After a very late night, I opened my sludgy eye sockets and staggered downstairs. I overheard Alex, an American girl staying here, say she was off for a plodge through Hezekiah’s Tunnel at the City of David, part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park. We went with Fedi, one of the guys who works at [...]

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Last night was another late one. A small group of us wandered up to Zion Square and surrounds for a bite to eat and a beer. And another beer with a free shot. And another of each. And more beer. Then some beer. Finally, we drank beer. We found an amazing bar with no seats, [...]

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I’m sure most of you have heard of Bethlehem. Well, that’s where I went today. The trip is only a short one from Jerusalem – maybe 20 minutes and 3 1/2 Shekels – but the security once you get there is tantamount to entering a different country. For those who don’t know, Bethlehem is part [...]

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It’s only just gone lunchtime and already this is one of those weird days you get when travelling. I’m sat in an archaic stone building, CSI is on TV with Arabic subtitles, the sound of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall is drifting through from a PC somewhere and earlier today I saw a [...]

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Not a lot to report today as I spent most of it getting those blog posts done! Noa and I went to see Pirates 3 at the cinema this evening, by way of a promenade offering a very pleasing night-time view of the eastern side of the Old City. The cinema was mobbed, including two [...]

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Before I kick off, I have to make something clear. Although I’m visiting what is probably the most significant city (indeed, country) in religious terms I am not in the slightest bit religious myself. So any mistakes you see relating to anything you know more about than me are down to my ignorance or inability [...]

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Well, today was… interesting. It began with my early rise. A good job I wake up well as the promised wake-up call didn’t happen. I grabbed my bags, deposited my key at the front desk and tip-toed out so as not to wake the sleeping receptionist. As I hiked up the hill looking for a [...]

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Petra is around three to four hours by road from Amman so I had an early rise. I packed the bread I’d saved from the previous day, some crisps, some water (highly recommended) and a packet of moderately acceptable biscuits and walked up to the JETT office, arriving as they opened at 6am. I seemed [...]

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I had some plans for Jordan, but they were slightly dashed by the fact it wasn’t Friday or the peak of the tourist season. The guy on reception insisted on hearing “Dead Sea” as “taxi” so I gave up and walked around town. I spent about two hours walking around trying to locate a KFC [...]

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Note that there is a visa fee and a departure tax for Jordan. Both are payable in cash, and I think the departure fee only in Jordanian Dinars. The one-month on-arrival visa is 10JD, while the departure tax (land and air) is 5JD. I paid my visa fee in Dirham I had left over from [...]

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