We almost jumped on the chance to visit a new place! We have close friends in Dubai and had not traveled anywhere in almost two years. Tickets booked and all winds indicated getting a Dubai visa was easy – or so we thought.They had issued a new law that Canadians would require a visa to enter the country but did not have the systems in place to issue a visa so I could not apply at the embassy or online (via the Emirates website). After a lot of tries, we finally were able to get a visa by booking a reservation at the Sheraton and the hotel issued a visa to us.

Day 1 in Dubai

Our flight to Dubai was at 4:25 AM from Ahmedabad airport. We were on-time but as we went through the security checkpoint, the security fellows decided that the baby stroller was too large and made me run back to the Emirates counter to get it scanned. I understand this is for everyone’s safety and am always willing to comply with the rules, but I have to say the security folks were extremely rude and absolutely unprofessional. Our six month old daughter was sleeping in the stroller when they asked us to fold it. I asked them if we could just go through since she was a baby and waking her up would make her cry. He could politely have told me, its the rule, but shouted at me and said so what if the baby cries? Really? Once we woke the kid up (and needless to say, she was not happy), they simply refused to help my wife put the luggage in one corner while I went and got the stroller scanned – she was left managing a crying baby and six large suitcases! It is times like these when I really feel that my faith in the general goodness of humans is simply lost. A big thanks to another couple who was on our flight and helped my wife out.

The flight was uneventful, good food and not-bad Emirates service. Rhea slept through the flight and we were happy for that. We landed in Dubai at 6 AM and immigration, while simple was a bit confusing. We had to go through two different lines (that were no where close to each other); one where the visa was stamped and the other where the passport was stamped. Dubai airport is alright: large, modern, clean and mostly efficient. They offered strollers for kids which was very useful for a family like ours.

Our hotel had sent the car to pick us up and even though we had requested a large car, they sent a midsize SUV, which could not fit in all our bags. While trying to fit the bags in, we realized that we forgot the handbag that had our passports (all three), immigration papers and some jewelry in the free stroller! Here we were standing in the parking lot wondering what to do!I decided to run back and see if I could find the stroller and maybe the bag was still in there. As I approached the customs counter to re-enter the airport (from where passengers usually exit), the two Emirati agents who manned the counter did not seem to speak much English (and seemed bored – never a good sign). Whatever little they understood clearly meant I could not pass through. I decided to be brave (or foolish… mostly foolish) and told them I’m going in since I want to get my passport back and they could come with me and just started walking. Finally, one of them said OK and both of them followed me. Halfway through, they decided to take a detour and get coffee. I could not believe it! They just waved me through and I ran to the Emirates carousel where we think we left the stroller. The Emirates staff told me that they did indeed find the bag and it was in the lost and found section for Emirates Airlines (not the airport). Luckily the bag was there and it had all the papers and valuables intact! Very thankful to the helpful Emirates agents.

Now, passports back in hand, what do you do about the bags that don’t fit. We decided that Heena and Rhea would go in the car and I’d take a cab to the hotel. The drive was not bad and we drove mostly along Sheikh Zayed road which is lined with impressive skyscrapers on both sides. I chatted with the Cabbie, a Pakistani fellow from Multan on his views on the pros and cons of living in Dubai (vs. Pakistan) as a taxi-driver.

Our hotel, the Sheraton Jumeirah Beach was not bad, but like many Sheratons, slightly old and it showed. We had excellent views from our room, however. The staff was extremely courteous and helpful. Our room was not ready, so we had to wait in the lobby for about 45 minutes. Heena was hungry so I got a vegetarian sandwich and cappucino from the restaurant in the hotel. It was tad pricy (Paid about 64 DHS).

Once settled in the room, the three of us were so tired and that we simply crashed. At about 1 PM our friends, V&J who we were supposed to stay with before the visa fiasco, called us. We were really excited to see them but also were so exhausted from the lack of sleep and the passport incident in the morning. Regardless, once we met them, we were so happy. I was seeing their son for the first time since his birht and he was all of seven years old now! Time flies. We have so many fond memories with them from our time in Bombay.

We drove over to their condo at the Jumeirah Lake Towers. I have to say, their condo has the most impressive city views!

View from V&J's condo: Skyscrapers at Dubai Marina

View from V&J's condo at night

After a delicious meal at their place we simply hung out for a while. Lots to catch up on actually. In the evening we went out to Arz Lebanon and had a delicious meal of felafel, hummus and various mediterranian dips. After dinner we drove around dubai and drove by the Jumehriah hotel, Burj al-Arab and also onto Palm Jumeirah – the manmade islands! We wanted to drive by and visit the Atlantis hotel, but Heena was exhausted and feeling carsick so we turned around and head back to the hotel. Heena and Rhea was tired and simply went to sleep, while I went down to the cafe to catch up on work and homework.

Day 2

We woke up in the morning and got some breakfast from the breakfast buffet (benefits of being Sheraton Gold members!). The spread was clearly geared towards tourists who cared little for the local food; very little middle eastern food thrown in (the hummus sucked and all the middle eastern stuff was in the corner). The coffee was excellent. We got a window seat and the view of the sea was lovely. We were ready by 9:30 AM, which is right when Rhea decided to take a nap. At 11 AM, when she finally woke up and we took a 10-minute cab to V&J’s house. Heena decided to stay with V and chat since they had a lot to catch up on. After lunch, I decided to visit the Mall of Emirates and also try out the Dubai Metro.

