Day 106: What a Small World

(Her: Joanna)

Guess what?  We bumped into the family from German who we did the jeep tour with at Wadi Rum at the resort across where we were staying.  We ended up moving into their resort and spent a day of amazing time with their kids.  This couple let their kids to freely explore and try things.  It was great to see parents who give so much freedom to their kids.  It is difficult for parents to do as I saw from the mom’s facial expression and eyes that she was afraid the kids to get hurt or fall but this freedom to explore is critical to develop the self confident and independence of the kids.  Miran and Marsha are 2 active and energetic kids with very cute face. 

Day 105: Unexpected Gem For Beach Bumps in Jordan

(Her: Joanna)

Surprise!  Boy, that’s why I love backpacking.  You just never know where you will end up going and staying.  Because visiting Petra and Wadi Rum took less time than what we expected, we have 2 days to chill somewhere.  It had been non-stop go-go-go the last couple of weeks.  We were dying to just have a do-nothing day.

Since Linda, an Aussie girl we’ve met at Amman who we travelled with since then, planned to go to Aqaba to chill at the Red Sea, we decided to tag along instead of going back to Amman.  

What a great, pleasant surprise!  Aqaba is GORGEOUS here.  The sea is so blue here (if the sand is a bit more fine, it would be just perfect) and the town Aqaba, unlike other towns we’ve been to in Jordan, looks like a total sea side resort town.  

What’s better?  I get to scuba dive in the Red Sea for an affordable price and for only $12 CAD, you get a private room with AC and ensuite bathroom plus a pool and a roof top terrace.  Resort, chilling mode was definitely on.  It was like a day dream to be in the desert then sun tanning in a beach all within a day.  

I thought there was no way I could enjoy beaches in the Middle East because of the conservative culture here in the Middle East.  Another surprised that we found a very touristy area in the South Beach 12 KM south of the city center where the traditional conservative culture is loosen up a bit for foreigners.  

Putting icing on a cake, the sandy (not super great sand) beaches with straw beach umbrella was almost empty and free of charge and there are no beach vendors harassing you to buy stuff so we can truly enjoy the beach!!!!