Day 9: Petra you beaut

Place: Lobby at the Al Anbat hotel, Petra in the wonderful Jordan
Time: 20:02


Thought for the day:
'When you think that something is chaotic, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is not working' - Craig Matthew

Yesterday was a very long day. We were picked up at our hotel by the tour operator at 2am.

Leading up to this, we had decided not to pay another nights accommodation at the hotel as we would only really have used it for 6hrs – so the day before we went to breakfast at 9am and then went back to our room and slept until check out time at 12pm. We placed our bags in the hotel baggage room while we went to the pool and lazed there until about 5pm. Then we went to Starbucks for supper and coffee and to spend some time writing our blog using their wifi. This took us to about 8:30pm. We then went to the pool and slept/read on the lounges until about 11pm at which time we decided to go to the hotel lobby and read/sleep until the tour operator arrived.

When he pitched up he told us that we would have to walk to the main road as the police would not allow him into the Sharm pedestrianized area where our hotel was.  This meant that we had to walk about 400m to the main road to get to our bus which would take us to Nuweiba.

The walk from the hotel to the main road was a very unpleasant experience.  Take about 10 different Egyptian cafes and clubs, all playing their own tunes of arab techno at full blast, the air littered with shisha pipe smoke and the streets crawling with drunken and drugged up youngsters on the jol. It blows our minds as to why people would want to club in such a beautiful place like the red sea and then sleep the whole day nursing a hangover. During the day Naama bay is amazing and a very peaceful place to relax. We really loved it!

Eventually after being bombarded with the chaos of Naama bay at night, we arrived at our taxi and blasted off, yes blasted off towards Nuweiba. Our taxi driver drove at top speed in order to get us there on time – hence no sleep in the taxi as planned due to the bumpy ride. We arrived at the ferry in Nuweiba exhausted and desperate for a bit of much needed rest. BUT that wasn’t going to happen for a while. We stepped onto the ferry and waited in a queue to get our passports stamped – only to get to the front and receive a day trip visa when we asked for a long stay visa. Lucky for us there was an English lady on the ferry who took control of the situation and hooked us up with one of her colleagues who upon arrival at the port of Aqaba in Jordan, took us to the immigration office to get our correct visa. Eventually we were stamped and in Jordan – phew…quite a relief. We found our guide and off we went to Petra – we could catch up on some sleep on this bus as the oke drove like a legend.

When we stepped into Petra, we had no idea what to expect – we were completely floored at the beauty and presence of this ancient city. Everyone has to visit this place in their lifetime – the most impressive thing I have ever seen. After our 7km walk through Petra we went to a restaurant which was included in the tour and feasted on hummus, olives, coleslaw, kofta, chicken that fell off the bone, mixed with peppers and a sauce that left you licking your fingers long after you had eaten… there was a mound of rice which we used to soak up the sauces and other array of Mediterranean delights that are typical to countries around these parts. With very full stomachs we took a taxi to our hotel perch on a hill and arrived at our room for some much needed sleep. I slept like a dead person only to wake up to my beautiful wife and chat about the longest and most incredible day of our trip so far.

The people in Jordan are amazing and are extremely pleasant to be around. It is such a relief to be in a place that is orderly and neat – as opposed to Egypt. The roads are well managed and the drivers are courteous. The roads have lines and people obey the rules. The houses are well built and complete. Jordan really is an amazing place and I can see that we will continue to enjoy our time here.

The hotel we are staying in overlooks a valley in Petra and over the city of Wadi Musa. The most comfortable bed I have ever slept on.

Enjoy the pics – but do yourself a favour you have to get here!!