I honestly didn’t have too many expectations before venturing to Jordan with my girlfriend and her family.  I’d known about the Petra for a long time, and had heard the Dead Sea was one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth, and I knew it was in the Middle East, but that’s about it.  What I found there was both far better and far worse than expected.

            Upon the airplane’s descent into Amman you see the vast sprawl of the city’s cluttered stone buildings, which seem to almost perfectly blend into the flat, desolate landscape.  After navigating the surprisingly nice, clean airport, and waiting literally longer than I’ve ever waited in my life for bags (close to 2 hours), we checked into our tiny SUV crossover rental car, stuffed in our suitcases and hit the road toward our destination on the Dead Sea. 

            Traffic was very light and road conditions were surprisingly well maintained in most places, however, the first few turns out of the airport showed a run-down and impoverished neighborhood that can only be described as somewhat “Baghdad-ian.”  Children ran through the rubble of half built homes and empty lots as women in full-faced veils tried to corral them.  Thankfully our navigation was working, otherwise the claims I’d read of Jordan’s “easy to read signage,” was completely useless as we were sent turning down seemingly desolate, half-dirt roads for much of the beginning of the journey.  I was left wondering where these so-called highways were located. 

            The most stark and shocking surprise for me was the staggering amount of garbage on the side of the road.  It’s literally everywhere.  Even as we ventured from town into long stretches of rocky desert nothingness, there still managed to be a constant stream of trash littered about the side of the roads and well out into the open landscape.  I’ve been to places in African and Asia with no infrastructure for trash removal, but to see so much garbage in so many remote places, it made me wonder how in the world it got there in the first place.  Furthermore, I got to think how such an impoverished place with no regard for simple things like sanitation can have a currency that absolutely crushes the U.S. Dollar.  One Jordanian Dinar equals around $0.70.

            This brings me to the point that Jordan is far from a cheap trip.  In fact, things were equally if not more expensive than in California.  Granted, we were staying in the nicest resorts we could find, but still, 9 Dinars for a 0.33L beer and a dinner buffet of 38 Dinars (about $54) adds up very quickly on the budget.  Our first destination was an absolutely stunning resort, the Kempinsky Ishtar Dead Sea Hotel, which overlooked the strange lifeless water.  After passing the few small towns along the 1.5 hour journey, we descended a large hill of mountainous switchbacks to view what would be our best sunset of the trip, a seemingly endless orange and pink fireball of clouds that hung above the Dead Sea for what seemed like an hour in itself. 

            The Dead Sea is a strange area as it’s the only large body of water I’ve ever seen with absolutely no activity on it, no boats, nothing.  It’s lined with a stretch of luxurious resorts and even a new shopping mall that contrast the vast nothingness of mountainous desert around it.  Honestly, the resorts seem wildly out of place.  Our hotel staff was pleasant, but I wouldn’t say overwhelmingly friendly, aside from the predominantly Filipino staff that was extreme hospitable.  Visiting during off-season (February) offered pleasantly warm weather in the sixties and seventies, with very high winds often kicking up in the afternoons. 

            We visited the Baptism site of Jesus Christ, which was definitely interesting and worth the trip.  You have to take a shuttle into the site and when it’s all said and done, the small “tour” takes 2-3 hours, highlighted by the actual baptism site, as well as a walk down to the Jordan River where you stare across into Israel.  There’s no getting into the river on the Jordanian side, but across you can view people bathing in the river, in Israel. 

            Another short drive away is Mount Nebo, the alleged death place of Moses.  It’s worth the trip up the mountain to view the elevated vista of the “holy land,” as well as the beautiful mosaics in the church located here.  Admission is only a couple dollars. 

            One trap to be avoided is the Ma’in Hot Springs.  After a rather large admission fee in the range of $25, you drive into a small parking lot with another security guard keeping you from vising the hotel (which is supposed to be for registered guests only).  While they claimed there was a family area as well as a man and woman’s waterfall, it’s a laughably small and ugly waterfall at the family area, full of locals that can get in for free.  Disappointed, we drove back up the hill, demanding our money back.  After a small waiting period, rather than give us our money back, they allowed us to drive further down to use the hotel’s facilities, where the nicer, larger waterfall is located.  The view is pretty, and the pool is basically a giant hot tub from the springs, but access to the actual waterfall isn’t permitted in the winter and overall I’d call the whole spot a big waste of time and money. 

            The actual floating experience in the Dead Sea was pretty enjoyable.  The water was brisk but comfortable and I can’t stress enough just how salty the water is.  The shoreline is covered with huge clumps of salt rocks.  I made the huge mistake of diving in head first, which, even with my eyes closed proceeded to burn like fire.  The water is nearly 1/3 salt, so, even the smallest drops near your eyes or in your mouth are pretty unbearable.  That being said, the buoyancy is incredible, it’s actually difficult not to float as your legs bob effortlessly to the surface.  After a brief soak, we coated ourselves with the mud from the sea, which is said to offer many healing and restorative properties to your skin.  Once the mud dried, we returned to the sea to wash it off, which left our skin feeling incredibly smooth and almost eel-like, with a sort of slimy coating. 