If you know me, you’ll also know that I hate malls. Or shopping for that matter. So why then go to this mall? For one, it used to be the largest mall in Dubai (or the middle east!) and secondly, it houses Ski Dubai. Now that was something you gotta see once! Besides, given the logistics and time, it seemed like that’s the most I could do.

I am a big fan of public transit and the Dubai metro does not disappoint one bit! The trains were clean, on time and easy to use. You need a metro card which can be purchsed at the counter. Since V&J already had one I simply filled it with credit and was on my way! Dubai is positioning itself as a trade hub (which it already is) and now also as a tourist and shoppers paradise. All the advertisements along the metro made this very clear.

Dubai Metro

I liked the Mall of Emirates since it had all the stores that you expect to see in the US in addition to European ones. I did a lot of window shopping since I found it interesting to see “what else” is availabe around the world that we do not get in the US.

Mall of Emirates

Mall of Emirates

After walking through all of the mall, I finally hit Ski-Dubai. It cost me 120 DHS to go inside just to take a peek – I got a parkah and boots as a part of the ticket. There were not that many people and I could not help but wonder that the profits on this place had to be marginal, at best. However, I was visiting on what was a “Monday” in the middle-east so my judgment is skewed.I’m sure the place is teeming with people on weekends.

Ski Dubai

Ski Dubai

After walking around for an other hour or so, I decided I’ve had enough and it was time to head back home, where V had cooked up a delicious south Indian meal! We spent the evening talking about various things and then they dropped us home at night.

Day 3

The third day, again, Heena decided to stay with V since Rhea had developed a diarreah. Heena and V also decided to take up the complimentary lunch voucher that the hotel offered us and just enjoy the hotel grounds. I decided to visit old Dubai: Bur Dubai, Bastakiya and Deira!

I took a cab to the skytrain station and then the train to Al-Karama (which also happens to be the Indian district in Dubai). From there a short cab ride took me to Dubai museum which is housed in the Al-Fahidi fort (the oldest fort in Dubai). The museum gave an exellent insight into the history of dubai which was fascinating. They have complete replicas of different tradesmen workshops. I did not realize that Dubai was very active in the pearl trade and that’s where the trading status of Dubai started.They also had an excellent multi-media display on the history of Dubai. After the museum, I walked past the Grand Mosque which is UAE’s only multi-domed mosque.

Al-Fahdi Fort (Dubai Museum)

Grand Mosque - Dubai

After walking around for a while, I reached Bastakiya – the oldest residential district in Dubai district which now houses art shops and small museums and most importantly, the famed wind-towers!

Wind tower at Bastakiya

I walked around Bastakiya for about 1-2 hours stopping in at various galleries and museums. The two museums I spent some time in were the museum of Numismatics and Museum of Philately. I was a bit surprised that the place was rather empty, but it could have been that I was visiting on a weekday and in the middle of the afternoon. As I exited Bastakiya, there was a ad-shoot going on for the city of Dubai to promote Dubai as a trade-center.

I walked along the waterway towards  Bur Dubai and ended up in the textile souk. I was hoping to see some roaring trade, alas most of the shops were closed for the afternoon. I did find a corner in the souk where shops were open and sat watching the merchants conduct business. I have no training in textiles, but grew up around the textile trade and watching the merchants took me back in time and brought back a lot of childhood memories.

Textile Souk - Dubai

I then walked along the promenade towards the Sheikh Saeed Al Makhtoum house which was the home of the former ruler of Dubai, and is now a city landmark. The promenade is lined with different restaurants and has benches where you can watch the barges enter Dubai creek and affords you views of Deira. While walking, a slightly older man called out to me and asked if I was from India. I said yes. He waved me over for a conversation. His name was Rehman and he was from Pakistan. He had been living in Dubai for over 15 years and worked as a boatman. It was his day off and he was simply enjoying the weather and the view. He said that if I came back in time we should have tea together (When I was back, he was gone). Extremely affable fellow.

Rehman

The Sheikh Saeed Al Makhtoum house afforded lovely views of Bur Dubai and Deira and allowed me to view a few wind-towers up close. Each room had photographs and information about the life and times of its former occupant and so it was fascinating to walk through each room and soak in the history of not only Dubai’s rulers about the Emirate itself.

I walked a bit further on the promenade I decided to turn back. There are many restaurants along the water and I picked one randomly, got a table by the water and ordered some hummus, pita, felafel and chai for a snack. The food was good and I watched barges enter and leave the creek. The restaurants were getting ready for the night and I realized I would have to come back here for dinner someday with the family!

View from Sheikh Saeed Al Makhtoum House

Dubai creek and Deira viewed from Bur Dubai

I then hopped on to a boat (too bad it was not a traditional dhow) to Deira. I walked around the spice souk for a while but was less than impressed. I guess I’ve seen better markets elsewhere in the middle-east or maybe I was visiting at a wrong time? There was neither the hustble-bustle of markets nor the vibrant colors. The gold souk definitely had more activity going and I walked through it as well. It was nearing 6 pm and I had to start heading back to meet the rest of the gang for dinner. I took the boat back to Bur Dubai. I could not help but notice the birds that caught the wind and rode with the boat.

Birds at Dubai Creek

Once on the Bur Dubai side, I hailed a cab to the Al-Karama station and then took the train to Dubai Mall – the worlds largest mall (at least as of writing this. Larger malls are already in the works). This mall is HUGE. It also had a very cool toy store (Hamleys) and they had tons of remote control toys! As it turned out, I entered the mall on the wrong side and we were supposed to meet on the other side. I had to walk quite a bit to get to the other side. We waited for a while and saw the Dubai Mall fountain and it was truly an impressive show and way better than what we saw in Vegas.

