JORDAN - PART 1 - INTRO AND AMMAN

I had been lucky to land a well paid job within a few weeks of getting back from the 16 month backpacking trip round the world. 8 months later it was time I visited foreign lands once again but this time it was to be a short trip within works holiday time.

I didn't want to fly too far as I had enough of air travel after taking over 25 flights on my previous trip. I had to fly far enough to escape the cold weather in November. I didn't feel "ready" to do Africa yet and having an Israel stamp in my passport seriously reduced my optionsin the middle East. So in the end I came up with Jordan which had plenty of things to see, not too costly, backpacker friendly and was also in a way carrying on from where I had left off earlier in the year.

I did of course have to put up with the usual stupidity and ignorance off friends down the pub and at work. I got the typical blank look when I said "Jordan" usually followed by "where's that " or "what's there". Then there were the people who assumed that because it was in the middle east and/or it was a muslim country that it was not safe to go to!!!!!!!!!

Getting there was a bit of a nightmare because I had to go all the way down to and through London to get to Heathrow airport.


I spent the first 4 nights and the last 2 in Amman. It was not until the third day that I had been more than 2 minutes walk from the accommodation because I had been on long day trips out of the city (covered in Part 2).

The city itself was hardly full of tourist attractions something I quickly picked up from the other backpackers. It did however give a great first impression of the people there. They seemed far more friendly and welcoming than in nearby Egypt. Despite having a lot of refugees in the country there were hardly any beggars. There was no intense sales pressure or the constant obvious rip offs that turned visiting a country into a battle.

Also there was the other backpackers I met while there. Jordan is hardly the first country people would travel to so most there had done a bit before and had interesting stories to tell. It was great to be back on the travel scene...........


The Roman ruins on top of the hill were interesting as well as giving a great view of the city. There seemed to be very few of what I would describe as tall buildings.


Then there was the Roman theater not far from where I was staying. For some reason both of these tourist attractions were free that day not that they would have cost much anyway.

Unlike the 16 month trip I had finished earlier that year when I didn't know when my next pay day was going to be I had a lot more money to spend per day. I did several things on the trip that I wouldn't have done had I gone there on the previous one. I more or less packed most days full of being out and seeing things.

The exception was the last 2 days back in Amman when I did a typical walking tour of the city away from the downtown area up Rainbow street. I did see a few areas that I would describe as being a bit more "up market" but overall I was glad I didn't linger in that city any longer than I did.