Promises are meant to be broken, but what if I wanted to keep mine!
While Sakshi & I made a pact to travel around either one of our birthdays or anniversaries, 2021 was testing it! We had not taken a trip since the start of the year (We did manage to sneak in a small road trip when the Covid-19 lockdown lifted).
This time was different. In late 2021, Sakshi got through a school in US, and we were packing to move there. A trip was far from anything on our minds.
A Chance Happening
We started looking at travel dates to the US for late-December, early January (her start date). There was news of a more viral Covid-19 variant, Omicron. To top it all, we completely forgot that our travel would be bang in the middle of holiday season. Moreover, covid resurgence meant constantly changing rules around international travel. All this created a huge surge in ticket prices for US. The ballooning prices was going to erode a huge chunk of our savings!
We were forced to look at connecting flights and routes from India to US that could save us some $$. The different quarantine requirements for countries meant limited options to travel (many countries during that time mandated Covid testing & 7 day-quarantine if you transited through their airports)
Reading up on these travel rules, we stumbled across covid travel rules for Serbia, which were relatively relaxed. Plus, I noticed that Indians with a US visa did not require a visa to travel there. Some back of the envelope calculation meant that we could break our journey to the US and still get cheaper tickets. We had hit a jackpot! BUT, since Serbia was practically covered in snow during that time, it meant we would have to travel heavy! This meant excess baggage and a lot of trouble to carry them along. Plan dropped.
But this meant out of the 200 odd countries there would be at least handful which met this criteria. I found a website which had latest covid-19 travel restrictions. A quick search for visa on arrival for Indians with US visa and mapping it with relatively relaxed covid travel rules and I noticed that apart from Serbia, Jordan was another country which did not require a visa (for Indians with US visa) and had relatively easy access during the time. The plan was on!
We booked our tickets (which by the way costed half of what we would have paid for the direct flights to the US!). A few days before our travel, CDC in the US tightened its covid testing requirement from 72 hrs to 24 hrs before entering US. This meant we had to be extremely cautious travelling through Jordan to US! One wrong step and we could be stuck in a foreign country.
We had a 10-day window between Sakshi’s courses starting in January and the earliest when we could fly from India. A trip plan was made and off we flew to Jordan!
Tip : Take the Jordan Pass. It is a travel pass offered by the Jordanian government and grants access to some of Jordan’s most popular attractions. The main highlight is that the tourist fees at major destinations is waived if you buy it before your arrival in Jordan and you plan to stay for at least 3 nights. Here is the official link to buy it.
Itinerary
We planned to travel through Jordan by road and avoid any public transport. Our itinerary had the ruins of Jerash, North of city and then we were to travel South taking the scenic Dead Sea route to explore the famous Wadi Rum and Petra. Then return to Amman and fly out from there.
Jordan Day 1
After an uneventful flight we landed in Amman and went straight to our Airbnb. The place was in the heart of old Amman city with the Amman citadel overlooking the many establishments. It is considered the cultural hub and one of the earliest establishments dating back centuries with lots of famous eateries and the main market area close by.
Tips : We took a local prepaid sim from the airport with a 30 day 4 GB plan. Zain is the major telecom provider and has wide coverage. Keep in mind that you would need an unlocked phone. We exchanged local currencies at one of the bank counters at the airport. The tourist help desk has tie ups with designated taxi providers and the prices are fixed to the Amman city from airport (JOD 22 / ~USD31)
Interesting thing to note is that the exchange rate is fixed as well(1USD – ~1.4 Jordanian Dinar). The only difference is what the banks charge as service fees.
Day 0.5 : Rainbow Street
On our way to the Airbnb from the airport, we went past the old city center and that is what we planned to explore that evening. The map showed a nice 10 min walk, nothing our young legs couldn’t handle. It soon became evident why Amman is also called the city of stairs as the maps failed to show the elevation gain! We were hiking on cobbled alleyways with the smell of fresh food, the only motivation. Huffing and puffing we reached the old town square near Rainbow Street which was bustling with activity.
Cars blaring local music, small hole-in-the-wall eateries selling a variety of bread, shawarmas and falafels that would tantalize anyone’s taste buds and streets filled with laughter and banter. After the steep hike up, we deserved some good food, so we devoured falafel at Al Quds
After that sojourn, we quickly retired back to our room to regain energy for the next day!
Day 1 : Day trip to Jerash
We woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh bread being baked. Our rumbling stomachs dictated what we wore for the day and eventually we decided to let our nose be our guide to the smell. It wasn’t a long wait after all, as the place next door was the bakery making fresh breads for us to devour!