Dubai Mall

After visiting the Al-Fahidi fort, Bastakiya, Bur Dubai, Sheikh Saeed Al Makhtoum house and Deira, I realized there is more to Dubai than the stereotype of shopping mall Atlantis everyone says it is.

After watching two shows we headed to Chopsticks in the Al-Karama district. It is an Indian Chinese restaurant and anyone who has eaten Indian Chinese knows how delicious the food is! The place did not disappoint. After bowls of fried rice, hot garlic balls and plates of veg crispy and american chopsuey, we were definitely full and decided to forgo a stroll and just headed home to crash!

It was not that easy for me to go to sleep! I had homework to finish and the internet in the room was expensive (40 AED for internet is ridiculous). However the hotel offered free wifi in the lobby and I took my laptop down to finish up my homework. I worked for about 1-2 hours before I decided to call it a night as well.

Day 4

This was our last day in Dubai and we decided to spend it with our friends instead of trying to have an excursion with a six-month old who had diarrhea. Instead, we just took the train to the Ibn Batuta mall. At the mall we ended up doing some shopping at the Mother Care store (wish they had these in the US) and got some food at the food court (hummus, pita, dolmus, felafel – all excellent). We spent about 2-3 hours at the mall before returning to our home and spent the evening chatting away.

And back…

Our flight the next morning was early and we started from the hotel at 5:30 am. At the airport, I tried to move the bags and strained by back. By the time we reached the check-in counter, I felt as if I need to head to emergency. The best thing they could advise was I go to a pharmacy shop, where I got some pain killers and A535 (that stuff is awesome!) – made the 16 hour flight bearable.The flight was not bad. Our fear was the Rhea will be uncomfortable but she was absolutely fine and played for most of the flight.

Overall we liked Dubai despite the fact that we had visa problems, the airport mishap and the severe back-ache at the airport – things that would tend to leave a bad memory. We missed out on the dune-bashing excursion or visiting any of the other Emirates.Reason to go back!

(notes from my journal)

Even though we had a bit of a mishap with Israir, we finally arrived at Tel Aviv’s Sde Dov airport at about 2:30 PM (as opposed to the original 9:30 AM). The flight was short and we got a glimpse of the dead sea from the air. We took a taxi to the Tel Aviv Savidor Merkaz train station and purchased two tickets to Jerusalem. Israel has an excellent train network and we used it a lot to get around. We waited at the platform, sipping coffee, nibbling on muffins and chatting to pass the time. There were many IDF soldiers on the train and this was something we got used to fairly quickly. The rail network is used by kids who are in the service to go home for the weekend but also to transport soldiers in time of war.

The journey was little over an hour and got scenic as we approached Jerusalem. As we got closer my excited started rising! After all this is one of the most historic places in the world! The excitement was mixed with some fear as well due to the war. While waiting for a taxi we struck up conversation with a lady who was a local resident and advised us to not visit the old city due to dangers (of being bombed?). There was no way we were going to come all the way to Jerusalem and not go to the old city!!

Finally after waiting for 45 minutes the cab arrived and the drive, although scenic, was scary. The drivers in Jerusalem (and most of Israel) seem take the belief of divine presence in that land a bit seriously! Finally we checked in to our hotel, what used to be the Sheraton Jerusalem Plaza hotel. The front desk staff was excellent, but the hotel was simply not what I’d expect of a Sheraton and definitely needed remodeling. It was like we checked into a hotel from the 70′s! However, we had an excellent view from our 15th floor window and there was little to complain on that front!

Since we were looking for vegetarian food and did not want to go far, the front desk staff suggested a kosher vegetarian place close by. We walked to the restaurant that happened to be right next to the famous David Citadel hotel. The restaurant was completely empty (as were all the other restaurants we passed by) and we were the only patrons.

Since we were the only patrons at the restaurant, we had the chance to converse with the manager – a Palestinian Muslim! He was the manager of a Jewish kosher restaurant! We talked about a lot of things but a few things I recall: He said he was Muslim was looking to change his religion. Why I asked him, had he decided what religion he wanted to change to? He said: Not yet, he had not found any good religion on the market! His choice of words cracked us up! Our conversation shifted to the ongoing Gaza War and his comment was: Israeli and Palestinian government was the big mafia and Hamas was the smaller mafia. They’re all mafia and trying to cancel each other so the war is useless. As bitter as it maybe, I had to agree that a lot of this was simply politically motivated and civilians suffered on all sides. But this is true for almost any country, no?

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

So we arrive at the airport and go through almost an hour or so of security (body search, full bag search, lots of questions on where we were from and why we are here and stuff we have – all fine with us) then we finally get to the Israir counter to check-in our bags. We were early (can’t be bad right?) but they don’t accept check-ins six months early! WTF!!

It turned out that they did have our reservation, except that instead of having a reservation for January 6, 2009 the reservation was for June 1, 2009. Our first instinct was that we made a mistake. But how could that be! Luckily the airport had free wi-fi and so I quickly checked all my documents and uncovered the real issue! An i18n bug on the Israir website!

So here is what happened:

I booked my flight using Israirs (utterly crappy) website, which only works on Windows with Internet Explorer, which in itself should have alarmed me. Here is a screen shot of their booking website that I used with the date picker:

Screenshot of the Israir website date-picker

Notice how the site itself says MM-DD-YY!

