You were named after the dog?
Trip Start
May 08, 2006
1
61
108
Trip End
Mar 07, 2007
Petra,
Jordan
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Yep thats right, where Indiana Jones road through the Valley of the cresent moon to the temple where the grail resides in Indianna Jones in the last crusade.
You know i think this journey is good for me. Cleansing of the mind. I realised while looking up at the temple where the Holy Grail rests why my lucky number is 8. When i was 8 my mum made me a cake from this great cake book which had all fancy cakes in it. The cake she made was a massive 8 and had cars on it like a racing track, or maybe it was planes. That wasnt the only reason 8 was a good year. I think i got given a bike. But that wasnt it either
a. Goats at Little Petra
. When i was 8 i watched indianna jones and the last crusade on video for the first time. Its funny i can remember where i sat in the house, the way the chairs were arranged and i remember what time at night i watched it and everything. I even remember there being cheezels. It was the summer 1992, school holidays. Number 8...Left amman via taxi to a bus station to the south. Its wierd theres a seperate bus station for the north south east and west. Got a 3 hour bus down to Petra, got dropped off at the hostel i booked. (Petra Gate Hostel), real nice guy runs it called Nasuer, likes to make everyone feel happy, gives u free food, drinks etc. He also spends his days living on yahoo games, playing billiards and also spending hours as a spectator. I wondered who are those people who spectate online games, now i have met one.
Got there around 2 in the arvo. To late to go to Petra. Nasuer suggested i got to Little Petra. A place i had never heard of before. Pretty much just like big Petra (mountains, buildings buit into mountains) but smaller. Naseur drove me and 2 Belgiums there and back for about 10 bucks. Was cool, no tourists until we left. Bedouin (nomadic) kids with hundreds and hundreds of goats and their crazy protective dogs coming at us through an old creek bed,
Saw a cool sunset from the hotel and ate the buffet which became dinner for the next couple of days there
a. View at the exit of the Siq
. The actually town is not in Petra, its in Wadi Musa which is 15 minutes walk away or 1 jd (2 bucks) in a taxi. Next day i decided to head out with the Belgians early in the morning to see Petra before the tourists came in and spoilt the moment of walking through the valley of the cresent moon (the siq) and seeing the treasury for the first time. We thought we would go to the bakery that opens at 5 in the morning. We got there at 5:30. It wasnt open. We sat out the front with a growing number of locals also waiting for the bakery to open, so they could eat when the sun came up. The sun came up, all the locals left. It was just me and Nancy and Juan. Strangley enough both there names are like van something. Not suprisingly van damme is from Brussels! I called out to the man upstairs in the bakery who was teasingly baking bread, i gestured to my watch that wasnt there and gove a when shrug. He yelled at me and shoed me away. At 7 the bakery finally opened. We got some pita bread and wierd sweet jordanian pastries and headed to petra.
People were already there! Was meant to get a half price student ticket. Instead they said "the government cancelled this" so i got my 60 dollar 2 day pass. We power walked in, past the bus of dutch tourists that had just arrived, past all the other people and through the siq. It was surreal. It was like i was in the movie. Anyone that has every been in my bedroom knows what i big indianna jones fan i am. The big poster of the last crusade on my wall. Goosebumps were forming. Then i saw it through the canyon. The treasury. Awesome. Its one of those things i just cant explain, its masive, protected by the wind, and built into the side of the mountian. In the morning the sun shines on it and in the afternoon it turns red
a.1. Amman to Petra
. I think in the 2 days there i sat there for a good 4 hours just staring at it. The best time was after 5 when all the tourists left and the worst time was in the morning when all the people came in. I hated the fact that i wanted to take a picture and one dumb ass would stand right in front. Or you are sitting there taking it all in and you hear all these german voices coming. Suddenly 30 or 40 german tourists come in with their canes and massive cameras, ruining the moment. I hate big tourist groups, when i heard all those germans a thought came to me, nazis? Since that moment i call all tourists groups nazis. After the grail. Trying to take over the earth and every beautiful mountian, ancient site. Bloody nazis.Once i walked through the Siq to the Treasury I had to past 3 tests in order to obtain the cup.
