Crazy Cat Lady Explores Dead Sea

I love the Dead Sea but I learnt that some locals don't like it every much. I think this is pretty common. You don't think too much about local attractions when you're a local cause you know you always get to go there easily. Anyway, Dead Sea is about 45 minutes drive from Amman and I like going there now since it's a lot warmer than cold Amman. I've been to the Dead Sea thrice now. I still managed to float on Dead Sea during my last visit in mid November. I was told that the water gets too cold by end December or January.

Crazy Cat Lady Explores Petra (Part II)

We were glad that we stayed for two days in Petra as we could not explore Petra in a day. We were so wrong to think that the trek up to the Monastery was very challenging when in fact the trek up to the High Place of Sacrifice was even more challenging.



Est 10 am 

We started our trek up the High Place of Sacrifice. It only got harder and harder. If for some reason you are unable to trek up to the High Place of Sacrifice, you can ride on the donkeys. Personally, I would avoid that as we did witness how poorly treated the donkeys were by their handlers. some of the handlers whipped their donkeys very hard with an electric cable and we could see the pain in the donkeys' expressions. Moreover some of these donkeys were made to transport passengers who were, let's say, on the heavier side. We are not being judgmental but you may want to make sure that the donkey choose to ride on is not being ill-treated. Similarly, if you are too exhausted to walk or have some difficulty with your mobility, you can consider riding a horse from the Siq back to the main entrance. Some handlers will try to persuade you to ride from the main entrance to the Siq but if you do choose to ride on a horse, I think it would be better to save it for your journey back. The handlers told us that the horse ride was inclusive in our entrance tickets but they asked for tips which 'you pay from your heart'. I read from some travel blogs that some of these horse handlers asked for 18 to 20 JD per person as tip but some travel blogs said 1JD would be sufficient.

There is an animal hospital established just as you enter Petra. Apparently these horses were treated very badly that an animal hospital was set up to give free treatment to them and also to educate their handlers on animal abuses.

These donkeys are amazingly agile as they could easily ascend and descend the difficult steps.


One funny things we experienced was that donkeys pooped and ascended and descended the slopes at the same time. Just watch out for fresh donkey poops.

We were very lucky to be invited to tea by the Bedouins. They were really friendly and kind. During your time in Petra, you will see many of them. Some of them even set up stalls in places you would not imagine them to be and to sell you small stuff like necklaces or even drinks. i do not think many people actually buy from them. I did buy a necklace from an old Bedouin woman as she told me that she had no business even though the day was almost ending.

Crazy Cat Lady Explores Petra (Part I)

18 May 2014, est. 0615 

We left Amman for Petra in our rental car. It was a brand new Hyundai Elantra (March 2014 model) which I managed to rent through one of my colleagues' contact. We pay 30 JD for a day and it was open mileage. We were both quite nervous operating the car as none of us had ever driven on the right (since in both Japan and Malaysia we drive on the left) and this was our first time to Petra. We decided that I would be the one to drive the car while my beloved, Mr F would navigate the route to Petra from Amman. I had a faint idea of how to get to Petra from Firas, our taxi drive who went to pick up Mr F from the airport the night before. He told me it was an easy journey as I had to follow the route to the airport and then looked out for Aqaba. The journey was smooth but we almost missed the right junction. Fortunately I was able to recognise some Arabic words and Firas had told me the night before what the airport was called in Arabic. Otherwise we would have ended up in Madaba instead of Petra. 

The journey was quite long as it took us about 3.5 hours or a little more (since we were not familiar with the way and driving on the right) to get to Petra. We stopped by a coffee shop to have some coffee and tea. I was pretty pleased that I could get by with some limited Arabic by now.

Est. 0930 

We arrived in Petra. Mr F tried to look for our hotel but could not find it. We decided that we should visit Petra first as I heard it was a huge area and we were trying to make the best of our limited there. I had spoken to my colleagues earlier if I should spend a day or two in Petra. One of the

m told me that it would be better to spend two days there as there were lots to see. We parked our car opposite the parking area for buses, which I had read about from a travel blog. It was free. 

