Day 192: Amman - last stop in this round-the-world tour

Amman was our base for exploring the near-by sights, such as the Dead Sea and Jerash. Our hotel, Palace Hotel, was highly recommended by other travelers, and it certainly was not a disappointment. Good value for the money. Best of all, the heater worked all night long!

view from Palace Hotel

The next day we wanted to see the Dead Sea. Apparently there was no local bus taking us all the way to the Amman Beach, but we still tried the local bus option. Once we were dropped off at Rama, there was another man going to Amman Beach, so three of us shared a taxi. The man was Iraqi-Kurdish from Kirkuk. It was a strange feeling standing next to someone whose country has been at war while both of us were staring at the Dead Sea where another war was raging less than 80km away at Gaza.

check out the size of this salt crystal

The color of the Dead Sea was lighter than I expected. It looked just like normal sea water. There were a dozen Russian tourists there already, so we weren't the only crazy ones to take a dip in such cold weather. Floating in the Dead Sea was a piece of cake, but getting in was tricky with the sharp salt crystals. One can get cut easily.

the Dead Sea mud treatment

Katy floating in the Dead Sea

We also did a day-trip to Jerash, an ancient Roman city, and Kerak, a Crusader castle. On both trips, our buses were waiting for the seats to fill up completely before leaving. Since they were the big buses, it took about 90 minutes each time. So we sat in the bus and chatted with other passengers. It seemed like a normal routine for them. Jerash was interesting to visit, full of Roman ruins. The castle of Kerak, on the other hand, was too windy and too cold because it sits on top of the mountain, offering good view of the surrounding area.

Jerash

Kerak

Amman is our last stop in this trip because Katy and I have decided to get married in Taiwan in March! We are sad that the trip is ending so soon, but are very much looking forward to the next phase of our lives. We will definitely pick up the trail again - hopefully not in the distant future. So many places to visit, yet so little time... Let me end this blog with this phase I saw from a road sign in Taman Negara - "Life is a journey". Safe travel to you all!

Day 188: Petra

Petra is the number one destination in Jordan. Not surprisingly prices are higher from accommodation to restaurants. Some items from the grocery stores are even more expensive than in Switzerland! Not sure if it's just the "foreigner price" or not.

We bought a two-day pass at Petra. On our first day, we must have walked at least 16km. We could not believe that we actually made it to the Monastery (Al-Deir) because our legs were already sore and it's another 45-minute hike uphill to the Monastery. The view was spectacular. Suddenly we saw a local man doing push-up's on the top of the Monastery – 47M high. It took him about 15 seconds to literally run down. Not sure which word is more appropriate – gutsy or crazy. On our second day, our legs had not recovered fully, so we did only the High Place of Sacrifice – a 45-minute hike uphill.

In Petra, we stayed at Valentine Inn. Half way through the night, the heater stopped working, so the room got very cold. The next day the heater was not working at all, so it was even colder. We checked out after two freezing nights. But the buffet dinner was nice, but not enough to convince us to stay one more night. Straight to Amman.

can you spot the man standing on top of the Monastery?

the monastery in full view

Day 186: Nuweiba - last stop in Egypt

It was an eight-hour bus ride from Suez to Nuweiba. When we got off the bus, there was no taxi in sight. It was around 8pm. We were the only people walking on the street from the gas station into the town. Fortunately a minibus pulled over and offered us a ride into the town. We ended up staying at the same hotel as the driver, who was a tour guide from Cairo. The chef cooked us hot meal even though we were the only people at the restaurant and the kitchen was closed. It was very satisfying. There was so much food – one of the few times that we had left-over on our table.

