Traveling has been right on top in the list of my priorities. What’s the use of working hard and not being able to enjoy and explore the world?

It was time to plan another International trip during the Diwali break. Confused with which place to explore first, we ended up choosing to go to Jordan. I had heard about Jordan being an amazing destination from my father who had been there a couple of years ago.

The plan was sorted and we were looking for like-minded travelers who wanted to explore such destinations with us. Akshay Shintre (Dy. Director of MIT-WPU School of Photography, Pune), Anuj Bangad (cousin of mine from Nasik), Uday Joshi (Financial Consultant, Thane) and Myself were the ones who were in for the plan. Since it was the Diwali break and we had to be back home before the Diwali poojan, we planned a short and precise trip of five days. All of us decided to meet at the Mumbai airport on the day of departure. We flew from Mumbai to Amman via Riyadh by Saudia Airlines. Our visa was to be stamped at the Amman airport since Indian Passport holders have the benefit of taking the Visa-on-arrival facility.

We reached the city of Amman in the evening and headed straight to our hotel. The evening was kept free to rest after the long journey. The actual sightseeing and our trip began the next morning. We hired a car (obviously with the driver; there is an option for self driving as well) from the hotel to go around places.

One of the main attractions in Jordan is the Dead Sea. Talking about the Dead Sea, it is 430.5 meters (1412 feet) below sea level. The salinity of water here is approximately 35% which makes it the world’s saltiest body of water. Because of this, swimming here becomes similar to floating without making any efforts. You may try to push yourself in the water, but the density is so high that it will not let you drown. Such salinity makes it difficult for any plant or animal to survive in the water, hence the name - “DEAD SEA”. There are salt deposits on the shore and on the rocks near the sea.

Dead Sea was approximately two hours drive from the hotel. We left early as we wanted to reach there before it became crowded. The experience of swimming, I would rather say floating in the dead sea was beyond imagination. I had just read about it and heard of it from my father but experiencing it myself was completely different. Apparently, the mineral rich black salt (looked and smelled like shit) is kept there for the tourists to apply on their body for just JD 3 (around INR 300). We returned to Amman in the afternoon and explored the market area in the evening.

Next morning, as per our plan, we left for Petra - a historical and archaeological city. Also known as the “Rose City” because of the colour of the stone which it is carved from. The 1.2 kilometer walk (one-way) through the narrow gorge called the Siq (literally, shaft) gives you a chance to experience the Roman Empire. This Siq passage leads you to the entrance of the Treasury. The rock walls of the Siq are around 500-600 feet tall. One can either walk till the end or take a horseback ride or electric car ride to reach the end of the complete area. We decided to walk down the gorge so that we could explore more. After reaching the end of the passage, we were astonished to see the huge Treasury. We wanted a clear and complete view of the Treasury, so we climbed the rock right opposite to it and got a nice view and pictures without distortion. It was super sunny and the heat drained us half way through. Thinking of what to do, we checked the map and thought of completing another two - three sections. When we completed that, we thought, only three are left, let’s do it. With the excitement of seeing it all even after being tired and drained, we reached to the end of it. The ruins of Petra left us speechless. It was easier to reach the end as it was down hill. Getting back was going to get difficult with the camera bag on the back, sun on the head and obviously because of the uphill walk.

On reaching the visitor’s center, we first grabbed some delicious lebanese food before we could head to Wadi Rum. We had to reach Wadi Rum before sunset as that was the only night we were going to spend there. On reaching our campsite - Bait Ali Camp, we were told by the receptionist that our booking was not confirmed (they actually were confirmed). He started to speak in the local language which we obviously could not understand. Failing to fool us, the receptionist started to type something (he was fake typing) and said he will try to give us rooms at an extra cost. I could clearly see our names in the sheet which had confirmed written along with it. We confronted him along with the confirmation letter we had received and he agreed and finally gave us the room keys.

We left for the sunset drive immediately as we were already late because of all the drama that happened at the hotel reception. Driving through the sand dunes with different colours of sand, valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock was a different experience all together. Naturally formed stone arches were beautiful beyond imagination. The colours of the sky while the sun was setting behind the sandstone and granite mountains took our breath away. The evening was spent enjoying the campfire and star gazing on the hill top later in the night.

The next morning we headed back to Amman for the last leg of this amazing tour. We reached Amman in the afternoon and went out to explore the local cuisine in the evening. The city of Amman was yet to be explored. We took the city tour on the last day and left from our hotel in the morning. Amman CitaDel, Umayyad Palace, the Roman Theatre, Rainbow street were some of the places we managed to visit during the city tour. The incomplete structure of the Roman Temple of Hercules and the hand of Hercules is something one should not miss while in Amman. The hill top of Citadel gives you a complete view of the city of Amman. What could have been better than this to end our trip ?

We headed back to the airport soon to return home for Diwali. It was a short trip but was worth the visit. I would love to visit this beautiful country once again, sometime in the future.

Adios !

Vedant Chandak
info@vedantchandak.com
www.vedantchandak.com