After almost two days of traveling (train to Stockholm Tuesday, plane to Amman Wednesday) we finally arrived at Queen Alia airport in Jordan, outside Amman. Through the passport control, and an officer who briefly considered if he should be bother to be interested in why I came here for the fourth time - and decided not to be, and out into that distinct Jordan air. It smells like a mixture of fuel, dust and sunshine - it would have been wonderful, had it not been for the snow storm.
When I was told that a snow storm would hit the Amman area I didn’t really take it seriously. It is like when it snows in London and the tube stops and you think “really? come on, it is just snow! How would it work if we stopped everything as soon as it snowed a little?" There wouldn’t be anything happening in half of Sweden for five months each year, would be the correct answer to that rhetorical question. But, I have to admit, it was quite bad. It was snowing pretty hard but it just kind of melted on the ground so everything became covered in slush, roads were closed and buses weren’t allowed to drive. This we learned after two hours or so waiting in the bus, which by the way was running all this time - really good for the environment right? Finally, one hour later, we found a cab driver who didn’t want to completely ruin us. So we shared a cab with two others and too many bags.
I’ve never seen so many abandoned cars and selfie-taking (#snowselfie) people in one hour. Crazy times. After like an hour drive, with one of our co-passengers praying every time we starting going up hill, and an embarrassing re-introduction to Arabic, we finally arrived at the hotel.
Today has been crazy enough as well, after sleeping way over breakfast time we had to venture out into a rainy Amman to find something to eat. Hungry and cold we took a cab to the well-known Rainbow Street to find breakfast and an ATM. Just to find everything being closed. We decided to go down town instead, which usually is a pleasant walk, except today we had the company of rain water racing us down the hills. So by the time we came down and had to cross the road to get to the only open café we could find, we had to wade in 10 cm deep water that rushed through the streets. To say the least, my shoes got a little wet.
After that adventure we walked back to the hotel, soaking wet by now, to find ourselves a permanent place to live. And seeing as the Jordanian dinar is impossibly strong right now (nibbling at the British pound even) our budget has become near impossibly low.
Told you it would be an adventure! ;-)
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| Some stairs, or a waterfall? Who knows, I'm just glad we weren't going that way. |
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