Al Anbat 1 Hotel Wadi Musa

Am I in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris or at St. Mark's Square in Venice? No no, these neverending crowds of tourists are found in Petra, the most famous tourist site in Jordan. Many obese Americans, screaming (and drunk?) Russians, tons of Asians and add some stiff Germans to the flavour- here you got the disgusting tourist mix disguised as backpackers and loved by souvenir sellers. Those Bedouine sellers by the way wear make up and look like Captain Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the ...

... the hotel. It was a hoot to watch them run. Most of the them were barefoot! One little guy was wearing flipflops! Too funny. We even met a troop of scouts from Jordan. They were hilarious. They thought we were so interesting. We goofed with them and they were happy to get their picture taken. <br>Finally, when our driver arrived we had to walk about 2km uphill to the car. (the marathon had blocked most of the streets in our neighborhood.) Along the ...

... no map. Shona while hoping for the best and with a little help from a young Bedouin we soon found ourselves back in familiar territory. <br>We were shattered after two days of hiking between 6-7 hours each day, so off we went in search of some food. Dino asked for the lonely planet as he had read about some good kebabs. Shona then let him in on the secret she had left it at home, with the map of Petra in it. By this time he was to tired and hungry to care.

... for about 2 km and then there was this bright light straight ahead. All we saw was pinks and whites. We kept walking and then our eyes adjusted and we saw Petra. It was obviously better than the movies- Indiana Jones. The treasury was the first thing to see. It was magnificent. We stopped only a short time because we took the advice from other travelers. Most people said that it's better to go straight to the Monastery and work your way down. Reason ...

Imagine the endless sands of the desert, punctuated by dramatic granite and sandstone mountain ranges. Now imagine a relentless sun, an impossibly azure sky, a punishing heat, and no signs of life whatsoever. Finally, picture a 4x4 straining to get through the sands, its engine roaring in fury, with 4 occupants atop, it's driver confidently pushing forward through the lands his people have called home for generations. With Bonnie and I, our new friends Michael and Bridget from ...