Jordan - Wadi Rum

We have a list called 'Places to Go and Things to See', it grows and grows and each time we tick one item off we add on three more.

Top of our trip list since moving to Dubai has been Jordan and with the close proximity to UAE we set off for a weekend visit. How great that you can pop to Jordan for the weekend!

We took a flight form DBX to Amman at 18:00 on Thursday evening , getting straight on a internal transfer from Amman to Aqaba in the south coast of Jordan. 

Arriving at about 22:00, we stayed at the Movenpick hotel in Aqaba, which was designed with sensitivity to it's environment yet also had a smack of old school Swiss glamour. We got upgraded to a lovely suite with a sea view, which was great as we never get upgraded to anything!

Jordon's Geo-graphical location is both fascinating and a little perturbing in current climates as it borders Israel, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. 


The Jordanian people are friendly, helpful and surprisingly humorous. Tourism being a key revenue stream for them means they want visitors to feel safe and welcome, everywhere we went we were met by genuine smiles.  



The day before visiting Petra we decided to explore the Wadi Rum in , Aqaba. 

Wadi Rum, is a vast 60km mountainous desert to the east of Aqaba. Wadi means 'valley' in Arabic and Rum is said to mean 'elevated' or 'high' in Aramaic. 


We were recommended a local guide by some Swedish friends who had visited themselves recently, Jordan seems to  be very popular with Scandies. His name was Isam - a tall, jolly man who liked to make jokes, we had a laugh. 

We had planned an afternoon excursion of about 5 hours in all inc travel times of about 45mis each way. We set off just after lunch to check out the best bits of the Wadi Rum, take a camel ride, have a camp dinner & watch the sunset before heading back. The all inc cost for two of us was about £50, we did give the camels boys a small tip on top.

Wadi Rum is a striking landscape with a perfectly contrasting slash of blue sky against the rolling golden sands. It's been inhabited since prehistoric times, by many different cultures–including the Nabateans– who left their mark in the form of rock paintings, called petrogiyphs.

The Petrogiyphs

'Wife face cover, big improvement, no?'
 - Isam asked Johan

                                              

We stopped to have a look at some examples alongside a small Bedouin camp. 

The owner welcomed us inside, he was about 60yrs old and had the weathered look of the Bedouin, his face regal looking and proud.

He was very nice man, made us sweet Arabic tea, and sang us a traditional Bedouin love song whilst chain smoking filter-less cigarettes. Heavily coughing throughout his rendition, he actually stopped twice to hack then carried on - it was brilliant. 


We repaid his hospitality by buying some fragrant Amber for £6; which for a comfy seat, some shade, 4 cups of tea and a traditional song was remarkably good value we thought.


                                                   

Next we jumped - well clambered is a better description on some camels for few kilometre ride. Stopping along the way to look at the network of ingenious rock calved canals used to collect rain water.

We also stopped to do some climbing of the beautiful sandstone sculptures, before setting up dinner camp. 






Isam was worried about me climbing but not so much about Johan. 
I was about to get on my female equality high horse when Isam explained it was a matter of foreign politics's not a gender issue. "Your husband from Sweden, he falls down and dies no-one cares, you from UK you fall down and die, Jordan king be very upset with us".  Antoinette Gardiner, the mother of Jordan's current monarch, Abdullah - is British. 

Isam had started dinner whilst we'd been off Camel riding, it was a simple chicken stew cooked over the open fire and it was absolutely deliciousness!! He gave me the recipe.


Recipe:     
Chicken
Onion
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Some Spices
Salt
Water

Method: 
Roughly chop everything and stick in a pot. 
Cover in tin foil and bung on the fire.
Cook for 1 hour.
Serve with warm pita.
Eat with hands. 


We feasted on our stew, laughed at Isam's jokes, drank sweet tea and watched the sunset .....a perfect end to a perfect day! 

Interestingly -  Wadi Rum is also known as 'The Valley of the Moon'. It was a full moon when we visited and the brightest and most illuminating I have ever seen. 

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Dubai World Cup - 2012

The Dubai World cup is the richest horse race in the world with a total purse equalling $10million. It's also one of the Dubai social events of the year, attracting thousands of visitors. People aren't just there for the racing, but also the fashion, firework show and this year Toni Braxton was headlining. So we headed off to Meydan again suited and booted in our Sunday best, as there is a formal dress code with ladies encouraged to wear hats. 

Couldn't find a hat I liked so made my own!