1. Only the Penatent Man will pass
2. The name of God
3. Leap of faith
I passed these tests quickly as the nazis were right behind me and then I had the hardest test of them all
b. Inside Wadi Musa
. Choosing the correct cup. I searched every single cup in Petra, inside the sight and outside in Wadi Musa. I even checked in the Indianna Jones Gift shop which didnt have anything Indianna Jones related. In the end, i found a cup made out of Onyx that looks like a cup made from a carpenter. It is my grail. The closest i could find. Although in Egypt these cups are everywhere.The first day walking around petra, walked up a massive mountain to the place of sacrifice, walked down the otherside and around. Old people get donkeys up. Poor donkeys. Donkeys are so small and you get these big fat people that sit on them. Theres also people walking around offerng camels as well (not for the stairs up though). They call them ferraiies or lamborghinis or air conditioned taxis. I was glad that the Belgians were lazy then i was, always stopping for brakes, smokes. Belgians love their picnics. The whole place just feels like indianna jones would hang out there.
The Belgians went back about 2pm. I kept on trucking and went to try and find the second canyon out. It says to take a guide. I walked for 2 hours along a creek bed, saw a dead goat and realised i was lost, yelled out some echos and few times then headed back towards the treasury. As i was walking back through the siq after all the tourists had left
b.2. Sunset at Petra Gate Hostel
. The mp3 player came out, set it to "indiana jones" and i was in nirvana. It had to be done. Decided not to take the taxi back, walked up the big hill into town, ate the buffet (always chicken and rice), layed down on my bed at 8 and woke up next day at 9:30.I did so much the first day i didnt mind waking up late. Was good to go in after all the tourists and also walk through the siq by myself. The nazis were waiting at the treasury though. Bamm dozens of japenese tourists. Out of all the tourist groups i like the japenese tourists the best. Usually a not so old crowd and they know how to take a good photo.
I was lucky in Petra, was only 300 tourists in the area, a few years ago there was 4000. Tourism has dropped a lot beacause of recent events. Sucks for the people there. But as the hotel guy said, it is a good thing, because before everyone had too much money. Now people learn to be happy again and not work so hard. Second day i went up to the monastery. Killer stairs. Nazis were right behind me. Bumped into the belgians having a smoko. Sat down, the nazis past, i decided i had to take action. I ate my sweet wierd ramadan pancakes as i power walked up the stairs past the old women with their canes, i hold no niceties to them, they are evil, u go to take a picture and they just walk in front
b.Bedouin Girl and her goats
. Its an unwritten code, wait for someone to take the picture before you put your big cane in it. I got to the top before them all, savoured the massive monastery, found a spot inside a little cave and hid there for a few hours.Came down, walked around saw what was left of Petra, went back to the treasury.. .again. i have about 50 pics of it, 30 with me its a must put on the wall photo. Sat there one last time. A donkey boy told me a secret viewing spot. I climbed up a spot that said no climbing got to the top and got a good high view of it all. The kid came up and helped me take a pic.I rode his donkey back through the siq. Had to ride a donkey! Indianna Jones road a horse out, i rode a donkey. He told me to walk near the end. I had no change and gove him a euro. Later on he chased me down after his uncle told him a euro wasnt enough.
Although i found the grail. My trip will still be called the Quest for the Grail, this is because as Sean Connery said. The true quest for the grail is not for the cup its self, but is for something greater or something like that.
I left Petra a pretty happy chappy. Big tick off the list. Child hood dream achieved.
![[01] On the road to Wadi Musa](http://images.travelpod.com/users/el_condor/thumbnail.asia_2005.1145733120.picture_001.jpg)