Now Israel uses the British system of dates: DD-MM-YY instead of the American system that is on my browser (and their website): MM-DD-YY. Ideally, their server should have understood my browsers setting and adjusted accordingly – but then that would be asking too much of a website that works only on Windows/IE, right?

After the booking I got a confirmation mail with the ordered by date as: 01/02/2009 . Now since I had made the booking on January 2, 2009 I had no choice but to read this date as: January 2, 2009 and NOT as February 1, 2009 simply because I could not have made a booking on a future date! So I simply assumed that all was well and my request to fly on January 6, 2009 was well understood by their website.

However, at the airport, they showed me their monitors and it clearly said June 1, 2009 for us! Confirmed tickets and all! Here we were, at the airport, on a slightly tight schedule, tickets fully paid and could not fly! I tried to explain to the ticket-counter ladies and showed them the screen-shots of Israirs website and confirmation date and how the mishap could have happened. They insisted that I had booked for June 2009 and hence there was nothing they can do. Clearly my explanations of how software internationalization and localization works meant little to them.

So finally, they decided to be nice to us and said they’d charge us $20 each to rebook for a later flight that day – which, since we had no choice, we accepted.I asked one of the ladies how I can take up this with their head office and she gave me an email address to contact someone. I typed up an explanation and attached the screen-shots explaining the mishap and that Israir was charging me $20 extra unfairly but to this day neither have the emails bounced back nor have I received a reply. I have also made submissions via their customer service/contact us forms on their website with no response.

While the ticket counter ladies were helpful and the flight was absolutely event-less, the goal of my post is to:

• Document the problem we had with our Israir booking
• Warn about such mishaps (and they can happen anywhere)
• Warn against the broken Israir website
• Bring to attention the absolute lack of customer service on Israirs part.

Next time I’ll try Arkia or take the bus!

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

(notes from my journal)

January 3, 2009:

After the immigration and customs, we got a cab to our hotel! The cab driver asked us about where we were from and in turn I asked him his origins. He mentioned his last name and told me that he was a Moroccan Jew, but was born and brought up in Israel. The cultural diversity of Israel was immediately apparent to us: We had just met a Indian Jew, a Russian Jew was our immigration officer and now a Moroccan Jew was our cab driver. This small country is a melting pot of Jews all over the world, each bringing their unique culture and thought with them.

We checked in to the hotel, Le Meridian Eilat and were informed that we were being upgraded from a standard to a deluxe suite. We’re low budget travelers and this was heaven. We had a 1 bedroom suite overlooking the Eilat promenade, the red sea and Aqaba, Jordan. It was simply awesome! And there were two flat screen TV’s in the suite! Woohoo! Not to mention a fully working shower (see previous post on no water) and a lovely pool!

We decided we had enough of felafel and hummus and were craving some Asian food. We headed to Giraffe Noodle Bar – a chain restaurant that serves Asian fusion cuisine. We reasoned that they’d have some noodles with vegetables and tofu. Alas, they only had noodles with some vegetables but no tofu. Apparently, tofu is not that big in Israel, at least outside of Tel Aviv. The food was very good, nonetheless but not as spicy as we would have liked (they gave me chilly flakes to make it spicy). After a nice meal, we walked back along the Eilat promenade which was very lively with street shows and a lot of stalls selling knick-knacks and food.

At the hotel, Heena fell asleep and I sat admiring the view of the Red sea and Aqaba from the window while watching TV and writing in my journal – in other words, enjoying the joys of vacation!

View from our hotel balcony at the Le Meridian in Eilat, Israel

January 4, 2009:

We woke up and after a simple breakfast in the room we spent the morning lazing around. The past week had been hectic with the illness and then constant walking in Petra. At 11 AM, I asked the concierge for a very good local place for felafel (its hard to resist felafel after 1 day). He suggested a place called Chatuka Felafel (pronounced Hatooka) and wrote the name down in Hebrew for us. We hailed a cab and I showed him the name. He read it and immediately said, “Hatuka felafel, good felafel”. Except that he said it very fast and I loved that style :) It turns out the cabbie had lived in NY/NJ for almost 10 years. When I asked him why he moved back, he said: I feel I am at home here. I belong here (a sentiment we heard throughout the trip from many people – Israelis and Palestinians).

Chatuka Felafel was low key, in a residential neighborhood, away from the touristy part of town. The guy who runs/owns the place speaks no english at all. But the menu is simple: Felafel and fries! We got 2 felafel sandwiches, fries and some felafel balls to munch on. Heena got a lemon drink and I got a coke zero. The serving style was simple: You order the felafel and he would make it fresh for you. While he makes the felafel you fill your pita with whatever condiments you like – spicy red chutney, onions, salad, tahina and amba (mango chutney). Heena was delighted to find out that they had amba.

The first of many excellent felafel sandwiches in Israel

After lunch, we hailed a cab and headed to the Underwater Observatory Marine Park. The park has many ponds with various types of fish, turtles (large ones!) and most importantly an underwater observatory where you can see sea life under the red sea up close! There were many families that were visiting and we had to stand in line for almost 20 minutes before we got our tickets to enter the park. I noticed, quite interestingly, that there were a lot of Russian Jews in Eilat and none of them spoke a word of Hebrew or English. This usually ended up in frustration for those who spoke only Hebrew or English and those who spoke only Russian; yet they were quite polite to each other.