The hotel, Farouyaza Village, was better than I expected. At US$9, we had a clean, well-built beach hut, not the refugee types we saw in Goa, India. There were only one or two other travelers there. That's it. When we woke up the next day, there was no one on the beach. We would have loved to spend a few hours on the beach, but we had a more urgent matter to attend to: ferry ticket to Jordan.

long queue of trucks waiting for the ferry to Jordan

According to the Lonely Planet, the ferry ticket office accepts only US dollars. We went to three banks, which were all closed and would re-open at 5pm. Having no luck on the exchange, we found a truck driver and a grocery store owner who would be happy to supply us US dollars in return for Egyptian pounds. Unfortunately we had only Euros with us. Regardless, we still went to the ticket office to inquire about the schedule. We found out that there was a sailing at 3pm that day, and we could pay in Euros! After securing the expensive tickets (US$70 for 90-minute sailing), we went back to the hotel to pack our things and rushed back to the port because we had to be at the departure terminal two hours prior (according to the Lonely Planet). We got there at 1:15pm, and the ferry did not leave until 5:30m. Does the term "African time" sound familiar? It was so painful waiting at the grubby ferry terminal with stray cats running around, fishing things out from the garbage bins.

on our way to the port

funny signs

Day 184: chaotic Cairo?

To save money, we took the night train from Luxor to Cairo. Throughout the night, there was a baby crying in the back, and some people were playing loud music from their phones. So not much sleep.

We went to the Pyramids and the Old Cairo. The Pyramids were very touristy. Loads of tour buses and loads of touts about souvenirs, camels, donkeys and horses. On the way back to Cairo, we decided to take the local bus. Big mistake. There were about 200 other people waiting for the buses, which would not stop completely. So people were running and jumping on the moving buses, which were already packed like sardines. We ended up getting a taxi. An hour into our taxi ride, we moved only a few streets. Our driver decided to take the small lanes, which brought us to another traffic jam. Another 30 minutes passed, he told us that he would not take us into downtown Cairo, so we were dropped off at a metro station. Chaotic Cairo?


The Old Cairo was much more pleasant. The street was nice to walk on. There were many shops, but no touts like at the Pyramids. We went to a heritage house listed on the Lonely Planet. It was amazing to see how the house was before and after the restoration. Breezy, spacious courtyard. Beautiful wooden windows.


On our last night in Cairo, we met with my good friend, Tamer, from IMD. Tamer just got back from NY a few hours ago. He and his beautiful wife took us to the Four Seasons for a few drinks. My oh my, that place got class! It was one of the few places in Egypt where we did not have to swat flies while eating.

One funny side story. We and the four Malaysians stayed at the Canadian Hostel in Cairo. When we returned from the White Desert, they gave our reserved room to a big group. There was no room left. The manager was kind enough to offer us to stay at the lounge area for free for the night. So out came four mattresses, pillows and blankets. Six grown-ups having a pajama party. It was just like high school. BTW, the breakfast next day was free too.

Day 185: Suez canal

We needed to travel from Cairo to Nuweiba to catch a ferry to Aqaba in Jordan. Not fond of riding the bus for ten hours straight, we decided to spend one night in Suez, which shaved two hours off and we got to watch the cargo ships go by the infamous Suez canal.

As soon as we arrived in Suez, we went straight to the canal. Four cargo ships passed us not more than 40 meters away. Just slowly drifting away. Very quiet. They were heading to the Red Sea and will have to watch out for the Somalian pirates. Good luck to them.

big cargo ships on Suez canal

We stayed at this small hotel called Arafat. It was OK for one night. The best part about the room was the CNN channel – the only channel in English. So we watched the Israel-Palestine conflict over and over again. The next morning we went to the canal again, hoping for better pictures during the day. Guess what? Not a single ship showed up. We waited for 40 minutes and the best shot we got was a work boat. :(

the only boat we saw on the canal the next day

our bus to Nuweiba - 8 hours away

Day 182: one night in the White Desert

There were two oasis we had in mind: Siwa or Bahariya. Siwa was less touristy and more remote, but it takes 12 hours from Cairo by bus each way. Not wanting to be on the bus that long, we opted for Bahariya, still five hours away from Cairo. It's more touristy, but we just wanted to experience the White Desert for one night. When we arrived, several people approached us about trips to the White Desert. We ended up going with a 16-year-old kid, Ahmed, whose father runs a hotel (Desert Oasis Home) and arranges trips to the White Desert. The room was clean, but it was very cold at night without any heating instrument in the room. We were concerned how cold it would get for the desert trip the next day.


