The Jordan trip
Nov. 8th, 2005 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatarperegrineLesson 1 learned from Jordan: once you've had homemmade ma'amoul, you can't go back to the storebought kind. I'm trying right now, and it's depressing.
Actually, that's probably Lesson 2. Lesson 1 is: Fire coral is NOT your friend.
Anyway, while we get our act together enough for a picture gallery, here is a summary of our trip to Jordan, in Mad Lib format. We wrote it; the Dukes supplied the answers (in italics). See if you can guess what we REALLY did in Jordan!
We flew into Queen Madonna Airport outside of Amman, where we were met by a pretty man who helped us get our inspection point visas. Exhausted, we went straight to the Firas Light Bulb Hotel.
The next morning we met our guide, Justin, a yummy man with degrees in kinesiology. We drove north to Umm 'Awrence, where Jesus once exorcised suitcases into a herd of chickens. After a stop in Ajloun, the tall Nabatean person built by George Washington's cousin to defend Jordan against the goats, we strolled through Jerash, sometimes called the best-preserved Roman teacup.
Over the next few days we explored the Jordanian sites mentioned in Where the Wild Things Are, including Mt. Nebo, where John Quincy Adams saw the Promised Cloud, and Mukawir, where John Hancock was executed by yelping. In Madaribbit ribbit we surveyed many Byzantine wigs, including a famous map of Doha.
A highlight of our trip was stopping at the Dead Fresco, which unlike normal frescos is over 30% gelatinous stuff. Like thousands of tourists each year, we frolicked by the edge of the fresco, hitting and rubbing our bodies with shoes.
The next night we arrived in Petra, once poetically described as "the Lotus Red City." We worked our way down the long, crusty Siq until suddenly the majestic FBI loomed before us. Awestruck, David cried out, "Blaaah!" and Lanny replied, "Yikes!" We spent two days exploring Petra, including a long climb to Lot's Cave; Lanny later regretted not renting a Mack Dog. Along the way, many Bedouin were peddling dunes and virgin strawberry daiquiris. Our last night in Petra we luxuriated in a Chadian sink before learning to cook hummos, cinnamon rolls and bacon at the Petra Bathroom.
The next day we piled into an old Hummer H2 and drove to our camping site in Wadi Vodka and Tonic, which T.E. Lawrence once described as smooth, slimy and Qatar-like.
In Aqagobble gobble, we went javelin-tossing and Scuba-hopscotching in the Khaki Sea. The fish were amazing, but the girls' experience of the beach was marred by the slick attitude of the local beans, one of whom even grabbed Marjorie's nostril.
On our last day we returned to Amman, stopping on the way to see Lot's Precipice and the site on the River Bryant where John the Baptist is believed to have run Jesus. We recalled the Bible story in which the heavens opened, a pterodactyl descended, and God proclaimed, "Walk forwards, not backwards!"
Overall, we had a funny time in Jordan. The sights, the peole and the culture were all dusty. If you are considering a trip to Jordan, the most important advice we can give you is, "Attitude is the difference, win or lose."
Actually, that's probably Lesson 2. Lesson 1 is: Fire coral is NOT your friend.
Anyway, while we get our act together enough for a picture gallery, here is a summary of our trip to Jordan, in Mad Lib format. We wrote it; the Dukes supplied the answers (in italics). See if you can guess what we REALLY did in Jordan!
Our Jordanian Adventure: A Mad Lib
We flew into Queen Madonna Airport outside of Amman, where we were met by a pretty man who helped us get our inspection point visas. Exhausted, we went straight to the Firas Light Bulb Hotel.
The next morning we met our guide, Justin, a yummy man with degrees in kinesiology. We drove north to Umm 'Awrence, where Jesus once exorcised suitcases into a herd of chickens. After a stop in Ajloun, the tall Nabatean person built by George Washington's cousin to defend Jordan against the goats, we strolled through Jerash, sometimes called the best-preserved Roman teacup.
Over the next few days we explored the Jordanian sites mentioned in Where the Wild Things Are, including Mt. Nebo, where John Quincy Adams saw the Promised Cloud, and Mukawir, where John Hancock was executed by yelping. In Madaribbit ribbit we surveyed many Byzantine wigs, including a famous map of Doha.
A highlight of our trip was stopping at the Dead Fresco, which unlike normal frescos is over 30% gelatinous stuff. Like thousands of tourists each year, we frolicked by the edge of the fresco, hitting and rubbing our bodies with shoes.
The next night we arrived in Petra, once poetically described as "the Lotus Red City." We worked our way down the long, crusty Siq until suddenly the majestic FBI loomed before us. Awestruck, David cried out, "Blaaah!" and Lanny replied, "Yikes!" We spent two days exploring Petra, including a long climb to Lot's Cave; Lanny later regretted not renting a Mack Dog. Along the way, many Bedouin were peddling dunes and virgin strawberry daiquiris. Our last night in Petra we luxuriated in a Chadian sink before learning to cook hummos, cinnamon rolls and bacon at the Petra Bathroom.
The next day we piled into an old Hummer H2 and drove to our camping site in Wadi Vodka and Tonic, which T.E. Lawrence once described as smooth, slimy and Qatar-like.
In Aqagobble gobble, we went javelin-tossing and Scuba-hopscotching in the Khaki Sea. The fish were amazing, but the girls' experience of the beach was marred by the slick attitude of the local beans, one of whom even grabbed Marjorie's nostril.
On our last day we returned to Amman, stopping on the way to see Lot's Precipice and the site on the River Bryant where John the Baptist is believed to have run Jesus. We recalled the Bible story in which the heavens opened, a pterodactyl descended, and God proclaimed, "Walk forwards, not backwards!"
Overall, we had a funny time in Jordan. The sights, the peole and the culture were all dusty. If you are considering a trip to Jordan, the most important advice we can give you is, "Attitude is the difference, win or lose."
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Re: Fire coral: I know it well ....
Date: 2005-11-08 06:50 pm (UTC)I'll show you my battle scars tomorrow. :-)
Re: Fire coral: I know it well ....
Date: 2005-11-08 07:27 pm (UTC)Are you saying that my miniskirt-wearing days are over???
(As the world breathes a sigh of relief....)
You are weird
I guess you pulled a Deuteronomy 32:52. ;-)
Re: You are weird
Date: 2005-11-08 07:26 pm (UTC)At various points during the week I saw the Golan Heights, the Sea of Galilee, Jericho, Jersualem and Elat, though all (except the first & last) from a considerable distance. My favorite Israeli-Jordanian moment, though, was watching a duck placidly defect from the Israeli to the Jordanian side of the Jordan.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 07:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 07:28 am (UTC)And I've never seen the Statue of Liberty. I used to live less than 400 miles from NYC, but I've never been. :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-09 08:27 am (UTC)