No Gondolas in Gandar

Well, that's cause theres no canals!
Well here I am in Gondar, I flew a rather rocky Fokker 50 here yesterday (well, I was in one I was not the pilot!)
It's an interesting town with a real feel of Africa as I have experienced it previously. It's got quite a bit more hassle than I've experienced thus far in Ethiopia, but still it's pleasant enough set amongst some amazing hills. Today I visited the royal enclosure - a surprisingly European looking Castle in the centre of town where ethiopia was ruled from during the 17th century and onwards for a few hundred years.
Tomorrow I head out to the Simien mountains for four days trekking. Should be a great challenge, my first time hiking at such an altitude.
i'm sorry to report I'm having troubles loading photos here. So it may not be until I return home that I can put up more Ethiopian pictures.

Lalibela

well now I am in Northern Ethiopia in the town of Lalibela where some of oldest and most amazing churches in the world. The scenery up here 2600 is also beautiful. It is green and full of colourful birds. I am finding the people very friendly too.
The churches are amazing - they were carved out of rock in the 11th century (I think) over 23 years. Eleven churches in total. The rock in the hills was carved in all but one case from directly above and then inside. They still function today and Lalibela is probably the most important pilgrimidge site for Christian Ethiopians.
It is not that hot but the sun really beats down and there are insects aplenty - flies in the day, mozzies in the night. Fortunately it's too high for malaria. I have killed a handsome bounty of mosquitoes. But so far Ethiopia has been brilliant and breathtaking. Tomorrow I head to the town of Gondar and from there to the Simien Mountains for trekking. Unfortunately it is all dialup connections here so will be a while before I can upload photos and blogging will at best be spasmodic.

Addis Ababa

Phew! Photos loaded! That was difficult! Well... slow.
I am in Addis Ababa, the capital of the African country of Ethiopia. Finally here and something different. I found the city to be quite laid back and cool - low twenties as far as the temperature goes. I spent the day doing a bit of a walking tour around the place where I visited the National Musuem and saw the following skeletal structure - that of Lucy, the oldest living direct ancestor to us humans. She's 3.2 million years old folks. Happy Birthday Lucy! Below here are a couple of street views of the capital. It's a bit hilly, has some interesting buildings and a friendly laid back vibe. My hotel seems to be a bit of an instution as is the restaurant attached. Tomorrow though it's up at five am to catch a flight north to Lalibela. What will the internet be there? We shall see...

Wild Water Wonderment!

Well yesterday I had a real kids day. You know the sort.... You go to a waterpark and spend hours and hours going up and down water slides. What could be better?

The Wild Wadi Water Park is at Jumeirah beach, not too far from my hotel. This is a very exclusive spot and features a couple of amazing buildings - the Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. A seriously expensive option for those who find Dubai not quite over the top enough!

I was not the only big kid there let me tell you. There were groups of business men and plenty of people older than me riding the slides. Now that's a way to spend a day! Today is a day of nothing. Resting up because I'm less than two days away from Ethiopia!

The Burj Al-Arab, Jumeirah Beach.

The Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Wild Wadi Water Fun!

A view of much of the Water Park

Dubai or no Dubai?