Shark food? at the marine observatory

We spent some time watching the turtles being fed. I had always been under the impression that turtles were vegetarian, but it turns out that there are two types: vegetarian and those that eat meat. They were fed fish and after a while the stench got to us (and many others) and we moved on to the underwater observatory.

Before we went down to the viewing deck, Heena picked out some lovely Eilat stone jewelery at the store above. Unfortunately, none of my credit cards would go through their machines and I did not have that much cash. Finally, we gave up and headed to the observatory. I expected a small room with just a few views, but it was nothing like that – lots of space and lots of opportunity to view marine life in the corals. Definitely very good.

Marine life

Marine life in the corals

We spent an hour observing and then went back up to the observatory cafe. It had excellent views of the red sea and the mountains of Aqaba and Egypt. We chose a spot from where we could see all three! We got a tiramisu and the waitress served it for us and made a heart sign of chocolate in our plate :)

Tiramisu

After the marine center visit, we hailed a cab and asked him whether we could have a look at the border to Egypt. He agreed and we headed to the border (less than 2 miles away). We got out of the car and just stood observing the lovely view of the sea. A border security patrol (with a machine gun) started walking our way. The cab driver said something to him in Hebrew and told us to get back to the car and we just hurried back in and drove away. I asked him if it was something serious and he said it was not a problem, but because of the political situation, they did not want tourists near borders anymore. Quite understandable. The cab driver talked about the Gaza War and said that the Israeli wars all scared him because Israel is one small nation surrounded by hostile neighbors and that is not a good thing in the long run.

After that we returned to the hotel and just relaxed: after all we had a deluxe suite – how often do you get upgraded to one?!? In the evening, we just walked across the street to a place called Pizza Meter (Hebrew Website only). It took us a while to figure out whether we need 1/2 a meter or a full meter for dinner (full meter it was). The pizza was pretty good and went well with the huge bottle of coke zero that we got with it. After dinner, we went to the Eilat promenade for an after-dinner stroll before heading back to our hotel to enjoy views from the room and savor the happy feeling.

January 4, 2009

Our initial plan was to rent a car and drive to Timna National Park. I had even made a tentative reservation but canceled it. The hotel had beds by the pool and when we lay on the bed we had a lovely view of the red sea and Aqaba, Jordan. In hindsight, we wish we had gone since Timna has the worlds oldest copper mine! Oh well, there’s always something for a next time.

So instead, we head to Shibolim Bakery for brunch. Heena got a breakfast plate of Pesto sandwiches (three pieces – each with a different flavor of pesto) and the order came with salad, olives, cheese, bread and tea. I got Omelet that came with salad, bread, bulgari cheese, cream cheese and coffee. The food was excellent. They also had an assortment of bakery items and we picked up enough to last us through lunch. We had checked out the buffet at the Le Meridian and it was expensive and very disappointing for vegetarians. Since we did not want to leave the hotel that day the bakery goods from Shibolim would tide us through the day.

Shiv Sena Graffiti in Eilat, Israel

After the brunch, we walked around the main business area of Eilat. Heena got a manicure while I walked around some residential districts taking pictures. I stumbled upon a picture with a Shiv Sena graffiti. This totally stumped me; whats Shiv Sena graffiti doing in Israel anyway?? If anyone has a clue, please let me know.

We walked back to the hotel, stopping at a store to get some snacks and spent the rest of the day lazing by the pool and taking walks on the beach/promenade. We even took an afternoon nap! In the evening, we decided to walk back to Chatuka Felafel. We thought it would take us 15 minutes to walk there since it took less than 5 minutes to drive there. How wrong were we! It took us a good 40 minutes or so to get there! However, I think it was not a bad idea to walk, since we walked through a lot of residential districts and saw people returning from work, kids playing and even got lost in a residential building that was eerily quiet (but people surely lived in there since the lights were on in the houses). Dinner of felafel was excellent. We were smart to take a cab back. We spent some time at the mall next to our hotel and spent the evening enjoying the views from our room.

Tomorrow we head to Jerusalem!

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

After the Wadi Rum tour, we decided to skip lunch and headed straight to the border. Anna had to catch a bus to Jerusalem and we wanted to get to Israel ASAP. It was a Saturday and we were concerned that the border might close early because of Sabbath.

The borders were very quiet and we were the only people who wanted to cross. On the Jordanian side, we had to go looking for the guards who would give us the exit stamp (5JD each) so we could exit Jordan (why do countries need this? We had to pay a similar tax in Cambodia and that was $25!). It was our first time walking on no-mans land. Of all the places for such a first time, we were in the middle of Israel and Jordan – right in the middle of the Gaza War!

When we crossed into Israel, the first customs officer we saw was a lady and she definitely looked more Indian.No words were spoken between us, but she radioed in that we were going in to the building.

Once in, we were asked to surrender our passports and luggage (which was thoroughly inspected – through scanners and by hand). I was let through almost immediately but they stopped Heena and asked her a few questions: What is the origin of your last name? Questions on our roots in India? Questions on festivals of India. Where we live now. What we did in Jordan. They were extremely polite about this and at no point did we feel this was intrusive.

While I waited at the other end, the girl from outside came and asked whether we were from India. Yes, I told her. She was very excited and told us that her family is Jewish and had immigrated to Israel in 1948. She asked me about my hometown in India and when I told her she almost jumped – her hometown is just two hours from ours! This is one of the best things about travel – you never know what to expect around the corner!

