Even online
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 11:14PM 
View from the 6th floor of the Le Meridian Hotel, Amman, Jordan, 10-26-08
After a rather circutious re-routing to Amman (Minneapolis-Cinncinatti-Paris-Amman), I arrived Sunday night only a few hours later than my original Minneapolis-JFK-Amman flight plan. Two-day trip to Petra, Wadi Rum and Mt. Nebo with an overnight sleeping in a tent. All great fun with 100 photos with which to bore others at great length. Today it is off for a city tour of Amman on a Big Red Bus.
The intrepid explorer and his thousands of fellow explorers at Petra, 10-08
Having been primarily on the tourist route and in a big hotel, I've not yet gotten much feel for the country. You do find more camel rides here than in Minnesota. I always blank out how much litter and smokers there are in "developing nations." And it is lovely to hear the early morning call to prayer as the sun rises - even an infidel has to be moved by timelessness of the cry of we small creatures to a higher power.
Even online one sees differences:
I have to look for a English default setting since Google uses the language of the ISP when returning results.
Ever notice how no matter how well one plans, one critical item is always left at home on nearly every trip? This time I remembered my camera, but forgot the camera battery charger. Duh. Know anybody in Amman who uses a Canon SD1000?
Reader Comments (3)
Okay you have the hat at Petra but where is the Indiana Jones whip and trusty horse to make a quick getaway? I'm envious; we plan on a trip there & the Holy Land in a couple of years--if all goes well-- our so-called "retirement" or semi-there-of.
Linda Rogde
I'm so jealous! I've always wanted to go to Petra! Looks like you were definitely not the only ones there - is it a big tourist show nowadays?
Every now and again all of my Google resources come up in Thai. It drove me crazy until I realized I could use the status bar to see where the links actually lead, so I could change the language back to English. Someday maybe I'll learn to read the Thai...
@ Hi Linda,
See next post. I hope you get your travel wish!
Doug
@ Hi Kim,
Petra is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and was recently identified as one of the 7 Wonders of the World. I’m guessing it being featured in the Indiana Jones movie didn’t hurt either. Seems like most tourist destinations are somewhat crowded anymore – at least until the effects of this latest economic crisis come tumbling down. I’m always amazed at how many and how often European people travel, too!
If I search from my iGoogle page instead of directly the web browser tool bar, I don’t have the Arabic language issue, either.
Thanks for the note,
Doug