The plane touches down in Dubai and within seconds there is na chorus of beeping mobile phones throughout the aircraft. Welcome to Dubai where big is small and bigger is not quite medium.I have arrived in the future, and Jordan feels like I was far far far in the past now.
This morning I sat at breakfast in one of the four Ibis hotels in Dubai and watched businessmen from India, the middle east and perhaps even Europe eating a mixture of rice crispies and coco-pops. It was hard to fathom. Surely they are all doing million dollar deals, buying property and investing in the world's latest extravagent metropolis.I feel so out of place, a phony, the lone backpacker in a city of business men. A city of excess - of shopping malls that no place can rival.
Yesterday I visited the Dubai mall. It has an ice rink. It has a giant aquarium, various waterfalls, and the biggest food court I have ever seen. Oh yes, it also has a theme park.But wait that is hardly enough, is it? The Mall of the Emirates, a way down the road, has Ski Dubai, an indoor snow park. And I went to that. How could I not? I went on a bobsled run and marvelled at ice scultpures.
Outside the mall it was mid-thirties and humid. Inside Ski Dubai minus four degrees.
Giant cinemas, and giants cups of coke. Virgin Megastore and computer shops, a department store slash supermarket called Carrefour which has to have been the biggest I have ever seen.And yet little ol' me has a budget to keep to. Somehow, so far I have resisted the urge to buy everything in site which is what the place is designed for. The candy shops.... hasnt anyone told them that large amounts of sugar mixed with kids is a recipe for disaster? In the words of bumble-bee man, Ay Carumba!Perspective. Please. Rampant consumerism gone wild or wild consumerism gone mad? Too many adjectives?How can there be a market for so much stuff. There are plenty more malls you know.
Jordan left me tired... in need of a few good night's sleep. Well, I have a nice hotel here where they regulate the temperature there are two bars and three places for eating. I was most happy to find they have just opened a new slick metro which will take me most of the way to places I might want to go. And it stopped at my airport terminal. The heat is easy to escape, which is a good thing - the humidity is damned high too. It does mean spending much time in malls though. Oh well, won't go hungry. Candy close by if I need a sugar rush.How do I equate this? It is really futuristic here. Like something from another world. It's one of those places which feels like anything is possible. And then today I crossed the Dubai Creek on a small passenger boat called and Abra. It just crosses the creeks day after day. I went to the museum, inside an old fort. Very impressive. I've still had to walk a fair bit, and internet is not so easy to come by either.Saturday I venture to Ethiopia. It's going to be very different.

Ski Dubai.

View of the city centre from an abra, on the Dubai Creek

The ice-rink in Dubai Mall. Every mall should have one.

Aqaba baa baa

Aqaba was my final stop in Jordan before returning to Amman and flying to Dubai. It was hot there - around the high 30s, but nice enough if not the world's most interesting city. I stayed to nights there, was a little sick, relaxed. There is a small fort and museum which were interesting. The main attraction is the red sea, and from Aqaba you can see Israel and I believe Egypt as well. So a special little area. Although diving and snorkelling trips abound, the sights are apparently not as good as in Egypt.

There is a much bigger upmarket tourist scene in Aqaba compared to the rest of the country. Flashy hotels and restaurants abound, as does the odd night club or three. Aqaba by night from my hotel balcony.
The Red Sea. Surprisingly blue.

Again the red sea, along the promenade.

So, as one country bids farewell another welcomes me. Back to Amman. The wrong way - I hopped on a bus and there was some communication problems. It went to Ma'an, not Amman! oh well, luckily it was on the way and then a share taxi driving at a lazy 150kmph with the Arabic music turned past maximum got me back to Amman and my old hotel.

Reflections?

Whew. Sometimes one feels over this sort of travel. It's very tiring and jees, well, I feel old all of a sudden. I'm only 34. Muscat has been scrapped from the destination list so now I will have a week in Dubai. Jordan has been amazing though, if far too hilly for its own good. Taxis - I am very over taxis, the bargaining. Oh well. Met some really nice taxi drivers too. And some really nice people -

Lukas, Sabrina, Karsten, Dorothy, Bert, Charlie, Lucy, Anna and Matthias it was great to meet you all! And Francesco too. Until we meet again!

Where Things are Rum

Howdy Folks!
Just arrived in Aqaba today - a town in the south of Jordan. I spent yesterday and last night in the amazing desert of Wadi Rum. I was on a small tour of seven people and we drove around the dunes. It's truly breathtaking scenery! Here's a general view of the desert. Giant rocks jut out as you can see. It's similar in many ways to central Australia which I visited last year but never quite got around to blogging about. Note to self: When home blog about Central Australia!

Our tour was not one where we got out many times and we given loads of information one could not possibly remember. It was a day of appreciation for where I was. One tidbit though: Lawrence of Arabia spent time in this very desert. Food for thought!

The rocks have been carved over the centuries by sand and wind. The ravages of time have had an art about them, some are striking works of art. There are a few 'bridges' such as the one above. A bridge to where? The soul? Or perhaps just another rock...

What can I say?