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

(notes from my journal)

When we got to our room, we took our cold/cough medications, a shower and went to sleep. I woke up at 2 AM and tried to sleep until 5 AM with no luck. At 5 AM, we both were up for good. Since dawn had just started to break, I went up to the terrace of the hotel to get some early morning shots of Petra.

View of Petra from our hotel rooftop

We were glad we took a shower the previous night. There was absolutely no water in the hotel and all the guests, including us, had to brush our teeth with bottled drinking water. Since we were up very early, we decided to walk around Wadi Musa for a while. It’s a lot of fun to watch a city wake up and slowly come to life – shopkeepers opening their stores, bakers putting out freshly baked goods, porters carrying goods around, street vendors setting up their wares, kids going to school, office goers… We stopped by a bakery and got some biscuits and bread to munch on.

The plan for the day was to do the following:

• Hire a taxi to take us from Wadi Musa to Wadi Rum
• Hire a 4×4 tour in Wadi Rum for 4 hours
• Have the taxi drop us off at the Aqaba-Arava border crossing between Jordan and Israel
• Cross over to Israel and head to Eilat, Israel

Our taxi driver, Abu Saleem, was prompt and ready to depart at 8:30 AM. We were lucky to find a traveling companion, Anna, from Poland, who also wanted to take the same route and we split the costs.

The drive to Wadi Rum was through the desert and fairy lackluster but what it lacked in scenery we made up in conversation. Anna had traveled quite a bit and told us about her experiences to places like Mongolia and Burma (high on my list of places to go!). After Heena and Anna fell asleep, I chatted with Abu Saleem, a Palestinian who lives in Jordan, about his life in Jordan and his time in Kuwait, where he had lived for 18 years before he returned to Jordan. He came across as a level headed man and with a great work ethic – not the kind who want to make just a quick buck. He also drove slowly – Safety first, he repeated.

We arrived at Wadi Rum at 10:30 AM. After the initial formalities we got into an ancient 4×4 Land Cruiser. Our guide was Aouda, a bedouin who lived in the Wadi Rum village. This village was created by the King to settle the nomadic bedouins. Most of them now make a living by driving tourists around the sand dunes, taking them on camel rides and setting up night excursions to the desert.

We visited the following locations:

• Spring of Lawrence: T.E Lawrence wrote about this spot in his book: The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
• Sand dune: It looked very easy to climb up. Really how hard can it be? Yeah? It was fairly arduous! All the sand got in to our shoes (hiking boots – heavier than normal) harder. The wind was billowing in our face and we was getting over a nasty viral infection. The sand grains got in to our mouth, eyes, nose and ears and got irritating fairly quickly.
• Petroglyphs: A crevice with petroglyphs.
• Small arch: We climbed up the rocks to get close to this arch. The views from the arch were awesome. However, the wind was blowing pretty hard and we could only spend a few minutes at the top.
• Tea in the desert: While we clambered on to the small arch, Aouda made a small fire from the dry bushes and heated up some mint tea. We sat in the shade, enjoying the beauty of the place and sipping some hot tea.
• Big Arch: We did not go up since the climb is very very steep and if you miss, you break a leg. We both were feeling quite weak from the illness and did not want to do anything but enjoy the beauty. Anna climbed up and she thought it was OK.

View from the top of the sand dune

On the drive back I chatted with Aouda about his life as a Bedouin. He said that he loved the simple life. Work a few hours everyday, go home and relax. He asked me how many wives I had. I said one and she’s right here. He said I do not have a strong heart since I have only one wife. I said I have the strongest heart since it is only for my wife. He could not get it. I guess we both approached this topic from a very different mindset. We switched over to chatting about computers and he told me how he has learned to install Windows and fix minor computer issues for the whole village – impressive! He is also teaching his son whatever he learns. I encouraged him to push his son further and send him to University to study.

After 30 minutes of driving we were back at the Wadi Rum parking lot. We gave Aouda a tip of 6 JD for three people. We thought it was quite fair since its US $10 and 6JD goes a long way in Jordan. Aouda, for all his smiles and chatter, took the money, counted it and walked away. No, thank you, see you again etc. Bummer. We paid almost 80 JD for the Wadi Rum tour of four hours (for three people). I guess from now on we’re only going to tip if the service is exceptional. Why pay more to someone who is just doing their job and has no appreciation of your tip? I understand that the Bedouins are poor and every single dinar means a lot to them, but his attitude and unwillingness to even smile was a huge letdown – what happened to all that famed Bedouin hospitality?

The Wadi Rum tourist center has a restaurant with a lunch buffet for 12 JD (or 14 JD, I forget). The food was mostly meat and whatever vegetarian food was there did not look appetizing. We decided to skip lunch and just waited in the car for Abu Saleem to finish his lunch. We then headed towards Israel!

They say that the highlight of Wadi Rum is the night spent in the desert. However, due to time restrictions and the bitter cold, we decided to skip this nightly desert excursion. But then, there’s always something for the next time…

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

(notes from my journal)

I woke up 4 hours later at 7:30 AM. The antibiotics were finally working and my throat did not ache as much. Heena was absolutely fine – which means she had enough energy to make up for the time we spent sick. We ate a longish breakfast and at 10 AM were at the gates of Petra.

This time we walked very slowly along the siq, taking in beauty of each turn (12 in all), admiring the shrines to the Nabaatean god Dushara, marveling at the grandeur of the place and thinking about how many caravans must have passed through this route and what exotic merchandise they must have brought with them.

