Day 256 – Cairo to Amman, JORDAN
Leaving Egypt
Today we left Voyage Hotel to start a voyage of our own! A large breakfast, was delivered to our room. After this, we checked out and caught an Uber to the Cairo International Airport. Since we had been here a couple of weeks ago to fly to Luxor (Day 242), we were not new to the process of bag checking before the Egypt Air check in counters.
Our flight had nothing out of the ordinary happen. At the end of the 1 hour and 15 minute flight we were back in the middle east.
Oh and I almost forgot, today is the first day of Ramadan!
Welcome to Jordan
In Jordan, the airport formalities were a breeze, especially as we had pre purchased the Jordan Pass. What is the Jordan Pass I hear you say? Well, its entry tickets to multiple tourist sites (Yes, there is more to Jordan than Petra) and a visa waiver (normally 40 JOD / $81.74 AUD) under certain conditions. Financially it should save you a lot of money in the long run. We bought the Jordan Pass with 3 days entry to Petra, known as the Jordan expert which cost 80 JOD / $163.49 AUD. Official site is www.jordanpass.jo.
After picking up our bags we bought a SIM card from a company called Umniah with 12GB and some local SMS / calls. We then went to the bus kiosk outside the terminal to buy tickets to the North Bus Station, also called Tabarbour Bus Station. The tickets only cost us 3.30 JOD / $6.74 AUD per person. The large yellow and white bus was already waiting when we got there, so we could just climb aboard.
The bus ride took around 1 hour, and looking out the window, I realised how much I missed the colour Green. Egypt was mainly void of green. I was deliriously smiling at all the trees, grass and plants (even weeds) along the side of the road. I still can’t believe how much better life seems when there are trees around. Also, I was only expecting more sand, so it was an unexpected delight.
From the bus station, we caught an Uber to our hotel. The app automatically set the pick up location just outside the bus station. We walked to the location, but the driver didn’t come. After calling him, and having to send my location on Whatsapp he finally came to the correct location. Once here, he started blaming us, saying we were not in the correct location. I could not be bothered arguing with him since I was still on a green high so I said the app must have screwed up.
We checked into the Jordan River Hotel, which was very nice, with a large room and plenty of natural light. The room we stayed in had a shared bathroom, but the hotel was not busy, so it was effectively a private bathroom.
The hotel was walking distance from the main tourist area, which was nice as we were able to grab some food before sunset (yes, its possible at some restaurants, but the majority were closed) and head back to the hotel to plan the rest of our trip. Travelling in the Middle East during Ramadan, will be an interesting experience. We have no idea what to expect.
Coming from Cairo with a population of more than 20 million people, to Amman with only 4 million, the streets are definitely calmer and quieter. But another factor could be Ramadan.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!