Tuesday, October 31, 2006
31/10 Chilled morning and then a fight...
Got up early this morning to watch the sunrise over Saudi Arabia. Very beautiful - sun up at 6.05am after dark fell last night at 5.15pm. I've finally worked out why they seem to have so few daylight hours. There is only 1 hours time difference between London and Damascus. So a huge land area all falls in the one time zone. This must impact.
Anyway no touring this morning, so went back to bed until the hut heated up, had a lazy breakfast of faul (refried bean paste), flafel, pita bread and the ubiquious cucumber and tomato. Sat chilling to the sight of a dead calm blue ocean...can it get any better. First sa mountain climb and now a beach resort...
Talking to the resort owner about rainfall and asked - how many rainy days a year do you get? He said - ask me how many minutes of rain we get - 10 minutes of rain per annum!!!!!! Never again can an Aussie complain that it is dry in Australia.
Headed off to catch the ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba this afternoon. Thank god for Intrepid. The other westerners had been waiting since 6am for the ferry which finally departed at about 2.30pm. Our guides local knowledge meant we were only there at 12.45pm. Perfect. The ferry terminal was very busy and hot and tempers were frayed. When we were having (another) passprot check a fight broke out between a Jordanian and the officials. Very funny but also quite scary.
A small thing happened on the Jordanian side of the border, that made my day. We were all queued waiting for our bags to be security checked and an older , heavily veiled lady approached me, touched my arm lightly and asked my name. I said Helen, she repeated it, smiled into my eyes and walked away. Such a touching encounter and evidence again that these people are kind, wonderful souls, encumbered by an economic system that forces them to search for every dollar. Never would I be embarrassed or annoyed by this genuine curiousity shown toward a stranger in her world.
Aqaba seems to be very westernised. A number of women in the streets dressed in completely western wear - jeans and tops and sneakers, without headscarves. And as I sit here typing at the internet cafe a Jordanian family is on the next computer MSNing their friends/family with web cam on. Granddad is bouncing the 4mth old baby boy on his lap to keep him content, while his daughter chats to her friend on-line. She is in western gear and full face makeup and a bright blue scarf that matches her tight fitting jumper. Her young husband took his turn nursing the child with granddad. The more I explore and meet the locals, the more the stereotypes are broken down.
All hail travel, all hail tollerance!...
Got up early this morning to watch the sunrise over Saudi Arabia. Very beautiful - sun up at 6.05am after dark fell last night at 5.15pm. I've finally worked out why they seem to have so few daylight hours. There is only 1 hours time difference between London and Damascus. So a huge land area all falls in the one time zone. This must impact.
Anyway no touring this morning, so went back to bed until the hut heated up, had a lazy breakfast of faul (refried bean paste), flafel, pita bread and the ubiquious cucumber and tomato. Sat chilling to the sight of a dead calm blue ocean...can it get any better. First sa mountain climb and now a beach resort...
Talking to the resort owner about rainfall and asked - how many rainy days a year do you get? He said - ask me how many minutes of rain we get - 10 minutes of rain per annum!!!!!! Never again can an Aussie complain that it is dry in Australia.
Headed off to catch the ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba this afternoon. Thank god for Intrepid. The other westerners had been waiting since 6am for the ferry which finally departed at about 2.30pm. Our guides local knowledge meant we were only there at 12.45pm. Perfect. The ferry terminal was very busy and hot and tempers were frayed. When we were having (another) passprot check a fight broke out between a Jordanian and the officials. Very funny but also quite scary.
A small thing happened on the Jordanian side of the border, that made my day. We were all queued waiting for our bags to be security checked and an older , heavily veiled lady approached me, touched my arm lightly and asked my name. I said Helen, she repeated it, smiled into my eyes and walked away. Such a touching encounter and evidence again that these people are kind, wonderful souls, encumbered by an economic system that forces them to search for every dollar. Never would I be embarrassed or annoyed by this genuine curiousity shown toward a stranger in her world.
Aqaba seems to be very westernised. A number of women in the streets dressed in completely western wear - jeans and tops and sneakers, without headscarves. And as I sit here typing at the internet cafe a Jordanian family is on the next computer MSNing their friends/family with web cam on. Granddad is bouncing the 4mth old baby boy on his lap to keep him content, while his daughter chats to her friend on-line. She is in western gear and full face makeup and a bright blue scarf that matches her tight fitting jumper. Her young husband took his turn nursing the child with granddad. The more I explore and meet the locals, the more the stereotypes are broken down.
All hail travel, all hail tollerance!...
# posted by The Essence of Good Taste @ 1:00 PM 
