El Rashid Hotel Wadi Musa

... us (of course for 4 times the price) didn't leave us another opportunity. After we finally managed to get on a public bus the driver ripped us off and after arrival in Aqaba he even demanded baksheesh (Heli interpreted this as a request for a punch but of course just left the bus shaking his head disagreeingly). Anyways, most people are really nice, but sometimes you also meet those that don't treat you with respect and comfort and unfortunately this does influence your picture and ...

... we take a walk along the beach and step into it at one place. The water temperature is so warm. Now we are wishing we would have gone on the snorkeling trip instead of catching up on much needed sleep. It is one decision that we now regret and it bothers us every time we look at the water.<br><br>It&#8217;s a bright sunny blue sky as we leave the hotel about 1 PM to go to Wadi Rum. The drive takes about one hour on a very good paved ...

... ones) and we gave them lollipops. A good trade for both of us. <br>I even got my henna tattoo from a bedouin girl. She was cool to talk to. Her English was great. I learned a few things from her about their customs and she wrote my name in Arabic on my hand in henna. I did learn that 'Michelle' is a boy's name in Arabic. <br>Walking back up was a little exhausting so after about 1.5 km we were able to rent the horses the rest of the way up. That ...

... skills were incredible to be able to carve such detailed works in the rocks. Petra is the number one tourist attraction in Jordan so the place was heaving with people and here was the main attraction of the huge area of Petra right here, the treasury. It was difficult to get a photo without people or horses or camels in it. We vowed to return at daybreak to capture it in its best light so we moved on down the pathway to more buildings and tombs carved in rocks. We ...

... of the desert evening was only interrupted by the hooting of owls in the far-off distance, or the occasional howls of the hyenas which lived in the nearby mountains. <br><br>The next morning, I decided to get up early for the sunrise. I wandered off a fair ways from the campsite, and the silence was eerie. The moon was my only companion, I awaited the breaking day, and I was soon rewarded by a stunning sunrise. I also had time to reflect on this trip and the profound effect it ...

... down with warm water and then used this spatula like thing to ex foliate you and it a lot of foliate came off. After that rinsed again and then came the soaping down and massage. This was nice but also a bit unpleasant at the same time. the massage was great but the unpleasant bit was it tickled sooo much. Have you ever had a shower and had to get out for some reason for a bit and left all the suds on you, how much does it tickle. It was like this and I couldn't stop laughing, I tried ...

... on Maddie's and my part (it is a good thing I booked the hotel and not Andy as I would not have been very charitable to Andy!), and a check for cockroaches and bed bugs, we ventured out to find something to eat, reasoning that we could spend the evening in a nice ambience and just go back to sleep and leave in the morning. If there are nice restaurants in Wadi Musa, we didn't find them. Actually, there was one in the Movenpick but that would have cost us an arm and ...

... me not knowing what's going on. Shame I can't watch the rugby tonight. Updated my diary and went to the bakery to get some lunch. <br><br>Slept some more. Then went to a hammam or Turkish bath. Men only affair. Involves stripping down to some shorts; washing yourself with a bowl of water sitting in a sauna for a good half an hour, which was very uncomfortable; lying down on a hot marble slab; taken to a small room where I was scrubbed, washed ...

... St. George in Madaba. The 5th century mosaic floor was discovered during renovations and reveals an intricate map of the 'Holy Places' including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho and The Dead Sea. Cameron revealed his high church leanings when he insisted on lighting a candle at the entrance. <br><br>Lunch at a 'motorway caf' introduced us to a traditional lamb and rice dish called Mensaf. This is ...

... and many royal tombs...all cut out of the solid rock of the cliffs. Turning left brings you along a familiar site - the made colonnaded street of the city (in typical Roman fashion). From here, you can take an exhausting hike UP to see the Monastery (which I did). The guidebook stated that is was 800 steep steps up the jabel (mountain) but it felt more like 8,000 in the heat. I was, however, rewarded for my efforts ...