Jordan Experience
Day Five – 8 Dec 2009
Weather: cloudy, cool in Jordan. Cold and clear in Newfoundland with 40 cm of fresh snow waiting for my sneakers.
I didn’t get my wake-up call, which is probably my only complaint about the Crown Plaza’s in Jordan. I didn’t get one in Petra as well, which underlines the necessity of an alarm clock. My alarm clock got me up at 5 am and 15 minutes later, I was in the lobby waiting for my transfer.
He arrived early and drove me to the airport in about 30 minutes. At the airport, he handed me off to another rep who helped me through the security check and the ticket counter. Once I had my boarding pass, he opened my passport to the visa page and pointed me to the immigration counter and told me to go through there. He asked if I had any questions and when I said no, he left me with the immigration guys.
I have to note here that the service the United travel company in Jordan was exceptional. Everything was cared for from the moment we entered the airport until we left. No other tour I’ve taken t this point gave us the same level of service at the airport or on arrival to the hotel as United did. I almost didn’t take this tour because of some earlier complaints but on hearing that Insight had replaced the other company with United and hearing that they were good, I decided to take the tour. I couldn’t have been happier. Good decision Insight!
I passed through immigration easily enough and took the escalator to the top where there were some shops and seating. No one was permitted to go through security until a certain time before the flight. At 7:30, I passed through security and we boarded the plane shortly afterwards. To my delight, this flight has video terminals for each seat despite what seat guru had said. I watched a couple movies and slept for a short time. The breakfast was pretty good and they actually came around to offer us a second warmed bread bun. I was very happy with BMI.
We landed in London after 5 ½ hours and 30 minutes early which was great given that I only had 2 hours in London. This would give me more time to shop. It was a long walk from T1 to T3 and included a 7 minute bus ride. The security check took at least 20 minutes and then I found myself in a huge shopping area. The boards said my gate wouldn’t be open until 1:20 pm, so I had 40 minutes to check out the shopping. I got some fridge magnets, and you guessed it, some t-shirts (since I’ve long outgrown the ones I bought when I was in London in 1982).
The walk to the gate took about 15 minutes and we boarded the Air Canada flight for the trip to Montreal. The plane left a little early and was half empty. I had more space than those in first class. LOL. The flight was 6 ½ hours and also arrived early. I collected my luggage and passed through customs, and once again, no one checked the luggage except for the beagle.
I had a 4 hour wait in Montreal but the Ipod store offered free wi-fi, so I was able to log on for awhile. The flight to Newfoundland left on time and once we took off, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I had a kid sitting behind me and every time my eyes closed, he hit my seat, so I never got more than a few minutes of sleep. (Please note parents: remind your kids to keep their hands and feet off the seat in front of them. If there is a video terminal, make the selections for them so that the person in front doesn’t have to put up with someone hammering the seat behind their head. The screens on AC are “touch” screens, not “tap” screens, yet everyone taps on the screen. All you have to do is touch it with your fingertip and let your fingernail brush the area. Never fails).
We arrived in St. John’s at 1 am. That meant that I had been traveling for 25 ½ hours, 26 hours by the time I got my luggage and got a cab to my sister’s house. I snuck in and found my cats waiting for me in the basement. I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow.
Final note on Jordan.
I can’t recommend this tour enough. It’s an ideal addition to an Israel or Egypt tour and could even be an add-on to any of the European tours, especially for Australians who are going in that direction anyway.
It’s a short tour with so much packed into it. Petra is beyond words. It’s like visiting the pyramids in the Grand Canyon – manmade and natural wonders together. I think it’s hard to beat anything that can be seen in Egypt, but outside of Egypt, Petra was, without a doubt, the most fascinating and beautiful spot I’ve visited. Pompeii is a close third.
It is obvious that Jordan is working hard to join the rest of the world into the 21st Century. The king has begun a program to modernize the infrastructure, including the airport which has a new and massive new airport being built next to it. Western stores, modern malls and restaurants are everywhere (including, funny enough, a “Biggly Wiggly” which I believe is called “Piggly Wiggly in the US).
Being in Jordan reminds me why I like visiting this area of the world so much.
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