ToM (We made it to Jordan)
No idea how, but we made it....
Took an overnight flight from Morrocco, to Istanbul, to Amman. Didn't sleep a wink. Instead, went to pick up our rental car at 4AM. The attendant didn't get to the stand until 445, but that was ok, as there was free wifi and a Starbucks.
Cubs were in the 8th inning, and up 3 at the time.
Guy pops in the desk.
Hi! We want to get on the f'ing road!
Looks like you're all set, I'll show you the car. GPS? I don't have GPS, but you can buy a sim card over there. Kind of upset, but then, GENIUS! Why we didn't think of buying a sim card while renting a car was beyond us. We looked them up for India and read how horribly hard it was to obtain one, so perhaps that just cut all our desires out of even researching how to get one in other countries.
Bought a sim card, have wifi anywhere we want, and got to our car.
"Why is everyone honking and shining their lights at us?" It's because the car I picked up in pitch black only had low lights on, and not high beams!....
Cubs win!!!!!!!
We make it to Umm Qais which was 3 hours away on no sleep, new country, and an urgent need to pee. Side of the road, 30 minutes from Israel and Syria, get out to pee on the side of the road.
Umm Qais ruins don't open for another half hour. We pulled in to the carpark, and took a 30 min nap. We both woke up at the same time, the sun is shining waaaay too bright. We get out. I have to poo something fierce. No idea where I am. A guy sitting in a chair tells us to pay when we get back, as the ticket counter isn't open yet.
A man and woman are running the restroom, there's no tp, I'm waiting for Breanne outside, little did I know, she was trapped (20 sec) in the stall, couldn't get out, and the woman had to help her get out.
Meanwhile, the man is hovering over me, asking if I need paper. I hear Breanne tell the woman, my husband has the money. To which I pull some out, hand her a 5, we get back some change, I hand the man a $1, and he gives me the paper.
We head in to the ruins.
No idea.
Feels like we're in a scene from Breaking Bad when Walter stumbled out of the rv in the desert.
Umm Qais is an active archaeological site, which made our experience even more strange seeing actual archaeologists digging and hammering away while we stumbled along.
We first made it to the mausoleum. It was really interesting to see the steps that would lead down to a crypt that kept dead bodies. This was also the last site on the very basic map we had that was closest to the NW corner, overlooking Syria, Israel, and the Sea of Galllilee. Went over for a pic. Saw some sheep...
Came back around, found the amphitheater which was still intact, and really cool. I always loved dreaming of plays going on, or scientific talks within these walls and seats.
We had had enough at this point, and were kind of scared to get back in the car and drive an hour to get to our hotel.
We headed to the gate, paid for our tickets, and went to the car.
A man was waiting for us in the parking lot with a big smile. He shoved some some weird kool aid drink into our hands when we first walked in, and told us to pay him when we left. We dumped it out right away. I had a $1 ready for him, and he looked confused and said, but I gave you two? To which I replied, but we never asked for any. I was just tired in general and didn't feel like being scammed that morning.
Hopped in the car and went for a drive along the border, headed for Ajloun.
