Whenever I mentioned my plans to travel through Jordan, the first (and usually only) place everyone recommends is Petra. Most people know next to nothing about Jordan aside from the famous landmark, but I was surprised to find out that travelers I spoke with unanimously said that there was nothing special about the capital city of Amman. In fact, many indicated Amman was their least favorite city in the Middle East and recommended I skip it entirely. Since my flight to Dubai departed out of Amman, I figured I should spend a few days in the city so I could formulate my own opinion. I had to at least Amman a chance and was delightfully surprised by what I found.
It’s been almost a month now since I applied for my visa to India, and I can already tell that the country’s notorious bureaucracy is going to be a thorn in my side for the next several months. Like with most formal visa requests, the Indian Consulate took hostage the one document this traveler never dares to go without – my passport. There is a tremendous amount of anxiety whenever I’m separated from my little passport; since my very first day back in Faro, Portugal over eight months ago, that document has remained with me at all times. To backpackers, our passport is a natural extension of our bodies and not only serves as our global form of identification, but as a sacred repository for our badges of honor (aka passport stamps). Thankfully, my time in “travel purgatory” is finally at an end and the Indian consulate returned my passport. I am once again free to travel to my heart’s content!