Before the night falls, we hired Ahmed to take us to a local hot spring and a salt lake. The hot spring was very basic – one big pipe, one loud motor and one concrete basin. The temperature was just right, perfect for the cold, sunny desert. The locals were washing in the hot spring. Since there were no women, Katy stood out from the crowd. The salt lake was stunning. See it for yourself below.


The next morning we met four people from Melaysia. They were going on the same desert trip, so six of us spent the next two days together. Along the way, we stopped a few interesting places. The Crystal mountain was appropriately named because it's full of crystals. I must admit that it was quite tempting to chip away the crystals for souveniors if our bags weren't so full already. Sitting in the White Desert and watching the sun setting was extraordinary. At night, we slept under the stars, i.e. outdoor and on top of the sand with a blanket underneath us. It was freezing. We had to wear everything we had – thermo underwear, fleece, jacket, fleece hat, gloves, two pairs of socks, scarfs. Acccording to the driver, the temperature at night had dropped below zero.


The breakfast consisted of cold Egyptian bread and jam. Good thing I brought some banana and oranges along. After breakfast, the driver could not start the engine due to the cold temperature. The idea of spending one more night in the desert was unthinkable. So immediately all the men were pushing behind the car. After a few failed attempts, the car eventually started. Sigh, it was such a relief. Back to Cairo!

Day 179: Luxor

Luxor was my favorite place in Egypt. There were many historical sights within easy reach. The traffic was not congested like Cairo. The accommodation was cheap. Last but not least, the McDonald's in front of the Luxor Temple had a free Internet Wifi that actually works.

Luxor Temple at night

The Valley of the Kings was on the top of our list. When we got there, there was a "mini-train" waiting to drive you to the main gate. It wasn't free, of course. When I asked how long it would take to walk to the main gate, I was told five minutes. It took us less than that. It was so short that we saw the same people waiting in the mini-train being dropped off at the main gate. I think you spend more time waiting for the mini-train to fill up than walking. The Valley of the King was in the Horn mountain. The setting was spectacular, especially given the historical significance. Once inside the tombs, we were a bit disappointed because they were all empty. Most treasures were on display in the Cairo museum. Several tombs were closed (not sure why).

The Karnak temple was equally splendid ... if you can filter out the other one thousand tourists. Boy oh boy, that place was busy. Loads of tour buses. The packaged tourists come in herds. Despite the crowd, the scale of the ruins was beyond my expectation. If you go there, go in early morning to avoid the crowd.

Nile River at Luxorpoor donkey

check out the unfinished roof tops all over the city

Day 176: Abu Simbel

The bus from Aswan to Abu Simbel was supposed to take three hours. It took us five hours because the bus broke down when we were half way through the desert. We heard a loud bang and smoke started coming out from the rear end of the bus. There was nothing the driver could do, so we waited for another bus to pick us up. So there we were. Sitting in the desert under the sun for an hour and half.

Abu Simbel has the famous Ramses II temple. One thing we found funny was that even though the temple was dedicted to his queen, Nefertiti, it was full of statues of Ramese II himself. It's like giving someone a picture frame with your own picture in it as a gift. All joking aside. The temple was indeed amazing. Four gigantic statues of Ramses II lined the exterior of the temple. Eight more statues of Ramses II stood after the entrance. The paintings inside the temple were just like the archeology investigation you see on TV, full of animal symbols and Gods, such as Anabis and Orisis. Photos were not allowed inside the temple, but I took a quick one, so you guys can see what it's like.