Tickets:
There are a few ticket options - a free ticket with limited access, or  Apron views which we bought @ 350Dhs (£60) a ticket. This gets you gets you access to the main area where the Jaguar Style stakes, the Alhan photo booth, The Bubble Lounge and The Irish Village are. This was our first time at the Dubai World Cup and I have to admit that although we had a lovely day I was a tad disappointed. 

Reason Why:
Considering the glamour stakes are high I was expecting a day of civilised refinement. However, the environment really isn't set up for a refinement unless you want to spend an absolute fortune. We wouldn't have minded spending a reasonable amount for some decent food a bottle of wine and a nice seat outside, but no could do. 

It's true we could have coughed up for the full hospitably package from 1,750 - 5,000 Dhs per person. But that would have mean't £600 for the two of us even for the cheapest option, before drinks, transport, outfits spend etc. Which seemed a bit excessive for a day at the races. 

Drinks & Seating: 
In the Apron Views there is The Bubble Lounge which you'll be surprised only serves bubbles, however the cheapest bottle of champagne was 1,000Dhs (£170). Just being the two of us and Johan not being that keen on bubbly (he likes one glass that's about it) we kind of felt it was;
a)Extortionately priced 
b)A waste for just the two of us....well for Johan anyway I could of happily quaffed 5 glasses of champagne all to myself! 

What we would have of liked was maybe one glass of bubbly to mark the occasion however you can only buy, by the bottle. Even if you do fork out 1,000 -4,000Dhs on a bottle there didn't seem to be any seating in The Bubble Lounge. There were these lean to bar tables and a few stools which were like gold dust. I'd have been livid if I'd forked out minimum 1,000 Dhs and couldn't even get a seat to enjoy my fizz in some comfort. 

Getting good seating in general is impossible, as the main seating area isn't that big considering how many people attend the event. It's quite funny to watch people stalking seats in the desperate hope that they'll catch someone leaving, I noted that older women seem to be particularly skilled at this. Like Lion's stalking Antelope, this is probably because of the high heel, foot pain factor for which a chair provides much needed respite. 

Beautiful but evil

Shoes:
Lots of women were hobbling around that day many no loger able to cope with the pain and abandoning sky high platforms altogether and going bare foot. I stuck it out as long as I could but with my new pink KG stiletto's torturing me we ended up having to sit on the grand stand seats, just to give my poor feet a rest. Again not very glam in your posh frock and hat. 


Food:
Other than the hospitality the food options are fast food outlets. Which were indoor, awfully littered, and under stocked it seemed. There were massive queues everywhere and it seemed surreal, everyone in hats and suits eating in the equivalent of a scruffy MacDonald's. 

So we ate Egyptian Pizza from a cardboard box, seated on concrete seats, drinking wine from plastic cups. 
Overall:
DWC was not the glamorous day out I had had in mind, maybe my expectations were just to high. It's not that I mind sitting in the arena or eating Egyptian pizza from a cardboard box per se. 

I just don't see the point of getting all dressed up and having to wear a fancy hat to do it, if I'd known I'd rather have worn my jeans and converse!! 

For example, one good thing about Ascot Races is you can take your own picnic. You can make your own affordable glamour - bring a proper picnic basket, sit on a nice tartan blanket, have nice cheeses & chutney's, some fizz or Pimm's making the whole day a little more refined.  

Perfect picnic for the races!

Of course, they have stricter rules about alcohol here, so I totally get you couldn't BYOB as at Ascot. However, maybe the rule at the DWC is you have to buy drinks inside but you could bring your own picnic. I don't mind paying for drinks I'd simply like the sophistication of being able to bring my own non plastic pint pot to drink them in. 

Most of the fast food kiosks had run out of food anyway by 6pm, so it's not like they'd loose revenue from food sales. 

This is what I wanted DWC to be like

My point is I expected and wanted a more tasteful day at the races without having to bankrupt yourself in the process. As money doesn't equals class - but hey why did I assume that logic after all this is Dubai. 

Highlights:
Of course there are some good things, the races are great and the closing show, fire works, Aero acrobatics were amazing. They certainly do know how to put on a good show.

However, nothing quite prepares you for the horror of two things. The queue for the ladies toilets and the taxi queue, I'm surprised we are not still standing in it. 

Conclusion:
I'd say if we go again best to;

• Go with a big rowdy group of friends 
• Get there early to secure a valuable sofa and table area
• Go in comfortable shoes 
• Don't wear spanx
• Bring my own plastic pinic wine glasses
• Have a big lunch before you get there
• Split the cost of a bottle or two of fizz between the group 
• Book a helicopter home;-)

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