachers and one of them, in particular, has become a great friend of mine. She is super sweet and ever so generous to the point that when I asked her if she knew anyone who could give us a ride from the airport to our hotel (which was an hour away) she immediately volunteered her sister.

It was meant to be a short flight from Dubai to Amman, Jordan just 3.5 hours but as it happens we got delayed in the air and our ride ended up waiting about 40 minutes for us.

Our personal driver who I’ll refer to as R, aka my co-worker’s sister, looked like her twin so when we finally made it through customs and walked out to the receiving area it was easy to spot her. R immediately welcomed us with amazing hospitality and I was grateful to see a “familiar face”.

It was past 11pm by the time we got into the car and headed toward the Dead Sea where our hotel was located. R brought a friend along to accompany her and I was glad she did, considering she’d have to drive the hour back into the city well after midnight.

We took the scenic route out of the city. The further away from the city we drove the more interesting the terrain became. We passed through small villages, stared at the ocean of stars above us in the pitch black sky and admired the city lights in the distance. Winding through the mountains in order to get to the lowest point on earth. Racing over speed bumps we made the most of the long drive, laughing and cheering with every speed bump we conquered.

Our drive through the mountains was a great way to start our Jordanian adventure. A good omen even, promising the rest of the weekend would be just as fun. Here’s a quick map because sometimes we just need to revisit that 7th grade Geography. Also stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3. I look forward to sharing my Petra pics and funny stories of my experience in the Dead Sea.