Wadi Rum
Frankly, I’m surprised Lorna and I lived to write about Wadi Rum. Something seriously needs to be done about the quality of driving and enforcement of the driving rules in Jordan. And don’t even get me started on Egypt, because they’re way-worse. And I’m not the sort of guy to just sit around and cross my fingers and not say anything to the maniac behind the wheel. But it’s a different ball-game when what you’re saying is lost in translation. Still. Somehow, we made it. Pulling-in to Rum, you definitely get the feeling you’re stepping...
Read MorePetra
Finally, after talking our heads off about it for weeks, months before we even left for our ten-month world adventure… Lorna and I sat in a mini-van, driving along the Kings Highway in Jordan with a very exciting destination in mind… Petra. We made a few decent photo-opp stops along the way, and the sheer vastness of the dusty-orange landscape did nothing less than make us more excited to get to the ancient lost-but-now-found city. Now. Keep in mind that driving from Madaba to Petra pretty-much has to be done by taxi. Yep, you’re not...
Read MoreMt Nebo, Dead Sea, Madaba, Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, Hammamat Ma’in Hot Springs
Madaba should be your next stop after Amman on your way to Petra and the hotel you should check into is called the Mariam Hotel. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the town center where you can grab a bite to eat. There’s free wi-fi and the pool area is amazing… …as is the restaurant and the small bottle-shop across the road. But the best thing is, the owners will have a private taxi driver come and pick you up and take you to all the sites you are there to see over a few days and drop you back at the end of each day. For about fifty bucks a night, per room, you can’t...
Read MoreAmman
Let’s face it, the main reason you’re in Amman, Jordan’s capital, is because you’re on your way to experience the magic of the once-lost-but-now-found ancient city of Petra. You should also want to visit Mt Nebo where, according the bible, Moses died. A visit to Madaba, a drive down the Kings Highway and a 4×4 adventure through the Wadi Rum desert, where most of the movie, Lawrence of Arabia, was filmed. Although you don’t want to spend too much time mucking-about in Amman, you should still spend at least a full-day checking out Citadel...
Read MoreLuxor
If you say you’ve visited Luxor to an American, chances are they’ll reply, “Oh no, we didn’t stay at the Luxor in Las Vegas, we stayed at the Palms!” But they wouldn’t be too far off, because, the Palms is way better than the black pyramid-shaped Luxor hotel of Las Vegas. However, Lorna and I went to visit the real city of Luxor, tabout 700 kilometers away from Cairo in Egypt, and that’s a whole different experience, trust me! Let’s not forget here, as mentioned in the last few articles I’ve written about Egypt, that we chose to use...
Read MoreAswan
We started our Egyptian adventure off in Cairo and after visiting the Pyramids of Giza, The Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum, we had a quick rest at the hotel before piling onto a train bound for Aswan. Aswan exists on the east-bank of the Nile and is generally the second spot you stop to explore Egypt after Cairo. There’s no need to ever bring an umbrella though, because it only rains once every two or three years. You can visit the Nubian Village, sail down the Nile toward Luxor and take a day-trip to Abu Simbel (an absolute, absolute must!) on your own, or, you can do it as part of an...
Read MoreCairo
When deciding on a travel destination, it’s easy to choose somewhere in Europe or America. If you really want to push your character to its next level, try visiting the Middle-East! I’ve got to take credit, for the first time on our trip, and mention that it was I who suggested visiting Egypt to Lorna. Of course, I didn’t have to twist her arm too hard. She loves travelling and is willing to go anywhere. The more obscure, the better. After visiting Turkey, especially the insanity of the Istanbul bus-station, I thought we’d adjusted somewhat to the middle-eastern way...
Read More