Schwarzkopf Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) OK, this wasn't really a coaster trip but there were a couple of credits involved so I may as well post it in here. Feel free to move it if it's not coastery enough . So, me and my friend Gavin went to the Middle East last week. We were there for 4 nights, with 3 full days. Day 1 - Credits and tourist stuff in Amman, the capital. Day 2 - Petra Day 3 - Dead Sea Day 1. There are 5 credits in Amman according to RCDB, 3 of which are shopping malls with 1 each and one of which is an actual outdoor 'park' outside the city. Due to it being winter, we expected the outdoor park to be closed and unfortunately we were right. On top of that, one of the shopping malls was impossible to find, leaving us with just 2 credits. Obviously, the coasters were just a bonus and not the focus of the trip, so whilst it was spiteful it didn't really matter. We got up at about 8am and headed straight for the bus station, where we booked tickets to Petra for the following day. As taxis were so cheap, this was pretty much how we got around in the city. Within half an hour or so we were at 'City Mall', a new western style shopping centre complete with a credit! The coaster... It actually made me feel quite grotesque, maybe because it spins loads but doesn't actually DO anything else. The 3 circuits were NOT appreciated. After the +1 we grabbed another taxi to 'Amman Mall', an older and more ghetto mall somewhere else in the city. People were openly smoking in all public buildings and areas including malls, shops, hotels, busses etc. The second (and final) credit of the trip <3. The name made us chuckle... There were a couple of other rides... By this point it was nearly lunch, so we hung around for McMurder to open. This sounded amazing but was pretty grim... Once the credits were done, we minced back into the old town area to see the Citadel and the Amphitheatre. As the Citadel was up a huge hill, we got a cab up there first and then walked down to the Amphitheatre. The Citedal was quite cool... This flag was excessive. Dome thing... Looking down at the Amphitheatre... More views... Ok, Theatre time. Totes caught this kid stacking it... Looking back up to the Citadel... So that's our first day. I was suprised how nice the people were in Jordan, after having lots of bad experiences in Egypt and Morocco. Don't let the dumpyness of the city fool you, it's fab. Thanks for reading! Edited March 30, 2012 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjensen Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Jordan looks like an amazing place! Incredible and beautiful. I can't wait for more pictures! That's a tiny little spinning coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Wow, that coaster looks tiny for a spinner. Like you, I'm sure I would never go to Jordan on a "coaster trip," but now I know there are credits I could work in. Then again, I'm not sure I've ever thought of going there. The amphitheater looks like a scenic place to spend some time exploring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys! Yeah, the spinning coaster was really weird... according to RCDB there's only one other one like that (in China), but it's still listed as under construction (probably because nobody has been there yet). I guess it could work for a smaller park, or even a bigger park as a family ride if it was themed in some way... Day 2 - Petra. We'd booked our bus tickets the day before, which were about £15 return for the 3 hour (each way) trip. Not bad seeing as it was an actual direct coach. Plus, it didn't stop off at a carpet factory owned by the bus driver's brother, which was a bonus. Ticket prices for a day in Petra are around £50, basically doubling in the last couple of years. This resulted in the obvious 'dirty, evil robbing bastadz' expression being overused. When you enter the site it's VERY Star Wars... You then get to a gorge which guides you the rest of the way... This shows how huge it is (see the people at the bottom)... After around 15mins you reach the end, leading to stunning views of the Treasury. <3 After the Treasury there's another path leading towards the 'city centre', going past the amphitheatre and some other tombs... Gavin suggested doing a bit of a detour and doing a 'hike' up one of the mountains. This turned out to be a good idea as it was epic. Getting higher... Higher... Mincing... Looking back... At the top. Random couple sitting on the edge... 'Photos of us on high crap'. You can't really see in these photos, but this is right on the edge of a drop which must be around 600-800ft. Some ants I mean, people... It was grotesque <3. The path back down took a different route, past some more tombs and venomous creatures. Then it was time for MORE stairs, leading up to the monastery... By this point we were pretty knackered, and got STUNG £3 for a drink at the top. It was worth the effort though... The thought of the 2 hour walk back to the bus was a bit daunting, as we had both obviously flaked, so we were only up there for about 10 minutes before we decided to mish it back, via the 'city centre'. To be honest, Petra really blew me away. I didn't really know that much about it before visiting, so was aware of the carved buildings but had no idea just how dramatic the scenery was around it. It's amazing, and totally worth the £50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivtim Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 ^Great pics! I loved Petra, such a unique historical site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Petra looks like Harrison Ford movies! LOL! Great pictures. Looks amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Petra looks gorgeous. And is it bad all think about with Petra is Karl from An Idiot Abroad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Now this is my kind of trip report. I love seeing not only new parks and credits, but learning about the rest of the world. Can't wait to to see the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Wow! Crazy awesome stuff! Thanks for posting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 This is some awesome stuff. Petra has been on my "bucket list" for awhile and now there are credits as well. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XII Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Great Photo TR. The spinning coaster looks like a fun little ride and Jordan looks incredible. I'd really like a chance to visit one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Seeing this trip report really makes me kick myself for not taking the opportunity to explore the middle east a little more after my trip to Israel! Great pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarzkopf Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 ^ You might be able to relate more to this part of the PTR then... well, from the other side of the lake, haha. Thanks for the comments again, didn't expect it to get this many... Day 3 - Dead Sea We got up pretty late after being KNACKERED from Petra, so planned to just spend the afternoon at the Dead Sea. I grabbed some photos of our gorgeous 'hotel' before we went out... The view. Well, the view was a brick wall, but if you twisted your head with the same ability as Regan from the Exorcist, you saw this: We minced to the 'Bus Station' in a taxi, then got a local bus to the Dead Sea area. The buses in Jordan are like minibuses, and you just flag one down whenever you want to get on (as long as you're on the rough route). Thus, it's pretty hard to know where you're going unless you know already, as their are no bus stops and no buses are marked/numbered. The bus driver kindly told us when it was our time to get off, and we jumped in an unlicensed taxi for the rest of the journey, which was around 15mins. Then, we had arrived. Looking over to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories... There was loads of salt, loads. We forgot swimming shorts so had to go in in our boxers... This is a bit of a tradition now, I made the same mistake in Tel Aviv and Helsinki <3. The increased buoyancy makes it impossible to swim... I can't really describe how it feels because it's so weird. Here it looks like I'm touching the bottom but I'm actually not! Like, you'd never be able to do that in normal water... For all the foot fetish people <3. Once we were done with the Dead Sea we called Omar, our illegal taxi driver, and got a lift back to the bus stop, which really wasn't a bus stop. 'I love your country, it's very spacious!' Once we were back in the city we had a mince... .. and for all the vegetarians and animal rights activists who may read this... There were loads of sheeps heads loads, but I failed to get any pics 3. Oh, there's a fab photo from City Mall I forgot to post. The name of this chippy... Brighton! So that's it for Jordan. Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Surprised you didn't mention how much it hurts to walk on those salt crystals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoCo Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 AWESOME report, wow... all great, but the shots of Petra, holy cow. Incredible. Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I almost missed this report. Really would like to go to Petra some day. Awesome report and not so awesome motel room! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I'm sure everyone will want the contact info for your hotel, and your unlicensed taxi driver. This has been one of the more interesting TRs I've seen here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Thanks for posting these mister! Glad to see you are still seeing the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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