            We then departed to Wadi Musa, in the Southern part of Jordan, where the Petra is located.  The three and a half-hour drive can only be described as bleak and desolate.  It’s far from scenic, although I’m not sure I would recommend any other way to travel there, as it would have been more of a hassle to fly and I’m not really sure if there’s an airport nearby in the South.  Nearing Wadi Musa, you actually see quite a bit of signage directing your toward the Petra and the town itself has a bit of atmosphere and culture, built into the side of small mountains, full of restaurants, hotels and many random stores of various goods.  Roads are narrow and crowded, but the town is small and isn’t terribly hard to navigate. 

            We first saw the Petra for the night ceremony, which was interesting.  Small candlelit bags light your way as you walk roughly a mile and a half through the narrow canyon walls, down to the Treasury (the main image shown for the Petra – although it consists of dozens of monuments, carvings and tombs scattered over hundreds of acres of land).  A brief musical ceremony is performed in the dark as people quietly seat themselves all around the Treasury.  They encourage quiet to maximize the spiritual experience, and while there are still tons of people with cell phones and cameras trying to capture photos and videos, they were pretty respectful for the most part.  In the dark, you really can’t see anything and I was beginning to think the night ceremony was a bit of a bust, but after the performance, they ask you to close your eyes and make a wish, before they blast Vegas-like colorful lights up upon the giant stone-carved pillars.  It’s definitely awe inspiring, yet the colorful lights made it seem a bit kitchy or Carnival-like rather than truly spiritual. 

            The following day, we returned to the Petra for a full day of hiking, and it was a full day.  Overall, we walked nearly nine miles, so if you go, bring solid hiking shoes.  In fact, we were lucky enough to have a bit of pouring rain when we first entered.  Apparently, it only rains about 9 days a year there, so the cascade of mini-waterfalls spewing from the canyon walls and small river of flash flooding that rushed down to the Treasury made for a truly magical experience.  It also created a mystical layer of fog throughout the park, which also made the experience much more mystical and special for me.  We hiked all the way to the Monastery, which is the furthest point of the park you can go, and it is a long walk, but certainly doable.  There are a huge number of stairs you have to climb, but people of all ages were making the trek, I’d just recommend a good amount of water for the journey.  At the top, it was almost completely shrouded in mist, so our view wasn’t ideal, but it was cool nonetheless.  There’s also a cave bar at the top where locals performed music, gave us shisha (hookah) and mint tea.  They were very friendly at the restaurant, chatting with us and hitting on my girlfriend, which made the experience more fun and funny. 

            However, the same can’t be said for the massive number of pushy merchants along the journey, at times passively begging for money, at other times sending their brash and flat out rude children to physically pull you toward their shops and aggressively ask for money.  In addition, the entire journey is filled with merchants pedaling donkey, horse drawn carriage, and camel rides.  They are pretty relentless, so you have to be somewhat rude back or just completely ignore them before they get the hint and leave you alone.  A common trick they use is to offer you something for free, only to give you something very small and cheap and then expect some sort of barter in return or you to purchase something very expensive in return for their kindness.  This happened to us as we opted to ride Arabian horses down to the Treasury upon entering the park.  “It’s completely free,” they told us, “but if you enjoy it, a small tip would be appreciated.”  Well, they quickly tried to upsell our very short ride on horseback with a wildly expensive trek to the top of one of the mountains.  In addition, a “small tip,” turned into them really trying to bleed us for larger tips, although they were still in the range of the average Jordanian’s weekly salary. 

            The Petra is clearly the top highlight of Jordan and is not to be missed.  If you go prepared to be swindled and pushed for cheap, most-likely Chinese made merchandise or just give in and do a donkey or camel ride to feel more “authentic,” that’s fine, just be prepared to shell out quite a bit of money.  Otherwise, we had no problem walking the park ourselves, although be ready for hours of walking, both down and uphill, and note that the public restrooms and park close by 4PM (although you can keep walking around presumably as late as you want). 

            I regret we didn’t have time to visit Wadi Rum, which also looks to be incredibly beautiful (just watch Laurence of Arabia if you want to see it in all it’s glory).  I’ve heard good things about “glamping” out there and I’m sure it probably is a close second to the Petra.  Another spot we were targeting but didn’t have time to see is the ancient city of Jerash.  It’s one of, if not, the largest remaining ruins of Roman architecture in the world, but certainly felt like it would be an entire day of exploring as well, so plan accordingly if you want to visit that site. 

            In brief, Jordan is an interesting and strange place, rich with history and mystique, yet not a place I’d recommend for the casual traveler.  While English is spoken everywhere, the poverty and physical desolation of the landscape is a bit shocking, culturally speaking.  Having driven through most of the countryside, I can’t really call it beautiful or scenic.  Places like the Petra (and Wadi Rum) are spectacular and rightfully admired worldwide, but be prepared for long stretches of desolation and barrenness.  I can’t give a full evaluation of the people, but I’d say they’re not as unfriendly as many might expect from an Arab nation, but also not overwhelmingly cheery toward Americans.  Like many impoverished places, you can’t help but feel a sense that everywhere you go you’re being ripped off, because you are.  The rich/poor gap is pretty staggering and you can’t really blame people for trying when so many wealthy tourists visit and flaunt their money around.  My overall opinion, Jordan has been grossly over-glamourized on social media and I hope I’ve given you one honest opinion of the pros and cons of visiting.