The sun set on the day and I spent the night at a Badouin camp. The food was the best meal I've had in Jordan, cooked in a smouldering hole in the ground. There was then a scorpian incident, then some music, and finally sleep in the open on mattress below the stars. What a place to sleep. I saw at least four shooting stars before I fell asleep. Best day of the trip.

So far...

Photo Success - Petra and Jerash

The wonders of modern technology! I have successfully uploaded pictures from both Jerash and earlier today at Petra!

JERASH

Jerash - long street and many columns!

Doorway - Jerash

PETRA

The Treasury, Petra - Most famous site in Petra

Urn Tomb, Petra - Largest of the Royal Tombs and most impressive!

Facades - Petra

Pottering in Petra

Hey folks
still pottering around.In Petra at the moment. Pretty amazing stuff. Unfortunately I can't get pictures up at the moment computers are not agreeing with my card reader for some reason.
I've walked to the point of nearly having no feet here. Quite exhausted.
Petra is most famous for the treasury building and featuring in Indianna Jones and the Last Crusade, but is actually an ancient city bulit across many kilometres. There are amazing buildings bulit into rock faces,and alsomanytombs. Also some Roman buildings although the orginal builders of Petra were the Nabataeans who settled in Southern Jordan 2200 years ago. According to the brochure.
Unfortunately Petra has its bad points - as does this sticky keyboard. The number of tour groups is somewhat over whelming, as are the people constantly trying to sell you things or get you on a donkey. When you say 'No thanks' don't think that's the end of it!
So another day tomorrow at Petra, and hopefully a desert spot of Lawrence of Arabia fame the following day called Wadi Rum.

Jerash and invisible celebrations

Many centuries ago the Romans, as is their want, built a city in the now Jordanian city of Jerash. It certainly was impressive, and was full of columns. They certainly knew a thing about columns!

I journied out to Jerash yesterday by bus as a day trip. The bus had an accident 500 metres after leaving the bus station and we had to wait 40 minutes whilst the police arrived and photographed it for presumably their report. All the men bar myself and couple of others exited the bus and sucked down some nicotine goodness. It's amazing how many people smoke here. It's playing havoc with my sinuses. In fairness though it seems to be other travellers who do the smoking mostly. And indoors over meals as well....

anyways wandering a largish Roman city is a splendid thing to do and I recommend it to everyone. I am back in Amman today and will head to Petra tomorrow! Here the roads are closed and there are celebrations... somewhere. Didn't see them myself! For you see today is Amman's 100th birthday. On the television there was a song 'Amman Amman Amman Amman Amman' (it continued in a similar vein!) So I have done nothing today. It is good!

Looking for Amman?

Hi Folks
And good morning here from sunny Amman. Yesterday I visited some of the sites around this cool city, which I really kind of like. The guide book says 'Amman is not one of the great cities of antiquity', suggesting it's not so amazing but it was built on Roman ruins which have been somewhat restored and I think it's really amazing. As one can see it's a very hilly place. There is a Roman citadel on the top of a hill that is sort of the centre of Amman, but over the surrounding hills are many homes which make it very striking. This is the view on the roof of the hotel I am presently staying in.

Here is the citadel - well part thereof. It's slowly being restored.

And this is the Amphitheatre. It has been restored and they are preparing for a royal visit apparently. Very cool indeed.

I've met a few people who are not so enamoured with Amman, but I give it the thumbs up! A great place to start a Middle Eastern trip. Many people here (tourists) have come from or are going to Israel. Jordan is one of perhaps two countries in the Middle East that permit you to enter if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport. It's the obvious and now rather predicatble dinner conversation. However this is not a political blog and so I keep my thoughts to myself. Generally not a relazed topic.

Photos from Mt Nebo et al

The view across to Palestine from Mt Nebo. People get covered in mud before they swim in the Dead Sea.

Looking across from Mt Nebo in the direction of Jericho.

View across to Israel/West Bank over the Jordan River.

Day trip not to Bangor!

