Before I could consume myself looking for a promo fare going to my next destination, I think it’s worth mentioning my adventure in Jordan, it’s long been overdue and it’s one of the place to consider for R&R to those people living in Dubai because of its proximity. I was having a grand plan of exploring the neighboring Arab countries but when the news of the political unrest erupted, I put it on hold and after considering all the news, I opted to push through my plan and this time only for Jordan. I guess a part of me just want to fulfill that silly childhood whims of seeing Petra, the way it is captured in Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade episode. Yes! I’m an Indie fan and never bored watching it for the nth time until now.
Destination- Jordan
It was Friday, my first day was a surprise, because I was in the country’s capital, Amman and everything I saw is old and even in the upscale area, it is not what I expected for a country’s capital of typical bustling urban jungle of busy streets, neon lights and high-rise buildings. Yes, it’s old but don’t have the old charm of Europe but more on the biblical portrayal of the old world of stone houses that new buildings look awkward and out-of-place but the city is not lost with the old grandeur of Roman influence with Citadel and Coliseum right in the city itself and they are a sight to behold . So, I feasted my eyes on these and explore the streets for it seems I’m back to a certain era, but it was cut short when I saw a group of men bringing sticks and shouting words I cannot understand and at the distance I could see barricades and full force of anti riot police and a CNN coverage. Later, I learned that it was a rally between the anti and pro-government and kudos to the police who foresee and making the initiative of the two group not to clash to avoid bloodshed. Hence, the rest of the day I stayed in the hotel for I don’t want to be part of the headline in case chaos erupted.
Dead Sea and My Accidental Pilgrimage
With limited Arabic vocabulary and mostly sign language and pointing to pictures, I was able to arrange my transport and it is really cheap or maybe because I’m always the bargain guy(LOL). An Indie adventure of diverting to the Dead Sea is not really the original plan but considering going to the lowest elevation on earth and known to be King David’s place of refuge is worth a try, and a place not to miss.
Thinking of adventure, it is a logical choice of going to the Dead Sea first, since I’m still free from scratches and wounds,and dipping on a hypersaline water is not a good idea if you already have scratches, even the tiniest one. The language barrier seems to work in a nice way or the driver just have the initiative because on my way to the Dead Sea, he asked if it’s okay with me to go in a Christian Church and that made me feel guilty for I’m a Christian but I’m not thinking about it nor include it in my itinerary for I’m too preoccupied with the Petra Adventure but the moment that I said YES my accidental pilgrimage started. 
We stop at the Greek Orthodox Church of St George of Madaba where I was able to marvel the byzantine influence of mosaic art but what is most noteworthy is the church floor, who have the 6th century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
With no idea, we go ahead to Mount Nebu, then I remember the Bible and my Theology class,where it is mentioned in the last part of Deuteronomy where Moses was given the view of the Promise Land by God, and it is also the place where he is buried. So it means, I’m seeing what Moses saw before.
After exploring the ruins dating back to 6th Century where a church is built to honor Moses and had a glimpse of the Promise Land, I can’t help but wonder on the hardship they endure to travel from Egypt going to the Promise Land for the way is very arduous and difficult and having the glimpse is indeed liberating from an endless journey and it’s too sad to know that until now peace seems elusive to get in this so-called Promise Land.
My way to the Dead Sea is a different experience, I traverse an almost barren land and saw real Bedouins, where I normally just read on books and amaze that such nomadic lifestyle still exist in this time, only now they have trucks, water tanks and a generator and even an AC unit on their tent.
I found sheer joy when we stop because a flock of sheep crossed the road and for someone born and raise in a tropical country it’s a novel experience because I only saw it on movies and the closest I could see a lamb is the meat sold at the grocery.
The site of the Dead Sea is not that inviting, maybe because I was born in a country where one of the world’s finest beaches are found, thus I’m bias about it. But for curiosity sake, I did try to dip, but I didn’t enjoy, for I’m not comfortable swimming with my head not getting wet, and having difficulty with my balance because I float even if I don’t want and the water is somewhat slimy and smelly. And Ohhhh! The silly thing I can’t get off my habit, after some time I forgot and swim with my face down and stung my eyes that made me cry and walked blindly to the shore to get my bottled water and worst the salt formation make it more difficult to walk. I curse those travel magazines and reviews why they make it seem very enticing as if people enjoyed that much like showing pictures of people floating and reading books and some even copied it, but in reality, you couldn’t stand that long and I guess only non swimmer would enjoy for they will be floating for the first time. 