Background about Petra 

According to the 2008 article published by Smithsonian Magazine, Petra is one of the 28 places that you have to visit before you die, and it is also one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.  If you want to read more about Petra, click here. 

Ticket prices and Opening hours 

The entrance fees into Petra are as follows - 

• 1 Day - 50 JD 
• 2 Days - 55 JD
• 3 Days - 60 JD
• Visitors who do not stay overnight or for more nights in Jordan (crossing from the borders) - 90 JD
• Jordanians and residents - 1 JD

We bought out tickets at a ticket counter near the Visitors Centre. Frankly the entrance fees are really steep but you get more value for your money the longer your stay in Petra is. Mr F had to present his passport when we purchased the tickets. If you are buying the 2 Days/3 Days, you need to present your passport when you enter the site. Mr F's name was recorded on his ticket. The entrance to the site is nearby Petra Guest House Hotel, where we stayed. It is about 5 minutes from the ticket counter. Fortunately for me, I paid only 1 JD. Mr F, no doubt, had to pay 55 JD.

If I am not wrong, Petra opens at 6 am and closes at around 6 pm or sunset. 

Petra by Night 

Since our visit to Petra coincided with Petra by Night (available on every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday), we decided to also do this on Monday night. We had to buy our tickets from Petra Bookshop, not at the ticket counter. The entrance fee was 12 JD per person. You do not need a day ticket for Petra by Night.   

What you need in Petra 

From our experience, it is advisable to -

• wear comfortable shoes as there will be a lot of walking
• wear light and comfortable clothes. You may want a thin long sleeved shirt to prevent sunburn
• wear cap/hat/scarf
• wear sunglasses (the latter is optional)
• put on sunscreen to avoid getting burned
• have water (stay hydrated. don't worry, there are many clean toilets inside the site) 

For your eyes only 

One of the first sights that greets you as you enter Petra

The Siq

The Siq

Our trek for Day 1

If you are visiting Petra for the first time, this website may be helpful. 

My beloved's visit to Jordan

My beloved decided to come and visit me from 17 May to 24 May 2014. We decided to seize this opportunity to explore Jordan. After lots of discussions and planning, this was our itinerary.

• 17 May - Arrival (3.15 pm)
• 18 & 19 May - Petra
• 20 May - Wadi Rum (Desert)
• 21 May - Aqaba (Red Sea)
• 22 May - Dead Sea & Madaba
• 23 May - Amman
• 24 May - Departure (1.30 pm)

  What happened in reality - 

My beloved was prevented from boarding the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Amman as I had used my credit card to pay for his ticket. Apparently I had to verify some details with the Airlines before he could board. I didn't know it was so complicated as I never ran into such problem. Anyhow, this was a valuable lesson learnt. My beloved was eventually allowed to board his flight only after he paid a deposit of about 3,000 Malaysian ringgit which he could reclaim at the end of his journey in Kuala Lumpur. He was left with only 100 or 200 USD. Fortunately the amount was still enough for him to exchange into some Jordanian dinars at Queen Alia International Airport so he could purchase the visa-on-arrival. You need to pay JD 20 for the visa. 

More drama pursued when he missed the connecting flight from Doha to Amman. His flight from Kuala Lumpur was delayed for about an hour. The flight to Amman left without him and several other passengers who were travelling on the same flight. The airline company planned to put him on a flight to Amman via Bahrain at around 3 pm but I heard that he was just left in a corner, and this flight also took off without him. Then the staff wanted him to fly to Amman the next day. Finally after much confusion and negotiations (and making lots of complaints), the airline company put him and the other stranded passengers on a flight to Dubai which would then fly to Amman at 8 pm. My beloved eventually arrived in Amman at around 11.45 pm. He had 8 hours of his time wasted. I was just glad that he still managed to arrive on 17 May because if he had arrived the next day, we wouldn't be able to make it to Petra the next day. So much drama for the poor man!