One day in and I already took a day trip.
After a nice long trip sleep on my first night I was feeling surprisingly good to go and headed out on a 'tour' that is run by my hotel here in Amman.
Now tour gets quotation marks because in fact it's just a taxi service to the different sites. This tour was to Mt Nebo, the Dead Sea and a couple of other places. I shared with three Germans who were really nice people... and spoke German a lot!
Well what would I expect? So yes I was the one non-German speaking person in the car

The first stop was a town called Madaba, with the impressive Orthodox church of St George of dragon slaying fame. The town is also famous for mosaics which were rather impressive. Onwards and upwards to Mt Nebo where Moses is rumoured to have stopped and pointed across the way saying 'how about here? let's build our lives here. A McDonald's there and a Starbucks also here!'
Impressive view, a host of tourists some dressed in strange white garbs singing songs. We ventured to the river Jordan to the site where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. Right on the Palestinian/Israeli border, we looked over where the river now flows (it has changed its course in the last 2000 years. Eh, these things happen. So the point of baptism is now completely dry) and only 30 metres away was an Israseli flag flying in the breeze. Everyone I've met travelling here seems to be headed that way at some point or has come from there. I must be the only one just seeing Jordan in this part of the world. When in 1999 I travelled to Egypt it was similar.
So the Dead Sea was the last stop before returning at breakneck speed to Amman. Well it's te Earth's lowest point and incredibly salty. I thought it would be the highlight of the day but alas not really. After five minutes of being really floaty I was over it. That was a good thing because i got some of the salty water in my eyes and couldn't keep them open. They stung like crazy and I ran like a girl to wash the salt out! Still it was like a mini resort and the pool was nice!
The drive home was fast. 120 in 60 zones. However we kept slowing down suddenly - Jordan has radar. They stand behind a large fourwheel drive and well are pretty obvious, nevertheless we must have passed nearly ten on the way back to Amman. A new day dawns and I want breakfast! Photos hopefully very soon!

It begins again.

Dear Reader,
The trip is officially under way!
I am writing after a very very long day of travelling from Amman, Jordan. I left Melbourne at 3am this morning and the day still has a few hours left in it. Well, here it does, it's already tomorrow in Melbourne!
The weather is warm. The first flight was Melbourne to Dubai and was a very good flight - I slept heaps! Which is what I really needed to do. I left feeling stressed and tired and the ol' tum was not being my friend. After the fourteen hour flight I actually felt better and more awake.
Ok so I left my notes on Dubai and Muscat at home, so I had to buy the Lonely Planet in Dubai, but apart from that it was a pretty successful getaway.
There was dust all over the middle east unfortunately as we flew over Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan but still it was clear the scenery is amazing.
The second flight from Dubai to Amman changed gates twice and had me running like crazy. But such is life. I got through customs in Amman and was on the bus into town by 5pm.
There are house and buildings over rolling hills. It's quite amazing I think. Can't wait to get out and take photos. For now I'm at the Palace Hotel and ready for some well needed Zzzzzs.....

Soon I go... and Hamiton Island

Today is Thursday the 1st of October. I am flying out at 2.55am on Monday the 5th. So yes, the time is almost nigh. Or it is nigh.... Is it nigh when it's time to go or when it's nearly time to go?

Sigh.

So yes packing is happening. I have been doing exciting things like filling small bottles with shampoo and scanning in important documents. The most important thing though is making sure my ipod has album artwork for every single one of the 1700 tracks. Now that's a task and a half of full cream dairy milk! For some reason these little tasks always occupy my time as I lead up to another trip.

But

Hamilton Island. Thought I would share some thoughts and photos with this wonderful global interweb community who never bother to pay my blog a visit. Yes I mean all of you! As you don't read this I presume that's a mute point...

I went to Hamilton Island a few weeks back for my brother's wedding. Hamilton Island is a small island in the Whitsundays off the coast of Queensland. Tropical paradise? Undoubtedly. Cheap? Not even slightly! Relaxing? For sure! Tired of this back and forth? Shit yeah....

oops ok

The whole place is owned by one man (so I hear) and it's big for weddings and families. There are pools dotted around the place that one can swim in at their leisure (awesome) Plenty of bars for the thirsty... some at pool level. Not a lot of choice with restaurants and all places are somewhat pricey. It's really a situation where one has to hang the expense and enjoy where you are. Cocktails are a must.

Plus a reception on a boat.....

can't complain on that score, can I?

Anyways.... looking towards next week i expect this Blog will be a lot busier! Be here or... don't?