We reached the treasury at 11 AM. Right across from the treasury are some tea/snack stalls that sell cups of  chay for 1JD. It was really cold and the hot chay was absolutely worth it! We got some of it and sat on the benches admiring the beauty of this grand structure.

After about half an hour we walked past the treasury and headed up the path that took us to the “High Place of Sacrifice”. It is the highest point in Petra. The Naabateans believed that performing sacrifices at a height would ensure that the sacrifice reached the gods quicker.

View of Petra down below: To the far right are the Royal tombs

The climb is much more arduous compared to the climb to the monastery. It took us a good 45 minutes to get to the top. It is tad confusing because at one point the path forks into three different paths; just choose the right most path and you won’t go wrong! At the top, we had a birds eye view of Petra. We had a little picnic on the edge of the cliff as we sat and admired the view. It took us 20 minutes to get back down. On the way down, we saw a open tomb and decided to check it out. It was disgusting. Its more of a toilet than a tomb/monument. If there was a body buried there, I’m so sure it must have run away!

By this time, it was almost 1:30 PM. We were getting tired and we still had 1.5 kms to walk back to the main entrance. Also, since this was our last day in Petra, we wanted to pick up some souvenirs. After a long walk back, we were at the main gate. We got lunch at a local restaurant – the only vegetarian item on the menu – Pizza. Overpriced, but not that bad – we were avoiding the felafels because of our throats and did not want the oil to mess it up further.

After “shopping” on the main drag for a bit, we hailed a taxi to take us back to our hotel. He asked us if it was OK for him to pick up another passenger and drop her off to her hotel, which was on the way. Fine by us – we get to drive around Wadi Musa a bit and he makes more money – win-win! The other passenger that he picked up was a French girl and dropped her off at the Taybet Zaman. Its built in a very different style and each room is unique – with an absolutely gorgeous view.

This was our last day in Petra. The siq is awe-inspiring and the whole place feels so ancient. It was the crossroads of the east and west. Caravans came from all over to Petra to trade, rest and restock goods. Imagine all the people and merchandise that must have passed through the same paths we walked on. It felt as if we were transported back in time.The decline of Petra made me realize how great civilizations are built and how they fall. Petra, in its prime was well known all over. It was at the crossroads of the east and west and such an important trading center. However, as the water supply to Petra dried up, this city became obscure to a point where it was entirely forgotten almost forever.

Tomorrow we head to Wadi Rum (remember Lawrence of Arabia?) and then on to Israel.

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

After a 45 minute climb, we reached up! The monastery, like most sites at Petra is carved into the rock. It was initially a temple/place of worship. During the Byzantine period it was used as a monastery (hence the name). While its not as impressive as the treasury, it is beautiful in its own right. Especially given its location. It just has a single room inside.

Al-Deir

Across from the monastery was a small cave through which you get a spectacular shot. I climbed up to it and took some pictures. A little girl came up to me and first demanded to see my pictures. I thought why not and tried to show her the photos I’d taken so far. She immediately snatched the camera and obviously knew how to use it to see the pictures. She took one or two and then asked me to give her 1 JD so she can buy chocolate. I sort of said its not right to ask for money and started to walk away. We usually carry snacks (crackers, chips and chocolate) with us when we travel and I felt bad for her – after all she could not have been a day over 10. I took a piece of kit-kat and walked back to give it to her. She took it, but then motioned to throw it at me if I did not give her 1 JD. I was shocked, but I just ignored her and walked away. I’m so sure that she is used to getting money from tourists and at that moment I really felt how careless tourists can be unwary and promote begging (I almost partook in this by offering her some chocolate).

The local Bedouins have converted the caves in front of the monastery into a restaurant/cafe. We warmed our hands by the fire and had a quick snack which we had brought with us. It started to drizzle and we decided it was high time we head back down. We had almost a 5 km walk back. Going down is, obviously faster. Once we were at the entrance of Petra, we called Ibrahim and he picked us up from the visitors center.

We had decided with Ahmed to visit Little Petra, but both of us we so tired that we called it off and instead fell asleep by 4 PM. It was not fatigue but mostly the throat ache and the high number of antibiotics we were consuming to keep us going. Add jet-lag to that. Ahmed was a great guide and we also became friends in the few hours we spent together. I’d recommend him any day.

I woke up at 11 PM. Still had a nasty throat-ache and now I had also continued to keep up with a bad sleeping schedule. Super! I went downstairs (where there was wi-fi) to write my journal, but instead ended up chatting with Ibrahim for 3-4 hours. We talked about religion, politics, culture, education and business over the course of 4 hours. We both agreed on some topics and had different views on others and thats what made it a good conversation. I got a chance to understand how young men in Jordan view the world. At 3:30 AM I figured it was high time to sleep for a few hours. We had a long day ahead of us and a lot of climbing and walking to do in Petra.

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

(notes from my journal)

We started our day at 6 AM. After a quick breakfast, Atta, the owner of the hotel dropped us off at the Petra visitors center. We wanted to get an early start so we avoid the busloads of tourists. We got tickets (26 JD per person) and also paid for a guide for 4 hours (50JD). I feel that having a guide at historical places enhances the experience since the focus shifts from trying to find every single monument in the book to actually enjoying the place while listening to the history and explanation given by the guide. Our guide’s name was Ahmed and he had a degree in archeology, spoke excellent English and was very personable. Perfect!