After the unfortunate incident of my dumb self, I settled for sunbathing and let those other sunbathers envy my perfect tan color which they have difficulty achieving .
My attention caught by a very noisy man trying to speak on different language and offering the mud bath. He speaks to me in Arabic, then in Spanish and some languages I didn’t understand and I laugh for he is trying to greet people on their native language and he wasn’t able to guess mine but the gist of it the mud cost US$3.50. I did try to enjoy myself rubbing the mud and notice the noisy sleazy guy was taking advantage of rubbing mud to a woman and good thing the friend came to follow and the septuagenarian Spaniard woman asked for a help and I know he didn’t enjoy as much as rubbing with the younger one and a bunch of old women followed and silently I was laughing my heart out. It made my day to the point that I didn’t even bothered to correct him from his claim that it is the saltiest water on Earth where in fact it could be found in Djibouti. But yes the mud has some effect on the skin no wonder Cleopatra built her first spa in the Dead Sea. But remembering that I’m sort of in a pilgrimage, I remember it is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls are found which has the oldest written books of the Bible that silence most of the skeptics.
After having a very late lunch we went to Bethany and still have no inkling what it is until I’ve read the signboard. Gosh! It is the Bethany mentioned in the Gospel, the place where Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, the place where He sought refuge after threatened by stoning in Jerusalem and the place where he brought back to life the dead Lazarus. It is also worth mentioning that it is also near Elijah’s hill the place where the prophet ascended to heaven.
By chance, I give a perfect gift to myself just by being there. The place itself is quiet and relaxing despite the fact that it is a military zone and we are not allowed to wander alone. So, we walk by group and too bad I cannot explore at my own leisure the ancient remains which include structures from the 1st century settlement of John the Baptist , large pools and the 5th-6th century remains of the Byzantine period settlement depicted on the 6th century Madaba Mosaic Map of the Holy Land which I visited earlier.
We explore the areas where they built churches of different religions and went to Jordan river that looks like a creek for it’s very small and stone throw is the Israel territory, now I know why it is a military zone because that could be a grenade throw for it’s very near.
Some people in the group have weird faith, to think that the dirty brown river have some medicinal properties that they washed on the water and took sample (I just hope that they go straight to laboratory for bacteria identification). Nevertheless, I just ignored them and volunteered to take pictures to two old women who are having difficulty taking pictures of themselves because they won’t let go of the bottle that contains the river water.
At the end of the day, It made me think of my faith and felt grateful that I was privilege to set foot on some of the places mentioned in the Bible. Though I still cannot answer the question jokingly asked by the guide, if I’m willing to be feed to the lions in the name of faith just what the Romans did before to the Christians. But I know deep inside my survival nature tells otherwise, and I rather die fighting than give them the viewing pleasure. But one thing that I’m sure, I don’t need any miracle to be convinced of God’s existence because everything that surrounds me is already a miracle.
The Countryside and Petra
Excited for my Indie adventure, I woke up very early and stuffed myself with kuboz (arabic bread) normally dip into humous (chick pea sauce) or yogurt but mine is marmalade which other Arabs find my combination weird and of course my favorite Coke regular. But to my surprise, the driver came also much earlier for the journey is somewhat very far, but not to my standard and explain to me the two routes going to Petra and I opted to take the two routes the longer one first and the shorter one in going home to explore and enjoy both roads.
We passed various farm, pasture land and wadi but the scene that I enjoyed most are the rocky mountains that look like the Grand Canyon of Arizona. Traversing the winding road during sunrise gives a picturesque view and shows its rustic beauty amidst the barren scenery and that long journey are made more longer because of my occasional request to stop, blame it to the perfect climate and my wish to have a thorough glimpse because I’m not certain if I could see it again in my lifetime. 
