Our flight from Cairo was at 8.55am, but that still meant a 4.30am alarm. As is our way for travel days, we didn’t sleep well, but we didn’t need our brains to function at a premium as we had barely unpacked the night before. After the issues finding the shuttle the night before, we had no difficulty from the hotel and arrived at the airport by 5.15am. Once we proved we had a flight booked, the security guard let us into the terminal and we went through a security check…including frisk session.
Check in for our Royal Jordanian flight wasn’t open, so we went on a hunt for coffee. The staff person at Coffee Lab couldn’t understand the concept of coffee with milk, latte or flat white. If we had wanted espresso, we would have been set. The chairs at the café were comfortable and as there were plenty of empty tables, we stayed. Next thing we know, the coffee guy came over and asked if we wanted flat whites. With our brains needing the buzz, we paid 120 pounds each for what ended up being coffee that was going to keep us awake for a week!
Check in staff started setting up at the counters and we stood nearby, hoping to get a head start. We were soon checked in and assured our luggage was going all the way to Aqaba via Amman. After our experience in Morocco, we were nervous, but Royal Jordanian staff were already impressing us with not only their professionalism, but also their friendliness.
Yet another security check and screening, with frisking and we were officially no longer in Egypt. Our gate was the furthest away and after making sure we knew where it was, we grabbed breakfast. We wanted Burger King, but they weren’t open, so a questionable toastie from Costa Coffee had to do.
We were sitting at our gate and it took three ‘last calls’ for boarding for us to realise we were in the wrong spot, even thought there was a sign indicating our gate number. I had booked us exit row seats, so our flight to Amman was very comfortable. Royal Jordanian was a great experience, with comfortable seats and in-flight breakfast.
When we landed in Amman, we had a three-hour layover. I had purchased the Jordan pass previously, which not only includes entry fees for 40 attractions in Jordan, it also covered our visa fee. We were the only people in the queue for Jordan Pass holders, so immigration was a breeze – we just had to present our passport which picked up our passes electronically, and the buy at the counter printed our visas out, which we then presented to passport control to be stamped into Jordan. The staff were so friendly – smiley and welcoming – and when we headed in the wrong direction for the transfer, one of the staff came after us to redirect us. In our defence, there was a closed gate barring us from the right path, but still nice to have help from the staff.
Confusion ensued as we had been following signs directing us to where we needed to be for the transfer to Aqaba and we tried to get back to where we had been, but staff stopped us, telling us to go through customs and outside. With Jordanian dinars in our wallets, we did as we were told and eventually found the gate we needed to be at for our flight. Everything continued smoothly as we boarded the plane, with exit row seats again, and we were on our way to Aqaba.
I had arranged our transfer in Aqaba through booking.com and, as always, the driver was on time and helped us to our car. Having the pre-arranged transfers has been good value, and not needing to haggle with taxi drivers takes the stress out of the trip.
The drive from the airport was much easier than getting out of Cairo airport; the roads are well paved, and our first impressions of Jordan were positive. It was only a 15 minute drive, but as we made our way to our hotel, the tidiness of Aqaba began to fade, and we were driving along streets that looked like war zones, piles of rubble everywhere, and buildings that were either half constructed or half demolished. When we pulled up in front of our hotel, we were in a street with a few buildings that were hotels, but also a lot of rubble-filled vacant lots.
The guy at reception was lovely, and helped us with information using google translate. For a nice change, there is an elevator, so getting our bags upstairs was easy. The hotel looked clean, and while our room was basic, it had everything we would need for our three nights. I must admit to being disappointed as the reviews made it out to be better than it was, and the location is somewhat alarming, but we’ve had worse.
We were keen to check out the local area and find dinner, and set off down the street following evil. We walked past dozens of auto repairs and tyre shops as we made our way towards the sea. This is a working part of town, although google maps does indicate key points of interest are close by. Aqaba has a population of about 96,000, so it is not a big city, and its proximity to the Israel border, especially considering the current conflict in Gaza.
It was a pleasant change to not be hassled to buy something as we walked towards the sea. Taxis beeped us, but didn’t stop, and we were invited into restaurants, but not given the hard sell. The streets lost their shattered look the closer we got to the sea and we made our way to the waterfront. The water, like Hurghada, was crystal clear and bright blue. Apparently there are wrecks of planes and tanks to dive here, and coral and fish to see. The dive and snorkel tours are much more expensive though, and as I had an ear infection, we didn’t book a dive tour.