Ahmed, our excellent guide

For the first hour Ahmed took us through the siq. On the way he gave us a lot of information about the style of the tombs that are on the path towards the siq – between the visitors center and the siq. A lot of the tombs have Greek and Roman influences and symbolize the soul moving up towards heaven. As we entered the siq, Ahmed pointed out that there used to be a Roman style arch at the entrance which was probably destroyed during an earthquake. Partial remains of this arch are still visible today. Besides, drawings of the siq-entrance by early European explorers have this arch which means that it did exist at least until the late 19th century. At the entrance of the siq were shrines to the Nabatean god, Dushara; make sure you pay your respects before you enter! Along the siq there are water-pipes  on both sides. The left hand side is the Nabatean style: open, like a canal . The right hand side is Roman style: closed, like a pipe. This simply reflects the different civilizations that   once ruled this place and brought their own style. The Nabateans also built mini damns built along the way to prevent flash floods and control the flow of water.

Both sides of the siq have temples/shrines dedicated to the Nabatean god, Dushara, Few shrines also have his wife, the goddess of fertility. And even fewer have his mother, the goddess of commerce and trade; or as Ahmed put it: The goddess of shopping!

Interestingly the ground on which we stood in the siq, was unearthed only a few years ago. So when the movie, Indiana Jones was made, the movie makers walked on a different layer of earth! The one we walked on was paved, Roman style. I wonder what lies beneath. In a few years, when we go back, there might be something else! That’s the wonder of Petra!

View of the siq with the horse-driven carts at a distance.

After almost an hour we arrived at the treasury! It is really beautiful in the day! Ahmed gave us 10 minutes to take pictures and walk around. We walked up the steps of the treasury and there is a guard who will not allow you to go inside. Actually, there is not much to see inside apart from a small room. Since most of the sites at Petra are tombs or monuments to the departed, there are just 1 or 2 rooms. First where the body is prepared for burial and the second is the burial chamber.

Al-Khazneh

Afterward, Ahmed showed us pictures of the treasury that were drawn by European explorers from the late 19th century. From these pictures we could see how the treasury must have looked a long time ago and what restorations have been made since. The treasury has twelve pillars that denote the months of the year. Thirty roses that denote 30 days of the month and seven cups that denote seven days of the week. Thus the Nabatean year had 360 days per year.

We then walked past some tombs that had two stories, denoting that they belonged to rich people; and single story tombs that belonged to not-so-rich people. Almost all the tombs were incomplete because people commenced work on their tomb during their lifetime and when they died they were buried in the (usually) incomplete tomb and since there was no one to pay for the work, the tomb was left as is.

Ahmed also mentioned to us that the path right next to the treasury lies on the top of a city that was excavated a few years ago, but was covered up for safety reasons. There is a plan to uncover this city again and explore its secrets! Just 20% of Petra has been excavated so far!

We walked past the Royal tombs and then the Nabatean amphitheater. It looks roman style but was built by the Nabateans. The Romans added an arch later.

Royal Tombs

Further down, is a Roman street lined with pillars and also a forum. The street was a Roman marketplace during its day; it still is today. The street and the forum were excavated just 20 years ago and further excavations are still under way.

Roman market street

Further down is the “daughters palace” (Qasr bin al-Faroun). The story goes that a kings daughter fell in love with and married another king, who in turn fell in love with a dancer and wanted to marry the dancer as well. However. the dancer had a condition was that the king would have to divorce his current wife, to which the king agreed. This broke the queens heart and to make her feel better her father built her a palace. It is built entirely into the hillside. She never lived there, instead gave it to the people of Petra for use. It was built in 30 BCE and is the only free-standing structure in Petra.

Near the palace are two restaurants, a little museum-cum-shop and very clean restrooms. At this point, we parted ways with Ahmed. He went back to the visitors center and we hiked up to the Monastery.

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary

(notes from my journal)

At 8 PM, Qasam, the manager of the guesthouse, dropped us off at the Petra visitors center. We were going to do the Petra By Night tour. There were quite a few people. The tour started promptly at 8:30 PM. The tickets need to be pre-arranged but our guest house had them arranged for us. The cost for the tour is 12 JD, not including tips.

We were requested to be as quiet as possible when we walk down the siq and enjoy the feeling. They had lit 1500 candles along the path and we walked in the glow of these candles. It was fairly quiet and we felt as if we were travelers from an ancient land walking towards the ancient city of Petra. At the end of the siq is the treasury! No matter how many pictures you see or how many times you watch Indiana Jones, being there beats it all.

We sat down on the carpet and there were three performances:

• A Bedouin song
• A Bedouin song accompanied by music on the rebab
• A Bedouin song played on the guitar

After the performance was done, we heard music from a flute coming from inside the treasury. Imagine the Nabaateans who must have lived here and played similar music by their camp fires under the starry skies … The performer came out and walked among us playing his flute. The feeling of sitting there listening to the lovely music with a warm cup of chay in hand was purely magical.

After the performances, our guide told us about the culture of the Bedouin tribes and then we were allowed to hang out and take pictures.

We walked back along the siq and took a cab back to the hotel.

Heena decided to call it a day and I sat in the lobby talking to Qasam about his life and his thoughts on living in Jordan. His ancestors were Bedouins and he said he was a “settled-Bedouin”. The desert was his home and that’s where his heart truly lies. We chatted about Jordanian politics for about an hour, before I decided to call it a night myself.

Classic view of the Treasury

View of the siq

Tomorrow, we explore the Nabaatean city of Petra!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This post is a part of the Israel and Jordan 2008-2009 itinerary