We stop at Dana for a coffee. Since I’m not a fan of coffee and hot drinks, I just savor the fresh air, marvel the green view and old stone houses in the middle of rocky mountains and select a stone for souvenir (Yeah! That’s how cheap I am.) and according to the driver- cum -tour guide, it snows in this area when it rains in Amman. Shucks! It’s spring season and I’m wondering why he tell it to someone born in the tropics, did he know that I wanted to see real snow but I just can’t, because I cannot stand on a negative temperature which I tried in vain on artificial ice park and it’s a miracle if I could last an hour. Though I still manage to ask if I could find snow-capped in the area but it seems he don’t know the meaning of it, so I just said “khalas” (forget it) to make life easier for both of us and this where I find language barrier very amusing.
Along the way, he point Kerak Castle though I’m not really sure if it is a real one for I only knew and saw Disney’s castle. So we went and I’m impressed with his driving skills because the road going up is very small, steep and very dangerous and just by looking at it, you know it is specifically made for horses and small carriages.
Now, I know what real castle looks like because the sight of it reminds me of the Crusade War and not the Fairy Tale Stories of Disney. The buildings fortification is designed to be unassailable with good vantage point for defense, as I walk on the tunnel, I felt like seeing how they’ll defend the castle, where the archers place themselves, as well as the artillery. I also found the waterloo, once the invader occupied the uppermost this could also be a dungeon to the inhabitants. But hey wait! it’s a grim reminder I’m on my Indie adventure I should think treasures of great historical importance. But truth speaks that it has a fair share of the gory Crusade history and the architecture itself shows the Crusader and Muslim influence.
I roam and explore but when I reached the top of the castle, it has a magnificent view of the surrounding valleys and I can’t help but marvel how beautiful it is during its grandest time, considering also that is the second biggest castle in the Middle East. 
But I remember that I’m still a long way to my destination and the reason why I’m in Jordan, so I cut it short and scuttle to look for the driver. When I reached Petra, I was wondering why I’m in a hurry to get a ticket when there’s no queue at all, I didn’t even bothered to concentrate on my lunch.
I was overly excited seeing all those very tired people coming out, thinking that it is really worth an adventure, then I realized that the site of the Treasury shown in Indiana Jones is still very far from the entrance and good thing I regularly jog, I guess this time it will paid off.
At the gate, a bunch of men in Jack Sparrow inspired style are offering a ride to the point of almost irritating , because they won’t listen and very insistent. I want to explore every bit of it and not just in passing that’s why I opted to walk, even if they’re offering it for free because it is already paid in my ticket and besides being a constant traveler I know they’re up for something like a tip not at your wish but by compulsion. So, I turn a deaf ear in order not to ruin my day.
With anticipation of a child, I marvel every bit of my walk… then BOOOM! A few hundred meters, a curse to my small nose — I’m overly sensitive to smell. I realized my Indie fascination captures only my vision and I wasn’t ready on this. Yes, the long way is a mixture of horse, donkey, camel and goat dung littered everywhere, so I change from indie to wild west, now I look like a gangster cowboy with scarf covering my nose. I don’t want this little misadventure affects me.
The long walk through rock formation that seems more of a secret passage lead me to the Treasury. Yes! the one featured in Indiana Jones movie. It held me spellbound that took me a few minutes staring in awe. Then I realized I’m only looking at the tip of an iceberg. Petra as I know is different in reality for it is a lost city, so huge that it is impossible to explore every nook in one day.
A city of ruins as I could aptly describe it, with all the features of an ancient city. An engineering wonder with their aqueducts, buildings and structures. It seems I’m back in time for everything I touched , I stepped and I saw dated back more than a thousand years but the ancient wandering cut short when I saw a Crowne restaurant operated by the Crowne chain of hotels inside the City of ruins. Nevertheless, I don’t want to comment about the restaurant for it would be a relief for some tired tourist to pamper themselves after a tedious and tiring walk rather than to prepare their own food the ancient way.
Another destination crossed in my bucket list. My childhood fantasy of indie adventure is somewhat fulfilled and having learned that it is one of the new seven wonders of the world made me think whether to pursue the other six or to stop and start growing up as others have said. Whatever it is only time knows.