It was surreal to look across the water to see Eliat in Israel. The border looks less than a kilometre from where Aqaba ends and Eliat begins. Such cultural differences, so close together, with Saudi Arabia nearby to the south as well.
After tackling the glass bottom boat offers, we wandered back to one of the restaurants we had passed. The prices looked good – we are shocked at how expensive Jordan is – and there was a variety of dishes to choose from. Some of the menu items were unfamiliar, so we played it safe and ordered casseroles. We were both thankful we didn’t also get a salad, as when our meals came out, they were huge. My lamb was delicious and also got the seal of approval from all of the cats who sat gazing at us with pleading eyes. While we ate, we could hear jets flying overhead – not passenger planes – and hoped that life was not going to get too exciting.
Restrictions on alcohol are much looser here. Across from our restaurant, Colin had spied two bottle shops, and a quick stop had him stocked up with Amstel. At $4 per 500ml can, he was set. Interesting that alcohol is so cheap, when our dinner had cost $25, just for the meals.
The walk back to our hotel in the dark hid a lot of the shabbiness, but it did make walking on the sidewalk a bit tricky. We stopped at one of the market stores to buy tea and goodies. A lot of products are sold in bulk, but we managed to find what we needed. Super friendly and curious people, I had a lady give me a beaming smile and I finally realised she was telling me her name and was asking for mine. I can only guess that she and her companion had been discussing where they thought we were from, because she seemed very happy to let her friend know we were Australian. It was a lovely exchange, and yet another example of friendly Jordanians.
Safely back at our hotel, we tidied up after our day and chilled out to a movie. The wifi connection was great on my laptop, but our phones would only allow certain things to connect. We couldn’t do any google searches, but I could open travelturtles. Weird.
The key point of interest for Aqaba is the Red Sea diving, and as we were no longer going to do that, we spent our time getting to know our local area. The Aqaba Fort (or Castle) was close, and while reviews said it was small and you only needed 10 minutes for it, we made a point of going anyway. And loved it. Tourist numbers are very low, so when we walked in we had the site to ourselves. We explored the tunnels and cellars, climbing stone stairways and enjoyed this thousand-year-old fort. Such a different experience to manoeuvring around archaeological sites with thousands of other tourists. A small tour group eventually arrived, but they were the only group to visit while we were there.
Charged with a good coffee, we wandered down to the waterfront, with a plan to hire one of the glass bottom boats and hopefully see some good coral and fish. Ahmed gave us a ‘good’ price at 10 Dinars each – about $42 for the two of us – for an hour on the water. Expectations were low, and justifiably so. Perhaps an expensive boat tour to get away from the sea front would get you to some good coral viewing, but the small patches of coral we did see were overgrown with macro-algae and supported very few fish. The tank we motored over was interesting, but again, the growth was algal, rather than coral. The boats travel very slowly so substrate disturbance is minimal, but the viewing was poor.
We motor across the sea and rather than be annoyed at the poor viewing, we settled back to enjoy the water. Our driver was a lovely young man, who tried to make it a good trip, but it’s hard when there is so little to see. Perhaps if we had taken a longer trip, we may have reached some good coral gardens, but my stomach would not have enjoyed it.
I needed to settle my queasy stomach, so we returned to our favourite restaurant and ordered one of their fruit cocktails with nuts and honey – a meal in itself – as well as a lamb casserole and some samosa type pastries. It was too much food again, but very satisfying. Colin stopped in at his bottle shop for more beer, and a small bottle of Jack Daniels which filled his afternoon, sitting on our balcony, watching the kids across the road look after the vacant lot.
The lot has a make-shift gymnasium, which we have seen people using after dark. There also seems to be a lot of clothes piled up; whether this is for locals to grab what they need or not, we don’t know. The kids water the plants and keep the lot tidy. Perhaps they live in the shanty building that we can see, using it as a place to sleep at night. There is an overall impression of greater wealth than in Egypt – the cars are newer and in better condition – but the state of the streets and buildings implies otherwise. Whether poor or not, we see few beggars, and everyone is extremely welcoming.
Aqaba has been interesting, but, unless you are diving or snorkelling, it doesn’t really offer much, so after three nights, it was time to prepare for our next stop – Wadi Rum.