The softest and perfectly baked breads stuffed with spinach and mushrooms were to be our breakfast.
With breakfast sorted, the trip up north to Jerash was a quick drive. The ruins of old Jerash have a very Roman & Greek feel to it. Amphitheaters, tall imposing columns, long straight walkways and massive temples complexes took us back in time. Even the pine and junipers lining the walkways to the complex dated back centuries. Worth exploring for the history buffs!
Lunch at Fakhreldin Restaurant
If you are in Amman, your trip is incomplete without a meal at Fakhreldin. They serve a mix of Lebanese and local Mediterranean cuisine in a very elegant setting. The location itself is in the middle of residential community. It so happens that the place was a house which was later converted into a restaurant. Being in casual tees and jeans we were definitely under-dressed (please dress up well to not feel out of place when you visit here). Nonetheless our empty stomachs had different things to worry about. We quickly got about ordering food and boy was it delicious.
Our waiter very generously offered us a bowl of fresh fruits to enjoy once we finished our meal. We thought it would be one / two fruits each. But look what he got us instead!
Day 2 : Drive from Amman to Petra
We travelled to Petra on Day 2 crossing the Dead Sea. One can stop there and take a dip in the waters. We chose to stop at a spot where we could experience the panoramic views of the lowest point. You can notice the receding shoreline of the sea. It is believed that it would be no more than a small puddle in the next 50 years.
We reached late evening to our hotel in Petra and ordered a sumptuous meal for ourselves.
Day 3 : Petra Tour
Petra is situated in the Nabatean plateau and is near a town called Wadi Musa. The whole topography gives you out of this world vibes with tall jarred mountains and barren landscape for miles. It has become the symbol of Jordan and is flocked by millions of tourists from all over the world each year to admire the landscape, the rich history and architecture.
We stayed at one of the hotels at Wadi Musa. Here you can find many hotels for stay and restaurants to eat delectable local cuisines.
Ok, moving on, we planned to head early for Petra as it becomes extremely crowded at most of the major tourist attractions in there. With the first rays of sun, we started from our hotel which was a mere 5 min drive from the entrance. Since we had the Jordan pass, the entry was free.
To reach the main attraction, Al-Khazaneh (The Treasury), you have to walk for 1.2km on the Siq, a long and narrow gorge that serves as the entry path to Petra.
For what felt lilke an eternal walk, at long last we witnessed the first sight of Al-Khazaneh and it blew our mind. It is carved entirely in the sandstone rock and is a sight to behold.
Al Dir Monastery
If one is adventurous (like us!), one can walk farther into the ruins to the much more magnificent Al-Dir Monastery which is a hike up the old ruins for another hour or so, but the views are breath-taking. See for yourself!
Day 3.5: Wadi Rum
Later we decided to drive towards Wadi Rum, which means “valley of the moon”. Due to the terrain, it is often site for movies which need extraterrestrial landscapes to be shot like “The Martian” and “Lawrence of Arabia”.
It is believed that the Wadi was a sea, several thousands of year ago. To think that you are moving in a valley which at some point was submerged in water makes you think how trivial you are as humans.
You can hire a 4×4 and a guide who takes you around the desert and helps you visit most of the landmarks.
In the night we headed back to Petra and stayed for the night. The trip back took us more time as we stopped multiple times to admire the beauty of the starry sky!
Day 4 : Ride back to Amman
Next day we started early from Petra and reached Amman by evening. We still managed to grab our hands on some delectable local kunafah & other sweets. Funnily, the local are so welcoming and hospitable that they don’t let tourists pay for any thing that you want to try and insist that you try as much varieties and as many quantities that you desire. Plus, you are not obliged to buy from them.
*gulp* In the end, we had tasted more sweets than we ended up buying!
When we arrived late evening in Amman, our Airbnb host had already kept a room for us and we gladly crashed for the night.
Day 5 : Explore Amman Citadel
We wanted to spend a day exploring the bylanes of Amman and visit the Amman citadel. We returned the car in the morning and set off on foot.
First we stopped at the famous Habibah Bakery and had the Kunafeh which melted in our mouth.
Next we stopped at the Roman theater on our way to the citadel.
(View of the Amman city atop the Amman citadel)
Looking at the sunset atop the Amman citadel reminded us that all good things must come to an end. But, the next leg of our life had equally exciting places to explore and create new memories. We bid adieu to Jordan (for now).
To many more such experiences. Till then, Jordan, you have a special place in our hearts!