Le Meridien (Standard) Amman

I've preached to many (unpersuasively, for the most part) on the snappy dialogue in Igby Goes Down:
Igby: "How many Vassar professors and intellectual theologians beget nymphomaniacal, pseudo-Bohemian JAPs?"
Sooky: "I am not a JAP."

I get the same feeling about the world of David Copperfield, which I finally finished on the dash through Jordan to Israel (having been to Petra en route to Ethiopia with ...

... three more months. Now I can take a load off fanny.

[NOTE: I just keep gong back and updating the Syria post to include more and more so I am kind of writing out of order. I also don't think it matters much since no one is trolling the internet trying to write an unauthorized biography of yours truly and anyone casually reading really doesn't care about specific dates except perhaps intelligence and counter intelligence agencies.]

... pm as work tends to get out early during Ramadan and the rest of the day was kind of lazy. I finished Carmen Bin Ladin's book (it was a fast read and also interesting since my knowledge of Saudi life is pretty minimal) and then we all watched a crazy conspiracy movie called Zeighiest.
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Monday:

I didn't get up and go into work Monday morning because there was a big meeting scheduled for a presentation in the Jordan Valley for the afternoon. Instead ...

... I wanted to leave the place and at least get some of my money back. He was a stubborn ass once again and wouldn’t stop talking about everything they had done to the apartment to make it “nice.” We met him at the place that night and as Lu was conversing/bargaining/arguing with the guy, I turned on the shower, flushed the toilet, and turned on the sink. In minutes the bathroom had an unbearable smell for all to witness. The landlord and guard went in ...

... explains, "Everybody in India was all over that story, everybody wanted to know all about Moni and Bill and everyone was so excited. Men started going out and buying cigars...I'm serious!" I knew that Indians loved Bill Clinton, but I didn't realize that much! He then pulled out another photo of him, this time in London... He starts talking about how the Green Party came to London for some big function and he considered going off to fight Japanese whale killers but ...

... The afternoon we arrived we went to the Citadel, which is the site of ruins from the Bronze age. Most of the buildings making up the fortress were destroyed by an earthquake, but there is an impressive audience hall and several pillars of the Temple of Hercules still standing. The site itself has pretty wildflowers growing amongst the ruined buildings. The citadel is also home to the National Achaeological Museum, which is small but well organized and the displays include ...

... value of tourism and how to exploit it. This was something which was to become even more evident upon arrival to Nepal, but more of that later. Amman, contrary to my first impressions was a very pleasant city. There was almost nothing to see or do there per se sights and attractions, and so the whole place had a really cool vibe, probably because it did not rely on tourism. It felt like a city made for the locals, by the locals. There was, like Syria, no alcohol, no bars, no pubs ...

... the next entry)]. And why does our blog now read like Conde Nast Traveler (sic)? Instead we wanted to see the new 7th wonder of the world: Petra. So we took a minibus with a few other foreigners and locals and drove out the 4 ½ hours to Wadi Musa, which is the town closest to Petra, just 1-2km away, and the place that many people base themselves at when going to see the site.